"Human, die!"
The silver-haired gorilla, now transformed into a golden-haired one through its frenzy, bellowed furiously.
Its body expanded further, charging at Ranch with murderous intent, determined to make this human pay!
The earth trembled, and the oppressive aura rendered the air almost unbreathable.
Ranch's eyes blazed with a fighting spirit, standing his ground, channeling all his strength into his hands.
Boom!
The colossal clash of bodies, vastly different in size, stirred up a swirling cloud of dust on the road.
Sophia, confident in Ranch, couldn't help but feel anxious at this moment.
Moments later, the dust settled.
Ranch still stood, while the silver-haired gorilla lay on the ground, lifeless.
"We won!"
"Lord Ranch has won!"
Pierre was the first to shout, and the other mercenaries cheered.
Immediately, Pierre dismounted and approached Ranch with respect, saying, "Thank you for your intervention, Lord Ranch!"
Strength commands respect, a fundamental truth of this world.
Ranch, noting the change in Pierre's demeanor, remained indifferent.
He took the long sword Sophia tossed to him and extracted the magic crystals from several spellbeasts.
Then, he turned to Pierre and declared, "This tier 3 spellbeast corpse is mine; you handle the rest of the spellbeasts."
"Yes, yes, thank you, Lord Ranch."
Pierre bowed gratefully and then ordered his men to bury the deceased mercenaries and load the spellbeast corpses.
There was still some space available in the caravan, enough to accommodate these spellbeasts.
This battle also allowed Ranch to make a more accurate assessment of his own strength.
His true power seemed to be at the limit of an intermediate knight.
However, without the ability to engage in close combat with a magus, there was a high risk of being worn down by the spells of an intermediate magus.
This was his weakness and one of the things he needed to address on his journey to Mapleleaf—acquiring a meditation technique.
Next, he and Sophia needed to advance their ranks at the Knight Hall.
Following that, they planned to sell potions or other goods in Mapleleaf to earn gold coins to enhance their abilities or purchase some unique and valuable treasures.
After defeating the wave of spellbeasts, the journey proceeded smoothly.
However, since the trip to Mapleleaf would take more than two days, both the people and the horses carrying the cargo needed to rest.
In the evening, Pierre approached Ranch, and after getting his permission, issued the order to rest.
The mercenaries began to set up their tents, with Pierre offering his luxurious tent for Ranch to rest in.
Inside the tent, Sophia sat with her long, fair legs casually spread out, seemingly indifferent to Ranch's subtle glances, and said with a smile, "Ranch, that Mr. Pierre is treating you like a savior."
Ranch just smiled, not particularly concerned about Pierre's actions.
He looked at Sophia's rosy lips, feeling an urge stirring within him, and said, "Sophia, isn't it time you kept your promise? I've taught you the Swift Blade Technique, and you promised to use your mouth."
"Ranch... now? There are people outside the tent."
Sophia was somewhat nervous.
She could accept the physical union, which was a celebration of nature revered by elves.
But the idea of using her mouth was something she had always resisted.
Ranch pulled her closer, whispering, "It's okay, just keep your voice down."
"Alright."
Sophia took a deep breath, thinking it was just this once anyway.
Just then, Pierre's voice came from outside the tent, tinged with urgency, "Lord Ranch, there are some people who want to rest near our caravan, and they are still covered in blood."
"Alright, I got it."
His mood disrupted, Ranch glanced at the smirking Sophia and said resignedly, "Sophia, this doesn't count."
Sophia nodded, not intending to renege on her promise but amused to see Ranch's rare look of frustration.
She whispered teasingly in Ranch's ear, "Ranch, I've heard there are many other things we could try. If you want, I'm open to them—all you need to do is ask. Of course, not right now."
Ranch's frustration deepened.
He stepped out of the tent and followed Pierre to where the newcomers were. Before they even arrived, he heard a familiar cry, "Mr. Ranch!"
The delightful young girl with light yellow hair called out and ran over, her delicate face beaming with smiles.
"Vera, it's you?" Ranch was somewhat surprised.
The group was none other than the peculiar mercenaries they had met days before on their way to the Wolf Fang Mountains, the grumpy old man, and the charming young girl, Vera Marlo.
Vera's smile faded, her voice tinged with urgency, "We ventured deep into the Wolf Fang Mountains and encountered a formidable spellbeast. Butler Haren was injured in the clash, and we had to retreat through another path out of the mountains. We are now heading to Mapleleaf to seek treatment."
"I see," Ranch turned to Pierre and instructed, "Pierre, do we have spare tents? Arrange some for them as well."
"Yes, Lord Ranch."
Pierre promptly agreed.
Ranch followed the young girl Vera, while the mercenaries, recognizing him, showed a mix of surprise and gratitude with a nod.
Only the elder, Haren the butler as Vera referred to him, maintained his haughty demeanor, warning Ranch, "Boy, you'd best stay away from the miss."
"So you are Butler Haren, injured and yet still daring to threaten others despite failing to protect your own master?"
Ranch had let it go once, but he was not inclined to hold back this time, especially with Haren's unchanged attitude, which infuriated the butler immensely.
Ignoring his injuries, Haren's face darkened like coal, his anger erupting, "Boy, you will pay for your arrogance!"
As he spoke, Haren's hands began gathering water-blue magical elements.
Vera immediately stepped in front of Ranch, scolding Haren, "Butler Haren, stop this at once! Ranch is my friend, and I will not allow you to harm him. That's an order!"
"Yes, miss," the butler dissipated the water elements in his hands.
He sat back down, ignoring Ranch, but his disdainful gaze remained unchanged, provocatively adding, "Kid, if the miss hadn't spoken, you'd be a corpse by now!"
"Is that so? I think you're the one who'd be the corpse," Ranch retorted with a cold laugh.
Haren laughed mockingly, "You, a mere waste with no trace of magical talent and just a lowly knight trainee? I could crush you like an insect with a flick of my wrist."
"You say I have no magical talent?"
Ranch pondered for a moment and then had an idea.
He deliberately proposed, "How about this, Butler Haren, let's make a wager. You provide me with a meditation technique, and if I can't become a magic apprentice by tonight, I'll apologize to you and compensate you with a hundred thousand gold coins. Of course, if I do manage to harness magic, from now on, you will not interfere with Vera's freedom and you must apologize to me! If you agree, we can sign a contract under the witness of the gods!"
Butler Haren, without much thought, immediately accepted.
Although he was injured and couldn't fully assess Ranch's current state, he remembered clearly from their first encounter that Ranch, just like that peculiar elf, was forsaken by magic.
Not to mention becoming a magic apprentice, Ranch couldn't even sense the magical elements in the air.
Thus, Haren was confident he would win this bet!
The two quickly signed the contract, especially with the gods as their witnesses, where the cost of breaking the agreement was immensely severe.
After signing, Haren threw out a book of meditation techniques, saying, "This is a basic meditation technique. You have one night. I look forward to seeing you become a magic apprentice. Good luck, little bug!"
Ranch picked up the meditation technique, retorting with unwavering confidence, "Butler Haren, I'll be waiting for your apology."
After speaking, Ranch returned to his own tent, with Sophia following him in.
Seeing the two sign the contract, especially knowing Butler Haren's true strength and his assessment of Ranch's magical talent, Vera felt very helpless.
She didn't want to lose Ranch, a friend who made her feel relaxed from the moment they met.
After some thought, she still walked towards Ranch's tent.
Inside the tent, space was made for three people.
Ranch looked at the approaching Vera, asking curiously, "Vera, why did you follow me here?"
Vera earnestly replied, "Ranch, I'm sorry, I should have stopped Haren. But don't worry, even if you lose, I won't let him lay a finger on you. You won't have to apologize either; it's Haren's fault after all. And, I'll help you, you might not lose."
The girl rushed out a whole lot at once, then took off the necklace from around her neck and placed it in Ranch's hands.
Suddenly, a notification message appeared.
[Detected a precious treasure, would you like to spend 3,000 gold coins for appraisal?]