Yinna, who had completely concealed her aura at the first moment, immediately withdrew her prying gaze, then flipped a dagger she was holding upside down behind her, sticking it straight into Ned's foot.
At the same time, Karon, who had been about to close his eyes for a nap, suddenly looked up and directly locked onto the Gu Shu where Yinna was hiding, then immediately saw a small emerald green bird flapping its wings and flying lightly into the air.
“It seems I really am a bit too nervous…” Karon shook his head, muttered softly, and then closed his eyes again, unaware that a certain elf was almost scared out of the tree at that moment.
If Yinna hadn't immediately discovered a Green Hill Sparrow as she climbed to the treetop, and simultaneously established communication with it through her racial talent of Animal Affinity, her elementary Ranger's Stealth technique would absolutely not have been able to fool him, but fortunately…
The moment the Green Hill Sparrow took flight, Karon's attention had already shifted, allowing Yinna to completely hide herself.
And Ned, a dozen meters behind her, also received the alert and immediately instructed everyone to go into concealment.
“Yinna found the target.” Ned mouthed to the others behind him, then looked at Salazar, giving him a questioning look.
The latter immediately understood; he gently crouched down, and then streaks of air, difficult for the naked eye to discern, began to appear around him, re-integrating into his body within a few seconds.
At this moment, Mo Tan and Shuang Ye were surprised to find that they could no longer feel the Lizardmen Monk's presence at all; if they closed their eyes, they wouldn't even realize there was a person half-crouching in front of them.
Unlike Rangers and Thieves who excel at disguise, the Monk skill 'Breathless' that Salazar had just used did not cause any visible change in him, at least not any superficial change, but it almost seamlessly resonated with the surrounding environment, assimilating himself with nature and temporarily shielding his existence in the 'perception' domain.
Of course, the practical value of this skill is not very high, as blind swordsmen and Demon Hunters are rare oddities. Most people with normal vision and no astigmatism wouldn't ignore a living person, so this type of 'Stealth' skill, which lacks visual deception, is rarely useful.
One must know that a top Thief's Stealth can even completely erase their dual presence in both vision and perception, and powerful Rangers can conceal their form and aura even without a single blade of grass.
But at least in the current situation, Salazar's 'Breathless' was the best choice.
The terrain in this area was significantly different from before crossing the border, being in a quite dense forest filled with large plants Mo Tan couldn't name, and it was also one of Fire Claw Territory's natural barriers.
So, with vision greatly reduced, shielding one's entire aura was naturally one of the safest reconnaissance methods; Yinna's lower-level Stealth and Natural Affinity were not as effective as this move.
Of course, there were limitations; in this state, Salazar could not make any large movements, and he had to allocate most of his attention to maintaining his 'Breathless' state. It was not an exaggeration to say he was 100% defenseless, and his movement speed would also be greatly reduced.
But this was enough…
Ten minutes later, Salazar slowly retreated from the front, shook his head at the others who dared not even breathe heavily, and then silently said something.
Everyone's expressions were solemn, understanding but not knowing what it meant.
“You should just speak.” Krab mumbled softly, “Your Lizardmen's lip-reading is truly impossible to decipher.”
Mo Tan and the others also nodded with a wry smile.
“Alright.” Salazar broke the resonance with the surroundings and gently rubbed his forehead. If he weren't cold-blooded, he would definitely be sweating by now. He lowered his voice and said, “There is indeed a sizable camp ahead, with about thirty warriors inside. There are two hidden sentries, one to the west and one to the north. The Orc who looks like the leader in the camp should be very strong; at least from the invisible aura he emits, taking me down would definitely be a matter of a few moves. From their attire, they seem to be Fire Claw's regular troops.”
Ned nodded, staring into Salazar's eyes and asking softly, “Then did you see…”
“Yes.” The latter nodded. “I saw at least thirty people being guarded, including humans, goblins, and elves, clearly not with the guys in the camp.”
The truth was revealed…
“Heh heh.” Ned gave a bitter, dry laugh. “There’s no misunderstanding, and no need to prove anything more. Those people are undoubtedly the victims abducted last night. It seems the previous intelligence wasn't suspicious after all; we really seem to have overthought things…”
Krab glared, unhooked the axe from his back with a backhand, and growled, “I cannot accept this.”
Shuang Ye opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but finally sighed, clearly agreeing with Ned's words.
Mo Tan was the same as her; although he felt that this matter was still not as simple as it seemed, at least some things no longer needed to be doubted.
So next was…
“We must save them.” Ned said solemnly, “Not a second can be delayed, Black Vatican…”
Mo Tan lightly traced his forehead with his index and middle fingers.
“I have a plan…” Ned whispered, “If I can tie down that strong individual for about a minute, is it possible for you to lead everyone to rescue the captives, then break through and escape unharmed?”
“I can't be certain.” Mo Tan gently shook his head, then immediately said, “However, if the warriors Salazar mentioned earlier are of similar strength to those we encountered that day, I think there's a seventy percent chance.”
Ned pondered for a moment, then patted Mo Tan's shoulder. “That's enough. We'll do that later. Your task is to ensure the safety of the captives and our squad, and then break out and retreat as much as possible.”
“What about you?” Shuang Ye suddenly asked Ned, “Are you planning a heroic sacrifice?”
Ned shook his head, pulled out a silver pendant from his collar, and chuckled, “Don't underestimate your captain. I have plenty of good things here. This magical item, capable of a single random teleportation, is enough to ensure my own safety.”
“Such an amazing necklace~” Shuang Ye whispered into Mo Tan's ear, “If it's real, it must be at least an Epic item, right?”
Mo Tan shrugged, offering no opinion, but finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had been quite worried that Ned was planning a self-sacrificing act.
“Then it's settled.” Ned smiled slightly. “In five minutes, we begin…”
…
Karon was a bit annoyed…
That damned beast still hadn't come over!
Logically, a certain wretch he had captured should be quite important to them, and the one most suited to rescue him was undoubtedly that beast, but he just hadn't come!
He couldn't wait any longer…
Grand Chieftain's patience should have reached its limit; tolerating a disobedient minor overseer like himself to this extent could already be considered a concession.
No matter what, they had to retreat before tonight!
And although he had said he would chop that wretch, he might still have to bring him back intact, after all, the intelligence that guy held was too important, and he was completely inept at torture…
This was truly frustrating!
He sighed, picking up his battle-axe, preparing to go for a stroll and hunt some wild game for the warriors, when he suddenly stiffened, and roared with murderous intent, “Who?! Get out here!!”
The next second, a tall figure walked out from not far away, sword in hand. Ned, with a frosty expression, looked at the burly Orc, who was at least two heads taller than himself, and asked in a deep voice, “Are you the ones who arbitrarily killed and abducted innocents?”
“Oh?” Karon's crimson eyes stared fixedly at Ned, revealing a sneer. “What? So, the people Marshall's wretches sent to rescue are you?”
“I mean…” Ned was about to continue his interrogation when he was interrupted by a desperate wail.
In a wooden cage filled with barbs not far away, a filthy Orc suddenly yelled at him, “You finally came for me! Quick! Quick, get me out! Otherwise, I'll definitely be killed! By then, everything will be too late!!!”
Looking at the blood-soaked Orc, Ned's eyes gradually became bloodshot, and he roared, “Action!!”
A bolt of lightning suddenly flashed, and the blood-stained wooden cage instantly shattered into dust. Under the caster's precise control, the prisoner inside was not harmed in the slightest!
Then, Salazar's figure was seen flying out from behind a patch of bushes, directly sending the nearest Orc warrior flying with an elbow strike. Krab followed closely, roaring as he charged, his battle-axe directly smashing a muscular fellow of similar build beside him to the ground.
Ned, who had already been buffed with Tenacity Prayer and Law Decree Shield, leapt forward, slashing a frosty blue sword light towards Karon while kicking the recently freed Orc in the backside, sending him flying to Krab's feet.
“Ridiculous!” Karon, instead of dodging, directly shattered the sword light by crashing into it, then stomped his foot heavily on the ground. The terrifying force actually sent Ned directly flying into the air, followed by an axe-swing!
Bang!!
Ned, barely blocking with his sword, was sent flying nearly ten meters like a bouncing ball, before he hit the ground, spitting blood.
One hit!!
With just one hit, Ned, the strongest member of Fenrir Squad, was almost rendered combat ineffective.
Salazar's judgment was still too optimistic; the strength of this Orc overseer was absolutely beyond their ability to handle, even if everyone was tied together!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Three feathered arrows sliced through the air, causing Karon, who was preparing to pursue, to pause slightly. Yinna leaped down from a nearby tree, calling out loudly with a bewildered expression, “What's going on?!”
“New plan! Cover the civilians' retreat!” Mo Tan, who rushed out simultaneously with Shuang Ye, raised his hand and cast a shield on Salazar, who was organizing the retreat of the thirty-odd people, then shouted, “Yinna, retreat behind Krab and tie up the guys closest to the Captain! Shuang Ye, interfere with the archer on the high ground to the right!”
Another purple lightning bolt flashed, and one of the Orc archers on a hidden post immediately turned black. Although he didn't suffer any fatal injuries, he began to tremble uncontrollably on the spot.
Unlike Mo Tan, whose strength had barely increased with his current role, Shuang Ye, who had been working extra hard recently for a certain 'game', had spent a lot of time at the Mage Guild these past few days and had also completed several side quests in Dieyan City. Her strength was now completely different from when they had that encounter battle.
In the early stages of a game, this situation is particularly normal. After all, it's hard to go from ninety to a hundred, but no one has ever heard of working oneself to death just to go from zero to ten… or so it should be… right…?
Yinna also immediately retreated at the same time, her slender figure appearing behind Krab with a few agile leaps, followed by a volley of arrows that pinned down two Orc warriors.
“So it was you, little girl~” Karon disdainfully glanced at Yinna, then backhanded the stone chair behind him and actually threw it directly towards her. “Get lost! Little minion!!”
Krab was instantly terrified, yelling “Oh mother!” and immediately hitting the ground. Before doing so, he also conveniently shoved Yinna out of the way with his butt.
Then came a loud bang; the stone chair grazed Krab's scalp and smashed onto the ground not far behind him, instantly creating a fragmentation grenade effect, turning into scattered bricks. One of them hit Krab's back, causing the strong man to let out a miserable howl.
At this point, Salazar had already urged the terrified people to flee, then immediately rushed to Krab's side, pulling him back. “Are you dead?”
“Not yet!” The latter spat out a mouthful of blood, grimacing. “But I'm close!”
Mo Tan raised his hand and cast the recently cooled Tenacity Prayer and Holy Healing on Krab, then shouted to Ned, “Captain, you can retreat!”
“You go!” Ned finally struggled to his feet, slashing his sword at an Orc warrior who was about to charge towards Mo Tan and the others, roaring, “I'll buy you some time to retreat!”
Then he found himself enveloped in a shadow. Looking back, the tall Orc leader was standing behind him with a cold smile.
“Overestimating yourself!”
Without even using a weapon, just a simple punch, Ned, who reacted half a beat late, was immediately blasted back four or five steps, his face somewhat distorted, and several teeth, along with a large amount of blood, sprayed onto the ground.
“If you don't leave now, you won't be able to!” Shuang Ye lightly waved her staff, conjuring a trail of red fire to burn towards Karon, then shouted loudly to Ned, “Now's your chance!”
Bang!
Another Orc warrior trying to rush forward was kicked to the ground by Ned. The latter turned back and smiled slightly at everyone, pointing to his necklace, “Idiots! I'm much safer than you! This thing has a very long teleportation radius!”
“Go!” Salazar said decisively in a deep voice, “The faster we go, the safer the Captain will be!”
“Is that so?” Karon's reply was even faster than the Fenrir Squad members'. He glanced at his adjutant, who was pulling the half-dead Orc back not far away, and sneered, “None of you are leaving!”
Chapter 55: End
