Chapter 124: Purpose and Fear

When the first ray of morning sunlight struggled to tear through the veil of night and spread over Golden Port, the sight that greeted the eyes was a scene from hell.

The smell of gunpowder, the stench of blood, and the acrid scent of burning wood mingled together, hanging over the entire city like a thick, poisonous fog.

The usual clamor was absent from the air; only sporadic screams from afar, the moans of the dying, and the crackling sound of wood being devoured by tongues of fire remained.

On the streets, all traces of former prosperity had vanished.

The facades of exquisite shops had been violently torn apart, precious goods looted clean, leaving behind shattered pottery and overturned shelves.

The muddy ground was littered with scattered weapons, blood-stained clothing, and gruesome limb fragments that sent shivers down the spine.

Several abandoned carcasses of war pigs lay in the middle of the road, their fur scorched and emitting a foul stench.

Occasionally, surviving residents crawled out from the ruins; with vacant eyes and pale faces, they wandered the streets like living corpses, futilely searching for kin or belongings.

Gao Jie Ming stood beneath the porch of the "Dawn Manor," a gentle breeze stirring his immaculate robes.

After a night of slaughter, his breathing had not faltered once, and not a speck of dust stained his person.

Before the villa, hundreds of corpses of orc and human soldiers were neatly piled into a small mountain, their dried blood appearing dark brown under the morning light.

That mountain of corpses radiated a chill of death, yet it also silently proclaimed the safety of this region.

Looking at the three orc generals beside him, bound tight like zongzi and still struggling desperately, Gao Jie Ming nodded with satisfaction:

"Not bad, not bad. I didn't expect such a pleasant surprise from you lot; my efforts were not in vain."

To launch the attack as covertly as possible and ensure its success, the orcs had sent only a small number of warriors this time, but each was an elite, and the three leading generals were all Tier Two beings.

Although Golden Port had five "Legendaries" permanently stationed there, the strength among Legendaries varied greatly.

These three orc generals were all quite strong among Tier Two practitioners; fighting two-on-one against the five weak, early-stage Tier Two Legendaries of Golden Port would pose no problem for them.

"Who... who exactly are you... and what is your purpose?!"

Broken Orcish speech came from below; looking down, one saw that an orc general had actually forced himself to tear open his own cheeks, producing sound from the side of his oral cavity.

The orc general's heart was filled with extraordinary terror; he could not comprehend this person's objective.

If he were a hidden guardian of this city, their invasion yesterday should not have proceeded so smoothly, nor should he have stood by and watched them three surround and kill Golden Port's five Legendaries.

But if he had no connection to the matter, why intervene at the final stage?

And this strength... how terrifying!

The orc general considered himself always cautious; even though his strength qualified as the peak of mortals, upon realizing something was amiss yesterday, he had immediately found his colleagues to come assist.

With the combined strength of the three of them plus the blessings bestowed by the Shaman before departure, they could have exchanged a few blows even with an angel.

Yet when facing this fellow, the two of them had been utterly powerless to fight back; clearly sensing that the other's essential life force had not yet crossed the threshold of "Legendary," why then...

Suddenly, the orc general thought of something, his pupils contracting sharply; due to excessive agitation, his torn cheeks could only emit indistinct sounds:

"Wiz... ard, you are a Wizard..."

"Oh? Such exaggerated vitality; although I knew it long ago, I cannot help but marvel every time I see it. You guessed correctly, unfortunately, no one is here to hear."

Gao Jie Ming looked down at the state of the orc general, couldn't help but utter a sigh of praise, then kicked each of the three orc generals into the manor.

The reason Gao Jie Ming did this was actually very simple: to cause the war between orcs and humans to stalemate, allowing both sides to expend more strength while simultaneously increasing their mutual hatred.

As for capturing a few experimental subjects, that was merely done as an afterthought.

Of course, he would not, and had no need to, explain these matters to the experimental subjects.

In any case, within the manor existed a Level Six Shielding Array he had purchased; considering the particularities of the Wizard system, with deliberate calculation against unintentional awareness, even the God of Gods of this world would be unable to detect any anomalies inside this manor.

Now, apart from the high command on the orc side, the only ones who truly knew the specific strength of this orc raid were the five human Legendaries who were already dead.

If both sides wanted to figure out what had happened, they could just keep fighting slowly!

In the distance, the castles and manors of the noble district either billowed thick smoke or appeared precarious amidst faint firelight.

But most of them seemed merely frightened, not thoroughly breached.

Just as Gao Jie Ming calmly cleaned up the residual bloodstains around the villa, several cautious figures emerged from the alleys of the noble district.

They were the most prominent nobles of Golden Port, wearing somewhat disheveled sleeping robes, draped in expensive furs, their faces bearing the terror and exhaustion of those who had survived a disaster.

Their soldiers cleared the way ahead, weapons in hand, every step taken as if facing a great enemy.

Last night, their lives had hung by a thread, yet unexpectedly, those orcs seemed to receive some signal and departed one after another toward this area.

This greatly reduced the pressure on them, allowing them to hold out until morning.

"Look! It is Baron Garcia's villa!" a steward trembled, pointing in Gao Jie Ming's direction, "There... there is no firelight there!"

As they tremblingly approached the "Dawn Manor," everyone involuntarily halted their steps, gasping in shock.

What met their eyes was not the devastation of a looted scene, but that mountain of piled corpses, and beside the corpses, that young figure standing silent as a statue—"Jack."

"This... this is impossible!" an earl with graying hair whispered in a lost voice, his legs going somewhat soft.

Last night, hiding in airtight cellars, listening to the earth-shaking shouts and screams outside, they had believed the end of their families had arrived.

They knew the ferocity of those orc vanguard troops, knew of the collapse of Golden Port's defenses, and understood clearly the strength of the invaders.

Yet, the fact before their eyes told them that this young man had, by his own power alone, repelled so many invaders!

"Lord Jack!" The first to react was that baron so fat he oiled.

Disregarding noble dignity, he rushed forward, his knees giving way with a "thump" as he knelt on the ground, his obese body trembling incessantly:

"Thank you for your mercy! Thank you for your... unparalleled valor! Had Your Lordship not acted, we would likely all have perished in the sea of fire!"

The other nobles also quickly realized the situation, immediately following suit to kneel, bow, or bend low, their postures humble to the extreme.

After last night's experience, these nobles were truly terrified.

For the first time, they clearly recognized the meaning represented by "power."

"My Lord, you are the Guardian Deity of Golden Port! My family vows to serve you for generations!"

"By the Gods above! Your power is like a God of War descending upon the mortal realm!"

All manner of flattering words were thrown out as if they cost nothing; these nobles, usually high and mighty, now acted like a group of humble servants, striving desperately to curry favor with Gao Jie Ming.

They did not even dare to look directly into Gao Jie Ming's eyes, fearing they might anger this powerhouse whom they now regarded as a "devil."

Gao Jie Ming merely watched them calmly, his expression unreadable.

"No need for excessive courtesy; you had best pack your things quickly," Gao Jie Ming stated coldly, his voice low yet compelling every noble to cease their flattery and feel a surge of awe.

The brief ecstasy and gratitude soon faded, replaced by even greater fear and despair.

These nobles were not ignorant of worldly affairs.

They quickly sobered from the "temporary safety" Gao Jie Ming had provided, realizing a deeper crisis loomed.

"Everyone, although we are temporarily safe... this is merely temporary," the Earl said, his face pale and voice trembling as he broke the short silence. "Last night's attack was absolutely not the Orcs' full strength! That was merely the vanguard, their signal that the peace treaty has been torn apart!"

"Exactly!" another Viscount chimed in with a trembling voice. "The Orcs launched an unannounced assault under cover of night! Golden Port's defenses are utterly fragile! We have lost the City Guard and the Command Headquarters... this city cannot be held!"

Panic spread rapidly among the nobles, who exchanged desperate glances.

"We must leave this place!"

"To the capital! Only the capital can withstand the Orc army!"

"But... but even riding fast horses, the journey from here to the capital takes at least seven days! The wilderness along the way is rampant with magical beasts, and since the Orcs have already torn up the treaty, they have likely set up ambushes on the route to the capital!"

"Our private troops..." The Baron looked at the guards beside him who were still shivering, his face filled with despair. "They could not even withstand last night's attack; how could they possibly escort us through a battlefield?"

The entire noble group plunged into unprecedented chaos and anxiety.

Watching helplessly as their wealth and lives hung in the balance, this sense of powerlessness brought them to the brink of collapse.

"Quick! Go pack! Take everything that can be carried! The faster, the better!"

"Carriages! Prepare more carriages!"

"Gems! Stuff them all into boxes! Don't worry about those bulky gold and silver items!"

In an instant, outside the "Manor of Dawn," the nobles' retinues scattered like a disturbed beehive, rushing home to busy themselves.

They ordered their servants to stuff the most valuable jewels, rare magical materials, long-inherited books and scrolls, and even artworks symbolizing family status into sturdy crates, then load them onto their magnificent carriages.

The servants looked panicked, their hands covered in dust.

The meticulous noble etiquette of days past vanished completely; magnificent silk gowns were stained with mud, expensive furs were hastily wrapped, and hairstyles once carefully groomed became disheveled.

The air filled with anxious shouts, the clatter of colliding objects, and the nervous neighing of horses.

Watching all this, a faint curve lifted the corners of Gao Jie Ming's mouth.

He knew these nobles would soon voluntarily come before him again.

(Extra update today; one more chapter follows.)

(End of chapter)