Leilin's brow furrowed—his two horses had apparently caused trouble.
But he actually needed someone to make an example of. A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he turned and walked out of the bar.
Around his black horse, several thug-like loiterers had already gathered, eyeing the fine steed and staring even more greedily at the crates strapped to its back. One especially impatient fellow had already started untying the reins.
"You planning to touch my things?" Leilin strode out in long steps.
Clearly, his leather armor and Cross Sword carried some intimidation, but not nearly enough.
A man with narrow, triangular eyes shouted, "This is obviously a horse that was stolen from my family! How is it your property? You must have stolen it from us, you damned thief!!!"
Even if Leilin were just an ordinary mercenary, weapons or not, he couldn't fight off a gang of thugs—they were clearly counting on exactly that.
"Right! Let's drag him to the constable!!" The other ruffians started jeering.
The surrounding residents all wore expressions of disgust and kept their distance, but no one stepped forward to intervene.
"Get him! He's only one guy!" The triangular-eyed man pulled a dagger from inside his coat and lunged first.
"Perfect timing—I need to stretch my muscles!" Leilin wore a fierce grin. He sidestepped the stabbing dagger, grabbed the man's right wrist, and gave it a sharp twist. The triangular-eyed man let out a cry of pain and the dagger clattered to the ground.
"Aaah!! It hurts!! What are you doing? Let go! My brother-in-law is the constable—he won't let you get away with this!!" the man shrieked.
"Oh really? The constable? I'm so scared!" Leilin called out with exaggerated dread, then twisted harder.
Crack!! A sharp, grating sound of breaking bone rang out. The triangular-eyed man passed out from the pain.
Leilin's physical condition had already reached the level of a formal Knight. Dealing with a lone thug was effortless.
"Boss! Boss!" Several of the thugs called out from a distance, but none dared approach.
Leilin smiled, transformed into a dark shadow, and dove into the cluster of ruffians.
Boom!! Crack!! Aaah!!
Thugs screamed, and the grating sound of cracking bones rang out again and again. Leilin seemed to transform into a gust of black wind, felling every last one of them in just a few punches and kicks. Each man ended up with one broken arm and one broken leg.
Wearing an extremely warm and friendly smile, Leilin walked over to the unconscious triangular-eyed man, lifted his foot, and stomped down hard on the man's right leg.
"Aaaah!!" The triangular-eyed man woke from the pain almost immediately, then rolled his eyes and passed out again.
"Take your boss and get out! You're welcome to come for revenge! But next time, it won't be just a broken arm and leg!"
Leilin addressed the remaining thugs. In their eyes, his smile looked like the grin of a demon.
Watching the ruffians limp away, supporting each other as they fled, Leilin finally turned and walked back into the bar.
"At least Preliminary Knight-level physical fitness!" the bartender thought to himself in shock, and his expression grew even more mild and deferential.
"Respected sir! Is there anything I can do for you?"
This was the effect of demonstrated strength. Looking at the suddenly quieted bar, Leilin felt a wry amusement in his heart.
He hadn't wanted to act like some kind of pervert just now, but he was carrying so much cargo—if he left and someone stole it while he was away, what then? He had set up a tracking spell, true, but if something got damaged, he'd have nowhere to cry.
But now, having revealed Preliminary Knight-level strength, many of those who had been scheming would have no choice but to back off.
"Help me carry the crates to my room, then take the horses to the stable and give them the best feed!" Leilin tossed another silver coin to the bartender.
"That thug just now—does he have any connections?"
"Just happens to have a distant relationship with the constable, and uses it to skim a little on the side! Nothing for you to worry about, sir!" The bartender lowered his head.
Someone with the strength of a Preliminary Knight must have access to a Knight training method.
Such a person was either nobility by birth or had powerful backing—a small-town constable wouldn't dare do a thing.
"Show me to my room!" Leilin had only asked on a whim. After all, what kind of deep connections could some roadside thug possibly have?
The room was behind the bar. The bartender deliberately led Leilin to the one farthest from the common room, took out a key, and opened the door.
A shaft of sunlight cut through the open window into the room, illuminating a scatter of golden motes.
In the center sat a large bed with pure white sheets that looked quite clean. On a table to the side sat a blue vase holding several unknown wildflowers.
"Looks clean enough. Good—I'll take it," Leilin nodded.
"Here is your key, please keep it safe!" The bartender respectfully handed over a brass key.
Leilin took the key, then sent the bartender to put the horses in the stable and unload the crates into the room. He ordered a steak delivered to the room, told the bartender not to disturb him, and closed the door.
The room had decent soundproofing. Once the wooden door shut, the noise from outside dropped considerably.
"Today's display was perhaps too flashy! But there was no choice—Grey Stone City is too small, and any stranger passing through draws attention. There's no way to lie low completely. Being inside the city is still safer than outside—at least, large-scale offensive magical spells can't be cast within the walls!"
"Besides, the chances that the forces who set up that roadblock will send pursuers are about fifty-fifty. If they don't, all the better. But if they do, I'll have to eliminate this wave of pursuers before I can flee at my leisure!"
Leilin pondered: "Spiritual wave tracking and soul pursuit—those are methods of formal Wizards. The enemy can't possibly send a full
"The most likely scenario is a Third-rank Apprentice carrying Magical Items, or some biological servants bred by Wizards!"
"Next, I need to restore my mental energy, observe what's happening outside, and prepare to deal with the enemy. And of course, there's the daily Mimicry Spell to maintain!"
While thinking, Leilin sliced off a piece of the steaming steak and brought it to his mouth.
The steak tasted quite good. Hungry as he was, Leilin soon finished every bite. After eating his fill, he called the bartender to clean up. Once the bartender left, Leilin hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, then casually spread a layer of energy particles throughout the room as an alarm before settling into a meditation state.
Meditation was a Wizard's daily essential. Although the spiritual power gains were now minuscule, Leilin persisted every day without fail.
After more than an hour of meditation, Leilin lay his head down and drifted off to sleep.
...
Outside Grey Stone City, above a small copse of trees that had been scorched to charcoal.
Hiss hiss!! A green, winged creature suddenly descended.
"
"The scent ends here!!" This Green Tree Spirit was nothing like her former self.
A Green Tree Spirit was originally only the size of a human head, but Doris now stood as tall as a child of seven or eight.
Moreover, her once beautiful face was now covered in tumor-like growths stacked layer upon layer, looking utterly hideous.
Her mouth was full of fangs, and a snake-like tongue flickered in and out from time to time.
Her body was covered in wrinkled skin and strange, misshapen scales.
Green Tree Spirits had once been creatures of extraordinary beauty, but no one would ever connect Doris with one now.
"You can't escape, human!!" Doris let out a hate-filled cry, flicked her tongue, spread her wings, and took off in the direction where Leilin had released the second horse earlier that day.
Over the next two days, Leilin stayed indoors the entire time, finally restoring his stamina and spiritual power to peak condition.
"Two full days and still no pursuit! They probably aren't apprentices, or they could have used mundane authorities to flush me out by now. It must be some kind of bioengineered creature or Wizard servant!"
Leilin quietly speculated. The past two days had been remarkably peaceful. The only visitor was the constable himself, who came bearing gifts and pleading on behalf of his brother-in-law, while also subtly probing into Leilin's background. Leilin deflected with vague answers and revealed nothing of substance.
Thinking of this, Leilin changed into a black robe that concealed his face, then jumped out the window.
Inside a dim, narrow alley.
"Sir!" "The sir has arrived!" Several thug-looking figures spotted Leilin's black-robed figure and hurried over.
"What's the report? Anything unusual happen around Grey Stone City in the past two days?" A hoarse voice issued from beneath the robe.
"Let me go first, let me go first! Aunt Sophie's cow over in the nearby village gave birth to a two-headed calf! Everyone says it's been cursed!"
One thug shoved past the others and spoke in a rush.
"Target's blood flow increased by 12.4%. Brain wave pattern stable. Assessment: not lying." The Chip's voice sounded in Leilin's mind.
Leilin nodded and tossed a silver coin to the thug.
"My turn! Uncle Hugo's son went missing near the woods by the roadside! Wolf tracks were found at the scene!"
...
These were all thugs Leilin had brought under his control over the past two days—very convenient for gathering intelligence.
Though they had initially tried to fool him with lies and false information in exchange for payment, Leilin had the Chip's detection capabilities. How could ordinary people deceive him? He had broken the arm of the first liar on the spot, which served as a powerful deterrent.
Under the combination of money and violence, the thugs quickly reported everything they knew about the surroundings of Grey Stone City.
"You found what? Desiccated human corpses? With traces of green pus around them?" Leilin's interest was clearly piqued. "Give me the full details, and this gold coin is yours!"
A thin, red-haired young man swallowed hard. "I just heard this news—near the big mill in Meixi Village, they've already found several dried-out corpses. Every drop of blood had been drained from their bodies. Everyone's saying a vampire has appeared, and the lord's manor has already sent Knights to investigate!"
"Mm, very good!" Leilin asked for the exact location in detail and found it was very close to the spot where he had last erased his tracks. He nodded, tossed the gold coin to the young man, listened to a few other reports, then turned and left the alley.