Thump!
Lyle raised the iron sword in his hand to block in front of him. The sharp, dark gray cold light collided with the iron sword, producing a muffled thud.
Creak—creak!
After a brief collision, the blade of the iron sword chipped in several places.
The heavy force also numbed Lyle's arms.
The silver-white figure seemed surprised that its attack had been caught and stopped attacking.
Taking advantage of this gap,
Lyle quickly retreated, creating distance. He glanced at the deep chips on the iron sword, his eyelids twitching.
"I thought those annoying ogres had trespassed onto my territory again."
"I didn't expect it to be you, a human, controlling them. You must be a magic caster, right? To actually be able to withstand my previous attack."
A cold, curious voice sounded.
Lyle looked up at the figure directly in front of him, his eyelids twitching again.
This was a monster with silver-white fur all over its body, standing over two meters tall, and indeed somewhat resembling a hamster.
But it was completely different from the cute image in anime!
Its thick forelimbs hung casually at its sides, and each finger extended into a gray-black, sharp claw over a meter long.
There were still bits of ogre flesh clinging to them.
Most striking of all!
Was its tail, which swayed like a long snake behind its body, covered in snake scales, and reached a length of 20 meters.
Between its silver-white fur, faint silver magical patterns flickered from time to time.
At a glance,
It gave off an inexplicable sense of shock and terror.
Perhaps in the Bone King's eyes, the Forest Sage, Jiralnong, was indeed a cute monster. But at this moment, in Lyle's eyes, it had no connection whatsoever to the word "cute."
"Do you feel fear and awe at my magnificent appearance?"
The Forest Sage, Jiralnong, seeing Lyle staring at him in a daze, seemed a bit smug. He seemed to have not communicated with other creatures for too long, appearing somewhat garrulous:
"Hahaha, you feel fear and surprise, don't you?"
"Seeing you so scared you can't speak, then as an intruder into my territory, I can grant you a painless death."
"Just obediently become food for my belly."
Hearing the garrulous voice of the Forest Sage, Jiralnong,
Lyle exhaled lightly and casually dropped the iron sword in his hand to the ground.
"Oh, have you even given up resisting?"
"I thought someone who could withstand my attack would be a human strongman with some ability to resist."
The Forest Sage, Jiralnong, seemed a little disappointed.
"I'm just changing swords." Lyle reached for his waist, and an iron sword reappeared in his hand. "Speaking of which, you're really garrulous."
"Garrulous?"
"What does that mean? Is it a unique phrase among you humans? It doesn't sound like a compliment, though."
The Forest Sage, Jiralnong's black beast-like eyes turned cold: "I'd better turn you into food quickly. A human strongman like you should taste better."
Thump!
The Forest Sage, Jiralnong, moved, charging forward in one breath. Its enormous body pounced down, carrying a fierce gust of wind.
"Dark Wave!"
Lyle's eyes flashed, and he let out a low shout.
A dark, black energy wave rapidly spread outwards from Lyle, sweeping over the charging Forest Sage, Jiralnong.
The massive figure suddenly paused, freezing in place.
However,
Unlike those who had previously suffered Dark Wave attacks, although the Forest Sage, Jiralnong's body became somewhat stiff,
There was no blank expression in his eyes.
"This—what is this?" The Forest Sage, Jiralnong's voice held a hint of bewilderment.
"The negative status of fear didn't work?"
This thought flashed through Lyle's mind, but his actions were not hesitant in the slightest. He stepped forward, leaning in, and fiercely swung the iron sword in his hand:
"Quick Slash!"
The iron sword cut through the air and fiercely struck its chest, triggering double curse damage.
A small piece of silver fur was cut off.
Lyle's eyes froze when he saw that his attack hadn't even broken the skin of the Forest Sage, Jiralnong.
This defense is too exaggerated!
The attack power of this strike was definitely his strongest offensive method at the moment.
Body Armor's defensive ability!
This thought quickly flashed through Lyle's mind. This belonged to its innate passive ability.
Boom!
As the attack ended, the Forest Sage, Jiralnong, recovered from its restricted movement status and immediately retreated quickly, a hint of panic in his beast-like eyes.
Clearly, the previous state had startled him.
"What did you just do to me, you despicable human!" The Forest Sage, Jiralnong's relaxed tone vanished, becoming somewhat fierce.
Only after noticing that he hadn't sustained any damage did his tense expression relax.
"Damn it!"
"You're not the only one with such abilities."
The Forest Sage, Jiralnong, let out a loud cry, and a small magic circle-shaped rune appeared on his body:
"All-Species Charm!"
Facing the mental control magic released by his opponent,
"Undying Spirit!"
Lyle's serious expression relaxed, and he immediately cast a spell.
According to the light novel version, because the Forest Sage, Jiralnong, lacked the talent of a magic caster, the "All-Species Charm" he released would be very weak, only capable of controlling small animals.
But reality is reality.
Lyle wouldn't gamble on its authenticity, and at the same time, he looked at his status panel, a thought stirring.
[Skill Points: 39 → 38]
Skill: All-Species Charm (Tier 4)
Cost: 20 MP
Description: Can cast a charming mental control effect on any species.
Acquired!
Among the opponents he had encountered before, whether it was Kagitt of Jiralnong or the forest gnome, both used the "Human-Species Charm" spell.
The reason he hadn't learned it was, of course, because he was eyeing this higher-tier and all-encompassing charm magic.
This was also Lyle's purpose in forcing out the Forest Sage, Jiralnong. The only thing he hadn't expected was that he couldn't even break his defense.
"Retreat first."
Lyle quickly retreated, grabbed the Imp and chanted softly: "Flight!"
Blue magic power quickly enveloped his entire body.
Lyle ascended into the air in the blink of an eye, swiftly flying towards the sky.
"You come down here!"
"You bastard human!"
The Forest Sage, Jiralnong, also reacted at this moment and quickly swung his tail, striking towards Lyle in the sky, but he was ultimately a beat too slow.
The length of his tail was no longer enough to reach Lyle, who had flown above the forest.
Angry roars echoed from the jungle below.
Lyle hovered in mid-air, looking down at the silver-white figure in the jungle below, which was scurrying around in the dense trees but was utterly helpless.
This was the advantage of skills when dealing with different situations.
Lyle exhaled, then looked up to confirm the eastern direction of the Tob Forest, and flew eastward with the Imp.
The rustling wind constantly brushed past his ears.
Looking down at the vast, lush jungle below, and the boundless blue sky, especially with his entire body bathed in sunlight,
This feeling of freedom and novelty gave Lyle an indescribable sense of liberation.
"The changes brought by extraordinary power are indeed intoxicating, making this world feel even more real." Lyle sighed, recalling the battle process just now, and his arrogant mood dissipated:
"I didn't expect the Forest Sage, Jiralnong, to be so difficult to deal with."
From the very beginning, the Forest Sage, Jiralnong, had not used his full strength. Lyle could clearly feel that he had always been in a playful mood.
Yet even so, in terms of speed and strength, the level he displayed was much higher than his own, especially his exaggerated defensive power.
"With the skill in hand, the next plan should work."
Lyle flew quickly through the air, arriving above the eastern area of the Tob Forest,
Using the height from the air, he looked down at a conspicuous "forest fissure" deep within the jungle below.
If the Great Goblin Agru was not mistaken in his description, that was the territory of another forest ruler, the Ogre Ancient.
Note:
Happy Lunar New Year 2026!
First of all, I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for always being by my side and supporting me throughout this journey.
To ensure the quality of upcoming stories, I've decided to take a week off during the Lunar New Year (February 15th to 22nd) to rest and spend time with my family.
I will return on February 23rd, 2026. During this break, I will prepare many new chapters to post regularly upon my return. So please look forward to it!
Wishing you a warm, joyful, and wonderful holiday season!