The scent of blood drifted along the cold wind on both sides of the road.
Four figures gazed indifferently at Lyle's group, causing the air to feel somewhat frozen.
Clatter, clatter—
"Roar!"
The Ghost Hound stared fiercely at the four people ahead, baring its teeth. The bone chains on its body writhed slowly, creating a metallic vibration sound.
Enri pursed her lips with a nervous expression, her hands gripping her short sword trembling slightly.
Even without a clear understanding of power levels, she could sense in this environment that the four people blocking their path were much more formidable than the enemies the Emerald Leaf Witch had just killed.
"Hee hee."
A faint, almost imperceptible giggle was heard.
Enri subconsciously looked toward the Emerald Leaf Witch, only to find that the Young Miss remained expressionless.
Did I hear wrong just now?
The thought flashed through Enri's mind. Withdrawing her light brown eyes, she noticed that the Emerald Leaf Witch, who was usually indifferent to everything, seemed a bit more serious.
This further indicated that the four figures blocking the road were no ordinary enemies.
"These people are so hateful, especially since the Captain is so kind."
An inexplicable surge of anger rose within Enri.
During this time, she had learned why people were attacking them: it was because of the bounty issued by the Emperor of the Baharuth Empire.
Fifty thousand gold coins!
This number was breathtaking, and to Enri, it was an unimaginable astronomical figure.
But the Baharuth Empire was clearly at odds with their Re-Estize Kingdom; yet these bad people were willing to kill the Captain just for money.
"A bit troublesome,"
The Emerald Leaf Witch thought silently as she calmly observed the four figures opposite them.
Unlike the humans she had killed before, the four people ahead gave her a slight sense of danger.
Based on the current situation, if she were to face them alone, it would likely take some time to deal with them completely.
Crack!
Among the four people ahead,
A man in his thirties, wearing light leather armor with red hair and a short beard on his chin, took a step forward and let out a hearty laugh:
"A pleasure to meet you, members of Free Will. The path ahead is closed."
"Speaking of which, offending an alchemist who can easily produce items like the regeneration potion is not a wise choice."
"But Your Excellency the alchemist's bounty is simply too high. Compared to friendship, which cannot be measured in value, I personally feel that gold coins are much more reassuring."
The other three members followed with a laugh.
Lyle's gaze swept over the four. This red-haired man was likely the team captain. As for the other three...
There was an archer with a bow on his back, and a Magic Caster wearing a cloak and holding a staff.
And one more who was oddly dressed, wearing the Holy Symbol of the Earth God around his neck while holding a short-handled hammer weapon.
Facing this scene, Lyle leaned on the carriage and stood up, sighing, "Adventurers attacking adventurers should be forbidden under the rules of the Adventurer's Guild."
"There are three Mithril-rank adventurer teams in E-Rantel: Klarugra, Tenrou, and Rainbow. Which one are you?"
Lyle was slightly curious. These three Mithril-rank teams had great reputations in E-Rantel, so it wasn't difficult to learn about them.
"Then we have no comment."
Seeing that Lyle's group was calm—except for the nervous Enri—the red-haired captain's expression tightened. "Some of the Adventurer's Guild's regulations are indeed a headache."
"But rest assured, guild rules are meant to restrict ordinary adventurers. For adventurers of our level, as long as we don't cause a major scandal, the guild will just turn a blind eye."
"Boss, stop with the nonsense. Their Magic Caster just dealt with those trash and must have consumed a lot of mana!"
The thin man holding the bow spoke coldly, "We can't give her time to recover her mana now."
At the same moment the archer spoke,
The teammate with the iron hammer and the Holy Symbol of the Earth God snapped his eyes open and barked, "Alright, Tier 2 Magic: Earth Sink!"
Boom!
The ground beneath the Ghost Hound suddenly collapsed, and its body fell uncontrollably into the pit below.
"Roar!"
The Ghost Hound roared, its powerful body reacting as it fell. Its forelimbs clawed at the edge of the pit, trying to climb out.
"Leave this Ghost Hound to me! I've wanted to get a bone chain from a Ghost Hound to use as a weapon for a long time!" the hammer-wielding man shouted excitedly, sprinting toward the Ghost Hound.
"That's one down."
The red-haired captain smiled slightly. His chat with Lyle hadn't been nonsense; he was buying time for his teammate to prepare the magic.
Thud!
The ground shook.
The red-haired captain raised his sharp longsword and charged. "You two, hold back that troublesome mage."
They had gathered quite a bit of intelligence along the way by observing the battle traces left after Lyle's group dealt with opponents.
The only uncertainty was that Genius alchemist.
A Mithril-rank adventurer team facing a gold-rank team should be a complete landslide victory no matter how you looked at it.
However, since he had a bounty from the Emperor of the Baharuth Empire and had even escaped from the Empire, it was clear this black-haired boy couldn't be judged solely by his adventurer Rank.
"Tier 2 Magic: Lesser Strength Enhancement!"
The Magic Caster teammate immediately cast a buffing spell on the red-haired captain.
Not only that,
"Lesser Agility Enhancement!" A magic item on the red-haired captain flashed with blue light, further increasing his charging speed.
"I'll leave it to you. Keep them alive. Little Black, you too," Lyle said with a lack of interest.
"Yes."
"Roar!"
Two responses came back.
The Emerald Leaf Witch leaped up, her body landing lightly in front of the carriage.
"Am I being underestimated, or was my previous estimation wrong?" The thought flashed through the red-haired captain's mind as he saw the Emerald Leaf Witch before him, but his pace didn't falter.
He knew his teammates would strike!
"Rapid Shot!"
"Fireball!"
A black arrow and a basketball-sized fireball flew from behind, overtaking the red-haired captain at high speed to strike the Emerald Leaf Witch first.
"Magic Armor."
The Emerald Leaf Witch spoke calmly. An emerald light enveloped her, forming a translucent, armor-shaped magic shield.
Bang!
Thud!
The arrow and fireball hit the Emerald Leaf Witch simultaneously, creating two explosive booms and a shockwave that dispersed outward.
However,
Surprise flashed in the red-haired captain's eyes. The dual magical and physical attack had been easily blocked by the Emerald Leaf Witch.
"Damn it!"
The red-haired captain's plan to bypass the Emerald Leaf Witch and attack Lyle directly faltered. He immediately swung his longsword, his legs tensed like a leopard as he lunged straight for the Emerald Leaf Witch.
"Die!"
The distance between them was extremely short.
The red-haired captain knew that since his teammates' attacks had failed, if he targeted Lyle, he would surely be caught in a pincer attack by the Emerald Leaf Witch.
Moreover, she was a Magic Caster. At such close range, it would be easier to take out the witch first.
"Plant Entanglement!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Vines grew rapidly from the ground, lashing out to bind the red-haired captain. Facing these vine attacks,
"Flying Slash!"
A cold flash gleamed, and several vines were instantly severed.
In a single breath,
The red-haired captain had reached the witch. His eyes held a glint of killing intent and excitement. "That's the second one. Heavy Strike!"
"Enfeeblement."
"Magic Armor."
The Emerald Leaf Witch quickly cast two spells, her breathing quickening slightly.
Clang!
The longsword struck heavily against the Magic Armor. The recoil numbed the red-haired captain's arms, and his pupils shrank.
"What is with this green-haired girl!"
"She can actually cast two powerful spells simultaneously."
Shaken, the red-haired captain quickly pulled back his hands and kicked off the ground, trying to re-establish distance.
The Emerald Leaf Witch also took a step back, her eyes cold as she cast another spell.
"Corrosive Destruction!"
A glob of acidic liquid flew out. At such close range, the red-haired captain had no way to dodge.
Sizzle—sizzle—
"Agh!!"
The red-haired captain let out a blood-curdling scream. His light leather armor provided no effective protection and was corroded away in the blink of an eye, leaving a large, festering hole in his chest.
Clang~
The longsword fell.
The red-haired captain collapsed, twitching on the ground.
"Agh—" Almost at the same time, a wretched wail came from the pit.
The hammer-wielding man who had jumped into the pit to hunt the Ghost Hound was bitten and dragged out by the beast, then tossed onto the ground.
He, too, was left with only a single breath of life.
"How is this possible!"
"Run!!"
The remaining two members saw their captain and companion defeated so quickly, their faces filled with terror and disbelief.
Without the slightest hesitation,
The two turned to flee.
"Darkness!" the Emerald Leaf Witch's voice rang out, and the surrounding light began to vanish rapidly, swallowed by the dark.
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