Holding the [Ash Fall] Straight Sword, Perception expanding outward, while being alert to surrounding dangers, Xia Nan couldn’t help but recall the scene he witnessed that day and quietly asked the two people beside him:
"But the attitude of the townspeople towards us... doesn’t seem like they would be willing to hand over the gemstone to outsiders."
Upon hearing this, Margaret pondered for a mont, her dark golden braid gently swaying as she gave her conjecture:
"Perhaps when that adventurer team arrived in Sheep Horn Town, the blacksmith hadn’t yet been so deeply affected by the pink Jadestone?"
"After all, look at Horak, who was also Chard by the gemstone, followed the caravan from the distant Neum City to such a small place, but his behavior was not nearly as extre, even willingly showed the gemstone while camping halfway, clearly less influenced."
"And after you helped him break free from the Spiritual Control, he quickly returned to normal, unlike those townspeople earlier who couldn’t even speak clearly."
"So... the Spiritual Control of the pink Jadestone over people clearly has a gradual process."
"Only when it thoroughly infiltrates the mind will one beco its fanatic."
After hearing her say this, Soldin, holding a shield at the forefront of the team, also gave his opinion.
"It might not be that complicated."
"It’s likely that the adventurer team was the first to discover the secret of Sheep Horn Town, and then used their abilities as professionals to secretly sneak into a local’s house and either steal or forcibly take their gemstone."
"After all, at the end of the day, no matter how much they might resent them, they are ultimately ordinary people without Battle Skills, so in terms of strength and combat experience, how could they compare to those Senior Adventurers?"
Xia Nan thought what both of them said made a lot of sense.
Nodding slightly, just as he was about to further inquire about their thoughts on the pink Jadestone, his entire body suddenly paused.
With a Perception Attribute as high as 11, he almost instinctively sensed danger the mont it erged.
"Caution!"
Shouting out while simultaneously protecting himself with the Snake Scale Arm Shield, he instantly turned towards the direction from which the danger was detected.
Margaret and Soldin reacted much slower, only turning around out of trust after Xia Nan’s voice registered in their minds and was understood.
This created a ti lag of one breath between them.
Due to this, when Xia Nan turned around, he saw a brawny figure hidden in the darkness of the Blacksmith Shop, with arms raised, seemingly holding sothing in his hand.
And by the ti the Black Wood Squad turned around after his warning, they saw the brawny figure in a throwing posture and a sharp object whistling through the air, flying toward them at high speed.
Swish—
A sharp screech of air being torn apart suddenly burst from the empty street.
Faintly, a flat, sharp object shimring with silver light could be seen reflecting moonlight as it flashed through the air at a speed far beyond what ordinary people could react to.
Because it was a surprise attack from the rear side of the team, Xia Nan, who was originally slightly behind the position of the two Dwarves while marching, beca the target of the attack.
Without a trace of panic, he remained extrely calm in that mont.
His first reaction was to channel a sliver of Spiritual Thought to touch the [Death Line] Ring on his right ring finger.
However, he didn’t trigger the [Deflection Field] Enchantnt imbued in the Equipnt imdiately, as it had a cooldown ti and was considered a trump card.
At present, it was just a backup option for the worst-case scenario.
Then, almost simultaneously, his left forearm slightly pushed forward, and the Snake Scale Arm Shield, dark and cold like black jade, seed to rge into the night, with the surrounding air faintly warping and fluctuating.
[Gravity Control] silently took effect.
Although Xia Nan had nearly integrated this Battle Skill training into his daily life, the Level 1 Skill Level limited its precision and range of use.
Therefore, he couldn’t preemptively lock onto the sharp object in motion and create a gravitational singularity in the air to change its direction beforehand.
But rely maintaining a gravity vortex on the Arm Shield wasn’t difficult for him.
That thought flashed through his mind in an instant.
The sharp whistling had already accompanied the strong wind, rushing directly towards him.
Right hand raising, the Black and Gray Straight Sword acting as an insurance asure between the Arm Shield and the Death Line Ring, was already gripped in his hand, brought to his chest.
It turned out his caution was sowhat excessive.
The sharp object that tore through the air appeared quite intimidating with its sound but was actually just an illusion due to the silent street amplifying its surprise attack.
Neither the power nor the angle was as difficult to handle as he had imagined.
With a crisp "ding" sound.
Sparks flew across the Arm Shield surface, caused by the violent collision.
The sharp object flying at him was deflected away.
Not leaving a single scratch on the Arm Shield’s surface, and through the blue-quality Defense Equipnt serving as a buffer, the remaining force only nudged his left arm slightly, easily bearable.
"Clang..."
The sharp object, inferior in hardness, twisted from impact and rolled to the ground.
Upon closer inspection, it was a broken iron fragnt pulled from sowhere.
Only then did Xia Nan have the opportunity to cast his gaze toward the further Blacksmith Shop.
There, the tall and brawny figure, as the attacker, stood within the shadows beneath the eaves.
Through his shiny head and the strong physique honed from countless strikes by the anvil, the silhouette could vaguely be identified:
—the bald blacksmith previously embroiled in disagreent with Horak over the gemstone news!
But at this mont, his state had drastically changed from the dayti.
Unlike other townspeople, both the blacksmith and the innkeeper, even deeply enthralled by Jade Charm, retained the ability to act independently.
His upper body bare, exposing muscular knots, with the center of his chest set with a fist-sized pink Jadestone embedded deep into the flesh.
The eerily sweet pink glow pulsed as if breathing, making it particularly conspicuous amid the night.
The influence seemingly much greater than those Xia Nan’s group had encountered before.
Using the stone at the blacksmith’s chest as a center, sinister veins spread like tree roots all around, pink streams coursing with the stone’s pulse, infusing this body with Energy.
In his callused, sturdy palms, he clutched a heavy Forging Hamr shining with tallic luster.
"Roar!!"
A shout ca from behind.
Quite reliable, though his reaction speed was slower due to lower Perception Ability than Xia Nan, as a Level 4 [Shield Warrior], Soldin imdiately took on the responsibility he shouldered at the first realization of their attack.
Like a steel ball rolling past him, the Dwarf’s skin glowed silver-white, gripping an Edged Hamr in one hand and bracing a Round Shield in the other, he took several steps forward, positioning himself protectively in front of Xia Nan.
With his race’s average height allowing easy visibility, even standing directly in front, the six-foot-three Xia Nan’s view wasn’t obstructed at all.
anwhile, Margaret had already moved to the side of the battlefield.
Also a Level 4 professional, the [Swordsman] class compared to its pre-transford [warrior] form, sacrificed so Defense Ability in exchange for bursts and damage.
A combat style sowhat similar to Xia Nan’s.
Their ti together wasn’t long, with not many shared battles, yet they displayed decent teamwork through the most basic tactics at this mont.
Without hesitation, the instinctive Fear and panic in their hearts had long vanished in the surge of hot blood and battle fervor.
The Edged Hamr pounding the Round Shield, Soldin’s eyes widened as he roared violently, charging straight toward the distant blacksmith.
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