Chapter 28

Crouching in the grass, Orland frowned as he watched the guards by the campfire.

"Are you sure it's this carriage?"

He lowered his head and asked the person beside him.

"Yes, my lord, we've been following from Streamwood Town all the way here. We can confirm that Miss Helen of the Keller family is indeed in this carriage."

"The number of people seems to be different from what you said before?"

"That's right. There are three other travelers in the carriage, their identities are unclear, but I don't think they have any connection to the Keller family. Their strength shouldn't be too great."

"Very well, remind them to be more cautious, prepare for the attack, we absolutely cannot fail."

Orland said no more. They had received intelligence about Helen leaving the city several days ago, and now they finally had the opportunity to act. The order from above was to capture her alive. However, this wasn't a big problem for Orland.

"Yes."

The man turned and quickly disappeared into the depths of the grass. Orland raised his head again and looked at the carriage not far away. At that moment, he suddenly noticed the carriage door opening, and a young man stepped out.

Is it him?

Orland's frown deepened, and a faint sense of unease crept into his heart.

Rod stepped down from the carriage.

In the light of the fire, the distant forest appeared unusually dark. He shifted his gaze to the nearby bushes and his expression darkened.

Indeed, someone was there.

In fact, when Rod first sensed someone lurking nearby, his first thought was that the persistent group from the Twilight Forest had caught up with him again. But he quickly realized that this didn't make sense. If it were those people, his perception wouldn't have been able to detect them so easily. After all, spies were an advanced profession, and no matter how abnormal his initial attributes were, they couldn't compare to an advanced profession. The only possibility was that the other party had been careless and left a small clue.

But after getting off the carriage, Rod changed his mind. His perception could firmly lock onto the other party without any pressure, which meant that these people hiding in the grass were not advanced spies. This made the situation very strange. Rod had to admit that since coming to this world, he hadn't provoked anyone. But now it seemed—perhaps they weren't after him?

"Mr. Rod? What's going on?"

At that moment, Liss opened her eyes. As a mercenary, she maintained a habit of being alert at all times. Rod getting out of the carriage in the middle of the night was definitely not for a walk. So she quickly opened her eyes, lowered her voice, and asked softly.

"There are some rats."

Rod retracted his gaze and looked back at the campfire. Hearing his answer, Liss was startled.

"Are they the ones who were tracking us before?"

"No, it doesn't seem like they're after us."

Rod shook his head. His answer surprised Liss, but before she could ask more, a guard approached.

"Hello, sir, is there something wrong?"

After a day of travel, Rod knew that the man in the fine clothes was Miss Helen's head guard, named Ben. Although the position of head guard was usually filled by someone skilled, Ben clearly didn't belong in that category. He was just a seventh-level swordsman, which, by the standards of this world, meant he had just crossed the apprentice level to become a formal swordsman. However, because his family had always served the Keller family with loyalty, he was assigned to this position. It was more accurate to say he was a companion rather than a protector for the young lady.

As for Ben, he had already developed a slight respect for Rod. At first, Ben didn't have a good impression of Rod because of his handsome face, which often made people think he was just a pretty face. But Rod's subsequent performance left him speechless. At this age, most noble children couldn't even hold a sword steady, let alone fight. But Rod could send two well-trained guards flying with a single move. No matter how he did it, the young man's strength was unimaginably powerful. Ben had spent twenty years in Deepstone City, and in his memory, apart from the promising heir of the Felix family, he had never seen such an outstanding person.

Every man has a dream of being strong, and Ben was no exception. Moreover, in the Dragon Soul Continent, strength was always respected. Although he had been unhappy with Rod before, once he realized that Rod could crush him with a single move, Ben's attitude immediately became extremely respectful.

In response to Ben's attentiveness, Rod waved his hand. He had already sensed that there were seven people hiding nearby, with two on each side and one in front, and only one person in the back. He couldn't pinpoint the exact location of this person, but he could lock onto the others even when they moved. This person's movements were unpredictable, and he could disappear at any moment.

It seems this is the strongest among them.

With this thought, Rod had a plan.

"Call your people back."

"Huh?"

Hearing Rod's words, Ben was momentarily confused. He instinctively wanted to ask more, but Rod didn't give him the chance.

A star trace suddenly appeared.

A bright white light cut through the dark night sky, and a snow-white, crescent-shaped blade shot out from the sword. Ben only saw a flash of light, followed by a sharp wind that brushed past his cheek and rushed into the dark forest. For a moment, the grass and trees were flattened, and broken branches and leaves scattered in the strong air currents, like small stones swept away by a giant wave.

The two black-clothed men were completely caught off guard. When they reacted, the crescent blade was already right in front of them, and they only managed to make one move before freezing in place.

Like a gentle breeze, the crescent blade swept past the two men and disappeared into the dark forest.

A moment later, the two frozen figures collapsed into the grass, lifeless.

All of this was seen by Orland, who was hiding on the other side. He was speechless, stunned by what he had just witnessed.

The other party is an advanced swordsman!?

Anyone who could condense and spread sword energy was not to be trifled with. Generally, such skills were possessed by powerful individuals who had reached the advanced level or by members of major families. Either way, they were not someone a small thief like him could provoke. Thinking of this, Orland gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his dagger, wishing he could stab the person who had reported to him earlier. He had said that although the other party didn't seem strong, they had strange techniques and to be careful.

Not strong? An advanced swordsman's strength isn't strong?

It's no wonder Orland thought this way. After all, in the Dragon Soul Continent, NPCs and players were different. NPCs' levels and skill levels were consistent; a tenth-level profession meant tenth-level skill proficiency. But players were different. By consuming skill points to increase proficiency, even a tenth-level player could have high-level magic and sword techniques if they pursued it to the extreme. Some players could even have master-level sword skills right after advancing. However, the higher the technique, the greater the consumption. So even if they mastered master-level techniques, without enough power to maintain them, they were just a joke.

This sudden turn of events immediately shattered Orland's well-laid plans. He had originally planned to kill the three less skilled guards and then capture Miss Helen. Now, he had already lost two subordinates before even making a move, and the other party had an advanced swordsman. This made things very complicated. Although Orland himself was not weak, he had not yet reached the advanced level. That one sword had scared him so much that his back was drenched in cold sweat.

But...

"Let's go!!"

Orland gritted his teeth, put his finger in his mouth, and whistled long and loud.

Then, several black figures leaped out of the grass and rushed towards the carriage!

"Protect Miss!"

Although he was intimidated by Rod's earlier actions, when Ben saw the two figures lying in the grass, he immediately reacted. He shouted and drew his sword, and the other two guards quickly moved towards the carriage. At the same time, Liss jumped off the carriage and cast a Guardian Shield on the three of them.

"Whoosh!"

Liss's Guardian Shield was perfectly timed. Just a second after she cast it, five or six black arrows flew out of the grass towards the unprepared guards. But they were a step too late and were deflected by the faintly golden shield, losing their effect.

"Prepare! Be careful around you!"

Ben shouted loudly, clearly nervous. It was understandable, as this was his first time encountering an enemy ambush in the wild. In the past, Miss Helen's activities were always within Deepstone City, so he never feared any trouble. But now, outside the city, he never expected to encounter such a misfortune!

But now there was no time to think about it. Seeing the black-clothed men rushing towards him, Ben gritted his teeth, shouted, and charged forward.