Landlord World - Start with SSS talent-Chapter 276: Starting to evolve

Both Garek and Alex thought they must have misheard.

Garek narrowed his eyes and asked, "What do you want?"

Of course—there's no such thing as a free meal in this world. The masked figure clearly had the power to kill him, yet chose not to. That meant Garek had something this man wanted.

Noan shrugged. "Nothing, really. I'm just saving your life… for that kid over there."

Garek seemed to realize something and burst out laughing. "Hahaha… You want that little brat to take revenge with his own hands, don't you?"

"Exactly. You're sharp," Noan replied with a faint smile. "But to make the fight fairer, I'll just…"

Before he even finished the sentence, Noan waved his hand.

That same flash of light from earlier appeared again. It lasted only a split second, accompanied by the now-familiar low, bell-like hum.

Whoong!

A moment later, Garek's left arm dropped to the ground with a dull thud—blood gushing like a fountain.

"AAAA!!!"

Only after a few seconds did Garek's mind fully register the pain. The scream that tore from his throat drowned out even the howling wind.

"Good," Noan said calmly. "Someday, that kid will come for you. I look forward to witnessing that fight."

With that, he lifted Alex up—and both of them vanished without a trace, as if they had never been there.

Despite the agony threatening to consume him, Garek shuddered.

That man—he clearly possessed a spatial ability. That was the only explanation for how he could come and go so effortlessly.

If that masked figure had truly wanted to kill him, he would have done it long ago. Losing an arm… that was mercy.

Gritting his teeth, Garek now understood that the low-ranked Lords mentioned in the System announcements—those who achieved impossible feats—weren't just lucky.

He'd been wrong. So very wrong.

That man hadn't relied on luck. He had power. Real power.

And even if luck had played a role, the rewards he received from clearing those events had no doubt made him even stronger.

Garek clenched his teeth harder. He was terrified… but also consumed with envy.

"Damn it… those should've been mine."

For a moment, he even forgot the pain of losing his left arm.

"Master!" The last surviving Orc King rushed to Garek's side and bowed low.

"Hmph."

SLAP!

In a fit of rage, Garek slapped the Orc King so hard it sent him sprawling onto the ground.

"Useless trash!" Garek shouted. "Two human brats—and you couldn't even deal with them! How are you supposed to fight for me?!"

The Orc King wanted to say something—wanted to point out that even Garek himself hadn't been a match for them. But he was just a summoned beast. Betrayal was not an option.

At last, the Orc King lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry, Master."

"Hmph!"

Garek wanted to lash out again, but he realized… this was the last Hero he had left.

If he lost this one too, he'd have nothing.

Relying on that rabid horde of Orcs was the worst decision he'd ever made. There was no way they could help him maintain his position within the Management Group.

"Damn it! At least I still have one Orc King left… Otherwise, those bastards would've kicked me out of the group by now."

Garek muttered under his breath.

He knew all too well that because of his arrogant and violent nature, many others despised him.

They just didn't show it—only because they feared his Orc Kings.

But if word got out that he'd suffered such a crushing defeat, it was certain that many would rise up and demand his removal.

In fact, the aftermath might be far worse than he could currently imagine.

"Goddamn it!" Garek cursed, then barked at the Orc King, "Find shelter. We'll return once the blizzard passes."

"Yes, Master," the Orc King replied with a bow.

…

In a dark cave, a gentle light flickered—cast by a staff glowing with magical warmth and illumination.

Austin was fast asleep, exhausted to the point of collapse. His face remained pale, like someone suffering from severe blood loss.

His broken arm had been bandaged, but blood still occasionally seeped from the wound.

Urlgug, having recovered a bit of his energy, used it to ease Austin's pain and stop the bleeding.

Urlgan sat silently in the corner, unmoving. Caleb watched the scene, sighed deeply, and lowered his head.

"…Do you think Master will come for us?" Caleb suddenly asked.

Urlgug let out a slow breath, focusing on Austin's injury. Once he finished tending to the wound, he spoke softly.

"…Even if the chances are slim, I still believe he'll come for us."

Caleb bowed his head even lower, despair gripping his chest.

"I… I really don't want to die here," Caleb whispered. "I haven't gotten revenge yet. I haven't proved to those bastards that I'm not useless."

"I don't want to die!!"

Urlgug looked at him and sighed. He walked over, placed a hand on Caleb's shoulder, and said quietly, "Don't worry. We'll survive."

Just then—the snow sealing the cave entrance suddenly began to tremble violently.

Urlgug and the others were startled, instinctively bracing themselves for battle.

BAM!

The frozen wall of snow sealing the cave entrance exploded outward, and in that instant, the group inside saw a dark silhouette standing at the entrance—accompanied by a familiar voice.

"I'm not too late, am I?"

Urlgug heard the voice and immediately dropped to his knees in joy, respectfully declaring, "Master."

…

At Noan's Territory.

Caleb and Austin had now been taken to the Herbal Lab run by Khorvath.

Khorvath was one of Noan's special NPCs, possessing expert knowledge in potion-making and alchemy.

Naturally, she also had the capability to formulate medicines to heal Austin and Caleb.

Two female NPCs assisted her, tending to the injured and cleaning their wounds.

Caleb's injuries were not too serious—but Austin's condition was far more severe.

One of the female NPCs carefully wiped the blood off Austin's mangled arm and said, "Master, this arm is showing signs of necrosis. We should consider amputation."

Upon hearing this, Noan turned to look at Khorvath.

He didn't know much about medicine himself, so he had to rely entirely on Khorvath's judgment.

Khorvath wore a mysterious outfit—a black cloak that covered her entire body, and a crow-shaped mask, resembling the plague doctors from Earth's history books.

She stepped closer to Austin, lowered her head to examine his arm, and said, "It's still treatable."

Her voice was raspy, as though something was lodged in her throat.

If her profile hadn't clearly stated that she was female, Noan might've mistaken her for a man.

"You can save his arm?" Noan asked.

Khorvath shook her head. "Only by cutting it off."

Noan gave a faint nod. "Very well. Do it."

Khorvath nodded in return. "Master, please leave the room."

Knowing she was about to begin surgery, Noan had no intention of staying.

He stepped out of Khorvath's lab and teleported to the lakeside nearby.

There, he found Urlgug and Urlgan kneeling—and he sighed.

A hint of guilt tugged at his heart.

These two had followed him since the very beginning of his journey as a Lord… and yet, they were the ones who had been left behind.

He hadn't meant to abandon them—but back then, his 'Almighty Fusion' talent didn't support evolving them.

He simply couldn't make them stronger.

But now, things were different.

His talent had been upgraded with a new function: 'Core Fusion'—and with it, he could finally help them evolve.

Besides that, he now possessed the power of the Void—meaning he could grant Urlgug and Urlgan the ability to wield Void energy as well.

"Forgive us, Master. We failed in our mission," Urlgug spoke up.

Noan shook his head. "You've done well. After all, you're just low-ranked monsters—there's no way you could face off against those high-ranked creatures."

"Everything you did—I saw it all and I acknowledge it. That's why… this is your reward."

Urlgug and Urlgan were both stunned, never expecting Noan to reward them instead of scolding them.

Noan didn't waste any more time. He began operating the System interface.

A moment later, a notification popped up before his eyes.

🔔 [Ding! To evolve Urlgug, you require 9 materials of Rank D+ and 500 Rank D energy crystals.]

🔔 [Ding! To evolve Urlgan, you require 9 Peak Rank D materials and 1,000 Rank D energy crystals.]

Noan checked the troops and materials he had in his possession, then smiled.

"Accept!"