Ogre

Deep inside the Forest of Echoes, Helena and her men are continuing on their expedition.

After they took fifty units of the white flowers cultivated by the kobolds as samples, they left the kobold town to continue deeper inside the forest.

For a few days, although they were sometimes attacked by predators, the attacks were no big deal to Helena and her men.

Finally, after a few more hours of marching, the scenery changed.

It seems that they've entered a swampy area.

The first thing that caught their attention was the smell of decaying vegetation and damp earth. 

As they went deeper into the swamp, they noticed that although it looked like a place of death, it was teeming with life.

There were lots of different species that chose this place as their habitat. 

Harmless creatures such as turtles and frogs were swimming in the murky waters of the swamp along with some dangerous creatures such as snakes and crocodiles.

In addition to the wildlife, aquatic plants were also thriving here such as water lilies and lotuses which gave the place a dangerous but mystical vibe.

Helena and her men couldn't help but be vigilant as they navigated through the muddy waters and the eerie overgrown mangroves.

"What is that?"

Helena muttered to herself.

The expedition team stopped in their tracks as they saw a crude large house made from thick logs, sticks, vines, and leaves.

It seems to be housing some sort of large creature.

"Halt! Battalion commanders, follow me, we'll investigate this house."

Helena ordered only the battalion commanders to investigate the house with her since it might be too dangerous for the elite soldiers.

They slowly crept towards the house while maintaining vigilance and after a few nerve-wracking minutes, they finally reached the window.

Helena slowly peeked through the window but the only thing she could see was a red colored circle that was comparable to the size of a plate.

"Hmm? What the hell? Is this window blocked by some kind of magic or something?" Helena thought to herself.

A few moments later, Helena's hair stood on end as the "red plate" blinked.

It was the eye of a creature all along!

"AAAAHHHHH!! What the fuck!!"

Helena didn't notice that she and the creature were staring eye to eye so she couldn't help but scream and jump in fright.

*ROAAAAAAAARRRRR*

The creature roared in anger as it unhesitatingly smashed its own house to attack Helena who was outside.

Fortunately, the creature was a little slow and Helena managed to dodge the huge wooden club in time.

The creature's house was blown to smithereens as a thick layer of dust and smoke covered the creature's features.

After a few moments, the dust settled and the creature was fully revealed.

Helena's eyes constricted into vertical slits as she remembered what this creature was.

She encountered one during her solo training and she would never forget the creature.

It had red eyes, big bulging muscles larger than those of trolls, a green-colored skin, and it was holding a huge wooden club as a weapon.

An ogre!

"Stand back! Let me lure this thing away from here. We should be able to take it down if we fight it in an open area!"

Helena ordered.

Unexpectedly, Alexander responded to Helena with a request.

"General! Can you please leave this one to me and Leif? We can feel that we will be able to break through into the ranks of a Swordmaster if we take this opportunity!"

Helena looked at Alexander deeply.

She didn't immediately agree to his request because she knew how dangerous this creature was. 

Although it was slow, it had a ridiculous amount of strength in addition to a tough body.

One mistake and they might lose their lives.

However, she also knew Alexander and Leif. 

They were the best combatants among her subordinates and she knew that they had a chance against this creature.

However, their winning condition was to not get hit even a single time by the ogre. 

They had to maneuver around the ogre and dodge all its blows while dealing small amounts of damage until it died.

Helena was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

She wanted to trust her subordinates and let them get their chance to break through to Swordmaster but at the same time, she was worried about their safety.

After a few moments of careful consideration, she remembered that Blanc also gave her the same chance.

He didn't stop her from putting herself in danger in exchange for greater strength.

In addition, after seeing the resolute look in the eyes of Alexander and Leif, Helena didn't hesitate any longer and finally made the decision to let the two of them fight the ogre.

"Understood! You have my permission! Go! Put this thing in its place!"

A sincere wide smile appeared on their faces and they looked like kids who were granted permission by their parents to do what they wanted.

The next moment, Alexander and Leif's fighting spirit was ignited as they realized that their general Helena trusted them so much.

They didn't waste any time as they immediately drew their mithril swords and charged at the ogre.

The ogre swung its wooden club downward with the intention of crushing them into meat paste as they were charging.

Unfortunately for the ogre, Alexander and Leif were able to dodge its attack easily and they even managed to inflict a small cut on the ogre's arms before running towards an open area outside the swamp.

*ROOOOOOOAAAAARRRR*

The ogre roared in rage as it was slightly hurt by the attack of the two battalion commanders.

It immediately gave chase to Alexander and Leif upon realizing that the two hateful little humans were running away.

After a few minutes of running, the two battalion commanders reached the open area.

They turned around and assumed their battle stances as they waited for the ogre.

After waiting for a few moments, the ogre finally appeared and the fight was on.