160. Sneak Attack

"Master Zoren, may I ask why Grede massacred the Gaosuo?"

Sulu thought for a moment and then asked Zoren a question.

This guy has a good reputation; I'm on good terms with his Apprentice, and he seems to appreciate me quite a bit, so I can tentatively consider him a friend.

"It must be for a Treasure Map!"

As the second most wanted criminal in the Federation, second only to Grede, and a master-level professional, Zoren had some knowledge of this matter. "Legend has it... that the ancestors of the Gaosuo left behind a treasure on their land, containing the secret to the Gaosuo's resurgence. Of course... many people think it's just a legend, but Grede obsessed with it! He firmly believes it!"

"So that's how it is!"

Sulu looked towards the canyon. "I should go back now. I hope you succeed, Master!"

He ultimately restrained his desires.

Killing off the outer perimeter of the Grede Bandit Gang was within his capabilities, but participating in battles against third- or even fourth-tier professionals would be far too presumptuous.

Whether you are a spirit or a physical being, if you get hit even once, you're almost certainly doomed.

Unless you are promoted to [Thaumaturge] immediately!

However, this is his trump card, and he doesn't plan to reveal it now.

"A wise choice!"

Zoren smiled, clearly appreciating that.

If Sulu really goes in with him, then he's blinded by greed and utterly reckless.

"Very good... If I don't return, three days later, at the Langlie Bar in the Black Market, tell Geri... tell her to go to the old place, where my legacy is located!"

Zoren said in a deep voice, spurring his horse toward the canyon camp.

"Is this... a way of giving one's last words?"

Sulu's lips twitched slightly.

Rumble!

The next moment, after Zoren's figure rushed into the canyon, the ground trembled and the valley shook slightly.

It seems that even the earth cannot withstand the bombardment of a fourth-tier professional!

"Giddy up!"

From the mouth of the canyon, a dozen or so bandits rushed out and left without looking back.

It's clear they were terrified of Evil Spirit Knight, but were unable to leave due to Grede's power.

Having found an opportunity, they immediately chose to escape.

The Grede Bandit Gang was originally a group of outlaws with shockingly low cohesion.

"This is... an opportunity!"

Sulu's eyes flickered, and he chose a direction to chase after it.

This time, instead of turning his opponent into experience, he chose to capture him alive.

The spirit moved very quickly, and with the addition of Spirit Chain, it immediately grabbed a few unlucky souls and tossed them aside.

"What a... bumper harvest!"

Sulu stared at the three ruthless bandits in front of him.

One of them was a professional, while the other two were elites among ordinary people, shrouded in resentment that was almost tangible.

He's clearly the kind of guy who's killed a lot of people.

"By this standard, it's definitely cursed!"

Sulu smiled and used his Spirit Chain to knock them unconscious one by one, especially the professional, while also breaking his arms and legs. Then, his spirit returned to his body and he came over to drag the three away.

This is an important spoil of war, and he still has some ideas that he needs them to carry out.

"However... in a place like this, it's very dangerous to suddenly Soul Projection!"

Sulu leaped out from beneath the yellow sand. "If I'm discovered by passing bandits, I'll be in big trouble."

He looked around and came to the three unconscious robbers, with three horses beside them.

"We could take them away... huh?"

In that instant, Sulu's Inspiration gave him a frantic warning.

Behind him, a figure emerged, seemingly moving out of the shadows, and thrust a dagger into his back.

When!

The dagger was deflected by the Spirit Chain, but with an unstoppable force, it plunged into Sulu's left shoulder.

Puff!

Blood splattered!

"Is he Assassin? Or a high-level Assassin who can hide himself in the shadows?"

Sulu shifted his feet, unleashing the full speed of the [Rogue], and dashed away from the opponent's attack range.

At the same time, he gripped the gun in his right hand and fired a shot at the attacker.

Bang! Bang!

To his surprise, numerous sprays of blood erupted from the attacker's body.

The opponent was unable to dodge and revealed himself to be a short, thin man whose right arm was missing.

At this moment, he was holding a dagger in his only remaining left hand, one end of which was dripping with blood. "If only my right hand were still here..."

"Assassin Aili?"

Sulu was extremely surprised. "So it was you?"

He aimed at Aili's forehead and, without hesitation, fired a triple shot.

Bang bang bang!

After the shot rang out, the other person's head exploded like a watermelon.

Boom!

Aili's body lay on the ground, while Sulu, pale-faced, tore his clothes to bandage the wound on his left shoulder.

Fortunately, he had made preparations within the Inner Circle, taking out the Hemostatic Potion he had previously prepared, and also, out of concern, administering a test tube of Antidote Potion.

Immediately, he stared at Aili's corpse, a lingering fear in his eyes. "If he hadn't used a dagger... if his right hand were still intact..."

Sulu had some guesses as to why Aili was here.

Perhaps he wanted to defect, or perhaps he was acting on Grede's orders—who knows?

As for his right arm, it doesn't look like it was torn apart by Evil Spirit; it's more likely the work of Zoren.

"Taking advantage of the camp's Weakness defenses, Zoren successfully launched a surprise attack on Grede Bandit Gang, and even severely wounded Grede's right-hand man?"

Sulu felt he understood something. "After Aili left the canyon, he saw the three bandits being taken down, so he lay in ambush... He almost succeeded!"

If I hadn't been vigilant, constantly observing with my Inspiration, and had a bit of good luck, I probably would have been dead just now!

"I've been having a lot of bad luck lately... I've almost died several times... Could it be because I've offended the Goddess of Doom...?"

Sulu gasped for breath, suddenly thinking of the Black Death Society and Beatrice.

If things go as expected, the [Doom-Bringer] profession might eventually involve the realm of 'misfortune,' so is this Lady Moon's authority?

"Make my luck inexplicably turn bad? That can't be right, can it? If you could do that, you might as well just curse me..."

Sulu was somewhat suspicious. He looked at Aili's body again and then reached over to feel around.

The next moment, with a strange expression, he pulled a... human skin from Aili's pocket.

"This is..."

Sulu stared at the fragmented map in his hand.

It appears to be pieced together from different human skins, with some unintelligible patterns and symbols depicted on it in black lines.

Stylistically, it resembles the Gulam Language.

"The Gaosuo have a custom of tattooing important information on their bodies... and Gulam Language is also their language of ritual... Perhaps Grede massacred the Gaosuo for this reason?"

Sulu stared at the Human Skin Map in his hand. "Could it be... that Aili betrayed Grede and stole it during the chaos?"

"Or... did Grede ordered him to safeguard and evacuate?"

He thought about it for a while, but still couldn't figure it out.

However, at this moment, the noise in the canyon gradually returned to Silence.

Unwilling to gamble, Sulu quickly mounted his horse, took the prisoner with him, and sped away.