Chapter 79

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Chapter 79: Brat, Don’t You Know Whose Territory This Is?

After completing her actions, Isatia walked to the spot where the young man had been eliminated earlier, her expression unchanging.

She picked up the map fragments he had dropped and then moved around several armoured men, as if intending to collect their map fragments as well.

“They are the guards of this town, not living creatures. They don’t carry maps,” Winnie hesitated for a moment but eventually spoke up.

“…”

Isatia remained silent, her gaze shifting slowly to Winnie.

Those purple eyes, strikingly similar to Aesphyra’s, bore into him, making Winnie feel an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Purple eyes were a hallmark of the Carillian family. As Carillian relatives, the Lanteville family, whose ancestors had married the princess of the Carillian Empire, had naturally inherited this trait.

Winnie cursed himself for speaking up.

He shouldn’t have revealed himself at such a time.

Wouldn’t it have been better to play dead?

Perhaps she would have ignored him entirely, given his low presence, and simply left after dealing with the guards.

Now that he had drawn their attention, if she were interested in his points or the map he carried, escaping would be nearly impossible.

What to do…

Outwardly, Winnie appeared calm, but inside, he was a bundle of nerves.

This might be his first real confrontation with the female protagonist.

Having witnessed Isatia’s strength, Winnie was fully convinced that any misstep could result in his instant demise at her hands.

Should he take the risk and call out for Vanessa?

Winnie pondered this silently, but before he could reach a decision, the cold, black-haired beauty spoke.

“Thank you.” Her words were as fleeting and cold as the scent of a rose, leaving an impression but disappearing just as quickly.

By the time Winnie processed what had happened, the black-haired girl was already gone from the tavern.

Did Isatia, that strong and aloof beauty, just thank him? Really?

And she hadn’t attacked him. Was it because of his earlier reminder?

“Crack, crack…” Just as Winnie was grappling with his thoughts, the armoured men lying on the ground with their legs in the air began to move, their joint armor making sharp, clinking sounds.

Huh? These guys are still alive?

After being hit by an element storm, are they still functioning? They’re incredibly resilient.

Or perhaps they’re immortal within this town?

After all, they exist within the rules.

If you attack someone in the town, these guards might just respawn indefinitely.

In less than five seconds, the armoured men stood up again.

However, before they could take any action, another round of the tri-elemental storm blasted them, sending them back to the ground.

Only after ensuring they were too damaged to rise again did Isatia finally leave.

“……”

Winnie stared at the utterly demolished tavern, remaining silent for a long while.

After some time, the “cracking” sound returned, and the armoured men, who had been “killed” twice, stood up once more.

This time, however, they found no enemies.

They shook their heads in place, as if searching for traces of their assailant.

Eventually, unable to locate the enemy, they returned to their posts.

It seemed Winnie’s guess was correct. These armoured men were indeed immortal.

No matter how many times they were struck down, they would always rise again to continue their search for the enemy.

However, once the enemy left the town, the guards had no way to pursue them and could only return to their original positions.

Moreover, Winnie sensed that these armoured men weren’t simply dying and waiting to be resurrected.

Each time they were killed, they seemed to grow stronger.

If they could still be dealt with in the first few encounters, they had now been strengthened to the point where no one except the female protagonists could defeat them.

Had it been anyone else causing trouble, they might have been captured by the guards, but there was nothing they could do.

The one who had come here to stir up chaos was the female protagonist, and so these armoured men had been reduced to mere playthings.

In addition, Winnie noticed other armoured men standing outside the tavern who had come as reinforcements.

It seemed that if Isatia hadn’t left when she did, escaping would have been far more difficult.

Of course, it’s just a bit troublesome, but you can still proceed.

After all, they are favored by fate, there will always be a way forward.

Even when pushed to the brink, unexpected opportunities will arise.

This is the leeway granted by destiny.

After the commotion, Winnie didn’t bother with the spilled glass of fruit juice.

He walked out of the tavern, which no longer even had a door, and noticed many people staring in his direction.

They seemed shocked by what had just happened. How had an entire wall of the pub vanished by the time they arrived?

Many who were familiar with the town’s rules appeared particularly surprised.

Wasn’t it agreed that violence was forbidden within the town?

How could such a massive disturbance still allow the instigator to escape?

No, it couldn’t even be called an escape. The culprit had walked out openly, and no one had dared to stop her.

These guards were like pawns on a chessboard, knocked down with a wave of a hand, only to rise and be struck down again.

So, were these guards completely useless?

Were they just a bluff written into the rules, with no real power?

If the person earlier could do this, why couldn’t they?

The earlier fight had drawn the attention of nearly everyone in the town, and as Winnie walked out, all eyes turned to him, including those of many who had been hiding earlier.

“Hey, you.”

Winnie said nothing, continuing to walk forward.

“Hey, you’re Winnie, right?”

“No, goodbye.” Winnie didn’t even glance at the person who had called out to him.

He knew instinctively that anyone who recognized him and approached him now likely had ill intentions.

“Master Winnie, where are you going? Don’t leave, we’re on the same side,” one of the three men shouted hurriedly as Winnie tried to walk away.

“On the same side? What do you mean by that?” Winnie frowned and took a few steps back.

“Teams aren’t allowed in the dungeon assessment. You’d better not drag me into your mess. Stay away from me.”

“Master Winnie, have you forgotten? Look at this,” one of them pointed to the blue armband on his arm.

“Do you remember this?”

“I don’t remember, and I don’t understand,” Winnie shook his head.

“You!… Stop pretending. We all know you have a blue armband too!” one of them finally snapped, unable to keep up the act any longer.

Seeing that the other party had dropped the pretense, Winnie smiled.

“What blue armband? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides, how can you be so sure I have one? I’ve never seen you before, so how do you even know who I am?”

“Alright, alright, it’s clear Master Winnie isn’t in the mood for games. We understand that there are too many people here, and it’s not a good place to talk. Let’s go somewhere more private to discuss this,” the young man acting as the peacemaker stepped forward and placed a hand on Winnie’s shoulder.

“Let go,” Winnie said coldly.

“Master Winnie, what’s the matter?” The young man frowned.

“Let’s talk this through. It’s too crowded here. We can find a better place to discuss things. If you have any grievances, you can tell us.”

“I told you to take your dirty hands off me. Didn’t you hear me?” Winnie’s voice was icy.

“You brat! Just because I gave you a little leeway, you think you can start a dyeing factory, huh? Watch me teach you a lesson!”

“Calm down! We’re still in the town,” another young man held back the burly one and said.

“What are you afraid of? Someone just eliminated other candidates in the town. Did she get in trouble? Those guards are just for show. I think they’re only there to scare the weak!”

“No need to wait for the others. The three of us are enough. We happened to run into each other, and now’s the perfect time to take this guy out!”

“Oh?” Winnie raised an eyebrow.

“Three of you teaming up? Think carefully before you act. Forming teams is strictly prohibited.”

“Humph, don’t accuse us falsely. Besides, we just need to get rid of you. We don’t care about the rules!”

“That’s right. With your reputation as a villain, isn’t it normal for you to be targeted? We’re not a team, and we didn’t plan this in advance,” the other young man sneered, now convinced that the guards were merely decorative.

“Brothers, let’s do it.”

As they spoke, the three men drew their weapons and charged at Winnie.

Winnie stepped back to dodge the dagger attack, but his reflexes weren’t quick enough to avoid all the strikes.

So, he summoned his soul armament.

“Clang! Clang!” The sound of metal clashing echoed as the weapons of the three young men bounced off the thick armor now covering Winnie’s body.

“What is this?” The three attackers were baffled as they stared at the familiar armor Winnie now wore.

When did this guy manage to steal the town guards’ armor and put it on himself?

The only difference was that Winnie’s armor seemed far more luxurious than the guards’.

“You three really have a death wish,” Winnie said, clad in his [Armour Fortress], as he casually stroked the Frost Fang in his hand and rested it on his shoulder.

“Don’t you know whose territory this is? With a single command from me, my subordinates will come with a truckload of armoured men to chop you down. Understand?”

“This kid’s gone mad, spouting nonsense! Brothers, release your magic souls!”

“Wow.” Winnie smirked as he watched the town guards closing in on the three men.

“I’m afraid you won’t get the chance.”

“Ahh! Who—who dares!?” The young man in the middle screamed as a sharp pain shot through his chest.

He looked down to see a double-edged spear piercing through him.

Turning around, he found a group of heavily armored town guards surrounding him.

“When did they—? Damn it…”

“What’s there to fear? These are just intimidating toys. Nothing to worry about. We can just knock them over and be done with it,” one of the young men said, channeling a mana to imbue his longsword with immense force.

He swung it at the armoured man behind him.

“Cpang!” With a loud clang, the young man felt as though his hand was about to shatter, but the armoured man in front of him remained unscathed, its silver armor gleaming.

How is this armor so tough? They were knocked down so easily earlier…

Winnie stood leaning on his spear, not taking any action.

He knew that if he intervened, the guards would turn on him as well.

So, he simply watched the guards do their work.

However, to the onlookers, the scene looked like several armoured guards surrounding a fewcandidates, with the most extravagantly dressed armoured man, Winnie, standing by with a spear in hand, as if he were the one giving orders and directing the guards.

Many of the candidates watching from a distance, unaware of the full story, began to believe that these guards were Winnie’s subordinates and that Winnie held authority over the entire town.

They quickly shrank back, not daring to get involved in the matter.

“Damn it!” The reality proved that not everyone can act like the protagonist.

If you don’t have the protagonist’s abilities, don’t try to act like one.

In less than a minute, the three fools were utterly defeated by the guards who surrounded them.

“Thank you all for coming all this way to deliver the maps to me,” Winnie said with a nasty grin as he approached, which infuriated the three who were about to be eliminated due to their shattered tokens.

Before they could even start cursing, they were teleported out of the dungeon.

Winnie picked up their maps and confirmed that they matched his own.

It seemed they were also aware of the town’s rules.

He pocketed Map No. 2, the one he needed, and glanced at his token.

To his surprise, his points had increased by twenty, now totaling thirty-nine points.

Oh, so points are awarded based on proximity, huh?

Since the guards couldn’t earn any points, they must have transferred the points to Winnie, who had been attacked by the trio earlier.

Winnie guessed that was the case.

It was getting late, and he needed to leave the town.

As he set off, something puzzled him.

When he exited the town and checked his token again, he noticed his points had increased once more, from thirty-nine to fifty-five.

What’s going on?

Winnie couldn’t figure it out.

What he didn’t know was that, just as he was leaving through the side exit, a drama was unfolding at the town’s main entrance.

“Oh my, this dungeon is so vast. Where are we supposed to find that little brat?”

“Hey, brother, there’s a town ahead. Should we head there?”

As the two hesitated about their next move, the eldest brother’s eyes lit up, and he burst into uncontrollable laughter.

“Brother, what’s going on?”

“Brother, we searched high and low, only to find him effortlessly in the end.”

“That brat Winnie—he won’t escape this time!”

“Huh? The kid’s nearby?” The younger brother glanced around in confusion.

“Look over there. Isn’t that him?” The eldest brother sneered, pointing at the guard standing by the door.

“Brother, that’s an armoured man, isn’t it? How is that Winnie?”

“You don’t get it. Before we entered the dungeon, the young master told me privately that Winnie’s soul armament is [Armour Fortress], and he even showed me the pattern of [Armour Fortress]. There’s no mistake, it’s him!”

“But, brother, isn’t this a bit of a stretch? What if we’re wrong?” The younger brother stared at the dazed armoured man in the distance, feeling something was off but unable to pinpoint what.

“Don’t worry. I guarantee there’s no other fool in the entire kingdom, or even the empire, who could have devoured such an antiquated soul armament. It has to be that idiot Winnie!”

“So, [Armour Fortress] must belong to Winnie. Enough talk, get ready for battle. Let’s go and finish him!” With that, the eldest brother drew his longsword.

The reason he was called the eldest brother was because of his outstanding magical aptitude, he had a noble three-star soul armament!

Dealing with Winnie’s outdated One Star Soul Armament?

As long as he had hands, it should be easy, right?

In his mind, the biggest challenge wasn’t defeating Winnie, it was finding him.

Now that he had, it was time to make his first contribution!

“Brother, I’ll help you achieve greatness!” With that, the eldest brother shouted, “Winnie, prepare to die!” and charged forward.

Seeing this, the younger brother had no choice but to follow.

As for why Winnie didn’t move as they rushed toward him, the eldest brother assumed it was because Winnie was intimidated by his aura.

Still not moving? Good, you’re ignoring me, huh?

The eldest brother was furious.

He leaped into the air and brought his flaming sword down on the armoured man’s head.