Chapter 128

                                    

                                          
"What?" Ann rolled her eyes and shrugged. She acted as if dyeing her hair blonde in the middle of a forest during an ogre attack was nothing out of the ordinary,
"Never seen hair dye before?" 
The Tullus mercenaries and members of Orion's merchant group started whispering among themselves. 
The show has continued. It was worth accepting a joint mission with the Nero mercenaries. 
"What are you gawking at!" Chief Gallahan bellowed. He was annoyed by the immature behavior of his crew members. 
"The Chief's angry. Let's go" 
"I look forward to the next surprise"
The men scattered away, surprised by Gallahan's sudden outburst.
"Thank you" Ann whispered under her breath. 
Gallahan waved his hand and dismissed her not to worry. 
Though he was concerned for reasonable reasons. The camping site they were located in was one of the prime sites the Tullus mercenaries frequently used during their travels between Orion and Velven for years. 
It was the safe site within the red zone. For ogres to breach into the compound in the middle of the night, it meant they were not as safe as they hoped to be. 
More importantly, now that they have killed four, more would be on the way.
"ROAR!"
Right on cue, the ground began to shake. An estimate of ten or more ogres were headed towards the camp.
"How did they even find us? We were in a camp hidden from any animal tracks" Chief Gallahan grimaced. 
Just when things were bad, they were about to turn worse.
Ann had never seen Gallahan so serious before. The usually friendly chatterbox personality was gone and in its place stood the Chief of the Tullus mercenaries weighing the situation at hand.
Five of his men were injured in the ambush and three needed immediate medical care. If more ogres were to attack at this time it would be harder to hold the attack while protecting merchantry.
The only option left would be to split the group into two, sending the merchants with one-half of the people to guard while the rest stayed to create a distraction. 
"It's not like we are fairies or anything" Gallahan clicked his tongue, thinking of a strategic plan.
'Fairies...' Ann's eyes wavered. 
Where do the fairies come in all of this? She wondered.
It was then she recalled hearing about fairies and ogres prior to their departure to Orion. It was part of the briefing Raeden conducted about Eldom.
"Ogres are attracted to fairy dust. Apparently, they could sniff off the scent a mile away"
She could hear Raeden's voice reverberate within her ears.
'And guess who was soaked in fairy dust from head to toe!' Ann facepalmed.
While playing with the adorable little ones, she had completely forgotten about the ogre infestations in Eldom.
"It's me. They're after me" She muttered under her breath.
If it weren't for her. The ogres wouldn't have tracked their camping site and attacked all those people. 
"What's wrong?" Eugene frowned, seeing the color drain out of Ann's face.
But before he could inquire about it, Ann suddenly yelled at him,