Chapter 39: Stealing Items in Stealth

In his previous life, Qin Yu had learned stealth techniques from a master assassin whose ID he remembered as “Assassin Unrivaled.”

The man always said, “Stealth just means killing everyone who sees you,” but his actual technique was superb. He had once infiltrated the territories of major guilds without a sound to gather intelligence, earning him a bounty from many of them. In short, he was a top-tier player.

Although the duration of [Shadow Step] had ended, the title’s active speed-boost effect still had 20 seconds remaining. After locating the guard on the wall, Qin Yu moved swiftly.

Backstab—Instant Kill. Dealing with these low-tier creatures was convenient; they lacked the protective abilities of higher-tier beings. Just aim for the weak points and be done with it. Of course, one had to assess whether the target was naturally resilient before attempting such a move.

Dragging the guard’s corpse into a crate, Qin Yu donned the guard’s uniform. Now, he could walk through the stronghold openly.

At this point, the title’s active effect faded, and its passive effect went on a 90-second cooldown before it could be reactivated.

Donning the disguise, Qin Yu mimicked the guard’s posture and approached the main gate to scout the situation. Two guards were there, drinking and chatting.

“Time to set a few fires and cause some chaos.”

Qin Yu swept his gaze over the stronghold’s buildings and focused on the warehouse where the bandit supplies were stored.

“Is burning it all down a bit much?”

Although this was for the purpose of training troops, Qin Yu couldn’t afford to walk away empty-handed; at the very least, he had to loot the stronghold’s supplies.

Wait—not looting. It was “justly claiming spoils of war.” Suppressing bandits was a righteous act!

Taking advantage of the guards’ distraction, Qin Yu slipped into the warehouse. With his 100-cubic-meter storage space, he swept everything inside into his inventory.

Leaving the shell of the building behind as cover, he lit a few fires and slipped out through a side door.

Before long, thick smoke drew the attention of the guards.

“Oh no! The warehouse is on fire!”

“Put it out! Move the supplies!”

…

The guards scrambled to react.

“Boss! Chiefs! It’s an emergency!”

The drunken bandit leader and his underlings were jolted awake.

“Wh-what is it?! Speak!”

“The warehouse… it’s on fire!”

“What?!”

The news sobered them up instantly. That warehouse held their food supply for the next month; if it burned down, they would all be left to starve.

“Forget the fire! Move the supplies out first!”

“Yes!”

His subordinates ran out immediately.

“Boss, how could the warehouse catch fire?” another subordinate asked, puzzled. The warehouse had a strict “no open flame” policy to prevent exactly this.

“Could someone have done this on purpose?”

Upon that realization, the leader grabbed his machete and charged out, followed by his subordinates.

Once the fire started, the guards at the gate also rushed to help put it out. Qin Yu seized the chance to unlock the main gate, letting Luna and Hicari inside.

“I knew it!”

The leader, having just stepped out, scanned the situation: the warehouse was packed with his men, and now intruders were storming the gate.

“Brothers! Prepare for battle!”

With a roar, the bandits mobilized, charging toward the gate.

The incoming mob of bandits was somewhat intimidating, but these children had seen far more terrifying monsters.

Doom! Doom! Doom!

Volley after volley of Blood Missiles flew out. The charging bandits fell in succession, causing those behind them to hesitate.

“Blood magic?”

The bandit leader frowned. Although most of the enemies were just children, they were using blood magic and wearing gear similar to that of the Holy See—it was bizarre.

“The leader is a forest elf!”

“It’s true! Boss! Let’s go capture her!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

Seeing Hicari, the minor leaders—who hadn’t touched a woman in months—grew excited.

“If you want that elf, then I’ll take that blue-haired little girl.”

…

The aggressive bandit group charged toward Luna and Hicari.

The attacks of the Tier 1 Blood Believers were like a tickle to the Tier 4 minor leaders. Seeing the three Tier 4 leaders closing in, Hicari and Luna took action.

“[Moonlight]!”

A slash of moonlight cut toward one of the Tier 4 leaders. Without any preparation, the leader was decapitated instantly.

This drew the full attention of the other leaders and the chief.

“Brothers, focus on defense!”

More moonlight slashes followed, but this time, the element of surprise was gone; the attacks were blocked. However, the leaders’ weapons began to crack—the power of Luna’s moonlight was formidable enough to kill them instantly if they let their guard down.

While they were preoccupied with Luna, Hicari lunged with her lance.

Clang!

One of the leader’s weapons shattered, and a large hole was punched through his chest.

“Good job, Hicari~”

Nanafu watched the show from afar with the children.

Losing two subordinates in an instant infuriated the leader. Other bandits attempted to fire arrows at Hicari and Luna, but their arrows simply vanished.

Qin Yu had taken advantage of the chaos to accelerate and steal all their ammunition.

The leader noticed a “petty thief” hiding in the shadows and threw his sword toward the crates. Qin Yu’s hiding spot was blown apart.

“Your senses are pretty sharp.”

Qin Yu revealed himself. He was separated from Luna and Hicari, meaning he was surrounded.

“Kill him!”

At the leader’s command, several Tier 3 bandits surged forward.

Hicari and Luna couldn’t easily leave the children to help Qin Yu, but he didn’t need their help. The previous round of combat had already bumped his XP enough to reach Tier 2, allowing him to deal damage to the Tier 5 leader.

Wielding the [Blood Thorn] and utilizing Grandmaster-level sword techniques, Qin Yu made short work of the Tier 3 bandits.

“[Reverse Fire]!”

A spinning slash of flames incinerated the attackers. At that moment, Luna and Hicari realized Qin Yu was no ordinary person.

‘That swordsmanship… have I seen it somewhere before?’

Hicari found the techniques familiar but couldn’t place where she had seen them.

‘Why are the Lord’s sword skills the same as those used by the Dark Night Sword Saint?’

Just because Hicari didn’t remember didn’t mean Nanafu didn’t. The moment Qin Yu moved, Nanafu recognized the style.

It was exactly the same as the Dark Night Sword Saint, one of the Four Sword Saints who had come to Avalon to spar with the Golden Sword Saint. Were the two of them master and disciple?