Lord: I can see loyalty.

The assault team moved swiftly through the forest like hunting beasts.

The guide was naturally a Cooper hunter, whose familiarity with the terrain was astonishing; they could always find the most hidden paths and avoid danger.

Closely following behind were Albright and Valerie, both agile and incredibly fast.

Vio was in the middle of the group. His breathing was steady. After learning the sand breathing technique, he was far better than before, even without needing to circulate his energy.

Glenn walked at the back of the column with several battle-hardened veteran militiamen. He carried a magic ore greatsword that was almost as tall as a man on his back. His steps were heavy but swift, and his eyes were icy, yet they also revealed a hint of anger.

The raiding party consisted of about thirty of the most elite Cooper hunters and twenty of the most elite militiamen from the South.

They bypassed the front of the outpost, hugged the steep mountainside, and used rocks and bushes as cover to silently approach the low wall.

The air was filled with the earthy smell and the pungent odor of the Haro tribe.

In the distance, the sounds of commotion and the clash of weapons could be faintly heard; it was Jimmy's feint attack force beginning to make noise.

Soon, their target appeared before them.

It was a low wall, only about seven or eight meters long, built of wood and stone. The construction was indeed very rough, and the height only reached the chest of an average person.

Behind the wall was a small open space with several simple wooden sheds built against the mountain. In the center stood a flagpole covered with animal skins, and next to the flagpole was a simple campfire made of stones, but now there were only embers.

As intelligence reports indicated, the defenses near this section of the wall were extremely lax.

On the wall stood only a Harlow warrior, clutching a bone spear, craning his neck to nervously gaze at the commotion coming from the direction of the main gate, seemingly unaware that they would be attacked.

The number of people inside the wall had also decreased significantly, clearly indicating that most of the guards had been drawn away by the "threat" from the front.

Albright and Valerie exchanged a glance, and the latter, as nimbly as a lynx, leaped onto a protruding rock, took out her longbow from her back, and drew the bowstring.

Albright also made several hand gestures to the hunters behind him.

Whoosh!

A sudden whooshing sound rang out, and an arrow instantly lodged in the throat of the sentry on the wall. He fell to the ground without uttering a sound, and was caught by two Cooper hunters who were prepared below the wall, who gently laid him down.

"Go!" Albright shouted and leaped forward first.

He leaped up the low wall in a few strides like an ape, and with a flash of cold light from his weapon, he cut down a barbarian who turned around and looked on in astonishment.

Valerie followed closely behind, thrusting her spear forward in an arc of light that instantly pierced the enemy's head.

"Let's go too," Vio's voice was calm yet clear.

Glenn, who was waiting by his side, let out a roar. He swung the heavy greatsword, drew a semicircle in the air, and slammed it hard into a relatively weak spot on the low wall with a whoosh!

Boom!

Wood and stone flew everywhere! The already rough, low wall was smashed open by this inhuman force, creating a gap!

Without stopping, Glenn charged into the outpost first, braving the flying pebbles and wood chips. With a sweep of his greatsword, he cut down two barbarians who rushed in, along with their makeshift wooden shields!

Blood and entrails were splattered all over the ground.

Vio also took a deep breath, and the power circulating in his body instantly accelerated.

Gravel breathing technique, level one...

An indescribable force began to spread from the abdomen, surging towards the limbs and torso.

His skin visibly darkened with a layer of almost stone-like black, and his muscles bulged slightly, exuding a sense of power.

Vio pushed off with his feet, creating a shallow pit in the soft forest soil, and his figure shot in like an arrow through the gap opened by Glenn.

A Haro barbarian, his face contorted and roaring, lunged forward, wielding a wooden club bound with stone shards, and smashed it down on Vio's head.

But in Vio's eyes, the move was full of flaws.

He didn't even draw his sword to parry.

Just as the wooden stick was about to fall, Vio's figure seemed to blur for a moment, and the barbarian only felt a blur before his eyes, and his target disappeared.

His powerful swing landed on empty air, causing him to stumble.

The next second, a sharp pain came from the side of his neck.

Vio had appeared beside him without him noticing, his right hand, covered in gray-black skin, gripped a longsword and, with extraordinary speed and power, precisely slashed at his neck!

The barbarian's eyes bulged out, his massive body swayed, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Vio felt the wonderful sensation of his body's strength, speed, and defense coexisting in the breathing technique state. He had already reached this level even without fully activating the breathing technique!

He raised the Will of the Southern Territory, his sword flashing as he easily parried the bone spear thrusting from the other side, and with a backhand slash, pierced the attacker's heart.

The battle along the low wall intensified instantly.

Cooper hunters excel at hunting in such complex terrain, working in groups of two or three to quickly eliminate scattered enemies.

The veterans of the Southern Territory paid more attention to formation coordination, with shields providing cover, spears thrusting, and swords slashing. Glenn, at the forefront, left almost no enemy in sight. Every swing of his greatsword brought a storm of blood and gore, and he even cut a barbarian in half along with the wooden shed pillar behind him!

The resistance was far less than they had anticipated. The number of Haro barbarians at the outpost was already small, and most of them were drawn away by the feint attack. The remaining dozen or so quickly collapsed under the assault of the elite assault team.

Less than five minutes later, the last barbarian who tried to escape by jumping over the wall was also pinned to the cliff face by Cooper the Hunter's arrows.

The area inside the low wall quickly fell silent, with only the sound of resting breaths remaining. The air was thick with the stench of blood and the putrid smell of black mud.

"Cleanup complete, no survivors," a Cooper hunter reported after a quick check.

"This is too easy..." A young Southern militiaman fighting alongside Glenn was wiping his longsword and whispering to his companion, "These barbarians look intimidating, but how come they're so weak?"

"Enough talk," the veteran beside him wiped his face and looked around. "Send the signal now, get Lord Xavier and his men here with the main force! While the momentum is building, burn this place down and keep going!"

Glenn, standing beside them, leaned his greatsword on the ground, blood still slowly trickling down the blade.

He didn't participate in the discussion; he simply tilted his head slightly, his thick eyebrows slowly furrowing.

"It went too smoothly."

At the forefront, Albright walked up to Vio, lowered her voice, and said with doubt, "Count Vio, what do you think? These corrupted bastards, even if they're brainless, shouldn't have been able to be so easily infiltrated and wiped out by us while guarding this outpost... Is that monster just as brainless as them?"

Vio slowly exhaled, and the already light gray-black color on his body gradually faded away. He did not fully activate his powers this time, and the others did not notice anything unusual about him.

But he also sensed that something was wrong.

The stench in the air seemed a little stronger than before, and the battle had indeed ended far too quickly.

"Could there be an ambush?" Valerie asked succinctly, without putting away her weapon, her sharp gaze sweeping across the interior.

"I'm not sure." Vio shook his head, his gaze serious. "But your feeling is right, Chief Albright."

"I believe there must be a command behind them; this raid was definitely not that simple, but..."

He looked around at the outpost that had already been taken over: "Now that we've taken this place, let's proceed as planned and burn it down as a signal. Hesitation might just give the enemy more time to counterattack."

Albride nodded and said nothing more.

Vio also ordered Glenn and the surrounding warriors, "Check all the shacks for anything of value or clues. The rest of you, keep watch and set fire to the inside as a signal."

The order was quickly carried out, and several hunters and militiamen began a careful search of the hut.

The others, following orders, nervously watched the commotion outside the wall while setting a large fire.

However, just as the fire started burning in the forest, a strange noise was heard.

Awooo!!!

Hiss!

Countless wild roars suddenly erupted from the depths of the outpost! The sounds were layered upon layered, far beyond what a dozen or so barbarians could produce!

Immediately afterwards, a faint tremor came from the ground.

The dense bushes were violently pushed aside, and behind the trees, countless murky eyes shone in the darkness.

Accompanied by the sound of messy and heavy footsteps, the enemy was rapidly closing in on the small outpost from three directions!

The young militiaman, who had just thought the battle was too easy, turned pale instantly. Glenn also gripped his greatsword, his face expressionless, but his eyes flashed with a fierce light once more.

Vio took a deep breath, and this time, he activated the Sand Breathing Technique at full power. Grayish-black quickly covered his skin, and the magic ore on the Southern Will began to tremble slightly.