Chapter 192: The Truth of the Bait

In the snow in front of Dean, three arrows were stuck in the ground. One of them was held in his hand, and the bowstring was pulled back slowly.

Dean did not truly aim at the Grand Knight who was still on guard. His real target was one of the two knights who had fallen into a deep sleep—compared to the Grand Knight, these two sleeping knights were undoubtedly easier targets.

Moreover, this would achieve Dean’s purpose of harassing them.

Just as Dean had done during the day: driving away small animals, knocking off snow, and using various methods to raise their alertness, keeping them in a state of constant vigilance.

However, the real show began at night, unlike the minor disturbances during the day—

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Arrows flew from the bowstrings in quick succession.

Slap! Slap!

When the arrows whistled through the air, the two Grand Knights became alert. They quickly swung their weapons to knock down the incoming arrows, but one arrow still got through.

“Ah!”

The sleeping Goth Knight was awakened by pain from a nightmare. Looking at the arrow in his thigh, he let out a miserable scream.

“Damn it!”

Immediately, that Grand Knight, Chak, roared, preparing to charge toward the direction of the shots. However, he was stopped by Wudel—who grabbed him.

“Wait, Chak! They are trying to draw one of us out. We must act together as a pair!”

Wudel said in a deep voice, then turned to look at his two subordinates and asked, “You follow behind us. Do not let the distance increase!”

“Yes, My Lord!”

The two Goth Knights nodded. Although one of them had been wounded on his leg, neither opposed Wudel’s order.

Apart from their military discipline, it was mostly because they clearly understood that if they separated from the protection of the two Grand Knights, they would not survive a sudden attack.

The two Grand Knights, Wudel and Chak, led the way, while the two Goth Knights followed behind, with one supporting the other. The wound had only been simply treated; apart from breaking off the arrow shaft, it was just basic hemostasis. The arrowhead clearly needed to be dealt with later.

Therefore, the arrowhead remained embedded in the flesh. As they walked, the lame gait and the occasional suppressed groans showed the severity of the pain.

As a result, Wudel and Chak had to slow down their pace to wait for their subordinates.

Already delayed, and now moving forward so slowly, when they finally arrived at Dean’s shooting position, Dean had long since disappeared, leaving only traces in the snow where the arrows had been stuck.

“Damn it!”

Chak swung his Longsword, wildly slashing at the traces remaining on the snow, as if trying to cut Dean himself.

“Chak, calm down!”

Wudel, who was equally angry, spoke calmly to Chak, but his peripheral vision watched the two knights behind him. After a moment, he walked over to them.

“My Lord!”

The two knights bowed.

“We are currently facing an enemy that hides its head but shows its tail. They dare not engage us in open combat because they fear our strength, but… if we continue to waste time this way, we will surely face defeat. Therefore, therefore… I would like to beg you…” Wudel’s face showed a sense of choice, and his words were hesitant and broken.

“Let me be the Bait! After all, my leg is a burden!”

The Goth Knight who had been shot took a deep breath and stepped forward.

“I beg you!”

Wudel lowered his head as if ashamed. Far away, Chak paused for a moment, then walked over and pat the Goth Knight’s shoulder heavily. He whispered, “Be careful!”

Just as they discussed this strategy, a series of Warhorse neighs came from the direction of the camp—

Neigh! Neigh!

“Warhorses!”

Wudel and Chak’s faces changed color simultaneously.

By the time they returned to their speed, the Warhorses had already vanished without a trace.

“They have abandoned the traps ahead. They want to decide our victory or defeat here… From now on, I entrust everything to you!”

Wudel looked grimly at the messy campsite, then turned around and said to the two knights.

When the two Goth Knights nodded, Wudel and Chak walked toward the Dense Forest nearby and hid temporarily. The two Goth Knights lit a campfire and stayed behind.

Dean, hiding on the other side, watched everything with his eyes—

“The simplest trap is also the most deadly…”

Dean muttered to himself in his heart.

The Goyhs had clearly reversed the situation at this moment, turning him from the active party into the passive one.

Choosing to attack the two knights who were obviously the Bait would naturally lead to an attack by the two Grand Knights hiding on the side.

And if he did nothing, he would simply waste time. Moreover, seeing the other party’s pattern of one resting and one on guard, his plan to exhaust the opponent’s Stamina and mental energy would fail.

Of course, more importantly, Dean had a time limit!

To clear his suspicion afterwards, he had to time things perfectly. Otherwise, even if he killed all the Goyhs, he would only expose himself.

“As expected, having more helpers at any time is an excellent thing!”

Dean smiled coldly and gently placed his hand on the head of the male Beta Wolf next to him, stroking it lightly. Anyone who flew overhead and whose vision could penetrate the dense fog would discover a shocking scene: nearly two hundred wolves were scattered around, quietly crawling and lying there.

The power of the Contract and the modifications of Alchemy allowed these wolves to do things that ordinary people could not imagine.

“No rush, no rush, wait a little longer!”

Sensing the impatience coming from the male Beta Wolf’s mind, Dean gently responded to him. Then, in the next moment, he opened his status panel—

【XP: 313】

The six Goth Knights had provided Dean with 110 points of experience. Including the experience accumulated from the original return journey and previously saved experience, Dean currently had just over 300 XP.

Considering the upcoming battle, Dean began to upgrade the Skill [Basic Swordsmanship] to its current level cap—

【Basic Swordsmanship Lv4→Lv5】

【Basic Swordsmanship Lv5: You may gain your own insights from it, but for the most part, it is just the foundation. Effect: When using a sword weapon, damage +15.0%; hit rate and parry +12.5% bonus.】

(Special choice of +2.5% damage applied once)

Immediately, the XP bar showed a new change: 【XP: 233】.

At this moment, the main things Dean could upgrade were [Dragon Swordsmanship] and [Profession Level]; however, neither of these could be supported by this amount of experience.

Especially [Dragon Swordsmanship], which required 800 XP, making Dean frown every time he looked at it.

“If [Body Forging Technique (Emerald)] is recognized by the System, it will also require a considerable amount of experience. Although [Hazy Shadow Inter-Space Breathing Technique] does not require XP, if we add [Body Forging Technique (Goth, City)], the required XP would be quite huge, and it would also need many drugs to assist…”

The demand for XP when improving Strength made Dean more calculating with his 【XP】.

However, he did not forget the matter at hand.

He lightly patted the head of the male Beta Wolf next to him. Immediately, a long wolf howl appeared—

Awoo, awooo!

And in the next moment, such wolf howls formed a continuous line.

Instantly, both the two Goth Knights and the two Grand Knights were startled by the rising and falling wolf howls.

“Is it the scent of blood? Or the previous Warhorses? They actually attracted so many wolves!”

Chak frowned, appearing somewhat uneasy.

Even for Grand Knights, fighting an unknown number of Wolves in such a Dense Forest was extremely unwise; as everyone knows, the larger the size of the Wolf Pack, the stronger its leader would be.

“Wudel, what do we do?”

Chak looked at his subordinates, who were already surrounded by heavy shadows of wolves around the campfire, and asked his companion.

“Wait and see!”

Wudel said in a cold tone.

“But, but…”

“They, as Bait, naturally need to have the resolve of a Bait… Sacrifice is inevitable… It might be better to make it look more realistic: let the enemy believe that we have gone far away. They will surely come out to scout. At that time, it will be our time to counterattack!”

Chak was stunned, pointing at his subordinates in the distance, but before he could finish speaking, Wudel interrupted him.

“I, we… This, this…”

“Do not forget the Prince’s mission!”

Chak’s words were completely silenced by this sentence.

In the woods, Dean watched the two Grand Knights who showed no signs of movement. Guessing what the other party intended to do, he sneered again in his heart. He immediately issued an order to the two Beta Wolves for a quick resolution—

Instantly, the two Beta Wolves, male and female, secretly hid within the Wolf Pack. They lowered their bodies, their low growls indistinguishable from the surrounding ordinary wolves and Guard Wolves. They circled behind the campfire, and when they saw the backs of the two Goth Knights, their pale white teeth were revealed.

Awoo!

A burst of evil wind swept through. The two Goth Knights were knocked to the ground—the two Goth Knights standing by the Flame clearly did not expect there to be wolves that were not afraid of fire. Caught off guard, in the next moment, their necks were bitten through by the two Beta Wolves, who themselves possessed Strength surpassing that of Knights.

Then came the feast of the Wolf Pack.

Amidst flying blood and flesh, Dean stood motionless, staring at the two Goth Grand Knights hiding motionless behind a large tree in the distance.

The battle, obviously, had not yet ended.