As an NPC, having a lot of skills is quite reasonable, right?

The candlelight flickered in the room, illuminating Arya's increasingly serious face.

She had initially thought this guy, who called himself Moen, would only spout trivial information.

But as Moen rattled off a string of monster names, habits, and even weaknesses at breakneck speed, her commander’s intuition told her it was all true.

"Listen, the monsters that are coming this time are not the ordinary beasts from the outskirts of the Gray Evil Forest."

Moen dipped his finger in the water in the cup and drew a simple defensive diagram on the table.

"First is the Frostthorn Boar, a common monster deep in the Grey Evil Forest. Their ice spikes carry extremely strong icy toxins, which ordinary leather armor cannot withstand at all."

"You must equip your men with tower shields, and when they raise the shields, they must cover their body below the knees."

Arya frowned. These details, known only to veterans who had long fought against such monsters, could not have been fabricated by refugees.

Without pausing, Moen pointed to the back of the table: "Then there's the [Ironclaw Ice Ape], the treetop overlord deep in the Grey Evil Forest. This monster is not only agile but also extremely tactically adept."

"They will leap onto the city wall by stepping on the backs of the porcupines in front, and then cut directly into the back row."

"Tell those archers who only know how to shoot at the ground to ignore the porcupines and save all their arrows for the monkeys in the air."

Arya's gaze gradually shifted from disdain to disbelief.

This intelligence is crucial; if we follow conventional tactics, her reserve knights will be overwhelmed in the first round.

"As for kerosene..."

Moen looked up at Arya: "Don't spread out the defenses. Move everything to the North Gate. That's a weak point in the defenses, and you'll encounter the [Winter Ghost Tree Parasitic Bear] with its extremely high regenerative abilities."

"This monster is a mutated species of the outer Snowfield Bear. Without continuous high-temperature oil to burn off the parasitic wood on their backs, you won't be able to kill it even if you hack at it until your sword blades are dull."

While Moen picked up his water glass to drink, Arya finally managed to ask the question that had been lingering in her mind: "Who exactly are you? Even the church's records don't contain such detailed information about these monsters."

Moen had already prepared his explanation.

He leaned back slightly against the wall, his expression becoming somewhat inscrutable: "You should have heard the saying, 'Light shines on the surface, but shadows protect the interior.'"

"I am a field agent for the Deep Shadow Security Bureau."

The Deep Shadow Secret Society is the most mysterious of the seven major churches, specializing in secrecy and sealing.

Based on his memories from his previous life, Moen already knew many secrets of this world, so he could fool people by temporarily impersonating this identity.

Having resolved Arya's questions, Moen prepared to continue.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" A series of urgent knocks on the door interrupted their conversation.

"Lady Arya! Something terrible has happened!" A messenger's panicked voice came from outside the door: "An unusually strong magical fluctuation has been detected on the north wall! The scout team has lost contact!"

Arya's expression changed drastically.

She stood up abruptly, grabbed the sword on the table, and turned to leave. But the moment her hand touched the doorknob, she stopped, turned back to look at Moen, and said, "Stay here and don't move. If your information is true, I'll come back for you after we hold off this wave."

After saying that, Arya pushed open the door and left, her figure quickly disappearing at the end of the corridor.

The room fell silent again, except for the window that wasn't closed properly, which was still letting in a lot of wind.

Moen stood there, listening to Arya's receding footsteps, when a sudden sense of crisis rose in his heart.

"Something's not right." Moen stared at the candle on the wall.

The window was open, and the wind was strong, but the candle flame remained still.

It's as if an invisible force has stopped the air from circulating.

Someone has entered, and it's an extremely skilled stealth infiltrator.

Without a second thought, he immediately held his breath and slumped onto the table, pretending to have fainted due to difficulty breathing. But his right hand, hidden beneath him, secretly reached into his robes and gripped the severed tail spike cut from the giant lizard.

one second.

two seconds.

A shadowy mass in the corner of the room suddenly shifted, and a blurry humanoid figure emerged from the shadow like a ghost.

The shadowy figure did not act immediately, but instead observed Moen from behind for several dozen seconds with extreme caution.

Only after confirming that Moen had fainted due to lack of oxygen did he slowly walk to Moen's side.

As an assassin, he had a penchant for slowly torturing his targets before they died.

The shadowy figure took out a rope, bent down, and first tied Moen's feet tightly. Then, he gently cut a gash in Moen's wrist.

His technique was extremely professional; Moen didn't even feel a bit of pain.

Warm blood flowed from his wrist, and for the first time, Moen felt his life force dwindling so acutely.

"Blame it on your desire to stop this disaster."

The shadowy figure muttered hoarsely as it slashed open Moen's other wrist once more.

Fortunately, the healing from [Low Temperature Regeneration] kept Moen from fainting.

After doing all this, the shadowy figure bent down, intending to use the rope to wrap around Moen's neck from the front.

Just as his head touched Moen's shoulder, Moen's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened!

"die!!!"

His right hand, hidden in his bosom, shot out like lightning!

The severed tail spike, infused with the icy venom of the Icefield Giant Lizard and its sharp barbs, pierced the unsuspecting shadow's throat with the last of Moen's strength!

Blood splattered.

The shadowy figure's body convulsed violently, and a gurgling sound came from its throat.

The eyes that were visible outside the mask were filled with disbelief.

Moen gave him no chance to think, frantically twisting the spikes with his right hand while grabbing the shadowy figure's neck with his left.

Finally, with a faint cracking sound, the dark figure stopped struggling.

[Killed: Viktor Thorne Lv.6]

Experience points gained: 41 + 10 (reward for killing enemies above your level)

Moen shoved the corpse aside, panting heavily.

The wound on his wrist was healing rapidly under the effect of [low-temperature regeneration], but the dizziness from excessive blood loss made his vision go black.

He grabbed the remaining water on the table and gulped down several mouthfuls.

"This is insane." Moen wiped the blood from his face and looked at the corpse on the ground.

[Detection indicates that the fate of the character "Victor Thorne" has been altered.]

[Obtained Life Stone: Deceitful Engraving]

The life stone appeared directly before him. Moen's eyes moved up to it, and the item information immediately popped up:

[Destiny Stone: Deceitful Engraving]

[Level: Pale]

[Life motto: Lies are his breath, betrayal is his pulse, deception is his way of survival, but this time he has fallen into the hands of a more cunning liar.]

This Life Stone can be used as a medium to fuse two mortal skills.