The moment Lin Hao finished speaking, the three women froze, their gazes instinctively locking onto him. Fear filled their eyes, and beads of cold sweat began to form on their foreheads.
"What are you going to do? Let me tell you, if you harm me, my father will definitely avenge me!" the arrogant woman blurted out, clutching at her last hope.
"Oh? Is that so?" Lin Hao chuckled coldly, sending chills down their spines.
Hearing his sinister laugh, the women's faces grew even paler.
"If you let us go now, I won't pursue this matter further," the woman added hastily.
By now, Lin Hao had approached the three women, his expression hardening. "It seems you still don't understand your situation."
He then glanced at the other two women. They shivered visibly and stammered, "T-this has nothing to do with us! We were just tagging along with her."
The arrogant woman turned on them instantly. "You two are abandoning me when things go south?"
"We're just telling the truth! This really has nothing to do with us!" they replied, trying to distance themselves.
"You…!" The woman was on the verge of a breakdown. First her brother had abandoned her, and now her so-called friends were doing the same out of fear.
At that moment, a gentle voice broke the tension.
"How about we let it go?"
The nun stepped forward, speaking softly.
Her suggestion wasn't out of sympathy for the women but rather for Lin Hao's sake. She believed that even if Lin Hao won this confrontation, the woman's family might retaliate later, escalating the conflict unnecessarily.
Besides, the woman had already suffered enough humiliation—her pride shattered, her allies gone.
Considering how the nun had earlier stood up for him, Lin Hao decided to give her face.
"Fine, but let me make this clear: if there's a next time, I won't guarantee you'll be standing afterward," Lin Hao said coldly.
Though the woman was too terrified to respond, she had no intention of provoking Lin Hao again. Her pride was already in shambles, and even her brother, a family pride, couldn't defeat Lin Hao. To challenge him again would be courting death.
After leaving those parting words, Lin Hao departed with the nun, leaving the three women frozen in place. He didn't bother undoing the ice spell, leaving it as punishment.
It took several hours before someone finally came to rescue them, and they suffered severe frostbite. If not for the existence of magic in this world, their injuries might have left them crippled.
Time flew by, and the day of the Royal Knight Exam was fast approaching.
Lin Hao's home was far from the capital. To avoid being late, he had to set out several days in advance.
Living on the borderlands meant the locals were not well-off. The only way to travel such a distance was on foot.
As night fell, Lin Hao stopped by a river to bathe and catch some fish. The fish in this river were unusually large, each roughly the size of his head. What surprised him most was their boldness—they swarmed him as he bathed, mistaking him for food.
Startled, Lin Hao scrambled ashore, thinking they were piranhas. Only later did he realize that, due to the lack of predators in the area, the fish had grown fearless. Anything that entered the water was seen as potential food.
After cleaning the fish, he lit a fire and roasted them for dinner. Once full, Lin Hao opened his grimoire and used wood creation magic to craft a hammock.
The hammock was surprisingly comfortable, rivaling a proper bed. To ensure his safety, he surrounded the hammock with an ice barrier, studded with sharp icicles to ward off any nocturnal beasts.
Despite his precautions, his night's rest was less than ideal. As he had predicted, numerous wild animals prowled nearby, drawn by the scent of fish. Though they couldn't breach his defenses, their incessant howling and prowling kept him awake for hours.
Lin Hao, however, refused to get up and deal with them, preferring to stay in his hammock. It wasn't fear—just sheer laziness.
The next morning, after packing his things, Lin Hao continued his journey.
The road was uneventful until he passed through a village and encountered two robbers a short distance beyond it.
The men, both scruffy and middle-aged, with unkempt hair and ragged beards, looked more like beggars than bandits. Had they not explicitly declared their intentions, Lin Hao might have mistaken them for vagrants.
"Young man, hand over your valuables, and I might just spare your life," one of the men growled.