Chapter 339: The Forest Sanctuary
Chapter 339: The Forest Sanctuary
Upon hearing the name 'Merchant', Lindsey felt his head grow larger in a figurative sense.
Awakened individuals in this profession often possessed remarkable agility and perceptiveness.
If they were friends like Elaine, it would be fine. But once they stood on opposing sides, trouble was bound to ensue.
Merchants, whose skills were founded on trade and money, were never easy to deal with.
"Did other merchants find this place?" Lindsey asked his companions.
Lezer, standing nearby, inquired, "Can you pinpoint their exact location and identity? Are they members of the Riverbank Chamber, or just regular merchants from Nine Bays City?"
A team member shook their head slightly, "There's only a lingering influence of the Twin Serpent Coins in the trading aura. As for their exact identity and location—sorry, with my abilities, I can't determine that."
Lindsey pressed further, "Can you at least gauge their strength?"
"It doesn't need to be too precise, just a rough estimate will do."
This time, the team member nodded, but the news wasn't good, "They're definitely stronger than me."
"..." Lindsey's team included a Merchant whose skills were at the Fourth Stage.
In other words, the Merchant who had arrived at this Life Sanctuary before them was at least a Fifth Stage Awakened individual.
Inevitably, tension rose among the team members.
The Fifth Stage was known as the Ascender, as it marked the beginning of a new level of power for Awakened individuals.
In Lindsey's team, only Lezer was openly a Fifth Stage Explorer.
Faced with this situation, no one spoke for a moment.
Lindsey broke the silence, "Let's go in first, but be cautious. They're likely not well-disposed towards us..."
His voice trailed off abruptly as he sensed something.
In that instant, he realized the bat he had sent for reconnaissance had been killed.
From summoning the bat to infiltrate the sanctuary and then descending to converse with his teammates, no more than three minutes had passed.
This implied two facts:
- The presence within the Life Sanctuary possessed exceptional reconnaissance abilities.
- The ability to instantly slay Lindsey's bat indicated formidable combat strength and speed.
"..."
"They've spotted us," Lindsey informed his companions concisely, his gaze fixed on the map.
As expected, three red markers emerged from the forest, rushing straight towards the valley entrance where the team was located!
"Commoners, fall back! They're coming fast!" Lindsey shouted.
The commoners in the team immediately retreated, while several Awakened individuals blocked the valley entrance, dividing the space into two sections.
Only Lindsey and Lezer remained on one side of the valley.
Their expressions were grave, and Lezer drew a short knife while Lindsey unsheathed a sufficiently long steel spear.
A gust of wind blew through the misty forest.
A fleeting shadow, like a phantom, glided past the constantly twisting treetops, its speed astonishing.
Lezer had seen the shadow a second ago.
But by the time he caught sight of it again, they were already within arm's reach!
The sword blade was drawn, its cold light flickering.
The Raider, using the momentum of jumping from a high position to a lower one, slashed down towards the two at the valley entrance.
"Drake, fall back!" Lezer yelled, blocking the attack with his knife.
In the Explorer's perception, Lindsey was merely a Third Stage Hunter, incapable of directly confronting an enemy of this caliber.
At this moment, Lezer had to be the core of the battle.
Clang!
The clash of sword and dagger rang out, creating a crisp sound.
At this moment, the onlookers finally caught a glimpse of the attacker.
He was a young man, dressed extremely lightly, and his gaze towards the crowd exuded absolute confidence in combat.
"I wonder who could have found this place."
"An Explorer?"
"Lezer, but this time, you've stumbled into a place you shouldn't have come to!"
The attacker seemed to recognize Lezer.
As their weapons met, he pushed off with one foot, spinning his body with the force.
With a light exertion of strength, he forced Lezer to retreat repeatedly, until he had no choice but to jump back to dodge.
"Ollia?"
Lezer held his dagger horizontally in front of him.
He knew he was at a disadvantage, and seized the opportunity to halt the fight, questioning the enemy before him: "How did you end up here?"
"I recall that a few months ago, you had already left Nine Bays City, hadn't you?"
Lezer recognized the Awakened before him.
The man was a Warrior who specialized in the essence of combat, and they had crossed paths in Nine Bays City.
"Why am I here?" Ollia smirked arrogantly, "You don't need to inquire about this."
Swish—
In the time it took for two sentences, another sound came from the forest behind them.
A figure emerged from the broken shadows of the trees, casting a resentful yet teasing gaze at his companion in the battlefield:
"Ollia, you're running too fast!"
"I found this person, and even if you want to take the credit, there's no need to rush ahead like that!"
"..."
"Flavius?"
Lezer spotted another person emerging from the forest.
His expression grew tenser.
He cautiously shifted his feet, maintaining a defensive stance, and introduced the two individuals to Lindsey behind him: "The one called Ollia is a Fifth Stage Warrior, specializing in the Swift Style of the Combat Essence, renowned for his speed. The one behind is Flavius, a Fifth Stage Sensor."
Lezer's voice was soft.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, the Sensor across from him immediately noticed.
"Ollia, our Explorer, is introducing our abilities to the person behind us."
Ollia completely ignored Lindsey.
His gaze shifted to Lezer, his eyes filled with menace:
"Lezer, your Expedition Team has made quite a name for itself."
"Let's just say this Hidden Realm was discovered by us first."
"Unless you want to share life and death with us, it's best to return from where you came and not invite trouble!"
Lezer waved his hand, indicating he meant no harm.
His tone was as sincere as possible as he explained:
"Ollia, I'm not here to compete with you for benefits."
"You might not know this from the outside, but a war has erupted in Nine Bays City. The anomaly in the forest occurring at this time is a massive disaster for the entire central region of the world!"
Upon hearing this, Ollia's expression turned peculiar, and his longsword subtly shifted its position: "So... what's your purpose for coming here?"
Lezer answered candidly:
"We came to resolve the forest's issues..."
Bang!
Before Lezer could finish his sentence, a loud thud sounded from beneath Ollia's feet.
The swift Warrior stomped the ground forcefully, and his figure vanished from its original spot.
By the time the others could see his shadow again, he had already reached Lezer, sword flashing past, a fatal strike:
"Since that's the case—"
"Then we have nothing more to discuss!"
(End of Chapter)
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