Encountering an Attack

The forest was vast. Even though the mercenaries had quickened their pace, they still failed to make it out before nightfall and had no choice but to set up camp and rest.

Tent after tent was raised, and fires were soon lit. The mercenaries gathered around them, chewing on dry rations.

"Ryan, this is your first time being captain, right?" Gagnor asked.

"More or less. I've rarely served as captain," Ryan said. "After all, a captain usually has to stand firmly at the front of everyone. As a thief, what I'm best at is hiding in a corner and running fast."

After a pause, he added, "So, once we reach Presto Fortress, I'll probably continue handling intelligence work. As for the captain of this squad, the mercenary group will most likely assign a warrior to take the position."

John said, "What about me?"

Ryan smiled. "You're too young. Captains of mercenary combat squads are usually fourth- or even fifth-level warriors. However, you have Saint Michael's Vigil. As long as you reach the fourth level, you'll definitely have no problem becoming captain."

John suddenly sighed. "Actually, I could have been selected for the reserve forces of the paladins. Unfortunately, I also have a portion of the Holy Name of the Element. The church felt that made me impure."

Marcus wore a somewhat strange expression. "Why didn't you just avoid telling them? Surely the church wouldn't hold a 'purity examination ritual' just for you, would it?"

John said, "How was I supposed to know that back then? I thought they really were going to examine my purity... There was nothing I could do. After all, I'm the son of a fisherman. The priest in my fishing village and my father only ever told me to be honest."

The conversation paused for a while.

John changed the subject. "Captain Ryan, who carried out the two attacks you encountered here? That Viscount Uris?"

Ryan shook his head. "The first was the Wolf Hunt Mercenary Group. The second was a High Troll."

"There are High Trolls here too?"

"You mean you escaped from a High Troll?" Several surprised voices rang out.

Ryan said, "High Trolls aren't as powerful as you think. They're much stronger than ordinary trolls, but they aren't very bright. They're only a little smarter than Goblins."

"Could we run into a High Troll too..."

"It's not completely impossible. I don't know where that one came from. It wandered all over this forest, and I heard that it even spent some time robbing travelers near a bridge somewhere north of Driftwood Town, tearing several travelers heading north to pieces," Ryan added. "But in any case, we have several hundred people, and Vice-Captain Cassandra is with us. There's no need to worry at all."

"How much longer until we reach the fortress?"

"Not much longer. And if nothing goes wrong, the fortress should have sent people to meet us by now."

The night deepened.

The mercenaries gradually fell asleep, while the squad Gagnor belonged to was assigned as one of the squads standing watch, responsible for everyone's safety during the night.

This was mainly thanks to Ryan. After all, no one knew this area better than he did.

Gagnor was not an official combatant, but he did not go to sleep either. Instead, he sat before the fire, modifying arrows.

The arrows bought from Barto's Smithy all had ordinary fletching. To make better use of Swift Breeze, he needed to modify them into the style of Fletched Arrows.

It was not until late at night, after finishing the modifications, that Gagnor decided to get some sleep.

However, just as he was preparing to crawl into his tent, something unexpected happened.

"Whoosh—"

"Swish—"

Several sounds of something cutting through the air came from the pitch-black forest.

At the same time, John turned sideways with his shield and promptly shielded Sheldon the Priest behind him.

Immediately afterward, a faintly glowing short spear came whistling in with astonishing force, piercing straight through the shield and John's chest!

Several other arrows shot in various directions.

"Enemy attack!"

The mercenaries awoke one after another, and battle was about to erupt.

Sheldon the Priest clearly had little combat experience. After watching John get pierced by the short spear, he simply froze on the spot, unable to react for a full second.

Fortunately, Gagnor rushed over, dragged both him and John into a corner, and shouted, "Use your spell, quick! He's dying!"

After being pierced through the chest by the short spear, John coughed up only a few mouthfuls of blood before losing consciousness. A great deal of blood spilled from his chest, staining his shirt red in an instant.

Gagnor swiftly took out several Healing Stones, crushed them into powder, and sprinkled it over John's wounds.

Sheldon the Priest also came to his senses. His face pale, he began chanting a spell. Holy light shone from both his hands as he pressed them against John's chest.

As the Healing Stones and holy-light spell took effect, the bleeding finally began to subside. However, John still looked as though his life hung in the balance. His eyes were closed, his body completely motionless, and not a trace of color remained in his face.

"Clang!" A stray arrow flew over and was stopped by the fine-steel chainmail Gagnor wore.

Gagnor silently marveled at how close it had been. With no time to keep watching John, he looked toward where the arrow had come from and nocked an arrow into his bow.

The night was deep, and the enemy was hiding in the darkness. He could see only a vague outline.

But Gagnor did not panic.

After reaching the third level, the number of Swift Breeze clusters he could control simultaneously had reached six, and his control range had extended to six hundred meters.

The increase from four clusters to six might not look significant, but in practice, it represented a qualitative transformation.

Gagnor attached six clusters of Swift Breeze to the arrow.

He drew the Wolf-Sinew Bow.

"Swish—"

The bowstring trembled, and the arrow shot toward the figure in the darkness.

The arrow was not fast. The figure in the darkness had been prepared and merely leaned slightly to the side, allowing the arrow to miss.

The figure seemed to let out a contemptuous snort.

But the figure did not know that the arrow that had just flown past him had not fallen to the ground. Instead, it slowly turned around and aimed at him again from behind!

For a long time, Gagnor had wanted to use Swift Breeze to create a Returning Arrow. However, before reaching the third level, no matter how he tried, he simply could not make the Returning Arrow work.

It was only after reaching the third level and becoming able to control six clusters of Swift Breeze simultaneously that he realized where the problem lay.

At least five clusters of Swift Breeze were needed to control an arrow completely.

Of course, using five clusters of Swift Breeze to create a Returning Arrow was still somewhat strenuous. Therefore, to be safe, Gagnor attached all six clusters at once.

With the support of those six clusters of Swift Breeze, the Returning Arrow finally became reality instead of an idea.

"Swish—"

The arrow, now aimed from behind, shot forward.

"Ah!" Completely defenseless, the figure became the Returning Arrow's first victim and cried out as he fell to the ground.

By then, Cassandra had also made her move.

Flames ignited along the greatsword in her hands. Then, with an angry shout, her massive body leaped into the air and charged toward the figures moving through the forest.

"Boom!"

An attacker blocking the front was immediately cleaved apart by the greatsword. The chunks of flesh were ignited by flames and sent flying in all directions, and the forest instantly blazed with light.

"Whelps of the Wolf Hunt, your night vision is useless now!" Cassandra shouted as she swung her greatsword, cleaving another attacker apart.

That's one update for today.

Also, the book's title has been changed to "The Mercenary Chronicles."