Farewell

"Andy, I really underestimated you!" Nak glanced at Number Two's corpse on the ground, then walked over to Andy and said.

"I..." Andy was immersed in the joy of advancing, a panel appearing in his mind. In the spot showing his profession, the words "Novice Ranger" shimmered with golden light. Below that, under his attributes, were brief descriptions of several skills.

"Strangulation: a novice melee skill that uses tremendous crushing force to attack an enemy. Evasion: instantly increases your agility, briefly granting high mobility to dodge enemy attacks. Thrust: a sudden burst of speed over a long distance, letting you charge at an enemy at high speed for a short time." After reading the descriptions, a faint smile appeared on Andy's face.

Until now, he had always fought enemies with his bow from a distance. If they managed to close in, he was in serious danger. But now he had melee skills, so he no longer had to worry about enemies getting close.

His attributes had increased in every area, and Andy immediately felt the changes in his body. His arm, gripping the scimitar, was stronger. The stamina he had spent in the fight just now had almost instantly returned, and his whole body felt light with every movement.

"Someone, seize the two of them!" Seeing Number Two fall, Sonata was horrified. He had invested so much effort in training that Warrior, and now he had been killed just like that.

The guards all raised their spears and shouted as they surrounded the two men. Andy glanced up at them, a cold glint in his eyes, and instinctively tightened his grip on his scimitar.

The guards felt a chill at the look in Andy's eyes. With that gaze and the blood dripping from his scimitar, none of them dared make a move. They all believed that if they did, they would be the next ones lying on the ground.

"What are you doing? Are you all trying to rebel?" Sonata shouted when he saw the guards hesitating.

"Sonata, save your breath!" Nak stepped in front of Andy and looked at Sonata. "Your time is up. This time, I won't let you do whatever you please!"

"Haha, you fool! What right do you have to say that to me? Even your father was no match for me!" Sonata blurted out, then quickly clamped his mouth shut. Damn it, he'd let it slip!

"What did you say?" Nak was startled, and anger flared across his face.

"What did you say?" Sonata ignored Nak's question. "You heard me! Seize them, now!"

The guards looked at one another, still hesitating. They were only flesh and blood, with elderly parents and young children at home. None of them dared risk their lives.

"What are you still hesitating for?" A vicious look suddenly crossed Sonata's face. "Don't forget, you were all involved in what happened to my elder brother! Without me, who's going to protect you? If he learns the truth, not one of you will survive!" He pointed at Nak in the middle of the courtyard.

The guards' faces twisted with indecision. Then one of them suddenly dropped his weapon and stamped his foot. "Forget it. We're better off getting it over with than living in fear every day."

His tone softened as he turned to Nak and continued, "Nak, back then, we guards serving the elders were led astray by Sonata. We helped him murder your father, then silently supported him as he took the elders' seat. We deserve whatever punishment we get."

Then he turned to the other guards. "We made a mistake once before. We can't make it again. We've lived well all these years, but not a moment has gone by when we weren't living in fear. Sonata has committed such a shameful act today. I won't help him anymore!"

As soon as he finished speaking, weapons clattered all around them. Every guard had thrown theirs to the ground.

"Why, you ungrateful wretches!" Nak was consumed with rage, almost ready to strangle them. But then he glanced at Sonata and changed his tune. "The guilty should answer for their own crimes. You shouldn't have to bear Sonata's guilt. You were only led astray by him!"

Andy gave Nak an approving look, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. Nak didn't seem so stupid after all. At the very least, those few words not only showed the guards he forgave them, but also thrust Sonata into the heart of the storm.

Sonata's face changed when he saw that some of the guards who had dropped their weapons had picked them up again and were now pointing them at him. He turned ashen. "You... you bastards!" His whole body trembled, and he could barely get the words out.

Nak took a scimitar from one of the guards and slowly walked over to Sonata. "When you did those things, you should have known this day would come sooner or later. Now your time is up!"

"No! You won't kill me!" Sonata roared. "I'm your uncle! I watched you grow up. When you were little and others bullied you, I was the one who stood up for you!"

"Looking at things now, everything you did back then was nothing but self-serving!" Nak pointed his blade at Sonata. "I gave you the position you were entitled to, but what did you do?"

"No, no!" Sonata began babbling. He turned and saw Nak's wife, Ina, and grabbed her, shouting, "It was her! It was all her! She seduced me! Sending you out on patrol was her idea, too!"

Sonata shoved Ina toward Nak and dropped to his knees with a thud. His teeth chattered as he said, "I've told you everything. I'm begging you, just don't kill me!"

Nak didn't even look at Sonata. He turned to Ina, who was still crying off to the side, and said without a trace of emotion, "So this is the man you chose to rely on. See him clearly now?"

"Argh!" Sonata let out a heart-rending scream as the blade in Nak's hand plunged straight into his heart. From beginning to end, Nak kept his eyes on Ina.

At the same time as Sonata's scream, Ina's body shuddered violently. As if all the strength had been drained from her, she collapsed to the ground.

Nak looked away and turned to the Quilboar gathered outside, his eyes full of coldness. When he had been stripped of his position, they had watched just as indifferently. Now, only the main character had changed!

Andy sheathed his scimitar and quietly watched everything unfold. He felt no surprise and made no attempt to stop it. In his eyes, if Nak hadn't killed Sonata now, it would only show how weak he was inside. Anyone who had been oppressed for so long would eventually reach a breaking point. All they needed was the right opportunity.

What surprised Andy was that Nak hadn't killed Ina, the female Quilboar who had betrayed him. After killing Sonata, he hadn't looked at Ina once. Quilboar were an extremely savage race, as far as Andy was concerned.

Ina's fate was no better than Sonata's. After Nak left, the Quilboar, eager to prove their loyalty, overwhelmed her. Nak knew what was happening, but didn't stop them, as if it had nothing to do with him.

After the incident was over, Andy decided to have a serious talk with Nak.

Nak was still living in his own cave. Andy pushed open the door and went inside.

"Andy, I really have to thank you this time!" Nak stood up and said with a smile.

Andy waved his hands repeatedly, then sat down and said, "Nak, there's something I want to tell you."

"Is it about going home?" Nak asked.

"Nak, listen to me!" Andy closed the door and continued, "I'm not actually a Quilboar. I'm an Elf!"

Nak looked calmly at Andy. He stared at him blankly for quite a while before finally saying, "An Elf? What's an Elf? Does it matter?"

Andy was taken aback. What did Nak mean? It had taken him a great deal of courage to come and explain everything to Nak. "An Elf is a different race!" Andy said. "Nak, I've been hiding the truth from you this whole time. I've been lying to you!"

"I already told you, does what you are really matter to me?" Nak smiled. "I don't know what an Elf is. I only know that there was a tall, strange Quilboar named Andy who once helped me. That's all I need to know!"

Hearing this, Andy smiled knowingly, and Nak chuckled too.

"Actually, I came to say goodbye," Andy said.

"You're leaving?" Nak looked at Andy.

"Yes, I'm leaving," Andy said. "I'm heading farther south."