Chapter 4

The thief was taken aback; he hadn't expected this down-and-out noble to remain so calm and make the most correct judgment in such a situation.

The Songzi River beach was vast, and if on the beach, Marvin definitely wouldn't be able to escape the pursuit of the Akron gang members.

Only the sparse little forest nearby offered a glimmer of hope.

"Was it just a lucky guess?" the thief muttered to himself, not in a hurry. He called out to the gang members who followed and quickly caught up.

His agility was very high, and he couldn't believe that a noble without a combat profession couldn't be dealt with.

Moreover, this forest didn't have such complex terrain; he wouldn't be able to run away.

Marvin rushed into the forest first. Under the cover of the dark night, he quickly approached a large tree with lush branches and leaves.

"No need to even use stealth, he seems very confident," Marvin thought, sneering as he watched the thief swagger over with a dagger in hand.

He still had an advantage.

When Marvin saw the Akron gang, he was surprised and puzzled, but he never lost his composure. As a former Master of the Night, his combat experience was extremely rich. These small-time thugs barely qualified as professionals, and although their strength and numbers were greater than his, combat experience was sometimes crucial!

Especially in complex terrain!

Before Marvin successfully became a Ranger, he was very careful when wearing the Ranger badge, placing it in a very hidden spot. So the gang members probably didn't realize that Marvin had become a professional like them!

This was a huge advantage.

"Want to kill me? Don't blame me then."

He silently drew the white broadsword from his waist, a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes. These scoundrels wanted to eat him, so they had to be prepared to be killed.

Indeed, since the Akron gang appeared, he never thought of running away. He wanted to uncover the truth.

He planned to leave all of them here!

Thinking of this, his blood began to boil, a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time—perhaps the last time was when he faced the pursuit of a dozen demigods while completing the divine mission.

...

This forest was actually quite small, and Marvin had limited space to maneuver.

He had to take out this thief before the others got close. Marvin believed that the others in the gang were not thieves, and this guy who didn't need to use stealth was their only thief. He was also their greatest threat. Thieves have high perception and agility, making it easy for them to find his hiding place.

Once he was killed, the others would be easy to deal with one by one.

Thinking of this, he curled his body slightly, getting even closer to the pine tree.

【Stealth skill activated!】

The Ranger's signature skill was indeed remarkable. With the help of the night, Marvin's body faintly merged with the pine tree. The thief, unaware, strode over. Marvin gripped the broadsword and held his breath.

41 points in the Stealth skill, plus the +9 from the deer badge, was just enough to trigger the 50-point Stealth skill's hidden effect, 【Night's Blessing】.

【Night's Blessing】: When using the Stealth skill at night, the effect is increased by 5%.

Don't underestimate this 5%. Often, even a 1% increase can change the tide of battle.

In his previous life, Marvin was a PK expert, not only proficient in the Thief profession but also well-versed in other professions. That's why he immediately maxed out his Stealth skill to 50 points.

He didn't expect it to come in handy so soon.

This thief's perception seemed even lower than Marvin had anticipated. He might have become a thief due to years of training in the city, not because of any exceptional talent.

He carelessly walked past Marvin, and at that moment, a shout came from the entrance of the forest:

"Jack, where are you? Where's that noble?"

Jack turned impatiently and shouted back, "I'm here! That little noble is nearby, he can't escape!"

Marvin waited for him to finish speaking, then made a clean and swift step, ghosting behind the thief.

His left hand suddenly clamped over the thief's mouth, and the inner edge of the broadsword in his right hand easily sliced through the thief's throat!

Instantly, blood spurted, and the thief's body began to struggle violently!

But Marvin, expressionless, covered his mouth. The thief's desperate thrashing couldn't harm him.

【Normal attack successful!】

【Hit a fatal point! Normal attack turned into a fatal attack!】

【Target dead! Gained 18 points of killing experience!】

Without looking at the battle records, Marvin could tell from the gradually limp body that the guy was dead.

"Too slow," Marvin shook his head, dissatisfied.

Limited by his body and profession, the strength he could exert wasn't very powerful. The sequence of moves he just performed, the Shadow Step + Throat Cut, was a signature combo of the Phantom Assassin, which would greatly increase the skill's damage, making it perfect for a quick kill.

Although Marvin wasn't a Thief now, he could still perform these moves by memory and instinct. Although he was dissatisfied with the execution, these moves didn't have the high attack bonus of skills, but his opponent wasn't a formidable opponent.

A level 2 Thief with 42 hit points would be difficult for Marvin to handle if not hit in a fatal point. But level 1 professionals had no resistance to fatal points, and once hit, they were doomed.

This careless thief was a prime example of a low-level professional. He probably thought Marvin was helpless, but he didn't expect his target to suddenly transform into an assassination expert.

Marvin quickly searched the thief's body, finding a money bag and some materials for making traps.

"Poor guy..." The money bag contained only 5 silver coins, quite meager.

The materials, however, had some use. Marvin, taking advantage of the others not finding him yet, dragged the thief's body to a hidden spot and found another large tree to activate Stealth.

He looked up; a cloud passed over the moon, making the visibility poor.

Tonight was destined to be a night of slaughter.

...

The thief's companions were four people, and they rushed into the forest with torches. The torchlight made the already sparse forest appear even brighter.

With the torches, Marvin's Stealth skill would be greatly reduced. Worse, they would soon discover the thief's body, as he didn't have time to properly hide it, only covering it slightly.

When they found the body, they would become more alert, realizing their prey was not helpless. This would greatly reduce Marvin's chances of success.

"Damn it, that little noble got away from Jack and ran into the forest," one of them cursed, "He's not responding to us, what's he up to?"

"Maybe the little noble ran faster and went ahead."

"But he didn't leave us many clues, and searching like this is a waste of time. We must ensure the boss's orders are carried out. Tonight, that little noble named Marvin must die!"

The torchlight shone over, and Marvin turned his body, calmly listening to the enemies' footsteps. Without a professional Listening skill, his perception was somewhat passive, but these people, like the thief, were careless and didn't control their footsteps, so he could still judge their direction by the sound.

There were four people, two tall ones, a fat one, and a sissy.

Even without seeing them, he could make this judgment.

The four people came near him and started arguing. To Marvin's delight, after a short argument, they made a decision that made him overjoyed: they decided to split up and search!

It seemed they were very confident in their abilities, thinking that dealing with a noble without a combat profession would be easy.

The four people split up, with three going in different directions and the fourth searching nearby.

Marvin skillfully used the shadows to avoid the search range of the other three—his experience in being pursued by a well-trained team in complex caves or forests was extensive. These small-time thugs lacked professional training, which left many blind spots for him to hide.

The fourth person was circling in one spot, and Marvin waited for an opportunity, which came in less than half a minute.

Just like with the thief, a clean and swift Shadow Step followed by a Throat Cut.

【Normal attack successful!】

【Hit a fatal point! Normal attack turned into a fatal attack!】

【Target dead! Gained 11 points of killing experience!】

This was a level 1 Thug, one of the most common professions in city gangs. Thugs had advantages and traits in street fights, but in the wild, they had no edge.

He posed far less of a threat to Marvin than the thief. The only thing that satisfied Marvin was that this guy was slightly wealthier, carrying 12 silver coins.

A faint smell of blood spread through the forest, and Marvin, with renewed vigor, quickly dispatched two more people.

These two provided Marvin with 26 silver coins and a total of 30 points of killing experience. Unfortunately, when killing the last person, due to his height, Marvin couldn't cover his mouth completely. Although the Throat Cut worked as usual, the unlucky guy still let out a scream.

This immediately alerted the last Akron gang member, who rushed over with his torch in a few seconds.

Marvin didn't have time to hide.

"You underestimated us," the tall man said, looking at the body at Marvin's feet, somewhat surprised.

He held a torch in one hand and a machete in the other, a sinister look on his face: "But tonight, you're dead."

Marvin calmly used a Scout skill.

【Scout (35) skill activated...】

【Checking...】

【Scout failed! You cannot obtain more information!】

Scout failed!

This meant the opponent had at least three adventurer levels!

The tall man licked his lips and charged over, his machete raised high, as if to chop Marvin into pieces!