Facing a rain of arrows, Raymond quickly drew his sword to block them.
He recalled the [deflect force] ability he had gained after leveling up Basic Swordplay to the Grandmaster level, and used it instinctively.
In an instant, Raymond’s longsword seemed like a stick coated in glue, sticking to every incoming arrow and wrapping them all into a bundle.
Clatter!
All twenty arrows fell to the ground at once.
Inside the camp, a death row prisoner carrying a longsword frowned at Raymond and sucked in a sharp breath. "That’s Grandmaster-level Basic Swordplay! No wonder this kid was able to take down six camps in a row."
The junior guards standing nearby were stunned speechless.
Barron wore an expression of disbelief and exclaimed, "This kid’s swordsmanship is that strong? Is he really Lucian Baron’s useless son?"
Remembering how he had almost been killed by Raymond not long ago, Barron gritted his teeth. "No time to worry about that! Keep attacking!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Barron pulled back his bowstring and fired a volley of arrows!
The whistling sound of the arrows was especially sharp. Raymond knocked two arrows aside with his sword and immediately sensed something was off
Barron’s arrows had gotten stronger!
Seeing the shock on Raymond’s face, Barron laughed, revealing a mouthful of blue teeth. "Raymond! You killed the examiners and murdered death row prisoners! Come back with me to stand trial!"
Raymond noticed Barron’s teeth and immediately realized he had taken a secret potion to boost his power. He sneered, "Which eye of yours saw me kill other examiners? The ones I killed were all death row prisoners who tried to escape!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Raymond stabbed his sword behind him, killing a thief who was about to stab him in the back.
Barron’s eye twitched at the sight, and he drew his bow again.
At the same time, two voices began chanting spells.
Raymond then noticed that in the woods on his left and right, there was a mage hiding on each side.
"Burn! Fire Blast!"
"Freeze! Frost Arrow!"
One fire spell and one ice spell shot toward Raymond at the same time.
Barron’s arrows kept coming from the front.
Raymond narrowed his eyes, pushed off the ground with all his strength, and shot toward Barron like a cannonball.
Boom!
The Fire Blast and Frost Arrow collided, sending thick smoke billowing into the air.
Raymond knocked two more arrows aside with his sword and charged straight at Barron in the distance.
Several death row prisoners charged at Raymond with war hammers and battle axes, but he sent them all flying with a single shoulder push.
"How is that possible!" The prisoner with the war hammer crashed to the ground, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"What kind of monster strength is that!" The one with the battle axe was in even worse shape. He collapsed onto a pile of rubble, his head covered in blood, and died on the spot.
Seeing Raymond getting closer and closer to Barron, the other examiners quickly pulled out potions and drank them.
"What are you waiting for! If you don’t drink, you’ll die!" Barron pulled a short sword from his waist, his muscles bulging. "My strength is now above Black Iron Stage Level 20. I don’t believe you can kill me in one hit!"
Before Raymond could get close, Barron charged at him first.
He gripped the handle of his sword with both hands and swung it hard at Raymond’s head.
Raymond didn’t dodge or block. He just thrust his head forward!
Crack!
Before Barron’s blade even reached Raymond, his arm was broken by Raymond’s headbutt. The short sword clattered to the ground.
"How is this possible! You were still at Black Iron Stage Level 15 just a few days ago!" Barron slumped on the grass, staring at Raymond in terror.
"Nothing is impossible. You and your brother should never have messed with me." As soon as Raymond finished speaking, he raised his arm, channeled the power of the giant, and crushed Barron’s skull with a single slap.
The death row prisoners and examiners in the distance were all frozen in shock.
"You bastard! You even killed an examiner!" A junior guard who was serving as an examiner pointed at Raymond, his legs trembling uncontrollably.
Another examiner let out a roar and turned to run.
But Raymond casually picked up a stone and threw it.
The stone hit the examiner’s head, and blood splattered everywhere.
"Damn it! Is he a giant? Throwing rocks to kill someone at the same level - I’ve only seen giantesses do that!" In the nearby woods, the mage who had just cast Fire Blast was terrified.
He was about to turn and run when he saw Raymond look right at him.
"He... he’s smiling at me?" The mage’s eyes went wide. He fell to the ground, his legs completely refusing to obey him.
Just as that mage was feeling confused, Raymond kicked another death row prisoner flying.
That prisoner had just taken a secret potion and his strength had surged, yet he was still killed instantly by Raymond.
This time, the mage who had cast the Frost Arrow was also terrified.
Inside the entire camp, almost everyone except the two mages had taken secret potions.
Logically, any random attack from these people could deal damage close to the Bronze Stage Level 1.
With that kind of attack power, even if they wore him down by sacrificing themselves, they should have been able to take Raymond out.
But the truth was that Raymond had the [Giant’s Body] and the [Holy Hall Body-Tempering Technique,] so his defense was already ridiculously high.
As long as no weapon hit him directly, Raymond couldn’t even be bothered to take a defensive stance.
Ordinary punches and kicks landing on him felt no different from a scratch.
What made the two mages even more hopeless was that Raymond’s speed and strength were even more insane.
In just a few breaths, all the death row prisoners and examiners on the grassland had been taken out by Raymond.
Now, covered in blood, Raymond walked over to the fire mage, holding a dead examiner in each hand. "Your fire magic is good. Burn them clean."
"Burn them clean?" The fire mage looked stunned. "You want me to help you get rid of the bodies?"
Raymond tossed him a pair of shackles and said with a casual smile, "What else? Make it clean. When you’re done, put the shackles on yourself and wait in the prison wagon."
A flash of wickedness and wild joy appeared in the fire mage’s wide eyes. He was a death row prisoner himself, bloodthirsty and cruel. Now that he could both survive and get to mess with the bodies, he was overjoyed. "Respected sir, Ignis is happy to serve you. I guarantee the job will be done!"
Watching Ignis start burning the entire grassland, the other mage hiding in the distance panicked.
Just then, Raymond walked over to him. "What magic do you know?"
"My name is Zephyros. I don’t know Fire Blast, but I specialize in ice magic. I can cast ice spells too!" Zephyros answered carefully, his eyes constantly watching Raymond’s expression.
Raymond chuckled and tossed Zephyros a pair of shackles as well. "Put these on and wait in the prison wagon."
Zephyros was stunned for a moment, then a look of wild joy spread across his face.
He put the shackles on himself and ran straight to the prison wagon in the middle of the camp, faster than any thief.
Raymond chuckled and didn’t say anything.
It wasn’t until Ignis also put on his shackles and climbed into the prison wagon that Raymond nodded with satisfaction.
At this moment, inside Raymond’s space, two new sinner cards belonging to the mages had appeared.
Both mages had 50 Guard Contribution Points each. Clearly, since Raymond had successfully captured them back into the prison wagon, the system had recognized it as recapturing escaped prisoners and rewarded him with 50 points.
When Raymond came back to his senses, he was already standing in front of the prison wagon.
Right now, Ignis and Zephyros were squeezed together in the same wagon, feeling pretty miserable.
But as soon as they saw Raymond, they both put on fawning expressions.
Ignis said, "Sir, just tell us if you need anything!"
Zephyros added, "Sir, I know a lot of secrets! I have treasures hidden outside! I’ll give them all to you!"
Raymond’s expression hardened, and he let out a cold laugh. "I’ll find the secrets and treasures myself. I need you two to help me with something more important."
With that, Raymond motioned for them to come closer.
Just as the two mages leaned their ears against the edge of the wagon, Raymond drove his sword through both their chests, killing them on the spot.
Immediately after, inside Raymond’s space, the two mages’ sinner cards turned transparent, and the countdown timers for the draw chances on both cards were also canceled.
The only difference was that the two mages’ Guard Contribution Points had changed to 100 each.
"Just as I thought - first capture the escapees, then execute them, and I can farm 100 Guard Contribution Points in one go. Time to check out their secrets!" Raymond looked at the number and unlocked their crimes.
Soon, the criminal experiences of the two mages played out before Raymond’s eyes like a movie.
Not only did it show the crimes they had committed, but it also exposed, through video clips, the inside story of how they had colluded with Marcus’s men to attack the examiners.
What’s more, those two sneaky mages had even kept evidence.
Their hidden treasures and bank passwords were all exposed by the system.
After Raymond memorized the locations where the two mages had hidden their memory stones, he pulled his consciousness back out.
Raymond let out a deep breath and snorted coldly. "Every single one of these death row prisoners is a menace. Keeping them alive would only cause me trouble sooner or later."
Now that he had leverage over Marcus, Raymond was already looking forward to what would happen after the exam ended.
"Since they’re dead anyway, let’s see what good stuff I can get from these two mages!" Raymond chuckled and tapped on the two mages’ panels.
- [Ding! Congratulations, host. You have received: 1 Skill Card (Basic Meditation), 1 Skill Card (Fire Blast), 1 Knowledge Card (Basic Mana Circulation Model), 1 Knowledge Card (Elemental Wave Theory), and 2 Experience Cards (Black Iron Stage 50 Days).]
Raymond pulled his consciousness back and curled his lips into a cold smile.
Since he had no leads on the Black Iron Stage trial yet, he might as well learn some magic.
If he ended up clashing with Marcus after the exam, having more tricks up his sleeve would only help.