Chapter 42 - 40: Was This All Part of Your Plan?

"For flesh that hasn’t undergone transformation, this thing is much more useful than spells."

Standing next to the fallen corpse of Black Hand, Kael gently wiped the blood off his ceremonial sword. The blade gleamed, and the bound girl instinctively closed her eyes. But in the next moment, she felt the tight bindings around her body loosen.

After being tied for so long, the girl’s circulation was poor, causing her to stagger and lean forward. Kael, with quick reflexes, caught her.

"Th-thank you…" the girl whispered.

Kael nodded and said to the little maid hiding behind a group of Rangers, "Hassaka, take this child to the manor for a wash and some rest… You can use that if needed; she looks terrified."

Hassaka opened her mouth to mention she was running low on "Beacons."

"When we get back later, I’ll make you a new bottle… an even better one," Kael added.

Hassaka’s ears and tail perked up, her tail waving fervently, almost kicking up dust. She quickly ran over and took the nameless girl aside.

Kael turned his attention to the group of Barbarians in front of him, frowning, "These guys are so distinctive. When did they sneak into the town?"

Jonathan, standing beside him, shook his head and said, "It’s probably not the sentries’ fault. From the frozen northern wilderness to the hellish southern rainforests, these Barbarians are scattered. They revere destruction, evil, and brutality and are top-notch fighters.

But the Federation rarely provides them with professional equipment. This group is fully armed, reaching an average level of a third-level novice.

The leader here should be at least above a fifth-level novice. In a scattered Barbarian tribe, he’s likely the strongest.

It’s highly probable they infiltrated the town premeditatedly; it’s normal that the sentries didn’t notice,"

Kael nodded in agreement.

Titan Town wasn’t like Fransburg, a military stronghold with numerous ordinary soldiers and professionals on guard, nor did it have the resources to build a city wall. Being infiltrated was, in fact, quite normal.

Though he decapitated the Barbarian leader with one strike, Kael knew too well that a third-level magician typically couldn’t take down a Barbarian like this Black Hand.

The gap in strength was too vast. For magicians lacking diverse spellcasting techniques and spells not yet transformed, such sheer brute force could easily turn them into one of the Barbarians’ war trophies.

Moreover, after killing the guy and receiving a system notification, Kael immediately knew the level of this Barbarian.

Name: Black Hand. Level: LV7!!!

That was already considered a high level among beginner professionals.

However, glancing at the Barbarian’s wrinkles and lines, it was clear he was quite old.

He had a wealth of combat experience and a high professional level, enabling him to unleash considerable power in battle. But time had taken its toll; he couldn’t compete with the scissor of time.

Even with a heart ready to die, in this scene, he clearly wasn’t the protagonist.

In terms of combat experience, Kael was even more adept.

Using a fight style of wide openings and strength to overcome finesse wasn’t unfeasible, but at this level, the attribute bonus from the Barbarian’s professional level wasn’t significantly superior to Kael’s Incubus lineage’s bonuses.

Without a high attribute advantage, using a wide-opening style?

Facing Kael, who, after activating the Silk Thread Manipulation skill, had dual A-rank strength and speed, that was simply courting death. The temptation led Kael, who didn’t intend to approach, to strike with another slash.

He first instantly cast Freezing Aura, briefly disrupting Black Hand’s defensive rhythm.

Then he timed his spellcasting, using Greasy Technique to cause Black Hand to lose balance as he was about to block a spear.

Then, activating Silk Thread Manipulation, he approached swiftly and slashed his neck!

What? You say this is a ceremonial sword? A ceremonial sword can kill too.

Don’t believe it? Look, he’s dead!

Isn’t it simple? Anyone can do it!

"A warrior; he could have escaped," Jonathan said, standing beside Kael, as he pulled an iron spear from Black Hand’s corpse.

The iron spear with a blood groove tore off a piece of flesh. Kael paid it no mind and said, "An enemy hero is our nightmare. Respecting his character for dying to protect his companions doesn’t conflict with my need to kill him."

Old White, who was closely following, nodded in agreement:

"The Lord is right; an enemy we cannot coexist with should be swept away like a storm, giving them no chance to counter."

While Kael’s group reorganized on the spot, they began to collect what the Barbarians left behind, hoping to find some evidence.

However, it was evident that there was no trace of their origin left behind!

The totem tattoos indicating their origin were so worn down they couldn’t be identified.

Their gear had no conspicuous marks of blacksmiths, making it impossible to trace the weapons’ origins.

"Like you said, these Barbarians specialize in this," Kael sighed, ceasing the futile investigation.

Most Barbarians came from untamed areas or Barbarian tribes outside major civilization circles.

These people came to the town possibly for wealth and pleasure, or they might have been captured by slave traders from their homeland and lucky enough to escape to Yibel and sneak into town.

They could be Human, Half-Orc, Dwarf, or any race, but their blood flowed with Frenzy, making them more powerful and dangerous and brutal.

In fact, Barbarian was not just an ethnicity but an extraordinary profession, nurturing and harnessing Frenzy, using Frenzy...

Through Frenzy, they unleashed unmatched destructive power, gaining widespread recognition for their power...and killing intent.

Gathering these Barbarians invariably caused trouble.

Especially given their nature, it was easy for them to become henchmen for powerful forces. Once they misstepped, provoking those powerful forces, having their tribes annihilated was normal.

Except for those Barbarians wishing their entire tribe ascended to heaven, most Barbarians working in the dark wiped out all identification to protect their families.

Clearly, Kael and his group had encountered such people.

"Lord, we didn’t capture that Barbarian..." The returning Ranger Squad, dispatched by Kael to hunt down, had their leader, the Knight Willfo, looking grim. Dismounting, he kneeled before Kael.

"Explain what happened; that Barbarian should have been heavily injured." Kael said unhurriedly.

"I don’t know..."

"Hmm?"

Willfo’s cold sweat dripped down as he repeated, "I don’t know... When we were about to intercept him, a shadow suddenly appeared, swallowing the Barbarian whole."

Kael nodded, "Got it, stand up, Knight."

"Lord..."

"Relax, there’s no intent to punish you. We anticipated this." Kael helped Willfo up, patting his shoulder, "Go now, many townsfolk were probably awakened. Explain to them; can you handle that?"

"At your will!" Willfo and the Rangers stood, soon dispersing.

Kael looked at Old White, always by his side, chuckled, and said, "Grandpa White, did you foresee this too?"