Chapter 13 White Oak

Every region’s night has a different base color.

In the Elven Royal City of Ivelius, the night is an elegant poem played by harps and leaf-flutes; in the “Steel Rampart” city of Moltengard, the night is generally filled with iron, blood, and the smoke of war.

The deep night of the Mist Forest is very quiet.

Insect chirps and beast calls exist, of course, but they are different from other desolate wildernesses.

The volume is very low, blurry, and hazy; even when close to one’s ear, it feels as if separated by a layer of gauze, not hearing it clearly.

It is as if even sound dissolves into the thin mist permeating the air.

Maji sat alone by the campfire, gently wiping his longbow.

That was the “old companion” that had accompanied him for nearly twenty years.

Even though countless past memories had turned gray like his life, he still remembered that twenty years ago, on the morning he turned eighteen.

His father, who had always been as silent as the mountains, cut down the white oak tree in the courtyard that had grown up alongside him, and used the most essential part of it to craft this longbow for him.

To be honest, it had nothing special about it.

The bow limbs were flexible but lacked sufficient hardness, the handle felt coarse, and the string grooves weren’t polished carefully enough.

From every angle, it couldn’t compare to the “premium” goods on store shelves.

But it was just like those countless afternoons as a child when he lay napping under that white oak tree.

The gentle, refreshing breeze and the “rustling” of swaying branches.

The longbow seemed to have merged with his body, incredibly handy and intimate.

If not for that luxurious carriage that slowly rolled into the village, perhaps he could still be wandering those endless mountains with his “old companion” today…

The orange-red flames reflected on Maji’s weathered face, shrouded in shadows, with no discernible expression.

His right leg, tightly wrapped in bandages, was still faintly throbbing, and his arm was numb from the overuse of combat arts.

He lifted his head and looked at the pitch-black night sky.

A deep breath.

His gaze swept under the pine tree standing by the campsite—

The mace brought out from the goblin cave lay quietly among the fallen leaves; and the two-handed axe from another dead teammate rested steadily against the tree trunk.

Come to think of it, although the half-orc named “Gakgu” had a rougher temper, after getting to know him, he was actually quite…

“Forget it.”

Maji shook his head.

Late at night, one is always prone to melancholy.

Now, it was time for business.

His gaze looked toward the other side of the camp.

Across the blazing campfire, a figure was lying motionless, and a steady, long breathing sound faintly drifted from the air.

There was no hesitation in Maji’s eyes; he had already made up his mind.

“Don’t blame me, kid.”

He didn’t stand up, still maintaining his cross-legged posture on the ground.

The wooden longbow was quietly held vertically, the bowstring pulled back, and the fletching trembled slightly in the air.

At such a close distance, it was naturally impossible for Maji to have any possibility of error.

As long as he let go, the sharp arrow could take away this young life before him.

“Adventurers are just like this; you must know.”

He muttered in his heart.

And just at this moment, Maji suddenly saw Xia Nan’s eyelids tremble slightly.

Eyes opened.

Clear and bright pupils, certainly not the groggy state of someone just waking up.

“Realized it?”

He was surprised in his heart, but his fingertips had already released the arrow shaft.

Whoosh—

Space and time seemed to freeze at this moment.

The long, sharp arrow stirred the mist, creating faint circles of airflow under the moonlight; crossing the campfire, the rising, swirling flames were drawn by the airflow, climbing upward like the tentacles of a demon from purgatory, and were firmly bound by the invisible traction of the heart of the flame.

Air, wool blanket, fine grass, soil.

The arrow passed through the blanket and straight into the ground, but there was not a single sound of piercing flesh.

Did it miss?

No, that should have been the position of Xia Nan’s head when he was sleeping.

It was just that the “novice adventurer,” who had long been on guard, made an evasion and counterattack after confirming the other party’s actions.

The body that seemed to be sleeping on its side was actually in the easiest posture to exert force.

The blanket covering him was suddenly lifted, blocking the other party’s vision, but when it fell, Xia Nan’s figure was already gone.

The sound of moving objects came from the air.

“Boom!”

The campfire was abruptly kicked over, and what entered his vision were splashing sparks and heavy wooden blocks wrapped in flames.

Immediately after, there were two fleeting arcs of silver light.

[Whirlwind Slash]

The firewood was slashed to pieces in the process, and sparks splattered.

The sharp blade entered the body and then slid out from the other side.

The broken longbow fell to the ground.

“Heh… heh…”

Xia Nan stood on the meadow, Maji in front of him clutching his throat with both hands.

His trachea was severed; he couldn’t speak, only blood continued to flow between his fingers.

The night was deep, and Xia Nan couldn’t capture Maji’s expression at this time.

He only saw the eyes that kept widening and finally lost their luster; and the body that twitched and finally fell backward.

He squatted down and confirmed that the other party was completely dead.

Only then did Xia Nan breathe a sigh of relief and return the two daggers from the gnome “Elgi” at his waist.

It was not because of good luck.

As early as the moment he noticed Maji’s change in demeanor in the cave the day before yesterday, he had secretly increased his vigilance.

Even if this was his first mission, the performance of the various members of the “stinky fish and rotten shrimp” squad along the way, which quite matched the stereotype of “bottom-tier adventurers,” was still deeply remembered in his heart.

Defensiveness against others is indispensable, even for teammates who have just experienced a life-and-death battle together.

However, Xia Nan would not have taken the initiative to attack; after all, until just now, the other party had not shown any hostility and had even invited him to join the team quite earnestly.

It was also fortunate that his timely realized cautious mindset helped him avoid this sudden crisis.

Compared with the mental energy consumed before, the battle process between the two was very simple.

Maji, who was seriously injured, only had the chance for one arrow, and he even had to wait until the two reached the edge of the Mist Forest, when he could safely return to the town in his current physical state, before he could act; and for Xia Nan, who had maintained most of his combat strength, it only took one blade to resolve the opponent.

The sky was slightly bright.

No longer caring about the other party’s corpse, Xia Nan quickly tidied up the supplies and luggage in the camp, referring to the battlefield cleanup techniques he had learned from several people along the way.

There wasn’t much useful equipment on Maji, and the only weapon, the wooden bow, was slashed by himself in the battle, so it probably wouldn’t sell for a price.

Therefore, Xia Nan just took the other party’s quiver, extinguished the fire, and left in a hurry.

A cool breeze blew, and the “rustling” of swaying branches sounded in the forest.

Maji closed his eyes, leaning against the tree, with the broken longbow made of white oak in his arms.

At this moment, he seemed to have returned to that sunny afternoon with mottled shadows many years ago.

(End of Chapter)