Unexpected

All was silent, and darkness shrouded everything.

Qin Ran's eyes and ears seemed to have stopped working in an instant.

An illusion?

Qin Ran instinctively checked the combat log.

But there were no notifications, even with such an unmistakable change unfolding before him.

The combat log was not all-knowing.

Only actions directed at a player and classified as "attacks" would appear in it.

Although everything before him was pitch-black and his ears seemed deaf,

this change clearly would not harm a player.

Some of the things concealed within it, however, were another matter.

Just as Qin Ran activated [Tracking], a pair of skeletal hands thrust straight out of the ground and seized his legs.

And that was only the beginning.

The next moment, more skeletal hands joined them.

Within a breath, over a dozen pairs of muddy, yellowish-white skeletal hands had pinned Qin Ran firmly in place.

Qin Ran's expression changed.

Not because of the skeletal hands restraining him,

but because of what lay in the distance—

a cannon!

Once he activated [Tracking], the darkness could no longer obstruct Qin Ran's vision. He could clearly see several people operating a cannon roughly fifty or sixty meters away.

Although it was only an old-fashioned cannon, it was enough to threaten Qin Ran.

This entire setup had been designed specifically for him!

Qin Ran keenly felt the malice of whoever had laid this trap.

He had demonstrated his skill in Leg Combat during the guard selection, so they restrained his legs.

Ordinary lead bullets could not penetrate his defenses, so they chose a cannon.

In short,

they would use whatever it took to kill him.

Have they decided I'm the greatest obstacle to reaching Herbert?

Watching the cannon being loaded in the distance, Qin Ran's lips curved into a self-mocking smile.

At