After Master Swordsman Jared entered the forest, he quickly discovered the footprints Laurist had left behind and the few drops of blood from his wounds. With these as clues, he believed that Laurist would not be able to escape his grasp. Although this unexpected Norton kid had used his superior swordsmanship and strange strength to add three wounds to his body, Jared's counterattack had also caused the kid to suffer. Even if the dozen or so wounds were not fatal, the kid had already lost the ability to fight back.
His left cheek started to hurt violently again, and the wounds on his left shoulder and right leg started to burn again. Master Swordsman Jared knew that the rapid movement just now had affected the combat energy that had sealed the wounds, and now the three wounds were bleeding again …
After cursing a few more times, Master Swordsman Jared took out a small silver box from his belt. Fortunately, he still had the healing ointment. He did not expect to be injured when he set off, so he had brought this box of healing ointment just in case. Now, it finally came in handy.
Opening the round silver lid, there was a translucent jelly-like green ointment inside. Master Swordsman Jared applied the ointment to his wounds, and then tore a few strips of cloth from his undershirt to bandage them. He only let out a sigh of relief when he felt a cool sensation from his wounds. Very well, kid from the Norton Family. When I catch you, I'll make you cry and beg for death …
After following the footprints on the ground for nearly a hundred meters, he heard the sound of flowing water. Not good, Master Swordsman Jared had a bad feeling. He strode forward, and sure enough, after passing through a large shrub, a wide stream appeared in front of him. The footprints on the ground also disappeared at the edge of the stream.
The forest here was close to the Blue Cang River, and it was also where the streams from the nearby hills flowed into the Blue Cang River. It was not surprising that there were so many streams here. But to Master Swordsman Jared, losing track of Laurist was the biggest headache. He did not know if Laurist had gone up or down the stream to hide, but he was sure that this Norton kid was not far from him. Perhaps he was hiding behind a large rock on either side of the stream.
"Don't let me catch you. I'll skin you alive!" Master Swordmaster Jared roared angrily. After cursing, he immediately listened. He hoped that Laurist, whom he was chasing, would panic and stop hiding. That way, he would be able to find him.
Unfortunately, Master Swordmaster Jared's roar reverberated through the forest. Apart from scaring away a few birds nearby, there was no other movement.
"I don't believe it. He's only a few minutes faster than me. Where can he hide …" Master Swordsman Jared muttered to himself. Right now, he could only use his senses as a Master Swordsman to search the area and find that kid from the Norton Family.
For Master Swordsman Jared, assassinations were not uncommon. During the empire's civil war, assassinations were most common between the eldest prince and the second prince. No one knew who was the first to be assassinated, but both sides judged each other as the culprit. After all, both sides had the demeanor of knights, and they hated despicable acts like assassinations. The eldest prince was cruel and vicious, while the second prince was vicious and cunning. Both of them saw each other as their greatest rivals for the throne. They would do anything for their own interests. Therefore, they recruited mercenaries who were willing to die as assassins, hoping to eliminate their greatest rivals without fighting.
Those years were quite lively. The eldest prince and the second prince suffered countless assassinations. As far as Master Swordsman Jared knew, the second prince had promised the mercenaries that as long as they succeeded, these lowly mercenaries would become real nobles of the territory. Unfortunately, none of the assassins returned. The second prince had two Master Swordmasters, Jared and Rouince, by his side, and the Master Swordmasters of the eldest prince were not to be trifled with.
Bribing servants and attendants, poisoning, and long-range assassinations were the most common and common assassinations. What left the deepest impression in Jared's mind was that the eldest prince had gotten a beautiful dancer from somewhere and sent her to the second prince through a fallen noble. The dancer's soft, delicate body excited the second prince, and before the banquet was over, he carried the dancer to his bedroom.
Never in her wildest dreams did the dancer expect Master Swordsman Jared to be hiding in the bedroom while the second prince was having sex with her. The two were basically performing a live erotic show in front of the Master Swordsman. After the second prince had vented his anger on the dancer twice, the dancer finally thought that the time had come. She pulled out a small hairpin made from an animal tooth from her hair. However, the blue needle on the hairpin indicated that it had been dipped in poison …
Just as the blue needle was about to pierce the second prince's neck, Master Swordsman Jared made his move and restrained the dancer. The second prince was no longer as tender and sweet as before. The dancer's fate was very tragic. She was tortured by hundreds of ruthless guards for three days and three nights, and even though she was constantly given healing potions, she still died. When the second prince heard the news, he coldly ordered the dancer to be chopped into meat paste and thrown to the wild dogs.
This was the most dangerous assassination the second prince had ever encountered, and it was also the closest to succeeding. The enraged second prince immediately launched a crazy revenge on the eldest prince. Both sides had been at each other's throats for a long time, and they were evenly matched. No one had succeeded. Even the mercenaries who had been recruited as assassins knew that this was a huge pit that could not be filled. No one was willing to jump into it and die. In the end, they had no choice but to stop when they ran out of manpower.
However, in the battle between the eldest prince and the second prince, the most unlucky one was the innocent third prince. The eldest prince and the second prince only faced each other's assassins, but the third prince was the target of the assassins sent by both the eldest prince and the second prince. The main reason was that the eldest prince and the second prince did not want to let the third prince take advantage of them. Thus, the poor third prince was hit by a poisonous arrow, and although he was saved, he could only lie in bed for a long time.
This time, the second prince returned to his old profession, and even sent the only Master Swordsman by his side to assassinate Laurist. It could be said that he hated Laurist to the bone. With the second prince's nature, he believed that Laurist was the main culprit for his complete defeat, being chased out of the Northern Lands, and humiliated to this state. He swore that he would not rest until he killed Laurist.
In the second prince's heart, as long as Master Swordsman Jared took action, there was no reason for him not to succeed. The only Sword Saint in the former Christen Empire had already fallen in the last war against the Forde Trade Union more than thirty years ago. Now, both kingdoms and duchies were ruled by Master Swordsmen, and Master Swordsman Jared was the closest to the Sword Saint realm. He could be said to be half a step away from the peak. As long as he could understand the final key and break through his current bottleneck, it was not impossible for him to become a Sword Saint in another ten years.
The Norton Family only had a few Gold Knights, and there were no Master Swordsmen. Thus, Master Swordsman Jared was very confident in taking Laurist's head. Although the second prince was crazy, he had his own plans. He brought Laurist's head to vent his anger, and also to show off his power to the other lords. Even if he lost his army, he still had a Master Swordsman by his side. Thus, those disobedient lords had to think carefully. Did they disobey His Majesty's orders and lose their heads?
As for the Norton Family's revenge, that was a joke. If they attacked, then the second prince only had to defend the Royal Capital, Winderbury, and wait for his father-in-law, Duke Fisablen, to send reinforcements. If they tried to assassinate him, it would be suicide. With Master Swordsman Jared by his side, no one could touch him.
Even if the Norton Family's armed forces were strong, and the second prince could not defend the Royal Capital, Master Swordsman Jared could protect him as he ran to Duke Fisablen's territory. If the Norton Family's armed forces chased after him, it would be great. The second prince could sit back and watch his father-in-law and the Norton Family fight to the death. It would be best if both sides suffered. Then, he could come out and clean up the mess.
The second prince wasn't the only one who thought this way. Master Swordsman Jared felt the same way. He was only going to the North, and taking the head of that kid from the Norton family would be a piece of cake. It would only take him a little more than a month to go back and forth.
Although the second prince was only his swordsmanship apprentice, Master Swordsman Jared had long treated the second prince as his own son. He was obsessed with swordsmanship and had no family or friends. Other than his junior, Rouince, who was left behind by his master, the second prince, who had learned swordsmanship from Master Swordsman Jared at the age of eight, was the closest person to him. Even though the second prince had all kinds of bad habits, he was very filial to Master Swordsman Jared. After more than 40 years together, the two were like father and son.
However, Master Swordsman Jared did not expect the Norton kid to be so difficult to deal with. Not only did he not succeed, but he was also injured by the kid's strange power. Although the kid did not have it easy either, he escaped into the forest with his injuries. But if Jared could not find the kid and bring back his head, this incident would become a lifelong humiliation for Master Swordsman Jared.
The sound of people shouting and horses neighing could be heard from the edge of the forest. That was the arrival of the Norton Family's reinforcements. They would also enter the forest to search. Master Swordsman Jared did not care. If they were on flat ground, he would have to retreat when faced with thousands of people. But now that he was in the forest, the Norton Family's armed forces could not pose a threat to him at all. At most, he could kill as many as they came.
But where was the Norton Family kid hiding? Maybe he was looking in the wrong direction. Should he go up again?
In fact, Lester was only 20 to 30 meters away from Master Swordsman Jared. He did not hide behind the boulders near the stream or the forest. When he arrived at the stream, he found a hanging vine and climbed it quickly. Then, he used the tree trunk to get as far away from the stream as possible. When he was exhausted and slumped on the tree, he finally felt a sense of security.
Sure enough, the old Master Swordsman Jared began to search the boulders on both sides of the stream and the nearby forest. He focused all his attention on the ground, hoping to find footprints and other traces. He did not even think to look up.
Lester let out a sigh of relief. When he recovered some strength, he began to treat the wounds on his body. While he was running, he had sealed a few acupuncture points to temporarily stop the bleeding. But climbing trees caused his wounds to bleed again. In the forest, bleeding was a big taboo. The magical beasts with a keen sense of smell could easily follow the scent of blood. This was much more difficult than hiding from the old Master Swordsman.
Compared to Master Swordsman Jared, Lester obviously had more healing medicines on him. There was a secret pocket in his robe that contained three or four types of medicinal powders and ointments. But the most troublesome thing was to take off the steel wire armor he was wearing. In his last close combat encounter with the old Master Swordsman, Lester had been hit more than ten times by the old Master Swordsman's counterattacks. The steel wire armor on his chest had been cut into pieces by the sword aura, and a few of the steel wires had pierced into his skin.
Lester clenched his teeth, and finally managed to take off the broken steel wire armor. The clothes on his chest were once again dyed red with blood. Since his clothes were drenched, Lester simply took them off and sealed a few acupuncture points to stop the bleeding. He first applied medicinal powder, then found a curved needle and connected it to a long catgut in a small silver box. He gently cut off a small branch in front of him, bit it in his mouth, and trembled as he endured the pain and used the curved needle to stitch up the long sword wounds on his body.
After cleaning the wound and applying medicine, Loriste cut open his undershirt and bandaged it. His entire body was covered in sweat, and his head was starting to feel a little dizzy. He took out a small, flat silver pot from the inside of his robe. Inside it was a Level 2 Healing Potion. He poured two drops into his mouth and closed his eyes to rest for a long time before he regained consciousness. He could feel his body regaining some strength.
Lester put on his robe and used a strip of cloth from his undershirt to tie it up. Only then did he hear the sounds of fighting coming from the other side of the river. When Lester stood on a tree branch and looked towards the river, he couldn't help but be shocked. It had already become a bloody battlefield. Hundreds of corpses of Norton Family soldiers and warhorses were strewn across the river, and there was only one enemy — the ghostly old Master Swordsman …
However, Master Swordsman Jared was also in a sorry state. His hair was disheveled, and there were many wounds on his body. There was even an arrow stuck in his back. No matter how many he killed, Master Swordsman Jared had no choice but to focus and try his best to deal with the Norton Family soldiers who were swarming towards him.
At first, Master Swordsman Jared was dealing with a group of longbowmen on horseback. The hundreds of arrows did not pose a threat to him, and he even charged into the midst of the longbowmen to kill them. However, he did not expect that the more he killed, the more arrows there were, especially a long green arrow that caused him to suffer a great loss. He thought that this arrow was the same as the other arrows, so he casually blocked it. He did not expect that the Dou Qi contained in this green arrow would suddenly burst out, breaking his long sword in an instant. Dozens of arrows flew towards him, forcing him to dodge, even causing him to be shot in the back.
Master Swordsman Jared was enraged. He wanted to settle the score with the person who had plotted against him, but he realized that the person who had shot the green arrow was a Golden Sharpshooter. Every time the Golden Sharpshooter drew his bow, Master Swordsman Jared had to be on guard. Finally, he found an opportunity to injure the Golden Sharpshooter. Just as he was about to take his life, another Golden Knight rushed over and blocked his attack, saving the Golden Sharpshooter.
Now, Master Swordsman Jared finally understood why the second prince's army of a hundred thousand had been wiped out by the Norton family's armed forces. The elite soldiers in front of him were the best he had ever seen. Even when facing a Master Swordsman, they did not hesitate to fight first. The Golden Knight in front of him, for example, had a solid foundation in swordsmanship, and was able to parry nearly a hundred moves before he was defeated.
The serious injuries of the two Golden Knights did not deter the soldiers of the Norton family. They rushed forward in a frenzy, risking their lives. Even if they could inflict a small wound on Master Swordsman Jared, they would gladly exchange their lives for their lives. Some even threw away their weapons and rushed forward to entangle the enemy so that their comrades could avenge them.
Master Swordsman Jared could not remember how many Combat Aura he had killed. His Combat Aura was almost exhausted. Even though he was a Level 3 Master Swordsman, his Combat Aura was not limitless. It could only last longer than the Golden Knights. Against the Norton soldiers, Jared realized that his combat energy was being depleted at a rapid rate. The standard equipment that the soldiers were wearing required more combat energy to cut them in half than the standard armor they were wearing.
When dozens of steel crossbows joined the battle, Master Swordsman Jared was at a disadvantage. He did not expect these crossbow bolts to be even more powerful than the arrows shot by the Golden Master Archer. His carelessness resulted in two more wounds on his body. One of the steel crossbow bolts grazed his left rib, leaving a long gash, while the other bolt pierced through his right calf, leaving a bloody hole.
Master Swordsman Jared had long since wanted to retreat. If he did not run now, he might really be killed by these Norton soldiers. While he still had some Combat Aura left, he quickly dashed into the forest and ran in the direction of Laurist's hiding spot.
Once he recovered his Combat Aura, he would naturally find these bastards from the Norton family and settle the score with them! Master Swordsman Jared was very worried as he ran. Seeing that the bushes in front of him were blocking his way, he leaped up and used the last of his Combat Aura to jump onto a large tree in front of him.
Master Swordsman Jared was very satisfied. This tree branch was not bad. The trunk was thick, and the leaves were dense. It was impossible to find him under the tree. Just as he raised his head to survey his surroundings, he saw a pair of angry eyes and a gleaming sword in front of him. "Bastard, die!"
…
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