Clash

The riders on horseback wore uniform attire, mostly standard-issue leather armor, though they carried a variety of weapons as they charged aggressively.

Bai Xuan's gaze swept over them quickly, noting that most of these riders possessed Level 2 or Level 3 strength, with only two having reached Level 4.

Behind them were three more individuals, their speed significantly faster than those in front.

One of them wore a mage robe, clutching a short staff in his hand as he bounced slightly on horseback.

【Daniel Marshall (Water Mage, Lv. 5)】

【Health: 590/590】

【Mana: 180/180】

Another was a fully armored knight, wrapped from head to toe in thick iron plate, and even his horse was clad in armor.

【Darian Knight (Heavy Armored Knight, Lv. 5)】

【Health: 810/810】

【Mana: 90/90】

That horse was a full size larger than the surrounding mounts, its head covered in a spiked iron visor, its hooves shaking the ground as it ran.

Although it looked incredibly heavy, its speed was not slow at all, even outpacing the light cavalry by a margin.

As for the rider on the middle horse, Bai Xuan recognized him at a glance: Harvey Cross.

During their meeting at the Inner Wall, this man had even warned him.

Now that Harvey had personally brought so many people to pursue him, it seemed they suspected he had obtained the information.

The other party was clearly of the mindset that they would rather kill an innocent than let a threat slip through, determined to intercept him.

What surprised Bai Xuan even more was that this guy had actually risen from Level 4 to Level 5.

The Chocobo shook its head uneasily, appearing somewhat anxious.

Bai Xuan patted its neck and urged it to keep running. He couldn't stop; once he stopped, he would truly be surrounded.

The Chocobo immediately took long strides, rushing toward the other side of the clearing.

The sound of horse hooves behind him grew more urgent, and the pursuers also picked up their speed.

“Take one more step, and I guarantee you won't make it to Calais Town!” Harvey's voice came from behind, filled with a heavy threat.

Bai Xuan did not look back, only twitching the corner of his mouth slightly.

Harvey's words showed he highly suspected Bai Xuan had the information. They probably didn't plan to let things go easily this time.

How could he stop? Bai Xuan urged the Chocobo to run even faster.

But those horses were simply too fast, especially that heavy armored horse.

Despite being clad in thick armor, it ran like a crazed magical beast, its hooves shaking the ground slightly.

The distance between the pursuers and him was still shrinking.

“Stop!” Harvey shouted again, his tone full of impatience.

“I only want an answer! Otherwise, you know the consequences!” Bai Xuan still ignored him, his eyes tightly fixed on the road ahead.

Suddenly, a subtle sound came from behind.

Sweeping with his peripheral vision, Bai Xuan saw Harvey turn his head and whisper something to the Water Mage.

Immediately after, the mage pulled his hand back into his sleeve, his fingers starting to make rapid gestures; he was chanting.

Bai Xuan saw it crystal clear. Now, he would no longer hesitate.

The mage was the greatest threat among this group of pursuers, capable of both ranged attacks and supporting teammates; he had to be dealt with first.

Bai Xuan gripped the Staff of Guidance in his hand, took a deep breath, spun around violently, swung his arm, and threw the staff out fiercely.

The moment the staff left his hand, he adjusted its weight to the limit, while slightly lowering the angle, aiming in the direction of the mage.

At this moment, the mage was urging his horse forward, leaning over the horse's back, focused on chanting his spell, completely unaware of the approaching danger.

The direction the staff flew from was directly opposite to his charge. The speeds of the horse and the staff combined, making it happen in the blink of an eye.

Before the surrounding pursuers could react, the staff had already arrived before their eyes.

“Bang!” With a dull thud, the staff struck the horse's skull dead-on.

The horse's head instantly exploded, blood and bone fragments spraying out, as the horse's body pitched forward violently.

The mage had no time to react, flying backward off the horse's back, rolling several times on the ground, and then lay completely still.

The Staff of Guidance flew dozens of meters away, not yet hitting the ground.

Bai Xuan raised his hand, and with a thought, the staff rose into the air from the ground, drawing a smooth arc, and landed steadily back in his hand.

The entire process took less than three seconds, and the surroundings instantly fell into a dead silence.

The pursuers pulled their horses to a stop, looking at each other, the faces of those close by turning pale with fright.

A few riders further away who were still rushing forward did not know what had happened ahead.

Only when they looked back and clearly saw the horse carcass on the ground and the curled-up mage did they hurriedly pull their reins, their faces full of shock.

The Level 5 Heavy Armored Knight reined in his horse, his gaze tightly fixed on Bai Xuan. The original contempt on his face had long since vanished, replaced by a look of solemnity.

Bai Xuan had struck too quickly, so quickly that he hadn't even seen the entire process clearly.

Harvey's face was even more of a kaleidoscope of emotions; the color drained from his face for a moment, then rushed back violently, flushing red all the way to his ears, his eyes filled with shock and anger.

“Archers, fire!” His voice cracked as he roared his order, “Fire! Kill that kid!”

The archers behind hurriedly notched their arrows and drew their bows, but Bai Xuan had already had the Chocobo use its trait in advance.

“Go,” he commanded in a low voice.

Just as the words left his mouth, a layer of light green glow appeared beneath the Chocobo's feet. It kicked off the ground violently, its speed suddenly surging, more than doubling, the sound of rushing wind whistling past his ears.

Arrows flew from behind; some landed several yards behind him, others went wide into the roadside woods, not a single one managed to touch the hem of his clothes.

Harvey was roaring something behind, but his voice grew more and more muffled as the distance widened, eventually disappearing entirely.

The Chocobo's sprint lasted for a while. When the light green glow beneath its feet dissipated, its speed gradually slowed, and it panted continuously, clearly having exhausted a lot of stamina.

Bai Xuan looked back; the pursuers had been left far behind, no longer visible past the bend.

But he did not stop.

Bai Xuan patted the Chocobo's neck, gesturing for it to turn into a secluded side path, slipping into the dense woods.

He knew in his heart that those people had horses and tracking experience; they would catch up sooner or later.

Even if he managed to lose them this time by luck, they would surely continue to intercept him along the road to Calais Town.

Rather than passively waiting for the pursuers to come knocking on his door, it was better to strike proactively and deal with them first.

Bai Xuan dismounted, took off the white robe he was wearing, and stored it inside his Space Ring.

The black leather armor underneath was revealed, its color almost identical to the surrounding tree shadows, perfect for concealment.

He gripped the Staff of Guidance in his hand and looked at the Chocobo again.

The bird was looking at him docilely. Although there was some fatigue in its eyes, they were full of trust. “Stay here, don't make a sound,”

Bai Xuan instructed in a low voice. “Wait for me to return.”

After speaking, he turned and plunged into the woods, finding a dense thicket, crouching down and holding his breath as he waited quietly.

The woods fell quiet again. In the distance, the sound of horse hooves could be faintly heard, drawing closer and closer.

He peeked out through the gaps in the branches and leaves, his fingers unconsciously tightening around the staff in his hand.

His fingers stroked the shaft of the staff, which was currently glowing with a faint red light.

The number of pursuers was slightly less than before. Bai Xuan's gaze swept over the queue quickly; quite a few people were missing.

He didn't even need to think to know they had stayed behind to carry away the mage he had heavily injured.

But the annoying characters were all still there. Harvey still stood at the front of the queue, his face gloomy.

And that Level 5 knight, clad in heavy armor with a deep, condensed aura, was also still steadily riding his warhorse.

The rest of the retainers followed closely behind.

They tracked the Chocobo's hoofprints to this point, slowing down.

The Chocobo's tracks ended abruptly here. On the soft soil, only chaotic hoofprints remained, with no trace of forward movement. The group frowned and conversed in low voices.

A cold curve hooked the corner of Bai Xuan's mouth. The time was about right.

Now!

His figure suddenly leaped out from behind the bushes, his clothes rustling through the woods, making a soft sound.

His target was aimed straight at the Level 5 Heavy Armored Knight. To capture the rebels, capture their leader first; taking down this strongest combat force would leave the rest with almost no threat.

Due to years of combat, the Heavy Armored Knight's vigilance was already maxed out. The moment a trace of abnormal sound reached his ears, he instinctively dodged to the side.

As his heavy helmet turned, a trace of shock and anger flashed in his eyes, but it was all too late.

The staff in Bai Xuan's hand had already smashed down, the effect of 【Arcing Strike】 bursting out instantly, different from the golden glow of Redemption Strike.

A red pattern wrapped around the shaft of the staff, carrying the sharp momentum of armor penetration, smashing heavily onto the pitch-black warhorse beneath the knight.

That layer of seemingly indestructible heavy horse armor was shattered in a single blow before the armor penetration effect.

With a crisp crack, it instantly shattered into several pieces, the flying armor fragments carrying fierce force as they grazed past the retainers' cheeks.

The shaft of the staff smashed into the horse's body without much resistance. That well-trained warhorse didn't even have time to let out a miserable shriek.

Its massive body flew out like an arrow with a broken string, crashing heavily into two nearby warhorses, and the three horses crashed to the ground.

The riders had no time to react, tumbling off their horses one after another and rolling into a heap as wails of pain instantly rang out.

The Heavy Armored Knight was also flipped to the ground by the massive impact, his heavy armor grinding against the dirt.

He rolled three or four times on the ground before barely coming to a stop by inertia, his armor covered in dirt and grass clippings.

He struggled to support his heavy body. His helmet was skewed to one side, covering half of his face, revealing only a single bloodshot eye.

When his gaze fell upon his warhorse lying in a pool of blood not far away, he froze.

That horse was a companion he had raised since childhood, accompanying him in battle for many years, but now its limbs were twitching, its breath dying, clearly not going to survive.

“You dare kill my horse!”

A furious roar erupted from the knight's throat.

His eyes instantly turned red, a painful rage of losing his partner surging in them, and even his voice was trembling.

Ignoring the severe pain in his body, he staggered to his feet, not even bothering to straighten his crooked helmet. He gripped the spear at his waist with both hands and rushed toward Bai Xuan with stumbling steps.

Only without the boost of his warhorse, his heavy armor became a burden. The speed and power of this spear strike were far from what they were when he was riding, and even his momentum was greatly weakened.

“Don't be reckless!” Harvey's urgent voice came from behind, filled with panic and unease.

He understood now that Bai Xuan's strength was far above theirs. The knight's recklessness at this moment was undoubtedly seeking death.

But the knight was already blinded by rage, completely deaf to Harvey's warnings. Still roaring, he gripped his spear and lunged toward Bai Xuan's chest.

Bai Xuan stood on the spot without moving, his expression calm, as if the one charging at him was not a Level 5 Heavy Armored Knight, but a kitten.

He watched the knight approach quietly. Only when the spear was about to pierce before his eyes did he raise the staff in his hand, striking second but arriving first.

【Arcing Strike】 was activated again, and at the same time, his fingertips moved slightly, turning up the weight of the staff.

“Clang!”

A loud crash exploded in the woods as the staff and the spear collided fiercely, metal-on-metal sparks flying everywhere.

Along with a piercing crack, the spear actually snapped into two pieces. The broken spearhead flew out, embedding itself deeply into a nearby tree trunk.

The force of the staff did not diminish at all, carrying immense momentum as it smashed heavily onto the knight's chest.

That heavy breastplate, which looked to have extremely impressive defense, was instantly smashed into a deep, hollowed-out crater.

The sound of shattering armor plates mingled with the sound of the knight's bones fracturing.

The knight flew backward like a projectile, crashing heavily into a thick tree.

The tree trunk shook, and fallen leaves fluttered down.

He slid slowly down the tree trunk and fell to the ground. His helmet rolled away, revealing a distorted face with eyes wide open. His breath was cut off instantly, and he moved no more.

Harvey's face turned pale and bloodless, his body trembling slightly. His hands holding the reins squeezed so hard that his fingers suffered minor cuts.

He could never have imagined that this seemingly unremarkable “Healer” actually possessed such terrifying strength, capable of instantly killing a mid-stage Practitioner Heavy Armored Knight in a single blow.

The retainers behind him were even more scared out of their wits, frantically backing away. Some instinctively pulled tight on their reins, wanting to turn their horses and run, but were so nervous they couldn't even hold the reins steady.

Some held knives, their arms trembling, their eyes wandering, not knowing whether to charge forward or retreat.

Still others had their gazes fixed on the staff in Bai Xuan's hand, their eyes filled with dread.

That seemingly ordinary staff now looked like a life-taking weapon in their eyes.

“Go! All of you, go!” Harvey roared hysterically, his voice turning sharp with fear.

“Surround him! He's only one person, what are you afraid of!”

The retainers looked at each other, their faces filled with hesitation and fear.

But seeing Harvey's fierce eyes, they dared not disobey, so they could only steel themselves, brandishing the sharp blades in their hands, and rushing toward Bai Xuan in twos and threes.

But their steps were dragging, lacking any momentum.

One retainer who rushed in front of Bai Xuan had a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes, swinging his long blade to slash at Bai Xuan's shoulder.

Bai Xuan's figure shifted slightly, easily evading the attack, and he smashed the staff in his hand in a fluid motion, hitting the man heavily on the chest.

With a dull groan, the man flew backward.

He crashed heavily against a tree, slid to the ground, curled up while clutching his chest, unable to get back up.

Seeing this, those who followed wanted to launch a sneak attack from the side, lightening their steps, attempting to strike while Bai Xuan was off guard.