Chapter 48 – The Bloody Hand Strikes

The brown-haired man heard the cry and quickly rushed towards Aaron, determined to get rid of the most threatening mage. But Kyle promptly caught up and intercepted his strike just as his short sword was less than a meter away from Aaron.

Aaron’s eyes widened. He promptly drove his horse back and pointed his staff at the brown-haired man, cold sweat flowing down his neck.

“You’re Nick from the Bloody Hand gang,” Kyle said affirmatively.

After he was last targeted by those thugs coveting his sword, even though Marielle told him not to worry, Kyle still investigated the gang behind them.

The Bloody Hand Gang has one leader and seven cadres, all of which are rank 1 professionals. Two of the cadres are very close to the leader, and one of them is the yellow-eyed snake, Nick.

Kyle had seen Nick once from afar; that’s why he recognized him this time.

“Oh? You know me?” Nick's gaze sharpened. He licked his lips as he looked at Kyle with murderous intent.

“I originally planned to get rid of the troublesome mage first, but I didn’t expect you to be so perceptive. You aren’t an apprentice, are you?” Nick’s eyes shifted from Kyle’s chest to his neck before finally stopping on his blue eyes, his killing intent intensifying.

Kyle clenched his sword but didn’t reply. Goosebumps rose on his skin as Nick's gaze seemed to crawl over him.

“Such a young rank 1 professional… It seems imperative to get rid of you.” Nick said with a sinister smile on his face.

Kyle listened in silence. His eyes narrowed as he constantly contemplated the reason why the Bloody Hand appeared here.

He raised his gaze and looked at Nick.

“Why are you here? Does the Bloody Hand Gang occasionally moonlight as bandits?”

Nick grinned at this question.

“Hmm? I wonder why? Maybe that, or maybe it’s because you’ve killed our henchmen. The Bloody Hand’s revenge might be late, but it always arrives!” Nick loudly said as he swayed his body, writhing.

‘It’s definitely not because of those guys.’ Kyle was certain.

If the Bloody Hand wanted to take revenge against him for a few apprentice-class thugs, it would have done so long ago. Especially since he stayed within their sphere of influence for so long.

However, just as he left Mirevale, they suddenly attacked! Besides, they went straight for Aaron.

‘Something is very wrong.’ Kyle’s gaze drifted to the energy barriers. ‘Are they the ones behind this?’

Kyle’s thoughts churned; he felt as if he were very close to connecting the dots, but he was missing something.

Suddenly, he noticed a distorted silhouette just a few meters away from Aaron. His eyes widened, and just as he was about to intercept it, Nick sprang towards him.

"Aaron!" Kyle shouted as he blocked Nick’s strike.

Aaron also noticed the silhouette. The tip of his staff started glowing, but it was too late.

At that moment, just as a dagger was about to pierce his chest, another hidden dagger struck from the shadows.

The first distorted silhouette was forced back, but traces of blood still appeared on its forearm, forcing it to dispel its stealth state. It was a middle-aged man with fading hair.

The second silhouette also dispelled its stealth state. It was Luke.

“Kyle! You deal with that warrior; leave this assassin to me.” Luke shouted before jumping back into the carriage’s shadow, disappearing from their view.

“Tch! Arrogant brat.” The middle-aged assassin clicked his tongue and also disappeared.

Aaron looked at this series of events with gritted teeth, his face slowly turning red.

“These bastards… Treating me like I’m easy prey.” He said through gritted teeth.

“Aaron! Focus! You need to provide support at the right moment. They targeted you because you’re the most threatening," Tina said from the side.

She chanted under her breath, golden light bursting from her staff.

“[Enhance: Strength]! [Enhance: Speed]!” She shouted, golden light flying and enveloping Kyle and a distorted silhouette near the carriage. The golden light promptly disappeared.

“This…”

Feeling the golden light enveloping him, Kyle’s eyes widened in surprise. His strength and speed had increased by at least 20%.

“I’m not just a healer, you know,” Tina said with a faint smile on her face, yet her face was pale, covered in cold sweat.

This buff wasn’t easy for her, especially since she was just an apprentice cleric.

“Thanks, Tina!” Kyle said before pushing Nick back and slashing at his neck.

Nick quickly moved his neck back while using his blade to deflect the attack; a trace of cold sweat flowed down his face.

“You’re not a newly promoted professional, are you?” Nick said with a look of apprehension on his face.

Kyle didn’t respond; his eyes carefully scanned Nick’s movements, looking for an opening.

After a few seconds of confrontation, the two rushed towards each other.

“[Superspeed Slash]!”

“[Power Strike]!”

They shouted, sublimating their focus to enhance their control.

Their swords collided heavily, cratering the ground beneath them.

“Ha!”

Cracks gradually extended from beneath their feet to several meters away as they struggled to push the other.

The next second, they separated before colliding again, their swords leaving trails of afterimages as they collided.

......

At the same time, on the other side of the carriage, a silent but deadlier fight was occurring.

Faint sparks occasionally flashed before disappearing. Occasionally, the sound of footsteps and heavy breathing could be heard.

After a few seconds…

“Ugh!”

A faint groaning sounded, followed by blood splashing onto the ground.

The middle-aged assassin reappeared, holding his stomach and panting. Blood seeped from between his fingers.

Looking at the gradually approaching distorted silhouette, the middle-aged assassin flinched.

“You…”

Luke suddenly stopped; he glanced at the other side of the carriage with furrowed brows.

“Boom!”

A loud explosion suddenly sounded from that direction, shaking the carriage slightly. Yet, after listening in for a few seconds, Luke’s expression slowly relaxed.

He turned to look at the middle-aged assassin and coldly approached him, ending his life in just a few strikes.

Looking at the corpse of the assassin in front of him, Luke frowned. He couldn’t fathom why such people would suddenly attack them; they didn’t seem to be bandits.

Shaking his head, he walked to the other side of the carriage, and as expected, he saw a scorched corpse just a few steps away from Tina.

Moving his head to the side, he saw Aaron still holding up his staff, his face red with anger, breathing heavily.

“You bastards… I said, Stop underestimating me.” He uttered through gritted teeth.

Luke quickly concluded. A third bandit tried to sneakily strike Tina but was promptly killed by Aaron’s spell.

“Now, that leaves Kyle,” Luke muttered as his gaze shifted to Kyle’s battle.

And Kyle did not disappoint.

......

Nick was sweating bullets as he struggled to keep up with Kyle’s movements.

‘This bastard, it's as if he’s anticipating my moves,' Nick thought as he barely managed to block one of Kyle’s sword strikes, just to be kicked in the stomach and sent skidding on the ground.

“Ugh!”

Nick vomited bile and quickly tried standing up, only to be promptly kicked back to the ground. A sharp tip lay just a few millimeters away from his throat.

Looking up, what came into his sight was Kyle’s face. The sun shone behind, making it hard to discern his features, but one was clear enough.

A faint blue light glimmered within his pupils, striking fear into Nick’s heart.

“I have a few questions I would like to ask," he calmly said.

Luke and the others slowly surrounded Nick, looking at him with unfriendly expressions.

“I hope that you would cooperate.” Kyle coldly said, driving the sword tip even closer, pricking Nick’s skin and causing his face to turn even paler.

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