Becoming a Barbarian

After a simple breakfast, the squad began to pack up the camp.

Ye Wei'an walked to the luxurious tent and touched the items inside one by one: the opulent silk cushions, the mahogany bathtub, and the folding bed all vanished without a trace. Finally, even the tent itself returned to his system inventory, leaving only faint indentations on the ground.

The three warriors were also packing their gear.

Ailian went to help as well. When Renn struggled with a heavy crate, the girl exerted a bit of force with both hands and easily hoisted it onto the horse's back without even breaking a sweat.

Watching this scene, he scratched his head and muttered, "Young Master, is it too late for me to apply to be your bodyguard? I want to become that strong too..."

After receiving a glare from Cain, he sheepishly shut his mouth.

"Let's move out." Once everything was packed, Ye Wei'an swung onto his horse.

Logically, Ailian, having awakened the Monk class, possessed agility and balance far beyond that of an ordinary person, making it effortless for her to handle a horse.

Yet, when Cain led a docile mare to her, the young girl acted as if she hadn't seen it, looking at Ye Wei'an with large, watery eyes.

"I... I'm still a bit scared." She blushed, her voice soft. "I think I pushed myself too hard during training earlier; my legs are still weak... If I can't ride steadily and fall off, it doesn't matter if I get hurt, but it would be terrible to cause trouble for Young Master and everyone else."

Listening from the side, the corner of Cain's eye twitched imperceptibly:

When you were moving that crate with your bare hands just a moment ago, you didn't look "weak-legged" at all.

However, this time, the upright knight wisely chose silence, naturally turning away to pretend he was intently inspecting the horseshoes.

"So, what do you propose?" Watching the young maid, whose acting was amateurish but who was trying hard to maintain a "frail" appearance, Ye Wei'an found it somewhat amusing.

"Can we... do it like yesterday?" The little maid blinked her eyes incessantly.

How could Ye Wei'an not see through her little scheme?

"Get on."

"Yay!" Ailian cheered. With a light tap of her dainty feet, she leaped onto the horse's back in one fluid motion, landing in front of Ye Wei'an—there was no trace of "weak legs" left.

Then, like a kitten that had found its nest, she curled up in Ye Wei'an's arms and squinted in contentment.

And so, the group set off once again.

With the guidance of the mini-map, today's journey was just as smooth as yesterday's.

Under Ye Wei'an's lead, they traversed the forest, avoiding all potential trouble; not a single encounter occurred.

Even though they were traveling along more rugged trails, their speed was no different from that on a flat road.

"Young Master is practically the master of this forest," Harold whispered to Renn. "Following him, I even feel like we could sleep all the way to the Baron's castle."

When the setting sun stained the sky a desolate, dark purple, a small town built against the mountain appeared on the horizon.

They had arrived at Firefall Town.

This town guarded the entrance to the canyon on the main eastern route and was the mandatory passage for anyone crossing the edge of Hurek Forest to reach Firefall Valley, the territory of the Summerstar Family.

At this moment, the town was already lit with flickering lights, appearing warm and inviting in the twilight.

For the warriors who had been trekking through the damp, stifling forest all day, those lights represented hot soup, dry beds, and secure walls.

"Finally here!" Renn wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The shirts under the three warriors' armor were already soaked through. What they craved most now was to rush into town, find a tavern, gulp down several large mugs of cold ale, and wash away the thirst and dust in their throats.

"Wait!"

Just as Renn loosened the reins, preparing to dash toward the town, Ye Wei'an called them to a halt.

Cain's heart tightened, and almost reflexively, he raised his hand to signal a tactical formation.

Renn stopped running as well, spreading out with Harold to form a loose fan shape, shielding the horses and Ye Wei'an in the center.

"Young Master, is something wrong?" Cain asked in a low voice, his eyes scanning the town's defenses vigilantly.

Ye Wei'an did not answer immediately; his gaze was fixed on the mini-map.

At the entrance of Firefall Town and in several blind spots along the street, three or four red dots were mixed among a large cluster of yellow dots representing neutrals, appearing exceptionally conspicuous.

Considering he had never been to Firefall Town and couldn't possibly have enemies here, the identity of these red dots was self-evident—who else could it be but eyes or thugs planted by the Gray Crow?

Ye Wei'an was not surprised by this.

Firefall Town was the territory of Baron Summerstar, and the Gray Crow was the Baroness's personal manservant.

Using that status to plant a few spies and recruit a few local thugs here was far too easy.

However, he did not point this out, instead offering a different explanation:

"That mastermind behind the scenes has collaborated with the Butcher, Grumman, more than once. Someone capable of long-term cooperation with the largest bandit group in the vicinity can only be a local snake of Firefall Town. If we walk in there brazenly, it's equivalent to telling them directly: the ambush failed, and we've delivered ourselves to your doorstep."

Cain suddenly realized the truth and felt a lingering fear: "It's fortunate that Young Master reminded us, otherwise we would have made a grave mistake."

"You've been in the military for a long time; it's normal not to understand these underhanded schemes," Ye Wei'an comforted him.

"Then... how should we enter?"

"Don't worry, I've already made preparations."

Under Cain's astonished gaze, Ye Wei'an took a heavy greatsword from his system inventory, along with the studded leather armor that only covered the lower body—it was none other than the equipment of the Butcher, Grumman.

"Aren't they waiting for Butcher Grumman to return and report?" Ye Wei'an weighed his heavy greatsword and offered a faint smile. "Then I shall disguise myself as Grumman and give them a 'surprise'."

With that, he began to chant an incantation:

"Transformation"

As the final syllable fell, a faint "crackling" sound emanated from within his body.

His bones extended and shifted under the guidance of mana; his delicate features were kneaded and reshaped as if by invisible hands, his cheekbones protruding, his jaw widening, and his skin turning rough and swarthy, marked by several ghastly old scars.

His originally slender and well-proportioned frame expanded, solid muscles bulging and straining against his clothing. In just a few breaths, the handsome young noble had transformed into a burly, savage brute with a face full of flab.

"This... it's exactly like that bandit leader." Cain and the two soldiers watched, dumbstruck.

Even knowing it was the effect of a spell, the lifelike transformation before their eyes remained shocking.

"Cain, take off your armor and put these on." Ye Wei'an—or rather, "Grumman"—pulled several spare, dust-covered coarse cloth garments from his backpack and commanded in a hoarse, gravelly voice.

"Also, put away your swords and switch to those rotten blades and broken axes we confiscated from the bandits. Remember, you aren't soldiers now; you're the lackeys working for me!"

Seeing "Grumman" before them, who had perfectly replicated even the mannerisms and tone of voice, Cain executed the orders decisively.

The three men shed their conspicuous standard-issue armor and longswords, donned the filthy coarse clothes, and smeared mud, ash, and grass clippings onto each other's faces and hair.

Of course, for professional soldiers to pose as bandits, merely applying makeup and changing clothes was not enough.

Ye Wei'an provided them with professional guidance:

For instance, abandoning the habit of standing tall with chests puffed out, deliberately hunching their backs, avoiding focused gazes, and trying to appear as slovenly as possible...

In the eyes of Ye Wei'an, who possessed the [Actor] specialty, their performances still had quite a few flaws, but it was more than enough to deal with scouts and hired thugs.

After all, Ye Wei'an himself was the lead actor in this play.

Finally, it was Ailian's turn.

Ye Wei'an reached out and ruffled her neatly combed, silky long hair into a mess, then tore several gashes into her pretty maid dress, letting the hem and cuffs get stained with dust, even revealing a small portion of her dirtied ankle.

"Ailian, bear with it." Ye Wei'an loosely tied a hemp rope around her wrists. "From now on, you are the spoils of war I've captured—a terrified little slave girl."

Ailian was not afraid; instead, she seemed eager to try.

She blinked hard, struggling to mist her large eyes with moisture, then hunched her shoulders and began to shiver. "Young Master... no, Boss, is this alright?"

"Perfect!"

Ye Wei'an shouldered the exaggerated greatsword and flashed a standard, menacing grin:

"Let's go. Let's head back to town to collect our reward."

This group, led by the "bandit leader," swaggered away from the edge of the woods and headed toward Firefall Town.