A Letter

Jaina's back was drenched in sweat. It was clearly a bad idea to get close to Janice now. Taelan was reliable, but there was still a Gnoll Overseer wielding a Crescent Staff over there; if she went over, she would just be serving herself up to the gnoll. One strike from that staff, and Taelan Fordring would be attending her funeral tomorrow.

At this moment, the fat Rogue finally revealed himself. The idea that villains talk too much is nonsense; real villains only speak to corpses to satisfy their own vanity. He went straight for a Garrote. In this world, Garrote was not the skill from World of Warcraft that only caused damage and silence; it was a finisher. It had the chance to kill a humanoid creature instantly.

Jaina looked like a complete novice mage. This was likely her first time encountering such a situation, and it might also be her last. She couldn't do anything; she had no Ice Barrier, and certainly no Ice Block. She could only stare at Taelan Fordring with her beautiful, wide eyes, filled with reluctance.

Goodbye.

Taelan Fordring: You said that too early.

The fat Rogue didn't even want to look at Jaina, who had been hit by the Garrote. Against such a lethal attack, even Power Word: Shield couldn't save you. Such a beautiful little girl, if only... what a pity. No one would waste a life-saving ability on her.

However, the expected screams and spraying blood never came. Jaina was tightly protected by a milky-white shield, and the potent poison on the dagger had no effect whatsoever. It was a Paladin's life-saving skill—Blessing of Protection.

This skill should be called physical invincibility. Moreover, the color of this guy's Blessing of Protection looked wrong. The Holy Light energy contained within it was practically overflowing; it wouldn't dissipate for several minutes. The Garrote hadn't taken effect, but the energy had been used up without hesitation.

Jaina had snatched life from the jaws of death. By now, the fat Rogue knew he couldn't deal with this troublesome little lass who used Frostbolt in the short term. He had no choice but to run; his only hope now was that she would turn and flee.

Jaina had no intention of running. Furthermore, she was worthy of being a future hero; she immediately adjusted her mood and cast Frostbolt again. If he broke combat and re-entered stealth, everyone would die.

The fat Rogue was slowed, but he still managed to get away. Jaina didn't dare to pursue. Taelan Fordring, however, did not use a skill to remove the entanglement, nor did he use Blessing of Freedom—Rogues had far too many crowd-control skills. He turned around and began to trade blows with Gogri in a leisurely manner.

Twenty seconds passed quickly. The good news was that the Blessing of Protection on Jaina still hadn't vanished; it looked like it would last a while longer. The bad news was that the Rogue had disappeared again. Gogri began to attack while shouting something in Thalassian: "Spare me, I'll give you everything!"

It was also desperate; it could almost see Bwonsamdi. Yet, it felt that the human cub before it was truly an illiterate, muscle-brained brute. That little lass's grades were truly terrible, even though she was a mage.

In truth, Jaina barely understood; the gnoll was begging for mercy. It hoped to trade a treasure for its life. Actually, Taelan Fordring really wanted to tell it that not every mage was proficient in Thalassian and could understand its lousy, ancient accent.

But Jaina knew that Taelan Fordring's ancient Thalassian was much better than hers. His teacher, the Grand Astromancer, was a genuine High Elf—and a high-ranking one at that, for whom ancient Thalassian was a necessity. However, he did not accept surrenders; this guy had no integrity, so she didn't speak either.

Just then, Taelan Fordring felt a chill on his back. He immediately abandoned Gogri and spun around. At that moment, the fat Rogue's hateful voice echoed through the air: "You brat. You really do understand Rogues. That little lass is someone very important to you, isn't she? If you had used the Blessing of Protection on yourself, you'd be long gone by now, wouldn't you? Let's see what you do when the Enhanced Blessing of Protection on her fades."

Taelan Fordring suddenly retreated a few steps. Gogri seized the opportunity, desperate to kill Taelan, and pursued him relentlessly.

Watching it take two steps, Taelan sensed the timing, took a deep breath, and silently activated the Blessing of Tirion Fordring and the Eye of Violet Amulet. A pattern similar to the mage's Arcane Intellect rose over him, then the Holy Light on his hands and longsword seemed to ignite, and the sword in his hand split into five phantoms.

"Ah!" "Ah!" Two cries rang out. Both Gogri and the invisible fat Rogue let out screams. A deep, bone-reaching wound appeared on Gogri's body, and a massive amount of blood sprayed out. It wasn't just one strike, but three full strikes—four instances of damage—all hitting the exact same spot. The additional true damage immediately claimed its life. It collapsed to the ground, wailing.

It turned out Taelan Fordring knew that a Rogue's Garrote could only be initiated from behind, and in reality, unlike in games, there was no lack of collision volume. He had retreated a step to force Gogri into position, using it to ensure his small-area AOE skill, Zeal, would take effect and strike the invisible Rogue.

At this moment, Taelan Fordring heard the long-awaited system sound:

"Ding! Congratulations on killing the High Overseer Gogri.

Jaina Proudmoore's favor toward you has increased.

Janice Barov's favor toward you has increased."

Quest Received: Dark Deal!

Find out what these two Rogues are doing here and see what kind of shady deal brought two Rogues to the Eastern Weald.

At this point, the fat Rogue also exited stealth mode, as he had been struck by two of the blades. People in reality bleed when struck by a sword, and the Rend skill was particularly powerful. It created wounds that were difficult to heal and caused massive blood loss.

Taelan Fordring immediately launched a Charge. He knew he couldn't let him get away; given his character, a sneak attack was inevitable. Only by dragging him to the Bridgehead Outpost at Caer Darrow would they be safe. There was a squad of guards there, and the Colonel leading them was over level fifty; such a minor Rogue wouldn't be able to stay hidden near him.

Seeing that he was no longer fighting back but had activated Sprint, Taelan Fordring felt a stir in his heart: "Run if you want. I only need to interrogate your companion. I can get anything out of him."

The scene that followed made Jaina's back turn cold.

The fat Rogue, still in his Sprint state, suddenly doubled back, and then they heard the unconscious thin Rogue let out a scream as a sword pierced his chest. He lost his breath instantly.

Taelan Fordring launched another Charge, followed immediately by a Mortal Strike. The fat Rogue knew he needed a hostage, so he ran toward Jaina. At that moment, the damn Blessing of Protection on the little lass finally dissipated.

Laozi has finished a cup of tea, and your shield finally drops.

Jaina's Blessing of Protection faded, and her heart skipped a beat. Ignoring the injury to her magic circuits, she channeled all her mana! Suddenly, a circle of cold energy radiated from her. With a crisp pop, the fat Rogue was frozen in place by Frost Nova! She had finally managed to cast a new spell at the very last moment.

Simultaneously, Taelan Fordring's Power Word: Shield protected Jaina once more, and he charged toward the fat Rogue without a second thought.

The fat Rogue knew these few seconds were the difference between life and death, so he hurriedly activated his life-saving skill, Evasion. After Taelan Fordring collided with him, he immediately launched a Mortal Strike, then, ignoring the pain in his arm muscles, used Zeal again. The fat Rogue prepared to use Disarm after his Evasion. His energy should have recovered just enough. That way, he could survive these few seconds of immobilization.

At this moment, Janice, who had been Sapped, finally recovered. She immediately began chanting, preparing to cast Fireball.

But the expected Evasion never occurred; five consecutive strikes brought forth six sprays of blood! The effect of the Blessing of Tirion Fordring had also triggered! The fat Rogue could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.

Taelan Fordring suddenly asked in a low voice: "What did Duke Falrestrasz send you here to do?"

The fat Rogue froze for a moment. How did he know about the Duke? Just then, a Fireball struck him.

Thank you all for your support. Time was tight today. I had to post first and edit later!