"Are you too afraid to show your ugly old faces? Answer me!"
Bigua said in an angry tone. The monster's strong aura instantly overwhelmed Drin. Thankfully, he was already sitting on the ground.
"Since when did mere Ogre men start getting cocky about their looks? They are nothing but inflated meat blocks that walk around just because they have legs. Hehe."
A sweet voice suddenly sounded in the distance. The tone of her voice was casual and welcoming, but her words were anything but.
In the next moment, two shadows appeared over the branch of the tree Drin was sitting below. These two shadows were the reason Bigua hadn't approached Drin carelessly.
Drin looked up and observed the two rankers who had suddenly appeared. One of them was a woman in her early 30s. She had shoulder-length dark burgundy hair that was tucked neatly behind her ears.
The woman wore a bodice-like half-crop. The purple top paired with purple cargo pants complimented her looks. She had also worn a pair of arm guards and shoulder guards, giving her a hardcore veteran vibe.
This woman had beautiful facial features. She had light wheatish skin and brown hazel eyes. She had a slim waist and ample feminine proportions. But not too much that they'd get in the way of her agile movements. She had a sword sheathed on her back, ready to be drawn.
Drin could immediately tell that this woman was loaded. The gear she had worn along with the sword on her back had distinct mana pulses. These mana pulses were intimidating even when they were not in use.
The person beside the woman was wearing golden body armor. Everything from the guy's head to toe was covered in armor. He was about 8 feet tall and the wielder of a broadsword.
This man also had a red cape attached to his armor. His face was completely covered by the helmet he was wearing, which only had a slit for his eyes.
Both of these rankers were C-rankers. It seemed that the lady had only recently managed to get into the Expert rank. Whereas, the man with the full body armor was close to breaking into the B-Rank. Their mana signatures attested to their strength. Bigua immediately canceled the pressure Drin felt when the two spread their auras.
Drin watched as the lady looked at him and smiled before addressing Bigua once again.
"Anyway. We are here now, Bigua. What are you planning to do about it?"
The lady said while smirking at the Monster Lord. However, she pursed her lips and dropped her head when her companion released his aura to suppress her. His meaning was clear– she should stop provoking Bigua unnecessarily.
The armored ranker turned his head toward Bigua before speaking up in a deep voice.
"What were you trying to prove by killing an Ogre Lord from your own tribe right in front of us?"
Drin narrowed his eyes while looking down when he heard the armored ranker speak. He had figured out the identities of the two rankers at this point. They were the same kingdom-affiliated rankers his team was supposed to meet and collaborate with.
These rankers who were directly under Edinburgh's payroll were supposed to be allies. At least in this mission. And yet, they only served as spectators for his battle against Hiram. He wondered how long they had been observing him without doing anything to salvage the situation.
The armored ranker turned his head down to look at Drin who was below him and shook his head in denial. It was as if he realized what Drin was thinking about.
Bigua snorted his nose before responding to the armored ranker's question.
"You came here to kill Hiram, right? He has been dealt with. I don't think my tribe poses any serious threat to your activities in this place anymore. It is a place you call "Bad"lands, but visit it as if it were your most sacred space.
Talk about hypocrisy."
Drin couldn't believe that a monster was offering a ceasefire by killing a member of his own tribe. It seemed like he had another reason to kill the troublesome Hiram that he hadn't grasped before. He wanted to ward off rankers from attacking his tribe by taking care of the Ogre Lord with his own hands.
The full-body armor ranker pondered a bit before nodding his head at Bigua. He spoke out and made his stance clear.
"That's right. Since Hiram is taken care of, we would no longer pursue the mission to attack the entire tribe."
He then looked down in Drin's direction and said.
"Drin, you can tell your team members you meet them. Tell them that the raid has been called off. The White Raven guild will receive half the reward anyway as compensation for their troubles."
The armored ranker took a pause and allowed Drin to process the news before adding further.
"Let's say that the fabric of space and time is not stable in Monster Canyon because of the way these monsters appear in Anfang, Drin. It's not just our perception that gets skewed. Sometimes the reality itself gets twisted in Monster Canyon because of the imbalance in the space-time fabric.
It's thought that's why miracles occur in Monster Canyon. The will of Anfang can't act normally in the place, allowing countless tragedies and a handful of blessings to slip from its hands."
The armored ranker wanted to tell Drin that not much time had passed since they started observing Drin. They too wanted to get to the meeting place. But ended up witnessing a fight with one of the rankers they were supposed to meet at the rendezvous point. Drin's perception of time was skewed as well, making him process time differently than them.
He also provided Drin with a reason for his sudden breakthrough. The lady ranker who was beside the armored ranker looked at Drin and smiled before adding further.
"Congratulations on your breakthrough, Drin. Your element is special. It would be difficult for you to progress further the higher you climb the ranking ladder. The resources for a ranker like you are just that rare."
The swordswoman narrowed her eyes on Drin and smirked. She folded her hands under her breasts and spoke in an inviting tone.
"Why don't you consider joining Edinburgh's force? We have all the resources you need to help you progress faster in your ranking journey. Plus, you'd gain some authority while you are inside the Edinburgh kingdom.
Your talent is wasted in a low-level guild like White Raven. It has nothing to offer to a ranker like you. Hehe.
The guild might even…"
