Great Fire

At dusk, Soren left the caravan camp alone. Goria was right—he truly had no ability to guide Vivian's path right now. Unless he planned to moonlight as a Wizard, Vivian would have to comprehend any Spell she mastered on her own. That would inevitably lead to many detours, and sometimes even destruction and danger. To a certain extent, this was something that came with a Sorcerer's exceptional talent. So Soren ultimately decided to let Vivian stay by Goria's side for a while. He would not let Goria take Vivian away, but they were currently trapped in White Horse City. Rather than letting Vivian stay at the inn, it was better for her to follow Goria for the time being.

And Soren also intended to take this chance to go out and gamble on an adventure!

When he walked out of the room, the little girl's eyes were bright red. He did not know whether she had overheard their conversation, but she stretched out her tiny hand and tightly gripped the hem of Soren's clothes.

That pitiful sight made Soren's heart ache, and it only strengthened his resolve to go out and take a chance!

Time waited for no one.

If he continued increasing his strength slowly like before, he would likely find it difficult to gain the ability to protect himself before the Time of Troubles began. So Soren had to venture out, because an opportunity was right before him. Although the Ancient Red Dragon had yet to appear, the chain reaction caused by its arrival had already begun to ferment. In the past, hunting monsters meant searching for them in the wilderness, but now, every creature near the Black Qi Swamp had been driven out by Dragon Fear. In other words, Soren would not need to venture deep into the wilds and spend days traveling in search of them before encountering plenty of monsters!

If he was lucky and did not run into anything deadly, he could even gain nearly 1,000 points of Slaughter Experience in a single day by hunting monsters.

White Horse City would need at least another week to reopen the trade route.

As long as Soren was not unlucky enough to die at the hands of monsters, this one week would be enough for him to raise his class level to the third tier!

Rations, weapons, bandages, potions, insect repellent powder, antidotes.

Soren moved busily through the trading district. The savings he had accumulated over such a long time were quickly spent, and he only stopped his frantic purchases once there was not even a sliver of space left in the Bag of Holding.

The night was hazy.

Soren appeared near the inn from the beginning. Having already learned the details of what had happened from Vivian, he naturally would not let them off so easily.

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

Inside a dim alley.

Because public security in White Horse City had been getting worse lately, the number of guards patrolling the streets had increased considerably. Someone had even proposed a curfew, though it had not yet been approved.

The inn seemed somewhat deserted. Because someone had died during the day, the vast majority of guests had checked out. A lamp was lit at the front counter.

The innkeeper named Cevan sat at the front with a gloomy expression, speaking to the fat man before him. "Morode, is that all the brains you have? You actually sent a subordinate who could not even handle an eight-year-old girl to do the job!"

"Is your brain full of water?"

Morode's expression stiffened. After hearing that, he growled, "How is that possible!"

"Lasko's skills were no worse than those guards'. How could he possibly fail to handle a little girl? There is definitely something strange about this. Maybe someone else secretly made a move. Not only did they steal our business, they also killed my subordinate."

In truth, he had another suspicion.

That was, his subordinate had truly failed. Not only had he failed to abduct the little girl, he had even been killed by her.

But that was simply too absurd.

How could a little girl who looked no older than seven or eight kill an adult man who had undergone specialized combat training and was even an Advanced Class Professional?

A faint sound came from somewhere nearby.

Morode alertly raised his head and signaled to the thug beside him. As a human trafficker who had spent years in the Slums, he had always been extremely vigilant.

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

For some unknown reason, a fire had broken out behind the inn. The flames spread at once and were nearly reaching the kitchen at the back.

Cevan sprang up from behind the counter in a fury and roared at the people around him, "Bastards! Why are you still standing there? Put out the fire!"

The dozen or so people in the inn began bustling about.

Inns like this had their own wells and water vats. Everyone hurriedly grabbed whatever they could to carry water and fight the fire. But Morode, who had been sitting at the front, had a slight change in expression. He quietly looked around, then his fat body moved away with a speed utterly unsuited to his build. Based on his instincts, he felt that the fire had started too suddenly. Perhaps someone intended to make a move against them. Besides, the young man who had gone out during the day had yet to return. Maybe he had started the fire.

The fat figure quietly slipped out through a side door. Morode pressed a hand to his sword hilt, warily scanned the surroundings, then ran toward the street outside.

Swoosh!

A crossbow bolt shot out from the darkness.

Morode's fat body shuddered, and he let out a painful scream.

Boom!

A violent explosion sounded in the distance. The wine barrels in the inn's warehouse had been ignited, exploding one after another. The commotion instantly spread through the surrounding area and alerted the guards patrolling nearby.

Swoosh!

The second crossbow bolt came from above. Since he was already on guard, it only grazed Morode's cheek. Only then did he determine the enemy's location—it was on a rooftop beside the street. The earlier explosion had covered up his scream. Realizing that his opponent had a Heavy Crossbow, Morode immediately rolled beneath the eaves and drew his weapon. Crossbows fired slowly, yet the interval between the two shots had been less than one or two seconds. That meant the other party was an experienced veteran skilled in using bows and crossbows.

He was not wearing any armor. His flesh alone could never block a crossbow bolt.

Morode opened his mouth to cry for help, but a numb sensation gradually spread from his wound throughout his body. He became increasingly stiff until he finally collapsed onto the ground.

Venom!

Wyvern Venom!

His experience in the Grey Domain made him realize what it was, and despair immediately appeared on his face.

A shadow leaped down from the second floor.

A cold gleam flashed.

A Scimitar cut straight through his neck, severing his head on the spot.

Soren's masked figure appeared. He coldly glanced at the corpse before him, then bent low and kicked off the wall to reach the second floor. White Horse City's guards would arrive in ten minutes at most. He had to eliminate these enemies within five minutes if he wanted to escape calmly. Since the flames had already begun spreading, there was a chance they could alert Wizards or priests. Many buildings in this era were made of wood. Once a major fire started, it was terrifying. It was extremely difficult to extinguish with water, and sometimes an entire street would burn down.

A row of information appeared before Soren's eyes:

"Target killed!..."

"Extracting target's Soul Energy. Obtained 180 points of Slaughter Experience."

...

Under the cover of night, a nimble figure leaped across the rooftops. Soren swiftly approached the inn while reloading the Heavy Crossbow.

He only had a few seconds to act.

In other words, before the others heard the screams and reacted by seeking cover, he had to inflict as much effective damage as possible. Even under the cover of darkness, these seasoned gang members could realize within seconds that someone was attacking them with a ranged weapon. Once they hid behind cover, the Heavy Crossbow in Soren's hands would be half useless.

Every crossbow bolt had been coated with Venom beforehand.

Soren crawled forward across the roof. The fire illuminated the area, but no one noticed him.

Quite a few residents living nearby had also been alarmed. Some had already gotten dressed and risen to help put out the fire. It was not because the innkeeper was especially well-liked, but simply because if the flames spread, their homes would be lost as well.

Soren quickly identified his target.

It was a tall man. The distance and firelight made him difficult to see clearly, but judging from the way he shouted and yelled, he was probably the innkeeper from earlier that day.

Swoosh!

A crossbow bolt shot out.

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

He reacted quickly and seemed to have experienced quite a few battles. The moment he was attacked, he shouted to his subordinates and grabbed a wooden bucket to shield himself. Soren did not possess the Feat for Heavy Crossbow mastery. Hitting a target was not difficult for him, but striking a vital point was not easy. Still, that did not matter. The Venom on the crossbow bolts would take effect very soon. Even if the poison was not lethal, the Paralysis effect carried by Wyvern Venom would still cripple the enemy.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Three crossbow bolts shot out from the darkness in succession.

Soren no longer had time to aim. After reloading at high speed, he fired vaguely toward wherever people were standing. One bolt struck a wooden door, while the other two hit enemies, though neither struck a vital point.

Clang!

Soren drew his Scimitar from his back. A cold glint appeared in his eyes as he jumped straight down from the rooftop. After rolling to dissipate the impact, he lunged at the innkeeper who had initially hidden behind the wooden door.

"Die!"

The Scimitar traced an elegant arc as Soren slashed across the man's waist, instantly cutting open his abdomen and spilling out severed intestines.

In the same instant, he withdrew the blade and thrust forward, piercing through the man's chest and into his heart.

Wyvern Venom would take effect within two minutes. Its fierce toxicity spread through the bloodstream. At first, it only caused numbness, but the wound would soon lose all feeling, and eventually the victim's reaction speed would plummet. This was the best Venom available in the early stages, and also an essential item for Rogues challenging boss-level enemies.

A thumb-sized bottle cost roughly 120 Gold Dalers!

That was equivalent to a Supernatural Weapon.

There was no time to search the battlefield. Soren quickly rose and rushed out, pouncing on another enemy struck by a crossbow bolt.

The Paralysis would not last long!

Humans in this world had fairly strong resistance. As long as they did not die from the poison, they would gradually recover.

The Paralysis effect carried by Wyvern Venom could last from five to ten minutes.

As long as one's Constitution was not absurdly high—such as a Superhuman Constitution of 18 or even 20 points—it was basically difficult to make a Saving Throw against Paralysis. At most, they could shorten its duration somewhat.

The shouts of White Horse City's guards came from the distance.

The battle here had already alarmed many people. The screams frightened the nearby residents so badly that they did not dare approach.

Soren glared resentfully at the other thugs hiding away. With a sweep of his Scimitar, he cut one man's throat, then lowered his body and rushed into the night.

He could not let White Horse City's guards discover him!

For now, he could only spare those fish that had slipped through the net. Fortunately, the person who seemed to be the leader had already been killed by him.

The fire grew larger and larger.

Not long after White Horse City's guards arrived, several Wizards in gray robes appeared. They frowned as they looked at the bloodstains and corpses on the ground, then began casting Spells together to extinguish the fire.

Compared to the murder before them, preventing the fire from spreading was the most important matter!