Vivian

Duke immediately tossed the Twilight Deer aside, then swiftly took down his longbow and fired two arrows at the pair.

Scarface and the other man reacted quickly, both dodging the arrows.

"Two Mid-Tier Knight Squires." Duke had merely been probing with that shot, judging their strength from their speed.

No wonder they had dared to make a move against him. Two Mid-Tier Knight Squires were indeed quite formidable, but unfortunately for them, they had run into him.

Scarface exchanged a glance with the other man. With practiced coordination, they closed in from the left and right, attacking Duke at the same time.

The two had worked together for many years and had done this sort of thing countless times. It was not their first time killing someone from Nightingale, either.

When Duke saw them choose close combat without hesitation, he knew they had mistaken him for someone who only excelled at Archery.

His Archery was indeed formidable, after all, and such skill usually required long periods of training.

Duke casually tossed the bow aside and drew his longsword.

Scarface and his companion froze for a moment at the sight, but there was no turning back now. They could only press forward, their longswords swiftly reaching Duke.

Duke's gaze was sharp as fire, taking in their every movement with perfect clarity.

Scarface was on the left, while the other man was on the right.

Just as their longswords were about to strike, Duke pretended to retreat. Then his body twisted swiftly, adjusting his footing with an extremely bizarre movement before swinging his sword at the man on the right.

The man was instantly startled and hurriedly raised his longsword to defend, turning offense into defense.

The next moment, an enormous force surged through his sword. His face went pale as he realized Duke possessed such terrifying strength.

Damn it! Could he be a High-Level Knight Apprentice?! Both Scarface and the other man had the same thought at once.

They knew Nightingale's members well. There were only a few High-Level Knight Apprentices, and they recognized every one of them.

Duke was a completely unfamiliar face. They had immediately assumed he was a new recruit in Nightingale with little strength, which was why they had dared to attack.

But the moment they clashed, they knew things had gone wrong.

After knocking back the man on the right with one slash, Duke immediately followed with a lightning-fast thrust.

The man had no time to react. While he was still gripping his sword with both hands in an attempt to steady himself, his neck had already been pierced.

The difference in their strength and speed was overwhelming. Since they had chosen to close in and fight, there was no chance for regret.

Scarface's heart began pounding wildly at the sight. He hastily withdrew his sword and backed away, extending a hand. "Brother, this is a misunderstanding! We're from the Eagle Eye Mercenary Group, in Maple Hill City—"

"Misunderstanding my ass!" Duke did not listen to another word. He gripped his longsword and charged forward again.

Scarface hurriedly defended himself, but his strength was nowhere near Duke's. He lasted less than a minute before being cut down.

Duke looked at Scarface's crooked neck on the ground. After confirming that he was truly dead, he searched him and found a money pouch containing only five gold coins.

The other man was even poorer. Everything on him added up to less than one gold coin. It was downright shabby.

Duke had heard that adventurers and mercenaries were the sort who spent whatever they earned. Saving money simply did not exist for them.

They lived with their heads hanging by a thread. There was no telling whether they would live to see tomorrow, so naturally, they enjoyed themselves whenever they could. As a result, they rarely carried much money.

As for Scarface's so-called Eagle Eye Mercenary Group, Duke did not care in the slightest.

In a place like Maple Hill City, he had no need to fear anyone's backing. The strongest force here was Count Hardy.

Besides, this was deep in the mountains. There was no need to dispose of the two corpses. By nightfall, they would be in the bellies of various beasts.

Duke then hoisted the Twilight Deer onto his shoulder and quickened his pace as he left.

The smell of blood here was too strong. It would soon attract all kinds of beasts, perhaps even magical beasts.

Maple Hill City, Adventurers Tavern.

Duke walked up to the counter and said, "I'm here to turn in a mission."

The bartender actually remembered Duke and looked somewhat surprised. "You caught the Twilight Deer?"

Duke nodded lightly without saying anything.

Naturally, he had left the Twilight Deer at the manor. The paralysis would last for a while longer, and he had locked the deer in a cage, leaving no room for mishaps.

Of course, he was not about to carry the Twilight Deer into the tavern. That would have been far too conspicuous.

The bartender then took out another letter. "If you really completed it, go to the address in this letter. But let me warn you first: if you go there without completing the mission, you'll bring trouble upon yourself."

"Thank you." Duke put away the envelope and left the tavern.

After returning to the manor, he opened the envelope. When he saw the address inside, his expression turned strange.

The address written in the envelope was Maple Hill Castle, the residence of Count Hardy's family.

Duke could not help finding it odd. He even suspected that the bartender was trying to deceive him.

If Count Hardy's side needed a Twilight Deer, there would have been no need to post a commission through the Adventurers Association. They could have simply sent their personal guards or Nightingale members to handle it.

Since he had the identity of a Nightingale member, Duke figured it might save him some trouble.

So he picked up the cage containing the Twilight Deer, entered the city, and arrived before the castle.

"Stop! What are you here for?" The guards at the entrance spotted Duke from afar. If he had not been wearing Nightingale leather armor, they would not have been nearly so polite.

Duke took out the letter and said, "I'm here to turn in a mission."

The guard accepted the letter suspiciously. After reading its contents and seeing a mark inside, he seemed to understand something. "Wait here. I'll go report this."

A short while later, the guard jogged back out and told Duke to follow him inside.

It was Duke's first time entering Maple Hill Castle. Only when he passed through the castle gate did he notice how incredibly thick its walls were. No wonder it had stood firm for so many years.

Following behind the guard, he wound through several turns before arriving at an open area behind the castle.

"My lady, I've brought him," the guard reported.

Vivian, dressed in a full suit of armor and holding a massive battle-axe, turned to glance at Duke. "Mm. You may leave."

Duke had not expected Vivian to be the one who had issued the commission.

He then set the cage down and gave a respectful salute.

After all, in terms of rank, Vivian was still his direct superior.

Vivian glanced at the Twilight Deer on the ground and nodded. "Well done. It barely suffered any injuries. Wait here a moment. You'll receive your reward shortly."

Duke naturally had no objection and simply stood where he was.

Vivian tilted her head and studied Duke for a while before suddenly asking, "You look familiar. Did you join Nightingale recently?"

Three months had already passed since the training selection. Vivian had long forgotten Duke, though she still had a faint impression of him.