"I saw Lord Unas heal Uncle Sam with Holy Light own eyes. He really is Paladin!" Rams clenched his fists and pulled his arms tighter, looking both angry and scared.
"Is that so? Then let me test your mettle!" The guard chuckled and threw a punch at Unas's face.
The effects of the Softbone Agent hadn't completely worn off, but Unas had regained half his strength, more than enough to deal with these minions.
He deftly tiptoed to dodge the punch, then turned his right fist into a palm and delivered a chop to the guard's throat. The guard immediately clutched his throat and staggered back a few steps, his face turning bright red, unable to utter a sound.
Another guard's fist arrived, and Unas kicked it away. The fist and foot collided, and with a bang, the other man was kicked to the ground. Unas himself remained as steady as a mountain. The two guards stared at him in terror, no longer daring to move.
At that moment, a gruff voice came from inside the cave. "Lord Unas, please come in."
It turned out this was just a small test. Unas was about to go in when he turned around and saw Rams hesitant to follow. He asked, "What's wrong?"
"I... I have to go back. I haven't mined enough ore yet."
"Alright," Unas, not wanting to force anyone, "Be careful on the road."
Rams bowed several times in gratitude and then hurriedly ran away.
Unas shook his head. This guy is too timid. It's just meeting a small-time thug.
Entering the Cave, steam filled the air, obscuring the bottom, but its area was estimated to be more than ten times that of Sam's residence. To the left of the cave entrance was a hot spring pool about five or six meters in diameter, where three burly figures were sitting.
These guys really know how to enjoy themselves. While others are mining, they're soaking in hot springs. At this moment, the bald, burly man sitting in the center waved to Unas, "Paladin, it sounds like you didn't hit me too hard. My two men are definitely alright. Thank you for your mercy. This is the most comfortable volcanic spring in the East District. Won't you come down and enjoy it with us?"
"No need, I just took a hot spring bath, I'm perfectly clean." Unas had no intention of "going along with them."
"That's a real pity," the bald, burly man stood up and slowly stepped out of the hot spring. "This hot spring is very effective in treating all kinds of wounds. I see that your left arm, sir, still seems to have an unhealed wound."
This guy has a really sharp eye. He completely ignored the whip marks all over Unas's body and immediately saw that the real problem was the knife wound inflicted by Lucifron. Of course, if he had seen Unas's back, he would have found an even more serious wound there.
"Riedel for your concern, Boss Riddle. My hand is completely fine now." Unas nimbly swung his left hand. Of course, it would be a lie to say it had no effect, but he couldn't show weakness now.
Riedel approached, and the steam could no longer blur his vision. He saw that Riddle's skin was dark, and his exposed body was covered with scars of all sizes. The most serious of these was a wide bruise that ran diagonally across his chest. With such a horrific mark, he must have been disemboweled. It was a mystery how he survived.
Seeing the newcomer staring at his chest, Riedel laughed, "This was caused by an Ogre chieftain. I thought I was going to die, but my brother saved me."
He then pointed to the scar on his face that ran from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth. "This was done by an Elf assassin. If I hadn't dodged quickly, my head would have been pierced."
Some say scars are a man's badge of honor, but for him, they were just a tool for boasting. Unas looked at his body; always protected by armor and Holy Light shield, plus his rapid self-healing, he didn't have any serious scars. But he wouldn't admit defeat. "It sounds like you get beaten up pretty badly all the time. You definitely need to take more baths."
At this moment, the other two also approached. They were both burly men with "medals" and fierce faces. The three of them formed a pincer movement, partially surrounding Unas.
"We three brothers were once renowned figures in the mercenary world. Although we've fallen to this godforsaken place, we still made a name for ourselves with our fists. The 'Half-Face' boss of the Blackbeard Gang put us in charge of human slaves," Riedel's gruff voice echoed in the Cave. "If you, Paladin, are willing to be my brother, I promise we'll share both good times and bad!"
Unas touched his face. "Do I really look that much like a lackey? Tieshan wants to take me in, Riedel wants to take me in too. I should be the boss!"
"I can join your Brotherhood, but I want to be the boss."
Riedel was taken aback by these words, and one of his henchmen roared, "Kid, don't push your luck! If you want to be the boss, try my fists first!"
After all that, it turned out that force was the only way to settle things. Unas had anticipated this outcome. He threw a flurry of punches, and although his opponent was strong, he was no match for him. He was knocked back several steps by each hard punch.
The three brothers exchanged a glance and pounced together. Unas turned and ran a few steps, casting all his buffs on himself and activating his Sacred Shield. Then, he turned and delivered a spinning kick, catching the closest boy off guard. The boy was sent flying with a scream as he rolled against the wall.
Taking advantage of Unas's loss of balance after kicking, Riedel punched him in the Temple. Unas barely dodged by turning his head, but the iron fist still broke through the light shield and landed on his shoulder.
The imagined heavy blow was greatly reduced in power after being blocked by the Sacred Shield, causing no damage at all, only making him take half a step back.
At this moment, another of Riedel's henchmen caught up, and the three exchanged blows seven or eight times, with Unas gaining the upper hand.
Although his Sacred Shield had low defensive power, it had no cooldown time and could be broken and reopened at will. After the two opponents broke through the shield, they were powerless to harm him, while his attacks became increasingly difficult for the enemies to withstand. If it weren't for the fact that he only had half his strength left, coupled with the injuries to his back and left arm, the two would have been beaten to a pulp long ago.
At that moment, the henchman who had been knocked down by the roundhouse kick rushed over again, carrying several gleaming swords and knives, shouting, "Big brother, second brother, come and get our weapons!"
They actually managed to get their hands on weapons; although they looked a bit crude, they were indeed sharpened, genuine weapons.
Riedel didn't move, but instead turned around and shouted, "Weapons are forbidden in fights between members of the same clan. That's a rule I set, Third Brother, have you forgotten?"
"But...!" The second brother looked unwilling, but seeing his eldest brother's resolute eyes, he knew that things were hopeless, so he had no choice but to stick his weapon into the ground.
Unexpectedly, this guy had some sense of camaraderie among his compatriots. Unas thought to himself that this saved them, otherwise he would have taken out his steel shield to hit them.
"To tell you the truth, because of the Softbone Agent, I can only use 30% of my strength right now," Unas boasted, exaggerating. "And you've all seen the serious injury on my back. If I were at my peak, I could take you all down with just one hand!"
Despair immediately filled the eyes of the three men. They had all experienced the effects of the Softbone Agent, and the wounds on their opponent's body were not fake. They believed Unas's words to a large extent and immediately lost all will to fight.