Chapter 129: Experienced Enemies

  The moment Adam Smith was attacked, the four burly s stepped in front of him.

  They raised their fists, letting the ons strike their bodies, sparks flying, without hesitation trading blow for blow.

  This was the golems' bat style!

  However, the attackers were prepared for the s!

  One of them pulled out a scroll emitting a strong magical glow from his pocket and skillfully tore it open!

  Fifth-circle spell—Mass Slow!

  Even the s, which had det magic resistance, were affected by the Mass Slow spell.

  Their previously agile movements became sluggish, like snails.

  The other attackers deftly avoided the golems' slow strikes, grinning savagely as they stabbed Adam Smith!

  Four or five sharp daggers pierced through Adam Smith, leaving him riddled with wounds. The high bounty for his assassination was what drove these attackers to risk it all!

  But, instead of showing any pain, Adam Smith grinned back at them!

  His entire body began to shatter into pieces!

  Intense fmes roared down from the sky!

  With a loud explosion.

  The spot where Adam Smith had stood was instantly engulfed in rolling fmes.

  The attackers, uo escape in time, only had a moment to dispy fear before they were ed by the destructive power of the fireball spell!

  The broken remains of five assassins were revealed as the smoke cleared.

  "Adam Smith has been attacked!"

  "Nobody move!"

  The panicked guards were about to rush over when Captain Mellen shouted at the top of his lungs:

  "Adam Smith is fine! Don’t panic!"

  As he spoke, Captain Mellen opehe nearby carriage door, revealing a smirking Adam Smith inside.

  Seeing that Adam Smith was unharmed, everyone in the camp breathed a sigh of relief, though they still felt a lingering fear.

  Adam Smith's importance couldn’t be overstated—the Thorn Caravan's operations relied on his leadership.

  If he had been seriously injured or killed.

  The camp’s defensive capabilities would have dropped by at least 30%.

  Adam Smith stood up, his face serious as he addressed everyone:

  "We’ve been attacked! These are ruthless killers, and everyone o stay alert! If you fall into their hands, death will be the best thing you could hope for!"

  "All soldiers, prepare for battle!"

  "All refugees, get into the tents as quickly as possible!"

  "Mount the crossbows on the walls. They dared to attack me? Let’s knock their teeth out!"

  Now fully awake, the soldiers immediately ordered the refugees to return to their tents.

  They kept a vigint eye on everyone, knowing that the atta Adam Smith right uheir noses in the face to all the guards. With urgency, they quickly forced all the refugees into their tents.

  Then, filled with ahey turheir attention to the oning enemy.

  As the soldiers got into formation, more adventurers safely returo the camp.

  Watg the enemy get closer, Adam Smith couldn’t help but walk toward Matthew's carriage.

  This time, not only were the four s standing by his side, but also more than ten professional guards.

  Ihe tents, a figure shuddered as they stared at the charred corpses on the ground, fear gripping their heart.

  She recalled the swiftness aating power of the "fireball spell" and was grateful for her hesitation earlier.

  So this is the power of an Arist?

  Terrifying!

  "Ding, you have killed 5th-level Assassins x5, gaining 250 experience points and 1 skill point!"

  Spending 100 gold s to get 250 experience points and 1 skill point was well worth it!

  And eliminating these enemies wasn’t the only be Mattheed.

  Cole: Deceased.

  Profession: 5th-level Assassin.

  Identity: Junior assassin of the Assassin’s Guild, Farcicue knight.

  The other four assassins were also part of the Assassin’s Guild, just like the deceased Cole.

  This annoyed Matthew quite a bit!

  Normally, the Assassin’s Guild iheril Empire was limited to providing information or ag as intermediaries.

  Assassinating oners or professionals was ohing, but assassinating those with ies was absolutely forbidden!

  Most nobles iheril Empire were spellcasters, with formidable strength, and they wouldn’t tolerate reckless assassinations!

  No lord or noble would ever allow the Assassin’s Guild to kill nobility or those associated with them.

  Mishandling such situations could cause terrible disasters.

  Just like years ago, when the first king of the heril Empire initiated a bloody era of assassinations to solidate power from ions.

  In the end, he succeeded.

  The heril Empire became a united entity!

  But he also failed, as he was killed in an assassination, and the royal family suffered immense losses.

  This led to the rise of the spellcasters' power!

  Now, the fact that the Assassin’s Guild dared to act like this made Matthew wonder if they had simply grown bolder from a ck of punishment over time...

  Or if they had been taken over by the enemy...

  "It seems the enemy’s forces are quite formidable..."

  Matthew quickly realized that the enemy might have infiltrated Bay Territory by pnting spies among the settlers.

  There was o question it—the answer was obvious!

  He reflected on his ow pcy—everything in Bay Territory had been progressing so smoothly that he had let his guard down.

  Grounding himself again, Matthew couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief.

  His impa the territory’s development was beyond ordinary expectations.

  Many of his hiddes kept prying eyes at bay.

  However, he couldn’t allow this infiltration to tinue unchecked!

  While it was impossible to pletely block out spies, he could at least make it cost them more dearly!

  Watg Adam Smith approach, Matthew’s gaze shifted to the adverailing behind him. Four or five of them carried a distinct aura of hostility, sneaking g Matthew’s dire.

  Matthew didn’t act immediately—he was giving them a ce to "perform."

  Yaya, who had been cirg in the air, nded beside him, bringing the test information on the enemy.

  "The enemy’s otal around 1,500, including 1,200 professionals, with a det level of coordination."

  Matthew reyed this information to Adam Smith, whose face paled as he quickly calcuted their own forces:

  "We have fifty personal guards with an average level of 4, with Captain Mellen at level 10."

  "One hundred and fifty caravan guards with an average level of 2."

  "Five hurained pushcart workers, of whily about eighty are professionals."

  "Fortunately, they all use bows and arrows, and with the camp walls, they should be able to defend."

  "There are four hundred adventurers, though their strength varies, and they may not be entirely reliable. We only have them help defend the fnks..."

  "The Arist is powerful, but even if he goes all out, he could only deal with a couple hundred enemies, so we’ll o save him for crucial moments..."

  "The twenty s and fifty barbarian soldiers are key."

  "Their strength and defensive abilities are critical to holding off the enemy attack..."

  "We still don’t know how many ehere are... Is this the lord’s test for us?"

  "Phew..."

  Ambitious Adam Smith wasn’t tent with just being a mert!

  trolling power and showg ability—that was his true goal!

  FAL