Chapter 133: Everyone Grows Up from Naivety

  The last embers of the campfire cast their fading glow upon the trees. Only four figures lay motionless beside the dying flames. Axsis and the old man lay slumped like corpses, utterly still. Extreme physical exhaustion, depletion of magical energy, and most importantly, mental turmoil had pushed them to the brink of fatigue. Even if someone were to stab them twice in the backside now, they might not wake immediately.

  The other two were the young man Yabin and the Druid Anderson. They too appeared to be sleeping deeply.

  Sylka, Hilton, and the others were not by the campfire. They were equally tired, perhaps even more so than the two magic users, as they had borne the brunt of the life-and-death struggle during the day. Yet, none of them slept by the warm fire. These people, who lived immersed in slaughter and battle, like wild cats, instinctively never revealed their unguarded forms before people they had known for only a day. Besides, they knew they would sleep heavily. Each had found a spot fifty to a hundred meters from the fire, maintaining distance while still being able to respond to each other. The woman, Jessica, slept in a large tree nearby.

  This was one hour after they had begun to rest, usually the time when people sleep their deepest.

  A figure by the campfire suddenly turned over with a mutter-like sound. The other three showed no reaction to the sound, remaining asleep and still.

  After a while, the figure turned over again, twisting his body, the sounds from his mouth growing louder. The firelight illuminated his face – it was Yabin. Perhaps because he hadn't exerted himself much during the day's battle, he didn't seem to sleep soundly. But the other three remained dead asleep, paying him no mind.

  Yabin's eyes slowly opened a crack. He turned over again, then opened them fully. There was no trace of sleepiness in them; they were as clear as if he had just taken an ice bath. He slowly sat up, looked at the three still sleeping like the dead, then slowly stood. Every movement was slow, careful, making not the slightest sound. He cautiously scanned his surroundings, then began to walk slowly in one direction – seemingly towards where the unnamed man and the female knight were.

  The forest at night was by no means silent. Countless insect chirps and the sounds and movements of small nocturnal creatures intertwined, creating what could almost be called a lively atmosphere. But Yabin knew that even a sound distinct from these – like the crunch of a person stepping on undergrowth, completely different from the movements of small animals – would be enough to awaken and alert those people. No matter how deeply they slept, their vigilance never died.

  So, despite the short distance, Yabin was sweating slightly by the time he finally circled a few trees and saw the female knight.

  The female knight was bundled like a large sack in a giant pouch, thrown onto a pile of grass. Her head was exposed, her face smeared with blood and dirt, making her look wretched, but her clear, beautiful features still shone under the moonlight, though pale. Her life was probably not in danger. Once the wearer's life was in critical condition, the Radiant Battleplate would automatically activate the white magic "Rebirth in Flames." While not as miraculous as when used by the Bishops, it could at least preserve life at a minimal level.

  Despite this, she remained unconscious. The man who had captured her had struck her head and neck several times forcefully in the cellar. The precision and cleverness of the blows had immediately amazed Hilton and the others. Beyond that, Yabin could sense the man had also used a minor magic – a very strange, weak curse. Added together, these were enough to keep the female knight unconscious for several days.

  Yabin saw the female knight, but felt no joy. Instead, his nerves tightened. Because he only saw the unconscious knight, not the man.

  Yabin focused all his attention, looking and listening. There were no unusual sounds or signs around. But he couldn't understand why the female knight was lying here alone, while the man was nowhere to be seen.

  Had the man gone off to do something else? Perhaps he had left the knight here alone while he slept elsewhere... But whatever the reason, this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Yabin bit his lip and continued towards the female knight, his steps quickening. At this point, there was no turning back.

  Frankly, he knew this action was extremely risky, even foolish in some respects. The slightest mishap would leave no room for recovery. Everyone here was a killer who wouldn't blink at taking a life, and they were all wide awake. But the surging impulse in his chest made it impossible for him to abandon this woman.

  He had thought he could harden his heart to do anything for the thousand gold coins, but not until Hilton had vividly described in front of him exactly how he would handle this female knight. His mouth had writhed like two giant red maggots, spewing foul breath, his voice a groan of lascivious pleasure, his features twitching with vulgar ugliness – one could almost directly imagine him panting his foul breath, writhing and rolling on the struggling woman's body. And that woman had originally been so bright, beautiful, and heroic... The stark contrast between the two suddenly made him feel the contents of his stomach convulse, almost making him vomit. He couldn't resist the urge to split that face in two with his sword.

  Although the old man Raelas's teachings had never slackened, he had never been a devout believer. Only now did he discover the great power of those confession and prayer words he had once found utterly boring. He couldn't help but kneel and pray. He didn't know, nor did he care, if any deity would hear his voice. He simply had to let these devout words in his mind drown out the screams that could erupt at any moment.

  When he finally learned the woman was safe for now, he felt relieved but also utterly exhausted. He had never been this tired. A thought emerged in his mind: find a chance to free this woman.

  But he immediately dismissed the idea. Either the thief leader or the mysterious man could kill him instantly if they discovered his intent. Even if he succeeded, what about the thousand gold coins? Without the money, how could he take his sister across the continent seeking medical treatment?

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  But during his conversation with the Druid, he suddenly thought of another way: saving the female knight might be a shortcut to achieving his goal. Though the chance was small and the risk high, combined with the impulse in his heart, it became irresistible. Today's battle would surely have tired these people out. They hadn't yet rendezvoused with the other thieves, and they were resting separately... This was undoubtedly a good opportunity.

  Perhaps there was another, most important reason he himself hadn't realized: he didn't want to delay. He didn't know when those people would make their move on the woman. So he had crept awake while everyone was deeply asleep, crept over here. He was going to save her.

  Purification silently condensed in his hand. Just as he was about to cast it on the female knight, Yabin suddenly noticed a depression in the haystack beside her. It was clearly formed by someone lying there. He couldn't help but reach out and touch it. His body instantly froze like a stone statue. The hay was dry. It still retained the residual warmth of a human body.

  The weather wasn't particularly hot. For the warmth to remain undissipated meant the person had left no more than five minutes ago – almost exactly the same time he had quietly gotten up.

  "I thought you'd be more patient." A voice sounded softly behind him. "And let me tell you, if you wake this woman in this condition, she'll wake up pigs sleeping a mile away."

  Yabin exerted great effort and finally slowly turned his head. He saw the divine man standing there like a ghost, just a few steps behind him. In that instant, he felt every pore on his body turn to ice.

  Still that ordinary face that would disappear instantly in a crowd. As always, his expression was flat and cold, without the slightest emotion. Under the bleak moonlight, it looked like the face of someone long dead.

  Yabin's hand unconsciously twitched towards the long sword at his waist. But he didn't actually draw it. If it came to a fight, he had no chance of winning, not even a chance to escape.

  "Even if you wanted to save her, you should have been adequately prepared. Had detailed arrangements, or pre-designed traps to distract us and create an opportunity for yourself. I never imagined you'd just see us resting separately and think it was a good opportunity, then come rushing over so rashly. You've truly disappointed me. Seeing your performance in the cellar, I thought you were quite good." Like that dead face, the man's voice was cold and lifeless. "And your observation and senses are utterly inadequate. Did you know? From the moment you started walking towards here, if I had wanted to kill you, you'd have died a hundred times over."

  Yabin didn't maintain the rigid posture for long. He slowly turned his body, stood straight, and looked at that pale, cold face. He took a deep breath and asked cautiously in a soft voice, "I'm not dead yet. Does that mean... perhaps I won't die?" His voice was soft, like the man's. Amidst the insect chirps, such a soft voice wouldn't alert the others in different directions.

  That corpse-like face suddenly showed a hint of a smile. Though the smile could hardly be called pleasant, even somewhat eerie, it was a smile nonetheless. The man said softly, "To remain calm even in this situation, and still be able to observe and think – seen this way, you're not too disappointing. You're not so foolish this time. If you had drawn your sword and made a noise, alerting the others..." The man's eyes hardened. "I guarantee you would die a more miserable death than this female knight."

  Yabin said nothing. He only felt his heart beating four or five times faster than usual. The strange flavor revealed in this bizarre smile and words suddenly made him feel he might have the legendary luck of escaping from an evil dragon with its treasure. He asked softly, "You... want me... to do what?" Excessive tension made his voice hoarse.

  The man didn't answer directly but asked, "Why did you come to save her? I remember your actions in the cellar – precise, ruthless, aimed at killing her. You can't have been working with her all along. Daring to use white magic to help us actually proves you're not with the Church."

  "I could kill her... but I can't watch her being tortured to death by you." After thinking, Yabin answered this. Though he knew every word now decided his life and death, that he must weigh each one carefully, besides this seemingly nonsensical statement, he truly couldn't find any other reason.

  "So that's the reason. Naive." Though he said this, the man seemed to understand this seemingly illogical reason. The smile on his pale, eerie face grew stronger, clearly conveying mockery. "And this impulsive, rash behavior is also due to youth and naivety. Naivety will make you misjudge, dull your senses. Naivety can get you killed. Do you understand?"

  "I understand now." Yabin slowly nodded, his voice choked.

  "But everyone grows up from naivety." The man's voice actually held a trace of imperceptible emotion. "You didn't make a sound just now, which has already earned you a chance. Now I'll give you another."

  Yabin's heart was in his throat. His voice was hoarse from excessive tension as he slowly asked, "It's..."

  The man said softly, "I can let you take this female knight and go."

  Hearing this sentence, Yabin felt his heart would leap out of his mouth. He barely managed to regain his composure. He knew there was more to come.

  "But just like before, you must earn the opportunity yourself. I'll let you go, but whether you escape or not depends on you." The man pointed with his finger in the direction of the others. "They know that with your skills, you could never rescue her right under my nose without me noticing. So I will wake them up to pursue you together. If we catch you..." The man drew a finger across his own neck, the light in his eyes colder than ice. "You should know, I won't give you a chance to speak."

  "Yes..." Yabin gritted his teeth and nodded. In any case, having this chance was better than none.

  The man untied a pair of shoes from his waist, pointed in a direction, and said, "You'd better take this woman and run that way. There's a river over there, and these shoes are enchanted with 'Water Walking.' Since you can use magic, you should be able to use magical items. Wearing these will greatly increase your chances of escape."

  Yabin took the shoes. They were unremarkable-looking leather boots. Many places showed they were quite old, but just holding them, one could feel the subtle fluctuations of water magic. Mechanically putting on this life-saving treasure, his mind was in turmoil. Moments ago, his life had hung by a thread; he thought he had reached a dead end. But inexplicably, this turn of events had occurred. The emotional rollercoaster made it feel unreal. He couldn't help but look at the man and ask, "Why did you... let me go like this..."

  "Might as well tell you now." A cunning light flashed in the man's eyes, this vivid, lively light incongruous with his deathly face. "Actually, I was already planning to find a chance to release this woman. I was thinking of how to do it without arousing suspicion. Since you want to play the hero, please take the blame."

  Yabin's mouth immediately dropped wide open, unable to close. His mind was also a tangled mess. He couldn't comprehend what was happening at all.

  "If you escape, tell this woman that our group is heading to the Tulalion Forest. But it's best not to tell her I intentionally let her go."

  "This... what's really going on?" Yabin had never considered himself stupid, but now he felt he was perhaps only slightly smarter than a wooden puppet. "Also, may I ask your name? You... who exactly are you?"

  "Too much curiosity is also a form of naivety. If you live longer, sometimes knowing less is not a bad thing. You just need to know that you finally have a chance to escape, a chance to fulfill your naivety." The man retreated a few steps into the shadows of the trees and made a gesture to Yabin indicating he should begin. "If you need to address me in front of that woman, you can say my name is Sanderfirth."

  "Yes. I understand." Yabin took a deep breath, expelling all the tangled thoughts from his mind. Now was not the time to worry, but to focus his spirit on escaping. He cast Prayer Spell on himself at the lowest volume, along with Strength and Agility spells. Finally, he gathered his energy, cast the most powerful healing spell he could manage on the female knight, then Purification.

  A faint white light flashed across the female knight's face. Her eyes opened slightly. When she saw the person before her, she couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise.

  This cry wasn't loud, but it was certainly enough to awaken the others.

  Yabin drew his sword and slashed open the sack containing the female knight. He pulled up the still dazed woman, who hadn't grasped the situation, and said, "Run!"

  "What do you think you're doing!" The man leaped out from the shadows with a loud shout.

  Yabin spun around sharply, opened his hand, and a dazzling light flared from it. Even in broad daylight, the brightness of this light would be blinding, let alone in the night that had been dark for so long. The man cried out in pain, covering his eyes: "Fuck you, you bastard..." This voice was full of rage and killing intent, something no one could fake.

  "Everyone, get the fuck up! That kid and the bitch have escaped!" The man's furious shout echoed through the entire forest.