Chapter Twelve: Chouhou
A light drizzle fell from the sky.
As the terrain ahead gradually opened up, Soren’s expression became increasingly solemn. They were approaching the vicinity of Leaffall City and would reach it by this afternoon at the latest. Unlike Amber City, which was built along a river, the journey from the Agate River to Amber City was nearly twenty to thirty miles across the Autumn Leaf Plain. The Half-Orc Army had not retreated to the northwest wilderness; they occupied large swathes of land and were currently stationed near a large town north of Leaffall City.
“Disperse the scouts!”
Soren gazed at the high ground ahead, silently calculating the distance, and said in a deep voice, “Let them take out the Half-Orc’s outpost. Cyclops Pirate, you personally lead the team.”
With Soren’s command, the snarling Cyclops Pirate stepped forward, grinning, “Yes!”
“Rest assured, Your Grace! We guarantee to leave not a living soul!”
Soon after.
Figures jumped into the Agate River from the warship. Those drifting on the sea had excellent swimming skills and quickly made it to shore. Leading them was the Cyclops Pirate, who signaled to the warship before swiftly vanishing with hundreds of men. These pirate leaders had long been prepared for battle, and today, they brought along old hands, many of whom were elite with profession levels over 10. From the Swamp King’s battle to defeating Pirate King Asrold and then the naval battle at Arendelle, Soren’s pirate army had cultivated batches of elite fighters.
Only battles that truly involve life and d*ath can swiftly forge a group of elites!
………………
The weather in April and May gradually turned warm.
Chouhou crouched in the grass, moving cautiously without making a sound, accompanied by several others, all elite members of their team.
Chouhou was a thief.
He earned this ‘nickname’ because of an ugly birthmark on the left side of his face, a dark cyan, hideous mark that ruined his otherwise decent appearance.
He was born in Shipwreck Bay, and his mother was a **.
It was said that when he was born, his mother was ill, and somehow, he emerged looking extremely ugly, slightly deformed. Normally, such a birth would make it difficult to survive, but Chouhou was lucky; when he was very young, he met a retired old thief. The old man, feeling pity for him, took him as his own apprentice and began teaching him thief skills from the age of three.
Chouhou had skeletal deformities, with arms of uneven lengths and a naturally hunched back. However, heaven looked out for him in one regard: his nimbleness and reflexes were far superior to his peers. This earned him the nickname ‘Chouhou’, as others said his movements were as agile as a monkey’s. By the time he was only fourteen or fifteen, Chouhou had already showcased thief skills far exceeding those of his contemporaries, reaping much greater rewards.
However, this life did not last long.
Later, Your Grace Throat Cutter appeared, and all power in the gray area of Shipwreck Bay was subsumed; Chouhou subsequently joined this noble’s ranks.
He had previously stolen things but was not very skilled in combat.
After Your Grace Throat Cutter took control of Shipwreck Bay, a group of thieves like him was gathered, and that was when he truly began to learn about combat, including some assassination techniques from assassins.
Any coastal city had plenty of lowly professions, and many people like Chouhou existed, but he was the most talented among them!
His instructor told him that at his current age of under twenty, if he was diligent enough, he might have the chance to enter the Legendary Domain in his lifetime.
Legend!
For any professionist, this was a place of desire and unattainable aspirations.
The instructor said that the most brilliant wanderer and assassin along the entire coast was Your Grace Throat Cutter, and if he could achieve great deeds in the future, he might receive guidance from Your Grace.
So, Chouhou unhesitatingly participated in this mission and chose the most dangerous outpost scout role!
Stealth, tracking, assassination.
Chouhou had undergone rigorous counter-surveillance training, and in his team was a ranger who, shortly after their operation commenced, found the trail of the Half-Orcs.
The traces of these guys were very obvious!
Because of their large physiques, weighing well over 200 pounds, the footprints on the ground helped them confirm their location.
The rhythmic croaking of frogs sounded.
Chouhou drew the short sword at his waist, his gaze sharpening. His strength was not high, which was a natural flaw, so he preferred to poison his weapons in combat, making it easier to deal with the enemy. He felt he was more suited to being an assassin than a thief since it was said that in Your Grace Throat Cutter’s army, there was a group of elite assassins composed entirely of high-level wanderers, and he hoped to one day join them.
Thud!
A faint sound of something falling emerged, seemingly a signal, and in an instant, a dozen figures rushed out from the darkness.
A cold, sharp glimmer swept through.
Chouhou’s form darted out like a nimble monkey, effortlessly covering more than ten meters while leaping over the obstacles in front of him, and in a heartbeat, his short sword lunged toward the enemy’s heart.
The sound of whistling wind echoed!
The enemy was powerful, swinging weapons with a fierce wind, but they were not nimble enough; for Chouhou, their speed was still too slow.
Clang!
Chouhou countered with a sharp glimmer, thrusting his kn*fe into the enemy’s lower back.
Dual Wielding.
As a thief trained since childhood, Chouhou could snatch slippery horse chestnuts from a hot oil pot with his fingers by the time he was seven. To improve his skills, he even studied sleight of hand with a magician when he was twelve. Not the kind of level 0 trick but pure hand speed that deceived the eyes. This training made both his hands quite nimble, and from that time on, he began honing his ability to steal using both hands simultaneously.
Roar!
A painful growl from a Half-Orc was heard. Chouhou glanced at the enemy’s appearance, unable to help but curl his lip and say, “So ugly!”
Based on his familiarity with the human body, Chouhou realized that his previous attack had already injured the enemy’s kidney, so he was in no rush to k*ll the enemy. Instead, he skillfully delayed the time, and sure enough, the speed of the Half-Orc slowed down, its strength beginning to wane. Finding the right moment, Chouhou twisted his body and kicked toward the enemy’s lower body, accompanied by a sound of something breaking, then swiftly swung the short sword to slice open the enemy’s throat.
The battle ended quickly.
Chouhou glanced at his appearing companions, then swiftly cut off the Half-Orc’s right ear with a dagger before disappearing into the darkness at high speed.
Laughter from his companions echoed nearby.
What they said was that these Half-Orc scouts were nothing special. Chouhou curled his lips at their words but chose not to respond. These were merely small enemy forces, and individually, they could hardly win against thieves who had grown up mingling in the underbelly. However, if faced with larger enemy groups, the battle would likely not be so easy.
The strength advantage of the Half-Orcs was still quite apparent!
These half-breed creatures were much stronger than dockworkers accustomed to hard labor, and if their numbers held an advantage, the battle would be far from easy.
Thinking this, Chouhou took out a small gadget.
It was an exquisite wrist crossbow.
Chouhou fixed it in place on his wrist and loaded it with three poisoned bolts; he naturally needed to rely on more skills since his innate strength was inferior to others.
The others in his party saw his actions.
As the only one in this small team close to being a high-level professionist, when Chouhou equipped the wrist crossbow, they couldn’t help but pause for a moment, and soon some began pulling out hand crossbows, wrist crossbows, and poisoned darts to equip in hidden spots. This was, after all, a life-threatening endeavor, and a little extra caution was a chance to save their lives. They were not frontline warriors; their long-standing experience in the gray area had equipped them with too many lowly combat skills.
The sun gradually sank toward the west.
The scouts dispatched by Soren were like a net, shrouding the battlefield near Leaffall City.
………………(To be continued ~^~)
