Universe Tales: Virtual Log of the Fallen One

Maria jumped off of Berserker's shoulder and let him charge down towards the village alongside his brothers-in-arms.

The ogres guarding the village saw Berserker coming at them but since they knew that they were the ogres from the Mountain Blade village, they didn't react to their charge at first. It was only when Berserker and the rest got close enough that the guards were finally able to feel their bloodlust did they catch on that something was wrong.

"You. Stop! What you—"

The ogre who looked like the guard captain tried to tell Berserker to stop but what greeted him was a flying spear to the face. Berserker had grabbed the spear of the ogre next to him and flung it at the ogre guard.

The ogre guard had his head impaled and the force sent him flying back along with the spear which embedded itself, along with the ogre guard's body, into the village's walls. The walls were only made up of large tree trunks stacked and tied together so it wasn't long after that did the force behind Berserker's spear throw cause a portion of the wall to topple down.

Berserker roared and jumped into the air after confirming his kill. He landed near the gate of the village and punched the ground, resulting in a shockwave which toppled over the surprised ogres who were still shocked at seeing their captain suddenly die.

The skill Berserker used was called [Ground Breaker]. It was a physical-type skill that did widespread damage in a 2-meter area around the impact zone but it had a hidden function that increased the AOE of the skill.

Berserker had jumped high into the air earlier and the area of effect became larger, thanks to the hidden function, that it affected all of the ogres near the gate. With the way open, the other ogres quickly charged forward into the village.

Some of the ogres took care of the enemy ogres who were trying to get back up. Berserker let loose and smashed everything around him. The buildings, the enemy ogres—everything—were being smashed apart. It wasn't until a roar echoed from deeper into the settlement which prompted him to stop.

"YOU! STUPID OGRE!"

"GRAHAHAHA!" Berserker roared back and readied his weapon when the new enemy emerged.

He wasn't as large as Berserker, let alone Orh'bankhur. In fact, the ogre who came out was a head shorter and a body size smaller than Berserker, but with the armor, he was wearing, along with the weapon he was holding, this was presumably the ogre settlement's leader.

Maria viewed the battle from afar and gestured for Lilah and Alexa to head on down to the settlement. Since the boss had come out, Berserker was going to need help. She had faith in her subordinates but she wanted some insurance.

If she didn't do it herself, she wouldn't feel completely assured. It was her motto to get things done with her own self.

'If you want something done right, then you have to do it yourself. But~ I'll rely on my subordinates this time. They still haven't had their fun just yet."

"I'll let you guys handle this. Don't disappoint me now~"

"Yes, Master!"

"Leave it to me, big sis!"

"Go."

Alexa and Lilah disappeared from Maria's side, heading straight towards where the battle was at. Now that she was alone, Maria took to the air and began observing her subordinates' handiwork. The ogres were running wild and attacking any enemy ogres that were resisting.

They destroyed everything in their path, smashing holes through buildings and raiding the interiors, however, they took to heart their new master's words and only attacked the enemies who were still resisting.

All of the ones that gave up or just didn't fight back were spared. Even though they were considered cowards, Maria still had a use for them. She didn't need the ones who were too stupid to know when to quit.

As for this cowardly attitude of theirs, she'd leave it to Ash to fix. Of course, the vampire was going to erase this cowardice by replacing it with a devout sense of loyalty towards his queen, but Maria didn't know that.

It was just like what he did when he trained Maria's troops. They had started as a bunch of weaklings and people who were only there because they heard about the welfare that would be given to them if they joined, but now, they were all fanatics that would sacrifice life and limb for Maria.

Ash was already planning out the training menu for the ogres as he was waiting for Maria to get back, however, he felt a little bit uneasy but decided against looking for his mistress and the unit she brought with her.

He needed to wait for the people he sent for to arrive at the Mountain Blade Ogre settlement and instruct them on what to do. Ash didn't want to leave it to the ogre shaman since it was a little too intimidating for the likes of the people coming over.

"I hope she's not doing anything unreasonable."

******

Over at Maria's side, she and her army of ogres had just finished raiding the settlement and were already on their way to another settlement. Berserker, Alexa, and Lilah had teamed up and killed the ogre leader who was unwilling to submit to Maria.

As for the other ogres within the settlement, Maria forcefully incorporated them into her forces and killed off any ogre who wasn't willing.

"You're a race of warriors! If you can't fight for me then you're of no use!"

Those were her words that signaled the extermination of those who were unwilling. With an example set before them, the rest of the ogres joined her since they didn't want to die. Her forces were bolstered so Maria quickly set out to find another village.

Maria deduced that since there was another ogre village, then there was bound to be more within the mountain range other than the one she had just raided. Since she was able to conquer the Mountain Blade Ogre's village, she figured that it was possible to conquer the other ones as well.

She was just unlucky with this one because the leader was a pig-headed fool that didn't appreciate life. Maria quickly found another village and prepared to raid it. Since her subordinates had their fun, she was going to join this time's raid.

Maria wasn't stupid and made sure to assign the new ogres she just recruited as the vanguards. Her already loyal troops were going to hang back a bit this time however, she didn't plan on using them as cannon fodder. Her loyal ogres were only staying at the back to act as deterrence for those who wanted to run away.

Any would-be deserters would immediately be killed and the ones who were too slow in their charge would be trampled upon by them, ultimately resulting in death. Either the ogres quickly pledged their utmost loyalty to her, or serve as meat shields for her forces.

Maria quickly found another settlement just half an hour later and immediately ordered for the vanguard to charge straight towards the settlement. It was a reckless war plan that involved no tactics whatsoever, just a simple frontal assault.

Just like before, Berserker took point and led the charge. The new ogres had to follow after him or be killed by the ones behind them. With no other choice, they picked up their weapons and followed after the mad ogre into the battlefield.

This raid was just a repeat of the previous raid. The enemy ogres didn't have their guards up to the approaching ogres until the last minute when they were finally within Berserker's attack range.

With Maria joining this time, the raid went easier than the previous one and they quickly conquered the village. The ogre leader submitted to Maria this time, however, so not many died. Like before, she incorporated the new ogres into her growing army and went to look for another settlement.

"We're going to conquer this mountain today! Hahahaha~"