Garek frowned at that, clenching his fists so tightly that veins bulged like roots beneath his skin, a clear sign of his anger.
But he still tried to restrain himself, calmly replying, "Captain, aren't you afraid I'll keep all the rewards for myself after killing the Evil God?"
"Ah!" Maisy laughed seductively. "Hahahaha… If you were really capable of that, wouldn't you have already gone after him by now?"
Garek scowled, gritting his teeth. "Captain, I'm just saying that I'm more than strong enough to defeat the Evil God, but I'm still leaving him for you."
Maisy looked at him, tapping her cheek with her index finger, her expression both alluring and teasing: "Then I'll leave the Evil God to you. I hope you can help me kill him." Check latest chapters at novel~fire~net
"If you can do it, you can keep the reward for killing him all to yourself. Besides that, you'll even have the chance to… become my man."
Garek didn't look happy at that. On the contrary, he gritted his teeth so hard it made a 'grinding' sound.
The others started backing away, sensing the thick smell of gunpowder in the air.
All it would take was a single spark and this place was sure to explode.
Although Garek was weaker than Maisy, he was still much stronger than anyone else present.
If a real fight broke out, everyone here would be in danger.
Maisy, apparently feeling that things weren't dramatic enough, smiled and said, "Ah! If you're afraid, you don't have to take this mission. After all, you only like to act tough—when it comes down to it, you're no different from a foolish little rabbit."
The sound of teeth grinding made everyone shudder. But then Garek took a deep breath, frowned, and said, "Fine! I'll… accept this mission."
With that, he immediately left.
The group collectively let out a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, someone spoke up, "Captain, that was too dangerous just now. Next time, can you not do something like that?"
"Hahaha… Don't you all realize anything?"
"Hm?!" Everyone glanced at each other, then at Maisy, their eyes filled with confusion.
Maisy kept smiling as she looked in the direction Garek had left.
A moment later, she said, "Garek's hands aren't the same."
"Captain, what do you mean?" someone asked, bewildered.
"That's right, his hands aren't the same size. What does that mean?"
Maisy simply smiled, saying nothing, her gaze distant as if lost in thought.
Garek trudged through the snow, making his way to a clearing where all the snow had been cleared away, exposing the bare ground. Furious, he swung his arm and slammed it into the trunk of a tree.
The tree shook violently, causing snow to cascade down like a waterfall.
The bitter cold of the snow helped Garek regain some clarity.
He spat out angrily, "Damn it! That bitch knows exactly what's going on with me."
Indeed, if one looked closely, one of Garek's hands was perfectly normal, but the other was noticeably larger and green in color.
He had grafted the arm of an Orc King onto himself.
After Noan had cut off one of his arms, he'd used a magical item he'd kept since the 'Zombie Wave' event.
During that event, he had happened upon a magical artifact that could restore a lost body part.
No, to be precise, it allowed him to use a body part from a Hero he had summoned to replace the one he'd lost.
That's why he now had an Orc King's arm.
Although this arm was much stronger than his previous one, he couldn't accept that his body had been altered this way.
To him, it was a humiliation.
"Master." At that moment, an Orc King approached him and bowed, saying, "We have found the Evil God's whereabouts."
Garek took a deep breath, then said, "Let's go. We'll kill that bastard first, and after that, I'll deal with that bitch Maisy."
"Maisy, you think I've grown weaker? No! I've become stronger, but you'll never learn my secret."
"Once I kill that damned Evil God and claim the reward, I'll make you my whore."
Garek gritted his teeth as he spoke, the veins on his face standing out like roots.
He marched through the snow alongside the Orc King and a group of orcs.
By now, the snow had stopped falling, but the temperature was still bitterly low.
Each step cost Garek a great deal of energy.
"Damn it!" he cursed angrily. "When will this damned snow disappear?"
"Until the day you die!" Suddenly, a voice rang out from afar.
Garek heard that voice and wasn't surprised; on the contrary, he sneered and said, "Oy! Look what I've found. A dog that's come back to wag its tail for its master?"
Up on a tree branch, Zeka stood there looking down at Garek, his gaze filled with hatred and rage.
"Looks like you've got a foul mouth too—do you eat dog shit for breakfast?" Zeka retorted scornfully.
Garek ground his teeth, his face flushing red with anger: "You bastard! You think just because you got some trash power, you can beat me?"
"Fine! I thought you'd be hiding in your hole like a rat, but you're dumb enough to come here and face me."
"Huh!" Zeka sneered, "I came to take your head, but on second thought, I'll use it as a chamber pot for my dogs."
"Hahahaha… hahahaha…" Garek laughed maniacally. "Such confidence is good—let's see if you're still this cocky a little later."
"Don't kill that bastard! I want to make him my plaything!"
At that command, the orcs immediately charged at Zeka, but he didn't run.
He leapt down from above, countless vines shooting from his severed arms toward the orcs.
Two orcs were pierced by the vines and died instantly, blood spraying across the snow.
But the other orcs avoided the vines, charging at Zeka like a pack of mad dogs.
As Zeka landed, his feet stomped the snow with such force that it exploded upwards, creating a fog-like mist around him.
Seeing the snowy fog, Garek frowned and shouted, "Charge in, kill him—don't let him—"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, countless vines shot out, moving so fast that their friction with the air produced piercing, wind-like shrieks.
The vines, though they looked soft, had needle-sharp tips strong enough to pierce right through the orcs' chests.
Blood splattered everywhere.
The vines coiled tightly around the orcs they impaled, then lifted them high into the air.
And then, the vines began to suck blood. It was visible to the naked eye—the bodies of the captured orcs quickly withered and shriveled.
"What the hell?!" Garek was startled at the sight.
He never imagined that the worthless mutt he used to look down on could now so easily slaughter all his D-rank Orcs.
"Damn it!" Garek cursed under his breath. "That bitch Maisy, you set me up!"
It was true—he hadn't received any news saying that Zeka's power had grown this much.
All he knew was that Zeka had become the Evil God and liked to drain the blood of other lords—nothing more.
"Orc King, can you defeat him?" Garek, now a bit worried, asked.
The Orc King frowned, thought for a moment, then said, "I'm not sure, Master. He's extremely strong—far beyond the limits of both humans and D-rank monsters."
"Also, his powers are quite strange. If we fight, I'm afraid…"
Though the Orc King didn't finish his sentence, Garek knew all too well what might happen.
"Damn it!" Garek wanted to run, but his pride wouldn't let him.
However, after reconsidering, he realized his life was more important.
He shouted, "Let's go, we shouldn't stay here."
Immediately, he turned and started to flee.
"Run?! Hahahaha…" Zeka's laughter rang out: "Too late, bastard! Do you really think you can escape from me?"
Zeka lunged out of the swirling snow mist.
Seeing this, Garek shouted, "Stop him!"
The Orc King frowned and charged toward Zeka.
Zeka sneered at the Orc King, "Trash, out of my way!"
The Orc King didn't bother with words—he gripped his spiked club tightly and swung it at Zeka.
In that instant, Zeka sensed something was wrong.
He quickly wove his vines together, forming a shield before him.
"ACK!" Zeka cried out as the Orc King's club collided with the vine shield.
A terrifying force shot through his arm, shattering the bones.
His severed limb, already ending at the elbow, exploded once again along with the tangled vines, scattering debris everywhere.
"AAA!!!" Zeka howled in agony, sent flying dozens of meters back before crashing into the snow.
Seeing this, Garek stopped and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Damn it! And here I thought you were so strong—yet in the end, you still fell before my Orc King."