Darkblade didn't care whether the crossbow bolts caused any damage to the Poison Sting Snake. In the instant the bolts were fired, Darkblade twisted his wrist, and two daggers leaped into his hands. He gripped the right-hand dagger firmly, and the left-hand dagger was held reverse. He took a step, then rushed toward the Poison Sting Snake.
Two of the crossbow bolts missed their mark, but the final bolt pierced the snake's soft belly and lodged deep inside. The Poison Sting Snake was enraged by the strike. It was the king of this area and had never been harmed this severely. But to Darkblade's surprise, this only pleased him, as anger often led to openings. This was the first lesson his instructor had taught him when he became a thief: Always keep a cool head. That might be your only chance at survival.
"Clink, clink," the sound of daggers scraping against the snake's scales rang out, as sparks flew from the contact. Darkblade cursed under his breath. Because of the pain from the crossbow bolt, the Poison Sting Snake moved unexpectedly, causing his daggers to miss the softer areas of its belly and instead scrape its tough scales. Darkblade reacted quickly and dodged just in time. A massive maw swiped across the space where his head had been, and the rancid smell of the creature's breath hit him. The snake missed its strike and lunged at Darkblade again. Darkblade rolled to his left to evade, but as he did so, he felt his waist tighten. His body was uncontrollably pulled toward the Poison Sting Snake.
"Damn it!" Darkblade cursed, realizing his mistake. A thief alone had little chance against a magical beast. But he had no choice. In the jungle, facing a snake-type monster with speed as its primary strength was almost a death sentence. The Poison Sting Snake's only magic was its venom spray, which, rather than being a magical spell, was more of an instinct. The venom was dispersed in a fan shape, reaching as far as ten meters. That was why Darkblade had to engage in close combat.
Ryan watched, stunned, as Darkblade and the Poison Sting Snake twisted in battle. The thief's movements and the snake's reactions were so captivating that Ryan was almost mesmerized. It felt more exhilarating than any magical blockbuster he had ever seen. However, the splashing muck and the constant sounds of struggle reminded him that this was no movie.
"Roar!" Darkblade, possessing 5th-level combat energy, wasn't afraid of the snake's constriction. What concerned him most were the snake's venomous fangs and the toxic liquid. He had to hold the snake's head tightly, or else the venomous bite would be lethal.
"Damn you! You bastard!" Darkblade roared as he gathered all his combat energy. The black aura enveloping his arms grew darker, and sharp black spikes extended from his fingers. He drove them into the Poison Sting Snake's neck. This was Darkblade's ultimate technique—Dark Elemental Combat Energy, a highly corrosive force.
The snake's flesh slowly began to emit black smoke and dissolved into bone. This was the signature of the Dark Element's corrosion power. The Poison Sting Snake, sensing death, thrashed even more violently, and the small stream nearby turned into a muddy mess as rocks and debris were sent flying. However, the corrosion was concentrated on the snake's neck, and it didn't take long for it to collapse. Darkblade climbed up onto a large rock, gasping for breath, utterly exhausted.
"What's this kid doing now? Isn't this the perfect opportunity for a sneak attack? Why is he lying around?" In fact, while Darkblade was fighting the giant snake, part of him was hoping to lure Ryan out. He had sensed a mole nearby, which his enhanced senses and keen sense of smell had picked up. Darkblade could distinguish different kinds of magical beasts from hundreds of meters away, and the reason he had taken such a long time with the Poison Sting Snake was because he had been impatient.
"Hmm! He's running." Darkblade's senses told him that Ryan's magical presence was moving far away. All skilled professionals possessed some form of detection ability. Darkblade quickly stood up, but at that moment, he felt a violent magical surge and rolled to the side just in time. However, it was too late. Darkblade felt a sharp, cold sensation on his right cheek followed by excruciating pain.
Ryan had been feeling a bit frustrated. How could a 5th-level thief be struggling for so long with the Poison Sting Snake? But then he realized something. The snake's flesh had been corroded, and in order to use elemental combat energy in such a way, a practitioner had to be at least an intermediate level. Not only that, Darkblade was a Dark Elementalist, which provided a combat power bonus. Ryan then noticed Big Nose beside him. He suddenly understood what was happening and had Big Nose track down Delis. While Ryan could hide his magical presence well, Big Nose, being a 1st-level magical beast, couldn't.
The moment Darkblade stood up, Ryan's Wind Blades were already in motion. But in that brief instant, Darkblade's combat experience allowed him to narrowly dodge the attack, though he lost part of his ear in the process.
"Damn it! I'll tear you apart!" Darkblade was furious. Despite his bleeding ear, he charged into the forest, sensing another magical presence moving rapidly ahead. But as he entered the forest, another surge of magical energy erupted. Darkblade had no choice but to brace himself, only to see a series of Wind Blades heading straight toward him.
"Ah! I'll skin you alive!" Darkblade saw a figure sprinting into the forest. Darkblade had some fame in the Thieves' Guild, but today, he had been humiliated by a mere 1st-level mage. He didn't care about the Wind Blades cutting through his clothes and leaving wounds. Unfortunately, thieves had no choice but to take magic head-on. If Darkblade hadn't reached 5th level, that last attack would have killed him.
"Where did this monster come from? So many magic scrolls, but no magical fluctuations. Could it be a magical accessory that hides magical power?" Darkblade kept his eyes fixed on the figure ahead. He soon realized that what had drawn his attention earlier was just a magic core—a 1st-level magic core.
Hearing the sound behind him, Ryan ran even faster. However, as the footsteps grew closer, he quickly stopped and turned around, deciding not to run anymore. He knew that no matter how fast he ran, he wouldn't outrun the thief. Now, he was just hoping that Big Nose would run faster and that he could hold out a little longer.
"Run! Why don't you run?" Darkblade shouted, blood covering his face and his clothes torn, but he still kept his distance from Ryan. This guy had too many strange things about him, and Darkblade had a keen eye. He carefully observed the ground, still haunted by the memories of the death of Klar and his band of robbers earlier.
Ryan didn't respond. He just leaned against a large tree, breathing heavily. While Ryan had good stamina, he had never undergone proper training.
"Close..." Ryan muttered to himself, realizing this wasn't working. He then pretended to start chanting a spell.
"No magic scrolls, you're dead!" Darkblade knew mages all too well. The moment he heard Ryan utter a chant, he charged toward him. Darkblade had calculated it perfectly. A 1st-level mage would need at least two seconds to cast a spell, but Darkblade only needed just over a second. With a snarl on his face, Darkblade dashed toward Ryan.
"Haha, did you fall for it?" Ryan flicked his hand, and several Wind Blades appeared in the air. This time, Ryan didn't waste mental energy controlling the blades. He just released them directly. This was part of the strategy Ryan had been contemplating earlier. The small creek was clearly not a good place. If Darkblade managed to escape and then circle back, it would cause trouble. Ryan's shout was also a signal—if Delis and the others were ready, this would be their cue.
"Instant cast!" Darkblade cursed in frustration, but he still managed to twist his body at the last moment. However, he was still struck, adding more injuries to his body. A massive gash appeared on his arm that was guarding his head and face, and blood poured out. In this world, thieves were the natural nemesis of mages—but that only applied to regular mages. If they encountered a thief who could cast magic instantly, it was a dead end. Darkblade cursed again for having lost his crossbow, but as he rolled, he threw his right-hand dagger in Ryan's direction. This was his throwing knife.
Ryan wasn't foolish. After casting the magic, he immediately rolled to the side. This was just a natural response from watching too many war movies. As a result, Darkblade's dagger embedded itself in the tree, and the intense poison started to corrode the tree, causing black smoke to rise from the trunk.
"Damn, is there such a mage like you?" Darkblade looked up and saw Ryan rolling to his feet, just as his own ultimate move had beautifully struck the tree. In Darkblade's mind, mages didn't roll on the ground. That was a trademark of thieves and assassins, who often faced archers. But here, not only could this mage run fast, but he could also cast magic instantly and roll on the ground.
Ryan, seeing the dagger stuck in the tree trunk, felt a chill run down his spine. It felt like he was in a real battlefield—fire off a spell, then quickly dodge. If it had been any other mage, they would have been dead by now. So, when Darkblade said that, Ryan replied curtly, "Go die." With that, he summoned a series of Wind Blades, occasionally mixed with a Fireball, all while constantly moving, mindful that Darkblade still had a dagger in hand.
"Freak!" Darkblade shouted, rolling sideways and then using the cover of a bush to stealthily hide and treat his wounds.
Ryan was dumbfounded. He saw a flash in front of him, and then Darkblade was gone. Ryan quickly found a large tree to lean against, observing carefully while pretending to replenish his magical energy with a magic core in hand.
Darkblade watched Ryan's movements, a strange smile creeping onto his lips. Slowly, Darkblade circled around some bushes and then started moving toward Ryan's left flank. He was extremely cautious, carefully checking the ground with each step, and moving slowly to avoid stepping on leaves or broken branches that might make a sound.
"Hmm, what's that?" Ryan's eyes darted around, and in a sliver of sunlight, he noticed a faint glimmer. He quickly continued to observe and realized that it was the thief. In any light, the areas that glimmered with faint blue light would subtly shift. Ryan immediately deduced that it was magic crystal powder.
After a moment of thought, Ryan decided to take the risk. He planned to release a spell only when the thief got closer because, while a thief was most vulnerable when sneaking, they couldn't use their aura or fight effectively. Without the flow of fighting energy, there would be no energy fluctuations, but to fool the thief, Ryan decided to play along.
"Come out, come out, you coward!" Ryan shouted angrily while releasing Wind Blades and Fireballs in all directions. The nearby bushes were torn apart, branches and twigs flying everywhere. However, Ryan's attention remained behind him. About five meters away, several beams of sunlight shone through the trees. Ryan continued to stomp on the branches and shake the bushes, feigning frustration, all while constantly shifting his position.
Darkblade, seeing this, was delighted instead of concerned. The sounds of trees and bushes breaking could cover his footsteps, and more importantly, the little mage had almost run out of magical energy. The color had drained from Ryan's face, a clear sign of magical exhaustion. Darkblade had now positioned himself directly behind Ryan, only ten meters away. There was a large tree nearby, and Darkblade decided to close the distance. At five meters, he would strike because from this range, Darkblade could leap and slice through the mage's head with his dagger. But Darkblade wasn't going to do that just yet—he wanted to have a little more fun with the little mage.
"Anyone who dares to attack my League Empire's merchant ships will be executed without mercy!" On the riverbank, everyone was kneeling, and above them hovered a middle-aged man with a terrifying aura that reached into the sky. His presence was overwhelming, forcing everyone to the ground. As the words left his mouth, Cort dashed forward, already covered in blood, though his magical beast, the Wind Serpent, appeared unharmed, though a bit sluggish. Cort approached the five high-ranking fighters who had previously battled them, and with a swing of his sword, their heads rolled off their bodies.
"The rest will be sent to the mines. Where are Quillin and the others?" The middle-aged man's face was grim.
"Reporting to the Grand Elder, they have broken through. They went through the forest over there," Cort quickly answered. The League Empire had an Elder Council, and the Grand Elder was the highest-ranking among them. These elders rarely involved themselves in state matters unless it was a matter of life or death. The Grand Elder was also a level 10 legendary mage.
"Take care of the rest. Meet up at Ze'nan City. Reinforcements will arrive soon. We must get to the bottom of this. I'll handle the Thieves' Guild," the Grand Elder instructed before swiftly heading toward the forest.
"Closer... closer... just one meter," Darkblade whispered to himself as he watched Ryan, now holding a Wind Blade in his hand. Darkblade wasn't surprised; Ryan had been holding the Wind Blade for over half a minute now.