My world to Free-use-Chapter 61: Glimmer of hope?
Chapter 61 - Glimmer of hope?
Chapter 61
The reason the first night was so important was because of the evidence. If they waited to kill him until the last night, and the lord were not to return the next day, it would incur suspicions, and the presiding baron over the town would send inquisitors to see what had happened.
If they killed him on the last night of the hunt, then the chances of evidence being discovered were higher, but if they were to kill him on the very first night, then there was a high chance the discovered evidence would not be enough to resume an investigation.
Well, in the first place, it was just a formality. There was a good chance the presiding baron was a part of this scheme. The question that I could not get was...
Why this town?
What was so important about it?
There were two theories in my mind. One, there was something in the forest, something they needed. Or two, it was to perform experiments.
From the geography of the kingdom, from the map that I found in the library, this town was on the far outer edge of the kingdom, and there was nothing but barren lands for miles before the next kingdom's border.
It was the farthest town from the capital, and the interest in it was not very high.
The chances of the second probability weighing more were high, but there was a chance the first probability was not completely out of order. In such fantasy worlds, chances were hidden all over the world. One just needed a good eye to spot all of them.
I arrived at the entrance of the demonic forest. On the way, I had passed Lucas and Julian, who were sleeping soundly. Since there was no danger that close to the town, they hadn't started a fire, which helped them not to attract the attention of the black hooded figures in the distance.
I could sense them even from this distance, and I could tell they were not so easy to deal with.
[Bonus stats 225]
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[Intelligence: 220]
[Strength: 100]
[Stamina: 100]
[Agility: 100]
[Charm: 9]
Compared to my intelligence, the rest of my stats were lagging behind quite a bit. It was mostly because intelligence was the most important stat for a mage like me. It increased my mana recovery rate, my attack damage, and most of all, due to the state of completion.
It was time to show the rest of the stats some love.
All but one, of course, the charm. In a world without any sexual desires, charm had little to no effect. In battle, the strong could resist it so it was useless and in terms of getting a woman in bed, it was greatly needed but here, in this world, where a woman couldn't be lured into the bed because sleeping in bed naked with their private parts joined was not even an idea, charm had little use to me.
So, focusing on the rest of my stats.
[Strength: 150]
[Agility: 150]
[Stamina: 200]
[Bonus stats: 25]
I left the rest of the stats as they were. In all of the stats, the hardest to recover was my stamina. Of course, there were stamina recovery potions like mana or health recovery potions, but unlike these two, the stamina recovery potion had a side effect.
Not much of it could be consumed. The function of the stamina recovery potion wasn't to relieve the fatigue but to lock it away and slowly relieve it as the body moved, making the process feel as if nothing was happening.
But if used frequently, the amount of fatigue would stack up, and even that small amount of fatigue relief would be gigantic to a human body. That was why it was never a good idea to use stamina recovery potions so quickly.
Also, the reason why, after intelligence, stamina was the most important stat. I would usually focus on these two before any of the other stats, keeping the others just within the limit of being able to fight.
In other words, according to the stats limits of this world, my mana was already past the B rank and into the initial A rank limits, and my physical stats were all above C rank now. Well, my stamina was also at the edge of the B rank.
So, the enemies before me were not really an issue. But complacency was the biggest fault in a human being. Just because I was strong, I wasn't the type to get arrogant and think the world was at my feet. It might be, but that didn't matter.
I was always the careful type. Besides, in a battle where a minimum amount of involvement would suffice, why would I exert so much effort?
As expected, once the lord's party, which was camping i a clearing, went to sleep, that was when the assassins moved. They took out the patrolling guards quietly and even took care of most of the guards and knights successfully.
But these guys weren't just knights for show. They had skills to back them up as well. So it was inevitable when the knights detected trouble and woke up, and a fight began.
The lord woke up soon, too, and an epic battle ensued. Well, as epic as a third-class fight could be. The knights were good, but in the end, they were simply countryside knights and were severely lacking in terms of skills compared to the assassins.
Even if they managed to detect the assassins, that didn't mean they would be able to hold their own against people who were accustomed to killing from the shadows. As expected, the only one who was doing any better was the lord himself, but even he was coming to an end slowly.
Finally, he was on his last legs as well, while there were only three assassins left on the other side. All B rank. But I had to admit. Even though the lord held the same rank as the assassins, he managed to kill two of them and injure the rest to a great degree. Had it been a full frontal assault and the lord party's members hadn't died in the beginning, they would have surely won.
Alas, it was time for me to move. I had already wasted two of the B ranks due to the rest becoming weaker. Had I made a move earlier, there was a great chance they could have banded together to deal with me, which would have provided the lord with a chance to escape.
But now...
"Celestial swordsmanship: Third form."
"Divine judgement."
A simple sword slash with intricate movements of mana. The way the mana interweaved around the attack allowed it to pass the opponent's armor. Of course, it didn't give full armor penetration, and if someone could counter with a good mana shield, that effect could be nullified, leaving raw damage only.
However, were my current opponents focused on me? Were they fully guarded? The answer was 'No' from every angle. As soon as my strike struck them, they all died, with the exception of the lord, who managed to protect himself with his sword. His sword took a bit of damage, which passed through him, but other than that, he managed to retain his life.
"You..." He looked at me, recognizing me, and a certain glint of relief passed through his eyes, but before the relief could settle, the gears in his head began to turn. He looked at my sword, then the corpses of those at my feet, and finally, my very presence here at this time.
He readied his sword without a word and looked at me sharply.
"Haha." I couldn't help but chuckle. He sure was sharp. Even in this situation, he managed to figure everything out in an instant. It was no coincidence he was a lord of the city and that he managed to survive this far into the battle and still had a few chances of winning, or at least escaping if it ever came to that.
But now, after taking my damage and looking at my condition, he knew he wouldn't be able to win by any means. Running away was an option, but I was in top-notch condition and he was on his last legs.
As if knowing his end was near, he simply asked...
"Who was it?" It was like he wanted to know before death. But I wasn't an idiot to indulge him. It wasn't like he would be able to escape me, but at the very least, I wouldn't be taking a risk.
"Celestial swordsmanship: Fourth form."
"Starfall."
I raised my sword high, accumulating mana at the tip of my sword. Unlike the third form that required a thin thread like mana to ensure lethality above attack power, this move relied on power.
I brought it down, and as if a star had fallen from the sky in a straight beam, the mana in the form of a beam fell on the lord, who raised his sword and aura to the maximum to defend himself, but...
Shatter!!!
The attack passed through his sword and body, splattering his insides, killing him on the spot.
[You have killed a B rank human x4]
[You have obtained...]
[...]
[.]
