As he took out another assassin, only four of them were left. One was roughly two steps away, while the rest were quite some distance to the back. Quinlan knew that they would be able to break free before he could even approach, so he decided to go for the other closest assassin instead.
*CRACK!*
But the ice on one of his legs broke, partially freeing him.
'Oh no!'
Quinlan felt pressured.
If he missed this chance, then he was sure that death would soon follow him. Partly out of reflex, he decided to move before his mind could even start to process his surroundings. His right arm flexed to the back before flicking the sword forward, letting it rotate wildly as it flew in the air!
*SCHICK!*
The sword soared at quite a speed, aimed at the side of the Assassin's body that remained frozen. In short, he couldn't dodge. The sword embedded on his right side after causing a deep gash, then passed right through and out his back. A fist-sized hole opened up on the assassin's side!
Quinlan, whose strength increased for a moment after being on the brink of death, fell forward powerlessly. The poison had already spread all over his body, to the point that it was already a miracle that he was still maintaining his consciousness.
The wounded assassin similarly fell forward as he earned a fatal wound, while the other three slowly broke out of their icy restraints.
Anger colored the gazes of the three remaining assassins as they rushed forward at their top speed. Quinlan watched them approach, feeling like the world was going in slow motion. Step, step, step. The sound of their foot pressing hard against the ice echoed loudly in his ears.
"...?"
No... The sound wasn't coming from the three.
*BUWOOOOOOOON!*
Suddenly, a loud battle horn echoed, causing the assassins to flinch.
"O-Oh no! It's the garrison!"
One of the three turned to the source, finding a team of cultivators running toward them.
"Damn it! Let's hurry and take this bitch's life! We'll run right after!"
"L-Leader..."
The three seemed panicked and tried to return to their original task of assassinating Quinlan. However, just as they turned away from the approaching garrison, a voice echoed from behind them.
"Great judgment. However, too bad, you're too late."
A deep baritone voice echoed right behind them, causing the three of them to stiffen. No, more like the moment the person behind them spoke, the three of them froze in fear.
An aura that couldn't even be compared to the old Doctor's. The Aura of a Nascent Soul Cultivator!
Quinlan watched as the man stood idly before the three assassin's bodies slowly fell down, cut in halves vertically. Soon, as if noticing Quinlan's condition, the man started to approach him. At that moment, the string of tension holding his consciousness faded.
A blue window popped before him, just as he closed his eyes.
[Congratulations! You have completed the Timed Quest: Reach the Garrison or Survive for 5 minutes!]
[Reward Received: Permanent Title (Heaven's Child)]
[Reward Received: Unkown x1]
---
Warm breeze, along with the scent of flowers and the chirping of birds. Surrounded by such peaceful elements, Quinlan opened his eyes.
"Ugh... this place is...?" He moaned lightly while trying to look around.
A giant, soft bed with white curtains hanging around it. A quiet, elegant room with expensive-looking ornaments. And finally, a sleeping beauty lying beside the bed. "... My room?"
Although it looked similar, Quinlan was sure that Yinuo's room wasn't as elegant-looking as this one.
As if stirred awake by his voice, the beauty sleeping by his side, Xiyadie, raised her head while scratching her eyes.
"..."
As if half asleep, she just stared at Quinlan, just like how he started straight back at her.
"... Young... Lady... Yinuo?"
As if an engine that was slowly warming up, her brain processed the information she was seeing, causing her brows to furrow. She even went and rubbed her eyes, just to make sure she was not hallucinating.
"Young Lady! You're finally awake!" Xiyadie shouted with joy, tears forming around the corner of her eyes as she leaned forward, reaching for Quinlan's hand. "We were all worried, you know?! You were even asleep for a full day."
"A full day...?"
Quinlan was slightly surprised after hearing how long he had been out. However, more than that, he was surprised by the fact that he managed to survive. "Right, I was attacked by assassins and... wounded... and poisoned?"
"Yes, Young Lady. You were in dire straits." Xiyadie nodded with a serious face. "You were fortunate that General Jiang Mugen was nearby at that time. If not for his help, they said that you might've even died!"
With how she spoke in an animated tone, it wasn't hard for Quinlan to guess how severe his condition was back then. "I see..."
Still, looking at how Xiyadie was only worrying about his health, it seemed like his plan of placing his life on the line to ensure everyone's safety was a success. Well, he almost ended up dead, so it couldn't be said to be a complete success, however.
While listening to Xiyadie reprimand him, he turned to glance at the still-opened windows of the Revenger System, reading them one after another. A title and an unidentified object as rewards!
'A title? I wonder what it does?' Just as Quinlan wondered, as if responding to his inner voice, another window appeared with an explanation regarding the title.
[Heaven's Child Title: Once each day, you can survive a fatal attack through the activation of "Heavenly Luck." Reset after 24 hours from the last activation.]
[Note: "Continuous Damage" or "Damage Over Time" attacks like fire, poison, frostbite, and suffocation are considered a single attack and would be blocked for a total of 10 seconds.]
"..."
Quinlan couldn't believe what he just read. At last, the system gave him something that would be able to save his life!
'But this unknown thing... I wonder what it is?'
Although he was tempted to press the Accept button right then and there, he held back. After all, Xiyadie was still with him. Even though he already deceived her into believing that he could hear the Voice of Heaven, there was no way to explain if some weird object suddenly appeared before him.
'But above all else, I still need more powerful weapons to help myself survive in this world!'
He already lost the crossbow he made; he was not even sure where he dropped it while fighting the assassins. Although that one was moderately powerful, it wasn't as effective as he thought it would be.
After all, with mighty martial prowess, it was easy to snatch an arrow out of the air.
"... Should I make a gun or something?" Quinlan muttered in a low voice as he heaved a long sigh.