‘Hmm… Why would they show up like this when they had them surrounded?’

Illyan was currently sitting high on one of the branches, looking down at the commotion. His presence was completely hidden, which made even birds sit down next to him without knowing.

He observed as the three robed men came out of the bushes to show their presence with several of their guards while having the rest of them hidden around the bandit camp.

In truth, Illyan was starting to get impatient as he had been tailing these men for several days in a row.

But he was aware that killing all these guards and the three robed men efficiently would be quite difficult.

If even one escaped and got close to the Winterfrost, then many accidents could happen.

Illyan didn’t think he could fight Aziro on an equal level.

The reason was simple.

He saw only the apex of his and Ezekiel’s fight when they were low on fuel.

That meant that whatever spells they used in the underground arena were probably something Illyan couldn’t face at this moment.

And he also didn’t plan to underestimate the normal acolytes.

While Arwen seemed to be weak, he was mostly too stunned to retaliate back then. Illyan thought it was because the guy wasn’t used to fighting, but now, after overhearing the trio, he knew that Arwen was stupefied at the fact that someone attacked him when he was cloaked with magic.

But even then, he managed to construct a spell that made Illyan feel an immense crisis.

Of course, as someone who was fast on his legs, Illyan had a big advantage in close combat as the acolytes needed time to construct the spells.

He was pretty sure that no one here was skilled or talented enough to manipulate the mana directly.

But he would not be careless.

This situation with bandits was actually a perfect opportunity.

The moment when both sides reached the peak of the conflict, Illyan would jump down in hopes of killing at least two of the robed men in one go.

Just as Illyan decided that, the man called Jeren started to talk.

“There is something that only you can give us.” Jeren’s face was placid, but his eyes shone with cruel mirth.

The chief bandit noticed that and became wary. In fact, he was prepared to use the woman next to him as a shield just to have a small chance of survival.

In front of the robed men, people lost their hope and showed their true selves.

“And what might that be?” But still, he tried to talk despite holding his spear tightly.

It was at that moment when the guards that were secretly surrounding them threw out with all their strength rope nets.

“Your lives, of course,” Jeren said calmly as he stood there.

The other two men didn’t even bother to talk with the bandits as they planned out what to do with their pets.

The face of the chief hardened as the yells of confusion rang out around the camp. His men started to retreat in a chaotic way but didn’t have a way to avoid the nets.

In the end, most of them were caught right away. The nets were made out of material they couldn’t cut through, so they could only take them off manually.

Unfortunately, the guards wouldn’t let them do it.

“Stop resisting!” In an aggressive way, they pummeled down everyone who tried to take down the nets.

However, their yelling was overwhelmed by the screams of pain that the bandits gave off.

Only the chief, being decisive enough, threw the woman in front of the net and jumped away.

“Yiah?!” The girl screamed as she was embraced by the nets while the chief ran at full speed towards the forest.

Of course, since the camp was surrounded, he soon met with obstacles.

But he didn’t panic as his eyes gave off a glint of madness.

Brandishing his makeshift spear, he took a deep breath.

Havren’s eyes widened.

“He has the breathing technique!”

His warning came too late, however.

The body turned into a blur as the chief raised his spear and stabbed in front of him with might.

The guards, while too versed in the breathing techniques, weren’t able to parry the attack at all.

Their chests were pierced with their organs impaled. The chief then took a half step back only to release the tip of the spear from their chest, leaving behind only the puncture as he attacked another person.

In quick succession, he killed four of the guards, creating enough free space to run away from the encirclement.

Seeing this opportunity, he left without looking back.

“Chief! Help us!” The screams of pleas were heard but ignored as the bandits watched in despair at the man escaping on his own.

“That was certainly a surprise,” Bast said nonchalantly.

“Yeah, I didn’t expect some bandit would achieve the Flow Realm. Such a person should have no reason to act like a petty thief,” Havren nodded thoughtfully.

They didn’t even blink despite the death of four of their subordinates as they talked without a care.

“Whatever, just send dozens of the guards, and they will be able to get him,” Jeren said dismissively as he was looking for something in his bag.

“We shouldn’t underestimate this. The fact that a peasant like him even had the opportunity to learn the technique is something rare. But managing to learn it on his own? Impossible. Someone was definitely guiding him. The question is why. We must capture him at all costs.”

Havren inferred this while Bast prepared to give chase.

“Don’t! Maybe it is a trap. Take the guards with you,” Havren said calmly.

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That made Bast hesitate.

“Then why not go together?”

“Yeah, no way. Do you think I would outrun a knight? I don’t have any spells that would allow me to do that, unlike you,” Jeren rolled his eyes.

“Same with me. But don’t worry. Here, take some of my dark stones. If you are in danger, then you can detonate them.” Havren reached into his satchel as he took out a dark stone that was similar to charcoal and threw it into Bast’s hand.

Illyan, who was watching from above, recognized the dark stone as the same thing that Arwen had in his bag. He read in Arwen's diary that they could be used as power sources or as mana reservoirs during mana absorption. However, he lacked the essential information, so he didn’t touch them yet.

Bast grinned.

“What if I won’t need it?”

“I will give you half.”

Havren sighed.

“Thank you very much. I will get back soon!” With that, Bast started to mutter something as he waved his hands in a weird incantation.

Soon, his boots started to shine a little as the winds were swirling around him.

With that, he commanded several guards, and all of them disappeared into the forest.

“You are as thorough as ever,” Jeren said lightly.

“It is better to be careful,” Havren said indifferently.

“Is it worth it to use a dark stone, though? The thing is hard to get with the exorbitant fees to be even allowed to bring it here. More importantly, you are already on the verge of a breakthrough. If you reach the Magister…”

Havren interrupted Jeren as he sighed with clear irritation.

“As if it was so easy to become a Magister. I still have a long way to go. Did you see Aziro’s state? Do you think I want to hasten things and end up like him? Half-Acolyte, Half-Magister. What a disaster.”

Havren shook his head.

Meanwhile, Illyan was listening to the conversation with curiosity.

“I see…” Jeren nodded, but his face revealed that he thought otherwise.

Havren saw that and planned to be quiet, but then his eyes glittered.

“There is also another reason as to why you should get rid of the dark stones.” Havren started saying.

That made Jeren curious. But after seeing that Havren was not collaborating, he sighed exasperatedly as he gave him a bag full of silver coins.

“I can’t believe you actually don’t know about it. I know they are trying to hide it from us, but you should be able to get the information on the black market.” Havren shook his head at his ignorant colleague.

“There is a reason why nobody comes to this barren land. After all, even if it is barren, there would still be some people who visit it once in a while for whatever reason. But they don't. The reason for that is that something actually saps away all the energy from here. The stronger you are and the longer you stay, the more power would be sucked away from you. The same goes for the dark stones and other items. That is one of the reasons why they put exorbitant fees on any item you want to bring here.”

“What?!” Jeren yelped loudly, his eyes wide.

“How is that possible?” He couldn’t believe his ears.

As someone who was holding several dark stones in his possession, hoping to achieve the breakthrough to the peak level of acolytes, he was devastated.

“But why didn’t I notice before?” Jeren asked numbly. He had been on this peninsula for several months already yet didn’t notice anything.

He came here with Bast by command and was to serve in this place for five years. Wouldn’t his dark stones turn into normal stones by then?

“This power is mysterious. It doesn’t conform with normal magic as it doesn’t use mana or any other mystical energies. It is hard to feel and these dark stones can actually resist the power quite well. It is also the only reason why I brought a few here for emergencies.” Havren shook his head.

“There are some legends and rumors about this phenomenon, but to learn these costs a lot of money, so I didn’t bother with it. But basically, this place could be said to be one of the safest places in the world as Magisters and other stronger beings can’t be here without losing their power after some time has passed, which they would not accept. Many people were looking for the root of the cause but never found anything. Since the powerful have no way to stay here for too long, they could never uncover the reason for this happening. But there are still people looking for the source in hopes of finding some treasure.”

Havren concluded with a forlorn sigh. When he was younger, he always loved hearing such stories as he hoped to get the opportunity to reach the heavens in one step.

But his dreams were cut off early when he first entered the bloody war that was fought for people he had never seen and never would see. He was born a pawn and should be happy to just get some leftovers.

While Havren’s eyes dimmed with disappointment and acceptance, there was another person who had a completely opposite reaction.

Illyan’s eyes glittered. Even though he felt like he had too much on his plate already, he still wanted more. It was like an instinct to him who had, since being little, always hoarded whatever he found. Especially food. He always collected the trash that even other villagers from his village didn’t want. He ate the inedible herbs and fungus. Hell, he even collected feathers one by one to sell later on.

Now, his standards had risen, but it didn’t change the essence inside of him.

‘If I get a chance, I will look into it.’

“Do you think that this is the reason why Aziro stays here?”

Soon, his attention was taken by Jeren as he asked.

“Possibly. But in my opinion, he actually uses the power to destabilize his foundation to rebuild it before he tries to reach the Magister level again.” Havren explained.

Jeren’s eyes glittered. After all, this was not only a good deduction but also a good idea to realize in the future if his foundation was too shaky.

“Don’t waste any more time. Let’s get done with these bandits. I want to go back as soon as possible. I hate cold weather. My back hurts every time.” Havren groaned.

They finally turned their attention toward the bandits. Fortunately for them, they didn’t have to worry about anything as the guards took care of everything. They just needed to take the centipedes and start the magic.

That was also what Illyan waited for. He had already considered attacking the moment Bast left but decided that it was better for him to get farther and at the same time for the other two to focus fully on these centipedes of theirs.

Only in that situation was Illyan confident enough to catch both of them off guard and dispatch them before they managed to cast any spells.

However, the two acolytes were surprised to see their guards talk with excited voices as they surrounded one person.

Havren immediately noticed it was the same person the chief used as a shield and threw away. But it was just now that he started to focus on her.

“Hmm? What is the matter?” Jeren was intrigued as he listened to their whispers and got closer.

As he got closer, he heard a soft weeping. Looking at the person in the robe, his eyes went wide as his heart started to itch.

Jeren didn’t believe in love. His mother was a whore while his father was a drunkard that beat him every day. He never pursued love as he didn’t see any purpose for that. Visiting a brothel once in a while was enough to satiate his needs.

But now, he felt as if he finally understood.

The woman in front of him was perfect in every sense. Her eyes full of vulnerability, her beautiful hair flowing down her nape.

Her dainty mouth…

Jeren’s eyes glazed over as he waved his hands.

“Get away from her!”

Without any hesitation, other guards immediately retreated several steps from the woman. Life was much more valuable than a random woman to them after all.

“Don’t worry. It is over now.”

Then, Jeren started to approach the woman with softened eyes.

Illyan was also looking at the woman. She was truly beautiful. He never saw a more beautiful woman in his life. In truth, none he knew could even reach her heels in beauty.

But his eyes were placid. He didn’t feel anything despite seeing her being thrown around like a toy by these men.

He wasn't a hero to save damsels in distress.

But the more important reason was…

Suddenly, the woman turned her head, looking upwards in the crown of the tree and made eye contact with him as she stared coldly with her green eyes. Then, her eyes flashed with surprise before she cast them away. His body shuddered.

These eyes weren’t those of prey.

But those of a hunter.

‘How did she notice me?’ Illyan thought as his muscles tensed and his mind reeled.

But he wasn’t the only one to feel uneasy.

“Jeren! Get away from her!”

Havren’s horrified voice resounded through the camp as he noticed something was wrong with Jeren.

No matter how beautiful the woman, he would never tell his guards to retreat and approach her like this.

“Ah?!” It was at that moment when Jeren blinked his eyes and realized what was happening.

But it was too late.

Clank.

The sound of steel drawn resounded as the reflection came from inside the woman’s robe.

With one smooth movement, she took out a hidden saber that was underneath her baggy robe and slashed at Jeren!

Jeren panicked, but as someone who went through many battles, he didn’t hesitate as he waved his hand and overburdened his many reserves to use the raw mana burst since there was no time to use any intricate spells that required time to cast.

Explosions rang out as the blood-red saber and raw mana collided.

However, while the mana could deflect the blade to a certain extent, it couldn’t destroy it nor could it stop it completely as it cut through the mana like butter and instead of cutting off his head, it separated his arm from his elbow.

Blood splattered everywhere as Jeren fell several meters back, holding the stump that was left of his arm.

“Argh!” His eyes turned bloodshot as he stared at the woman in front of him.

“You dare to use mind techniques on me, you bitch?!” He roared in fury.

Meanwhile, the lady took the full brunt of the raw mana blast that rammed into her as she started to bleed from her mouth.

Her low-quality robe was also torn apart by the torrent of mana as it revealed the leather armor underneath and her heroic appearance.

However, her expression didn’t change as she once again prepared to lunge at Jeren with her saber. She took a deep breath and aligned the edge of her saber. The moment she exhaled, the ground under her legs burst as her figure blurred right in front of Jeren.

‘Interesting…’ Illyan thought as he observed with a cold look.