However, his opponent adjusted his stance with just a slight flicker, and the opportunity passed in the blink of an eye. By the time Fang Hong reacted, he realized he had missed his chance to attack.

The level difference is too much,

Fang Hong had anticipated that the incoming strike was aimed at him, but unexpectedly, his alertness allowed the Type III Walker to take the hit for him, otherwise, that strike might have pierced him through.

Only then did he get a clear look at the person who survived—

The one still standing was that variant Dual Swordsman with the Dragon-Head Musket.

From the man's previous movements, Fang Hong could roughly estimate his Agility Level; Evasion, Agility, and Balance were at least three times greater than his own Perception.

But what relieved him was that, when the tree fell earlier, this man didn't come out unscathed either; he appeared severely injured and seemed to have hurt his leg, preventing him from fighting for long.

Fang Hong also worried the man might use his Dragon-Head Short Gun to fire and alert others, so without wasting words, he directly ordered the Type III Walker to launch an attack.

Indeed, that man had such intentions; after retreating, he reached out for his gun, but in the darkness, a glint of cold light flashed, and the Type III Walker, with a sword in hand, had thrust forward with a single strike.

Taken by surprise, the man hurriedly sidestepped, and it was clear he had a wealth of experience dealing with adversaries. He not only dodged the attack but also anticipated the trajectory of the other sword in the Type III Walker's hand.

Fang Hong's two sword strikes missed, and they exchanged Evasion Values, but he was not in a hurry and simply protected Hes behind him.

The girl was very sensible; although her face was deathly pale, she clenly clenched her fists and hid behind him, silent. Knowing Fang Hong needed to focus, she observed how Fang Hong controlled the Walker, a hint of astonishment flickered in her eyes.

The Dragonfire Guild's Invoker took a moment to reinforce himself with Valor Spirit, a unique enhancement state characteristic to Gunslingers, enabling a person to temporarily ignore pain and become immune to fear.

This was also a basic quality of a line infantry.

Seeing the man's actions, Fang Hong relaxed. Neither side had managed to gain the upper hand in their exchanges, but under his pressing attack, his opponent had no choice but to abandon the notion of drawing his gun, accomplishing Fang Hong's objective.

Empowered by Valor Spirit, the man struck at the Type III Walker with his sword, the blade moving even faster than before.

But this time, Fang Hong was prepared, and the result was vastly different. Upon issuing a command, the 'Sword Bearer' parried with its dual swords, causing a conspicuous spark to fly in the darkness as their blades collided with a clang.

The force was substantial, pushing the Type III Walker back a step.

Yet Fang Hong remained composed, continuously issuing commands. The Walker moved its Blade Feet in a staggered retreat, three steps back. Although its Block Value dropped by more than half, its Balance was almost entirely unaffected.

Hes, also an Alchemist's Apprentice, knew how outrageous these maneuvers were, and involuntarily opened her mouth into an 'O' shape.

The man likely had never seen such smoothly-operating Flexible Constructs and was momentarily stunned, his eyes flashing with a hint of curiosity.

"You're not a Native, you're a Chosen?" he asked, his voice resonating hollowly, "Are you from Unicorn? How come I've never heard of them having a Combat Artisan?"

If Balance isn't lost, posture can be quickly regained, and Block Value can be continuously recharged—that's extremely formidable.

This level of proficiency was not what one would expect from an ordinary Combat Artisan.

Could he be a member of a troupe? What perplexed him, however, was whether Tabopolis had Combat Artisans of this caliber. Who was this secretive masked person? He was deeply puzzled.

Fang Hong was also taken aback—the man's words made him realize that Dragonfire Guild's preparations were far more thorough than Red Leaf and Recall had imagined. They not only understood clearly what he was up to but also might have planted spies within the Tabopolis Guild, aware of which groups from the Oak Knights would participate in this task.

In other words, it wasn't a spur of the moment decision; there might have been premeditation.

But despite being startled, neither slowed their hand movements.

The man, missing a hit, immediately initiated Dual Sword Dance, akin to Blade Storm seen in many past games, with intersecting sword attacks. Fang Hong too had used a similar move when striking Big Sister with 'Sword Hong.'

In the darkness, it was like a dazzling full moon coming at him.

After blocking two sword strikes, Fang Hong inwardly cursed at the unsustainable pressure; the 'Sword Bearer's' Balance was rapidly depleting, and it was on the verge of losing control. He took the risk of being struck to retreat, and indeed, the Type III Walker took two hits, its Durability Rating dropping to less than half.

But the man, hindered by his injury, also floundered, receiving two counterstrikes from Fang Hong in the process, staining his shirt with splatters of blood and staggering on the brink of collapse.

Fang Hong estimated the time—the man's Valor Spirit BUFF should be about to expire.

At this time, the Gunslinger from the Dragonfire Guild behind them seemed unable to discern what had happened in the front and temporarily stopped shooting; however, he could imagine that the enemy must be rapidly approaching their position.

Meanwhile, the Dual Swordsman from the Dragonfire Guild felt he was at a dead end, and, gritting his teeth, decided to make a desperate attack on Fang Hong's physical body, but Fang Hong was not about to give him that chance, turning tail and fleeing as fast as a rabbit.

The man, of course, was left in the dust, but suddenly he turned and thrust a sword towards the lower body of the Walker, who parried with his sword, sparking another flash of fire in the darkness.

It was at that moment, however, that the man unexpectedly let go of the longsword and in a quick pivot pulled out the Dragon-Head Short Gun strapped to his waist.

"Show-off drawing the gun!" Fang Hong silently cursed to himself.

He had guessed right; this fellow was indeed a Musketeer who favored swordplay, and the trick he just pulled was a Musketeer's signature move, a dazzling skill switch between sword and gun—drawing his gun amidst an offensive move without losing any balance.

Using the momentum of his pivot and step back, he pulled out his firearm ready to fire a warning shot.

At this moment, the Walker was blocking with his sword, having completely lost the balance of his upper body, and couldn't possibly counter with his next move in time.

The man's mouth was bleeding, but his eyes gleamed with triumph, clearly conveying the message: "Kid, you think you can play with me?"

Regrettably, his smug expression froze on his face.

Because the Musketeer from the Dragonfire Guild saw the Walker also forsake swordplay, suddenly standing erect and raising his bright, shining Blade Feet.

Before he could react, they plunged into his chest, one after the other.

One blade pierced through the lung, and the other went right through the heart—

Darkness overtook his vision, his life came to an abrupt zero, the Dragon-Head Musket fell from his grasp to the ground, and his body began to disintegrate into scattered points of light, leaving behind few items on the spot: a dark object and some coins.

Fang Hong dashed over with swift steps, deftly picked up the items, and then snatched up the musket before turning to wave to Hess:

"Let's go, leave this place."

He opened his information device to retrieve the Walker, and then he and the girl dove into the nearby bushes.

The moment they left, the Big Sister from the Dragonfire Guild, along with the young man and twenty others, arrived on the scene. The young man, assessing the situation, his face fell.

Though there was no body, the traces left behind explained everything.

"These are marks left by Blade Feet," Twenty pointed to the ground: "Quadruped System; judging by the size, it should be either a Type III or IV Walker. My Scouting Skills tell me it's a Type III."

"It was an ambush," the young man regained his composure in an instant and responded: "But our opponent must also be strong. There aren't many Combat Artisans of this level in Tabopolis."

"So, it's someone from Tabopolis?"

"Who else could it be?"

At this moment, Big Sister had also confirmed with the Guild, "Liming and DCQ are both dead, Liming was the latter to die, he fought that person."

The young man turned around and asked, "What's the situation?"

"The person was wearing a mask, looked very young, still a teenager…" Big Sister's expression was complicated: "Liming said he's at least second to third level, very skilled, but Zi Qi, don't you think it could be that enemy of mine...?"

"Didn't you say your enemy is barely level ten?" the young man replied: "Liming probably wasn't wrong. He was a Musketeer. Have you considered that the young man suppressed him so he couldn't fire a warning shot? This person is very likely a 'Unicorn', a secret prodigy-level reserve from Tabopolis."

"What about that Red Leaf...?"

"Her?" The young man shook his head: "She's not there yet."

He turned back: "Twenty, can you try to track them?"

"I'll do my best," Twenty answered: "Combat Artisans have strong anti-tracking abilities, but I can only try."

"Then let's have a look."

...

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