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Yusuf's body smashed through the few collapsed sections of railing behind him and fell from the top of the tower.

Before he fell, when his shield was knocked aside, Yusuf saw Rhode's cold gaze once more.

After knocking Yusuf away, Rhode struggled to check his forward momentum, finally stopping at the edge of the watchtower.

In midair, Yusuf had somehow let go of the weapon clutched in his hand. His arms flailed wildly, but it was all in vain. Realizing he was about to die, Yusuf seemed to think of something, his face filled with regret.

The last image in Yusuf's mind somehow became a picture of Rhode standing at the edge of the watchtower after knocking him off, wearing that cold expression.

Atop the tower, Rhode watched Yusuf fall and restrained his pounding heart. He recalled the key to defeating Yusuf: using a spell to paralyze him, leaving him unable to move or exert force, then seizing the right moment to knock him off the tower.

Rhode had no mana, and the reason he could cast that spell was that he had used a spell scroll, Lightning Strike, which he had obtained from the apprentice.

He had found this spell scroll in the apprentice's Space Ring earlier, but had kept it unused until now, when he finally found an opportunity.

Lightning Strike was a second-tier spell. Its base damage was about the same as that of the first-tier spell Magic Arrow, but it gained more from the caster's Spirit attribute and also inflicted paralysis, though only briefly.

In an ordinary battle, the paralysis effect lasted too briefly to be of much use. But in this situation, it had become Rhode's trump card.

Since he had only one scroll, Rhode knew he had just one chance. The spell had to hit Yusuf's body for him to succeed.

If he used it directly, Lightning Strike would be blocked by Yusuf's shield, paralyzing only the arm holding it without significantly affecting the strength of his whole body. Even if Rhode chose to charge, Yusuf could block him head-on or simply dodge.

So Rhode had chosen to toss a coin first, making Yusuf raise his shield. That allowed Lightning Strike to hit Yusuf's body. The paralysis spread across his entire lower body, leaving his legs unable to exert force, and Rhode finally knocked him off the tower.

After observing Yusuf for some time, Rhode understood that if he threw something at Yusuf's head, Yusuf would raise his shield to block it, no matter what Rhode threw. That gave Rhode the chance to hit him with Lightning Strike.

Yusuf crashed to the ground with a tremendous thud and died instantly.

After confirming that his experience points had increased, Rhode didn't look again at Yusuf's fallen body. He turned and walked down the watchtower stairs.

Nearby, the people fighting the vampire had also heard the loud crash, but they were occupied with their opponent and paid little attention to where it had come from.

At the edge of the battlefield, the blue-robed mage, who had been using spells to control the situation, had clearly noticed the crash. It reminded him of something, and he looked in that direction.

The first spell's duration had run out, so the blue-robed mage weakened the vampire again. Then, following the sound he had heard earlier, he made his way to where Yusuf had fallen.

As he drew closer, the blue-robed mage seemed to realize what had happened. A look of shock appeared on his face.

Before him lay the captain's body, sprawled on the ground.

"Impossible..."

What he saw was hard to believe, but the truth was right in front of him. The blue-robed mage had no choice but to accept that the captain had died this way.

The blue-robed mage remembered that there had been only two travelers in the group. One was the vampire he and the other members were fighting. Judging by the battle, the vampire clearly wouldn't last much longer. The blue-robed mage was confident that he and the other members of the merchant caravan would kill it soon.

The captain, who had been nowhere to be seen, must have been fighting the other traveler. The blue-robed mage knew how steady Yusuf was. Even if he gave it everything he had, he could only fight the captain to a draw.

The blue-robed mage could hardly reconcile the steady captain he had known with the mangled corpse before him.

Before he could even feel grief, a chill rose in his heart.

If the captain had already been so powerful, just how formidable was the other traveler who had killed him?

The blue-robed mage didn't dare think about it. He glanced toward the vampire in the middle of the battlefield. The other members of the caravan had surrounded it, and the vampire had used Bat Form again. Everyone was now fighting the bats in the air.

Seeing this, the blue-robed mage made a decision. He took the Space Ring from the dead captain's hand, slipped it onto his own, and then returned to the battlefield.

Seeing that the other members of the caravan were focused on the bats in the air, the blue-robed mage didn't tell any of them what he had discovered. Without a word, he went back to the carriage.

The blue-robed mage quickly opened a hidden compartment inside the carriage and put several scroll-like items into his pockets. Then he tore off a large piece of cloth and bundled up some valuables along with several books filled with knowledge.

He slung the packed bundle over his back instead of putting it in the Space Ring.

Although he had just taken the Space Ring from the captain's corpse, the blue-robed mage understood the danger he might face. He chose not to expend mana to activate it, and carried the bundle on his back instead.

The blue-robed mage stepped outside the carriage and looked at the members still fighting the bats. He silently said a few words to himself, then went to the front of the carriage and took the dagger from his pocket, intending to cut the ropes restraining the horses.

After trying for a while, the blue-robed mage could only admit that the ropes securing the horses had clearly been specially treated to withstand their pulling force. Their outer surface was extremely tough.

With only a dagger and his own strength, the blue-robed mage obviously couldn't cut through them quickly.

Seeing this, the blue-robed mage used the dagger to cut into his own palm. As blood welled up, he smeared it over the dagger.

The moment the blood touched the dagger, it gave off a red glow. The more blood he applied, the deeper the glow became. Using the dagger's eerie red light, the blue-robed mage cut through the tough ropes without much effort.

He swung himself onto a horse and, without a glance at the remaining members of the caravan, rode toward the woods.

Rhode, walking down from the watchtower, happened to see the entire scene.