Chapter 103: 102 Open the Door, Deliver Dinner

The moment Dylan pushed open the oak door, a briny stench mixed with watered-down ale hit him in the face.

This was a tavern for dockworkers and sailors, filthy and noisy, and Dylan liked such an environment.

"Stew, a cup of wine, send it to the room." After tossing a few copper coins to the innkeeper, he walked straight through the crowd and went up to the second floor.

This was already Dylan's third day in Venom Lake; tomorrow a ship at the dock would set sail for the archipelago and was willing to take passengers along the way, and Dylan had been waiting three days for its departure.

These past few days, the guards' patrols and checks had been very strict; he didn't know if it was caused by the matter of Kluolo killing that white-faced rich kid.

Anyway, Dylan tried to keep a low profile.

Except for the tavern owner and the second captain of that ship, he hardly communicated with anyone else.

After returning to the room, Dylan took a bottle of mana potion from his luggage bag and drank half of it in one gulp.

He couldn't perform photosynthesis naked in the city, so he could only rely on potions.

The remaining half was poured onto the Scout.

The mana potion flowed down between the scales, and the backpack formed by the Scout became a bit fuller.

Afterwards, Dylan drew his longsword again and wiped it carefully with a cloth.

"Mr., your stew and wine."

Dinner finally arrived!

Dylan stood up, but after taking two steps, he stopped.

Mr.?

You?

This was no high-end place; for the tavern waiters, speaking without using foul language counted as polite, so how could they use such wording?

As soon as Dylan thought about it, he immediately discovered more problems.

Downstairs... had become quiet at some point...

"Mr., are you asleep?" Seeing that Dylan had not reacted for a long time, the person at the door asked again.

And Dylan became even more certain that the people outside were definitely up to something; how could they be so polite!

He quietly hoisted the Scout onto his back and gripped the longsword in his hand.

Dylan quietly came to the window and looked down through the gap in the coarse cloth curtains.

Damn, guards!

Just the ones visible, there were three guards downstairs; who knew how many more were out of sight!

Dylan couldn't figure out how he had been spotted!

Could it be that Kluolo was caught and gave him up?

Click-click—

While Dylan was lost in wild thoughts, the person outside seemed to have lost patience and intended to force the door open.

Facing the predicament, Dylan decisively chose—

"Boss! Boss! Need support!"

"Huh?"

Lin Jun, who had been experimenting with the effect of 【Plant Affinity Lv1】, received Dylan's distress signal and shifted his attention over.

【Mana Perception Lv6】

【Airflow Perception Lv7】

【Sound Wave Detection Lv6】

After running through several reconnaissance skills, Lin Jun quickly understood the situation.

"Surrounded by thirteen people, how did you mess this up?"

"I don't know..." Dylan hadn't figured it out yet.

"Kill them all?"

The backpack strap was poised and ready.

One Gold and twelve Bronzes; relying on the terrain of the tavern's second floor, killing them all was truly not difficult.

"Don't do it, Boss, this is in the city!"

A city cannot lack a Diamond-level powerhouse, let alone Venom Lake, an important port city connecting the archipelago.

Making a scene here, Dylan didn't think he could escape.

"Can't kill... then..." Lin Jun thought for a moment, and the backpack strap pointed in a direction: "The house with the red roof across the street, charge in."

Hearing this, Dylan looked out the window and indeed saw a warehouse with a red roof diagonally opposite.

Click-click—Bang—

As soon as Dylan confirmed the position, the door was violently forced open.

"It's you!?"

Standing outside were several guards and a knight wearing silver-gray armor; although she wore a helmet this time, Dylan still recognized her immediately.

So it was exposed back then?

But why?

There was no time to think too much; Dylan decisively smashed the window and jumped out.

"Don't think you can escape!"

The knight actually charged straight at him; although she didn't catch Dylan, she knocked the wall down directly!

Dylan, who had jumped from the second floor to the ground, faced two guards thrusting spears at him and dared not linger in battle.

Relying on 【Dodge Lv4】 and 【Acceleration Lv6】, he forced his way out without getting injured.

Behind him, the knight had already jumped down; she was seen stomping one foot on the spot.

【Swift Movement lv5】

Even clad in heavy armor, the female knight Liadlin showed no sign of slowness; under the skill's boost, she quickly pursued Dylan.

And further behind, the guards hurriedly followed.

Red-roofed warehouse! Red-roofed warehouse!

Relying on the advantage of a few head-start steps, Dylan rushed out to the exterior of the Red-roofed Warehouse.

But there was no time to leisurely knock; although he didn't know why the Boss pointed here, he figured running inside was the right move.

【Spinning Slash lv5】

Dylan used his three standard moves again!

The gate was merely an ordinary wooden door; under the slash, the wooden bolt behind it snapped instantly. Daring not to delay, Dylan threw himself inside.

Once inside, Dylan realized something was wrong.

Why were there so many people in such an empty warehouse?

Why were all these people wearing black robes?

Why light no lamps, but instead light candles on the ground?

What were these circles on the ground?

One black-robed figure was even gathering dark, murky magical energy in his hand...

All the black-robed figures looked at Dylan in shock, seemingly not expecting someone to suddenly burst in.

And behind Dylan, the female knight had already caught up, blocking the doorway.

"Ah! So that's it, this is a gathering of Abyss Magic users; I was wondering why there were so many high-magic-value targets over here." The Boss acted as if he had just figured it out.

Dylan's face went nearly white.

What could be worse than being chased by one group?

That would naturally be being chased by two groups at once!

"Interloper!" The black-robed figures each ignited dark glows in their hands, representing Abyss Magic.

"So you are a Dark Magic user, no wonder..." The knight crushed some item, forming a layer of translucent protective film around her body.

"Boss, am I destined to die today?" Dylan, caught in the middle, looked as grim as possible.

"Die my foot!"

Purple mist erupted from the backpack, and a sweet, bloody scent instantly spread to the surroundings.

【Hallucinogenic Spores lv6】

The familiar scent made Dylan, standing at the center, feel a bit dazed.

"What are you staring at? Take this chance, run!"

The Boss's voice snapped Dylan back to his senses; relying on the resistance honed through day-after-day training, Dylan ran toward the corner indicated by the backpack.

And behind Dylan, the knight and the black-robed figures soon began fighting amidst the chaos.

"Quick! Activate the magic array!" A distorted roar came from somewhere.

Immediately, Dylan felt a chill seeping from deep within his bones; something was very wrong, yet he couldn't pinpoint exactly where the problem lay.

Though his skin surface remained completely intact, a sense of exhaustion from life draining away spread through his whole body—as if invisible hands were slowly tightening around his heart.

And Lin Jun clearly "saw" that Dylan had been cursed again.

【Withering Curse: Maximum life force gradually decreases】

Not only was Dylan cursed, but the Scout was too, and without any time limit.

No time limit meant there was a range limit!

Lin Jun directly commanded: "Stealth out now, and run as far as possible!"

Hearing this, Dylan's body changed color, becoming similar to the wall.

The warehouse was dimly lit, and with the Hallucinogenic Spores not yet fully dispersed, Dylan's movements were very well hidden.

Meanwhile, the two groups inside the warehouse were fighting as if their brains were about to burst out.

The black-robed figures wanted to kill the knight using the formation combined with Abyss Magic; many guards had already fallen victim and lay on the ground, their life or death unknown.

The knight wanted to destroy the formation; although several charges were forced back, she successively felled several black-robed figures.

At such a moment, no one had the time to notice something the same color as the wall sneaking out.

Once slightly farther away, Dylan immediately broke into a run.

The farther he ran, the lighter that heart-racing sensation seemed to become.

Just as Dylan relaxed slightly, the Boss suddenly reminded him again: "Be careful."

Careful?

Careful of what?

Dylan looked around, and finally discovered a shadowy figure walking from the darkness ahead.

Loose silk robes, with a long and a short sword—both clearly no ordinary items—inserted at his waist.

"Boss, who is this?"

No response...

Dylan dared not act rashly; the Boss said "be careful," not "run!"

As he drew nearer, Dylan finally saw the newcomer's appearance clearly—a quite ordinary middle-aged man.

One could find a whole bunch of people like this in a tavern; except for those two swords, Dylan could not discern anything special about this person.

But the Boss should not be wrong!

"What happened over there?" the middle-aged man asked casually.

"I... I'm not sure. A knight with guards suddenly started fighting with someone..."

Dylan naturally would not say it had anything to do with himself; the middle-aged man nodded and continued walking forward at a steady pace.

It was only after brushing past Dylan that he suddenly stopped, staring at the backpack on Dylan's back for a long while, his hand even reaching for the hilt of his short sword, seeming somewhat hesitant.

However, he had already entered the range of that group of black-robed people's formation; feeling a sudden pang of alarm, the middle-aged man clearly realized what this was.

He withdrew his gaze, no longer delaying, and vanished from the spot in an instant.

And Dylan, as if finally having escaped the lion's gaze, immediately shivered.

In fact, it was not only Dylan; Lin Jun also felt that final surge of overwhelming pressure, momentarily thinking the fellow was truly about to strike.

"Old... Boss, who was that?"

This time, Lin Jun stopped pretending to be dead.

"That... do you humans have someone known as the Sword Saint?"

【Name: Elvin Slaine】

【Level: 70】

【Title: Sword Saint】

(End of this chapter)