Chapter 14: Trap

Without any stop, the group set out from Maple Leaf Town through the night.

Back inside the carriage, Tie Li only gradually recovered his strength from the recent scene.

Besides lingering fear, there was also a yearning for power.

After all, this is a fantastical world; the law of the jungle is the norm, and only sufficiently formidable strength is the sole hard standard for survival.

"Eh?"

Tie Li shifted his body and discovered he had bumped into a hard object.

Standing up to inspect, he found that the soft couch had been slit open at some point, revealing a metal box inside.

His first reaction was that someone had slipped into the carriage.

Could this metal box be the cargo they lost?

Tie Li considered a possibility.

But why leave it in my carriage? If they had succeeded, shouldn't they have taken it away directly?

With doubt, Tie Li tried to open the box, but no matter how hard he forced it, the box wouldn't budge.

He wanted to smash it open with a hammer, yet feared damaging its contents and drawing attention.

Through the carriage window, he saw several merchant caravans that had quarreled at the inn earlier, all fleeing through the night and unwilling to linger in Maple Leaf Town.

However, their positions differed; shortly after leaving Maple Leaf Town, they each went their separate ways.

But there was still one caravan following the Wind and Snow Trading Company's convoy.

Only after the group recovered from the inn's panic did they realize that having an additional caravan accompany them provided considerable reassurance.

Holding the metal box, Tie Li formed another thought, his gaze toward the other caravans now tinged with caution.

At that moment, the opposing caravan's chief rode a fine horse away from his convoy and approached Chief Ma to walk together.

During the casual chat between the opponent and Chief Ma, they repeatedly, intentionally or not, mentioned Tie Li inside the carriage.

"Chief Bai, you're being courteous. Our goods are merely a batch of daily supplies; if trouble truly arises, we could simply discard them—it's no big deal;

Whereas you have ten wagons of grain and hired a Two Ring Great Soul Master—hardly worth it, right?" Chief Ma's seemingly casual question actually carried an implied meaning.

"Lord Ke En is a Soul Master cultivated by our trading firm, different from a hired Soul Master."

Chief Bai's remark reveals the relationship between his caravan and the Soul Master, subtly implying that his caravan's ties are more reliable than yours.

Chief Ma showed a moment of realization, then chatted idly with Chief Bai for a while.

At this point, Chief Bai slowly disclosed his intention.

"Chief Ma, I won't beat around the bush—hand over the item."

"Snap"

Chief Bai suddenly smashed the cup on the horse's back; his caravan instantly changed demeanor, revealing snarling faces, drawing pre‑prepared broadswords from their supplies and forcing the others to halt.

"Chief Bai, what do you mean by this?"

"I've already said it—hand over the item."

Chief Ma had already caught on, but the missing cargo truly wasn't theirs.

"The item isn't on us; we couldn't have stolen a caravan's cargo guarded by a Three Ring Soul Honorable."

"I certainly know you didn't steal it."

"Hm?"

"We stole the item, but I placed it inside your caravan, right in the carriage, and I put it there myself."

"Enough idle talk—just seize it back now."

The Two Ring Great Soul Master leapt onto the carriage roof; his exposed skin was covered with gray wolf fur, his body lithe, his arched torso massive, and a pair of sharp wolf claws glimmered with cold light.

A white and a yellow Soul Ring circulated on his body.

He spread his ten fingers, and the sharp wolf claws pierced the carriage, intending to brute‑force it open.

"Bang"

Tie Li had been waiting for this chance; seeing the wolf claws pier the carriage, he summoned his martial soul, gathered strength, and struck the claws hard.

"Ah"

The Two Ring Great Soul Master let out a wail; the force from the Forging Hammer was astonishing, and he felt the bone in his right claw shattered.

He immediately withdrew the claw, retreating; the right claw was a mess of blood and flesh, the broken bone visible.

He hadn't expected Tie Li's audacity—how a One Ring Soul Master could dare act against this Two Ring Great Soul Master.

At that moment, a sharp dagger appeared in Chief Bai's hand, resembling a great wolf's fang, encircled by a white Soul Ring.

Chief Bai is a One Ring Soul Master.

The white Soul Ring radiated light; he didn't hesitate to fling the dagger, a white beam covering it.

Tie Li sensed the danger, rolled out of the carriage in haste, but his speed lagged slightly, and the dagger was about to pierce his abdomen.

"Thud"

The dagger only tore his outer garment, being stopped by his Iron Inner Armor.

"What?"

At this point, Tie Li locked his target onto Chief Bai.

The Two Ring Great Soul Master is hard to deal with, but the One Ring Soul Master can be dealt with first.

When Chief Ma sensed something amiss, a pouch of white powder suddenly sprayed into Chief Bai's eyes.

Blinded, Chief Bai lost his sight; Tie Li gripped the Forging Hammer, leapt a step forward, and hammered his head hard.

The Forging Hammer is a blunt weapon, and its lethal damage to the head is most evident.

"Bang"

Chief Bai was blasted away by the hammer; a large dent collapsed into his skull, shattering more than half of his cranium.

The attack has already begun; the caravan below inevitably entered battle, and in numbers Tie Li's side had the advantage.

The Second Ring Great Soul Master glanced at the injured right claw, then glanced at Tie Li, especially at the Hundred-Year Soul Ring that emitted a yellow sheen.

Although his Soul Power Level was higher, his right claw was severely wounded, so who would claim the prize was still uncertain.

Just as he was hesitating, Tie Li—who had appeared before him at an unknown moment—had a Forging Hammer covered with a blue‑white shell interwoven with lightning.

First Soul Technique, Thunder Hammer!

While he's weakened, take his life!

Tie Li's thought was simple: his right claw was severely damaged, his combat power was certainly reduced, and he might not be a match.

He saw his Second Soul Ring light up, also a Hundred-Year Soul Ring with a yellow sheen.

White light condensed in his mouth; Tie Li's first thought was an offensive soul skill to clash head‑on, but in fact his Second Soul Technique was a defensive soul skill.

The white light turned into a light shield that stood before him.

A strong‑attack martial soul turned out to be a defensive soul skill?

Originally, only two choices lay before him: a Ten-Year Soul Ring granting an offensive soul skill, or an unknown Hundred-Year Soul Ring, because the Soul Beast he hunted was a Hundred-Year Mystic Turtle.

But this was his Second Soul Ring; he was unwilling to choose the Ten-Year Soul Ring, as a lower‑duration Soul Ring would limit future development, possibly keeping him a Second‑Ring Great Soul Master for life.

Choosing the Hundred-Year Soul Ring, however, offered a chance to break through to Soul Elder in the future, perhaps even obtain a Thousand-Year Soul Ring that could change his destiny.

Weighing the two, he chose the Hundred-Year Mystic Turtle.

But the soul skill certainly didn't match; it was a defensive soul skill, and due to the nature of the martial soul, this Hundred-Year defensive soul skill's effect was extremely mediocre.

Tie Li's hammer smashed the light shield in one strike, and even he felt a moment of astonishment.

(End of chapter)