[ Backstabbing Expert ] used his knee to press down the still-alive Vine Sheep, and with both hands straightened one of its legs, revealing a bloody hole in front of the three of them.
"This..."
Looking at the bloody hole, [ Dawn Ah ] was at a loss for words.
The [ Evergreen Tree ] said with some caution:
"It looks a bit like a gunshot wound..."
Upon hearing this, the other two immediately went on alert. [ Backstabbing Expert ] didn't know if guns existed in this world, but he was still instinctively a little scared.
[ Dawn Ah ] thought of the only two ranged attacks he had ever seen so far: one from Duolin, and the other from the monster in the wooden house that had already been demolished.
This is enough to show that individuals capable of ranged attacks are not weak, but... are there really such creatures around the castle?
Hey, guys.
A friendly greeting reached the three of them, and a top hat appeared on the other side of the low slope, with a person gradually coming into their view.
He was a man whose attire was unforgettable; he wore a tall hat and had a thick, messy beard.
He wore a slightly elaborate coat, covering his entire body except for his face, and even his hands were covered with black leather gloves, like an old-fashioned nobleman from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, which was not at all appropriate for summer.
Compared to him, the three men, dressed in coats personally tailored by the chief tailor of Dragonborn Village, looked like members of a primitive tribe still living on raw meat and drinking blood.
Seeing the three men looking at him, the man in the top hat bowed slightly, placing one hand on his chest and the other behind his back in a gesture of respect.
"I'm sorry, but it seems you've already noticed, I was the one who saw this sheep first..."
The three of them simultaneously thought of the penetrating wound on the Vine Sheep, and alarm bells rang in their hearts.
But [ Backstabbing Expert ] was unimpressed. He played games for fun, and now that he'd just defeated a monster, an NPC was trying to steal it? What kind of nonsense was that?
Although no information was currently displayed above the opponent's head, he immediately switched to combat mode, treating the human opposite him as a red-named monster, pointing his spear forward while unleashing trash talk:
"So what you see first is yours? What about me? I just opened my eyes and saw an ancient castle..."
"Call out!"
The man's left hand, which was behind his back, seemed to have activated something, and a dark shadow shot out from beneath his robes!
That slight bow just now was hardly politeness; it was clearly an attempt to adjust the angle and lull the opponent into a false sense of security.
[ Dawn Ah ] reacted swiftly, extending his left hand to shield his junior. A short arrow pierced through his forearm instantly, but fortunately, its kinetic energy wasn't too great; it only went halfway before getting stuck in his flesh.
He raised his arm in front of him and saw that the short arrow was very similar in style to the Duolin fired; neither had a specially made arrowhead or fletching, and it looked a bit like an enlarged version of a sausage skewer.
[ Dawn Ah ] stopped looking at her own arm and stared at the man who had launched the attack. Her right hand slowly grasped the end of the short arrow, and without changing her expression, she pulled it out bit by bit and threw it on the ground, full of provocation, as if to say something like, "Your attack is really weak."
The man in the top hat had initially looked down on the three locals chasing the Vine Sheep, but after seeing the man in the middle first block his sneak attack for his companion with incredible speed, and then seemingly oblivious to the pain as he pulled out a short arrow to provoke him, he no longer held him in contempt.
At least his performance was commendable. Most people in this situation would have already struggled to suppress their fear and anger, and would have fled or launched a desperate attack driven by the pain. But the people in front of him showed no such reaction, just like he was now.
This is a reaction only a "hunter" would have, not a "prey".
The two sides reached a stalemate.
The Evergreen Tree on one side had been clearly seen; the man had strangely styled thin black tubes fixed to his waist on both sides. Under the cover of his coat, he used his left hand to slightly adjust the direction of the tubes, and finally pulled a hidden mechanism to complete the launch.
In other words, this thing is really only for surprise attacks and is not very useful in direct combat.
But given the opponent's apparent confidence, and considering that the wounds on the sheep, though similar to the previous attack, didn't seem to have come from the waist, it's likely he had a backup plan.
The old professor recalled his third mission: the person in front of him was an NPC who had never shown himself before, and was not friendly towards him. Clearly, he was a good sample to test the level of intelligence.
If we can establish communication with the other party, then we can conduct further in-depth research.
But he obviously couldn't let his two students, who were about to explode, do this, so he stepped forward and offered this way out:
"I think there might be some misunderstanding between us. We're all here for the prey, so there's no need for us to attack each other."
"Okay, you're right."
The man in the top hat suddenly raised his hands, indicating that he was no longer fiddling with the gadgets on his back.
"So what can I do to get this sheep? It's really important to me."
The man gestured towards the prey on the ground in the distance:
"And it looks like it's going to run away."
[ The Backstabbing Expert ] turned around and dragged the fleeing prey to his feet. [ Dawn Ah ] then looked at the man in the top hat and said:
"Then pay us. Consider it payment for hiring us."
"Um?"
The man in the top hat looked surprised.
"You even know what hiring is?"
Such blatant mockery made even the good-natured [ Dawn Ah ] hesitate, and the man in the top hat, realizing something, added:
"I thought you were some kind of degenerated savages, but it seems I was wrong."
"It was wrong of me to launch the attack on civilized people first, and I apologize to everyone. I wonder which settlement you belong to? Are you interested in doing business?"
Doing business?
The Evergreen Tree looked at the solitary man in the top hat, subtly hinting at its confusion.
"My truck is over there, and the goods are all in it. I heard a new settlement has opened up near the castle, and I'm planning to go see if there's any business to be done."
[ Dawn Ah ] said at the opportune moment:
"We are members of that settlement, but are you really here to do business?"
The man in the top hat sighed slightly:
"I've already said it was wrong of me to mistake you for those degenerates. You should be able to understand that not everyone on the land after the Demonic Tide erupted still has the ability to communicate... I just accidentally mistook you for those people."
"Since you understand consumption and employment, I naturally trust your intelligence. As a businessman, I'm happy to do business with you. I believe you civilized people can understand me, right?"