Chapter 66: Tracking · Probing

Creak, creak…

Hooves and wheels crushed the accumulated snow, making a unique sound.

On the snow, the tracks of the wheels were unusually clear; those wheel marks, half a foot deep, would take quite a long time to disappear even in the Snowplains Dense Forest—of course, provided it was not snowing; in the Snowplains Dense Forest, once it started snowing, it was enough to bury an adult alive.

“Iriel!”

Herd shouted loudly, while Iriel, the Goth Knight in the distance, waved his hand with a grave expression; suddenly, the entire convoy came to a halt.

As Iriel, who bore the task of scouting, made a warning gesture, no one in the convoy dared to be careless, not even the leader, the Goth Grand Knight, and the Wizard Momon.

After glancing at each other, that Goth Grand Knight jumped off his Warhorse and quickly ran towards the front.

And Momon, sitting in the carriage, chanted a spell in a low voice.

Suddenly, a breath that made people feel inexplicably palpitated spread out.

Of course, it was not only people who felt it, but also the animals hiding in the Snowplains Dense Forest; especially those animals that already harbored malice.

Roar!

Amidst a roar, a massive Snow Bear charged out from the Snowplains Dense Forest nearby, and its first target was the nearest Iriel.

Clang!

The sound of Longswords being unsheathed rang out instantly; two Longswords of different lengths but sufficient thickness crossed each other, and in the next moment, the Snow Bear’s paw had already arrived.

Whoosh!

The fierce sound of wind, at this moment, was like the roar of the night wind in the Snowplains Dense Forest, carrying tremendous force as it smashed onto the crossed Longswords.

Bang!

Creak, creak…

Amidst the sound of metal twisting after the paw and swords clashed, Iriel flew back just like that; however, this kind of flying was not being knocked away, but retreating by borrowing the force.

And just after Iriel retreated by borrowing the force, the Grand Knight instantly appeared before the Snow Bear; the Longsword in his hand flashed past, and that cold light bloomed in the Snowplains Dense Forest, after which white turned into red, instantly dyeing a large area, and the upper half of the Snow Bear’s body flew up high.

Phew!

Just as the spurted Blood was about to splash onto this Grand Knight’s body, the swung Longsword was suddenly retracted, and then chopped out towards the snow beside him; suddenly, the spurted Blood was swept back onto the sword edge as if the Longsword had endless stickiness.

Then, with a flick of the Longsword, a straight bloodstain appeared on the snowy ground.

Undoubtedly, this was a special technique.

And what Iriel used earlier was also a special technique—after all, he was still walking over with a light figure at this moment, completely unharmed.

As for that Snow Bear?

It had been dead for some time now.

“We can have an extra meal tonight!”

Herd, the Goth Knight, laughed loudly.

“If it were not for My Lord Skold, the one to be eaten would have been you!”

Iriel said in a very disdainful tone—clearly, although the two were coworkers, they were definitely not true companions.

In any national-level power, such internal strife was completely to be expected.

After all, no matter where, it was impossible for anyone to be liked by everyone.

Coupled with some thoughts from the higher-ups, such situations were almost everywhere—whether in Emerald or Goth.

As for City?

Under the prestige of that King of City, the entire City had taken on a different appearance; it was not an exaggeration to say it was thriving.

Of course, the conflict between these two Knights was more due to inner pride and contempt for others.

Herd and Iriel were both like this.

“You…”

The hot-tempered Herd was just about to say something, but in the next moment, he was interrupted by the Grand Knight.

“Alright, do not forget our mission!”

The Grand Knight waved his hand and walked towards the convoy, while the two Knights left on the spot glared at each other; only after the Grand Knight urged them again did they carry the Snow Bear and follow—two Knights with special Talents and techniques carrying a dead Snow Bear was obviously no problem.

And after the Goth convoy started moving again and went far away, a seemingly flat snow surface began to bulge, and then rapidly expanded.

Finally, Dean crawled out from it.

Dean, whose face had long been frozen blue and purple, seemed not to feel the cold all over his body at all, but his furrowed brows showed that he was heavy-hearted at this moment.

Although he had long since stopped underestimating this team of Goths sent to find the Conqueror King’s legacy, Dean was still surprised when he truly saw their combat power.

Whether it was their coordination with each other, or the Strength and techniques they displayed, it all surprised Dean.

Two Knights: Iriel used dual Longswords and was himself an agile Warrior, and the dual sword techniques he displayed made Dean understand that apart from agility, this Goth Knight also possessed considerable Strength.

And that Grand Knight possessed Strength close to a Silver Knight—a Grand Knight could certainly defeat a Snow Bear, but the ability to split a Snow Bear in two was definitely not something a Grand Knight should have; one needed at least Strength close to a Silver Knight to do that; and having a Grand Knight close to Silver Level as one of the leaders of this team searching for the Conqueror King’s legacy seemed more appropriate.

As for Silver Knight and Gold-rank?

For ordinary people, these were just legends; Grand Knight was already the peak.

Fendel’s subordinates would certainly have Silver and Gold-rank Knights; however, once Knights of this level were deployed, they would inevitably attract more attention.

Although Silver and Gold levels were legends to ordinary people, they were absolutely no secret to the Royal Families of various countries.

In fact, every country had special organizations composed of Silver and Gold level experts—Imperial Guards, Palace Guards, and so on.

It was just that the number of people in them was still very small.

But it was enough to monitor those who needed to be closely watched.

And as a Prince of a country, whether in Goth or elsewhere, Fendel would be monitored by countless people, and among them, there were even Goths themselves.

After all, his brother was also a very capable Prince.

Therefore, if possible, Fendel would absolutely not mobilize experts of Silver and Gold levels, because this would only expose his purpose.

Thus, a Knight above Grand Knight but below Silver Level became the best candidate.

Dean could even be certain that this Skold, like Momon, was a trusted aide raised by Fendel himself—such a mission would never be handed to someone who was not a trusted aide.

And for Dean, this was definitely not good news.

After all, a trusted subordinate had long since decided that he could not be bought off, at least not in a short time.

Coupled with the opponent’s Strength enough to kill him instantly, it was clear that he needed to deal with them in another way.

Of course, Dean was satisfied with this probing—such probing was a habit Dean developed after becoming an Assassin.

Sometimes it seemed superfluous, but sometimes it could allow one to escape a disaster.

Compared to wasting some Stamina, Dean, who wanted to live longer, would undoubtedly choose the latter.

For example, this time, after the probing, Dean no longer had any other thoughts and just followed behind them—he needed the traps of the Conqueror King’s legacy to finish off these Goths.

As for hating his own powerlessness?

Dean had long since learned how to overcome such emotions.

It was not blind escape, nor was it rushing out recklessly to fight them.

The former was a coward, the latter was a rash man.

And neither the former nor the latter suited Dean—

‘Patience and calmness are what a true Knight must possess; although most Knights nowadays prefer to believe in Strength rather than brains, once the brain is filled with muscles, then he is not far from death, at least, he will become a pawn to be discarded at will!’

Such words did not come from that Grand Duchess, but from an Old Knight who had saved Dean’s life.

It was precisely because of this Old Knight that Dean was able to survive that extermination battle against the Grand Duchess and find the opportunity for revenge.

The other party introduced him to the Thieves Guild and found an experienced Thief to be his instructor.

Of course, Dean also gave the other party enough profit—within a year and a half, thirty percent of the income from every mission became the reward for this Old Knight and the instructor.

And at this moment, Dean, just as that Old Knight and Thief instructor taught, dealt with everything before him with patience and calmness.

In fact, this was not difficult.

You know, compared to those targets in his previous missions where he did not know how to start, the Goths in front of him, whose fate was already doomed, were really too easy to judge.