Killing

Green hurried back to camp faster and faster, to the point that the two men behind him could barely keep up. Yet neither dared stop; they could only grit their teeth and follow Green. Their clothes looked as though they had been rolled through a mud pit, and blood seeped intermittently from their wounded arms. Miserable was the only way to describe them.

As for stopping and secretly running away, they did not have the courage. In their eyes, Green could not even be bothered to restrain them. He clearly believed that even if they fled, he could easily catch them again.

Green had originally intended to return to camp at a leisurely pace, but then something occurred to him. During the past dozen days in the Visas Wasteland, he had not stayed with the caravan the entire time. Baron Candia had reported him neither early nor late, but precisely when everyone was near the river and at their least vigilant. He probably wanted more than just Green's bounty; he coveted the caravan's valuables as well.

While still some distance from camp, Green heard sounds coming from within it. Having become a Formal Knight, Green's five senses had greatly improved. He could detect unusual circumstances from much farther away.

There are still voices discussing things? Looks like they haven't had time to act yet. Were they planning to move only after the assassination succeeded? Green guessed inwardly. He glanced back at the two assassins following him. After signaling them to stop, Green quietly approached the camp.

Upon reaching the outskirts of the camp, Green concealed his footsteps and quietly approached Baron Candia's carriage. As a noble baron, Candia's carriage was parked behind Baron Kluo's. Green's strength as a Grand Knight could solve every problem head-on, but to prevent Baron Candia from resorting to tricks and using the caravan members as hostages—such as poisoning everyone beforehand while keeping the antidote for himself—Green chose the safer approach to avoid such a melodramatic scenario.

Green did not care about the others, but Old Green was different.

With the Chip's assistance and his powerful mobility, Green easily avoided everyone's gaze and quietly slipped beside the rear of Baron Candia's carriage.

"Have you put it in already?"

"Don't worry, my lord."

Two voices came from inside the carriage.

[Matching voiceprints]

The Chip automatically collected information from the outside world and stored it in a streamlined form. Green knew every detail about the entire caravan.

[Voiceprint One: Kri, Knight Apprentice]

[Voiceprint Two: Candia, Formal Knight]

With the camp's noisy commotion masking the sound, the two people inside the carriage did not notice that Green was eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Mandrake Flower poison may not be potent, but it is extremely covert. Whether consumed or touched, it causes poisoning. There are only a few rivers in the entire Visas Wasteland where water can be replenished, so these people will definitely use a large amount of water. Once the Mandrake Flower poison takes effect and they lose their combat strength, everything will be ours. Hahaha." After speaking, Baron Candia let out a sinister laugh, as though everything were already under his control.

Green, who had been listening beside the carriage, let out a long breath of relief.

They didn't use a slow-acting poison, only Mandrake Flower.

Green immediately recalled the records concerning Mandrake Flower. It was a flower that bloomed in swamps and possessed carnivorous properties. It could digest animal corpses through its roots, accumulating a special toxin in the process. Colorless, odorless, and readily soluble in water, its toxicity itself was not strong enough to kill under normal circumstances. However, its hallucinogenic effects were powerful. Once exposed, the brain would produce all sorts of illusions, completely losing its perception of the outside world. Those at Knight Level could resist it effectively, but they still could not come into contact with large quantities of it.

Bang!

A violent explosion rang out, and the entire camp fell silent for a moment. Everyone turned toward the source of the sound.

Before everyone's eyes, Baron Candia's carriage exploded. Candia and the guard captain Kri were being dragged across the ground by a figure gripping their hands. In only an instant, their faces had become mangled masses of flesh and blood. The violent scraping had torn away huge amounts of skin and flesh, mixing them with stones from the ground. They no longer looked human.

Everyone in the camp recognized Green, but the exploded carriage and the two people being dragged along the ground left them all silent as the grave. No one dared make a sound, much less question Green. Even the members of Candia's own caravan dared not say anything. Not every noble was as kind as Baron Kluo; more nobles were like vampires, squeezing the commoners in their territories dry.

Green planted one foot on Baron Candia's head. "Looks like you're not very popular. Not a single person is pleading for you. They don't even dare ask me why."

Candia lay sprawled on the ground in a pathetic state, his body covered in gruesome wounds. Blood soaked through his clothes, mingling with mud and dust, making him look especially miserable. His right eye had burst from Green's brutal dragging, while his left arm twisted at an unnatural angle, clearly broken.

When Candia looked up and saw Green, he naturally understood that the Shadow Organization's assassination had failed and all his schemes had become meaningless.

"Please... please..." Candia's voice was hoarse and weak. His trembling lips formed each word amid painful groans. "Spare... spare my life..."

"I'll... give you... all my treasure..." Candia continued begging Green for mercy.

Green looked at Candia's pleading and revealed a brilliant smile.

"Idiot. If I kill you, it'll all be mine anyway."

Upon hearing this, veins bulged in Candia's left eye as he stared fiercely at Green, deep despair showing through his rage.

Bang! Bang!

Green stomped down viciously, crushing both their heads. Their skulls burst like watermelons.

Everyone in the camp was completely stunned. They all looked at Green, unable to understand why he had done this.

"Wade, Dila, come explain what happened to everyone." Green called behind him. Upon hearing his shout, the two assassins, Wade and Dila, hurriedly ran into the camp.

Everyone focused their eyes on Wade and Dila, who wore night clothes and looked exceptionally wretched.

"Here's what happened..." Wade was extremely proactive in his efforts to survive. The moment he reached the edge of camp, he began explaining everything to them.

The hostility in the eyes of the original caravan members as they looked at Candia's people grew heavier and heavier with Wade's explanation.

The faces of Candia's caravan members also grew increasingly pale, and their eyes began to fill with fear. If what Wade said was true, the treatment awaiting them went without saying. Some guards from Candia's caravan had begun trembling as they gripped their weapons. The strength Green had displayed earlier was absolutely beyond anything they could resist.

"My lord, we truly weren't involved. We didn't know anything about this." A maid from Candia's caravan finally could not bear the pressure any longer. She dropped to her knees before Green and desperately kowtowed, pleading for mercy. She struck so hard that blood had already begun seeping from her forehead, yet even then, she did not stop.

One person's collapse quickly triggered a chain reaction. Everyone from Candia's caravan knelt before Green and begged for mercy.

"Aishweil, go get paper and a pen. Write up slave contracts." Aishweil, who had been standing to the side, immediately snapped back to attention at Green's sudden command. Understanding what Green intended, she ran swiftly toward the carriage. Yet an unusual delight showed on Aishweil's face.

Watching Aishweil leave, Green turned to look at Candia's caravan members, who were still kowtowing.

"All right, stop. I'll give you two choices now. First, leave the caravan and fend for yourselves. Second, sign a slave contract and become my property."

After hearing Green's words, the members of Candia's caravan who had been kowtowing all said in unison that they were willing to choose the second option. Some even showed delighted smiles.

In their eyes, following Baron Candia had been little different from being slaves. They had not willingly left with Baron Candia, but had been forced by him.

After entering the Visas Wasteland and speaking with members of Green's caravan, they naturally learned that Green was relatively easy to get along with. More importantly, he possessed great strength, making him clearly a better choice than Candia.

After Aishweil brought paper and a pen and wrote the slave contracts, everyone from Baron Candia's caravan pressed their fingerprints onto them without hesitation.

However, Green, with the Chip, could clearly identify those who were utterly loyal to Baron Candia. The microexpressions of those who lied were not so easily concealed.

After picking out more than a dozen of Candia's diehard loyalists, Green sent them to join Baron Candia with a punch and a kick each.

Green's actions once again completely intimidated Candia's remaining people. Everyone looked at Green with extreme caution, afraid of angering him. After scanning them again with the Chip and confirming that there were no other diehard loyalists, Green nodded slightly. He then instructed everyone to clean up the bloody scene and prepared to tidy up his own appearance.

Mud mixed with blood. Green looked worse than even a beggar.

"My lord, may we leave now?" As Green walked toward the river, the two assassins cautiously asked.

"Of course. You can leave now." Hearing Green's agreement, the two assassins were overjoyed. They hurriedly thanked Green before quickly leaving the camp.

Green watched the two retreating figures and smiled faintly.

Bang! Bang!

Two dull explosions rang out. Green would not release tigers back into the mountains. Who knew whether these two assassins would harbor resentment after escaping and continue targeting him? From the very beginning, Green had merely suppressed the energy riots within their bodies and deliberately set a distance limit. Once they moved far enough away from Green, the energy would erupt again—more violently and intensely than the first time.

Green glanced back once before turning toward the riverbank.

"Brother Green, we brought your clothes." A clear voice interrupted Green.

Green turned and saw Leila and Mia. One held his clothes, while the other held his pants. They had even placed them on trays to make them easier for Green to take.

Looks like they saw Aishweil's situation and felt threatened. They didn't want only one of them to come over, so they divided the task like this.

"Just put them by the river."

"Mm."

After setting down the clothes, the two girls looked back at Green with every step, as though they had something to say. In the end, however, neither said anything. Blushing, they left the riverbank.

Green naturally understood the situation with Aixiville, Leila, and Mia. Having spent so long in this world, Green had begun adapting to its customs.