?


    Albert''s words belied his actions, revealing him as a petty man who favored ambushes.[1]


    Taking advantage of the young man''s distraction during their conversation, heunched an unanticipated assault, aiming directly for the youth''s throat!


    However, his prized surprise attack once again fell t.


    The young man seemed to have foreseen his intentions, deftly avoiding the attack with a well-chosen evasion route.


    At this point, Albert confirmed his suspicion: this youth was not a mere archer; hisbat capabilities and experience demonstrated a maturity incongruous with his youthful appearance.


    Up until now, Albert had in at least fifty, if not a hundred archers. Invariably, they would be clumsy and flustered when engaged in closebat.


    This youth, however, disyed no fear of close-quarters battle.


    (The longbow on his back must be a ruse. The youth''s truebat upation must be melee-oriented.)


    (Judging from his evasion skills, hisbat upation should be either a swordsman or an assassin, at least Tier 2... Heh, this will be an interesting night.)


    Albert''s excitement grew; he was insatiable for the thrill of mutual ughter.


    ·


    On the other hand, Tyler refrained from counterattacking, as he was pondering two matters.


    First, he did not want to engage inbat on these narrow streets. If they were to fight here, not only would Tyler expose his skills to bystanders, but if he encountered Emilia and the others, the situation would be even moreplicated.


    Second, Tyler was wary of Albert''s "Reflect Damage" skill. Until he understood the mechanics of that skill, he did not wish to act rashly, lest the situation unfold like the "Future Death Scene".


    Based on these considerations, Tyler made a decision: he would lure this man to the outskirts, to a secluded location forbat.


    Moreover, before he could discern the true nature of the man''s skills, Tyler would not harm a hair on his head.


    (Head to the south outskirts. The southern exit of the town is closest to this location.)


    Just as he was about to deploy a smoke bomb to make his escape, the sound of familiar hoofbeats and neighing echoed from not too far away.


    Without even looking, Tyler knew it was Moto-chan!


    (Perfect timing!)


    "Hey, Albert! Your end is nigh!"


    To cover his escape with Moto-chan, Tyler feigned bravado while shouting Albert''s name. As expected, Albert was taken aback, wondering how the youth knew his name.


    Seizing this opportunity, Tyler threw a smoke bomb at his feet, then leapt onto Moto-chan''s back and galloped away.


    Albert finally realized he had been fooled and quickly gave chase, determined not to let the youth escape.


    ·


    As Tyler galloped away on Moto-chan, he felt a rush of exhration.


    He had read stories of remarkable war horses during his childhood, and now, Moto-chan was demonstrating a caliber on par with them.


    It was said that an excellent war horse couldmunicate with its rider on a spiritual level, and Tyler felt such a connection with Moto-chan.


    Moto-chan always emerged at the most opportune moment when Tyler needed him. To have such a war horse was all he could ask for!


    After running for a while, Tyler noticed that Albert was slowly catching up, but their speeds were not very different.


    This pace was perfect for maintaining distance and leading Albert out of town. In terms of speed, Tyler could now run faster than Moto-chan, but the advantage of riding Moto-chan was that it did not consume Tyler''s endurance, which would be crucial for the uing battle.


    .


    Simultaneously, on the other side of Sunny Town, Emilia was rushing to the site of the fire with the bounty hunters.


    Tonight, a terrifying demonic scar had appeared in the night sky.


    ck thunder rolled across the horizon, and it was said that a demon had appeared, calling forth a massive pir of fire from the heavens.


    Many eyewitnesses imed to have experienced an oppressive sensation that nearly suffocated them. Those who were close to the scene had fainted and had yet to regain consciousness.


    Fortunately, after the arrival of the pir of fire, the demonic scar in the night sky disappeared. This change made the pir of fire seem like divine punishment for Mayor Gideon.


    ·


    As they neared the fire, many of the bounty hunters noticed that it was Mayor Gideon''s mansion that was aze.


    "Emilia, the mayor has always been a nuisance to our Quest Guild, so why don''t we just let him face his own consequences?"


    "Yeah, and since it''s the mayor''s house that''s on fire, the town''s guard will surely go to help put out the fire. We should stay out of it."


    "I agree. Given the mayor''s difficult personality, he might even me uster. It''s better not to get involved!"


    The bounty hunters grumbled, and some even left the rescue team midway.


    Emilia understood their feelings and did not try to stop those who left. However, she could not ignore this fire.


    "The mayor may be obnoxious, but the residents near his home are innocent. Won''t you even help them?"


    Emilia shared her thoughts with the group, believing that if the branch chief, Oleg, were there, he would say the same. Upon hearing Emilia''s words, the bounty hunters understood her intentions. They stoppedining and quickened their pace instead.


    After a while, they arrived at the fire scene and were shocked to find that the fire was confined to Mayor Gideon''s massive mansion.


    Thanks to the thick walls around the mayor''s home, the surrounding residents were safe, and they were even enthusiastically watching the fire at the mayor''s house. Seeing this, the bounty huntersughed heartily, then disbanded and went home.


    By this time, Emilia could no longer stop them. Fortunately, the town''s guards had already arrived to fight the fire.


    However, given the intensity of the pir of fire, whether the mayor''s house was saved or not made little difference.


    Emilia stood by and watched for a while, reflecting on how even the pinnacle of power in Sunny Town was nothing more than firewood in the face of a natural disaster.


    ·


    After a tiring day, Emilia decided to go straight home.


    On the way, she stopped to buy some ck bread and other coarse grains. Besides using them for her own dinner, she also bought extra to give to the demi-humans in the poverty area the next morning.


    (Ah... another day without seeing Banning...)


    (Hmm... I really want to hug Banning…Σ>―(〃°ω°〃)?)


    Perhaps because she had be ustomed to these thoughts, Emilia no longer blushed when she thought about them. In fact, she was somewhat eager to try.


    Unfortunately, she had been too busy with the Quest Guildtely to find time to meet Banning. Once she was done with her tasks at the end of the month, she would definitely find Banning and give him a good hug - so thought Emilia.


    ·


    Half an hourter, Emilia arrived at her home.


    As exhausted as she was, she entered and locked the door as usual. All Emilia wanted to do now was to eat something to fill her stomach, then quickly wash up and go to sleep.


    In her fatigued state, Emilia was unaware that outside her window, two shadowy figures were quietly approaching.


    [1] This is a test