Red Flower

"I was thinking of a story."

Drake's voice suddenly rose.

"After Rod's Party, Marcus's Party also perished in the Misty Cavern, chopped into minced meat by those ugly goblins."

"And my party just happened to pass by, so we kindly collected your bodies and took care of those goblins while we were at it... How does that sound?"

Drake's teammates behind him all revealed greedy, cruel smiles.

This was a deal worth fifty or sixty gold coins... Getting a little blood on their hands for it was no big deal, right?

"You're really dreaming," Vales retorted coldly.

"Ha, another half-blood bastard."

Drake grinned.

"Just because you've got a little elven blood, you think you're noble now? I gave you and that mage brat a chance before, but you insisted on walking straight into a dead end."

Zeliel's expression darkened.

Fuck... They look like they mean business.

There was no one else around, not a single witness.

And his teammates had just gone through a major battle and were short on stamina.

If a conflict broke out... they would be at a serious disadvantage.

The atmosphere in the forest clearing suddenly tightened, as though invisible blades were spreading through the air.

Marcus slowly raised his shield. Gray and Gak tightened their grips on their sword and axe, while Vales rested a hand on his quiver.

Just as Zeliel was about to move, an angry shout came from the other side.

"You mage brat, don't move your hands. Stay put!"

The two rangers in Drake's Party reacted quickly. They immediately nocked their arrows, their sharp arrowheads steadily aimed at Zeliel.

Zeliel's eye twitched.

Vales refused to be outdone. He also drew and nocked an arrow, locking onto one ranger's brow.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

With several crisp metallic scrapes, weapons were drawn on both sides, and the situation worsened instantly.

"Keep your eyes on that mage! If he moves even once, shoot him dead!" Drake snarled.

Who knew what magic the other side might use? Better to stay on guard.

Fuck...

Zeliel cursed inwardly and did not dare make any rash moves.

Why are they staring at me?

He still could not keep a straight face while charging magic, and mana waves would gather around him. Anyone watching carefully could easily notice something was off.

"I advise you not to do this, Drake."

Marcus warned in a deep voice, "Leave now, and I can pretend none of this ever happened..."

"Do you have the right to say that to me?" The greedy, cruel look on Drake's face did not diminish in the slightest.

His gaze swept across them one by one.

Worthless Marcus, half-blood orc bastard, blond womanizer, half-blood elf bastard, mage brat, and one more...

Drake's expression froze.

Wait... Where was that female assassin?

He seemed to have seen her just a moment ago.

"Looking for me?"

A lazy female voice suddenly drifted from the very back.

Drake and his teammates whipped around.

A dagger was pressed against Richie's Adam's apple.

The sudden sharp touch made Richie's eyes widen. Cold sweat streamed down his face, and he did not dare make even the slightest movement.

Hill slowly emerged from the shadows behind Richie, her tone calm yet dangerous.

"I'm right here."

Damn it!

Seeing this, Drake was greatly alarmed.

When had she slipped behind his party? There were so many of them, yet none had noticed a thing!

"Captain, calm down... Please calm down!"

Richie begged in a stammer, "Don't do anything rash!"

He could feel the cold blade had already pierced his outer skin and was gradually sinking deeper.

Soon, Richie would not even have the right to make a sound.

If his vocal cords moved once more, the blade would stab straight in.

Hill coolly swept her gaze across the scene, issuing a naked threat with her eyes.

Trash!!!

Drake cursed inwardly.

They were both assassins, yet theirs had been subdued by the other side first!

Utterly useless!

Richie was miserable inside as well.

He had originally locked onto that mage, preparing to sneak in and launch an attack.

But the moment that thought arose, the other assassin's dagger was already at his throat.

When had she come over? Why had he heard nothing at all?

For an assassin, this was simply humiliation. It meant their skills were not even on the same level.

Meanwhile, the members of Marcus's Party were reinvigorated.

Well done!

Hill had seized the initiative first. As expected of an intermediate assassin, a specialist in PvP!

Zeliel was already cheering for Hill inwardly.

"Are you sure you want to fight? Think carefully before you decide, Drake!" Marcus pressed the advantage.

Drake's expression kept changing. He looked at Hill, then at Marcus, his mind constantly wavering.

If they started fighting, his side would immediately lose one person. The risk was simply too great...

Finally, Drake gritted his teeth and threw out a deeply unwilling sentence.

"You've got some nerve! We're leaving!"

Marcus's Party let out a breath of relief.

However, the words had barely fallen.

Splat.

A scorching red flower immediately bloomed from Richie's neck.

He clutched his throat and collapsed to the ground, convulsing. Yet he could not stop the fountain of blood spraying out, and the grass was quickly dyed bright red.

Everyone froze, as though time had stopped at that very moment.

Hill... had she acted?

She had actually killed Richie?!

Although no one had expected Hill to simply slit his throat, this was no longer the time to think about it.

After a brief silence, both sides reacted swiftly.

The balance had already been broken. There was only one choice left.

"Attack!!!"

Marcus and Drake shouted at the same time.

The instant Hill killed Richie, she did not even spare him another glance. Instead, she charged directly toward her next target.

Her boneless body lowered, and she shot forward like a venomous snake skimming across the ground, aiming straight for the ranger ahead!

The two rangers instinctively released their bowstrings, and the arrows aimed at Zeliel flew out!

"Urgh...!"

Zeliel fell back onto the ground with a cry of pain.

Almost at the same time, an even more violent whistling sound tore through the air.

Even without being infused with battle aura, Vales's arrow still carried far greater destructive power than an ordinary shot.

A green streak arrived after the others yet struck first, slamming directly into one ranger's head.

Bang!

That ranger's head burst like a watermelon, red and white matter spraying everywhere!

As for the other ranger, a burst of blood also exploded from his neck.

A blade pierced out through his throat. Hill had stabbed straight through him from behind!

"Kill them!!!"

Drake's Party consisted of a vanguard, an assassin, two swordsmen, and two rangers.