He held a sword in one hand and the other hand was casually placed behind his waist. His face looked relaxed, and his slender eyes contained a faint smile, making him look like a kind and elegant young man from a noble family.
——If you ignore his shirt that was almost stained with blood.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you are probably just hired adventurers, right?"
The man shook his wrist, shook off the blood on the sword, and looked calmly and casually at the three people who were blocking his way:
"Why would you want to lose your life for money? If you surrender obediently, we won't treat you badly. At most you will lose some of your belongings."
As soon as he finished speaking, a chaotic and rampant laughter suddenly broke out behind him:
“Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!…”
Behind him were a dozen burly men, wearing simple but sturdy clothing, all holding blood-stained weapons in their hands, with flesh on their faces, revealing a strong murderous aura and ferocity all the time.
They laughed wildly and unscrupulously, and some of them mocked the people who were surrounded by them not far away:
"Leave the valuables behind and get rid of the rest. It's that simple!"
"And the women are left behind too. They are also considered 'valuable things'."
"..."
"Don't believe what they say!"
Facing a large number of enemies, Friant clenched his sword, stared at the calm and elegant man, and shouted without turning his head:
"These guys are 'demon hunters', they won't let us go!"
The mages Lina and Io stood on his left and right respectively, using their staffs to guard against the burly men who were eyeing them covetously.
Behind the three men was a small team of about ten people. Most of them were carrying bags and packages that were full of stuff and no one knew what was in them.
This is a team responsible for transporting supplies on foot in complex terrains such as mountains and forests where horse-drawn carriages cannot pass, and the three members of Frion's team are guards hired by them to protect their safety on the road.
"Demon Hunter..."
Hearing this word, the transport team looked at each other with horror on their faces, then looked at Frion and the other two standing in front of them, and finally their gazes moved to several older members deep in the team.
Aliens, monsters, and other extraordinary creatures with spiritual powers have spiritually rich body tissues in their bodies. Even after they die, a considerable portion of them can be preserved stably for a long time.
These body tissues, which are rich in spiritual power, are often used as materials for preparing various potions and rituals, and therefore can usually be sold at a good price in the market.
Therefore, many adventurers and mercenaries make a living by hunting down alien monsters, obtaining their spiritual biological tissues and selling them for cash.
Especially in border areas, primeval forests and other areas where human civilization is relatively weak, the density of alien species is higher.
If it is a prosperous area, this kind of people will have very little room to make a living, because there are very few wild alien species in developed areas, and they were cleared out long ago during the construction of the city.
However, if one is willing to abandon the constraints of conscience and morality and let the mind wander without any constraints, then even in areas where there is a lack of wild species... there are channels to obtain high-quality spiritual biological tissues.
Obviously, the extraordinary people can be regarded as a kind of "extraordinary creatures with spiritual powers."
And because they are human, their spirituality is more compatible with humans, so if they are used as materials for potions and rituals, they will be more efficient, with lower risks, and the price on the market will be more attractive.
Driven by profit, there are always people who cross the bottom line... People call these desperate criminals who murder extraordinary humans and dissect them to obtain their spiritual biological tissues "demon hunters."
"Um... Sir, you, you and your subordinates, should just be the spiritual organization that wants the extraordinary people, right?"
After a strange silence, a man who looked like a leader in the transport team spoke cautiously. Although he was talking to the handsome man, he glanced at Friant and others from the corner of his eyes from time to time:
"We...most of what we carry are daily necessities, which are not worth much. You see..."
Hearing his hesitant words, Friant seemed to understand something. He immediately widened his eyes and said through gritted teeth in a low but very powerful voice:
"You bastard... do you really think that if you sell us out, they will let you go!?"
The leader looked at him, and after a few seconds of silence, he whispered in an apologetic tone with a hint of cunning and hostility:
"I'm really sorry, Mr. Friant, you know, we just want to stay alive."
As he said this, he winked at the players on his left and right.
"Brush it!"
The team members who were originally unarmed and looked harmless suddenly all looked fierce and pulled out various short weapons from their coats.
For a moment, the three members of Frion's team were targeted by the witcher's broadswords, longswords, bows and arrows, crossbows, and chain hammers, as well as the daggers, short swords, and axes of the caravan.
"Sir, we are willing to assist you. We can also offer all our property to you afterwards... Please spare our lives."
The leader held an axe in one hand and bowed to the handsome man who was the leader of the demon hunters not far away.
"You bastards! How stupid and shameless!"
Seeing this, Lina started to curse loudly, gritting her teeth and staring at the caravan and others who had turned against them:
"Don't be silly! Do you really think you can survive by surrendering?! They are a bunch of ruthless, unfaithful and evil demons! When we die, you will definitely be skinned alive!"
"Hey, ma'am, what you're saying is that our reputation is so bad?"
The handsome man had a very interested smile on his face, and it seemed that the scene before him made him feel very happy.
He held the sword in one hand, swinging it casually in a relaxed state, and looked at Lina, who was full of anger, with smiling eyes nonchalantly:
"If you don't believe in our credibility, then I can allow you to live a few more days before being 'dealt with', so that you have the opportunity to witness our morality with your own eyes...
"Of course, during this time, you may have to spend an unforgettable time with my men."
As soon as he finished speaking, the sturdy men behind him burst into obscene laughter, and their greedy and violent eyes licked the young and beautiful Lina, who was wearing a wizard's robe, without any hesitation.
Chapter 390: Hope of breaking the deadlock?
Lina was not stupid enough to reason with this group of murderous robbers, so she did not continue to argue. Instead, she focused all her energy on the staff and made preparations for casting the spell.
"There's no other way. I can only try again."
Captain Friang's reason was not distorted by anger after all. He suppressed his inner anger and tried his best to remain calm as he analyzed:
"Even if only one person can escape, it's better than everyone dying here."
"Captain, if you can buy me some time, I can activate 'Soul Sacrifice' to help you escape."
Mage Io glanced at the open space between them and the demon hunter team without being noticed. There were several corpses lying there, still warm. They were the bodies of several adventurers hired by the caravan along with his team.
"The longest... ten seconds."
"Soul Sacrifice..."
Friant repeated the term, and his heart suddenly became extremely heavy.
No explanation is needed. Just by listening to the name, you can know that this is a powerful spell that requires the caster to pay an extremely heavy price to cast.
"Aio, don't worry, there must be another way!"
Lina's face changed and she hurriedly advised.
As soon as she said this, she froze, her expression falling into a brief trance.
"correct……"
A flash of inspiration came to her mind, and she immediately freed one hand, reached under her wizard robe, and took out the glass apple that little Sharon had given her before she died.
"She said that this spiritual item contains her stored power... As long as we activate it, we will definitely be able to escape!"
Without wasting any time, she immediately mobilized her spiritual power and extended it towards the hard and smooth shell of the glass apple.
"Don't give her a chance to play tricks."
How could the experienced handsome man not see that Lina wanted to activate a spiritual item, and he immediately gave orders to his men.
There was no need for his instructions. Although this group of people were cruel and bloodthirsty, they were by no means a mob.
As Lina reached into her wizard robe, a demon hunter with a crossbow immediately aimed the crossbow at Lina and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Zheng!"
The arrow pierced the air, striking like a venomous snake! But Lina's movements were faster. The moment the arrow left the string, she summoned her spiritual power to touch the surface of the glass apple.
“Crack!——”
In an instant, the glass apple with brilliant starlight flowing inside shattered into a large piece of extremely fine crystal sand, and those light spots and colors that looked like a galaxy also lost their restraints at the same time and expanded rapidly!
"Back off!"
The handsome man's pupils suddenly shrank, and he jumped back five or six meters with a bang. The men around him also hurriedly retreated.
Although I don’t know what this strange thing is used for, it’s always better to be cautious!
"Gulu..."
Lina swallowed nervously and expectantly, concentrating on the rapidly expanding light and colors in her hand, completely ignoring the crossbow arrow that was already within reach.
This is the amulet that little Sharon left me... How will it protect us?
Lina felt a pang of sadness when she thought of the beautiful black-haired girl who had left a deep impression on her even though they had only met for a few days.
"brush--"
As she looked on with anticipation, the miniature galaxy, freed from its restraints, expanded rapidly, increasing in size by tens of thousands times in the blink of an eye.
In an instant, the three members of Frion's team, the malicious transport caravan and others, and even the witcher leader who was farther away were all included.
Then--
Nothing happened.
"……what?"
Lina was dumbfounded, watching the translucent galaxy fade and become transparent as its volume expanded, and finally disappear completely without a trace, but without any impact on the surrounding environment.
Even her inspiration did not detect the slightest spiritual fluctuation from this misty and ethereal galaxy.
It's like a trick of projecting an imaginary image.
Suddenly, everyone in the field fell into an awkward silence. The scene was so quiet that it seemed as if time had stopped.
"Puch!"
But time did not stand still after all. The flying crossbow arrow followed its original trajectory, mercilessly piercing through Lina's wizard robe and piercing through her shoulder!
"what!"
The severe pain brought Lina's consciousness back to reality, and at the same time, an extremely strong despair enveloped her heart.
"It's no use...why is this happening?!"
She was so shocked and bewildered that she didn't know what to do. Her legs went weak and she fell to the ground.
"Lina!"
Seeing his teammate injured, Friang became anxious, but it was this moment of panic that exposed a flaw in the team's three-member defense.
"Do it!"
The handsome man acted decisively and ordered his men to charge forward. Immediately, the demon hunters holding long-range weapons attacked the three members of the team with crossbows, bows and javelins in their hands. Arrows and javelins rained down like rain!
"Damn it!"
Seeing that the three were about to be pricked like hedgehogs, Frion quickly pushed his body and spirit to the extreme, trying to block part of the attack with the sword in his hand.
"The exciting atmosphere and the rising fury... this is the power to break the impasse..."
The mage Io beside him also raised his staff, chanted spells rapidly, and resisted the enemy's attack together with the captain.
The next second, dense arrows, javelins, and spears fell on the ground where the three people were standing—
"…Basic Elementary Spell II."
At the last moment, a deep red translucent curved light shield suddenly appeared around the three people, tightly covering all directions.
There was a series of thumping sounds of hard objects hitting each other, and all of the demon hunter's long-range attacks were blocked by the shield of light. The intensive bombardment did not even have the ability to cause ripples on the dome-shaped crimson shield of light.
"Who?!"
As a warrior at the peak of righteousness, the handsome man's keen intuition immediately told him that this light shield was not released by the two adventurer mages.
Someone was hiding in the dark and protecting them! But I hadn't noticed this guy's presence yet!
The handsome man quickly moved his body, distanced himself from the crowd, and hid under the protection of his men. He raised his head with a serious expression and shouted to the people around him:
"Sneaky guy! Show yourself now!"
"Who's sneaking around? Am I not right in front of you?"
An ethereal and pleasant voice, as melodious as the chirping of a young bird, came into his ears without warning.
