"You’re heading into a dangerous place, aren’t you?"

A soft voice cut through the evening silence, and Ethan shuddered at the sound of it.

He had spent the last few hours going over every detail of the operation with Doran, and now he stood at the front door of his mansion.

His eyes followed the snow falling gently, each flake glistening with golden light reflected from the setting sun.

It was Alice, and her tone carried a hint of discontent.

"Yes." Ethan didn’t lie. He pulled one of the scrolls from his pocket and handed it to her.

A few months ago, Alice would have been confused by the object, but the woman before him now possessed a much broader knowledge of magic.

After all, she had delved deeply into the writings of one of the greatest mages who had ever existed in that world.

That was a teleportation scroll. And a very powerful one.

"I’ve already arranged everything with Doran. We plan to infiltrate both the orc camp and the remaining goblin camp, gather all the prisoners, and then use these scrolls to escape."

Honestly, Ethan had a hard time dealing with Alice in moments like this.

Evelyn worried a lot, but she had complete confidence in him.

Elena worried a lot, but she was a natural leader and understood the risks of these missions.

His sweet Alice, however, was different. She worried too much, and whenever he set out on something like this, she simply couldn’t sleep.

It wasn’t a lack of trust in him. It was that she had already lost too much.

What would become of her if she lost Ethan too?

"Just the two of you?" Alice asked, her voice trembling.

"Yes. I’ll infiltrate the orc camp and he’ll take care of the goblin one. The guard is already ready to receive us.

We’ll just go in, use the scrolls, and get out with all the prisoners. Even if we’re discovered, I’m sure the two of us will manage to escape in time."

"Hm..."

Alice handed the scroll back to Ethan. She stepped forward and hugged him, pressing her face against his firm chest.

She could think of a thousand reasons to stop him from going, but she knew her husband all too well.

He would go. And he would come back alive.

"I won’t sleep until you’re back..."

Ethan smiled at her words. He leaned down and kissed her, feeling the warmth of her lips against his.

When they parted, his hand came down hard on that juicy ass with a sharp, ringing crack.

He kept his hand there, fingers sinking deep into the warm, supple curve as he pressed her against him even harder.

Her full, pale tits squashed against his chest, the soft, heavy mounds molding around the hard wall of his pecs, her stiff nipples poking through the thin fabric of her dress.

A soft, breathy whimper escaped Alice’s lips, the sting of the slap burning hot across her skin.

"As soon as we get rid of that damn Alistair, we’re going to make a beautiful baby, okay?"

Alice nodded, her face flushed and her eyes shining. In silence, she watched Ethan leave.

Under the veil of dusk, two third-stage warriors left Goldenveil.

At first, they traveled together. Soon, however, they parted ways.

Ethan headed toward the orc camp at top speed, not worrying about depleting his mana reserves.

His body moved at twice the speed of the fastest athletes on Earth, the landscape blurring around him as he advanced.

In less than an hour of running like that, and using up about twenty percent of his aura, he reached his target.

Luckily, it was a moonless night. Ahead of him lay total darkness, broken only by the icy wind cutting across his face and the distant crackle of torches.

That place was very different from the goblin camp.

The walls rose much higher, and the open gates were guarded by two powerful orcs.

Each weighed over one hundred and fifty kilograms of pure muscle, both at the second stage, their yellowish fangs glinting in the darkness.

Ethan merely observed them coldly before ignoring them, walking around the camp until he reached a more secluded area.

Normally, these camps kept their prisoners in huge, dark, remote cages. Hundreds of people crammed into a single place, surviving on the bare minimum of food.

Given the size of such a cage, it didn’t take Ethan long to locate it.

He jumped the wall with ease and hid behind one of the many orc huts.

There was only one orc guarding the place, relaxed and sleepy, leaning against the cage gate.

Ethan wanted to kill him right there, but he knew the smell of blood would attract other orcs immediately.

With a stifled grunt, he simply waited a few more minutes. Soon, summoned somewhere, the orc departed, dragging his heavy feet across the hard-packed earth.

’This is my chance!’

Ethan didn’t hesitate. He ran toward the cage and, with brute force, broke the lock, the metal giving way with a muffled snap.

Hundreds of eyes fell upon him. Sighs laden with terror and anxiety rose into the air, gaunt faces turning toward his silhouette.

He didn’t count how many were there; he simply commanded in a low but firm voice. "Hold each other’s hands, and then hold mine. If you don’t want to die, be quiet."

The human prisoners didn’t hesitate, clinging to one another immediately. At the same time, they pushed the outnumbered elves and dwarves aside, isolating them in the corner.

"Everyone." Ethan released a faint murderous intent toward the humans.

They didn’t hesitate this time, joining hands with the other races as well, their terror overcoming anything else.

With a soft sigh, Ethan closed his eyes. Holding the scroll in his hand, he mentally located Goldenveil.

When his eyes opened, he tore the scroll. A golden light engulfed everyone there, and then they vanished.

Not a single trace was left behind.

A few minutes later, the same guard who had been watching over the prisoners returned with a smile on his face. At his side came the tribal chief’s personal cook.

Both were happy, for today their chief had given permission to begin slaughtering the humans.

They had plenty of other types of meat in stock, but none, in their eyes, surpassed human flesh.

Well, that happiness didn’t last long.

The cook, already sharpening his rusty cleaver, froze the moment he reached the spot where the prisoners were supposed to be.

His eyes fixed on the empty cage. Slowly, they turned toward the guard, whose face was filled with pure terror.

The orc had no time to react.

The chieftain’s cleaver sank into his skull with a wet, cracking crunch and his powerful, heavy body crumpled to the ground with a dull thud.

"WRAAGH!"

A roar full of hatred echoed through the night, and the entire orc camp awoke.

More than a thousand creatures, even the shortest of them over seven feet tall, screamed in rage. The ground trembled beneath stamping feet, guttural snarls rising from every corner of the camp.