Ambush

[Precepts Updated]

[Identity 1 Master Precept: Oath Keeper]

[Precept Feedback: Added—(Toughness Growth): The Pact Vessel's toughness has been enhanced.]

[Identity 2 Master Precept: Forgiveness]

[Precept Feedback: Added—(Pur): Essence of Pain—You can grant other individuals the essence of pain and manipulate others' perception of pain.]

Two streams of Precept information passed through him. Naimus raised a brow and lifted his hand.

The rope around Pur's wound twisted, releasing a surge of power. His trembling body immediately stopped shaking.

Because he no longer felt pain.

The new feedback gained from the Precept of Forgiveness gave Naimus the ability to manipulate pain perception.

This ability required a medium to be released.

Under normal circumstances, he could injure others with a weapon, then multiply the pain caused by that injury through manipulation.

Of course, he could also use an object closely bound to himself, such as a Pact Vessel, as the medium.

Using it, Naimus adjusted Pur's perception of pain, making him unable to feel any pain at the moment.

"Get up. I have some questions for you!" Naimus ordered.

He thought fairly highly of Pur. He was a decent Demon prospect.

Of course, only a prospect.

If the other party could not grow quickly enough to gain sufficient strength, then his usefulness to Naimus would be limited to gathering intelligence. His value would not even compare to Downs's.

After all, Downs had been possessed by a Demon. At a critical moment, he could be regarded as a peak Black Stone Breed with extraordinary traits.

"My lord must be asking about the Village Guardian!" Pur took the initiative.

As a Reserve Village Guardian, he naturally kept an eye on the village's only official Village Guardian in hopes of escaping that fate.

Though he did not dare follow the man openly, it was not difficult to pay attention to some of his movements while working.

Therefore, Pur did possess some intelligence regarding the Village Guardian.

"I discovered that he occasionally took food out at night and only returned very late," Pur said. His home was not far from the Village Guardian's residence.

After noticing that something was off about the Village Guardian's behavior, he had observed his movements. Those faintly lit candles had provided him with information.

"So I speculate that he still has family!" Pur boldly concluded.

People like them were solitary men who had messed something up. They generally had no relatives, or their relatives had long since died.

Otherwise, they would not have ended up as Village Guardians.

Pur himself was an example. His father had botched something, stolen money, and fled with him.

His father was killed while being pursued, while Pur survived. Since he was still too young to do much work, he became a Reserve Village Guardian.

The Village Guardian taking food out every night most likely meant that he had relatives still alive, relatives unknown to others.

Take Pur himself. If his father had not been killed back then but had successfully escaped and hidden in the wilderness—

Pur would most likely have brought him food as well, because a close relative like that had once been his only chance to escape the fate of becoming a Village Guardian!

That was why Pur made this deduction.

"Is that so?" Naimus nodded, then made his decision.

"Go home as usual. I'll notify you with the rope when it's time to come out. Meet us here, and then we'll ambush the Village Guardian!"

Directly ambushing the Village Guardian—sometimes violence was the best solution.

Naimus naturally understood that. Once he learned that the Village Guardian went out alone at night, he made the decision immediately.

After arranging things with Pur, Naimus found Downs and told him to come out with him that night.

Only then did Naimus return home. After eating some dry bread, he fell asleep at once.

As far as material pleasures went, Naimus believed they were nice to have, but no great loss without.

This body only had two or three years left to live. He had to secure the greatest possible benefits within that time and create an opportunity for himself to enter the upper ranks of the Church of Precepts.

The sunlight gradually faded, and Naimus, who had slept through the afternoon, opened his eyes.

He then found Downs and began their night journey.

At this hour, the village was already quiet. Everyone had returned to their homes.

The last traces of sunset lingered, making everything seem even darker.

Before long, Naimus met up with Downs and Pur at the edge of the village.

Then several ropes shot out from behind Naimus, wrapping around all three of them.

The instant the ropes coiled around them, the sounds they made and the scents they carried vanished.

This made use of the Seal Addition and Silence Control enhancements of the Rope of Oath.

Sealing could restrict a target's strength. Using it to seal scents was not entirely appropriate, but it was barely sufficient.

Pur led them to a concealed thicket, and they began waiting within it.

The afterglow slowly disappeared, and a hint of moonlight climbed onto the branches.

Then an unnatural disturbance sounded. Naimus, who had not eaten his fill, even caught the scent of meat.

The Village Guardian had appeared.

He carried no torch. Holding a basket, he headed toward the forest outside the village.

Naimus did not rush to act. They had already discussed their tactics beforehand.

The three of them followed behind the Village Guardian while Pur and Downs gradually moved in from both sides.

If the Village Guardian did not notice them, they would follow him all the way to his destination.

If they were discovered, they would attack immediately.

Under the cover of night, the three of them gradually formed a pocket around the Village Guardian walking through the forest.

And he was indeed worthy of being an official Village Guardian. Though he had not heard any movement—

He gradually sensed that something was wrong.

It was not that he had noticed anything. Rather, his intuition was stirring.

The Village Guardian trusted that intuition, which had saved his life countless times in battle.

So without any warning, the Village Guardian suddenly burst forward at maximum speed.

With one step, he kicked off a tree trunk and nimbly leaped upward, landing on a branch.

His eyes glowed with a faint green light.

The bow on his back had already been taken down.

In an instant, he drew the bow and nocked an arrow, his sharp gaze locking onto a target.

It was Downs, who lacked much experience traveling in the wilderness.

Without hesitation, the arrow shot forth.

Yet things did not unfold as the Village Guardian had expected. The arrow struck accurately, but it did not inflict much damage.

A black aura swirled around Downs's body as the Demon's power took effect.

At the same time, with a sharp whoosh, the Village Guardian's ear twitched, and he threw himself to one side.

Seeing Downs exposed, Pur on the other side also launched his attack at once.

Unfortunately, once the arrow flew out, it left the range of Silence Control and was detected by the Village Guardian.

Thanks to the readers for following along. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments; Xu Ming will do his best to take them into account.