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Looking at the determined gaze of the female knight, Shen sighed and waved his hand, "Alright, there's no need for all this. Are all you knights like this, a bunch of lunatics... Oh, by the way, thankfully there's still one who isn't. Um, next time you go back, tell your master that if you're sending someone again, send that interesting guy, at least he can chat with me, it won't be so boring."
The female knight just stared at Shen silently, lips sealed, but her slender fingers still tightly gripped the hilt of her sword.
Shen shook his head, "Well, I won't intervene in this Instance."
"The Lord said that I must stand by your side until the Instance is completed, because..."
"Because what?"
The female knight hesitated for a moment and whispered, "The Lord said that people with the last name Augustine aren't very trustworthy when they speak."
...
In the warehouse area, the two bodies on the ground had not yet cooled.
One of the lone wanderer's body was facing towards the entrance—just less than a hundred meters from the door, with the abilities of an awakened, they could have easily run that short distance in a few steps.
The four-person small team had a very high efficiency in killing, it was evident that they had good coordination, a sense of timing, and their actions were clean and precise, without any unnecessary delay.
After the four individuals had killed the two lone wanderers, Nicole suddenly let out a soft sigh.
"What's wrong?" Tian Lie asked.
"Nothing," Nicole shook her head.
Tian Lie chuckled, "Anyone who hasn't been identified by bloodline is automatically classified as part of the Light Camp... Killing a member of the Light Camp earns you 1500 points. If these guys hadn't made a move, I might have taken action myself."
Nicole sneered inwardly.
Points? What use were these points?
She didn't even have an exchange system.
Three lone wanderers were now down to one. The remaining one seemed somewhat nervous. He looked at the approaching four-person team, hesitated for a moment, and then shouted loudly, "I've passed the identification, and I'm currently part of the Dark Camp!"
After making this declaration, he immediately took a few steps back, putting himself at a safe distance.
The man in the four-person team who was wielding a knife glanced at the lone wanderer, nodded coldly, and then turned his gaze toward Tian Lie and his companions.
The four of them continued to walk straight towards them.
"Can we get to know each other?" the man with the knife raised an eyebrow.
There were still traces of blood on the bandages around his wounds, and he clearly gritted his teeth while walking, enduring the pain. However, he stood tall with a straight back, exuding a tough and determined aura.
However, Tian Lie seemed as though he couldn't be bothered to even look at him. He lazily replied, "Not interested."
Behind the man with the knife, his three team members were clearly infuriated by this dismissive attitude. One of them couldn't help but snort loudly, deliberately raising the crossbow in his hand.
Tian Lie smiled contentedly as he looked at the four individuals. His gaze landed on the one with the crossbow, and he said with a friendly tone, "Could you please move that thing away from me? Don't point it in my direction."
The other person sneered in disdain.
Tian Lie sighed, "Actually, I have a bit of a bad temper. When someone points a weapon at me, I might just go crazy and do something unexpected."
The person was getting annoyed and was about to say something, but the man with the knife stopped his companion and said in a deep voice, "Since we're in the same faction and might have to fight side by side in the next stage, shouldn't we get to know each other?"
Tian Lie, however, continued to shake his head, "Not interested."
"Why?" The man with the knife was now also getting irritated. "Do you consider yourself superior and look down on others?"
Natasha seemed visibly nervous, but Nicole appeared nonchalant, gazing elsewhere as if she couldn't care less about the tension stirred up by Tian Lie.
Tian Lie, with his friendly demeanor, replied, "You've probably misunderstood. I watched all four of you in action earlier, and your abilities are quite impressive, especially you. Your knife skills are excellent."
"Then..."
"I don't want to get to know you because I have a quirk when it comes to making allies," Tian Lie grinned, "I judge people by their looks. If someone looks ugly to me, I don't want to ally with them."
The guy with the knife probably didn't expect Tian Lie to say such a nonsensical thing. For a moment, he was stunned and didn't know how to respond.
However, his subordinate, the one with the crossbow, immediately erupted, "Guild Leader! He called us ugly!!"
The man with the knife raised an eyebrow, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly lifted his hand, bringing down his blade right over Tian Lie's head!
Tian Lie grinned as he watched the man.
He didn't block the attack, just tilted his head slightly and stepped aside half a step.
With a clang, the blade struck Tian Lie's shoulder.
As sparks flew, the blade landed on Tian Lie's collarbone, but it didn't even make a dent!
The man with the knife was stunned. He never expected that Tian Lie would react so nonchalantly and take his blade head-on!
As the blade struck, and Tian Lie's smiling face remained unchanged, the man with the knife suddenly felt a sinking feeling in his heart. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
"Done with your swing?" Tian Lie grinned contentedly at him.
"Who exactly are you?" the man with the knife persisted.
Tian Lie took a deep breath and frowned, "I didn't want to tell you before, and now, even after you've taken a swing at me, I still won't tell you. Don't you have a clear head?"
The man with the knife remained speechless. His three subordinates behind him, however, all raised their weapons, ready to face a formidable foe.
"If I wanted to fight, I would have done so already," Tian Lie waved his hand dismissively. "The system specifies that members of the Light Camp can't engage in combat within their own faction, but it doesn't seem to have such a rule for the Dark Camp. This rule itself feels a bit like a trap. So, you might as well save your energy. I don't want to kill members of my own faction before the third stage. If you're willing, go stand aside quietly."
The man with the knife stared at Tian Lie with a fiery gaze, but he still spoke defiantly, "You seem like a formidable individual, but I, Blade, won't tolerate humiliation! I'll remember this, and if I get the chance, I'll come to challenge you!"
With that, he and his subordinates immediately moved to the side.
Nicole, on the other hand, gave a couple of extra glances to Blade and smiled, "He does have some backbone, doesn't he?"
Tian Lie, however, had a disgusted expression, "I hate these so-called tough guys the most. They don't have much skill, but they love to put on airs and act like they're hotshots, like a stone in a pit, pretending to be something they're not. They don't have much talent, but they're always strutting around. Do you know what I like to do when I encounter such idiots?"
"What do you do?"
"I break each and every bone in their body, one by one, to see if they can still act tough." Tian Lie smiled, "Believe me, most of those who put on a tough guy act are just bluffing. When someone starts breaking their bones one by one, they'll be rolling on the ground, begging for mercy with snot and tears."
"System Prompt: Faction assignment completed! Phase Three initiated.
Due to the reassignment of factions, the initial rewards for killing members of the opposing faction are null and void.
Starting from Phase Three, each kill of a member of the opposing faction awards 500 points.
For Light Camp members, with each death, the task requirement for maintaining the magic array time decreases by 10 seconds.
For Dark Camp members, with each death, the task requirement for maintaining the magic array time increases by 10 seconds.
After ten seconds, coordinate transmission will commence. Please prepare for your respective faction members.
Phase Three is a free battle zone, where there are no restrictions on combat, both within and outside the faction!"
...
In the Thornflower Group dock warehouse.
There were two bodies lying at the entrance of the warehouse.
Inside the warehouse, it was a scene of chaos, and several members of the Thornflower Group lay on the ground, barely clinging to life.
A small figure, one hand in his pocket, slowly walked over to a corner.
There, four individuals dressed in ordinary clothing were crouching, their heads covered with cloth bags, trembling with fear.
The small figure, his face hidden in the shadows, spoke with a venomous tone, "Is this your target from the Thornflower Group?"
Behind him, a large, muscular man leaned against the wall, covered in blood, coughing and angrily shouting, "Who... who are you! How dare you..."
"As the team grows larger, does arrogance take root deep in your hearts?" the small figure turned his head and smiled softly, "So, do you naively believe that just because you wear the Thornflower emblem, people will bow down to you wherever you go? Do you think that no one in the world can challenge the Thornflower Group?
Such a Thornflower Group is destined to be defeated!"
As he spoke, he raised his hand and a silver light shot out, piercing the man's mouth. The man didn't even make a sound, his head pinned to the wall!
In his mouth was a silver nail!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four gunshots echoed, and in the corner of the room, the four individuals who were the targets of the Thornflower Group lay in a pool of blood.
"See, even though Thornflower is large, they are not invincible after all."
The small figure picked up a headset from beside one of the corpses.
"Is anyone there?"
...
"Is anyone there?"
When Shen picked up the walkie-talkie, he heard this voice, and his expression subtly changed.
"Who is this?"
...
"Ah, I suppose you're the Thornflower Group's patrol for this Instance, right? Haha, I heard that Thornflower Group always sends a skilled individual as a patrol, called the patrol leader. This system is quite interesting."
...
Shen's face had turned completely cold by now as he held the walkie-talkie and remained silent.
...
"I'm sorry to inform you that the Thornflower Group's mission has failed this time. Because... all your people in the warehouse have been taken care of by me... You were too careless, thinking that no one would dare to touch you in this Instance? Such an important target, and you only left a few small fry to guard it... Is this arrogance? Or foolishness?"
...
Shen, upon hearing this, actually showed a strange smile on his face. He held the walkie-talkie and slowly said, word by word, "Thank you."
...
"Thank me?" The small figure burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Interesting!"
...
"By 'thank you,' I mean I've always thought these guys have been getting too complacent. Occasionally, having someone come and give them a wake-up call is a good thing," Shen replied in a soft voice. "Furthermore... I want to thank you for making me feel that this game has become too boring, but your appearance has sparked some interest in me again."
...
The small figure seemed momentarily puzzled and frowned, "Don't you want to know who I am? Don't you want to know who orchestrated the downfall of your mighty Thornflower Group this time?"
...
Shen chuckled, "No need for your self-introduction; I'll find you. I hope you... stay alive until I do."
Click.
He turned off the walkie-talkie.
...
The small figure, holding the headset, was momentarily stunned, "This patrol leader is quite interesting."
...
Shen stood up and turned to look at the female knight behind him, "Did you hear that?"
"...I heard," the female knight frowned and thought for a moment, "It's... "
"No need to apologize, and this has nothing to do with you. It wasn't because you held me back that my people were killed. They were killed because they were foolish, arrogant, and too full of themselves," Shen looked at the female knight, "However, your mission ends here. You don't need to continue monitoring me. Go back and tell your master... no matter who he sends to deal with me next time, I'll be collecting some interest."
As he said this, Shen received a notification from the system.
"System Prompt: Thornflower Group, due to the unexpected death of the target individual and the absence of a bloodline identification, the mission is considered a failure. This has resulted in the immediate forced exit from this Instance!"
Shen looked at the System Prompt and then slowly picked up the walkie-talkie, opening another channel.
"You all heard it, right? You idiots," Shen smiled, "You are ones who messed up in this mission, go back and face your own punishment."