Chapter 195 - Ghosts (4)

Luke and the others began to chase the ghost-like creature through the forest while keeping a certain distance. It was their only option in order to find what happened with the elves that were supposed to be that in that fore. Even in the darkness of the night, that creature's color stood out like a sore thumb, so their risk of losing it was quite low.

"Now it makes sense why they only attack at night… during the day, that glow that they emitted would be even more obvious," Shalia said.

"They are quite at the high level, but it seems that some conditions must be met for them to be able to use their abilities on others," Luke said. "In any case, for this type of creature to be here… are they allies with the frozen mammoths?"

Luke was starting to think that another overlord was in the area… still, if their goal was to find Rina, they should have started looking on Earth. It probably would be easy to get information from those who had been brainwashed. Regardless, instead of moving away from the forest, the creature was heading to its center.

"I suppose their leader noticed that we were nearby after we killed some of the mammoths," Rina said.

"There is also the possibility that all the snow that I melted warned them… it is hard to tell," Luke said.

Since the monster didn't have to run, it wasn't getting tired. Meanwhile, Luke and Rina would get tired due to the terrain, weather conditions and the fact that they left Pilaswine behind since she wasn't exactly quiet when they moved. Fortunately, after just two hours, they found the enemy base. It was another weird structure that resembled an ice castle, another… for some reason, the ghost flew above the walls instead of just passing through it. Luke and Rina also stopped when they saw that the walls were manned even in that desolate place and in the middle of the night…

"They are there…" Rina said and then bit her lips when she recognized the figures above the walls.

Luke tried to use Appraisal but the skill didn't work since he couldn't see the enemies clearly. While Rina confirmed that the people they came to rescue were there, Luke wanted to confirm if there was something weird with their status. He will have to get closer…

"Another overlord… One that uses monsters and brainwash people to do their bidding," Luke said. "I suppose they are a bit better than the one who wanted to use the elf seeds to strengthen his arm."

"They are all trash…" Rina said, visibly pissed.

"I never faced enemies that can brainwash people, but there is the possibility that just killing their master won't dispel the brainwash," Shalia said.

Luke was aware of that, but he was hoping that things will end simply once the big boss falls. Things already will be messy enough by facing the overlord without killing the elves that will certainly get in the way, after all.

"Leave it to me, I can learn Dispel," Rina said. "It is a skill that cancels the effects of buffs, debuffs, positive and negative effects. I was hesitant to buy it since it is quite expensive, but now I won't hesitate."

"Well, it already passed the time where the shop was working, so we will have to wait until tomorrow," Luke said.

"But…" Rina insisted.

"Do you want to risk the well being of your followers by being reckless?" Luke asked.

Rina realized that Luke had a point, although he said that like he was worried about the elves, he was also considering the fact that he had miscalculated. One week had passed and he still didn't have enough coins to check the tier 10 skills. Against an enemy that they didn't know a single thing, and the fact that they will have to fight three hundred elves without having to kill them, Luke will need all the help he can get. 

"Maybe the overlord will run away while we wait…" Shalia said in order to irritate Rina even more. 

"They didn't show up even though we invaded their territory and killed many of their monsters… I doubt that they will leave just because we arrived," Luke said. "Anyway, the ghosts were a bit different from what I expected, one of them showed fear of death and ran away. Their intelligence level isn't low, so the survivor will probably inform their leader about us."

Luke didn't know if the overlord would leave its castle or move it to smash them, but it worked better for Luke if they fight outside the castle. In any case, Luke's group left the area and Shalia worked to get rid of their footsteps in the snow.

It was almost morning when Luke and the others returned where they left the Pilaswine and there were no signs of monsters moving toward them. Still, Luke decided to leave the forest and rest during the day inside in a pile of snow that could be easily mistaken as a frozen mammoth. From his home, he had taken some thick blankets and some pillows. Thanks to that, he has been sleeping well lately. However, it didn't seem like Rina was going to sleep. For several minutes, Luke heard the sound of her biting her nails.

"I suppose you are going to leave all the work to me later… I can't see you being able to do much if you don't rest properly while you can," Luke said.

"... I am sorry for disturbing you, but the possibility that I will have to fight my own brethren is more than a little bit disturbing," Rina said.

"Yeah, I know. You are their queen and all that, you have responsibilities toward them," Luke said. "Still, getting endlessly worried… that helped until now?"

Rina could understand where Luke was coming from, but things weren't that simple… while she didn't share that with anyone, the possibility of her being the last leader of her race terrified her.