Chapter 590

Chapter 590: Deep Into the Ancient City

The ancient tree moved quickly, and a few people knew it patrolled back and forth here. They didn’t know how long it would take to come back, so the group quickly climbed up to the high platform from the side of the path.

After walking to the west for a while, Vereesa heard some noise ahead and signaled for the group to stick close to the city wall.

After quieting down and listening carefully, they realized it was the sound of someone breathing heavily.

Vereesa put an arrow on her bow and slowly circled around a stone pillar in front. Suddenly, she stepped out and pulled the bowstring tight, aiming it behind the pillar. A deep voice from behind exclaimed, "Don’t aim your arrow at me!"

The speaker spoke in a common language. An almost three-meter tall ogre with dark gray skin, towering a head taller than Mosa, walked out and said, "The walking tree is over there, don’t move!"

This ogre looked simple-minded and a bit cross-eyed. He didn’t seem very afraid of Jesse and the others, just constantly looking towards the main gate. After a while, he said again, "The big tree is coming this way again! Oh dear!"

Vereesa aimed her bow at his head and asked, "Why are you hiding here?"

"Kulak isn’t hiding, Kulak is waiting for you!"

They could tell that this ogre was trying to speak quietly, but his voice was still booming.

"Wait for us?" Jesse asked, "Do you know we are coming?"

"Aren’t you gladiators?" Ogre asked.

Jesse and Greed looked at each other. They had planned to dress up nicely, but now they didn’t say anything as Ogre believed them without them needing to explain.

"Of course," Greed quickly said, "How do we get inside to join the competition?"

"The big tree walks around, no competition!" Ogre said, "The king asked me to wait for the gladiators to help you find the way. The tree will sleep for more than ten days, and when the tree sleeps, the competition will begin!"

"Why don’t you take care of this tree?" Greed asked.

"Take care of?" Ogre chuckled, "Take care of the tree!"

"Kill, defeat, bring down," Greed added quickly, as Ogre seemed to not fully understand what taking care of meant.

"Kill the tree, we won’t, but reward! Gold coins, treasures, King Gordok!" Ogre seemed somewhat excited, beginning a series of jumping words.

Greed seemed to have an idea, but before he could say anything, Jesse stopped him and said, "No need, Greed. Do you want to help these Ogres take over this city quickly? Don’t forget who they used to be with."

After Jesse said that, Greed finally understood and said, "Tribe."

"We’re here to compete, not to be mercenaries for hire," Jesse said to the Ogres. "Take us gladiators in, Kulak."

"Kulak is willing to serve, Kulak is willing to help, Long live Gorduni! Long live King Gordok!" The Ogres chuckled and turned to squeeze through a crack in the stone wall.

Vereesa watched the Ogre easily slip through the crack, his dirty and bulky body scraping against the wall, causing a pile of dust and debris to fall. She frowned and followed him inside.

The Ogre, with its massive body, led the way, while Jesse and their group followed behind, entering through the outer city wall into a huge passage sandwiched between two walls. Looking up, under the shade of giant trees, the silver walls and old stone beams intertwined, creating a prison-like atmosphere that trapped everything inside.

Tattered purple flags with unclear patterns hung quietly on the beams, resembling more like scraps of cloth hanging like dangling bodies, giving an eerie feeling.

The Ogre walked confidently, knowing all the cracks and even the tunnels with ease, without hesitating at any junction.

"Why do Ogres hold arena matches to make money?" Greed asked.

"Maybe we can buy things from the goblins," Jesse tried to answer, "Good food and fun things, ogres also enjoy them, think of Booty Bay."

"King Gordok likes big houses," the ogre turned around, "Earn money to buy big houses!"

"You definitely have a lot in common with this big king, Jesse," Vereesa said with a smile.

The ogre continued, "King Gordok is offering a reward to kill the big tree! Kill the big tree, occupy the gate! King Gordok spends money to get rid of the pointy-eared kids, get rid of the pointy-eared kids!"

Vereesa’s smile disappeared instantly, the ogre turned back and said, "The pointy-eared kids have hidden, cowards!"

"If it weren’t for this fool leading us in now…" the ranger muttered something in the Sayaad Language, certainly not something good.

"The Quilboar are willing to help King Gordok build a grand palace, now only the big tree remains, kill the big tree!"

"What kind of good palace can the Quilboar build?" Greed said with a mix of laughter and tears.

Listening to the ogre rambling on about every detail of the arena, like how most gladiators live in underground tunnels, buy food from the goblins, or hunt animals outside the city to fill their stomachs, the ogre has almost taken over the north but still can’t enter some sealed gates due to magic, and so on… But he never mentioned Satyrs or demons.

Jesse guessed that at this time, Satyr may not have entered Dire Maul yet.

After passing through a narrow tunnel where Ogre had to crawl, they entered a wide square.

In the middle of the square stood a building resembling the outer wall of an ancient Roman colosseum, this old structure had already collapsed halfway, in the center surrounded by a huge pit, which was the location of the arena. Here, Jesse could already hear conversations from Ogres behind the wall, high up.

They were speaking in a strange language called Orcish, Jesse could understand some bits and pieces, or grasp the general topic of their conversation, but couldn’t comprehend the details.

Jesse was very familiar with this square, this was the location of the dungeon entrance in the game, with Dire Maul’s three entrances scattered around, known as the Dire Maul West, Dire Maul East, and Dire Maul North.

In the game, Dire Maul West is inhabited by many Highborne and elf spirits, Dire Maul East is occupied by Satyr demons, and Dire Maul North is taken over by Ogres.

"Find a place to stay, don’t cause trouble before the matches start, or else King Gordok himself will slap you!" a named Ogre called Kulak finished instructing before turning and leaving.

Greed found amusement in this statement, but when he turned around and saw a tall Ogre soldier passing by outside, he couldn’t laugh anymore.

This Ogre was definitely over three meters tall, making even Mosa look quite slender in front of him. He was covered in tattered armor pieces, some even marked with Orcish symbols, indicating that it was Orc armor repurposed. He wielded a massive wooden-handled sword that was longer than Jesse himself.

Jesse knew that the Ogre clan, known for their love of fighting challenges, must have a king who was the strongest in the entire clan, much stronger than this guard at least.

It’s not pleasant to be slapped by someone like that.