At the commotion caused by Ethan, the orc camp instantly fell into chaos.
Alicia emerged from the shadows, taking the life of a high-ranking orc in a flash.
She blended with the trees, moving fluidly from room to room, identifying her targets and executing them swiftly.
She also discovered a number of crude maps and classified strategic documents.
Just as she was perusing the documents, an orc soldier noticed her and bellowed an alarm: "Intruder! Capture her!"
Unfazed, Alicia channeled her energy, unleashing the power of nature in a flash.
Trees sprang up around her, forming a sturdy barrier against the orc soldiers.
Taking advantage of the barrier, she sent out a wave of intense energy, and in an instant, countless thorns sprouted from the ground, impaling the orcs and throwing their command system into chaos.
Meanwhile, Ethan’s power was on full display.
His formidable form ascended to the sky, scorching dragon flame pouring down from above, leaving the orcs scrambling in disarray.
"A dragon..."
"Monster!"
As creatures at the top of the food chain, dragons are naturally intimidating to most species.
The orcs, engulfed by fear and confusion, scattered, incapable of mounting an effective defense.
Simultaneously, under Ethan’s leadership, the members of the Wings of Freedom guild launched their attack.
With the orc camp thrown into chaos, the Treant Heroes exhibited excellent combat skills and team coordination.
They may not be experts in many things, but when the winds of battle are in their favor, they shine.
Each Treant Hero glowed with an eerie green light, their powerful nature magic taking down the orcs one by one.
Ethan’s figure moved through the battlefield like a specter, his terrifying power causing widespread destruction.
With a flap of his wings, countless deadly wind blades swept the ground, uprooting entire encampments...
Almost single-handedly, he dominated the battle.
Inspired by him, the guild’s Heroes fought with high morale.
They supported each other, accurately targeting the orcs’ weak spots, and quickly diminishing their resistance.
As time passed, the orcs were being eradicated gradually.
The battlefield was now left with just a handful of orcs who were cornered by a group of Heroes.
At this point, the Orc Dark Lord was sunk in despair.
He couldn’t comprehend how a dragon would align itself with a bunch of Treant Heroes.
And that dragon... it was obviously a Dark Lord as well!
Ethan dove slowly from the sky, his eyes emitting an icy murderous intent.
The Orc Dark Lord, trembling with fear, dropped to his knees, desperately begging, "Dragon Dark Lord, please spare me! I surrender, I will become your slave!"
"All the resources in my territory have been used to summon orcs. You gain nothing from killing me. But if you spare me, I swear my loyalty to you!"
"Really?" A hint of mockery flickered in Ethan’s golden eyes.
With a swift swing of his claw, countless electric arcs entwined around his talons, instantly piercing through the Orc Dark Lord’s chest.
"Unfortunately, I don’t need the loyalty of the weak."
"Your head, to me now, is more useful."
...
Riverside, Bounty Guild.
"What did you say? Wings of Freedom really accomplished the quest of slaying the Orc Dark Lord?"
Daniel Green, the guild president who was indulging in the massage from two beautiful women, looked incredulously at his subordinate who came to report.
Richard Clark was a trusted aide of Daniel Green.
As soon as there was a disagreement between him and Ethan, Daniel Green sent someone to investigate those Treant Heroes.
Learning that they were a group of newbie Heroes fresh out of the newbie village, Daniel Green lost interest.
Such a trashy guild could be easily wiped out.
But when he heard that they had taken the quest of exterminating the Orc Dark Lord, Daniel Green even felt no need to take action.
A group of newbie Heroes, trying to confront the Orc Dark Lord, wasn’t it suicide?
Orcs weren’t individually strong, but they were cheap, numerous, and sturdy.
For small-scale Hero guilds with weak strength, it was a nightmare.
But now he received the news that the guild, with a team of just 50 Heroes, had successfully exterminated the Orc Dark Lord...
Daniel Green’s eyes began to flicker.
"Orcs are the most afraid of those individuals with strong power who are not afraid of being ganged up on... Completing this quest with such a small team means that there must be a tough character in this newly formed Wings of Freedom."
"Tsk tsk, it might be a B-rank, even an A-rank... There are already three major guilds in Riverside, we don’t need another competitor... it’s best to nip it in the bud before it grows into a towering tree."
"By the way, isn’t Black Rose currently executing a quest in Mist Forest?" Daniel Green gave a cold smile, already forming a plan in his mind.
"You, go call Richard Clark for me, I have a quest for him!"
...
In the Adventurer’s Bar, a group of Treant Heroes were getting wasted, boasting loudly about their heroic performance in the battle against the Orc Dark Lord.
No one questioned them.
Even if they were not pleased, they had to bite the bullet, because the head of that Dark Lord was on display in the tavern’s main hall.
"Holy crap, what’s with this Wings of Freedom being so formidable? Straight outta the gate, they killed a Dark Lord and completed a B-level quest."
"Is the Treant really this strong? If I’d known, I would’ve chosen Treant," one Hero mumbled.
"What a promising guild! I wonder if they’re still recruiting," another added.
The female orc receptionist was so shocked at the news, it looked like she could swallow a whole egg.
She had recommended the quest to Wings of Freedom with some regret, never expecting them to actually complete it.
"Please hold on a moment, the rewards for completing the quest are quite substantial. I need to apply to the guild, but within three days, a representative from the Hero’s Guild will personally deliver the gold coins to you."
"Alright," Ethan nodded.
Once the quest was completed, Ethan ordered another shot of liquor at the bar, drinking heavily while planning his next move.
He came to Riverside not to play hero but for a more serious quest.
He was a danger, but not enough of a threat for Riverside to fully mobilize against him yet.
In this brief moment of respite, he needed to exhaust Riverside’s resources.
The best way was to incite internal conflict within their ranks.
Let the Heroes fight amongst themselves, to his delight.
But to accomplish this, he first needed enough personal influence.
"So, which Dark Lord should I target next?" Ethan mused, studying the map he had acquired from the orc Dark Lord.
The tavern door squeaked open, and the lively atmosphere fell silent.
A few hot-tempered Treant Heroes rose from their seats.
"What the hell are you doing here? Haven’t you learned your lesson?"
The Treant Heroes glared fiercely at the burly man who had entered, none other than the Hero Richard Clark, whom Ethan had beaten until he was vomiting blood a few days ago.
Seeing the hostility from the Treant Heroes, Richard Clark, annoyed inwardly, forced a smile on his face.
"Gentlemen, it’s a misunderstanding... I’ve come here with goodwill. I want to speak to the leader of Wings of Freedom. We should bury the hatchet, not keep it sharp. Our guild leader gave me a quest, and I would like to discuss a collaboration with Wings of Freedom."
"Just spill it," Ethan glanced at him, speaking nonchalantly.
"I assume you must be the Guild Leader. I apologize for my actions the last time," Richard Clark quickly apologized, sitting down next to Ethan, and stated his intentions.
"Do you know about the Black Dragon?" Richard Clark asked solemnly.
At the mention of "dragon," Ethan’s heart skipped a beat, almost thinking Richard Clark was referring to himself.
But he thought it unlikely as his divine dragon form had nothing to do with a Black Dragon.
"Never heard of it."
Ethan’s response left Richard Clark momentarily stunned.
He hadn’t expected someone who didn’t know about the Black Dragon.
"The Black Dragon is currently the biggest threat to Riverside. Remember the Dark Lord that came out of the temple recently? If it weren’t for this Black Dragon causing trouble, we would have dealt with the Dark Lord long ago."
Richard Clark said bitterly, his tone filled with genuine concern.
From his narrative, Ethan got a clear picture of who the Black Dragon was.
It resided in the Mist Forest, consistently raiding Riverside’s territories, posing the most significant threat to them.
The sudden emergence of numerous Dark Lords around Riverside that could not be dealt with was largely due to this damn Black Dragon.
It had consumed a considerable portion of Riverside’s forces and attention.
Many of Riverside’s strongmen had to take turns keeping an eye on this Black Dragon.
Recently, the lord of Riverside had summoned the majority of the city’s strongmen to carry out a clearance operation against the Black Dragon.