Night Battle (Part 1)

A cold wind swept across the wasteland under the night sky. In the silent night, Punk's eyes, hidden beneath the shadow of his mage robe's hood, almost blazed with a tangible azure light. The green mage robe quietly pulsed with faintly glowing magic runes. At his feet lay a staff with a red gem head that had begun to dim. Moonlight cast a profile on his pale, cold face.

Kane also stopped not far away, golden battle qi swirling around every joint of his armor. His sharp lance was poised like a drawn sword, ready to strike.

Only Put seemed frozen in fear, his face deathly pale and trembling to Punk's left and rear.

Just moments ago, the System, with its keen senses, had analyzed an abnormal airflow in the air. Punk had quickly stopped, but even so, even with the Lesser Deflection Field activated, Punk had sacrificed his precious Journeyman Level staff to block the attack. This had prevented him from being scratched by the rogue's full-power strike. It's worth noting that the rogue's blade was clearly coated with a potent magic poison. In this perilous Faerun plane, magic poisons didn't work like those in Earth's wuxia novels, where the effects would only manifest after ten days to half a month. The dominant magic poisons invariably aimed for a single, fatal blow – contact meant instant death. If his skin had actually been broken, the consequences would have been unthinkable!

"A rogue, no! Perhaps several rogues."

Punk's expression was more solemn than ever. This environment, shrouded in night, was practically a stage for rogues who used shadow energy. There was nothing more suitable for a rogue's combat than this dark and deep environment... However, Punk, having just been targeted, had a rather perplexing question.

"How did you know our retreat path?"

Yes, this was Punk's confusion. Judging by the rogue's attack, she had been ambushing here for a long time, but how did she know he would retreat this way?

"There are 28 possible retreat paths. We have 7 groups of assassins. The chance of ambush is as high as one in four."

An ethereal and eerie voice echoed from all directions of the space. Without magical assistance, even with the System's analysis, Punk couldn't pinpoint the enemy's location. But now, under the cold gaze of a rogue enemy, casting a spell he was so unfamiliar with that it required nearly two seconds of incantation would be unwise.

"It seems the enemy ambushed based on probability, but... I was unlucky enough to be caught!"

Punk grumbled inwardly. Why did these troublesome things always find him? He shouldn't have participated in this "night raid" activity.

The enemy, hidden somewhere, continued to spout useless nonsense.

"You mages do have some strange tricks. My attack shouldn't have missed."

"You seem quite confident."

Punk's tone carried a hint of mockery. This pointless conversation was likely nearing its end. The reason both sides had been chattering was merely to distract the enemy, hoping for a slight opening. But by now, both Punk and the unknown rogue should understand that their opponents weren't people who could be swayed by such minor tactics. What awaited them next was a life-or-death battle with no room for negotiation or compromise!

"Prepare yourselves, Mage and Warrior. I won't miss again..."

As this final threat drifted away with the wind, the atmosphere of the entire night grew instantly heavy. Punk and Kane stood motionless, their nerves taut, ready to face a poisoned dagger emerging from the darkness!

Time ticked by, minute by minute. Unknowingly, Punk and Kane had been in a standoff in the cold night for nearly ten minutes, yet the rogue showed no signs of attacking.

Punk's face was terrifyingly grim. Kane's carefree smile had long vanished. As time passed, the situation became increasingly unfavorable. The enemy appeared experienced and patient, showing no opening even after so long. Punk didn't know if the enemy had a way to notify the "main force" at the camp, but... if enemy reinforcements arrived, Punk and Kane would surely die. Moreover, judging by the power of the rogue's attack just now, the opponent was at least an advanced Journeyman of level eight. Possessing a vast amount of shadow energy and being in the night environment allowed for a certain reduction in energy consumption. Delaying like this was truly disadvantageous for him and Kane.

While vigilantly scanning their surroundings, Punk carefully considered his options and decided to take the initiative. Continuing to be passive was simply not an option!

A Journeyman Level summoning spell was cast by Punk in less than a second: "Smoke Cloud." Large masses of colorful smoke were summoned into reality by Punk. Within three seconds, the thick, colorful smoke covered an area half the size of a basketball court. Punk and Kane were completely enveloped, disappearing from view from the outside.

Since he couldn't find the enemy, he might as well hide himself.

But this alone was far from enough. Although the smoke was thick enough to conceal anything within it, Punk's magical fluctuations could be detected by "Shadow Sense," a dark skill frequently used by rogues. While the Shadow Sense of a Journeyman Level rogue was still somewhat vague, even a vague sense was enough to pinpoint Punk's location as a source of magic.

To confuse the rogue's Shadow Sense, Punk quickly cast another Journeyman Level summoning spell – Mana Aberration. As faint, hoarse incantations echoed in the colorful mist, several palm-sized orbs emerged from the trajectory of his profound casting gestures. These small orbs were light blue, with six short legs beneath them. They floated in the air, circling Punk, spinning with a sense of joy. The round energy orbs looked cute and adorable.

But Punk didn't summon these little orbs just to be cute. Streaks of brilliant white lightning flashed across these orbs from time to time, subtly revealing their intense energy fluctuations, warning anyone that these "Mana Aberrations" were by no means as harmless as they appeared!

Punk commanded the Mana Aberrations to scatter within the smoke, and he himself quickly moved from his original position. Under the System's slight adjustments, the Mana Aberrations, carrying magical energy, gained the ability to mimic Punk's magical fluctuations. Although quite crude, it was enough to fool an assassin who wasn't adept at sensing!

These aberrations would be scattered sporadically throughout the dense smoke, making it difficult for the rogue to discern Punk's location. If a fragile, melee-focused rogue dared to approach these aberrations, Punk could manipulate the Mana Aberrations to self-destruct, giving her a big surprise!

As long as Punk's luck wasn't too bad and the rogue didn't guess his position correctly on the first try, there wouldn't be any danger. He figured the enemy wouldn't dare to charge into a mist laid by a mage for a surprise attack! Moreover, the place where Punk and Kane were ambushed was not far from Konola City. Even if he patiently maneuvered this colorful "auspicious cloud," inching along, Punk was confident he could reach Konola City before any reinforcement army arrived!

As for Kane... Punk couldn't be bothered about his fate. Besides, this guy seemed unreliable, but in reality, he definitely had plenty of life-saving methods. Within the mist, Punk clearly sensed that Kane's battle qi fluctuations had quickly disappeared.

"As expected, Kane also used some means to hide himself. Now, it's the rogue's turn to be helpless against this mist."

Punk thought calmly.