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Chapter 173 Chapter 173: The Unexpected Encounter

"Thank you for your diligence. If you\'re tired, you\'re welcome to rest in my carriage."

"No, no, Lord Charl, your kindness to us is as heavy as a mountain. Now is our time to repay. Until you are completely safe, we cannot afford any slack."

"You... sigh! You really don\'t have to do this. As Relic Users, you all have bright futures ahead, no need to hang your hopes on me. If we encounter an insurmountable enemy, forget about me and save yourselves."

Charl faked a helpless sigh, and as expected, his words only stoked the loyalty of the six guards outside the carriage.

"If Lord Charl is gone, what purpose do we have left?"

"Whoever dares abandon Lord Charl, I will be the first to slay them!"

"And Lord Charl, please don\'t say such things again!"

"Exactly, besides, with the six of us here, there is no enemy we cannot face!"

Listening to the devotion of his guards, Charl\'s anxiety gradually eased. Indeed, with the Empress likely preoccupied with the curse on the non-human races, and barring her intervention, the combined might of six Relic Users could handle almost any threat, even General Long himself.

Just as Charl was comforting himself with these thoughts, his carriage came to a sudden jarring halt, nearly throwing him from his seat.

"What the—"

"What\'s happening!?"

As Charl steadied himself and hastily pulled back the curtain to look outside, he saw a solitary figure blocking their path ahead. The individual\'s attire was distinctly non-Dragon Nation in style.

Dressed in a tailcoat and wearing an odd, tall hat that shadowed half of his face, the stranger\'s appearance was obscured, making it impossible for Charl to discern any details. The figure was dressed entirely in black, except for white gloves on both hands, giving off an eerie and sinister vibe.

Without a word, the six Relic Users guarding Charl sprung into action. The one wielding an ice bow fired the first shot, launching an arrow made of condensed frost. It whizzed through the air, carrying a bone-chilling cold wind towards the mysterious figure.

Thwack!*

To everyone\'s surprise, the black-clothed figure made no attempt to dodge the ice arrow, allowing it to pierce straight through his chest. A large swath of frost quickly followed, freezing his clothes solid.

"What...?"

Charl\'s six Relic Users, momentarily taken aback, exchanged glances, deciding they couldn\'t afford to underestimate the situation.

A second Relic User, wielding a staff, conjured a massive fireball that roared towards the frozen, immobile figure. During the fireball\'s flight, another Relic User enhanced it with wind blades, dramatically increasing its size and power.

Boom!*

The enormous fireball engulfed the figure in black. Following that, the remaining three Relic Users, each armed with different melee weapons, charged forward. One wrapped chains around the figure\'s limbs, another stabbed a spear through his heart, and the last, wielding a massive axe, decapitated him with a single blow.

Their attack was coordinated and fluid, clearly the result of frequent training.

Inside the carriage, Charl finally exhaled in relief as the figure\'s head was severed.

But before he could completely relax, Charl\'s eyes widened in horror, mirrored by the shocked expressions of his six guards. The scene before them was akin to witnessing a ghost.

The decapitated body of the black-clothed figure stood up, picked up its severed head, and reattached it! Moreover, all the previous injuries – the frostbite, burns, and the gaping wound in his chest – healed rapidly until his body was as good as new.

"What the—!?"

Though shocked, the six Relic Users quickly prepared for another round of attacks. But to their even greater astonishment and fear...

"How can this be? The Relics aren\'t responding!?"

None of them could control their Relics anymore. They soon realized it wasn\'t an issue with the Relics, but rather, their own powers had mysteriously vanished.

"Actually, I quite dislike using my abilities," the figure spoke, "because they remind me of the many painful memories our tribe suffered under \'that person\'."

A magnetic, melancholic male voice echoed, originating from the black-clad figure.

The mysterious man scanned Charl and his entourage, but his gaze lingered the longest on the beleaguered beast of burden.

On the other side, Charl, hearing this voice, suddenly tensed up, as if he had made a realization. He stared intently at the figure, as a vague memory began to surface in his mind.

\'That... that was a high-ranking member of the Old Alliance, on par with my former superior, Bal. A top-tier "Forgotten One," if I remembered correctly, the man\'s name should be...\'

"Hero... Lord Hero!?" Charl called out tentatively from the carriage.

"Oh? You recognize me?" Hero shifted his gaze from the beast.

Charl\'s initial fear quickly turned into ecstatic relief. He hadn\'t expected the Old Alliance to not only not abandon him but even send another high-ranking member to retrieve him!

In his escape plans, Charl had never considered the Forest Alliance, one of the five major powers, because as a member of the Old Alliance, he knew that entry into that enigmatic Forest Alliance required becoming a "Forgotten One," a status he hadn\'t attained.

To outsiders, gaining entry into the Forest Alliance seemed impossible. Unlike Sin City, it was almost entirely isolated, rarely interacting with the outside world and certainly not welcoming outsiders. Many who sought the Forest Alliance ended up lost in the Illusionary Forest, wandering in circles.

But now...

\'Could it be that my efforts were finally acknowledged, not only sparing me from pursuit but also rewarding me? Was Lord Hero here to take me to the Forest Alliance, to the legendary headquarters of the Old Alliance, the Underground Sanctuary?\'

However, Hero\'s response to the visibly elated Charl, who had just jumped from the carriage, was a shake of the head.

"I think you\'ve misunderstood something."

"Misunderstood?"

"Simply put, I\'m here to send you off," Hero said, spreading his white-gloved hands.

After a moment, perhaps to clarify for Charl\'s sake, he added, "You\'re part of a trade I\'m about to make."

"More precisely, you\'re just a bonus."