Chapter Sixty-Nine: Elimination of the Scout
Under the hazy night sky.
Soren’s figure darted out, weaving through the dense tropical jungle at high speed, moving towards the distant location. He was not unfamiliar with such terrain; years ago, during a legendary-level mission in the Overseas Islands, he had fought against the top trackers of the indigenous people’s tribe. This group of fellows possessed formidable tracking abilities, capable of following targets through footprints, scents, the environment, and more. His encounters with them had greatly improved Soren’s own tracking skills.
Snap!
Soren lightly tapped his toes on a large tree and then slowly landed on the ground.
Before him lay many chaotic footprints, albeit mostly obscured by weeds, yet the traces left behind from high-speed movement were still quite evident. Soren raised his hand to brush aside the grass, searching, and found traces of something being dragged away, resembling the marks left by a heel scraping the ground. He spotted a bit of dark red blood; however, there wasn’t much, indicating that the battle had ended quickly. Soren could already envision the situation at the time—his dispatched pirate scouts were suddenly ambushed and had barely reacted before suffering heavy casualties, with one escaping successfully while the others were dragged away.
“It seems they’re all experts!”
A glint of cold light appeared in Soren’s eyes, a cruel expression on his face as he slowly said, “First, take out these scouts; they seem to be the elite of the indigenous people’s tribe!”
Jungle combat is different from flatland combat.
The most common encounters here are skirmishes and ambushes. Even a fourth-tier professionist could die at the hands of a low-tier professionist skilled in tracking and hiding. There are too many opportunities for ambush and natural traps, and many skilled trackers can kill other professionists above level five in this environment. The most dangerous abilities of these indigenous people are tracking, hiding, and then using blow darts and concealed weapons.
However!
This time, they might not be so lucky. Because wanderers are also adept in this area!
Soren sped forward along the traces in the grass; his tracking abilities were not exceptional, but he wouldn’t lose the traces left that day. A skilled ranger could even follow trails several days old and discern what type of enemy had left them, which is why Soren has always paid great attention to tracking skills. He moved swiftly through the grass, certain that the elite indigenous warriors had not returned to their tribe. If they kept their distance from the camp, they would not know the numbers of Soren’s men.
——”Shadow Hide!”
After crossing a small stream, Soren’s figure gradually vanished into the night.
He heard a sound.
It was a scream!
It seemed that not all the pirate scouts sent out during the day had perished under their hands; one or two survivors had been brought back. A murderous intent flickered in Soren’s eyes, and his entire being was cloaked in shadows as he approached the rocks from where the screams emanated. The Overseas Islands have many landscapes similar to the Irish coastline, and the geological structure here is entirely different from that of the southern continental shelf. Before Soren lay a natural cave, suggesting that the enemy was quite familiar with the nearby terrain. This cave appeared to have not been visited for a long time.
Inside, it was somewhat dark, and the cave was not very deep.
Soren heard another faint scream, and he saw a flickering firelight within the cave, seemingly indicating a corner inside.
He did not recklessly sneak in.
Soren reached down to feel the ground, carefully observing his surroundings. His dark vision allowed him to see as clearly at night as in daytime, and he quickly identified a rather sophisticated alarm trap. The indigenous people are cunning, and their survival environment is harsh; traps like these could easily eliminate Soren’s dispatched pirate scouts. It would be unreasonable to not have any precautions at night.
Soren’s trap skills were insufficient!
He glanced at it and felt that he probably couldn’t safely dismantle the trap without making a sound. Moreover, even if he were lucky enough to disarm it, the time spent would be too long. He climbed the edge of the cave, moving along the corner almost like hovering, just barely avoiding the alarm trap by a couple of centimeters.
Anyone caught in the trap would be immediately alerted!
The screams continued.
Inside the cave, there were loose stones, and Soren had to move carefully. He heard Common Speech as well as the indigenous language, but he could not make out the specifics as the screams cut through.
It seemed they were interrogating someone!
Soren dared not be careless; his figure gradually approached the source of the voices, particularly that of the one who appeared to be the indigenous chief’s enemy.
——”Backstab!”
——”Shadow Assassination!”
A cold glint suddenly flashed!
Soren’s figure emerged from the shadows, and the legendary curved blade Icebane sliced through the air, piercing the indigenous chief’s heart in an instant. The blade tip pierced through the back and out the chest; the chief’s expression was one of shock, unable to change before dying at Soren’s hands.
A flurry of data rapidly appeared:
“Shadow Hide successful!”
“Shadow Assassination triggered!”
“Backstab triggered!”
“Successfully executed backstab, dealing 116 (+10) piercing damage to the target! … Pierced the target’s heart! … Trigger fatal saving throw! … Target’s fatal saving throw failed! …”
“Target dead!”
“Extracted target’s soul energy, gained 3250 Killing Experience.”
………………
As the Killing Experience data materialized.
Soren immediately surmised the approximate strength of the enemy, likely a profession level above 15, a leader-level figure within the indigenous tribe. The target appeared to have more than a hundred health points; however, due to the piercing of the heart, they were unable to withstand any time like some other enemies Soren had faced before.
——”Sword Intent: Spinning Dance!”
Having taken down the enemy chief with a stealthy backstab, Soren did not withdraw; on the contrary, he charged forward, spraying another curved blade into his hands and spinning it sharply, the blade sweeping toward two other enemies in front of him.
Caught off guard!
This was the most common reaction during a surprise attack, where many people significantly decreased their evasion and block ability due to being caught off guard.
In such situations, one’s abilities are truly tested.
One indigenous person instinctively side-stepped to avoid, while another rolled away to distance themselves, but a third was slightly slower and was directly struck by Soren’s blade across the chest, slicing open even part of the lung. The former had the Reflex Evasion specialty, while the latter obviously lacked any powerful evasion specialty, thus would inevitably react slower in unexpected situations.
Swish!
Upon facing Soren, who had suddenly taken down their chief, the indigenous people’s reactions were swift.
They began to counterattack rapidly.
However, instead of drawing weapons, one reached for a blowgun, and with a few weak gleams, steel-tipped darts flew out, hitting Soren’s body, yet they failed to take effect.
——”Stone Skin Spell!”
The darts couldn’t break through Soren’s protective stone skin; these darts, which had strong anesthetic properties, were utterly ineffective.
Clang, clang!
The darts dropped to the ground as Soren leaped forward, swinging his blade at the heavily injured enemy.
A barrage of data quickly flashed:
“Shadow Assassination triggered!”
“You dealt 56 (+10) slashing damage to the target! … You dealt 26 slashing damage to the target!…”
“Target dead!”
“Extracted target’s soul energy, gained 2150 Killing Experience.”
………………
Soren struck with incredible speed!
Almost at the same time that Icebane struck the enemy, the curved blade in his left hand also simultaneously slashed at their abdomen. Mastering Advanced Dual Wielding allowed Soren to achieve an effect akin to ‘mutual combat with both hands.’ Each blade could fight independently. After he dispatched the indigenous person in front, his left hand almost immediately reversed the blade, blocking a side attack, then he lunged forward, swinging his right hand to slash at the enemy’s arm.
Clang, clang!
With a spray of blood, three fingers were severed.
Thud.
Soren’s twin blades transformed into streaks of cold light as he twisted and struck down half the hand, and then a twisted shadow manifested beside him, causing two heads to drop to the ground in succession.
——”Shadow Assassination!”
——”Summon Shadow!”
——”Sword Intent: Decapitation!”
Soren’s gaze was frigid, without a trace of hesitation. When the summoned shadow entangled the enemy, he fiercely swung his blade towards the opponent’s head.
Thud!
A headless corpse fell to the ground, Soren covered in blood, with only one enemy left before him.
……………… (To be continued ~^~)
