With a kick, Wells sent the vicious hound that had lunged at him flying, then hastily adjusted his stance to parry an arrow aimed at his face.
After dealing with that, he looked across to see the hunter had once again opened up seven or eight steps of distance between them.
Damn that Ralph—what did he mean by "you go handle that hunter"?
The hunter and his dog together made it 2-on-1, didn't it?
He'd be lucky not to get kited to death.
The battle had erupted too suddenly. Just a second ago, Ralph had been talking with the opposing team leader about wanting to buy their unused monster corpses, with the two arguing over pricing.
The next second, they had launched a surprise attack.
The dwarf had been caught off guard and injured in the arm, putting their side at a severe disadvantage.
But Wells couldn't understand why they would initiate combat—it wasn't like his side had obtained that A-rank magic crystal.
Besides, while his side was at a disadvantage, they weren't without the power to resist. A fight to the finish would inevitably leave both sides badly wounded.
That small piece of A-rank magic crystal was indeed precious, but surely not worth betting their lives over?
Could it be that someone among them wanted to use their hands to eliminate a few teammates for a larger share?
No, that method would be far too risky and stupid.
Tilting his head to dodge another arrow that was clearly enhanced with a spinning skill, Wells took a moment to glance at his teammates.
Ralph was locked in combat with the opposing leader. Both were agility types, and Wells could see that every exchange was perilous, yet neither had suffered a truly fatal wound.
Jini's position was relatively safe. She was healing the dwarf on the other side, and after the grayish-white light passed over him, the dwarf's condition improved dramatically.
Jini then noticed Wells as well. Without showing favoritism, the same grayish-white light bathed him.
In an instant, Wells felt endless power surging through his body.
Right now, he felt like he could do anything!
The hunting hound lunged from the side once more, and simultaneously, the hunter actually loosed two arrows in succession.
One shot straight at Wells' face, while the other sealed off his retreat.
If it had been just moments ago, he might have actually been in trouble under such an assault, but now...!
His longsword swept upward, deflecting the arrow coming straight at him, then immediately chopped downward to meet the charging hound head-on.
Wells displayed speed and strength far exceeding what he'd shown before.
With one sword strike, the hound's fierce barking turned to whimpering. A wound running from its shoulder to its belly nearly claimed the beast's life outright. Severely injured, it could only flee wretchedly into the distance.
Wells' chest rose and fell slightly, his cheeks flushed with excitement.
Raising his head to look across at his opponent again, his eyes blazed with fighting spirit. This time, the hunter would become the hunted.
Wait, was there something he was overlooking?
Right—where was the mage?
---
In the puffshroom forest, the enforcement squad that Lin Jun had brought seemed to have no opportunity to make an appearance.
The two adventurer teams hadn't continued fighting in the cave, but had moved the battlefield outside.
Since Fatty and whatever was in its belly were fine, this struggle between humans had nothing to do with him.
The two sides looked like they were about to determine a winner anyway.
Although the dwarf had been ambushed and the mage had fled, that woman called Jini had continuously used Potential Stimulation, recklessly pushing her teammates to their limits, directly raising the team's combat effectiveness a notch above their opponents.
These guys would probably need to lie in bed for half a month after this fight. The other side's defeat wasn't unfair.
---
*Clang—*
After once again deflecting Ralph's blade, the opposing team's leader suddenly retreated several steps and pulled out that A-rank magic crystal from his chest.
"We're done fighting! We surrender! This magic crystal is yours—let us go! Otherwise I'll detonate it!"
As he spoke, he channeled magical power into it, causing the crystal to emit a piercing purple light—this leader actually possessed magical manipulation skills too.
He didn't want to give up such a huge windfall either, but the current situation left him no choice but to spend money to ward off disaster.
From midway through the battle, his group had been continuously suppressed. He himself had nearly had his throat slit multiple times by that dual-wielding opponent.
His own hunter had lost his pet and was forced to fight in close combat with a short axe, barely clinging to life.
If he surrendered any later, the hunter would probably lose his life.
Fortunately, Ralph was clearly reluctant to part with the magic crystal.
Seeing the crystal looking as if it was approaching critical mass, he quickly called out: "Wait, don't be rash."
In truth, Ralph still hadn't figured out what they had been fighting over in the first place.
He did covet that magic crystal, but these people were obviously not to be trifled with. He wouldn't have struck first.
The other side's sudden attack was even more baffling—his side hadn't even revealed their wealth beyond the equipment visible on the surface. How had that drawn an attack?
Of course, not understanding the reason didn't prevent him from claiming the spoils of war. Having fought this far, wouldn't it be a huge loss not to take the magic crystal?
"Fine, give it to me, and I'll let you go," Ralph said, extending his hand.
The opposing leader was almost amused by his audacity: "Do you take me for an idiot? Clear the way, and once we're sure our retreat is unobstructed, I'll give it to you!"
"Tch." Ralph waved his hand, having his teammates close in around him while clearing a path.
When the other side had moved to the outer position but hadn't yet opened up distance, Ralph called out to them: "That's enough. Give me the magic crystal, and I guarantee we won't pursue you."
The leader clearly knew that this position was probably Ralph's bottom line. If he didn't hand it over now, they'd probably start fighting again.
He exchanged glances with his teammates.
The A-rank magic crystal was hurled over forcefully, even flying past Ralph toward the puffshroom forest.
After throwing the magic crystal, the group immediately turned and ran with all their might, not even bothering to take the hunter's unconscious dog.
Fortunately, the crystal had only been thrown to the edge of the puffshroom forest. Ralph cursed as he went to retrieve it—he truly hadn't planned to exterminate them completely.
"We struck it rich!"
With this sudden massive windfall, Wells almost forgot about his unpleasant exchange with the captain.
"Too bad some coward abandoned his teammates and ran," Ralph said, naturally referring to the mage. The others were equally indignant about this.
Wells went even further: "Next time we run into him, we'll definitely make him pay."
"That fight really wore me out." Ralph complained while rubbing his shoulders.
He felt more exhausted than if he hadn't slept for two days and nights, and this feeling was still intensifying.
"There are still quite a few monster corpses left in the cave, and we have several here too. Who still has the strength to go make the exchange? I need to rest for a bit."
With Ralph saying this, Wells and the dwarf also began feeling somewhat drained.
In the end, the task of moving things fell to Jini, who was still relatively energetic.
The captain said apologetically: "Sorry about this. In the end, we're making a priest do manual labor."
"Not at all. You three are the ones who truly worked hard. Go get some good rest. I'll take care of moving everything and help keep watch afterward."
Jini's smile was as reassuring as always!
The three simply rested behind a relatively concealed puffshroom not far from the cave.
It wasn't that they didn't want to find a safer place—they were simply too tired to walk any further.
Not long after sitting down with their backs against it, all three had fallen asleep.
---
Vague sounds by his ear woke Wells up.
Hmm?
How long was I asleep?
Wells tried to get up, only to discover he couldn't move at all!
He had actually been tied up!
Who did this—Ralph?
He couldn't see anyone else around.
"Damn it, where is this? Ralph? What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Ahhhhhhhhhh—"
The sudden scream startled Wells.
That voice... was it Ralph?
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