Battling a group of level 5 (2)

Bang!

The hammer violently collided against Alex's side, sending him flying backward at an astonishing speed.

He seemed to break the sound barrier as he barreled through the air before crashing into an abandoned house, which shattered upon impact.

"Fuck!" Alex groaned in pain. His entire body throbbed, and he could clearly feel that several of his ribs had been fractured on the side he had been hit. The worst part, however, was knowing that without his increased defense stat, he probably would have shattered more bones, lost consciousness, or worse—died.

'Damn that old man,' he thought angrily as he spat out a mouthful of blood. His smoke mask had completely disintegrated, forcing him to form a new one. 'If it weren't for him, I could've blocked that blow.'

Despite the pain, this last exchange was illuminating for Alex. He realized that, above all, the one he needed to eliminate first was the old man. That cunning bastard could mentally target him, disrupting his focus at the most critical moments, like he'd done earlier, and was also capable of creating illusions. If Alex didn't neutralize him, winning this fight seemed unlikely.

'It won't be easy to approach him though,' Alex thought as he slowly stood, his whole body aching while blood trickled down his chin. 'Their teamwork is seamless.'

The synergy between his opponents was undeniable. They were not just random fighters; they had clearly trained together, possessed significant experience, and knew precisely how to use their strengths to support one another. Compared to these five, all of Alex's previous foes seemed like a joke.

Alex swayed slightly but took a deep breath and straightened up, dust and debris cascading off him as he did.

When his vision cleared, he cursed inwardly. The man with the rapier and the one with the massive hammer were charging at him again, and by their speed, they would be upon him in less than a second.

As he tightened his grip on the scythe, trying to figure out his next move, two figures suddenly appeared in front of the charging duo, blocking their path.

One of the figures was a short man with hair as dark as midnight, flowing down his back like a mane. In his right hand was a short sword, and in the other, there was a dagger with a serrated edge, shimmering faintly under the light.

The second figure, in stark contrast, was a towering woman, wielding a great sword as wide as her thighs and nearly two meters long. She had a muscular yet lean frame that exuded confidence and strength.

What truly caught Alex's attention, though, was the color of her flowing hair—cyan.

The same cyan color as a certain noblewoman Alex had interacted with.

'Daisy?' Alex thought, surprised. But he quickly dismissed the thought. This woman was far too tall to be Daisy.

'Probably a relative of hers—maybe a sister, or even her mother?'

Judging from their aura, both of them were at level 5, but while the cyan-haired woman was at mid-level 5, her male companion was firmly at high-level 5.

Either way, Alex was relieved. Thanks to their timely intervention, he now had a moment to catch his breath and recalibrate his strategy.

As he continued to observe her, the cyan-haired woman turned and glanced at him, flashing a grin. "I hope you've still got some fight left in you, because we're going to need your help to defeat these guys. But then again…," she turned to face the group of five, "...we don't have to fight at all. Each of us could just walk away, no harm done. What do you say, old Kradwell?"

"Baron Vesper, lady Althea, why are you defending this criminal?" the old man, Kradwell, inquired.******

"Criminal?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "You have a funny way of calling the people who just rescued your master's son," she added, her tone laced with sarcasm.

"He has been deemed guilty of threatening and attempting to harm the young master, so he will be punished accordingly," Kradwell replied coolly. "Now answer me, are the two of you going to stand in defiance of the Earl's orders?"

The woman with cyan-colored hair exchanged a glance with her dark-haired companion, and after a moment, they both nodded.

"I guess we are," the man with dark hair finally spoke, his voice calm but resolute.

"So be it," the old man nodded calmly, his expression unchanging. "I hope you won't regret your actions today," he added ominously.

Neither of them responded, choosing instead to grip their weapons tighter.

Glancing quickly at Alex and the other man, the cyan-haired woman declared, "I'll handle the big guy. You guys take care of the rest."

Without waiting for a response, she flashed them a wide grin and charged at the muscular man wielding the massive hammer. Her great sword sliced through the air, whistling as it carved a path toward her opponent with lethal intent.

Her companion sighed and facepalmed at her impulsiveness. Glancing over at Alex, he muttered, "I'll take the one with the rapier."

With that, he dashed after the woman, joining her in the fray.

Moments later, the unmistakable sound of steel clashing against steel echoed through the air.

'I guess it's time for me to make my move,' Alex thought, his gaze locking onto the remaining three members of the enemy group.

Likewise, the three of them were staring back at him with equal intensity.

'The most dangerous among them is the old man,' Alex mused, his expression growing serious. 'He can attack me mentally, throwing off my concentration and from what I've experienced, he can even cast illusions without me realizing it.'

The other two, however, seemed less of a threat. One was the bowman who had been attacking from a distance, and the other appeared to be some sort of support unit—perhaps a healer. The fact that the latter hadn't attacked or even attempted to do so up until now only reinforced Alex's theory.

While the bowman's light arrows were incredibly fast, Alex was confident that with enough focus, he could dodge them. The only real threat was if the old man distracted him with his mental assaults, leaving him vulnerable to the arrows.

In the end, it all came down to the old man. He was the key to winning this fight. His presence was a constant obstacle.

'Wait,' Alex thought as an idea formed in his mind.

Taking a deep breath, he exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

Before anyone could react, the cloud expanded rapidly, covering a dozen meters around Alex, swallowing the battlefield in an deep violet haze.

The sudden appearance of the smoke cloud caught everyone's attention, momentarily halting the ongoing battles as they stared at the phenomenon with curiosity.

Their mild curiosity quickly turned to alarm, however, as they realized that Alex's presence had vanished completely. Whether through sight, sound, or even mana detection, none of them could sense him anymore. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air!

The group of five tensed, their first reaction being one of wariness. They had seen Alex vanish from one location and reappear in another before, so it seemed logical to assume he was using the smoke as a diversion to relocate.

But as the seconds ticked by in tense silence, Alex still didn't reappear. The only noticeable change was the increasing thickness of the smoke.

'Did he run away, or…' the old man pondered, '…did he turn into the smoke itself?'

Kradwell knew it was far-fetched to believe Alex had transformed into smoke, especially since he had seen Alex exhale it. But with Alex's presence now completely gone, he couldn't entirely dismiss the possibility.

'Maybe he really fled,' he wondered briefly.

Had Kradwell known how stubborn and petty Alex was, he wouldn't have entertained that thought for even a second. There was no way Alex would flee after being unjustly attacked by strangers he'd never seen before.

In fact, at that very moment, hidden within the smoke, Alex was thinking of how best to handle the situation.

'Now that no one can see or sense me, their arrows or mental attacks won't be able to touch me. Well, they might try, but it won't matter,' Alex thought with a sneer.

As if on cue, the bowman pulled back his bowstring, and three light arrows materialized.

One after the other, he released the arrows into the smoke, each shot aimed in a different direction.

The arrows sliced through the cloud but emerged from the other side with no sign of hitting anything—no blood, no target.

Undeterred, the bowman fired three more arrows, this time adjusting his aim.

One of the arrows came straight for Alex, but just before it could strike him, the smoke thickened around it, slowing the projectile down. The arrow's speed was too great to stop it entirely, but Alex hadn't intended to stop it.

Taking advantage of the arrow's reduced momentum, Alex moved his head slightly to the side, narrowly avoiding the deadly projectile.

What Alex didn't notice was the bowman's eyes narrowing in realization as he saw his third arrow arrive a fraction of a second later than expected.

'So, you're there, huh?' the bowman thought, a smile forming on his lips.

Without hesitation, he pulled back his bowstring once more, conjuring three new light arrows, and fired them all in Alex's direction.

Though the thick cloud of smoke still obscured him, Alex was startled to see the three arrows homing in on him with incredible accuracy.

His previous smug grin vanished, and he focused intently.

Bringing up his double-headed scythe, he shattered the first light arrow, though not without feeling a sharp jolt from the impact. The other two arrows followed, but Alex evaded them by weaving through the smoke.

"THERE!" the bowman suddenly called out, and before Alex could wonder what was happening, he felt his vision swim as a searing pain stabbed into his head.

Before he could do anything, a light arrow landed on his left shoulder!