Chapter 294

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 294: The Sparrow Behind

The Shattered Hand was the first group of slaves to break free from the Ogres. They became bloodthirsty and deranged due to the Ogre’s abuse and torture, and the fighters who went to war against the Ogres were seen as almost insane even by Orc standards.

The original traditions of the Shattered Hand Orcs have been carried on by their successors. Nowadays, the warriors of the Shattered Hand enjoy inflicting cruelty, whether on others or on themselves.

Every qualified Shattered Hand warrior must smash their left hand in a ceremony, then cut it off and replace it with a terrifying prosthetic limb, sometimes an axe, sometimes a sword, sometimes a strange weapon that is hard to identify.

The more fanatical warriors may even cut off both hands. These thugs either become the most furious and ruthless vanguards and leaders in the Shattered Hand, or quickly meet their end in their reckless zeal on the battlefield.

If one Orc has a missing hand, it may not be conclusive, as disabilities and scars are common in the tribe.

But if out of four people, three are missing their left hands, then it is undoubtedly a squad of the Shattered Hand.

As for the remaining one with both hands intact, they are likely a captive or perhaps too young to be a full-fledged "Shattered Hand" apprentice.

Jesse and Vereesa followed them, taking cover behind the rocks on the mountainside as they moved further away.

If this Shattered Hand squad is out on patrol or a mission, by following them, couldn’t they discover the hiding place of the Shattered Hand?

Jesse was surprised at how smoothly everything was going. In just one week, he found the trail of the Shattered Hand Orcs. Maybe it was because they were getting close to the Badlands, where the Orcs would send scouts to look for food and supplies.

In any case, this meant they were one step closer to their final goal.

Vereesa was also excited. Jesse felt like she had suddenly shaken off the weariness from crossing the Ashen Valley. After all, this meant that Jesse’s previous judgments were accurate, and the chances of finding the Death Knight had increased significantly.

The two of them followed the Orc squad’s tracks from afar, crossing mountains and valleys. With the ranger by his side, Jesse wasn’t worried about losing the Orcs or being spotted by them. Vereesa’s vision and tracking skills were so strong that he couldn’t understand.

After a while, Jesse gave up trying to be helpful in tracking. He couldn’t see where the Orcs were or where to go next, so he simply followed the elf.

By evening, Jesse finally relaxed his tense nerves. Their route wasn’t hard to predict – they were climbing higher and higher, possibly ready to cross a mountain at any moment.

They continued to ascend, with their path growing higher and higher. Jesse looked up and saw billowing black smoke rising from Blackrock Mountain to the west, blocking out a large part of the sky, extending to the edge of their vision.

At that moment, the Warlock Pack seemed to tremble. Was it an imp?

Vereesa was ahead, what was this demon up to?

Wait, slow down, no need for Imp’s reminder, Jesse also felt it.

"Vereesa, have you noticed…"

The elf turned around, seeming to notice something strange, looking nervous.

Almost at the same time, the two of them hid in the bushes on the side. Just a dozen seconds later, a gust of wind swept down from the mountain. Jesse felt her heart pounding.

Looking ahead, a young black dragon flew close to the mountainside, heading towards the direction the Orc left in hot pursuit.

Have they been discovered?

Jesse took out a potion of Magic Resistance and drank it, then took out an Invisibility Potion, hesitated for a moment, didn’t drink it, instead tucked it into the potion belt.

After all, if a dragon spotted them on this hillside, even if they drank the Invisibility Potion and ran, they wouldn’t be able to run far enough. The other party is flying in the sky watching from above.

Vereesa also drank a potion of Magic Resistance, Jesse then tucked a bottle of Mana Potion into the belt. He noticed that his hand holding the potion bottle was shaking slightly.

"Going down the mountain?" he asked.

"Let’s go," Vereesa said.

The two of them quickly ran downhill, Jesse held his bag tightly to prevent food and water from spilling, keeping an eye on the direction the black dragon had flown off to. Soon, dust covered their view, making it hard to see.

"You were right," Jesse said as he wrapped a scarf around his face.

"Did I really predict it accurately?" Vereesa jumped off a rock, asking, "Why was the dragon chasing those Orcs? Aren’t black dragons supposed to be allies with Orcs? Those Death Knights… damn it!"

Jesse was suddenly reminded of something.

In the game, black dragons did work with the Blackrock Clan and the Dragonmaw, but they didn’t cooperate with all Orcs in the tribe. They ignored the wandering Warsong Clan throughout the continent and didn’t bother with the Frostwolf in the north.

What about the Shattered Hand?

Suddenly, a dragon’s roar echoed from the other side of the valley, followed by a series of explosions. Vereesa immediately looked in that direction.

Even though the echoes had faded, the sound reaching here was somewhat ethereal, Jesse was very familiar with this noise.

The baby dragon was launching an attack by spitting out lava and flames, its target was likely the group of Orcs from earlier.

After all, the two of them had been following along for so long without seeing any other creatures… what other possibilities were there?

He no longer had the mind to think about why the black dragon had attacked the Shattered Hand Orcs, he only hoped that the black dragon hadn’t seen the two of them.

Although it’s not very likely.

The two entered a valley and somehow ended up in a area of broken walls, Jesse could see that these were walls in the style of dwarfs, perhaps remnants of an ancient city left here.

Vereesa had already run ahead, effortlessly leaping over collapsed stone walls and pillars.

Jesse felt like he was falling behind, his face covered, struggling to breathe, taking off the covering made him inhale dust wildly, but if he relaxed, that dragon might catch up.

Watching Vereesa run further and further ahead, he dared not shout, what if the black dragon hadn’t found them in the first place, what if he shouted and alerted it?

Thinking this, Jesse gritted his teeth and pushed harder to catch up. Just then, a shadow passed overhead.

All his previous wandering thoughts were meaningless, the black dragon had no intention of letting them go.

The sudden feeling of going from hunter to hunted made him nauseous.

Vereesa’s footsteps ahead slowed down, she drew an arrow and readied her bow, she had made up her mind.

Jesse pulled out the black staff and held it in his hand, leaning against a black wall.

Since they were being targeted, it was time to fight for their lives.