True to their words, three silhouettes appeared on the horizon five minutes later. Honne Onna, Grizzlydiamond and Rustyreaper rode up to the village on massive elks as large as stallions. These creatures were indigenous to Ederwood and were the preferred mounts for the wealthy and influential Ederwood residents.

Renark stood at the village's entrance with Bok and Uthmar, eyes narrowed as the trio stopped in front of him and dismounted. The orc's muscles tensed as he glared at the heavily armored Grizzlydiamond. It was rare to meet a hume who rivaled an orc in size, but at 7 ft tall, Grizzlydiamond stood head to head with Renark. "Grizzly."

"Ragelock," Grizzlydiamond greeted with a curt nod and a snort. Both warriors' hands instinctively reached for their weapons as they sensed the others' power. It was an almost primal instinct to defend themselves from the considerable threat.

Luckily, Rustyreaper stepped between the men and defused the tension with a sweet smile before the situation escalated further. "Calm down boys, there'll be time for this later."

Renark and Grizzlydiamond snorted, imposing subconsciously imposing dominance over the other, then softly relaxed their stances.

"Thank you for listening to listening to little old me," Rustyreaper gratefully said with a short curtsey. A warm smile played on her lips as she looked at Uthman and Bok with curiosity then back at Renark. "So, what is this problem you need our help with?"

Renark looked at Honne Onna with slight trepidation in his eyes. "I need your ability Honne-san. We need to get some information from the goblin's mind."

Honne Onna looked at the frightened Bok with slight curiosity. "What could a goblin possibly know?"

Renark explained the issue with the door. When he was finished, he looked at Bok and said, "He saw Farvulia open the door. We need that memory."

"Never heard of a goblin being tied to an important quest before," Grizzlydiamond muttered with an intrigued gaze. "I wonder if there's something special about this one."

Renark's eyes twitched. These damned Summoned and their 'quests.' They measured everything in this world in respect to how relevant they were to their 'quest completion.' Personally, he could not stand the way the Summoned looked down on Residents, but in this case, their prejudice worked to his advantage, so he buried his unease.

Honne Onna walked over to Bok and squatted so he was at eye-level. Her playful, yet unfeeling eyes chilled him to the bone, a condition that only worsened when she smiled. Bok instantly felt like he had dropped into the seventh level of hell, and was faced with a high-ranking demon. Seemingly oblivious to the effect she had on Bok, Honne Onna asked, "What's your name, little goblin?"

"B-bok," he answered as thick sweat poured down his forehead.

"Nice to meet you, Bok," Honne Onna said. "We do not want to hurt you, I promise. Just look into my eyes."

Bok, realizing he had no choice in the matter, looked into the commander's eyes. His heart skipped a beat as her pupils suddenly turned into a complex mandala. The mandala whirled in place and created an illusion of a whirlpool that sucked everything into her eyes. He glimpsed all sorts of horrors within the maelstrom and frightened out of his mind, attempted to shut his eyes and wrest away his sight.

Unfortunately, he immediately found he had lost control of his body. Try as he might, Bok could not look away from the whirlpool. Within moments, his panic intensified as he began to feel himself get sucked into the vortex. He screamed and attempted to pull himself out, but it proved futile as, before long, he was completely sucked into the vortex.

Bok's heart trembled as he was thrown back to early memories he had long forgotten. From his birth in some dump to the death of his first clan by some righteous adventures. He recalled how he had run to another tribe and made his home there for many years. However, in the past year alone, he had been forced to seek out four new tribes as each tribe he ran to was destroyed by Summoned who saw them as something called 'Exp.'

The goblins' short-term memory had saved Bok from the anger and fear he should have felt from these traumatic events. Unfortunately, being subjected to these traumatic events in one go nearly drove the poor goblin to madness as he was overwhelmed by the negative emotions.

Outside Bok's head, Renark heart lightly accelerated as he looked at the slack-jawed, empty-eyed goblin. He knew what the goblin was going through. That girl's eyes could draw out and amplify a person's worst memories, which made their minds much easier to manipulate and read.

Unlike Bok, Renark had broken out of the illusion shortly after being subjected, but he would never forget the short horror of those few minutes. He had never experienced anything as sick or disturbing, would not wish it upon his worst enemy. But, right now, they needed information to chase down Durst. He could not allow Durst to live, or everything he had worked for could be jeopardized.

Meanwhile, Bok, who was forced to repeatedly relive the worst moments of his life let out a soundless cry for anyone or anything to save him, to help him. But there were no replies to his pleas. The goblin desperately prayed, calling out to any gods who might be listening to please save him, but the continued torture proved no one was listening to his pleas for help.

Eventually, the torture proved far too much for the goblin whose mental fortitude had never been too strong, to begin with. Bok felt his sanity shatter, which finally allowed Honne Onna free access to his brain. The young woman quickly sifted through the goblins shattered psyche for the part relevant to their mission.

Honne Onna found the memory related to Rudega and pulled it out of the goblin's mind. Her eyes returned to normal, and she rose to her feet as Bok dropped to the ground in a near comatose state. Honne Onne ignored the goblin and chanted a spell. A few seconds later, she raised her hands, and a mandala appeared on the ground. A three-dimension playback of Rudega's motions as he opened the door appeared above the mandala, causing Uthman's eyes to bulge in shock.

Renark who had seen this once before gripped his arms, as he was once again floored by the strange abilities of the members of the Winterleaf Clan. He had met three of the five generals, and each one possessed uncanny abilities he could not wrap his head around. If one were not aware of these skills, they would end up dead before the fight even started.

Honne Onna did not care what effects her skill had on the onlookers. She looked at Uthman and asked. "Is that enough? Can you open the door?"

Uthman's eyes narrowed as he looked at the image. Although Rudega looked injured and ragged, he could see that the dwarf was in full control of his actions. His motions did not seem rushed or panicked. But he could not be sure if this was because Rudega was truly fine, or if it was the dwarf's unwavering attitude in the face of danger. The image did not have anyone else in frame, so it was difficult to tell if Rudega was alone, came with allies or was forced here by enemies.

Uthman glanced at Bok with regret. He should have confirmed the state Rudega arrived in, but that information was impossible to get in its current state. The dwarf really hated the current circumstances. He could force himself to give up his life if he could confirm Rudega's well-being. But what if Rudega was indeed in danger? Wouldn't he have given up his life for nothing?

As someone who cherished his little life as much as Uthman did, this was an unacceptable trade-off.

Uthman took a deep breath as his internal debate came to an end. He looked at Honne Onna and confirmed, "Yes, I can open it. But I'll have to follow if you don't want to get lost in the underground mazes."

Honna Onna's lips curled up in a knowing smile. "Smart way to preserve your life a little longer. Let's go then. We do not want those fools to escape."

Uthman shivered and nodded. He glanced at Bok then shook his head and walked toward the house with the tunnel.

Renark looked and Bok and moved to lift up the unconscious goblin. Grab! The orc's eyes narrowed as he glared at the owner of the armored hand that had grabbed his. "Grizzly. What do you think you're doing?"

"I need this goblin." Grizzlydiamond flashed a toothy grin. "I'm only a few points away from a level up. He should do just fine."

Renark's eyes narrowed. "He's too weak to have any bearing on your strength. Besides, we gave our word we wouldn't harm him as long as he cooperated."

"You gave your word," Grizzlydiamond said as he tightened his grip. "That's meaningless to me. Also, if one goblin is useless, one-hundred should be enough right?"

"I will not have you make a mockery of the orc's honor," Renark stated as he wrenched his arm from Grizzlydiamond's grip. "You will leave the village alone."

"And if I don't?" Grizzlydiamond threatened as he squared up against Renark. The warrior's eyes suddenly turned into slits as a low guttural growl escaped his throat.

Renark's eyes flashed, and he instinctively reached for his ax, but just as his fingers brushed his ax, his entire body grew shuddered as he felt pressure like anything he had ever faced. It felt like the eyes of an ancient demon had locked onto him and would judge the merit of his existence based on his next action.

Renark trembled as he looked at two silhouettes on the horizon. The pressure he felt originated from the one on the left. The duo came into view after a few seconds and revealed themselves to be the beautiful wisben Guildleader of the Winterleaf Clan, Brilith Loneheart and her personal bodyguard, Roro.

Brilith coldly looked down at Renark from her elk. Her gaze held the impunity and disdain of the noble families who knew they were born superior to the common folk. "Do you want to risk the lives of your men over a mere goblin? If that's the case, feel free to pull your ax."

Brilith's beautiful voice sounded like the alluring songs of a siren to the orc chieftain's ears. He had no doubt that if he did as she said, everyone in the town would end up dead.

"There is no reason to needlessly shed blood," Renark said as he brought his clenched fists to his side.

"Wise choice." Brilith praised as she dismounted. She looked at Renark and said, "Honne-chan's briefed me on the situation. Let's go see if the dwarf was successful shall we?"

Renark stiffly nodded, then led the way to the house. He looked over his shoulder and grimaced as he watched Grizzlydiamond unceremoniously pick up Bok like a piece of luggage. The orc shook his head then pushed the goblin's fate out of his mind.

Grizzlydiamond, meanwhile, carried the unconscious Bok to the street where the remaining goblins were corralled. He tossed Bok into the group of goblins and ignored the resulting panicked cries and shouts. He ordered the orcs to push the goblins as close together as possible.

The goblins only numbered about 100 in total, babies and children included, so they did not occupy too much space when they were tightly squished next to each other.

Grizzlydiamond nodded in satisfaction and took out a greatsword from his inventory. He channeled his ki into the sword then flung it into the sky. The sword hovered over the circle of goblins, then with a flick of his fingers, the blade crashed into the earth with the force of a piledriver. The resulting ki explosion instantly blasted every goblin to pieces.

The orcs who were in charge of corralling the goblins also suffered slight injuries, but it was the kind that would heal after a few minutes. Grizzlydiamond had expertly contained the explosion, so it only erupted within a small zone.

A level-up prompt brought a smile to the warrior's face. He did not spare a glance at the few corpses that did were not sent directly to the circle as he retrieved his sword and walked to the house with the basement.

When Grizzlydiamond walked into the basement, he found the rest waiting for him as Ulthman had successfully opened the door. The tank grinned as he and Renark led the way into the tunnel with Ulthman behind them for directions. The rest followed behind the dwarf into the dark unknown.

Meanwhile, back on the surface, a finger twitched amongst the pile of corpses.

SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATREON STARS:

Residents: Andrew Maurer, Eli Calabria, Rusty Reaper, Cobalt_Storm, Eli Romero, Niyeban, Sarah Kinkade, Gamma2626, Sven Buchheit, GodSpeed99,

Adventurers: Hyproxy, Merlin252, Michael Barton, OlusholaAbidakun, Mental_Napalm, Jamie Ibarra, Adam Whitman

Warriors: Caleb Ian Melton, Ragnaf, Cullen M Brewer,

The High Council: Sly, Jacob Morgan, Antinium, StrikerPrince, Thund3rTank, Facemaster, Luke Koschel

You Guys are the Best!!!

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A/N: Hi Guys! I know I set today as the release date for the publication, but someone offered to edit the entire book for free last minute, and how could I say no to that! I prefer to send out the book in its best version possible, so I've temporarily pushed the release for a bit. I should have more concrete information as to when it will be available soon.