"Hmph, I don't care what you're planning right now — hand over that warhorse!"
Lei Lin regarded the man, a glint of amusement in his eyes.
"Heh… heh heh… I was only borrowing it temporarily from Raphinia, and I was actually planning to…"
The archer wore a strained smile, but suddenly his expression shifted. "Look over there!"
Before Lei Lin could even turn around, the archer flicked his right hand, and three small sleeve darts shot out at blinding speed, aimed straight at Lei Lin's face.
"Giddyup!"
After launching the darts, the archer didn't spare Lei Lin another glance. He cracked his whip savagely against his mount, ready to bolt from the scene immediately.
He had seen it clearly — Lei Lin bore not a single wound, his condition far better than his own.
To break through the ogre encirclement unscathed — that level of strength was not something the archer could hope to contend with right now. So he had made a decisive choice: flee.
"That's quite the split-second decision. Shame it won't do you any good…"
A magic missile launched from Lei Lin's hand, tracing an eerie arc as it deflected the darts aside — then continued onward without slowing, slamming into the archer's back.
Crack!
The man tumbled violently from the saddle, a ghastly sunken wound gouged into his back.
"You… you're a mage!" the archer gasped, desperate longing burning in his eyes. His hands clawed at the air like chicken talons, his body thrashing in a death spasm — and after a few seconds, he went still.
"Neigh…"
The warhorse, Nick, now without a master, ceased its galloping and began lazily grazing on the grass nearby.
"From this day forward, I'm your new master!"
Lei Lin strode forward, seized Nick's reins without a shred of hesitation, swung himself onto the saddle, and claimed his new mount.
Nick offered not the slightest protest — truly a warhorse without a shred of principle. Perhaps, with its simple little brain that barely housed enough circuits, it could never hope to grasp such lofty concepts anyway.
Lei Lin squeezed his legs, and the black warhorse immediately transformed into a streak of lightning, galloping across the ground.
As a Knight’s mount, it was indeed far more spirited and impressive than other horses, satisfying Lei Lin greatly.
This place wasn’t far from the earlier battlefield. Occasionally, lucky—or perhaps unlucky—individuals who had escaped the ogres' pursuit appeared nearby. Lei Lin chose to ignore their pleas for help.
Even when merchants offered gleaming golden crowns, they held little appeal for him.
After all, the combined wealth of these petty merchants likely wouldn’t match the golden crowns Lei Lin consumed in a single experiment. Why bother getting involved and creating more trouble?
However, as they passed by a low, dense thicket, something unexpected occurred.
The usually docile Nick suddenly became agitated, charging wildly into the bushes.
“Could this change be because…”
Though he could have forced control, Lei Lin merely gave a few casual tugs on the reins and abandoned the effort.
For him, doing a simple, convenient deed was no bother, and it might even help improve his alignment, though he wasn’t sure how effective that would be.
Pushing through a thick wall of black thorns, a scene of utter devastation was laid bare before Lei Lin.
A carriage, its horse already gone, lay overturned to one side. Beside it, the Hera sisters huddled together, trembling.
Several terrifying ogres had them completely surrounded, their eyes gleaming with undisguised greed.
Raphinia gripped her Knight’s sword with both hands. Her armor was dented and scarred, smeared with bits of flesh and blood—clear evidence of several brutal fights.
The knight girl now bore a deep gash on her thigh, so severe that the white bone was faintly visible. The pain made her grit her teeth, and a glistening sheen appeared at the corners of her eyes, yet her face remained set with unwavering resolve.
Without her protection, the Hera sisters would likely have become ogre rations long ago.
With just a moment of thought, Lei Lin pieced together a rough outline of their experience.
It was likely they had been separated in the chaos, fled blindly, and Raphinia had fought off numerous enemies, ultimately bringing them to this spot.
“However, choosing this direction… if it wasn’t sheer coincidence, then Hera’s wits must be even greater than I previously estimated.”
As for the three ogres currently besieging them, they were merely ordinary fighters—no shamans among them.
For Raphinia, currently gravely wounded, the opponent might have posed a significant threat, but for Lei Lin, they amounted to nothing at all.
"Yo! Good day, beautiful ladies!"
At this moment, Lei Lin showed absolutely no awareness of being an unwelcome intruder. Instead, he greeted the group leisurely, as casually and naturally as if he had happened upon them during an afternoon stroll.
"Nick!" Raphinia's eyes immediately sparked with fury when she spotted the black warhorse. "And Lei Lin! You damn thief — if you hadn't stolen my companions, would I have ended up like this?"