Scarlet raised an eyebrow, "And what is a group of ruffians doing on Giridian land?"

The man in front chuckled and approached Scarlet, "This land will not stay Giridian for long. Boss can we have some fun? We have been walking around for a few days."

Scarlet probed, "Who are you all exactly? You are not Zorians as your uniforms don't match."

The man in front laughed, "We were mercenaries from Zoria. Now, we are under an extremely powerful and generous boss. We are part of a new independent army of Zoria, Thunder Corpse." He pointed at the man with the orb, "This guy was the boss of our grade B group, Tornadoes of Eagles, and everyone calls him Gauris."

Gauris frowned and said, "We don't have time for this Henry. The Blue Mage is expecting us to complete the mission in three days."

Henry gave a lecherous smile and pulled out a sword, "No worries, she won't tell anyone. I just want to show off a bit you know? We haven't really talked with any other people for the past week or so. After all, most of the villagers in the forests evacuated and the witches all crawled back to their caves. Anyways, sorry pretty. Looks like we can't have fun tonight. How about you die for us?"

Scarlet laughed, "Such a shame. I was hoping to say that as well." She pulled out her dagger, it's edge gleaming razor sharp and its hilt filled with precious jewels.

The group's expression turned more serious and they all drew out their weapons. The man in front gave a dark smile, "So we are playing it this way huh? Well, then you could just go and DIE!" He and the other men charged towards Scarlet.

They all surrounded her while Gauris stayed at the back. He raised the orb and murmured under his breath. The orb suddenly intensified in brightness, shining a light in the dark forest.

Scarlet gritted her teeth and said, "No... magic... ALLOWED." She threw her dagger directly at the orb, it flew rapidly and whistled through the air. Before anyone else could react, the dagger stabbed directly at the orb and pushed it off the man's hand. The orb fell into the grass and rolled slightly.

Gauris was visibly shocked for the first time and stammered, "A-Are you trying to kill us? The orb would explode if it broke! It has magic in it you Giridian savage!"

Scarlet let out a sigh and inwardly thought, "Luckily it didn't. I had no idea that would happen." Outwardly though, she bluffed, "Well now it's a fair fight. Also, I don't think the explosion would reach me."

Gauris was about to pick the orb up but paused. He pulled his arm away and drew his sword strapped to his waist, telling his men, "We can find the Blue Mage, later on, to ask how to deal with the orb. The teleportation imprints on the orb are extremely volatile right now and are extremely risky. We should be fine as long as nothing disturbs the orb and shatters it. Silence the girl first."

Henry was initially sweating and nervous about the explosion, regained his confidence and said, "Yeah boys! Kill her!"