Ambush

Late at night.

Garen was sleeping soundly. (--) (--)

Suddenly, an alarm sounded in his mind.

Since the system's map function had been upgraded to level three, it could monitor a radius of over one hundred meters.

At this moment, the map showed a dense cluster of red dots gathered just over a hundred meters away.

Green represented allies and red represented enemies within the map function; it was very simple and direct.

Could there be bandits launching a sneak attack?

Magical beasts usually charged out from the forest, but the red dots indicating enemies were located in the waist-high shrubbery ahead.

Garen woke up from his sleep in an instant.

"Enemy attack!"

Garen shouted at the top of his lungs.

Several guards on duty looked blank, and the other members of the guard squad all woke up as well. They looked around, but they didn't see anything.

In the nearby shrubbery, a group of bandits had intended to launch a surprise attack, never expecting this group of guards to be so alert.

They had frequently ambushed merchant caravans here over the past two years because they were about to leave the Magical Beast Mountain Range, and ordinary caravans would inevitably become a bit lax.

Furthermore, the shrubbery here was very dense, making it an excellent place for people to hide.

"Boss, they seem to have discovered us. What should we do?"

"Forget it. There are only thirty-some of them, and we have more men. Kill them! Fire arrows first!"

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

Hearing the shouts from not far away, a volley of sharp arrows came tearing through the air. The warriors of the guard squad quickly hid behind the carriages.

Only two members who reacted slowly were struck by arrows; after letting out two wails, they also scrambled behind the carriages.

"Everyone, prepare for battle! The enemy's situation is unknown, wait for them to get closer."

Not knowing the number of enemies, Lucas took command of the group.

Garen had been inside the carriage, so he was relatively safe for the time being.

52, 53, 54, 55.

Through the map function, Garen counted the number of enemies currently approaching.

This kind of small-scale bandit group shouldn't be very strong. Human defense is much worse than that of magical beasts. I just happened to research Triple Fireball, so I'll see if I can kill a bandit above my level.

Garen calculated for a moment. While the bandits hadn't arrived yet and the arrows had slowed down, he quickly ran off the carriage and dove under the chassis.

Lying under the carriage at night was very concealed, and it didn't hinder him from casting magic.

A normal adult certainly wouldn't be able to crawl in, but he was still just a child who had just turned eight.

Before long, the arrows stopped. Garen didn't even need to look; sensing the red dots approaching, he silently chanted the magic incantation.

Just as the group of bandits ran out of the shrubbery, one unlucky fellow saw a fireball the size of a human head flying toward him and hurriedly raised his blade to hack at it.

A powerful explosive force shook his steel blade away.

The fireball exploded, hitting his battle aura shield. Before he could even react, another fireball slammed into the shield, shattering it.

"Boom!"

The final fireball exploded solidly against his chest.

"Ah..."

With a scream and the smell of charred meat spreading, the bandit fell straight to the ground, motionless.

Ding, killed a level four bandit, gained 82 experience points.

Ding, completed side quest: kill a monster above your level. Reward: Bloodline Atavism.

Garen looked at the light orb floating in mid-air after the bandit died, knowing that loot had dropped again, but he didn't have time to be happy.

A mysterious force suddenly erupted within his body. He felt his whole body swelling, his blood surging, and waves of power erupting from his blood vessels, followed by a gentle force beginning to restore him.

The pain made him roar continuously, but unfortunately, a battle was already raging outside, and his shouts were drowned out by the sounds of slaughter.

White hairs, as tough as steel wires, grew out from his skin. His body and limbs became robust, and his height shot up from 1.3 meters to 1.5 meters, quickly transforming him into a humanoid tiger-man.

Ten minutes later, the sounds of killing outside slowly weakened, turning into wails.

Garen had finally completed his first transformation.

After the transformation, his vision improved; even at night, he could see his surroundings clearly. Looking at his own body and thinking of the system prompt after killing that bandit, he pondered.

Bloodline Atavism? After this transformation, I'm covered in tiger stripes. Could I be a descendant of the Tiger-Striped Warrior among the four Ultimate Warriors?

He sensed himself; his body was filled with power, and he didn't know how many times stronger he was than before.

This suffering wasn't in vain. The Tiger-Striped Warrior is the fastest among the four Ultimate Warriors. They have strong attack power, and while their defense isn't as good as the Dragonblood Warrior or the Undying Warrior, it's still much stronger than an average warrior.

He sensed the system within his mind.

Garen

Warrior Level: Level 3 (568/2000 EXP)

Transformation State: Level 5

Magic Level: Level 3 (800/2000 EXP)

"I was a Level 1 warrior before, but the Bloodline Atavism boosted me by two levels, reaching Level 3. With my transformation, I'm at Level 5. This is great."

With a single thought, the fur covering his body retracted, and he returned to his normal appearance.

Garen climbed out of the carriage, and upon seeing the scene before him, his heart sank.

The guard unit, which originally consisted of over thirty people, was now in tatters; almost everyone was injured, and seven or eight corpses had already been laid out by the survivors.

"Uncle Luke!"

Garen saw Luke lying not far away. He had lost an arm, and there was a gaping wound through his chest; it was clear he wouldn't survive.

Seeing this scene, Garen felt as if something was lodged in his throat, making him feel incredibly distressed.

Although they had only known each other for two years, they had spent almost every day together, and the entire guard unit had taken great care of him, the little one.

"Garen, don't be sad. This world is just like this. As long as you aren't strong enough, danger can descend at any moment. So, you must become strong in the future."

After saying this, he pulled a magic crystal card from his chest.

"Take this. This is the bearer magic crystal card your father asked me to keep for you. It contains your tuition and living expenses. Remember to use your fingerprint to activate it once you reach Fenlai City."

"Your father saved my life on the battlefield back then, so this is me paying him back..."

Luke seemed to want to pat Garen's head one last time, but unfortunately, he could no longer lift his arm.

Uncle Luke was dead. Garen woke up from the joy of transforming into a Tiger-Striped Warrior. In this world where the strong prey on the weak, only by constantly growing stronger could he control his own destiny. His current strength was far from enough.

If the guard unit had been defeated this time, he might already be a corpse lying on the ground, and having a system would have been useless.

Picking up Uncle Luke, Garen gently placed him beside his fallen comrades.

He bowed deeply.

Tears uncontrollably welled up and spilled from his eyes.

The voices and smiles of Uncle Luke and the other guard members flashed before his eyes; those warm memories stung his heart like a knife.

At this moment, Garen deeply felt the fragility and preciousness of life. He swore that he would definitely become stronger to protect the people around him.

"I cannot change this cruel world, but from now on, I will do everything in my power to make sure every bandit I encounter disappears."

"Little Garen, don't be sad. If it weren't for your warning, we might have suffered even heavier losses. This is already the best possible outcome."

Lucas comforted Garen.

After his mood calmed down, Garen went to pick up the items dropped by the bandits he had killed earlier.

Primary EXP Card: (500 EXP)

After thinking for a moment, he added it to his warrior level without hesitation.

Warrior Level: (1068/2000 EXP)

Half an hour later, the guard unit had finished handling all the fallen warriors. A guard unit of thirty-three people was now reduced to fewer than twenty.

This once again showed Garen the danger and cruelty of this world.

(End of chapter)