Chapter 419

Chapter 419: Progress From All Sides (Part 3)

One group consisted of a tall carriage with accompanying cavalry guards, comprising over ten people outside the carriage compartment, while the other group was composed of fierce highway robbers numbering more than twenty.

The two groups seemed to have only just begun fighting, with several patches of blood scattered across the ground and a few fallen robbers and cavalrymen.

Currently, due to their numerical advantage, the robbers appeared to hold a slight upper hand.

“Boss! Two young women are heading this way!”

A robber spotted Darkling Stalker and Weak Sound from afar. He quickly disengaged from the fray and shouted toward a burly man seated steadily on a tall horse behind him.

His voice caused both combatants to momentarily halt and look over.

Upon closer inspection, they saw two stunning women—one tall, one petite. The elder appeared around twenty-two with a coldly beautiful countenance, while the younger seemed merely eleven or twelve. Noticing the attention, the little girl instinctively drew closer to the cold-faced woman beside her…

Both factions observed the pair. Some robbers leered at their beauty while others exchanged knowing grins.

They noted that Darkling Stalker and Weak Sound carried no weapons and rode no horses. They resembled ordinary travelers rather than adventurers.

The carriage party, though initially awestruck by the women’s appearance, soon realized this too and showed faint disappointment.

They had hoped for passing adventurers, only to find two women—one being a small-framed child…

“Hey! You two! Get away from here immediately!”

From the carriage group, a valiant ponytailed girl in light armor shouted at Darkling Stalker and Weak Sound. She gripped a bloodied longsword, her face and body smeared with gore—having slain nearly half the fallen robbers.

“Escape? Ha! Where would you flee? If such beauties slipped away, I’d curse myself forever! Lads! Seize those two lovelies first!”

The towering robber chief sneered.

Two nearby robbers chuckled, turning their horses toward the women.

“Halt!”

Before the robbers moved, the valiant girl barked sharply.

“Do you know who I am? I am the eldest daughter of the Duke of the Principality of Reba! Withdraw now, and it’s not too late! When reinforcements arrive, you won’t get off easy!”

“Reinforcements?”

Her words gave the robbers pause, but their leader narrowed his eyes.

“Tch! So the duke’s eldest daughter? Forget whether reinforcements are real—even if they come, so what? We weren’t raised on threats! We’ll finish you before your so-called help arrives!”

“And in this wilderness? How would the duke ever trace your deaths? Suppose he did—heh! We’d flee elsewhere and live free! As for now…” His gaze burned over the valiant girl’s figure. “After all these years robbing, I’ve yet to taste a duke’s daughter.”

He waved dismissively.

“Don’t let this chit frighten you! Why stand gaping? Capture those beauties first—you’ll all get your turn!”

“Yes, Boss!”

The two robbers whooped excitedly, charging toward the women.

…

Darkling Stalker and Weak Sound watched the approaching robbers…

“L-Little Shadow… what do we do?”

Weak Sound gently tugged at Darkling Stalker’s sleeve. Though capable in combat, decision-making troubled the young girl—an ability she’d never mastered.

Their original plan involved living as adventurers in the capital of the Principality of Reba. Acting now might disrupt that plan.

But if they intervened…

Weak Sound cautiously lifted her gaze to Darkling Stalker.

“What do we do…”

Darkling Stalker stared impassively at the approaching thieves.

Escape remained effortless if needed—after all, avoiding trouble was wiser. Yet… if that human girl truly was the duke’s eldest daughter, perhaps…

“Prepare to engage.”

Darkling Stalker’s eyes flickered slightly as she murmured.

Weak Sound nodded obediently.

The instant they decided, two thieves closed in.

“Hey! These pretty things are frozen stiff!”

“Who wouldn’t be, facing fearsome bandits like us? Ahahaha!!”

Chuckling triumphantly, they reached toward the girls with hairy hands.

Just as their fingers extended—a flash of light cut through the air.

Thwick—Thwick—

Two heads soared skyward as blood arced through the air.

The thieves died mid-sneer, their expressions frozen before they could react.

A bloodied dagger now rested in Darkling Stalker’s hand, appearing as if from nowhere.

“H-how?!”

Across the field, combatants halted at the commotion and witnessed the scene.

An instant! They’d defeated two thieves in an instant! Barely perceiving the movement… Could they have misjudged? Was that expressionless woman truly an adventurer?

“Keep attacking the caravan! I’ll handle them!”

The thief leader barked at his underlings, his face darkening.

He charged forth on his stallion, a broad iron sword gleaming in his grip.

Exchanging a glance, Darkling Stalker and Weak Sound didn’t wait—they sprinted toward him.

Hesitation vanished with their commitment to fight.

Their forms blurred into streaks of motion…

Closing the distance, Darkling Stalker darted past the horse’s flank.

A split second later, the stallion’s legs severed. It shrieked, collapsing. The leader, startled but quick, leaped clear as it fell.

His boots barely touched earth when a small fist hammered his forehead.

Boom!

The impact hurled him backward like a ragdoll. He crashed ten meters away, tumbling violently before lying still, unconscious.

This outcome resulted from Weak Sound holding back her strength—a full-powered strike would’ve reduced his skull to gory fragments.