Chapter 262: Oath (1/2)

Old Man Lightning combed his beard, pleased. ”That's a good decision, Gravis,” he said with a smile.

Gravis nodded. ”It's hard finding high-grade Spirit Beasts that actually want to fight. After all, they have reached the end of their cultivation journey. Why would they want to temper themselves then? Yet, this Ogre seems to be different, at least by what I have read about it. Apparently, it's making a lot of troubles for everyone.”

Old Man Lightning nodded. ”Yes. It's called the Ogre due to its similarities to the mythological creature. In actuality, it's just some big ape or gorilla. I haven't seen it myself, so I don't know.”

Gravis lifted an eyebrow. ”I was wondering about that name. So, there's some mythological creature called Ogre?” he asked.

Old Man Lightning scratched his chin. ”Well, calling it mythological might be a hyperbole. As far as I know, we once had those creatures.”

”And I'm guessing we don't anymore?” Gravis asked.

Old Man Lightning nodded. ”Yep. The Ogres were a species of big, hairy, human-like brutes. I think they could be counted as a mixture between a human and a beast.”

Both of Gravis' eyebrows lifted. ”A mixture of human and beast? How would that even work?” he asked.

Old Man Lightning rubbed his beard in thought. ”It's hard to explain. Anatomically, they were pure beasts, yet surprisingly enough, they managed to mate with humans. That's why they were so peculiar.”

Gravis put his hand on his chin in thought. ”Mate with humans as a beast? I didn't know that was even possible.”

Old Man Lightning shrugged. ”Well, it isn't anymore. We, humans, like having beasts due to the potential tempering we get from fighting them. That's why the beasts still exist, even though we could probably eradicate them. But those Ogres went too far. You should know how something as simple as a beast reacts if it finds a weaker mate.”

Gravis furrowed his brows. ”It will just take the mate and do whatever it wants with them,” he said.

Old Man Lightning nodded. ”Exactly! The issue was that Ogres were smarter than normal beasts but dumber than humans. This allowed them to learn about the concept of unnecessary cruelty. Beasts normally only fight to survive or grow, but the Ogres fought and played with way weaker victims just to pass the time. Unfortunately, they were too stupid to see the bigger picture. After many years, the humans were fed up with the Ogres and just eradicated them.”

Gravis nodded. ”Makes sense. And this Ogre is not an actual Ogre, right?”

Old Man Lightning waved his hand with dismissal. ”Nah. It's just some ape that seems to have too much fun with flaunting its power. As far as I know, it just runs around, shouts, and beats everything up it sees. I guess that is kind of its hobby.”

”How long has it been doing this?” Gravis asked.

Old Man Lightning hummed. ”I think for a little more than 70 years or something.”

Gravis lifted an eyebrow. ”That's pretty long. How come it is still alive even though it's basically provoking every living thing in its surroundings?”

Old Man Lightning smirked. ”That's because it occupies the perfect spot.”

”Could you explain?” Gravis asked.

”Well, Quake City is the main city belonging to the Earth Sect. The only humans the Ogre is annoying, are people from the Earth Sect. Therefore, no other Sect would send their people to hunt it. After all, a high-grade Spirit Beast is something that only a Sect Master can take on, and that not even reliably. It's a big risk to hunt such a powerful beast. So, in all these years, the Ogre only fought people from the Earth Sect.”

A small glimmer of realization appeared in Graivs' eyes. ”And since the Earth Sect fights very defensively, the Ogre can just run away as soon as it sees itself in danger. After all, earth cultivators are the slowest of all.”