At Death's Door 2

The Baron opened his mouth but did not argue. The first short arrow had caused him severe blood loss. He knew that if he did not do something soon, he might truly be left here forever today.

Under normal circumstances, even if he could not defeat three Knight-level opponents besieging him, he could at least retreat calmly. But now...

If I die, what will happen to Anglie? He thought of his most beloved son, and of that beautiful figure he still could not forget. Anglie was their only son.

"What? Kyle, even you fear death?" Lisa said coldly. She had seen the Baron's intention to retreat. "We finally forced you into this state today. Do you think we'll let you leave so easily?"

Though she said that, the three of them only dared to surround the Baron from a distance and did not dare approach. During the earlier battle, his inhuman strength and speed had made all three tremble inwardly. The Baron was close to death now; if they rushed in too early, his final counterattack might take one or two of them down with him. Having come this far, none of them wanted to pay an additional price.

The Baron's gaze darkened. Though he now knew Ward had betrayed him as well, as long as he did not die, perhaps Anglie would be safe. They would surely want to use Anglie to threaten him. Therefore, he absolutely could not die here!!

Gripping his greatsword, he tensed his aching muscles once more.

Anglie did not slow his pace in the slightest as he raced forward.

He streaked through the forest like a wisp of white smoke, countless trees flashing past him.

From the dying old Ward, he had learned where they had laid their ambush to kill the Baron.

It was a place he knew well. In Anglie's childhood memories, Knight Audis had often brought him there to hunt. The moment he heard it was that area, Anglie ignored everything else they had to say and rushed straight toward it.

He knew that not a moment could be wasted now. Otherwise, his father might truly be in danger.

As he ran, he pushed his speed almost to its limit. Agility of 2.5 was more than twice that of an ordinary person. Running at full speed, he was naturally astonishingly fast, but the expenditure was enormous as well. After running for a while, Anglie would force himself to stop and rest briefly.

He knew that if he did not maintain his condition, he might not only fail to save his father but end up getting himself killed too. He had also carefully tucked the poisoned throwing knife into his clothes, intending to use it as a secret weapon.

The Baron slashed diagonally with all his might.

Clang!!

Sparks flew everywhere.

Audis blocked the blow head-on, but his entire body shuddered. Blood seeped ever more heavily from his nose and mouth, making him look utterly terrifying.

At the side, Lisa fired an arrow from her short bow with a sharp hiss. The Baron shifted slightly and avoided it.

Chris silently stabbed at him from behind.

The rapier pierced the Baron's back with a hiss, only to be immediately trapped by his powerful muscles. The Baron snorted coldly and drove an elbow backward with a bang, striking Chris in the chest. Chris groaned, spat out a mouthful of blood, and was sent flying as if a giant bear had swatted him.

The Baron let out a low roar, violently shoved Audis away, and spun on his heel. Without a word, he charged into the forest behind him.

"Not good! He's running!!" Lisa cried sharply. The three of them perked up at once. The Baron's fearless demeanor had finally cracked. If he wanted to run, it meant he could no longer hold on. They were all overjoyed.

Without hesitation, the three figures rapidly pursued the heavily wounded Baron.

Anglie rushed toward the cliff ahead. It was high ground, from where he could overlook the entire forest ahead. He had only obtained a general direction and did not know the exact location, so finding a high place to survey the area and using the chip's detection ability to locate them was the key. Otherwise, searching blindly would be nothing but a waste of time and luck.

The cliff jutted out in the shape of a 7. It was bare, with nothing but patches of green moss and gray-white stone.

Standing atop the cliff, Anglie looked down.

"Zero, search for signs of humanoid life. Once marked, automatically identify Kyle Leo's characteristics," he silently ordered.

"Task execution initiated. Search commencing," the chip responded.

A soft hum sounded.

The world before Anglie's eyes was suddenly covered in a pale blue haze. Countless fine grid lines crisscrossed and linked together, filling his entire field of vision.

Anglie looked out over the vast forest below. Within the blue world, red dots shaped like tiny human figures were continuously marked.

A caravan passing through Leo Territory.

Two men traveling through the forest on foot.

And three ordinary bandits and passersby fighting one another in a tangled brawl.

Finally, at the farthest point, a blurry cluster of red dots faintly appeared.

"Automatic identification complete. Kyle Leo's trail discovered. Distance from detection point: 13.4 kilometers."

Anglie's spirits rose.

"What is the target's condition?"

"Status: suffering severe blood loss and being pursued by three Knight-level opponents." Zero provided its analysis.

Anglie's expression changed. Without hesitation, he turned and left the cliff, speeding toward the detected location.

Within a patch of forest.

The Baron ran swiftly through the woods. At this moment, even the greatsword that normally felt extremely light had begun to feel heavy. His leather armor was nearly falling apart as well.

The three people behind him had once been his best friends and comrades. Now, however, they pursued him relentlessly as though they bore him a blood feud.

The Baron's expression was wooden, his face faintly deathly pale. Sweat constantly dripped down his cheeks. Some beads of sweat slid down from his forehead and flowed into the wound in his right eye, immediately causing a burst of intense pain.

Though his powerful constitution had stopped the bleeding from his right eye socket, the wound seemed to have become infected.

The three behind him neither came too close nor fell too far behind. They simply followed at a measured pace, apparently determined to wear him to death.

Yet even knowing their plan, the Baron still did not dare stop.

Suddenly, the sound of wind came from behind him.

The Baron swiftly dodged right. With a thud, a green short arrow grazed his body and embedded itself in the tree trunk ahead, its arrowhead completely buried within.

"You can't run anymore, Kyle." Lisa's exhausted voice came from behind him.

"You're not much better off than I am," the Baron shouted. Now it was a contest of who could endure longer.

All of a sudden, Chris lunged out from behind him, his rapier becoming a point of silver as it stabbed straight at the Baron's back. At the same time, Audis charged from behind with his greatsword, hacking down from another angle. His tremendous strength brought with it a heavy howl through the air.

The Baron spun and swept his sword. With a bang, he knocked Chris and Audis away. The greatsword's remaining force drove it fiercely into the trunk of a nearby tree.

But at that moment, Lisa dove down from above and behind him. This once beautiful woman held a black short sword, floating rapidly toward the Baron like a falling leaf. His greatsword was stuck in the tree trunk, and there was no time to pull it free. Watching the short sword draw closer and closer, the Baron's heart was strangely calm. Lisa's hate-filled face was reflected in his pupils. He felt not a trace of fear. Instead, he thought of something else.

Anglie... if I die, what will become of you? A helpless smile touched his lips.

Hiss!!

A streak of silver suddenly flashed through the air and struck Lisa's short sword hard. The two weapons rang out with a clear clang, and a tiny spark could faintly be seen. Lisa groaned, her body knocked violently off course as she tumbled into the bushes to the right.

A familiar figure appeared before the eyes of the Baron and the other three. For a moment, all three of them froze.

Huff... huff...

Heavy breathing accompanied by sweat covering his entire body.

Anglie slowly emerged from the forest. His hand gripped the longsword at his waist tightly.

"Father," he said softly.

The Baron's lips trembled as he looked at his only cherished son. For a long while, he could not speak.

"I came to save you, Father!" Anglie's face broke into a relieved smile. "I'll kill everyone who hurt you! I'll make sure his head hangs forever from the highest point of Leo Castle."