Chapter 75

The bright light of magic illuminated the originally dark jungle as if it were daylight. Fang Yi squinted and watched the battle under the tree canopy, drawing his weapon without hesitation.

The ones being attacked were an old man and a young man, leaning against a giant birch tree. The older one was a human, and the younger one was a dwarf. The dwarf appeared to be seriously injured, with bloodstains on his robe and his graying beard. He was holding his abdomen, his face contorted in pain, lying on the ground. The three vicious wolves surrounding them had blood on their mouths, likely from the old man's injuries.

Standing next to the old man with a staff was a somewhat thin young man. Despite facing three beasts of his own height, the young man's expression was resolute. He held his staff in front of him, and his left hand, hidden behind, seemed ready to cast an unexpected spell at any moment.

The attackers were two humans and a lizardfolk, accompanied by three vicious dogs. However, their attire puzzled Fang Yi—had he seen wrong? Wasn't this the typical mixed style of pirates from the Faerûn Sea?

"Don't resist futilely, Il. Our people will be here soon," the lizardfolk, who seemed to be the small leader, said with a lisp. His broken Common was barely understandable to Fang Yi, who strained to hear. "Hand over that thing, and we might spare your lives, hahaha~"

Although the three were arrogant, they clearly had some reservations, perhaps fearing the spells in the hands of the other side or the so-called "thing" the two held. They didn't rush to attack but kept taunting the others, clearly waiting for reinforcements.

That's exactly what I was waiting for! The information from the Detect Magic spell was clear: three spellcasters, two at level 15 and one at level 16. Fang Yi could add a bit more, a spellcaster with summoning spells.

Fang Yi had already left his hiding place and sneaked up behind one of the human spellcasters standing in the shadows. He executed a throat slash with practiced ease, and the enemy fell to the ground without making a sound.

The first to react were the spellcaster's summoned beasts. The sudden death of their master immediately broke the fragile bond between them, and their chaotic nature made the vicious wolves immediately pounce on the nearest beast.

The sudden change caught both the attackers and defenders off guard. This moment of hesitation led to drastically different fates for both sides. The human spellcaster in the middle frowned and raised his staff. The Light spell attached to it revealed the old man and the young man under the birch tree, as well as the two vicious wolves fighting each other. But now it became his own death warrant.

Without any pause, Fang Yi silently darted out of the shadows, leaping toward the enemy who was like a third wheel. His movement was so fast that his shadow in the magical light left a series of blurry afterimages. In Fang Yi's eyes, the spellcaster's expression of shock had not fully formed. He instinctively raised his staff to block the magic-infused dagger. But Fang Yi's movement remained unchanged, and the elven dagger slashed diagonally toward the spellcaster's head.

"Swish!" After a slight sound, the elven dagger had severed the enemy's staff and cut through half of the spellcaster's head. A terrifying damage number and experience prompt appeared in Fang Yi's field of vision. Fang Yi glanced at his status: "Frenzy" skill, 6 seconds remaining, 1 action left! The only remaining vicious wolf under the spellcaster's control, ignoring the two frenzied beasts, pounced directly at the old man and the young man at the base of the tree.

Fang Yi had no time to deal with the dogs. He bypassed the still-standing corpse of the human spellcaster, looked at the lizardfolk a dozen feet away, and saw that he had just cast a protective spell. From the residual magical light, Fang Yi deduced it was a Stone Skin spell.

A very correct choice, but not now—Fang Yi's right hand had already switched to a triple-shot crossbow. He leaned to the left, and the light from the fallen staff once again shone on the lizardfolk spellcaster's sickly green nose. The lizardfolk's fingers, just about to cast the next spell, saw the crossbow in the thief's right hand and his breath caught.

"Snap, snap, snap!" The sounds of the crossbow bolts hitting their target came in quick succession. The spellcaster, who had cast the Stone Skin spell, was not pierced but was knocked off balance by the force of the bolts. A series of damage numbers, "-3, -4, -4," appeared on his head, and his casting was interrupted.

By this time, Fang Yi had already reached the lizardfolk. The elven dagger ignored the Stone Skin spell and ended the battle in two strikes. Fang Yi turned to rescue the old man and the young man, just in time to see the two vicious wolves sink into a patch of mud, and the young man ensnare the third one with a Rope Trick.

These two are quite powerful~ Fang Yi quickly approached the vicious wolf that was entangled and dispatched it. He then turned to look at the two, pondering how to start the conversation.

"Thank you, adventurer." The older human's injuries were not as severe as they looked. He was holding a staff and could still smile at Fang Yi. A beautiful purple brooch on his chest was quite noticeable. Fang Yi sheathed his dagger, waved at the old man, and then went to help bind his wounds.

"Who are you!? Why are you helping us?" The young man, who had initially not wanted Fang Yi to approach the old man, asked with suspicion, though he was stopped by the old man's gaze.

Young people these days can't even say thank you. I'm a player, of course. Who has ever heard of a player not getting involved in an adventure quest? If I had helped those spellcasters, my alignment would have definitely shifted to chaotic evil, which would be very bad. But do you understand that?

Fang Yi rolled his eyes at the young man but said generously, "I'm an adventurer passing through. These people's 'pets' attacked my carriage, and I followed them here."

"Let's not talk now. There are definitely more of them. We need to leave this place." Fang Yi glanced at the staff, which was gradually losing its light, and said to the two. They clearly understood the severity of the situation and immediately got up and left the battlefield. Led by the old man and the young man, the three headed in a certain direction in the jungle.

Fang Yi had always been directionally challenged. Although there was a Sense Direction skill in the game, Fang Yi had never spent his precious skill points on it. So, despite his high Perception of 16, he quickly became disoriented and lost all sense of direction as he followed the two.