The guards were pretty far away from each other, so they heard the noise, but they didn't know where it came from. I could see that, and my heart raced like crazy while I looked for the next target.
'If I deal with half of them, I should be able to escape since they will be scared of getting too close… I can finally understand now why they are so scared of me.'
I didn't know if the previous Leon Maxwell had the same system. Still, the guy who freed me acted like he had it… this kind of power was kind of scary for ordinary people since I got so much stronger in a matter of days. Still, it wasn't perfect since it could be lost… the honest Leon Maxwell lost his powers and ended up almost burned to death.
In any case, it didn't take long before I found three other targets exposing their backs. So, I readily aimed the next arrow at one of them and readied the next arrows. Once again, I got the three guards before they could find me… Still, soon enough, the other guards found the bodies of both groups of enemies and then began to look for me.
This time around, they didn't split up… they knew that I was expecting them to do that, after all. Still, I decided to lay low and wait… that didn't work. Before long, I heard a loud explosion and then some screams.
I shifted my position a bit, and soon, I saw one of the guard's hands burning. Then he fired a fireball at a house, another one since the first was already burning.
'Crap… they are humans, but they don't care about causing trouble to the villages.'
I wanted to know why they would go that far. Was it out of fear? Even so, I didn't have time to indeed find the answer… the village didn't have enough houses, and I didn't want to be the cause of the whole place being burned down. That would give reason to even ordinary people to hate me.
After taking a deep breath, I jumped from the house and began to run away in the opposite direction. It didn't take long for the enemies to find me and try to chase me as well. Despite being fully armored, they were faster than me.
'Give me a fucking break.'
I dashed to the trees with all my might because I wanted to use the darkness they offered as a shield and because I also wanted to have a clear vision of the enemies. Before I could enter the forest, I turned around and then fired three arrows in quick succession. The enemies raised their shields to block the attacks, but two of them were still killed when the ironhead passed through them. The other guy was lucky because his arm got in the way.
(The Archery Tree leveled up. You received 70 Experience points.)
(You have leveled up and received five Status Points and one Rank-up Skill Point.)
I used the points and then turned around to the forest. Although the guards reached the place quickly with torches, they soon stopped and looked around in confusion since they couldn't see me. They couldn't hear anything either. That seemed like the best time to level up Veiled Presence, but I knew better than to be so passive in the situation.
I was hidden behind a tall tree, trying to regulate my breathing and calm down my racing heart… I just killed a bunch of people, so it was no surprise that I had a hard time doing that. Still, I smiled a bit and calmed down when I didn't see the shadows of the trees moving… it seemed that the guards were also quite wary of me.
Considering the situation, I had to scare the shit out of those guys, and knowing the story of the honest Leon Maxwell, I knew what I should do… in the end, I left my hideout while showing my face and then fired some arrows at the guards. Two of them fell before the others could react and try to charge at me.
Still, they hesitated when they saw the cold look on my face… I tried to look as scary as possible, showing the expression of someone who was indeed out for blood and wanted revenge. Thanks to that, they flinched, and two more of them fell. I could have continued like that, but I decided to take a step further, then dropped my bow and picked up my sword and shield.
"Come and face the wrath of your king, you traitors. Run away now like the swine you are and be beheaded by your new masters, or face me now and die like a man."
I had already killed the mage of the group, so they couldn't dispose of me from a distance… once again, they flinched in fear without knowing how to react. Still, they braced themselves for the fight when I stepped in their direction…
I had no idea where my confidence was coming from… probably from their fear. Still, sooner or later, I had to confirm how strong I was compared to everyone else. Soon, I confirmed that when I reached the first enemy and swung the sword with all my might. The guard tried to block with one hand, but his guard was blown away, and then my sword cleaved through his right shoulder.
Before the target could fall, I pulled the sword without hesitation and then stepped back to face the next guard who was about to reach me. The guy tried to stab my neck with his sword, but I blocked it with mine.
Before I could try to do anything else, another one approached from the side and tried to stab me, too, but I raised my shield, and the metallic part at the center blocked it. I could feel the weight of their attacks… it wasn't that impressive. I increased my strength up to 30, so I could only imagine that theirs was below 20.
Before others could approach, I pushed their weapons away and made them stumble… focusing on blocking their attacks worked for me, even more so when they had one of their hands busy with torches.
When the next enemy approached, I blocked the sword strike with my weapon and then pushed it away before kicking his stomach with all my might, making him vomit his lunch.
(You have unlocked a new skill tree.)
(You have upgraded the Martial Arts skill tree.)
Martial Arts: Improves your skill in unarmed combat techniques and maneuvers.
Martial Arts Mastery
Unarmed attacks do 20% more damage. (Requires Martial Arts skill tree at Level 01)