The early morning Giant Dragon Mountain Range was shrouded in white mist, with a slight chill in the air, making even the breath one inhaled feel cool.

The mountain was especially tranquil, with occasional bird calls and beast roars breaking the silence.

But the brief silence that followed the sounds highlighted the tranquility even more, as if all living things had yet to awaken.

Duke walked leisurely among the mountains, as if on a stroll, with dew already dampening his clothes.

Cat Girl Nina followed obediently behind him; the complex mountain path posed no difficulty for her.

They were about two hours away from their destination. The straight-line distance wasn't far; it was just that the mountain path was somewhat winding.

Duke didn't choose to fly directly over, seeing this as a playful outing.

Shari followed behind the two of them. This wizard apprentice had the weakest constitution among them all but was still doing her best to keep up.

Bowen and Vidal guarded the rear, marking the trees along the path to prevent losing their way.

Two hours later, they arrived at the spot where Shari had found ogre droppings.

Besides the ogre droppings, there were also some ogre tracks here, indicating the frequent activity of ogres in the vicinity.

As Duke and Shari were studying the tracks on the ground, Bowen and Vidal exchanged a glance, a slight smile on their lips.

Moments later, Shari's body weakened, almost collapsing to the ground if not for Duke's quick reflex to steady her.

"Feeling a bit dizzy." Shari held her forehead, her expression revealing discomfort.

Immediately after, Cat Girl Nina also seemed unsteady on her feet, though not to the point of falling.

"As expected of a Great Knight, even after being poisoned by Hallucinogenic Grass, he acts as if nothing's happened. But even if you don't fall, do you still think you can use your Fighting Spirit?" Bowen said with a mocking grin.

The Hallucinogenic Grass-produced dispersible poison was colorless and tasteless, making it difficult to guard against.

Bowen and Vidal had already taken the antidote beforehand, so they weren't affected.

To them, the reward for this quest was insignificant; Duke, this fat sheep, was the true prize.

They noticed the cloak Duke was wearing was of significant value, seemingly made from the pelt of some powerful demon.

Not to mention, there was also the unexpected prize of a Cat Girl maid.

"Mr. Duke, you two go ahead; I'll hold them off." Shari struggled to stand, attempting to cast spells to buy Duke and the others time.

But due to the effects of the Hallucinogenic Grass, her magic was sluggish, and her spirit was hard to focus, on the verge of blacking out at any moment.

Under these circumstances, casting spells was impossible, and Shari felt both anxious and guilty.

After all, it was she who brought Duke into the team, and it was she who brought in Bowen and Vidal as well.

Now that Bowen and Vidal were clearly turning against them, if anything happened to Duke and the others, Shari would feel immensely guilty.

Duke ignored Bowen and Vidal and instead took out two White Orchid Antidote Potions, saying, "You two just drink these."

"Spatial Equipment! You've already begun using Demonized Items?" Bowen and Vidal saw Duke magically pull out two potions, a mix of fear and growing greed filling their hearts.

Upon advancing to a Great Knight, a knight's Spiritual Power would increase slightly, allowing a rare few to utilize Demonized Items.

This fact was well-known; Vivian herself had followed the path of a Wizard by becoming a Great Knight.

Bowen and Vidal would naturally not sit idly by and let Shari consume the antidote potion. Vidal immediately pulled back his long bow, an arrow speeding straight toward Duke's throat.

Shari's expression changed, but there was no time to shout a warning.

The arrow covered the distance in an instant.

However, a sudden appearance of yellow sand blocked the swiftly approaching arrow.

Not just that, but more and more yellow sand began to surround Duke's body.

"Wizard?!" Bowen and Vidal were shocked to their cores upon witnessing this, a wave of intense fear washed over them.

They never imagined that a Great Knight would also be a Wizard and seemingly a more powerful one than Shari.

Bowen and Vidal turned to flee without the slightest hesitation, not believing they could handle a Wizard who hadn't been poisoned.

The knights were fast, but the speed of the yellow sand was faster.

In an instant, Bowen and Vidal were caught and enveloped tightly by the yellow sand.

Shari, having just finished drinking the White Orchid Antidote Potion, sensed the magic aura from Duke and immediately understood, "Master Duke, are you an Official Wizard?"

Bowen and Vidal, hearing these words, were filled with regret. Had they known Duke was an Official Wizard, they wouldn't have dared indulge in greed even if given a hundred lives.

To them, an Official Wizard was a lofty figure; how could such a person possibly take on a task from the Adventurer Association?

But now it was too late for regrets; with a swift contraction of the yellow sand, two corpses lay on the ground.

Nina had never been too worried from the start, knowing Duke was an Official Wizard, so she didn't panic.

Shari, however, was different. The magical aura Duke had displayed left her deeply shaken, confirming to her that he was indeed an Official Wizard.

Having consumed the White Orchid Antidote Potion, most of the toxins in her body were neutralized, and she stood respectfully, saying, "Thank you, Master Duke!"

Duke paid no heed, considering it a trivial matter; those two had brought their doom upon themselves.

With his Immune to Hundred Poisons trait, the Hallucinogenic Grass toxin had no effect on him.

Moreover, with his inherently strong constitution, even without the trait, he wouldn't have been affected much.

Though Shari wished to say more, Duke was already moving forward.

Duke had discovered traces of the ogres and headed straight for it, the earlier incident irrelevant to him.

In the mountain terrain ahead was an ogre tribe, with a glance revealing there were likely more than a dozen adult ogres.

Duke, commanding the yellow sand, flew to the sky above this area, spotting a Two-headed Ogre, the chieftain of this ogre tribe.

His flight above the mountain terrain caught the attention of these ogres.

The foolish ogres, upon seeing Duke, failed to sense any aura from him and instead grew furious upon seeing a human intruder.

One ogre picked up an enormous stone from the ground and hurled it toward Duke.

The ogre's strength was immense; the stone soared high, but unfortunately, it hadn't gotten close to Duke before it was blocked by the Sand Guardian.

After verifying there were no other presences, Duke, riding the yellow sand, flew down, and a slaughter ensued—and ended—quickly.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.