Chapter 115: A Storm Rises from Flat Ground

Seeing the heavily guarded checkpoint ahead, Zhao Xu tensed slightly, though he made no sudden move.

If he had been a high-defense warrior with maxed-out riding skill, mounted on a celestial steed, he might have been able to slip past these guards. But as things stood, it was better for him to behave himself.

Although Zhao Xu was confident that, with Mage Armor and Shield cast upon himself, his defenses would not be much inferior to those of the guards whose heads were completely enclosed in helmets, ever since becoming a mage and losing the ability to rely on his former warrior experience, he had developed the habit of unconsciously simulating battles whenever he encountered a situation like this, secretly analyzing how he should deploy his spells for offense and defense.

Yet faced with the present circumstances, Zhao Xu realized that Color Spray was truly the only spell he could gamble on to knock down a group of people. For an area-control spell like Sleep, his opponents would never give him the one round he needed to cast it.

Having once been conscripted, Zhao Xu understood that defeating the people before him would be meaningless. This checkpoint was merely the first line of defense.

Aside from the guards directly ahead, there was no telling how many sentries and scouts were concealed nearby. Even the iron pot in the corner, once lit, would send up a plume of smoke that could bring hundreds of people converging on this spot in no time.

After centuries of drills, everyone had gained extensive experience in establishing defensive lines, as well as in searching and counter-searching.

“Adventurer ahead! Dismount and come over here for inspection!” shouted a guard who appeared to be a captain. His armor was the most eye-catching of the lot, with additional metal plates set into it.

Three other adventurers dressed similarly were crouched in a corner with their hands bound, evidently waiting for the next shift of guards to arrive before being taken away.

Zhao Xu had no time to worry about passing strangers. He dismounted at once and stood by.

Three guards approached him. Two carried light crossbows, their bolts gleaming with a deep blue sheen. Anyone could see they had been dipped in poison.

After reaching second level, Zhao Xu had gained the second-level mage’s hit die. The result of his 1d4 roll had been 3, and with his 2 points of Constitution, his hit points had risen from 8 to 13—a modest but meaningful increase.

A typical first-level mage with 12 Constitution had only 5 hit points. Even a first-level warrior might not possess as many as Zhao Xu did at this point.

He now had enough health to take two light-crossbow bolts without immediately losing consciousness. That was what hit points gave them.

“Who are you? Where did you come from? Where are you going?”

The leading guard wore a stern expression. In their eyes, anyone who dared appear here without going through the proper official procedures was certainly innocent in some cases—but if they killed everyone, they would undoubtedly catch half of the guilty.

Hearing that tone, Zhao Xu immediately began drawing several conclusions.

Having once served in border security, he knew that treating every traveler like a prisoner was bound to cause trouble sooner or later.

His eyes drifted toward the distant horizon. Roya had probably underestimated the difficulties of the frontier.

Something unknown had clearly changed between the Sky-North Merchant Alliance and Kasso and Bhutan.

Zhao Xu knew that if he produced the mage insignia, these people would certainly not recognize the name Ost engraved on the back. But once they confirmed that he was a registered guild mage, they would respectfully let him pass.

Even so, there was no chance they would allow him through North Card.

And even if he crossed the Southern Islet Forest to reach another town, the journey would take three days.

Compared with the current player population, Zhao Xu had spent ten years struggling through Arthur. He understood quite a few of its overt and unspoken rules.

He immediately took out the certificate issued by the Moon Crescent Town Mages’ Association.

Zhao Xu was reluctant to admit it, but that certificate was indeed what gave him the confidence to move about in the wilderness of the Southern Islet Forest.

The Sky-North Merchant Alliance, which had originally been hunting down the caravan he belonged to, had suddenly become his logistical ally.

The leader of this guard squad might not recognize the seal of the North Card Mages’ Association, but he certainly knew the seal of Moon Crescent Town, an important nearby settlement for resource supplies.

Zhao Xu himself did not understand why the association’s executive officer also possessed the seal of Moon Crescent Town’s administrative office.

The local official always carried more weight than a distant superior. Even in Arthur, that principle remained true.

When the three wary guards saw Zhao Xu take something out, they had already raised their weapons, intending to knock him down first and ask questions later.

But when they saw that it was a document, the three of them relaxed somewhat.

A certificate with a blue cover and gold edging would have been expensive to forge, even if it were counterfeit.

The leading guard raised an eyebrow, wondering whether some influential person’s son or nephew had come here looking for a bit of excitement.

With that thought, he removed his helmet, bent his naturally rigid back slightly, and extended a hand toward Zhao Xu to receive the certificate.

Bang!

Suddenly, an arrow shot forward like a gust of wind and plunged straight into the forehead of the guard standing at the front.

Along with it came the man’s utterly disbelieving gaze.

The cold corpse collapsed where he stood, and a storm swept through the hearts of everyone present.

The instant the arrow pierced the guard’s brow, cries of enemy attack and shrill whistles erupted. Apart from cursing whatever bandits had chosen such a disastrous moment to appear, Zhao Xu hurriedly began casting a defensive spell.

At this point, he was in the kind of situation where mud in his trousers was mud in his trousers no matter how he tried to explain it.

Casting time was priceless in a face-to-face death trap like this.

Just as Zhao Xu gritted his teeth and was about to force out the final word of Mage Armor, one of the two remaining guards in front of him turned and fled, while the other reacted decisively and, full of resentment, released the trigger of his light crossbow.

In the chaos of that instant, none of the guards could tell where the attack had come from. But Zhao Xu, standing at the very front, was unquestionably someone they could kill by mistake rather than spare by mistake.

That was why Zhao Xu had begun casting immediately. Anyone still hoping to explain himself would probably have to return to the Temple of Creation and explain matters to the statues of the gods.

Bang!

The second arrow tore through the air.

[Adventurer Midsummer, your defense check failed. You take 1d8 = 3 damage.]

The guard’s crossbow bolt struck Zhao Xu directly in the thigh, and pain surged through him.

All Zhao Xu could do was grit his teeth and be thankful that it had hit his thigh, dealing only 3 hit points of damage.

If it had struck his head, the damage would have been far worse.

And if his luck had been even worse and the hit had been a critical, he could have gone home singing a mournful marching song.

Unfortunately, Zhao Xu had been at the final moment of reciting his spell. Though the wound was not life-threatening, the pain jolted his consciousness and completely disrupted the rhythm of his chant.

[Adventurer Midsummer, making a concentration check: 4 skill ranks + 2 Constitution + 4 Combat Reflexes + d20 = 10 + 10 = 20, exceeding the difficulty of 14 = 10 base + 3 damage + 1 spell level. Check passed. Concentration successful.]

At once, the Concentration skill on his character sheet transmitted a surge of power, driving his entire body to maintain the spell.

That unconscious force enabled Zhao Xu to complete the casting.

An invisible suit of armor materialized around his body, hard as stone.

Seeing that the spell had succeeded, Zhao Xu immediately seized his summoned mount. Relying on the riding memories from his previous life, he vaulted onto its back in a single motion, lowered his body, and urged the horse into a desperate sprint.

At that moment, seven or eight masked warriors in light armor came charging from the distance. Waving curved blades, they stormed toward the checkpoint. The three prisoners who had been forced to kneel at the entrance also took advantage of the distraction and fled for their lives.

[Adventurer Midsummer, your defense is level 14. You are attacked. The attack roll is 13. Defense successful.]

With a ringing chime, the force of Mage Armor deflected a crossbow bolt aimed at Zhao Xu’s back.

Still fleeing on horseback, Zhao Xu could not help turning his head to see who was pursuing him so relentlessly.