I'll Count to Ten

Gan Ming finished reading the four Soul-Stealing Panels,

and automatically ranked their threat levels in his mind:

The crossbowwoman was the greatest threat.

A fine-quality crossbow, the Lock-On talent, Tracking Shot.

She stood twenty or thirty meters away. If a fight broke out, he would have to face the elite scorpion head-on while taking crossbow bolts in the back.

The staff-wielding man was the second greatest threat.

Three healing specialties meant the three people in front could freely trade health with him.

With a healer standing in the rear keeping them topped up, he would definitely lose a battle of attrition.

The dagger wielder was third. Shadowmeld plus Shadowstep—meant for cutting into the backline or circling around for sneak attacks.

The dual-sword wielder was fourth, a meat shield meant to soak damage from the front.

A standard four-man party composition.

A frontline tank, two assassins in the middle, and ranged damage plus healing in the rear.

If they worked together well, he could only abandon the scorpion and run.

The dagger wielder met Gan Ming's gaze and inexplicably broke out in goosebumps, but his mouth did not stop moving.

"Brother, don't misunderstand."

He spread his hands in a harmless gesture,

"We didn't come to steal your loot. We just heard a lot of commotion over here and came to take a look. Go on, keep at it."

Gan Ming did not respond.

He turned to glance at the Giant Scorpion.

Carapace Regeneration was still active.

The edges of the gashes he had cut into its shell were visibly healing.

At this rate, it would fully recover in around ten minutes.

Yet strangely, seeing this actually made Gan Ming relax.

The scorpion was recovering, which meant it did not intend to run.

As long as it did not run, that was fine.

He could keep chipping away at it later.

Gan Ming leaned against a section of broken wall behind him, sheathed his sword at his waist, and put on the appearance of taking a rest.

The meaning of that action was obvious.

As long as you're here, I'm not fighting.

The dagger wielder was visibly stunned.

"Hey, brother."

He took another two steps forward and pointed toward the Giant Scorpion,

"This scorpion is recovering, can't you see that? That Carapace Regeneration on it... if you don't finish it quickly, it'll be much harder to fight in a little while."

Gan Ming did not beat around the bush either and shot back directly.

"I'll fight after you leave."

The dagger wielder could no longer hold it in and laughed outright.

He glanced behind him.

The masked woman had already raised her crossbow.

The dual-sword wielder folded his arms across his chest and slightly twisted his neck.

The staff-wielding man did not move. Standing behind the other three, he repeatedly sized Gan Ming up.

All four of them inspected Gan Ming from head to toe again.

Three pieces of standard-issue gray rough gear, scorpion fluids smeared over his helmet, and a fresh gash carved by the scorpion's tail along the left side of his armor.

His leg guards

were covered in dust and dried bloodstains.

The only valuable thing on his entire body was the Edgesteel One-Handed Sword at his waist, glowing with a faint blue light.

This guy only had a white-grade weapon?

With just that equipment, he had managed to beat a level 15 Elite Giant Scorpion until its tail broke?

The expressions on the four faces remained fairly relaxed,

but their positions gradually spread apart without anyone noticing, instinctively forming a guarded formation.

The dagger wielder coughed lightly and spoke again,

his tone still cheerful:

"Brother, you really misunderstood. We don't mean any harm."

"Think about it. If we wanted to rob you, would we have shown ourselves so openly?"

"Of course we'd wait until you and the scorpion had fought each other to mutual ruin before making a move."

"Look, we all came out into the open. That proves we don't have bad intentions."

"Hurry up and fight. Otherwise, once it recovers, it'll take a lot more time to kill."

Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and hurriedly added.

"Oh, right. Elite monsters can call for their underlings."

"When three or four regular scorpions come and surround you, that'll be troublesome."

Gan Ming leaned against the broken wall and waited until the dagger wielder finished before speaking.

"You leave first, then we'll talk."

"I don't like people watching me."

The masked woman sneered.

"How rare." She spoke disdainfully. "We can't even rest here? We're not getting in your way while you fight. What, are these ruins your property?"

Gan Ming could not even be bothered to respond to such nonsense.

He closed his eyes and sat down against the wall,

looking as if they could stay as long as they wanted,

but he simply would not make a move.

The four exchanged glances, seemingly considering whether to attack or not.

After a few seconds, the staff-wielding man stepped forward and stood in front of the dagger wielder.

He spoke calmly. "Brother, don't misunderstand."

"We really did come here only because we were curious... curious how one person, wearing this equipment, managed to beat the Red-armored Elite Giant Scorpion into this state."

"To be honest, the four of us working together might be able to do it."

"That's why we came over to take a look."

He revealed a friendly smile.

"If you mind, we'll leave right now."

"But before we go, can we ask you one question?"

Gan Ming looked up at him.

"Ask."

"Brother, are you in a guild?"

Gan Ming shook his head. "I'm solo. I don't like being controlled. I hate guild rules."

The staff-wielding man nodded, as though he had expected that answer.

"Then would you be interested in considering it?" He spoke slowly. "Our guild offers a lot of freedom. We don't have binding clauses, and we don't take commissions. We happen to be recruiting right now..."

"Not interested." Gan Ming raised a hand to cut him off. "I'm used to being on my own."

The staff-wielding man did not reply.

The masked woman pointed at Gan Ming.

"Kid, we gave you face, didn't we?"

"Who the hell do you think you are? We spoke to you politely, and you're putting on airs?"

"Let me tell you, we'll fight this scorpion if we want to. Can you stop us?"

The dagger wielder's smile also disappeared.

"She's right."

He stretched lazily, and a dagger at his waist swayed lightly,

"If you really don't plan on taking this scorpion, then we won't be polite."

"Don't blame us for not giving you face. After all, we asked you in advance."

The dual-sword wielder twisted his neck again, producing a crisp crack.

Gan Ming lowered his head with an indifferent expression.

"If you want to fight it, just say so. No need to spout so much bullshit."

He stood, his right hand gripping the hilt of the Edgesteel One-Handed Sword.

The blade pointed at the staff-wielding man.

"You're the healer."

The staff-wielding man's eyelid twitched.

The sword tip shifted to the dagger wielder.

"You're the assassin."

The dagger wielder's smile vanished completely.

The sword tip shifted again, pointing at the masked woman.

"Ranged crossbowwoman."

Finally, the sword tip settled on the dual-sword wielder.

"Dual-wielding frontliner."

The dual-sword wielder's right hand was already resting on the hilt behind his back.

The breathing rhythms of all four changed at once over those few seconds.

Gan Ming drew his sword back and held it upright before him.

"I'll count to ten."

"If the four of you are still here when I finish, then all of you will stay."

The dagger wielder's face instantly tightened.

"No, brother, have you always been this bold?"

He immediately moved to draw his daggers,

"You really think one person can beat the four of us? Have you been a lone wolf so long you turned stupid?"

"Ten."

Gan Ming began the countdown.

His voice carried far through the echoes of the ruins.

Nonsense.

The only reason these four had kept stalling instead of acting was because they did not know what tricks he had.

No matter what,

these four definitely were not here out of curiosity.