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"This person… How can he do this at such a young age? Did he master his Tier 1 Mana Arts at Perfected State? Then how can he have the time to reach a 1-Star Aura Knight?!"

Yvette was shocked to see such a talented young man save her. She can tell that the Shrouded Steps and Surging Palm Strike he used weren't just an intermediate or advanced state. They are definitely in a Perfected State!

What baffled her was why he would spend so much time practicing them to perfection instead of just learning Tier 2 or maybe Tier 3 techniques. With his talent, he must be a Master Magician after all.

Anyway, she also guessed that Vincent was a 1-Star Aura Knight since all the 2-Star Aura Knight were already in their forties or fifties when she had seen them in their villa before.

So she had never considered him as a 2-Star Aura Knight at all since he is just too young.

Bam! Bam!

The two suffered internal injuries as soon as his palm strike hit. They were thrown to the ground as they gritted their teeth in pain.

"Aahh!"

"Y-you--"

Yvette saw their bleeding orifices and confirmed that it is indeed a Perfected State Surging Palm Strike.

A Beginner or Intermediate State wouldn't cause this much damage while an Advanced State wouldn't kill the two.

She clearly saw how they breathe their last after they suffered some pain on the ground for a few seconds.

It was such a swift battle style and she couldn't help but be grateful to the goddess who seemed to have answered her silent prayers. She was saved by such an incredible man in the middle of the forest!

This must be fate working its wonders!

"T-thank you for saving me."

Yvette immediately thanked the man after seeing that the battle has ended. She observed him carefully and noticed that he was actually looking at the two people on the ground with a confused expression.

"T-they died already?" The young man muttered and she heard it clearly. It seems that he didn't expect that those two will die from his Tier 1 technique.

"Yes… You killed them. Don't worry though, they aren't good people. They were from the Austere Blades. Our family has employed this local organization of mercenaries to protect the two furthest towns in our territory. However, they did not do their jobs at all and oppressed the weak and poor."

Yvette immediately explained as she seemed to understand what Vincent was thinking. Since he had just arrived, he was probably wondering who was the aggressor in this fight so he wanted to just incapacitate the two men.

However, since he killed them already, she can only explain what truly happened.

"Austere Blades? Hmm… Does your family own a huge territory? Why can't you use your own soldiers instead of hiring local tycoons? Ehem! Never mind that question, does your territory include the city in that direction?" Vincent asked as he pointed in the direction of the Withered Mountain. Asking too much might just complicate his meeting with her even more. It's not like he's planning to accompany her for long.

"Right, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Yvette Marshall. My father, Miller Marshall, is the current Count managing this land including the city of Hearts over there."

"Oh… So it has that name. City of Hearts? Interesting."

"Yes… It is mostly because that city is the number one producer of Vigorous Heart Potion. The city is one of the places that massively grow the Amethyst Heart Flower which is the main ingredient for that potion."

Yvette explained. She waited for a moment and after confirming that Vincent seem to be thinking of something else, she quickly added.

"I'm actually heading to the city as well. If it's alright, can I join you, Sir Traveler? I will definitely reward you once I managed to return home. If you also need anything else, I will do my best to fulfill it as well. Right now though, I can't give you any reward for your help as my team fled in hurry and we didn't bring anything aside from our weapons."

Vincent listened to her request and thought for a moment. He did not really think of getting a reward at first but after learning that she's quite influential as well, his visit to the city might be less troublesome in the end.

After all, he has no documents that can prove his identity as a citizen of this land. If it's a heavily guarded city, it might be difficult for him to enter.

"Let's go together then. Since you're the daughter of a Count, I'll be requesting a few things that might be helpful for me to travel around the country. Is that alright?"

Yvette's eyes lit up after hearing him agree. It would actually be very difficult for her if Vincent refused and she had to travel alone.

Although she's a Master-Class Magician, her mana is not infinite. If she's at her full strength, at most, she can cast 50 or so Tier 1 Mana Arts or around 5 Tier 3 Mana Arts. It may sound like she's a force to be reckoned with but she can still be very vulnerable in lone battles.

Being together with an Aura Knight will certainly cover this hole so they shouldn't get into trouble if they decided to cross the Withered Mountain.

"It's fine! I will definitely fulfill all your requests. Right, may I know what to call you?"

"I'm Vincent. I have a companion with me, her name is Tara and she's hiding right now."

At this point, Vincent signaled for Tara to come out.

As they all got to know each other, Yvette realized how mysterious Tara was. She barely said any words but she can feel that Vincent's companion was not simple either.

***

'Hmm… It's too bad that those guys aren't carrying any valuable materials or weapons at all.' Vincent thought after he checked the items of the dead guards and the members of the Austere Blades.

He was planning to loot their weapons at first but the guards' items were all stamped by the Marshall House.

As for the members of the Austere Blades, all their items weren't anything of value and most can only be sold as scrap metals.

Nevertheless, he was still rewarded with some pieces of silver coins.

"I can give you a lot more than that. You don't have to trouble yourself getting a few pieces of silver here." Yvette said as she watches Vincent check each corpse for money.