Emotionless Swordsmanship Genius

Chapter 53: The Woman of the Chakran Tribe (1)

The three travelers, having left the Mekler Mountains behind, galloped across the seemingly endless Kennet Plains, growing weary under the relentless sun. With no shade in sight, they had been riding without rest.

“The horses need a break. Let’s stop for a while. There’s a village nearby,” Hinshan said, slowing down. Shong, looking around in confusion, scratched his head.

“A village? I don’t see anything.”

“Follow me,” Hinshan replied with a knowing smile, taking the lead again. Karon silently chewed on some dried herbs, trailing behind.

“How can you even eat that stuff?” Shong muttered, drenched in sweat, as he followed.

“Wow! This place is amazing!” Shong exclaimed when they reached their destination.

They had arrived at an underground village connected by tunnels. The labyrinth-like tunnels were lined with homes, and at the center of it all was a large communal area bustling with shops and markets.

The three handed over their horses to the stable at the entrance before entering the central square.

“Ah, no wonder the road was so empty. Everyone’s here,” Shong remarked, looking around in awe. Just as he said, the square was packed with people going about their business.

There were stalls selling meat, fruit, and grain, alongside blacksmiths, clothing vendors, and artisans. There was even a farm raising livestock underground. Truly, the village had everything one could need.

The large communal space was the only area where the ceiling was open to the sky, letting in sunlight.

The reason for the village’s underground development was simple. It provided shelter from the heat in summer and from the cold in winter. But the most important reason was something else.

“Gryphons?”

“Yes. The wide plains here are plagued by gryphon attacks. They prey on livestock and even attack people. This underground village naturally protects us from them. Gryphons, with the body and face of a lion and the massive wings of an eagle…” Hinshan explained but suddenly stopped. “Wait, where’s Karon?”

The two looked around and found Karon purchasing something nearby. As they got closer, they saw that he was buying dried taben vine.

“Oh? They sell that here too,” Shong said, surprised.

Karon finally spoke, breaking his silence. “I’ll buy some more and dry it further.”

“Karon.”

Shong suddenly grew serious, his gaze fixed on something. Karon noticed the shift in Shong’s expression and instinctively knew something was up. They exchanged a brief glance, and Shong nodded. He had seen the faint yellow glow.

“Why don’t we go get a drink at the tavern?” Hinshan, unaware of the situation, suggested cheerfully, leading them toward the tavern. The two followed without giving anything away.

Coincidentally, the yellow glow was coming from inside the tavern.

The tavern’s sign featured a beer mug and food, and upon entering, the interior was warmly lit with numerous candles and lanterns, creating a cozy atmosphere.

The place was busy, with many people enjoying food and drink.

“Two beers and a fruit wine,” Hinshan ordered as they sat down. He always ordered fruit wine for Karon, knowing he didn’t drink alcohol. However, both Karon and Shong were focused elsewhere.

Hinshan, sharp as ever, quickly caught on.

“Are they enemies?” he asked quietly.

“We don’t know yet,” Karon replied swiftly.

Hinshan glanced over at where the two were looking.

In a corner of the tavern, a woman was eating alone. She had black hair, a diamond-shaped mark on her forehead, and silver eyes.

‘Is she from the Chakran tribe?’ Hinshan’s face momentarily creased in thought.

The woman kept glancing around nervously while shoving bread and meat into her mouth. Her hair was a mess, her face smeared with dirt, and her clothes were little more than rags. However, the leather boots she wore were strangely pristine, almost new.

‘Why are they so wary of such a shabby-looking woman?’ Hinshan thought. The only thing notable about her was her unusually strong physique for a woman.

As Hinshan pondered, Karon’s attention shifted to the tavern’s entrance.

There, a group of men dressed like hunters but with menacing looks scanned the room, grinning as they revealed their yellowed teeth. In their hands, they carried bloodstained, fearsome weapons.

Karon recognized them instantly.

They were slavers.

“There she is!”

“Catch her! Don’t kill her!”

Four slavers spread out, closing in on the woman in the corner. The woman, while continuing to eat, kept a wary eye on them. It seemed she hadn’t had a proper meal in a long time, as even in the face of danger, she couldn’t stop eating.

“Now!”

As the slavers drew closer, two of them lunged at her. That’s when something astonishing happened.

Tap!

The woman leapt into the air, using a chair and a table to propel herself upward, narrowly avoiding their grasp as if she were running along the wall. She landed on the opposite side of the tavern, but not without injury—one slaver’s blade had grazed her side.

Thud!

As soon as her feet hit the ground, a gust of wind seemed to explode around her, and she bolted out of the tavern at an incredible speed, far beyond that of an ordinary person.

“Damn slippery woman!”

“After her!”

The slavers stumbled in their pursuit, rushing out of the tavern after her.

The tavern was left in disarray, with tables and chairs strewn about as if a storm had blown through. While the innkeeper clicked his tongue and began cleaning up the mess, the beers and fruit wine they had ordered arrived.

“Karon, shouldn’t we go after them?” Hinshan asked, turning his head back to where Karon had been sitting, only to find that he was already gone.

Shong leisurely handed him a beer and responded, “Don’t worry. Even if a hundred of those slavers show up, they wouldn’t stand a chance against Karon. Just have your beer. He’ll be back soon enough.”

“A-ah…” Hinshan stammered, still bewildered. Meanwhile, Shong eyed Karon’s fruit wine and, taking a sip, grimaced.

“Ugh! What is this flavor?”

—

“Hah… Hah…” Flora had barely escaped the underground village, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She couldn’t stop running, but her body was failing to keep up with the enchanted power of her boots.

Her lungs felt like they were about to burst, and cramps threatened to seize her thighs. She nearly vomited the food she had just eaten. Though she had always prided herself on her stamina, the boots’ abilities were overwhelming.

On top of that, the wound on her side where the slaver’s blade had grazed her was worsening, and she was losing more blood.

“There she is!”

“Catch her!”

The slavers, having climbed to the plains, spotted her once again.

“Damn it!”

She summoned all her remaining strength and pushed through the tall reeds, running south toward the Mekler Mountains. If she could reach the mountains, they would never find her.

However, as she sprinted across the endless field, she suddenly skidded to a stop.

Shhh-

Her feet dragged against the ground as she finally halted.

“Shit… damn it…” she muttered through ragged breaths.

Ahead of her, just beyond the vast plains, lay the distant Mekler Mountains. She was so close, but blocking her path was a line of slavers—dozens of them on horseback, spread wide, waiting for her.

“I knew you’d try to run this way, thinking you could escape into the Mekler Mountains,” said a red-haired man who seemed to be the leader. He slowly approached on horseback, licking the edge of his sword with a greedy smile.

“I guess I’ll have to cut off those legs of yours before we take you. You’re far too wild,” he sneered, his gaze fixated on her boots.

The slavers, as always, had no qualms about maiming or killing their captives. In fact, many of them relished it.

“Why are you so hell-bent on capturing us?!” Flora screamed in desperation, her voice echoing toward the Mekler Mountains.

Her tribe had been massacred, the women enslaved and sold off in the capital. The slavers had even forced her people to transfer demonic orbs into objects, killing those who failed. Many women from her Chakran tribe were still enslaved. All of this had been orchestrated by none other than the Blue Raven Clan.

Flora had managed to steal a low-grade orb and transfer its power into her boots. That had allowed her to escape, but for days now, the slavers had been hunting her down relentlessly.

They were frighteningly good at tracking escaped slaves.

“Heh heh heh! Finally got you,” the slaver behind her taunted. She turned to see the slavers closing in, leaving her no room to escape.

She bit her lip and tensed her legs, bracing herself. If she was going to be captured, she would rather die fighting.

With her injury, running was no longer an option.

Shhlick!

Thud! Thud!

Suddenly, two slavers’ heads rolled off their bodies, their necks cleanly severed, before they even knew what hit them.

A bloodstained black blade was thrust into the ground.

For a moment, silence reigned.

It took a few seconds for the slavers to realize what had happened. By the time the black blade disappeared back into the reeds, the slavers finally understood they were under attack.

“We’re under attack!”

“Be careful, c—urk!”

Another slaver, perched on his horse, was struck down, his body collapsing to the ground as blood sprayed from his wound.

The mysterious attacker disappeared once again into the tall grass, using the cover of the reeds to hunt the slavers on horseback, one by one.

“Get down from the horses!”

“We’re sitting ducks up here!” the red-haired leader shouted as more slavers fell. He realized being on horseback made them easy targets.

As his order rang out, the slavers hurriedly dismounted. But that was exactly what the mysterious assailant had been waiting for.

Even in the reeds, he had no difficulty locating them. The stench of their blood, sweat, and fear, along with the rustling sounds of their movements, gave them away.

Slick!

Another slaver let out a cry of agony as his chest was sliced open.

Meanwhile, Flora was paralyzed, unable to comprehend the sudden carnage around her. Blood sprayed into the air with every scream, painting the once-green reeds red. Groans of pain echoed from all directions.

She couldn’t tell how long it lasted.

Eventually, silence fell over the field. No more screams, no more movement—only the occasional whinny of the abandoned horses could be heard.

Then, someone appeared in front of her.

She hadn’t noticed him approaching at all, so when he stood before her, it startled her. His face was expressionless, though speckled with blood, and his black blade still dripped red with fresh gore.

Flora’s head spun, and her body, already pushed beyond its limits, finally gave out.

Thud!

She collapsed to the ground, fainting from exhaustion and relief.

“…Ah…” Karon let out a small sigh without realizing it.

Why do the women I meet always end up fainting? he wondered.

Sheathing his black blade, he scratched his head and then, noticing her leather boots, paused in thought for a moment.

But he quickly brushed the thought aside, carefully lifting her into his arms. Without wasting any time, he started running back toward the underground village.

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