Nuo Han, sitting opposite, wanted to speak but held back. Magister Zuo Lin smiled and bid farewell to Fei Lin, returning to his carriage to meditate and cultivate. Fei Lin, eating her exquisite meal slowly and gracefully, had barely finished half a plate by the time Li Xi had cleared his. The upbringing of nobility was deeply ingrained.
At the same time, in a bustling city, perhaps even surpassing modern metropolises, within a lavishly extravagant manor, a secret letter was placed on the owner's study desk. It read: "The hunting party is in position and ready to strike. Awaiting your command."
Below, in red ink, a single word was written: "Act."
...
In the dead of night, Li Xi, sleeping soundly in his tent, suddenly twitched his ear and opened his eyes. He rose and walked outside, seeing Nuo Han's massive frame meticulously polishing a two-handed greatsword with fine linen by the campfire.
Nuo Han saw Li Xi emerge. "Brother Li Xi, why aren't you sleeping more?"
Li Xi gestured outwards. "A few rats have shown up, disturbing my sleep."
Nuo Han's eyes flickered, his expression unwavering, as if forged from steel, unperturbed by anything. He picked up his one-and-a-half-meter greatsword. "Brother Li Xi, you protect the young lady and the master here. I'll go take a look."
"Go ahead, I've got things covered here."
Li Xi approached the carriage. Unsure of the intruders' strength, he didn't rashly awaken Fei Lin and Zuo Lin. If they were only level three or four and couldn't even defeat the outer guards, calling them would make him look unprofessional.
Nuo Han had barely been gone five minutes when muffled groans echoed from the camp's perimeter. As the two sides engaged, there were no shouts, only the incessant clash of weapons, a continuous symphony like a storm. It seemed Nuo Han, a level five berserker, leading a few level three and four warriors, was not gaining the upper hand.
Seven level four warriors approached and surrounded the three carriages, their visors lowered, their determined, cold eyes scanning their surroundings. Their small round shields formed a continuous line, capable of blocking fatal blows from unknown enemies.
"Are we under attack?"
Such a loud voice startled Fei Lin and Zuo Lin, but having witnessed much in their lives, they calmly inquired about the situation.
"Yes, Brother Nuo Han has already taken some men. I'll handle things here." At this crucial moment, Li Xi unleashed his mercenary skills, a one hundred percent success rate which came with chances for tailed beast draws.
"Then I'll trouble you, Mr. Li Xi." Through the carriage, Fei Lin was terrifyingly calm. Master Zuo Lin hadn't even uttered a sound, but Li Xi could sense Zuo Lin was also secretly preparing himself, solely by the fluctuations in the magical energy in the air.
The darkness greatly hampered vision, making it difficult to see clearly. Li Xi closed his eyes briefly, and upon reopening them, his pupils had become vertical slits, a two-comma Sharingan. Looking around now, it was essentially as clear as daytime.
Li Xi could clearly see Nuo Han engaged with three high-level assassins. Each swing of his greatsword forced the assassins to dodge with extreme caution. A single blow from it meant saying goodbye to the world. However, the assassins attacked with incredible speed, their twin daggers darting out in alternation, circling Nuo Han like three silver dragons, ready to strike without hesitation at the slightest opportunity. Unfortunately, Nuo Han's faint blue battle aura, coupled with his heavy armor, rendered their attacks almost negligible. He only raised his gauntlets to block attacks aimed at vulnerable spots like his eyes, nose, and forehead. At other times, he pressed forward relentlessly.
Although the three assassins were at a disadvantage, it was not easy for Nuo Han to defeat them. Li Xi could clearly see that the assassins' attack patterns were extremely familiar to Nuo Han.
Looking at the other warriors, they were all engaged with their opponents, their strengths seemingly matched. It appeared the attackers were well-acquainted with Fei Lin's group's combat prowess, and those assigned to tie up Nuo Han and the others were precisely matched.
Li Xi's eyes shifted slightly. He reached out and caught a heavy iron arrow shot towards the carriage. The force of the catch made his body tremble slightly, and he even left several hand imprints on the iron arrow before stopping its momentum. As the arrow was caught, a piercing sonic boom followed.
Li Xi followed the arrow's trajectory and, just as it was about to exceed his line of sight, behind the layered leaves, he spotted a figure drawing a bow and arrow.
"It is impolite not to reciprocate."
Li Xi retrieved a longbow, as tall as himself, from his spatial ring. This bow was the cherished weapon of Ya Lida, a level five great archer who had ambushed him from behind and was subsequently killed by Li Xi's shadow clone. After Li Xi killed her, her bow was left in a cave. Li Xi had his shadow clone retrieve it later. He had taken it out to play with when he had nothing else to do, never expecting it to be used now.
He nocked the arrow he had casually caught onto the longbow and pulled it back with such force that the bow, capable of being used by a level five great archer, became a full moon. Li Xi spared no thought for this bow, worth at least thousands of gold coins, drawing it with full force. The bowstring even emitted a sound of strain.
'Boom!'
The bowstring vibrated violently, stirring up fallen leaves and dust on the ground. The surrounding warriors looked at Li Xi with disbelief, only then realizing the true strength of the seemingly carefree mercenary from daytime. The arrow flew towards the distant figure like a cannonball.
Perhaps this individual was confident in his archery, as three arrows were fired in rapid succession towards Li Xi's direction. The first arrow struck Li Xi's arrow, but with a 'bang,' it was shot down by Li Xi's arrow. Li Xi's arrow, its power undiminished, struck the second arrow, and the second arrow was also shot down. However, after successively destroying two arrows, Li Xi's arrow finally lost its momentum and was intercepted by the third arrow. Both fell to the ground.
The figure couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his nearly soaked clothes. He hadn't been informed that there was such a formidable archer. The force of the arrows indicated at least peak level five strength, far beyond his ability to handle. He immediately prepared to flee.
Just as this figure was about to change position for a surprise attack, a second arrow, unseen, flew towards him. Unfortunately, its aim was poor, missing him but severing the tree trunk beneath his feet. With undiminished force, it broke a row of large trees behind him, making the entire forest sound as if hundreds of lumberjacks had simultaneously felled trees.
The power of this shot terrified him, causing him to immediately jump from the tree and flee into the distance, stumbling. He feared that Li Xi's next arrow might hit him. An archer capable of such power, who had missed him earlier, was definitely not inaccurate; he was issuing a warning. If he dared to retaliate, his life would be forfeit today.
Unfortunately, his thoughts were entirely mistaken. Li Xi hadn't missed; he had aimed poorly. And Li Xi very much wanted to kill him, but his weapon was insufficient. Li Xi was currently holding his dilapidated longbow with dissatisfaction. He had only shot twice before the bow snapped. Furthermore, the second arrow's accuracy had been compromised by the weakened bowstring, causing it to miss. He certainly wouldn't admit it was his inexperience that caused him to miss, allowing the enemy to escape.
Fortunately, the second arrow scared off the ranged attacker. With no archer ambushing from the shadows, Li Xi scanned his surroundings, finding no immediate threats. However, Nuo Han was still engaged in combat, the assassins relentlessly pressing their attacks, effectively pinning them down. This indicated that more enemies were yet to appear, and he could not let his guard down.
Suddenly, over a dozen puppets covered in weapons flew out from behind the carriages. The puppet master on the opposing side had made their move. These puppets, with weapons at their joints and coated in poison, reminded Li Xi of the assassin from the Assassin's Guild, Kenada. However, that man was already dead. A generation's puppet master, in pursuit of eternal life, had transformed into a vampire, only to die like an extra in the jaws of a shark.
"Sir, protect the young lady and the master. We will engage the puppets."
These last seven warriors went to confront the puppets, but upon engaging, they were immediately entangled again. Li Xi understood. The opposing side must have prepared specific strategies, possessing enough power to tie up every member of the convoy. Since Nuo Han and these warriors were already occupied, the next target would be Master Zuo Lin.
As Li Xi's thought formed, he sensed magical energy gathering in the air. However, it wasn't from the carriage behind him but from deep within the distant forest. The enemy mage was brewing a spell, and Li Xi could feel the gathering of magical energy from hundreds of meters away, indicating a significant spell.
"Mr. Li Xi, please protect the young lady. I will go meet an old friend." Zuo Lin's carriage door opened from within, and Zuo Lin emerged, holding a magic staff inlaid with a red magic crystal.
Zuo Lin's expression was serious, suggesting that the opponent's strength was at least that of a magister.
Li Xi stopped Zuo Lin. "Master, wait a moment. Let me try first. I'm quite interested in this mage."
Without waiting for Zuo Lin's reply, Li Xi formed hand seals.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
'Poof!'
A shadow clone appeared, nodded at Li Xi's main body, and then, to Zuo Lin's astonishment, vanished from its spot.
"Mr. Li Xi, what kind of magic is this...?" Zuo Lin was utterly perplexed by this spell. He hadn't sensed any magical fluctuations during Li Xi's casting. If it wasn't magic, then what was it? To create a fully autonomous copy of oneself?
Li Xi replied humbly, "Master Zuo Lin, this is just a small trick of mine. Don't be surprised. It's a clone of mine that possesses some of my abilities. It would be best to let it test the mage's depth."
As Li Xi finished speaking, a thunderous explosion erupted from the place where magical energy had been gathering. Large amounts of ancient trees were kicked up like pebbles under a child's foot, disintegrating into dust before even hitting the ground. The magical aura, which had been close to completion, also vanished.
As a seasoned mage, Zuo Lin understood what this situation signified. It meant Li Xi's shadow clone was comparable to a level five expert. If a clone was this strong, then the main body was beyond measure; he himself might not even be an opponent. It seemed their journey back would be worry-free.
Zuo Lin's stern expression softened. "Since Mr. Li Xi is so considerate of this old bones, I shall continue my rest."
"Master, please rest assured. If I can't handle it, then you can come out and save the day." Li Xi, with great humility, escorted Zuo Lin back into the carriage, as if the events that just transpired had nothing to do with him.
Nuo Han was still entangled, but his attacks had become more rapid, his greatsword striking with no reservation. It seemed even Nuo Han's good temper had been ignited by the protracted fight, his body constantly expanding and contracting like a balloon, growing larger then returning to normal, then growing larger again. It appeared Nuo Han was forcibly controlling his berserker state.
All the warriors were also engaged. The ambushing archer had been driven away by him, and the mage was occupied by his shadow clone. Li Xi wanted to see what other tricks these individuals had up their sleeves.