CHAPTER 8: CHAPTER 8: THE END

After Herag returned, he found that the battle was still ongoing.

Emil was facing both the Female Knight and Marco alone. Emil and Marco were both injured, but the woman appeared unscathed.

The three moved extremely fast, surrounded by a team of archers who could only watch and dared not shoot.

The speed of the three was too fast, and the archers lacked the precision to hit Emil.

Herag observed the surrounding terrain, found a position that was both offensive and defensive, then bent his bow and shot, killing an archer.

"Someone’s here!" The archers immediately scattered, seeking places to hide.

They couldn’t see Herag’s position and could only blindly shoot a few arrows into the dark forest.

Herag made a quick count, there were eight archers left, and he planned to take them all down.

Whoosh! Another arrow flew, taking down an archer hiding behind a large stone.

After killing this one, Herag repositioned himself, moved to another angle, and killed another archer hiding behind a tree.

The archers were in utter terror, unable to locate Herag’s position. No matter how they hid, the cold arrows would find their way from behind or from the sides, escaping was impossible.

Marco and the Female Knight couldn’t afford to care about them either; their battle had reached a fever pitch, leaving no one to spare a moment for Herag.

A one-sided slaughter began, with Herag transforming into the Grim Reaper, taking down an archer with each arrow.

Ten minutes later, all the archers were dead.

After finishing, Herag stayed hidden in the mountain forest, bow bent but not shooting.

He was waiting, waiting for the right moment to strike.

The three moved swiftly, Shenlan was calculating at high speed, the moment an opportunity appeared, Herag would make his move.

The Female Knight seemed to always be watching Herag, leaving no openings with her cautious strikes.

Marco, however, was in a killing frenzy, intent on a life-and-death battle with Emil, which Herag saw as a breakthrough point.

After all, they were human, not machines; humans always make mistakes.

If there was a mistake, Shenlan would surely catch it, as it wasn’t human.

"Marco is not far from the Great Knight level, you know. I really took a loss on this deal. There has to be more money when this is over," the Female Knight said softly.

Marco was inexplicably enraged, shouting, "Shut up! If you went all out, he would be dead by now!"

"If I went all out, he would fight us to the death. This way, he will eventually die, so why choose the riskier option," the Female Knight chuckled.

The battle among the three lasted for an hour and was still ongoing.

At this point, they were visibly tired, their speed and strength significantly reduced.

Marco took a deep breath and shouted, "It’s time to end this!"

His muscles swelled as if he had used some Secret Technique, holding the great sword with both hands and leaping up for a vertical slash, leaving Emil with no choice but to defend with all his might.

But if he defended with all his might, it would give the Female Knight a chance.

Whoosh!

At that moment, a cold arrow shot out. In mid-air, Marco couldn’t avoid it.

Marco screamed, clutching his eye as an arrow pierced his left eye.

Emil seized this opportunity, executing a horizontal slash, and Marco’s head flew off, rolling to the ground.

The Female Knight, about to attack, saw this and leapt back two steps, sheathing her foil.

"Hmm?" Emil was a bit puzzled, having prepared to fight to the death against the Female Knight.

The Female Knight explained, "I was hired by him, the employer is dead, so there’s no reason to continue fighting. I’m no combat fanatic. Besides, he only paid for me to act, not to risk my life."

With that, she walked away, not even glancing at Marco’s severed head.

"Lord Emil!" Herag hurried over.

Emil sighed in relief and gave a bitter smile, "I thought I was certainly going to die; your arrow was quite impressive. By the way, you’re still alive?"

When Sean went after Herag, Emil had felt a bit regretful, as he didn’t think Herag could escape from such a Knight-level assassin.

"My arrows were poisoned, and he just got a scratch," Herag smiled.

Emil remarked, "Even poisoned, he could easily have killed you, so surviving this reflects your skill."

He sighed and continued, "See how many horses are left, tie Hagen’s and the others’ bodies onto them, and take them home."

Herag turned back into the forest and found that all eight horses were just fine, untouched by the recent battle.

He tied the bodies of the two guards to the horses, and with Emil, each rode on one, leading the group with the remaining horses following behind.

Two days later, Herag and Emil met Baron Buck, who was coming to support them while on their way.

Baron Buck was a middle-aged man with a face full of flesh, dressed in a vigorous outfit, showing no sign of being a noble.

After listening to Emil’s report, he said, "Things aren’t that simple, Emil; they weren’t just after you."

"Lord, what else has happened?" Emil asked.

"That Marco worked for that scumbag Simon next door. While they were attacking you, they also raided the southern mine. They thought they could definitely take you out this time, which would leave me without a capable ally," Baron Buck explained slowly.

Simon is the lord of Beihad Territory, and also a baron.

But his territory is poor in resources and has low tax revenue, often causing trouble for the surrounding territories.

Baron Buck continued, "This year, Beihad is suffering from a severe drought and famine, and things are chaotic. Meanwhile, Dur Valley had a bountiful year, so they’re likely to take further action. We must strengthen our defenses during this time."

"Understood, my lord," Emil nodded.

Baron Buck looked at Herag and said, "You’re called... oh... Herag, aren’t you? Well done, lad!"

It had already been widely circulated that Herag single-handedly shot twenty people and even counter-killed a Knight-level assassin.

Baron Buck’s guards were somewhat skeptical, but since Emil stated it himself, it couldn’t be false.

Herag didn’t care, and he was indifferent to others’ evaluations and opinions.

His only concern now was to quickly increase his power. Facing Sean, even a small mistake or stroke of bad luck could have meant death for him.

"Shenlan, scan Baron Buck’s physical data." He was curious about the power level of a Great Knight.

"Buck Salara: Power 3.8, agility 3.5, Constitution 4.1, Spirit 1.3. His entire body is charged with unknown energy."

This kind of data would already be considered superhuman in his previous life.

What intrigued Herag more was that Baron Buck’s entire body was filled with unknown energy.

While Emil and Sean, who are Knight-level, only had unknown energy within their bodies.

When Sean pursued him, he had once utilized the unknown energy, greatly enhancing his stats, including driving a dagger through a tree trunk.

"Baron Buck’s entire body being charged with unknown energy, does it mean he can exceed Sean’s burst strength with a casual strike?" Herag speculated in his mind.