Luo Jie hadn't expected this thin, skilled man to be a member of the Black Mercenary Group. He thought to himself that this was truly a case of a fake meeting the real deal. However, without hesitation, he dashed forward, unleashing his [Quetzalcoatl's Serial Crossbow] and unleashing five blasts of cold light like a rain of lightning.
"Come and pick them up if you dare!"
The thin man hadn't expected Luo Jie to carry a crossbow, a ranged weapon, and was caught off guard. Fortunately, as a thief known for his agility, he wielded two long daggers in front of him, creating a shower of impenetrable blades. He was the first to intercept the incoming crossbow bolts.
Dang, dang, dang!
As the violent vibrations of the crossbow bolts passed through his hands, the thin man's expression suddenly changed.
Four!
He had only blocked four crossbow bolts, while the opponent had clearly fired five!
"Oh no!"
By the time the emaciated man realized what was happening, it was too late. Minister Thomas behind him groaned as if someone had pinched his throat. A foot-long crossbow bolt had pierced his throat with pinpoint accuracy, the blood-stained arrowhead exiting the back of his head. He was already dead.
However, Luo Jie's feint to the east and shooting Minister Thomas in the back wasn't enough. Facing the royal guards rushing in from all directions, he roared at the top of his lungs, "Thomas, you traitor! This is what happens to you for offending our Black Beast Mercenaries!"
"Fuck you!"
The emaciated man nearly choked on a mouthful of blood.
He considered himself no good, but he had never seen anyone so shameless. Killing someone was fine, but before leaving, he threw a basin of feces back at them. It was truly abhorrent.
Minister Thomas's collusion with the Black Beast Mercenaries was known only to a handful of his closest associates and personal guards. To the Royal City Guards, tasked with apprehending and patrolling, the Black Beast Mercenaries remained a notorious gang of bandits.
"It's the Black Beast Mercenaries' third-in-command, the thief 'Hicks'! Capture him!"
Seeing the Royal City Guards gathering in ever-increasing numbers and torches flickering across the streets, the thief 'Hicks' dared not continue the fight. With a single swift step, he leaped onto the rooftop like a levitating cat, stomping along the wall. After several flashes, he vanished into the night.
...
A quarter of an hour later, in the woods outside East City.
The thief "Hicks" paused, turned, and gazed at the shadowy shadows of the trees behind him. He said coldly, "Alright, tracking and counter-tracking are our profession's forte. I know you're just following me. Come on out!"
"Thieves are always so agile and annoying..."
As he spoke, a masked man in gorgeous white fur armor gradually emerged from the shadows of the woods. He held a rare straight-backed longsword pointed at the ground at an angle, its jewel-like blade reflecting a blood-red glow in the dim light of the forest.
Behind the masked man, a giant golden wolf, over two meters tall, followed.
"Monster user? Who are you? Why are you going against our Black Beast Mercenary Group?"
The thief "Hicks"'s eyes grew increasingly serious.
In the floating city of Aincrad, each person can only choose one combat class for their lifetime. Even if they can disguise themselves as another class using equipment, they cannot use the corresponding class's combat skills.
The thief "Hicks" had previously believed that the masked man was a high-level mage disguised as a warrior, but the ferocious monster behind him, clearly obeying his orders, completely overturned his previous judgment.
Luo Jie smiled noncommittally and asked, "Is your Black Beast's base camp in this desolate forest?"
"Hmph, our Black Beast's base camp is certainly not here... But you probably won't have the chance to find out."
With a sneer, the thief "Hicks" inserted his thumb and index finger into his mouth.
A sharp whistle instantly startled countless weary birds resting in the forest.
Luo Jie raised his brow slightly.
No wonder he was so confident. So he had a backup plan...
Clatter!
As the bushes swayed, a dozen burly men leaped from their hiding places, weapons drawn, and with ferocious grins on their faces, they surrounded Luo Jie.
The giant golden wolf immediately gave in. Its front paws clutched its head, and it quickly shrank into a palm-sized golden fur. It scrambled to Luo Jie's feet, twisting its rear end into the sack, where it pulled down the cover and shivered inside.
A dozen or so Black Beast mercenaries burst into laughter at the sight. They had initially been a bit intimidated by the massive golden wolf, but they hadn't expected the seemingly ferocious beast to be anything but a showpiece.
If even the battle pet was in such a state, its master must be even more miserable.
"Teacher Shizuka, you're always making fun of people like this. You're better off losing than losing the battle, and you're better off falling than fighting. Do you understand?"
Luo Jie helplessly patted the ball of wool in the bag at his waist. Then he looked up and smiled nonchalantly at the Black Beast mercenaries before him. "Excuse me, but let me explain. This isn't my battle pet, it's just a mount."
Mount?
A dozen burly men looked at each other, their faces as if they had just heard a funny joke.
"Stop the bullshit! Brothers, chop him up! Today I want to see what the person who dares to impersonate our Black Beast Mercenary Group looks like!"
A dozen burly men shouted in unison, and from all directions, various long and short weapons hurled themselves at Luo Jie in the center. While there wasn't any coordinated battle formation, the sheer sheer volume of numbers was a formidable display of force.
"This martial art is riddled with flaws. Sure enough, those assigned here aren't elite..."
A gleam of brilliance flashed in Luo Jie's eyes, and the red sword in his hand was instantly engulfed in countless violent blue-white lightning bolts, instantly illuminating the dark forest and emitting a piercing noise like the chirping of hundreds of birds.
—[Sanctuary Lightning] activated!
"No! Get out of the way!"
The thief "Hicks" shouted anxiously. He didn't know what skill this signaled, but the sheer force of the swirling lightning snakes told him they were in for a fight.
However, his words were no match for Luo Jie's sword.
A figure, trailing countless blue-white arcs of electricity, darted through the crowd, its flashing blades weaving into a lightning web like a thorny plain.
In a single encounter, the dozen or so mercenaries involved in the siege were instantly sent flying backwards, their muscles twitching uncontrollably, their hair tangled and tangled, emitting a faint, unpleasant smell of burning.
Luo Jie stabbed a still-living mercenary in the chest, then looked up at the terrified thief "Hicks" lying nearby.
The blade's bluish-white light pierced his face, and his only visible eyes flickered with a wolfish blue light.
"If you have any tricks up your sleeve, use them now, or you might not have another chance the next time I swing my sword."