The weathered face marked by the passage of ti turned pale from the effective Curse, with a flush of excitent beneath the cheekbones.
His eyes stared blankly, and his lips moved as if chanting silent words.
With trembling hands, he carefully lifted the oval tal Block from the muddy ground, treating it as if the most precious treasure in the world rested in his palms.
"Whoosh!"
A sudden whistling sound pierced the air, shattering the near-religious devotion he had exuded.
The battle instincts honed from years of adventuring made him instinctively tilt his head to the side.
An arrow, tipped with a white feather and spinning rapidly, whizzed past, barely grazing his nose.
Clenching tightly onto the treasure, Lawson abruptly turned to glare with murderous intent at the silver-haired Half Elf at the end of the squad, still poised in his bow-drawing stance.
The fanatical expression on his face turned cold, replaced by the overwhelming pressure a veteran expert naturally exudes when facing a much weaker adversary.
"Shaless scoundrel, deserving to be chopped into pieces to feed dogs, with even the soul sent to Hell as Devil fodder, thief."
"You all... deserve to die!"
Boom—
The air compressed, and a searing noise from fast-moving objects filled the ears.
The fierce figure that had just been standing there seed to vanish into thin air.
With two in the frontline already dead, Xia Nan, standing at the forefront, felt a sudden ominous premonition.
Holding the Beheading Longsword in an offensive stance, he instinctively raised it horizontally in front of him.
"Clang!"
Sparks flew.
Xia Nan felt a powerful force vibrating from the sword hilt, leaving deep footprints in the muddy ground as he was forced back.
After barely maintaining his balance, the bizarre Fine Sword that had fiercely collided with his Gray Sword revealed its form, along with the nearly transparent silhouette of the figure behind it.
Lawson’s physical attributes were weakened by thirty percent across the board due to the Curse, but his foundation remained that of a professional Level 6, mastering six Master Level Battle Skills and multiple specialties, with at least six bodily enhancents from battle skills.
Even though Xia Nan, through various fortuitous experiences, had gained combat ability far surpassing those of his Level, facing such a formidable opponent was still extrely challenging.
Never mind close combat grapples, even withstanding a single blow from the opponent made his forearm go numb and almost made him lose his grip on his weapon.
But fortunately, he managed to hold on.
Providing his teammates with an opportunity for a coordinated attack.
"Swish, swish!"
An unremarkable shadow flickered in the corner of his eye.
Without holding back, two Short daggers whistled through the air in a cross pattern, the Master Level Battle Skill of the Wanderer profession, Abdominal Strike, turned into a sharp cross of silver light and slashed towards the enemy from the side by Wood.
Although his Professional Level was higher than the combined Level of the two in front of him, Lawson clearly wasn’t strong enough to withstand such a move with his bare body.
With a sudden exertion of strength in his arms and wrists, he sent Xia Nan, who held the Longsword, flying, lightly jumping backwards to evade the sharp cross of light.
anwhile, the transparent body that had been partially revealed during the clash seed to blend with the air, disappearing from the two’s sight.
Thoughts racing, Xia Nan didn’t pause to think.
Instead, he followed his battle instinct, the mont he lost sight of the enemy...
Heart-drawing Vision!
The dark pupils shimred with gray light.
Under the shrouding rain, the environnt instantly transford into a pure world of interwoven black and white Gravity wave lines.
To minimize energy consumption, Xia Nan activated Heart-drawing Vision only for a mont.
But in that fleeting instant, he detected that incongruous figure weaving among the dizzying array of lines.
Rapidly approaching Hai’an at the team’s rear!
"There!"
Without hesitation, a howling wolf’s cry erupted deep within the rain, causing rainwater to churn along with mud and grass clippings, forming the nacing head of a wolf with its mane blowing.
It roared as it leapt across the spatial barrier, explosively surging toward the prey.
"Clang!"
The iron-gray Wolf Teeth seed to bite into sothing hard.
Sparks flew again within the rain.
But this ti, it was Lawson, who attempted to slip past the two for a rear attack, that was knocked back, not Xia Nan.
With one strike, his stealth-like state, almost lded with the environnt, was broken.
Xia Nan could even see the sudden shock and surprise in the enemy’s gloom-ridden green eyes.
Evidently, this veteran adventurer of considerable Professional Level hadn’t anticipated the young, black-haired man before him would possess such speed and Perception Ability.
Not only did he detect the stealth but also predicted his movent path and intercepted him from the side.
"Madi, where did you co from!?"
Xia Nan’s black eyes were stern, his face showing no expression, and the iron-gray sword light cast a faint shadow on his cheek.
It was only then that thoughts lagging behind his body’s actions passed through his mind.
"Capable of fighting!"
The man nad Lawson before him was soone Xia Nan had t once at the "Resting Dragon Nest" Inn, a considerable professional expert.
Yet he currently appeared to suffer so invisible injury, as the exchange made evident his weakened state.
This narrowed the gap between them.
Moreover, Lawson’s specialty in fighting techniques akin to a wanderer’s stealth and maneuvering was firmly countered by Xia Nan’s abilities of Heart-drawing Vision and Teeth Hunting, with his exceptional Perception Ability.
Regardless of employing Gravity Control, subtly creating an opportunity to strike, the Gravity Etching on the blade should inflict considerable damage.
While pondering, Xia Nan prepared to seize the mont for an aggressive assault.
Under Xia Nan’s high-perceptive "10" point influence, a deadly, extre premonition suddenly spiked from his heart.
His body convulsed as if electrocuted, instinctively tilting to the left.
The next second...
"Zziiz." An entire silver-white pointed silver needle with an appearance like flowing liquid, penetrated his back from behind.
The Plate Chain Composite Armor from "Rock Hamr" Blacksmith Shop, originally priced at 365 Gold and forged from high-quality Maran Pattern Steel, was easily pierced as if made of paper.
Inner lining, skin, muscle, diaphragm...
From his back through to the front of his chest.
The slender silver needle pierced right through Xia Nan.
Yet, fortunately, his reactions were tily, shifting slightly to the left at the critical mont.
Thus, a potentially heart-piercing silver needle avoided causing lethal damage.
Blood spurted from the wound, soaking the shirt beneath the pierced Plate Chain Composite Armor.
Droplets of blood fell from the hem but did not reach the ground, swept into the air by another wolf’s howl in the rain, becoming part of the illusory wolf’s head and swiftly retreating.
Xia Nan simultaneously turned, his gaze locked onto where the silver needle had originated.
On the distant hilltop stood a man with a broad Heavy Sword, donned in finely crafted Heavy Armor, his appearance upright and handso.
He extended his left hand straight forward, maintaining a forward-reaching stance.
From his fingertips, silver-white tal, thinned by its use, flowed back into his skin.
"Terry William!?"
The stunned shout of the Half Elf Hai’an echoed by his ear.
Xia Nan felt a sudden weakness overwhelm him as he grumbled silently, his body weakening.
He quickly wiped the blood streaming from the wound with his hand and looked down, seeing the silver-white tinge in his palm from the blood.
"Damn!"
He cursed silently, and the wolf’s phantom surrounding him slightly withdrew after aiding his retreat.
He staggered back a few more steps, his body swaying.
Then everything went black, and he collapsed forward.
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