Amid the tense atmosphere, Cassius finally spoke:
"I see that you possess a remarkable constitution and sharp wits—quite the talent; no, a monster of a talent. Tell me, would you be willing to become my vassal?"
Langpu breathed a sigh of relief and dispersed the Fireball spell he had been weaving.
In a distinctly obsequious tone, he replied, "From the perspective of submitting to the strong, I am naturally willing to become your vassal. After all, you are a mighty red dragon."
Yet before the red dragon could respond, the ogre tentatively raised his head and lowered his voice. "However, I would also like to know: what benefits will there be for me—and my tribe—if we become your vassals?"
*This ogre isn't easy to dupe at all; he's quite the clever one. If this were any ordinary red dragon, he would've been reduced to cinders by a blast of fire breath long ago. Only someone with an eye for talent like mine would bother.*
Cassius couldn't help but scoff inwardly.
Still, considering how rare spellcasters were, the red dragon decided to treat this ogre with some condescending magnanimity. Channeling the tone of a corporate executive from his past life giving a grand speech, he spoke at an unhurried pace:
"I can see that you are different from common ogres. You are intelligent, a seeker of knowledge and wisdom."
Langpu nodded, clearly savoring the praise.
Who could possibly understand the misery of being stuck among a bunch of brute ogres who knew nothing but stuffing their faces?
"Do you truly desire to spend the rest of your days eating and sleeping in this cramped valley?"
"Are you truly content associating only with the likes of them, waiting for the day when intruding adventurers turn you into a bounty?"
Seeing the ogre look visibly moved, Cassius pressed on, whispering temptations like a devil straight out of hell:
"Do you not wish to command greater power, behold a vaster world, and have your name sung by bards across the lands?"
"Submit to me, and I can provide you with boundless food, strength beyond imagination, and knowledge as vast as the sea of stars. I will give your talents true purpose, and together we shall forge a magnificent empire."
The red dragon paused for dramatic effect. "Picture it: you shall become an integral part of my grand design."
Cassius was painting a grander and grander picture; since it was all empty promises for now anyway, the bigger the better.
"I... I..."
The ogre was so overcome with excitement that he could barely speak.
Langpu fell into deep thought, though a hint of hesitation lingered in his eyes.
These words struck him with immense force, prompting him—for the first time in his life as an ogre—to ponder whether existence held any greater meaning beyond food.
Meanwhile, his ogre tribesmen had long gathered around. Out of fear of angering their chieftain, they hadn't dared interrupt, but the moment they caught the word "food," they couldn't help bursting into cheers:
"Submit! Submit!"
"Food!"
They understood nothing else, but they definitely knew what food was.
"Now, I require an answer,"
"Will you become my vassal?"
Cassius's voice resonated with stirring fervor.
At last, determination hardened Langpu's gaze. He raised his head, dropped his colossal, flabby frame to one knee, and declared solemnly:
"Witnessed by the gods! I, Langpu, Lord of Gluttony Valley and the cleverest ogre in all the world, pledge myself as your vassal to conquer this world in your name!"
The red dragon felt no emotional stirring from this "magnificent" oath of fealty; his throat just felt a bit dry from all the talking.
He thought to himself that this clever fellow had simply spent too much time isolated in the mountains, never having suffered the harsh beatings of human society. Even with an Intelligence score of seventeen, he was still remarkably easy to swindle.
"Cassius. Remember the name of your master well."
"Yes, my noble master! I shall be the sword in your hand and the shield before your chest, charging onto the battlefield..."
Langpu continued passionately, eager to recite more of his rehearsed lines, utterly lost in the fantasy of the "grand design."
"Stop talking like that,"
Cassius cut off the ogre's impromptu performance.
Listening to a three-meter-tall, one-ton ogre speak in the melodramatic cadence of a wandering bard was jarring beyond belief.
"Yes, Master."
The ogre mage wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Oh! Ooh! Ooh!"
The ogres erupted in cheers once more, brandishing an assortment of spiked clubs, wooden mallets, and massive animal bones.
In truth, they had no idea what had just transpired. They only gathered that they seemed to have acquired a new head boss.
Moreover, according to Datou, the second-smartest ogre in the tribe, they were going to get far more food, which sent the gluttonous brutes into a frenzy of delight.
"We got a new boss!" cheered Datou, the tribe's resident "brain."
Langpu corrected him sternly, "Not a new boss. It's 'Master,' or 'Your Majesty.'"
"Got it, Old Boss."
Unable to endure it any longer, Langpu raised his massive club again.
"Old Boss, why're you hittin' me again?"
"Ow!"
***
As he led the ogres to relocate into his territory, the red dragon asked the ogre mage out of curiosity, "Where did you learn your magic, and where did you get those books?"
Langpu scratched his head, lost in thought for a moment before answering, "A few months ago, I ate a wizard riding in a carriage. Real tender meat, very tasty. There were a whole bunch of books inside his carriage."
As he reminisced, the ogre couldn't help licking his lips, an ecstatic expression spreading across his grotesque face. It seemed even intellect could not easily overwrite an ogre's gluttonous nature.
"Under my command, you'd best refrain from eating humanoids."
"Yes, Master."
A trace of disappointment crossed Langpu's face. Those tender wizards were truly delicious, but for the sake of the "grand design" burning in his heart, he had no choice but to accept this condition—one that was practically torturous for an ogre.
To Cassius, however, this was an indispensable rule. It wasn't born out of mercy, but rather his plan to recruit large numbers of players in the future. If his vassals retained the vile habit of man-eating, the players would almost certainly band together and wipe them out.
"By the way, take me to see that carriage."
The red dragon's expression turned somewhat peculiar; he already had a good guess as to what had happened.
Following Langpu to a secluded corner of the valley, Cassius laid eyes upon the battered carriage.
Though it had been abandoned for months, the delicate gilded filigree still radiated an air of opulence. Mounted on the interior paneling was a gold-plated medallion depicting an eye of true knowledge flanked by crossed staves.
*Just as I thought—the Arcane Hermitage. And a senior member's insignia at that.*
*Tsk, what a waste.*
Cassius couldn't help sighing inwardly.
The Arcane Hermitage was a mage organization that would become famous throughout the realm in the eras to come, founded by the legendary Archmage Trafalanlo.
Its members gathered periodically to share magical knowledge, discuss research, and occasionally seek mutual aid in eradicating evil. Its chapters spanned across Elezerg, and there seemed to be one right here in Anzeta.
Cassius marveled at the unpredictable whims of Lady Luck.
A noble apprentice carrying high hopes and pre-selected for the Arcane Hermitage had borne the expectations of many. Yet before mastering any real magical prowess, he had contracted that quintessential wizard arrogance.
Defying orders and refusing his family's aid, he had stubbornly set out into the wild to adventure alone, likely uttering some youthful nonsense like "My fate is mine to forge, not the heavens' to decide."
He had dreamed of carving out a name in the wilderness, slaying monsters, rescuing princesses, plundering treasures, and forging a legendary epic of his very own.
Instead, before the poor apprentice could travel very far, an ogre foraging for food had clubbed him unconscious and swallowed him whole.
In the end, not only had his chest of precious books fallen into other hands, but even the costly enchanted heirlooms of his family had enriched someone else.
By an absurd twist of fate, the culprit who ended his life—a crude, hideous ogre named Langpu—had become a one-in-a-million ogre mage.
Chapter 12