The Great Fire

It was evening.

Soren left the caravan's encampment alone. Golia was right; he currently lacked the ability to guide Vivian's path. Unless he planned to multiclass as a Wizard, Vivian would have to comprehend any spells she learned on her own. This would inevitably lead to many detours, and sometimes even cause destruction and danger. To some extent, this was something that Sorcerers with excellent talent had to face. Therefore, Soren ultimately decided to let Vivian stay by her side for a while. He wouldn't let Golia take Vivian away, but they were currently trapped in White Horse City. Rather than having Vivian stay in an inn, it was better for her to temporarily follow Golia.

Furthermore, Soren was also preparing to take this opportunity to go out and adventure, to push himself!

When he walked out of the room, the little girl's eyes were red, as if she had overheard their conversation. She reached out her small hand and tightly clutched Soren's clothes.

Her pitiful appearance made Soren's heart ache and strengthened his resolve to go out and push himself!

Time waits for no one.

If he continued to slowly increase his strength as before, it would be difficult to gain the ability to protect himself before the Year of Upheaval began. So Soren had to go out and adventure, because there was an opportunity right in front of him. Although the Ancient Red Dragon had not yet appeared, the chain reaction caused by its potential appearance had already begun to ferment. In the past, hunting monsters required searching in the wilderness, but now the creatures near the entire Black Mire had been driven out by the dragon's might.

This meant that Soren didn't need to venture deep into the wilderness and trek for several days; he could encounter many monsters!

If he was a little lucky and didn't encounter anything fatal, he could even gain nearly 1000 Slaughter Experience points in a single day by hunting monsters.

It would take at least another week for White Horse City to open up the trade route.

As long as Soren wasn't so unlucky as to die at the hands of a monster, this week would be enough for him to raise his profession level to Tier 3!

Dry rations, weapons, bandages, potions, insect repellent powder, antidotes.

Soren's figure was busy in the trading area. His savings from this long period were quickly spent until there was no space left in his Dimensional Bag. Only then did he stop his frantic shopping.

The night was hazy.

Soren's figure appeared near the original inn. Having already learned what happened from Vivian, it was naturally impossible for him to let them off so easily.

Since they dared to do certain things, they had to pay the price!

In the dim alley.

Because the public order in White Horse City had been getting worse recently, the number of patrolling guards on the streets had increased significantly. At the same time, some people had proposed implementing a curfew, but it had not yet been approved.

The inn seemed a bit deserted. Because someone had died during the day, most of the guests had checked out.

A lamp was lit on the front counter.

The innkeeper named Kefan sat in front with a gloomy face, saying to the fat man in front of him, "Morode. Is that all the brains you have? You actually sent a subordinate who couldn't even handle an eight-year-old girl to do the job!"

"Are you out of your mind?"

Morode's expression was stiff. Hearing his words, he also growled, "How is that possible!"

"Rasco's skills are no worse than those guards. How could he not be able to handle a little girl? There's definitely something strange about this. It's possible that someone else quietly made a move, not only stealing our business but also killing my subordinate."

In fact, he had another guess in his heart.

That was, his subordinate had indeed failed. Not only did he not succeed in kidnapping the little girl, but he was also killed by her.

But this kind of thing was too absurd.

How could a little girl who looked at most seven or eight years old kill an adult man who had undergone specialized combat training and was even an advanced professional?

A slight sound came.

Morode raised his head alertly and motioned to the thugs beside him. As a human trafficker who had been mixing in the slums, his vigilance had always been very high.

"Boss! This is bad! The warehouse is on fire!" A subordinate ran over quickly.

The back of the inn had caught fire at some point, and the flames spread rapidly, almost reaching the kitchen in the back.

Kefan, standing at the counter, stood up in a rage and roared at the people around him, "Damn it! What are you waiting for? Go put out the fire!"

The dozen or so people at the inn became busy.

Inns like this had dedicated wells and water tanks. The others quickly grabbed things to fetch water and fight the fire, but Morode, who was sitting in the front, had a slight change in expression. He quietly looked around, and his obese body immediately left at a speed that didn't match his physique. Based on his intuition, he felt that the fire had started too suddenly, and it was possible that someone was planning to attack them. Moreover, the young man who had gone out during the day hadn't returned. It was possible that he was the one who started the fire.

The obese figure quietly slipped out through the side door. Morode placed his hand on the hilt of his knife, looked around vigilantly, and then ran towards the street outside.

Thwack!

A crossbow bolt shot out from the darkness.

Morode's obese body trembled, and he let out a painful scream.

Boom!

A violent explosion came from a distance. The wine barrels in the inn's warehouse ignited, exploding one after another. The commotion immediately spread throughout the surroundings, also alarming the guards patrolling nearby.

Thwack!

A second crossbow bolt shot out from above. Because he was already on alert, this bolt only grazed the side of Morode's face. Only then did he determine the enemy's position – on the rooftop beside the street. The previous explosion had covered his scream. Realizing that the other party had a heavy crossbow, Morode immediately rolled down towards the building, simultaneously drawing his weapon. The crossbow bolt was slow to fire, but the two consecutive shots from the other party were less than a second or two apart, meaning the other party was an experienced archer skilled in using crossbows.

He didn't have any armor on his body; it was impossible to block a crossbow bolt with just his flesh.

Morode opened his mouth to call for help, but gradually a numb sensation spread from his wound throughout his body. His entire body became increasingly stiff, and finally, he collapsed directly onto the ground.

Poisoned!

Wyvern venom!

His experience from years of mixing in the gray areas made him realize something, and a look of despair immediately appeared on his face.

A dark figure leaped down from the second floor.

A cold light flashed.

A curved knife directly slashed down from his neck, cutting off his head on the spot.

Soren's masked figure appeared. He coldly glanced at the corpse in front of him, then bent down and used force to push off the wall and climb onto the second floor. The guards from White Horse City would arrive in at most ten minutes. He had to eliminate these enemies within five minutes to escape calmly. Because the fire had already started to spread, it was possible that it would alarm Wizards or Clerics. Many houses in this era were made of wood, and once a large fire started, it would be terrifying, very difficult to extinguish with water, and sometimes it would directly burn down an entire street.

A row of data appeared before Soren's eyes:

Target killed! ...
Extracting target's Soul Energy, gaining 180 Slaughter Experience.

Under the shadow of the night, a nimble figure leaped across the rooftops. Soren quickly approached the location of the inn, simultaneously reloading his heavy crossbow.

He only had a few seconds to strike.

This meant he had to inflict as much effective damage as possible on the enemies before others heard the screams and reacted by seeking cover. Even under the cover of darkness, these experienced gang members could react within seconds to someone attacking them with a ranged weapon. Once they hid behind objects, the heavy crossbow in Soren's hand would be half useless.

All the crossbow bolts had been coated with venom beforehand.

Soren crawled forward on the rooftop. The great fire illuminated the surroundings, but no one noticed him.

Many residents living nearby were also startled. Some had already started getting dressed to help put out the fire. It wasn't because the innkeeper had good connections; it was simply because if the great fire spread, their houses wouldn't be safe either.

Soren quickly identified his target.

It was a tall man. He couldn't see clearly due to the distance and the firelight, but judging by his shouting, it should be the innkeeper from earlier in the day.

Thwack!

A crossbow bolt shot out.

The innkeeper instantly let out a scream and simultaneously ducked behind a wooden board.

The opponent reacted quickly. It seemed he had experienced many battles. After being attacked, he immediately shouted to his subordinates and picked up a wooden bucket to shield himself. Soren didn't have the Crossbow Specialization feat. Hitting the target wasn't difficult for him, but hitting a vital spot was. However, that didn't matter. The venom on the crossbow bolt would take effect in a short time. Even if the toxicity wasn't fatal, the paralyzing effect of Wyvern venom could incapacitate the enemy.

Thwack thwack thwack!

Three consecutive crossbow bolts shot out from the darkness.

Soren no longer bothered to aim. After rapidly reloading, he fired vaguely towards where people were. One crossbow bolt hit the wooden door, and the other two hit enemies, but none hit vital spots.

Clang!

Soren drew his scimitar from his back, a cold glint appearing in his eyes. He leaped directly from the rooftop, rolled to absorb the impact, and then pounced on the innkeeper who had initially hidden behind the wooden door.

"Die!"

The scimitar traced an elegant arc. Soren slashed across the opponent's waist, instantly cutting open his belly, revealing a large section of severed intestines.

In an instant, he retracted his blade and thrust forward, piercing the opponent's chest and into his heart.

Wyvern venom would take effect within two minutes. The potent toxicity would spread through the blood. At first, it would just be numbness, but soon the wound would lose sensation, and finally, the person's reaction speed would drastically decrease. This was the best venom that could be bought in the early stages and a necessary item for Thieves challenging boss-level enemies.

A thumb-sized bottle cost around 120 Gold Thalers!

That was equivalent to an extraordinary weapon.

There was no time to clean up the battlefield. Soren quickly got up and rushed out, pouncing on another enemy who had been hit by a crossbow bolt.

The paralysis wouldn't last too long!

Humans in this world had good antibodies. As long as they didn't die from the toxicity, they would gradually recover.

The paralyzing effect of Wyvern venom could last for five to ten minutes.

As long as their physique wasn't extremely exaggerated, for example, above 18 points, or even an extraordinary physique of 20 points, then it would basically be difficult to resist the paralyzing effect. At most, it would only shorten the duration.

Shouts from White Horse City guards came from a distance.

The battle here had already alerted many people. The screams scared the nearby residents from approaching.

Soren glared hatefully at the other thugs who were hiding, then swung his scimitar to cut one guy's throat, and immediately stooped down and rushed into the darkness.

He couldn't let the White Horse City guards discover him!

For now, he could only let these stragglers go. Fortunately, the person who seemed to be the leader had already been killed by him.

The fire grew larger and larger.

Just after the White Horse City guards arrived, several Wizards in gray robes quickly appeared. They frowned as they looked at the bloodstains and corpses on the ground, then began to cast spells together to extinguish the great fire.

Compared to the murder incident before them, controlling the spread of the fire was the most important thing!