The sound of footsteps grew clearer. Soon, three figures appeared at the mouth of the cave.
Illuminated by so unknown light source, three long shadows stretched out from the cave.
Ridder cautiously peeked out from behind the massive boulder. As the shadows flickered, the three individuals ca into view.
They were all burly and of similar height, each standing around 1.8 ters tall.
Dressed in clothes made of animal hides, they looked like Wildn.
Ridder muttered to himself, ’Could they be from the Wilderness Tribe?’
Among the four Wilderness Tribes, the strongest, Joffrey, leader of the Black-collar Tribe, was only an Advanced Level Knight.
If these cave-dwellers were part of the sa group of fugitives as Joffrey, their strength couldn’t be that impressive.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
The three of them walked out of the cave, stretched lazily, and took deep breaths of the fresh air.
They had been chatting and laughing, but they suddenly froze and fell silent.
One of them twitched his nose. "What is that sll?"
"Gods, do I sll a living person?"
"No doubt about it, that’s the scent of a living person!"
"Haha, let sniff them out!"
The three of them began sniffing the air desperately, their faces growing increasingly excited.
Ridder’s heart trembled. ’Their sense of sll is that keen?’
He quickly pulled his head back and gestured for the others behind the boulder to be silent.
Tom and the others had heard the conversation. Now, their hearts were pounding—THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. Their nerves were stretched taut, and they didn’t dare make a single move!
STEP... STEP... STEP...
There was no dialogue, only the sound of footsteps, growing ever closer to the boulder where the five of them were hiding.
Ridder’s expression darkened. He knew they had been exposed.
Since they were already discovered, it was better to strike first and catch their opponents off guard than to wait to be slaughtered.
WHOOSH!
Longsword in hand, Ridder shot out from behind the boulder.
Under the moonlight, he moved as fast as a phantom, his presence as fierce as a roaring tiger.
"Hahaha, soone’s really here!"
"We’ve got at to eat~"
"Take him down!"
Far from being intimidated, the three of them charged forward excitedly.
BAM! BAM!
The battle erupted, but it was completely one-sided.
Using his nimble Body Technique, Ridder dodged their coordinated attack. He then sent two of them flying with powerful kicks, and smoothly plunged his Longsword into the third man’s heart.
"The Commander is so strong!"
Tom and the other three n had just erged from behind the boulder when they witnessed the scene, their mouths agape in shock.
Relda also finally breathed a sigh of relief.
’This valley is certainly strange,’ Ridder thought, ’but the people here aren’t strong.’
But just as he prepared to withdraw his Longsword, the corners of the enemy’s mouth curled into a baffling smile, despite having his heart pierced.
"Caught you!"
He shot out his left hand, grabbing Ridder’s arm, then raised his right hand and thrust his own Longsword at Ridder’s chest.
The sudden turn of events sent alarm bells ringing in Ridder’s mind, and a chill shot down his spine.
With no ti to think, he kicked off the ground and tried to pull away.
SSSHK~
The blade still tore through Ridder’s leather tunic, leaving a bloody gash across his chest.
Ridder created so distance, trying to use his Fighting Qi to seal the wound, but it seed to have no effect.
His opponent, on the other hand, charged at him as if nothing was wrong, despite having his heart run through.
’What’s going on?’
Completely bewildered, Ridder dodged the creature’s attack despite his injury, and once again ran his sword through its body.
This ti, he imdiately retreated to prevent any more surprises.
Even after being run through a second ti, his opponent seed completely unhard. At the sa mont, the two n Ridder had knocked away closed in on him again!
’What the hell are these things?’
Ridder had never encountered anything like this. He should have been able to kill them easily, yet they wouldn’t die!
BAM! BAM!
After kicking the n away again, Ridder’s Longsword erupted with a brilliant light.
"Blast Fla Slash!"
This was a Combat Skill Ridder rembered after his promotion to Silver Level. Though incredibly difficult to master, its power was directly proportional to that difficulty.
The intensely compressed Fire Attribute Fighting Qi emitted a dazzling glow, illuminating the entire valley.
With a deafening BOOM, the Blast Fla Slash struck the charging monster, instantly obliterating it into a fine powder!
Ridder was dumbfounded, his thoughts lagging for a mont.
’Blast Fla Slash is powerful, but not powerful enough to turn a person to dust. What is happening?’
Everything that had happened tonight was beyond his comprehension.
"Obi!"
"You killed Obi!"
Two heart-rending cries of anguish echoed through the valley. This, along with the massive explosion from the Blast Fla Slash, alerted the people inside the cave.
"Go!"
Ridder roared, simultaneously unleashing two Fla Slashes to block his opponents’ charge.
’This situation is too bizarre. I have to get my n out of here.’
Just as they left, seven or eight more figures poured out of the cave. After hearing the two survivors’ report, they roared in fury and pursued Ridder’s group.
...
「Purple Fruit Village」
Tom recounted the events of that night, his voice still laced with fear.
"One of them was incredibly strong. The four of us—myself, George, and the others—were too slow and they caught up. To protect us, the Commander had to stay behind and cover our retreat."
Tom’s face was filled with gratitude and respect for Ridder.
"Although the Commander was evenly matched with his opponent, another enemy, a Bronze Level, joined the fray while he was tied down."
"Fighting two against one, the Commander used his Blast Fla Slash to force them back, retreating as he fought. They battled like that for nearly a mile before his pursuers finally gave up and turned back."
Ronin’s expression grew grim. "So Ridder was seriously injured in the fight?"
"Yes. In addition to the gash on his chest from the beginning, his left arm was pierced later in the battle."
Tom’s expression was downcast. "We had the Healing Spell Scroll you gave us, sir, so we thought we could heal him quickly. But one bizarre thing happened after another. The wound on the Commander’s arm won’t heal! Not only is it still bleeding, but it’s even starting to rot!"
A Silver-level Knight’s skin and flesh are already enhanced at the Bronze Level. Minor external wounds should heal slowly on their own, even without a Healing Skill.
The recovery ti might be uncertain, but a wound should never, ever rot.
"How is Ridder now?"
Ronin swung himself onto his Cloud Stepper. He had been planning to return to Mountain Forest Town, but now he had no choice but to head to Black Earth Town and see for himself.
"It’s not good!"
Tom said bitterly, "It took us ten days to get back. For the last two, the Commander was so weak that we had to carry him."
’To think two wounds could bring a Silver-level Knight to this state... it’s unbelievable.’
’And those things in the valley that couldn’t be killed, even when run through with a sword... it’s just too hard to believe.’
’What in the world are those things?’
’Are they even human?’
’How can things like this exist in the Wubei Territory?’
’Will they follow the trail to our towns?’
Ronin’s heart was heavy, but he knew he had to face this threat.
"Horn, go to Mountain Forest Town and find Macken. Tell him to bring Babulin to Black Earth Town."
"Yes, sir!"
Whether for defense or for investigating that Mysterious Valley, Ronin needed to assemble his forces.
"Tom, you’re with ."
With a shout, Ronin spurred his Cloud Stepper and galloped toward Black Earth Town at top speed.
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