Zhao Yun, who was resting with his eyes closed, suddenly felt his sharp ears twitch, keenly catching the scorched smell of exploding Fireballs mixed with the sound of clashing metal from several miles away.
"Alert!"
The guard leader, Ruer, reacted instantly and quickly raised his Heavy Sword. Before that, Zhao Yun had already swept out of the convoy.
In a clearing in the woods several miles away, a fierce battle was taking place. Thirteen figures clad in Leather Armor had formed a Strangling formation, surrounding two Cat Ears girls. Lying at the girls' feet were two Corpses wearing Leather Armor, both bearing three parallel Claw Marks on their throats.
"These little wildcats have quite sharp Claws!"
The scarred strongman licked the bloodstains from his Scimitar, his voice hoarse and malicious.
The two Cat Ears girls surrounded in the center were leaning back against an ancient tree, struggling to hold on. The elder Cat Ears girl, Aleia, had her right shoulder stained with blood, the crimson spreading across her wheat-colored skin, a shocking sight. Yet, she still held her younger sister, Nia, tightly behind her.
"Sister," Nia's voice was laced with a sob. Her Beast Hide short skirt had been torn by a Poisoned Arrow, revealing a thigh wrapped in bandages. The bloodstain around the wound had dried, but every movement still pulled at the pain, making her involuntarily frown. The Silver Bells hanging from her trembling Cat Ears chimed softly with her breath.
Aleia suddenly lunged forward, extending three-inch Claws from her fingers, a flash of Cold Light. Seeing this, the slave catchers surrounding them grinned and threw an iron net, attempting to trap her.
However, Aleia's figure was like lightning. The moment the iron net descended, she spun and unleashed a Wind Blade. The Wind Blade carried immense Strength, like an invisible sharp blade, shredding the iron net into pieces.
The moonlight illuminated her wheat-colored skin; her Close-fitting Garment outlined breathtaking curves of her waist and hips, and the silver-white highlights in her hair flashed like shooting stars during her evasive maneuvers.
"At least one hundred Gold Coins!"
The One-Eyed archer whistled, and an Arrow grazed Aleia's ear tip, embedding itself in the tree trunk, the fletching vibrating. As the girl leaned back to dodge the second Arrow, a poisoned Sleeve Arrow suddenly shot out from the shadows!
That Sleeve Arrow shimmered with a faint green light, carrying a deadly aura, shooting toward Aleia's throat like a viper hidden in the darkness.
Just at this critical moment, an ink-green figure flashed by like a Ghostly apparition. Aleia's vision blurred; before she could see the newcomer clearly, she heard a crisp "Clang!" precisely severing the Poisoned Arrow into three pieces, which then embedded themselves in the dirt.
Aleia's eyes widened as she clearly saw the person who arrived. He was dressed in an ink-green Close-fitting Garment, his posture as straight and tall as a pine tree. Moonlight cast upon his face, outlining his deep and handsome features. His sword-like eyebrows slanted sharply toward his temples, and his deep, bright eyes resembled cold stars twinkling in the night sky.
Zhao Yun leaped into the fray by stepping on the crown of a slave catcher's head. The impact of his boots on the ground sent out a circular wave of air, causing the surrounding slave catchers to stagger.
A swordsman who was about to pounce on Nia struck an invisible iron wall, his nose collapsing as he was sent flying backward, tracing an arc through the air before crashing heavily onto the ground.
A Long Spear wielder attempted a sneak attack on Zhao Yun from behind, but Zhao Yun snapped the incoming Long Spear with one hand and threw the spearhead back, piercing the throat of a crossbowman.
"Die!"
The scarred leader swung his meteor hammer toward the back of Zhao Yun's head. The hundred-pound iron ball, accompanied by a whistling wind, rushed in like a cannonball.
Zhao Yun made a grasping motion with his left hand; the externally projected Inner Qi froze the meteor hammer three inches from his nose. That Inner Qi acted like an invisible giant hand, gripping the meteor hammer tightly, preventing it from advancing even an inch further. With a swing of his right hand, the Azure Gown Sword turned into a streak of light, slicing across the throats of seven slave-catching members.
The scarred leader roared in anger, his muscles swelling to burst his Leather Armor, and his raised Battle Axe began to be wreathed in bloody Battle Qi. As the axe descended, it actually chopped an ancient tree within ten zhang in half.
"Berserk State?"
Zhao Yun's eyes sharpened, but instead of retreating, he advanced. The Dragon Mark on his left arm suddenly brightened, and his Azure Scales shimmered with a mysterious light. The foul wind generated by the Battle Axe blew back his stray hair, but when it touched his palm, it produced a metallic clang loud enough to split stone. The axe blade, capable of splitting a City wall, was caught barehanded!
The scarred man's knotted muscles trembled violently. He used all his strength to try and pull the Battle Axe free, but it wouldn't budge. The axe handle bent into an arc under the immense pressure, emitting a creaking sound.
Zhao Yun suddenly clenched his five fingers. The Black Iron-forged Battle Axe shattered like glass, its fragments recoiling and embedding themselves in the scarred man's chest. Amidst the spraying mist of blood, the remaining slave catchers hastily fled into the night.
Nia covered her mouth and stared at the crystallized axe blade fragments scattered on the ground, her eyes filled with shock.
Aleia's tail, however, involuntarily stood up straight. The fine hairs on the girl's ear tips flushed a faint pink, and the blood beads seeping from her wound resembled Rubies under the moonlight.
"May I ask the benefactor's name?"
Her voice carried a hint of shyness.
Zhao Yun flicked the bloodstains from his sword tip. The airflow generated as the Azure Gown Sword returned to its sheath brushed against Aleia's silver-white hair.
Only then did he clearly see the girl's face—a rounded Cat Ears face adorned with an unknown Demonic Mark on her forehead. A smudge of dirt on her nose made her look even more playful, and through the rips in her damaged Leather Armor, his eyes could vaguely see her defined abs rising and falling with her breaths.
"Zhao Zilong of Changshan!"
He turned to leave, but his robe was simultaneously grasped by two furry Paws.
"Please let us follow you!"
Nia's Silver Bells chimed as she bowed, while Aleia's tail curled nervously.
"When we were little, we heard the elders in the Orc Tribe say there were many fun things and good food in human towns... but as soon as we left the forest, these bad people came to catch us."
Zhao Yun looked toward the brightening eastern sky, and the Jade Pendant in his embrace suddenly grew hot.
At that moment, the Beast Tusk necklace dangling from Aleia's neck flashed faintly, and the Totem carved on the necklace gave him a strangely familiar feeling.
This discovery stirred something in his heart, making him vaguely feel that this Orc girl might have some connection to him.
"Keep up!"
He handed Aleia two bottles of Healing Potion. As the girl took them, her fingertips brushed against the Dragon Scales on his palm. At that moment, Aleia's heart rate suddenly accelerated, and her cheeks turned even redder.
Nia hopped around picking up the money bags dropped by the slave catchers, failing to notice that her sister's Cat Ears were so red they looked like they might bleed.
At the Dru Merchant Guild's camp, Ruer, who was on guard, dropped his water pouch with a 'thud' as he watched Zhao Yun return with two Cat Ears girls. His eyes were filled with astonishment, but even more so with admiration for Zhao Yun.
Gies touched his face, adding a new line to his ledger: "Investment Potential: Friendship with a suspected Earth-rank Swordsman-level Orc Tribe, Priority: Top Tier."