Chapter 123: Unexpected Gains

Dean did not have to wait long. After about a few minutes, the conversation in the Study disappeared—clearly, the conversation between the two parties at this moment was just to wait for those patrolling Guards to disperse. The real conversation with substantive content had already been completed when Churde Defendi ambushed Dean.

Dean walked towards the door with the pace of that Guard, appearing slightly hurried, looking ready for orders at any moment.

If the real Guard had not already died, Dean would have been no different from the real Guard.

When Dean stood at the doorway, inside the Study, the door lock twisted slightly. Dean could clearly see the door handle turning—

“I am very grateful for your hospitality!”

“It is also my honor to host you!”

The first voice was Churde Defendi’s, and the latter was that Big Shot’s steward; moreover, obviously, as the master, he was opening the door for Churde Defendi, the guest. In other words, the first one to walk out would definitely be Churde Defendi.

The [Flash Dagger] appeared in Dean’s right hand, and the repeating Hand Crossbow was held in his left hand.

Almost the instant the door opened, Dean’s attack appeared—

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The arrows on the Hand Crossbow shot out continuously without hesitation.

Clearly, the limitation of the terrain meant Dean did not need to think so much; he just needed to shoot.

And the result was remarkable. Not one of the three crossbow arrows missed; all nailed onto Churde Defendi. Bleeding heavily, the other looked at Dean in disbelief, his eyes full of unwillingness.

Until Dean’s Dagger slashed across the other’s throat.

This Nephew of Baron Defendi, until his death, could not figure out why Dean, who had fled in such a sorry state, would appear before him again.

Pfft!

The Dagger slashed across the windpipe, and fresh Blood sprayed out instantly, covering the entire front doorway with a mist of blood. At the very moment the blood sprayed out, Dean had already ducked down to dodge it.

However, that Big Shot’s steward did not have such luck; he was sprayed right in the face—

“Lord Defendi?!”

This Big Shot’s steward rubbed his eyes, exclaiming in a low voice repeatedly.

And just as he saw clearly the fallen Churde Defendi, the Dagger wiped across his neck.

[XP+45]

[XP+5]

The former was the experience given by Churde Defendi, and the latter was the experience given by that steward-looking person; clearly, the latter was definitely not as weak as he looked. At least against two or three ordinary people, there would be no problem at all, and he should have been a capable fighter when he was young.

However, the passage of time and a life of comfort had made him lose all vigilance and reaction.

Of course, Dean’s surprise attack was the most important factor.

Let alone that steward-looking person, even Churde Defendi, who was a Wizard, did not react in time; he did not even activate the Magic Items on his body.

And these naturally became Dean’s spoils of war—

[Flash Bracer (Left Hand)]

[Type: Standard Bracer]

[Weight: 0.2kg]

[Size: Normal Human Range]

[Effect: Deflect Arrows]

[Deflect Arrows: Forms a protective force field that prevents ordinary arrows and flying knives from harming you]

[Description: What Wizards worry about most are arrows and flying knives from the dark. Therefore, every Wizard who does not want to have their life taken by these weapon s will make such Bracers; however, most of the time, they are always found by assassins taking advantage of their negligence due to carelessness.]

[Standard: If you do not know the activating magic language, then it is just a decorative Bracer.]

[Sturdy Bracer (Right Hand)]

[Type: Standard Bracer]

[Weight: 0.4kg]

[Size: Normal Human Range]

[Effect: Force Field Shield]

[Force Field Shield: Forms a layer of invisible armor with a durability of 1 on your body] (Note: Every 1 durability is equivalent to a Steel Armor)

[Description: To give themselves one more chance of survival in battle, Wizards will not skimp on Magic Materials to arm themselves more; even if it is only equivalent to a Steel Armor, for a Wizard wearing a robe, it is a life-saving opportunity.]

[Note: If you do not know the activating magic language, then it is just a slightly heavy Bracer]

Two Magic Items explained why Churde Defendi was so unwilling before his death.

If Churde Defendi had activated the two Magic Items, even if he encountered Dean’s sudden attack, he could have held on for a while.

At least, it would give him more chances of life.

However, there are not so many “ifs” in the world.

Dean looked at Churde Defendi’s Corpse without any expression and put the two Bracers on his wrists—even without the activating magic language, Dean would not leave these two pieces of Magic Equipment thrown here; moreover, having spent quite some time on Secret Spell Island, Dean was very familiar with these magic languages.

The harvest of two pieces of Magic Equipment made Dean feel surprised. Originally, he thought finding a similar protective Magic Item on the other party would be the biggest gain—

“Baron Defendi is not stingy with his heir, but rather quite generous…”

Clearly, Churde Defendi being able to possess two pieces of Magic Equipment was definitely not achieved on his own. After all, the creation of any single one would make a wealthy family go completely bankrupt. Without Baron Defendi’s help, the other party would need to work on Secret Spell Island for at least ten years to obtain these two Magic Items.

Dean, who had lived on Secret Spell Island, knew the price of some items very well.

“Huh!”

When Dean felt a pouch at Churde Defendi’s waist, he could not help but pause, because at this position and with this pouch size, for a Wizard there was only one possibility…

“Spellbook!”

When he pulled out the book the size of a palm, Dean confirmed his guess.

A Spellbook is a book where Wizards record the Spells they know and the Spells they need to learn next. Of course, it also contains some of the Wizard’s own experiences.

However, apart from certain masters, basically no one studies the life story in a Spellbook.

Dean was the same; he simply skipped Churde Defendi’s records and looked at the Spell side—

[Known energy detected…]

[Conditions not met, unable to learn]

Dean had long been used to such System prompts.

In his previous life, Dean had contacted Spells more than once to increase his Strength, but not once did he succeed in learning.

Even though he did it more correctly and completely than most Wizards, the result was the same.

Therefore, seeing such a prompt again, Dean was not surprised.

“[Mage Armor], [Arrow Technique]… and the [Magic Missile] that has not been constructed yet…”

Dean looked at the other’s Spell list. It was a simple record of one defensive and one offensive Spell, and an offensive Spell that was still being constructed and not completed.

However, among them, Dean did not find a Spell like [Mental Suggestion].

“Could there be someone else?”

Subconsciously, Dean frowned.

However, quickly, Dean shook his head and denied this guess; after all, according to his investigation, the surrounding houses were all ordinary people, and it was impossible for them to have similar Spell abilities.

Moreover, in such a short time and within such a range, meeting two Wizards.

The probability of that was simply too small.

After all, this was not Secret Spell Island, just Vauban City.

“Then… a Sorcerer?”

Looking at Churde Defendi’s Corpse, Dean guessed.

Sorcerers and Wizards were both casters. However, comparing the former to the latter, the former’s casting power came from their Bloodline, while the latter learned under a certain Talent.

The latter needed a long time and repeated experiments, while the former, as long as their Bloodline was rich enough, could advance smoothly.

Therefore, in the eyes of those who valued ‘Bloodline Theory’, Sorcerers were more orthodox.

However, such ‘orthodox’ Sorcerers were extremely few in number.

Because obtaining the Bloodline of a foreign race, Demon, or Divine Spirit was not such an easy thing.

At least, Dean knew very well the difficulty involved; after all, back then, he had done more than one experiment to obtain stronger Strength.

Lowering his head, Dean looked at Churde Defendi’s Corpse, a trace of hesitation appearing on his face—Dean thought once again of the experiments he had done in his previous life.

Undoubtedly, such an experiment was very dangerous.

It was not just the experiment itself, but the danger once others found out—

Heretic!

Such a title would definitely fall upon him.

And at that time, he would inevitably become an enemy of the Divine Church, facing endless pursuit.

However, the next moment, Dean calmly made his choice. He lifted Churde Defendi’s Corpse and began to quickly help the Corpse stop the bleeding.

After all, if the experiment was needed, the other party’s Blood was of utmost importance.

As for the pursuit of the Divine Church? The judgment of a heretic?

Even if Dean did not do these things, both sides were already enemies.

Doing this meant being hunted.

Not doing this also meant being hunted.

Dean did not think that after he killed several High Priests and Bishops of the Divine Church, there would still be a chance for peaceful coexistence—and given that those High Priests and Bishops must be killed, it was better to gain more Strength before being hunted.

Inside the house, all valuable items that could be taken away, along with the Magic Crystal carrying [Magic Alert], were all swept away by Dean.

Then, Dean carrying Churde Defendi’s Corpse disappeared into the night.