"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, the Winged Kobold's upper body slowly slid down along the bloodstain, the cut surface smooth as a mirror.
Just like the Blood Scale Kobold before it, the gushing blood transformed into raging flames in midair before it could even hit the ground.
The tongues of fire curled inward from the outside, devouring it. In the blink of an eye, the vicious monster was burned to ashes.
The white object clutched in its left claw fell along with it, rolling to Roland's feet.
A tiny crimson crystal also flickered in and out of sight amid the ashes, shining with a faint glow.
But Roland had no time to examine it now.
Although repeated practice at the manor meant that using Momentum Slash no longer left him collapsing in exhaustion like the first time, the intense feeling of weakness still swept over him like a tide.
Yet as he gazed at The Executioner in the distance—the one who had slain humans and monsters alike—Roland forced himself not to show any fatigue.
He merely drove his iron sword into the ground without making a show of it, using the hilt to steady his trembling hands as he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
"Are you all right?"
"Me?"
The Executioner's azure pupils trembled slightly, and lingering shock remained in his eyes.
Although his clash with the Winged Kobold had been brief, the monster's impervious scales, strength far beyond that of humans, and terrifying speed and mobility granted by its single wing had made him realize one thing profoundly.
It was an opponent that no ordinary human could possibly contend with.
Yet the man before him had done it.
The Executioner's gaze slowly shifted to Roland's face.
That handsome, refined face still held a trace of youthful immaturity. He was clearly not very old.
Although that sword strike had been incomparably fierce, it had not possessed the power of a transcendent expert.
"Cough, cough, cough."
He coughed lightly several times and spat out a mouthful of congested blood. Then he slowly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve before bracing himself against the ground and standing up.
"What you used just now was a combat technique, right?"
This was the first time Roland had heard The Executioner speak.
Compared with his mysterious appearance and ruthless methods, his voice was unexpectedly clear, even carrying the gentle softness unique to a woman.
Wait.
A woman?
Looking at the other party's slender figure beneath the black robe, Roland spoke tentatively.
"Miss... how should I address you?"
"Theresa Hernandez. Just call me Theresa."
Theresa lifted her mask, and her long silver hair fluttered in the wind.
Her calm azure eyes concealed a hint of sharpness.
Her nose was high and straight, lending her entire face a heroic air, yet the shape of her lips was soft and delicate.
Her lips were pressed together slightly, like a drawn sword.
Elegant, deadly, and carrying an edge that could not be ignored.
But Roland did not lose himself because of her beauty.
Instead, as she slowly approached, he unconsciously tightened his grip on the sword hilt, his gaze intentionally or otherwise falling on her fair neck.
Although he was somewhat weakened at the moment, the woman named Theresa had clearly suffered more serious injuries in the battle just now.
If she dared to draw her sword, Roland was confident he could kill her in a single strike.
"Don't be nervous."
Seeing this, Theresa stopped roughly three steps away from Roland.
Her eyes wandered slightly, focusing on something behind Roland as if something were there.
After a brief silence, her clear voice, devoid of any fluctuation, slowly rang out.
"Roland... Oh. Both your parents died, and your background is truly tragic. Other than that..."
Theresa furrowed her brows slightly, confusion flashing through her eyes.
"Your other information is shrouded in fog, making it impossible to see clearly. How strange."
Roland's pupils suddenly contracted, and his brows drew deeply together as he carefully studied Theresa's face.
He was certain that before this, he had never met this mysterious woman.
How could she know this information about him?
Seeing Roland's expression grow increasingly solemn, Theresa merely shook her head lightly.
"Rest assured. Unlike those scum, you're someone worthy of trust. I won't attack you. As for why I know so much about you..."
Theresa's arm trembled slightly as she returned her slender sword to its sheath.
"You can understand it as a mighty power bestowed upon me by the divine."
The divine?
At that word, Roland's brows twitched uncontrollably.
On the surface, however, he continued to maintain a calm and unhurried expression.
While silently recovering his strength, he slowly spoke in an even tone.
"If that's the case, Miss Theresa..."
Roland narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke with a smile.
"For the sake of fairness, shouldn't you introduce yourself as well?"
"How discourteous of me."
Theresa inclined her head slightly, lightly lifting the corner of her tattered black robe with her left hand. She placed her right hand over her chest and bowed in a perfectly formal salute.
"Theresa Hernandez. I was once a member of the Church of Truth."
The Church of Truth?
It was probably one of the many churches that had suddenly sprung up like weeds in recent years, just as Bronson had mentioned.
While understanding dawned on him, Roland also keenly caught the key word.
"Was?"
"Yes."
Theresa straightened, and her already pale complexion appeared even more sallow.
"I've already left the Church of Truth. Now I'm merely a wandering adventurer without ties."
"I just didn't expect the first stop of my journey..."
As if she had thought of the greedy desperadoes in Pine Wood Town, a trace of disgust flashed through Theresa's eyes.
"To be a place even more filthy and corrupt than the Church of Truth."
Before Roland could continue questioning her, Theresa bowed again and said softly,
"Thank you for your help just now. I will certainly repay this kindness in the future."
"I still have important business to attend to, so I'll take my leave for now. Until we meet again, Mister Roland."
Before Roland could respond, she turned and walked away.
Her steps remained calm and elegant.
Although her figure staggered slightly, her speed was astonishing.
In the blink of an eye, she disappeared from Roland's sight.
"Phew."
Watching the direction in which Theresa had vanished, Roland let out a long breath, but unease still lingered in his heart.
"Was what she said true? A mighty power bestowed by the divine..."
He shook his head and temporarily buried these unfathomable questions in his heart.
Roland bent down and put the tiny red crystal into his pouch before reaching out to pick up the white object that had rolled to his feet.
But the moment his fingertip touched its surface, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Thanks to the Heart of the Furnace trait, he could clearly sense the stirring deep within the white object.
They were emotional ripples unique to flames.
Faint yet alive, like the last spark leaping in dying embers.
Suppressing the astonishment surging in his heart, Roland raised the white object before his eyes and examined it carefully.
It bore traces of dirt, clearly having been dug out of the soil not long ago.
Beneath its smooth, jade-like texture lay a hard substance. Its hollow cylindrical construction resembled a carefully carved bracer.
"A bone structure?"
Connecting it with what he had experienced recently, a shocking conjecture surfaced in his mind.
"Could this be a fragment of the enormous remains that caused the Blazing Sun Church and the goblins to fight a bloody battle?"
At that thought, Roland's fingers unconsciously tightened, and the object in his palm seemed to suddenly grow scorching hot.
The way those monsters had madly fought over the bones during the battle he had observed in the forest remained vivid in his mind.
Not to mention the involvement of the unknown force known as the Blazing Sun Church.
With that thought, he quickly stored the bone in the pouch at his waist.
At that moment, an unnatural rustling suddenly came from the canopy.
Roland looked toward the sound and saw the silhouettes of a group of monsters gradually emerge from the shadows between the trees.
He quickly surveyed the battlefield. After confirming that there were no troublesome variant monsters among them, he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Feeling that most of his strength had already recovered, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"Clang!"
The longsword was abruptly pulled from the ground, bringing up several strands of damp soil.
The sharp blade reflected a chilling gleam beneath the mottled sunlight.
As sword shadows flashed, the monsters' shrill wails rose one after another, while foul-smelling blood traced arcs through the air.
During this process, it seemed that a line of text flashed across the Profession Panel.
But Roland did not examine it closely right away. He merely glanced at the information for becoming a Warrior.
[Requirements: Strength 9, Agility 6, 4/5 combat-related techniques at max level in the five categories, kill 100/100 hostile creatures]
After seeing that he had fulfilled the requirement to hunt hostile monsters for the Warrior advancement, he flicked his wrist and shook the sticky blood from the blade.
Thinking that the bones in his waist pouch might attract troublesome prey like the Winged Kobold at any moment, he did not dare linger.
After passing through the final patch of brush, the sunlight at the forest's edge suddenly opened into view.
As a clear whistle echoed through the woods, familiar hoofbeats approached from afar.
Black Wind charged over like a black bolt of lightning, his glossy mane streaming in the wind.
"Good boy."
Roland gently rubbed the black horse's mane before nimbly mounting its back.
With a soft cry, man and horse sped toward Pine Wood Town, leaving only a string of fading hoofbeats along the forest path.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The journey was peaceful, and no accidents occurred.
Only when the towering watchtower north of Pine Wood Town came into view did Roland's taut nerves relax slightly.
He dismounted and smoothly entered the town after the guards' routine inspection, then headed straight for the Adventurer's Guild.
Pushing open the somewhat heavy wooden door, he found the guild surprisingly quiet. Not a single person could be seen in the empty hall.
Only when his gaze fell upon the black-robed figure before the counter did Roland suddenly understand why.
He slowly approached the counter and found that the bartender still wore his usual lazy expression. Even when facing Theresa, whose title was "The Executioner," his expression did not change in the slightest.
From the corner of his eye, he saw that the parchment in the bartender's hand was none other than the commission to investigate the monsters' unusual movements.
"So she was the one who accepted this commission."
Sensing the movement beside her, Theresa glanced sideways. Seeing that it was Roland, she inclined her head slightly in acknowledgment.
"The reward comes to two silver and fifteen copper."
The bartender casually tossed a heavy money pouch onto the counter, producing a muffled thud.
"You can count it."
"No need."
Theresa briskly tucked the pouch into her clothes, then said flatly to Roland,
"Until next time."
Before the words had even faded, she had already turned and left. Her black robe fluttered as her figure quickly disappeared outside the door.
Roland had no interest in investigating this mysterious woman. In fact, because of the "divine" power she had mentioned, he felt wary and instinctively kept his distance from her.
Thus, in response to her farewell, Roland merely nodded lightly. He then untied the pouch at his waist and placed it steadily on the counter together with the copy of the commission from inside his clothing.
"Well, well! So it's you, the newcomer. You actually made it back alive. That's incredible."
The bartender narrowed his eyes as he recognized Roland, his tone carrying a hint of teasing.
He skillfully counted the spoils in the pouch and let out a loud whistle.
"A full sixty goblin ears! Nicely done! I didn't expect you to have some real skill after all."
The crisp clinking of coins came from beneath the counter. The bartender swiftly counted out the reward and pushed the heavy money pouch toward Roland.
"According to the rules, one goblin ear is worth eight copper coins. That makes four silver and eighty copper in total."
Roland weighed the pouch in his hand, the corners of his mouth unconsciously rising.
Together with the spoils he had looted from the goblin camp, this adventure of fewer than ten days had earned him nearly nine silver coins.
That was more than he could make as a blacksmith apprentice in half a year!
This line of work paid far too quickly!
And besides that...
Feeling the heavy bones in the pouch at his left waist, Roland grew increasingly eager to return to the manor.
Thanks to Gugege, Book Friend 20220919104424549, Dongfang Huan Tiantian, Fa Hao Qiren, The Cat from the Past, Book Friend 150111223356745, Book Friend 20170603142846138, Z_Quiet, Shicun Wuze, Longdao'er's Matchstick Man, First Meeting in Early Summer, Bodhi Tree Heart KID, Sir Frank, Galloping Alpaca, Xin Zhiyu, Book Friend 20220919104424549, Book Friend 140523231653912, Book Friend 20200715203533186, Flu into the East Sea, Zhen Li, Time to Smoke, Dong Dabapang, and Book Friend 20210614144018816 for the monthly tickets!
Thanks to ting3314, Book Friend 20250212181_eC, Mohe, Jiege159, and 1 person who doesn't know what they're thinking for the monthly tickets!
Thanks to Born Little Evil, Invincible Milk Knight, Dry Ice Waterfall, Hot-Blooded Wanderer666, Spartan Other Shore, Oh, My Beloved Comrade, Lin Yufeng, Swordbearer Beneath the Moon, Light Clouds Emerging from the Gorge at Dusk, and Haige Baxian Barbecue for the two monthly tickets!
Thanks to old Ron, Lone Crane Traveling Afar, Book Friend 20200219161843331, and Your Excellency Sauron for the three monthly tickets!
Thanks to Yan_Kukulin_Feng_Suoya for the 4 monthly passes!
Thanks to Shuyou2233 for the 5 monthly passes!
Thanks to Fanchendao_Kong for the 7 monthly passes!
Thanks to Dongchen_Siwei for the 8 monthly passes!
Thank you all, my adoptive fathers, for your support. May everything go smoothly for you throughout the four seasons, and may all your wishes come true!
P.S. It's the end of the month, so please vote for me with your monthly passes.
Xiao Lu humbly thanks all of you, my adoptive fathers.
Before you continue