Before I can go looking for something else to kill, I feel the ground tremble. Having experienced this before, I quickly hide in the roots of the nearest tree. I am expecting a t-rex or something along those lines, but what shows up is another bear.

At least, if something the size of a three-story building can be called a simple bear. As it moves towards the bear I killed, I carefully move through the roots. I do my best to keep the tree between me and the mother of all bears.

I don't wait around to see what is going to happen, I sneak away as quietly as I can. When I hear an enraged roar behind me, I break into a run and head straight for the gate. Luckily, other than the roar, the bear doesn't make any other moves.

I was expecting it to come chasing after me, so this is a pleasant surprise. Still, now that I know something like that is around, I don't feel safe hunting here. Besides, I used up most of my mana, so when I reach the gate, I head through it.

I end my meditation and then eat a couple of pizzas for lunch, but still no sign of Leonarr. I take that to mean that everything is going well so far and return to meditating. I use my meditation room to watch some anime while I wait for my mana to refill.

Just as I am thinking about returning to the hallway the door opens and Leonarr comes in. He reports that a noble estate has been found that contains several hundred slaves. The problem is that the estate is built like a fortress and the combat team hasn't found a way inside.

That means the only option is for them to force their way in, which would result in casualties. This is exactly the kind of situation where I can be of the most use. So I get the exact location from Leonarr and then tell him that I will handle it.

"Myria, I will be leaving the fort for a bit."

Myria says "Ash?! How are you talking inside my head?!"

"Telepathy. It is enchanted into the choker."

Myria says "Does that mean you can read my mind?!"

"No. Why is that always the first question?"

Myria says "Because privacy is important! Now, what did you want?"

"There is a noble estate that the army needs help breaking into. As I promised, I am letting you know that I will be leaving the fort for a bit to take care of it."

Myria says "Oh, alright. Try not to get lost or banished to another plane or anything like that!"

"I am not that bad!"

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

All I get in response is Myria's loud laughter, so I break the connection. Then I head to the fort's roof, drop shapeshift, take off, and fly towards the noble's estate. I could wait until dark and try to sneak in, but I don't see any reason to waste the time.

When I reach the estate, I circle it a couple of times while I take a look at the defenses. It isn't built like a fortress, it is a fortress and it is enchanted as one as well. There is even a dome of detection spells over it, whoever owns this place is paranoid.

Just from what I can see, there are several hundred guards as well as a lot of magical defenses. From the level of security, I am starting to wonder if one of the dukes owns this place. Then again, it wouldn't matter even if that is the case, I'm not leaving without freeing the slaves.

Since I am too lazy to deal with all the magical defenses, I just prepare and release a massive dispel. The guards had spotted me and were keeping an eye on me, but things go crazy when the dispel hits. One of the outbuildings explodes and dozens of beasts start running amok.

In my quick survey of the place, I had completely missed the presence of the beasts. They weren't being used as guard beasts so I have no idea why they are even here. However, they quickly provide a nice distraction for all of the guards.

I do a quick scan and find that most of the slaves are in a series of outbuildings. Other than those, there are some working the fields and a few inside the main building. The ones in the fields rush towards the outbuildings when things go crazy.

That means I only need to worry about the ones inside the main building for now. I will get them first and then take them to the outbuildings. The beasts should keep the guards busy for at least a few minutes, that should be enough time.

The main building is built like a castle keep, with three floors above ground and two below. There are some slaves on the top floor and the rest are in the second basement. I decide to start at the top and work my way down, so I land on the roof.

Since I don't want to scare the slaves, I shapeshift to beastman form before I smash through the roof. Inside the room I find over a dozen female beastmen from various tribes. Most of them are naked and chained to the walls of the room, but two are on the bed with a human.

As I am looking at the bed, the door behind me slams open and guards come running in. I lock eyes with the human on the bed and cast Dark Mark on him. Then I turn to face the guards and tear into them with my claws.

They are armed, but their weapons bounce harmlessly off of my body. On the other hand, my claws go through their armor like it is made of paper. It is a totally one sided fight, but I am not here to play fair and just kill them all.

6 Level 5 Humans defeated! 3,000 Exp gained!

7 Level 6 Humans defeated! 4,200 Exp gained!

By the time I am finished with the guards, the human on the bed has already screamed himself to death. I quickly go around the room freeing the women and tell them to find some clothes if they can. Then I have them follow me as I make my way down through the building.

The few guards that I see along the way turn and run instead of trying to stop us. We make it down to the second basement without needing to fight again. The basement contains several cells and in them I find another twenty slaves.

They are all beastmen, but it is a mix of males and females this time. I break open the cells, remove their restraints, and then lead the way out of the building. Luckily, the guards outside have not been doing very well against the beasts.

A few beasts decide that we look tasty, but a single growl from me sends them running. Even with all the slaves following me, we make it to the outbuildings without a problem. When we get there I am glad to see my combat unit has already started evacuating the slaves.