Klinger looked around the forest clearing and saw that all his men were dead.
'Shit.'
Garrick's spear was still pointing at his neck.
'I can't do anything. This old mercenary was much stronger than we thought, but what did us in was that fucking archer.'
He frowned as he looked at the three others approaching.
Garrick also looked back. 'They seem to be doing fine.'
He then looked at himself. 'I, on the other hand, am not. Those damn Wolves before did a number on me.'
"Hey Garrick. Are you okay?" William asked.
Dustin looked even more worried.
"Of course not. I keep being blindsided by new enemies. Let's get some answers out of this guys quickly and then get out of this cursed place."
The others agreed.
Garrick turned back to Klinger.
'I'm fucked. An experienced mercenary like him probably knows how to torture someone. I might be scared of Luke, but I'm not dying in this place for him.' He thought.
"Speak up. Who sent you guys?" Garrick asked.
He looked down at him with the eyes of a predator that wouldn't hesitate to do unspeakable things.
As he stared into Garrick's cold eyes, Klinger started sweating and trembling in fear for his life.
"I-It was Luke. He's the leader of the Stoneclaw Gang."
"Hm?" Garrick was only confused for a moment before putting things together.
"I see. Is this about Osric?"
William flinched. 'Osric?'
"Yes. Our boss doesn't like loosing profitable fighters. Piers The Wall was someone he personally recruited into the arena. He also bet a lot of money on him against Osric."
"Tsk. And why did he send you idiots into the forest to target me?" Garrick asked in annoyance.
"He considered you the biggest threat among those by Osric's side."
William cleared his throat. "Garrick. We need to hurry back. Osric might he in danger."
"Yeah. Just one last thing."
"You. What's your name?"
"K-klinger."
"Alright Klinger. Tell me everything important I need to know about your organization and make it quick or I'll start dismembering you."
Klinger gulped.
Garrick clearly wasn't bluffing. His killing intent even frightened those on his side.
'He's scary.' Richard thought.
'Why is he so loyal to Osric though? I heard he only recently joined him because of a lost bet.'
William looked around to observe all the dead monster and human bodies on the snowy forest ground.
'I can't waste time here.'
"Hey Garrick. Find out what you can. I'm leaving first. I can't shake off this bad feeling that Osric's life is in danger. When you're done here, forget the corpses and just go to the guild and report everything to Franklin and ask for his help."
William didn't wait for a response. This was the first time that he had ordered someone else to do something so directly.
Garrick wasn't bothered and nodded with understanding.
Dustin felt like he was currently a part of a different world, while Richard was surprised by this side of William that he hadn't seen before.
'Is that Osric really so special? I only met him once, but aside from appearing mature and smart for his age, he didn't stand out much.' Richard wondered.
Since William was already gone, he had no choice but to stay with Garrick and Dustin.
Garrick's attention was already back to Klinger.
"Why aren't you answering? Tell me everything you know."
Klinger held tightly onto his bleeding wrist.
'Fuck. If I somehow make it out of this mess, I need to leave Ashbrook before the organization catches me.'
"Fine. I won't bother with unnecessary details about the arena since you already know these things as a fighter yourself."
Garrick nodded.
"Our Stoneclaw Gang aren't actually the ones who own the arena, we just manage it along with some other underground businesses."
'I expected as much.'
"The ones in real control is House Greydell. Our gang leader is called Luke and he's extremely scary and strong, but be wouldn't have his power without the nobles behind him."
"We used to be a normal sized gang who controlled some fighting rings and gambling dens. Thanks to Luke, we started growing in size and took control of most of Lowbrook. But because of that, the Baron took notice of us."
"He only sent a single 1-Star Knight, but it was enough to bring us all to our knees. Luke was powerless and had no choice but to agree to their demands. We have been their puppets since then."
"They gave Luke a lot of money to open up the arena and grow our organization. And because of Osric, he lost a lot of money that he should've paid back to House Greydell. They probably already sent someone to give Luke shit about this whole mess."
Garrick clicked his tongue. "How the fuck does this information help me?"
"Is that all you have to say?"
Klinger was lost for words.
"I don't know what else to say."
"This was a waste of time."
"Shtk!"
Klinger's left arm left his body and dropped on the cold ground.
"Arghh!"
"That's for targeting us."
Garrick raised his spear again.
"Pah!"
The staff hit Klinger's temple and knocked him out.
He looked back at Dustin and Richard.
"Dustin. Why is your sword still out? Put it away and carry this useless piece of shit on your back. We're leaving."
"Yes!"
He crouched down. "Ugh! He's heavy."
—
At the edge of the forest, William just ran out.
"Huff."
"Huff."
'I need to warn Osric before they target him!'