The deserters pushed aside the undergrowth, only to see a pale, bare backside squatting beside a tree.
A foul stench hit them, and one deserter covered his mouth and nose as he cursed:
"Tiss, you pull this every time. Can't you go farther away to take a shit?"
Tiss waved the leaves clutched in his hand, signaling for them to leave.
"Did you fucking eat shit? That reeks!" Feeling thoroughly unlucky, the deserters put away their weapons, cursing all the while.
Soldiers really were soldiers. They were far too alert.
Chen Xu breathed a sigh of relief. He had only just stripped the leather armor off the corpse and had not even finished changing his trousers before the deserters reached him.
"Good thing I'm quick-witted and willing to show some skin."
[You have learned the skill [Disguise] Lv.1]
The notification sounded. He pulled up his trousers and fastened the leather armor, then waited quietly once he was properly dressed.
"Quick! Fire! Put it out!" Thick smoke suddenly rose from one side of the camp, and the deserters drinking and playing cards beside the campfire shouted in panic.
After circling the perimeter, Chen Xu had confirmed that under normal circumstances, he had absolutely no chance of sneaking into the center of the camp unless he could divert their attention.
He had made a short candle from purified dog fat and strips of cloth, laid a layer of dry leaves underneath it extending toward the camp's tents, and traced a ring of fire with dog fat.
The delayed ignition device was a success. The fire spread at exactly the speed he had expected.
While the deserters were in chaos, carrying buckets of water to fight the fire, he walked openly up to a large pot cooking over a campfire in the center of the camp.
Chunks of meat and vegetables rolled in the boiling water. He did not know whether this was the deserters' dinner or late-night snack.
Well, it might also be their last meal.
Chen Xu poured an entire bottle of paralyzing decoction into it.
Working together, the dozen or so men actually brought the fire under control, but two tents had already burned down.
The deserters were all covered in soot and panting, fury practically shooting from their eyes:
"Who the fuck set a fire in the forest? I'd better not catch them!"
"It must be those troublemaking peasants who don't want to pay protection money!"
"We can't just post guards at the entrances anymore. We need to watch the tents too."
After expending so much energy, the deserters felt utterly ravenous. They scrambled to scoop meat soup from the pot, even thinking tonight's food had a special fragrance.
That was the smell of dog fat. The panel indicated that it would weaken the medicine's effects, but Chen Xu had actually added it for the flavor.
When they had nearly finished eating, the man who had cursed about Tiss's stinking shit earlier ladled out a bowl of the remaining soup and brought it over:
"Food! Can you fucking take sentry duty seriously? Someone sneaked in and you didn't even notice... you-you're not Tiss!"
He clutched the slash in the leather armor over his left shoulder, shocked and furious.
[Sneak Attack] had actually failed. Chen Xu twirled the longsword in his hand, turned, and ran.
These men were most likely higher-level than him. Whatever their combat strength, since he had already drugged them, there was no need to fight them head-on.
The deserter had not expected Chen Xu to flee immediately after a failed strike. He froze for nearly a second before reacting, shouting a warning as he gave chase.
But he had only taken two steps before everything began to spin, and the long-handled axe in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.
The deserters in the camp also realized something was wrong. The pictures on the Gwent cards in their hands began to warp, and the beautiful sorceresses on them seemed to be flirting with them...
[You have killed a mortal tier middle stage guardsman. EXP +20]
Faced with lambs to the slaughter who could only lie on the ground and groan, Chen Xu showed no mercy.
Seventeen well-trained soldiers and one deserter leader provided a total of 385 EXP.
In a fair one-on-one fight, Chen Xu could not have easily defeated any one of them. Without resorting to tricks, he could never have achieved such a result, even if his life depended on it.
He found a total of 34 crowns among the deserters' stored supplies and clothes. He stripped off their armor one by one, then piled up and burned the corpses to keep the smell of blood from attracting Ghouls.
Several horses were tethered at the camp entrance. Chen Xu took a liking to a chestnut stallion with a well-proportioned frame and sleek lines.
It stood five feet tall, a good match for his build.
Life was hard for infantry. This world still belonged to four-wheel drive.
[You have learned the skill [Riding] Lv.1]
In the world of The Witcher, monsters faster than horses could be counted on one hand. Chen Xu rode along without fear, leading two more horses behind him on ropes, laden with large piles of armor and weapons.
He returned to the herbalist's cottage and showed Tomira his astonishing haul.
[You have completed the difficult quest [Drive Away the Deserters] Time taken: 1 hour 49 minutes (gold), degree of removal (gold), employer satisfaction (silver) Overall rating: brilliant! You have received EXP ×500, points ×7, skill points ×1]
"You killed them all?" Tomira's expression darkened. Her mouth hung open, but no words came out.
Chen Xu had originally said he would "drive them away." She had not expected him to use this method.
Chen Xu did not know how to answer. Was she a sanctimonious bitch? Hard to say. After all, she was a doctor, and they were her compatriots. Her softheartedness was understandable.
He could only say goodbye and leave. Tomira held out a flat little coin pouch, but he politely declined.
The points rewarded by a quest corresponded to its bounty, so there should only have been seven crowns inside. To Chen Xu, who had just made a windfall, it hardly mattered, but it might have emptied what little Tomira had left.
He now had a full 1,060 EXP saved up in his panel's experience bar, and promptly leveled up:
[You have used EXP ×250. Current detective Lv.5 (max), constitution +1, reaction +1, free attribute points +1. Your skill [Tracking] has gained 1 level.]
[Detective] had reached its level cap. When Chen Xu tried pouring EXP into the class again, the options nearly dazzled him.
It could not be helped. He knew too many skills.
[You may choose a new secondary class based on your current skills, or purchase or synthesize a primary class qualification book]
Master detective: attribute gains per level: constitution ×1, reaction ×1, free attribute points ×1; class skills [Tracking Technique], [Stealth Technique], [Disguise]
Thug: strength ×1, reaction ×1, free attribute points ×1; class specialty [Armed Combat], skills [Deception]/[Taunt]
Smith: constitution ×1, strength ×1, willpower ×1; class specialty [Forging]
Rogue: constitution ×1, strength ×1, reaction ×1; class skills [Stealth Technique], [Sneak Attack], [Disguise]
When [Detective] reached its level cap, the [Tracking] skill had immediately gained a level, reaching Lv.3 (max).
Based on the panel, Chen Xu surmised that reaching a class's level cap would improve its corresponding class skills.
With his skill points and advancement cards, none of this would normally have mattered, but the threat from the other Chosen was already imminent. That meant he needed to consider this carefully.
First, he ruled out obvious crafting classes like [Smith]. [Thug] was out too. A professional thug? It did not sound very good.
[Rogue] looked much like the class in Baldur's Gate 3. Its class skills, [Stealth Technique] and [Sneak Attack], were both fairly useful. Unfortunately, its attribute gains were fixed, with no free attribute points.
[Master detective] was a class in the same lineage as [Detective], and its bonus class skills, [Tracking Technique] and [Stealth Technique], were clearly advanced versions of [Tracking] and [Stealth].
Unable to afford a class qualification book, Chen Xu had no choice but to pick the best of a bad bunch.
[You have used EXP ×300. You have gained the new secondary class [Master detective] Lv.1, constitution +1, reaction +1, free attribute points +1 You have gained the specialty [Shared Lineage] (reaction +10%) You have gained the class skills [Tracking Technique], [Stealth Technique]. Your skill [Disguise] has gained 1 level]
The pain caught him completely off guard. The pleasurable sensation of his life being strengthened stood in stark contrast to the swelling pain in his head. If not for [Riding], he would nearly have fallen off his horse in his daze.
[Tracking] Lv.3 and [Stealth] Lv.3, which had still been some distance from "skill approaching the Dao," were forcibly elevated. The sensation was exactly the same as when [Forging] had advanced.
His constitution reached 7, and the wounds on his body actually began to itch, as though writhing as they healed.
With a bonus as high as 60%, his reaction attribute had reached 11. His reflexes and sensory acuity had now officially exceeded normal human limits.
When watching the Olympics before, he had never known just how large the gap was between ordinary people and those elite athletes.
Now he could clearly feel what it meant to be "a cut above."
The world seemed to slow down. The textures of plants, human speech, birdsong-he could see and hear them all clearly.
There seemed to be something more in the air, something he could neither clearly see nor touch. Its nature resembled the strange energy flowing through Places of Power, only far less concentrated.
The sensation vanished in a flash, leaving Chen Xu with a sense of loss.