CHAPTER 57: CHAPTER 57: THE KNIGHT AND THE ROSE

After Herag ran a distance, he could no longer sense any commotion from that side and began to take a detour towards the exit.

More than forty minutes later, Herag reached the exit, and he encountered no one else along the way.

The four horses at the exit were still there, and in addition, there was also a carriage, which Herag estimated belonged to the three Third Class Wizard Apprentices.

After mounting his horse, Herag began galloping madly, preparing to rush all the way back to the Moonlight Forest.

"From what those three said, Malcolm must have discovered that Lune died in the Moonlight Forest and blamed it on Moonlight Forest, even offering a bounty..."

He took off his robe and changed into casual clothes.

Herag kicked the horse’s belly, making it run even faster.

More than an hour later, Herag felt a bit relieved, seeing no pursuers behind him.

"Hmm?" Suddenly, ahead, he heard the sounds of swords clashing, along with cries and shouts of killing.

As Herag rode closer, he saw a group of bandits attacking a caravan.

The bandits numbered about thirty, including crossbowmen.

The caravan had only a little over ten people, desperately holding on, using the carriage as a fortification. Dead bodies lay all around.

"Come on, brothers, they’re about to break! These are nobles, they must have good stuff!" The bandit leader, a man with a long scar across his face, was standing on the outside, directing the attack.

The strongest in the caravan was a knight level fighter in his forties or fifties, guarding a gap in the middle of the carriage, holding a giant shield to fend off the bandits’ attack.

Herag just took a glance and continued on his way, not wanting to involve himself in unnecessary trouble.

Riding past, the scar-faced man noticed him, and spotted the two rings on Herag’s hand at a glance, his eyes lighting up, saying, "Block him! That man has good stuff on him!"

Seven or eight arrows sailed towards Herag, aiming to shoot him down.

Herag had already received Shenlan’s warning and ducked down to dodge the incoming arrows.

"This guy’s got some skills, shoot his horse!" The bandit leader continued commanding.

Several arrows quickly embedded into the horse’s rump and belly, causing the horse to wail and fall to the ground.

Herag tumbled off, his eyes coldly fixed on the bandits.

"Hahaha! Good shot, kill him!" The bandit leader laughed, immediately directing seven or eight men to charge at Herag.

At the same time, some crossbowmen started aiming at Herag, shooting arrows at him.

"Ice Shield!"

"Mana Shield!"

"Dark Energy Shield!"

The arrows bounced off the thick shields and fell to the ground, completely failing to harm Herag.

The bandit leader’s smile froze on his face when he saw the strange shields on Herag, raising a bad feeling in his heart.

Clang!

Herag drew his brilliant longsword and charged at the bandits.

Arrows still kept coming, but without exception, all were deflected.

Herag’s physique now was at a knight level, and with a few strides, he was upon the bandits, severing a head with a single swing of his sword.

The blades and arrows of these bandits were useless against Herag, unable to breach even the most basic defense.

In the blink of an eye, Herag killed one with each step, taking down all eight charging bandits, leaving a bloodied path.

"M-monster!" The bandits were terrified at the sight, becoming panic-stricken as they had never seen such shields like those on Herag, beyond their understanding.

The bandits began to flee, even abandoning the caravan they had been assaulting.

The bandit leader ran the fastest, silently mounting a horse and starting to gallop away.

Herag fixed his gaze on him, swiftly forming a Corrosive Arrow in hand, shooting it straight toward the bandit leader.

Swoosh!

The Corrosive Arrow pierced through the bandit leader’s neck, knocking him off his horse.

The bandit leader’s neck had a terrifying bloody hole, with black edges from corrosive energy.

The bandits, having lost their leader, scattered and fled in all directions.

Herag couldn’t be bothered to chase them, as pursuing would only waste his travel time.

He looked back at his horse, which was barely alive on the ground, and then headed towards the caravan.

"Thank you, Mystic, for your help! The Allison family will forever remember your grace!" The middle-aged knight knelt on one knee to thank him as Herag approached.

"Hello, my name is Uffie Ellison." A noble young girl, dressed luxuriously, stepped off the carriage behind, her face delicate, legs wrapped in white stockings.

Herag gave her a indifferent glance but said nothing, and turned to ask the middle-aged knight, "Can I buy a horse?"

"Buy... a horse?" The middle-aged knight was a bit taken aback, then quickly said, "Of course, you need not buy it, just take whichever horse you fancy and ride away."

Herag nodded, chose a strong black horse, mounted it, tossed two Gold Coins on the ground, and rode off.

Uffie helped the middle-aged knight up, saying, "Uncle Shanni, I think he is the knight I’ve been looking for."

Knight Shanni sighed helplessly, "Miss Uffie, that gentleman just now is no knight, but a legendary wizard, don’t provoke him."

"But all the knight novels say so, the knight always appears when the princess is in danger, rescues her, and they live happily ever after." Uffie held a novel titled "The Knight and The Rose" in her hand.

Shanni knew his young lady was recently infatuated with knight novels and said, "Miss Uffie, we should get back in the carriage, and head home while the bandits are scared off."

"We must treasure these two Gold Coins." Shanni carefully picked up the two Gold Coins Herag had left, wiped off the dust, and put them in his pocket.

For Herag, it was just a minor incident on his journey, and what annoyed him was the delay caused by the damned bandits.

Herag made no stops along the way, only camping at night to rest briefly and let his horse graze and drink water.

Three days later, Herag arrived at the Red Mountain Range Station.

He sensed a tense atmosphere as soon as he arrived, noting that a Formal Wizard and three Third Class Wizard Apprentices were stationed there.

"No one was stationed here when I left." Herag found it a bit odd.

"Show me your Talisman Stone." A chubby Third Class Wizard Apprentice came over to verify his identity.

Herag honestly handed over the Talisman Stone. The chubby wizard checked it and, finding no issues, returned it to Herag.

Then he took out something resembling a bamboo section and said, "This is the Faceless Bamboo Section. Take it and suck on it once with your mouth."

Herag did as instructed, and smoke puffed out of his ears, nose, and mouth, dissipating quickly.