BOOM!
The support pillar exploded under the blast arrow. The wooden building groaned in agony. Roof and walls collapsed in a cloud of dust.
Vera’s team shielded Barton and barely escaped through the breach.
Cough cough… “Nice shot, Filing!” Vera waved away the dust, but his heart sank again the next moment.
In the farmyard, more enemies closed in from all sides. Behind them, Gavin and his men climbed out of the fallen beams.
Nearly thirty against four, plus the dead-weight client Barton.
They barely found a spot with their backs to a wall and protected Barton while fending off attacks.
Vera moved like the wind. His scimitar traced silver arcs, retreating to block when needed, lunging for vicious counters when gaps appeared, disrupting the enemy formation.
Fiyin huddled in the rear. Magic shields blocked most incoming arrows and spells.
Cirian chanted nature prayers under his breath. Vines burst from the ground at critical moments. When enemies stumbled, the elf darted in for quick stabs.
His healing spells kept the others from bleeding out.
The greatest contribution came from Filing after drinking Wind Whisperer brew.
Arrows cloaked in pale-green wind prioritized archers and mages on rooftops and high platforms. They were either shot down or forced to leap away.
The four worked in perfect sync, but against enemies of comparable strength and triple their number, the situation grew grimmer.
Suddenly Vera spotted an enemy who had silently climbed the wall and dropped down, blade slashing at Fiyin’s back.
“Fiyin, duck!”
Vera shouted and spun, kicking the ambusher away.
But the split-second distraction cost him. A poisoned crossbow bolt shot through a gap in the crowd, striking the exact moment his old force ended and new force hadn’t begun!
Pain flared in Vera’s right shoulder. Numbness spread instantly. His movements froze fatally. The nearest enemy wouldn’t miss the opening.
“Vera!” Filing cried. Without hesitation she swung her bow. A wind-wrapped arrow forced the attacker back.
But the motion left her wide open.
Gavin, who had been waiting at the edge for exactly this, finally moved.
“For sacrificing yourself to save a companion, what a good child! You deserve salvation!”
He lunged. His claw-sword stabbed straight at Filing’s unprotected back!
Filing felt the deadly edge behind her. Too late to dodge or draw. She could only desperately twist sideways.
CLANG!
[Acceleration LV9]
[Scales LV9]
[Physical Resistance LV10]
[Flowing Body Step LV5]
Norris’s figure flashed across the battlefield like a phantom, crossing Gavin in an instant before rolling onto the wall.
Gavin didn’t pursue. Filing had already recovered her stance, and…
He stared at his notched claw-sword, eyes narrowing as he studied the newcomer’s gear.
No matter how he looked, the man had no shield. He had only just drawn a dagger now. What had blocked his strike?
A minor issue. In that instant, Gavin had gauged the intruder as gold-tier. What truly worried him was the man’s speed.
That speed and agility even beastmen would envy. If he wanted to run, no one could stop him. Then they’d have to tuck tail and flee.
While Gavin calculated how to eliminate this variable, Norris was checking scratches on his arm scales while listening to the Boss’s shared intel:
“The leader you just fought, LV52 diamond-tier, specializes in close-quarters burst. Several explosive skills. Don’t trade blows. Behind that broken door on the left, an old sneak with a crossbow…”
The intel was useful. It would be better if the Boss didn’t deliver it in such a casual, tavern-chat tone…
“Pointless struggle!” Gavin ordered. The assault on Vera’s group intensified.
Vera saw Gavin’s intent. While desperately parrying attacks from all sides, he shouted toward Norris, “Friend! Thank you for the help! But don’t come down! He wants to take you out first! Run to the city and report! Don’t worry about us!”
“Then you’re all dead?” Norris didn’t know Vera well. This was the first time he’d seen someone tell a rescuer to abandon them.
“They outnumber us too much! No choice!” Vera parried a slash, gasping. “Can’t drag you down with us!”
“That’s not necessarily true.”
“What?” Vera didn’t understand.
At that moment…
“What the—AAAAH!”
The guy hiding behind the door, firing crossbows, suddenly tumbled out. Before everyone’s eyes, he was rapidly dragged back inside. A brief scream, then silence.
“Another one!”
Gavin grew wary, but the next sound made him relax.
*Puchi—*
In Mushroom Capital, no one hadn’t heard that sound.
No big deal, just a Puchi master.
Probably this intruder’s Puchi.
Though a gold-tier Puchi master was rare, it wasn’t beyond reason.
With the footsteps came… Puchis.
One, two, three…
Watching the dense swarm surround the entire farm, everyone had the same thought: How many people came?!
But as the Puchis charged, Gavin and his men quickly realized almost all were illusions, shattering on contact.
“Don’t panic! Illusions!”
Yet before Gavin could relax, a claw blade sliced through three charging Puchis, and one was real!
Not just Gavin; others began popping real, poisoned Puchis.
As bodies were cut open, pale-red toxin spread.
The instant they realized it was poison, Gavin and his men covered mouth and nose, but it was too late; they were already affected!
[Skin Penetration]
After the Sacred Tree Dungeon opened up, Lin Jun naturally hadn’t forgotten to acquire this skill.
At the same time, a hand landed on Gavin’s shoulder. “The scariest part is not knowing what’s real. You don’t even get that. Burn.”
Flames engulfed Gavin. He endured the agony of burning alive and spun to counterattack.
With the sound of crystal shattering, the Aidin behind him slowly faded.
A subordinate doused Gavin’s flames with a water ball and supported him. “Priest, what do we do?”
The tide had turned. Though many had taken antidotes in time, some subordinates had been killed by Vera and Norris in the chaos.
Most critically, Gavin himself was wounded, and he recognized his attacker!
“That was Farr’s right-hand man Aidin! We can’t escape… retreat to the basement!”
Not just Gavin; every surviving subordinate was dragged inside.
Facing the retreating enemy, Vera’s group didn’t pursue; they were at their limit.
Looking at Norris, Vera thanked him sincerely. “Friend, thank you for saving us. First meeting—what’s your name?”
(End of Chapter)
