"Hehe! Looks like I'll be the one to take the credit this time," said a voice from behind, just as Klar's body hit the ground. The air around suddenly warped twice, and a man dressed in black appeared behind Klar, holding a pitch-black dagger that dripped with blood onto the ground. The man was obviously in a good mood as he chuckled to himself. His voice revealed that he was male.
"You guys call yourselves a thief guild, but what about us? You trash, how dare you insult our profession," the man said, seeing another thief struggling on the ground. He walked over and swiftly cut the remaining scout of the thief guild. Afterward, he didn't bother with collecting the spoils; instead, he began carefully inspecting the ground.
"Only six sets of footprints, but there are four women... Hmm, judging by the footsteps, they're all men. Five of them are carrying heavy loads. Got it. There are five deadweights here. It's time for me, Dark Blade, to make a fortune. The bounty of a million gold coins... The hope is probably right here in this group," Dark Blade murmured as he analyzed the footprints left by Ryan and his group. He also sniffed the air, and then his eyes flashed coldly. He quickly set off in the direction Ryan's group had gone.
On the riverbank, chaos had broken out. What had been a stalemate was now thrown into confusion, thanks to the sudden appearance of a group of true thieves. These thieves were skilled at stealth, assassination, and had agile movements with venomous strikes. This was the real thief guild—those earlier groups were just bandits. The original bandits had suffered considerable casualties because they were unprepared, but once they regrouped, the thief guild dared not get close due to the presence of crossbows. This made the situation on the riverbank even more complicated. Across the river, another group of people had arrived, and it was already noon.
"My lord, this is troublesome. The bounty is definitely on the riverbank, or else there wouldn't be nine powerful individuals gathered. They're likely inside that magical shield," one of the black-clad men near the battle area said, speaking to another figure in black.
"We only need the heads. They're outnumbered four to five. They'll end up killing each other. When the time comes, we'll strike and catch them off guard. Otherwise, I'll send my men to deal with those bandits to maintain balance," the black-clad leader said, plotting.
"My lord is wise. My lord is wise," the other black-clad men whispered in praise.
"Gather our people back. No one is allowed to make a sound. We'll wait right here and not reveal our position," the black-clad leader ordered, his brow furrowed slightly. The group of men was fully cloaked, with only their eyes visible. Their belts held a row of crossbow bolts, and they also carried a hand crossbow, a small pouch, and two black daggers—standard gear for the Thieves' Guild.
"My lord, everyone is back. Only Dark Blade went after a small group of escaping bandits," someone reported after a while.
"Hehe, meeting Dark Blade is their nightmare. Dark Blade is one of the members of the Shadow Division. Although he's only a level 5, even an 8th-level swordsman can't detect him. Don't worry about him. We'll continue to lurk," the leader of the black-clad men chuckled, confident that Dark Blade's mission was to steal the credit. "Let him go. It's even better."
Dark Blade cautiously pursued Ryan's group. He had seen exactly how the bandits died: a magical trap. But since Dark Blade was a distance away, he didn't notice the lack of magical energy after the trap was triggered. Fortunately for him, Ryan no longer carried such traps, though Dark Blade was unaware of this. So, Dark Blade didn't dare take the same path as Ryan and his group, as it would slow him down. Dark Blade was a member of the Shadow Division, a branch of the Thieves' Guild that required a rare talent: the ability to suppress one's breath and movements to the maximum extent. This allowed them to conceal their presence while sneaking. Each year, the Thieves' Guild held a selection, but only a few individuals had this rare ability.
The strength of a thief lies in surprise attacks. Thieves use only muscle strength and poison in battle. A typical thief doesn't use aura, as that would expose their position. Dark Blade once tracked a 7th-level swordsman, and the swordsman eventually died of exhaustion because he was constantly using aura to defend against potential assassination attempts. This was a thief's tactic.
"Damn it, what kind of place is this?" Dark Blade muttered, looking at his torn pants. The fabric was made from tough, double-layered linen, yet it had been torn because Dark Blade dared not follow Ryan's path. He had to move through the vines and thorns instead. The path Ryan's group took was easy to track, with cut vines clearly marking the way. Fortunately, thieves are agile and don't fear the vines, but thorns were another matter.
"Squeak, squeak," the loud noise suddenly rang in the air. Ryan wasn't walking too quickly, trailing just behind Quillin's group. He was picking a magical plant from the roadside. This was the first time Ryan had encountered a magical plant. It had a faint wood-based magical energy, which could easily be overlooked. Then, he heard Big Nose making a squeaking sound, directed at something behind them.
Ryan quickly found a large tree and climbed it swiftly. However, no matter how he looked, he couldn't spot anything unusual. Could it be that Big Nose was mistaken? But Ryan quickly dismissed this thought and decided to wait patiently.
"Damn it, is this really a mage?" Dark Blade muttered as he looked at the smooth tree trunk in front of him. The tree wasn't very thick, only about 20 centimeters in diameter, but it was extremely tall, with almost no branches near the ground. Dark Blade had already detected Ryan. In his perception, Ryan was like a candle in the dark, easily visible. He knew Ryan was only a level 1 mage, so he moved forward quickly. But Ryan's reaction made Dark Blade nearly cough up blood. When did mages learn to climb trees so clumsily? But that wasn't the most important thing—what mattered was that Dark Blade couldn't climb trees. Even if he could, once he started climbing, Ryan would surely notice him.
Dark Blade adjusted his hand crossbow beneath the tree. Sadly, the crossbow had a range of only a dozen meters. Although it was coated with a deadly poison, the problem was that Ryan was still a full 20 meters away. Dark Blade glanced at Ryan with frustration, as there was a large branch and some vines over 20 meters from the tree, where Ryan was sitting comfortably. Ryan could clearly see the path he had taken, and the vines above made it easy for him to disguise himself.
"Big Nose, where is that guy?" Ryan, holding a piece of roasted meat, was teasing Big Nose and asking. Big Nose only recognized roasted meat, not people.
Big Nose wrinkled his large red nose and gave a sharp call, before snatching the piece of roasted meat from Ryan's hand and eating it happily.
Ryan closely watched the area beneath the tree and frowned. There was nothing there. However, Big Nose had no reason to lie. Could it be a thief? Among all professions, only thieves could turn invisible, while assassins relied on disguising themselves as someone close to their target before striking—something that was much harder to pull off.
Ryan decided to stay still. He knew that thieves were magic users' natural enemies, while archers were a threat to thieves. But this was no time to hesitate. Big Nose and Delis had a soul contract, but it had distance limitations. Ryan also knew that thieves had hand crossbows and daggers, so he needed to drive the thief away.
After thinking for a moment, Ryan took a handful of magic crystal powder from his pocket and sprinkled it down. A small packet of this magic crystal powder was worth hundreds of gold coins, but Ryan was too pressed for time to care. He grabbed another handful and continued sprinkling, releasing blue water-element magic crystals that sparkled as they fell.
"Dammit!" Dark Blade quickly jumped away. If this stuff touched him, it would not end well. He was furious. This guy was smart, yet still a stubborn mage. Dark Blade swore he would deal with this mage properly.
While the magic crystals were falling, Ryan quickly climbed down the tree and sprinted toward a nearby stream. He had just realized one of the thief's weaknesses: when a thief was sneaking, they were incredibly slow. In addition, Ryan had just been picking magic plants, so there was a magical fluctuation. Otherwise, Ryan wouldn't have had any detectable magic presence. He ran parallel to the line of march taken by Quillin and the others, intending to resolve this thief issue near the stream. If he didn't, this guy might harm Quillin's group. Moreover, thieves had one major weakness: they couldn't use their inner energy while sneaking, and their defenses were the weakest.
"Damned bastard." Dark Blade was livid. Sure, he saw Ryan running away, but the magic crystals were still falling around him. If any of them landed on his clothes, they would reveal his position like a shining beacon. Dark Blade watched Ryan's speed and nearly went crazy. This was supposed to be a weak mage, but his speed was nearly on par with that of a thief. Amidst the swirling magic powder, Dark Blade could only watch helplessly as Ryan ran away.
By the time the magic powder settled, Dark Blade was on the move, but a minute had passed. He no longer cared about maintaining stealth, but he hadn't noticed that his legs had picked up some of the magic powder, causing faint blue glimmers to shine through his clothing. Although subtle, it was enough to give away his position.
Ryan could clearly hear the sounds of Dark Blade chasing him from behind. The sound of rushing water grew louder. He quickly reached the stream, which wasn't very large, but there were huge rocks within it. After bursting out of the woods, Ryan immediately turned back and rolled into the nearby trees, holding his breath and watching the direction of the stream, completely still.
Dark Blade was sprinting madly, cursing Ryan nonstop. For a mage, especially a first-level mage, to have him in this situation was a huge embarrassment. The stream was ahead, and Dark Blade was furious, but the level difference was apparent, so he decided to take a direct approach. He leaped onto a large stone in the middle of the stream, preparing to jump again. But just then, he stopped, his eyes wide.
On the opposite bank, a huge snake stood upright, its brown eyes fixed on Dark Blade. The dark red and golden patterns on its scales intertwined, and its body was roughly 10 meters long, as thick as an arm. This was the jungle's killer— a level 3 Poison Sting Snake. Its venom was highly potent, and its sense of smell was incredibly sharp. It also moved quickly through the jungle. Dark Blade cursed in his mind. It wasn't that he was afraid of the Poison Sting Snake, but its venom was so potent that just one drop would be fatal. Plus, there was a mage somewhere nearby. However, Dark Blade wasn't worried about the first-level mage; he knew they didn't have instant-cast spells—just a few auxiliary ones like poison detection.
Dark Blade quietly withdrew, not wanting to waste time with the level 3 beast. He was glad he could still move forward, but just then, he felt a strong magical fluctuation from behind. In a split second, he rolled to the side, but then he was hit by a gust of wind and crashed heavily into the water. His internal organs felt like they might shatter. He quickly recovered, unleashing his inner energy. The energy helped him regain some strength, and he rolled away, realizing that the Poison Sting Snake was already on his tail.
"You damned bastard, using a magic scroll!" Dark Blade quickly stood up and prepared to face the advancing snake. He was in complete disarray: his clothes were soaked, and he was covered in moss and dirt. He sensed that the only magical presence in the area was from the Poison Sting Snake, which reassured him a little.
The tail of the Poison Sting Snake swayed slightly, while its front half reared up, its eyes fixed intently on Dark Blade.
With a loud "whoosh," the snake's tail whipped through the air like a whip, forcing Dark Blade to leap aside. He quickly grabbed his hand crossbow and fired three bolts at the creature. This crossbow was a rapid-fire model, capable of launching three bolts in quick succession.