"Do you know this NPC?" Brother Yang asked, "How do you know what she's about to do?"
"The Wanderer mentor from the Whispering Forest, Jianglu Chenxi, an old acquaintance of mine. I can tell what kind of shit she's about to take by the way she sticks her butt out."
"Haha, then you're betraying your master."
"Bullshit, this is called legitimate self-defense. Besides, she was captured by Heine, what does that have to do with me, Xia Someone?"
"Speaking of which, don't you think this guy's observational skills and reaction speed are a bit scary? Just now, that bone spear and electric arc, he doesn't seem like a rookie who's just entered the battlefield. With his talent, he shouldn't remain unknown in the future..."
"Before the merciful Holy Light Railgun, all beings are equal, door of light."
"Oh, that's true, door of light."
As the two discussed, Heine had already reversed the bindings on the elf's hands and searched her, finding four throwing darts, a willow-leaf-shaped dagger, and two smoke bombs.
In fact, it would have been difficult for him to find so many things, but someone in his mind was muttering, so he had to "pretend to discover" them.
He was also interested in Jianglu's leather armor, but unfortunately, it was a woman's style, both small and tight, unfit for a skeleton to wear.
Throughout this time, the Bone-Chopping Knife rested on her neck, and she remained relatively well-behaved.
Heine had seen elves before, but never from this close.
The elves of this world are not synonymous with beauty, being too thin to the point that their cheekbones jut out, and their cheeks sink in, resembling Angelina Jolie in 'Maleficent'.
"What's your name?"
Jianglu showed no sign of being a captive, instead taking an interested look at Teacher Xia.
Hmm... observing a skeleton.
"I've observed you for one minute, your movements are standard Elven Ranger style. This can't be self-taught, who is your mentor? We might know the same people."
Heine wore a strange expression but did not interrupt.
"Why aren't you speaking? Worried about revealing yourself? It's okay, everyone serves their own master, that's only natural. But these days, it's rare to find a Wanderer with basics as solid as yours. Interested in joining me? I know Mr. Yingyi, he appreciates talents like you, and he doesn't care about one's race or background."
"What is she talking about?" Zhuo Yang asked curiously.
"Who knows, she might be asking how I dodged that Anka Hit. Why isn't Heine stopping her?"
"He might be speculating that you were an Elven Wanderer before you died."
Teacher Xia exclaimed, "What the fuck?!"
——So that's what I thought?
Heine immediately put on a pondering expression, his eyes shining with light.
Just as he was about to ask, a spiky vine shot out of the ground beneath his feet!
The vine, like a cobra's head raised, smeared with reddish-brown soil, was about to wrap around Heine's ankle when suddenly someone yanked him off the ground!
In the blink of an eye, Zhuo Yang decisively abandoned Jianglu and dashed towards Heine.
At the same time, the two of them instantly assessed the situation.
"There are Tree Herders, we can't fight here, you take Heine and head east, get out of the fields first!"
"Got it."
Tree, Tree Herders?
Heine didn't understand the jargon at first, it took a moment before he suddenly remembered—
Tree Herders my ass, those are called Tree Herders!
Dammit, these players...
At that moment, Teacher Xia detonated a smoke bomb behind them.
In this situation, the Tree Herders' control of the field is second only to that of a forest environment, nearly invincible. There's no point in thinking about taking a captive away, even if they had more melee fighters.
He simply cut the ropes binding Jianglu, giving her an unexpected favor.
Jianglu was confused: "Huh? You..."
Teacher Xia pulled down his mask to reveal a grinning skull.
He made a shushing gesture.
Jianglu's pupils suddenly contracted, her mouth agape in disbelief.
"A necromancer??"
Only after the other disappeared in the smoke, and the cloaked man arrived, did she come back to her senses.
"My lord, to think that you would make a mistake," the man said teasingly.
Just as Jianglu was about to retort, she stopped herself.
She recalled her opponent's last action before leaving.
Shushing.
The situation became very clear; she wasn't defeated by three adventurers, but by a Necromancer.
The knight clad in armor was undoubtedly a skeleton too, as no living person would be wrapped up so tightly in this season, and there was a silver thread beneath the helm...
She found an excuse for being seen through consecutively.
In the final analysis, it was the Necromancer's accurate prediction of her actions that made it unsurprising for his summons to react.
But if that was truly the case, to what terrifying extent had the other party controlled the skeletons??
The combat skills and cooperation between those two skeletons far exceeded that of the average adventurer, and even the Wanderer who let her go had a distinct Elven style in his movements!!
She couldn't imagine how the other party had achieved that.
And thinking about how she had told a skeleton, "I see a bright future for you," Jianglu so wished she could crawl into a molehill...
It was so embarrassing!
And the other party had spared her life as well.
By letting her go and then making that gesture with his servant, was he implying a trade of favor for her silence?
"Why aren't you talking? Shocked?" the man continued to prattle on.
Jianglu felt a wave of irritation.
"Tell that Mr. Donald to prepare a fine dagger for me, I will find him in two days."
"Oh?"
The man was slightly taken aback, and just as he was about to ask more, the other party had already disappeared.
"Elves really are not easy to get along with," he muttered.
...
Heine was carried eastward by his skeletons.
The soil became increasingly dry and clumped, with sparse vegetation, clearly not suitable for a Tree Herder's combat.
Finally put down, he first looked around with an unsettled expression, then turned to his skeletons.
"What was that just now?"
No answer.
"Because I was in danger?"
Silence.
"Did you remember something?"
No words.
Heine sighed in resignation, "Alright, thank you. I trust your judgment."
At that moment, Teacher Xia emerged from the wheat field.
Heine pretended not to notice his final little action, but gave him an odd look.
"How did it go? Did you handle it?" he asked.
Zhuo Yang obviously breathed a sigh of relief.
"Handled, just play dumb and that's it. He'll make up the rest in his own mind."
"Then why was he staring at me?"
"He's probably wondering why an Elven Wanderer couldn't run faster than me."
"...Alright, now I've got a character too."
Hearing the two talk like this, Heine also relaxed.
Handled, just act and that's it. They'll make up the rest in their own minds.
It was no longer wise to return to the farm, but the mission still had to be carried out.
Fortunately, the Soluble Blood Grass was also abundant on the east side of the farm, only this area was designated as a forbidden zone by the Gittilers, and Rowen didn't dare to mark it.
Heine harvested a big bagful before leaving.
On the carriage ride back, the pair revisited the previous combat.
In summary, one issue stood out: the lack of a ranged fighter.
The Tree Herder was described by them as an insufferable class in certain conditions—flourishing with vegetation, not high in damage, but proficient in control and restriction with poisons, slows, and entangling, a nightmare for melee fighters.
However, this class also had its drawbacks, as the caster needed to take root to resonate with the earth to the maximum, hence it was a pure turret profession.
If there were a high-perception, wide-vision, full-range ranged fighter, it would be unwise for anyone to stand still and cast.
Unfortunately, there wasn't any.
Heine did not expect to summon a third undead capable of seeing the silver thread.
Suddenly, Teacher Xia mentioned another event that had occurred during the battle.
"Speaking of which, I think I leveled up just now."