"I hope the Lord doesn't mind my humble return gift."

"Yes, Lord Chris."

The messenger respectfully accepted the gloves.

"In that case, I'll deliver the message first."

The messenger bowed and exited the cave.

Chris followed him out, watching him leave.

Chris hurried back into the cave, took out his longsword, and began to swing it in the open space.

This sword was much heavier than the one he usually used.

Chris felt he needed some time to get accustomed to this new longsword.

"Can I infuse it with energy?"

Chris tried to channel the energy within his body into the longsword.

The previously dull patterns on the sword's blade suddenly began to emit a faint glow.

"Can it really?"

Chris looked at the blade in surprise and casually swung it towards a nearby tree.

Slash—

With a light sound, a tree trunk thicker than Chris's thigh was instantly cut through!

"Ah?!"

Chris stared at the tree that had fallen straight down, momentarily unable to believe it.

A few soldiers initially intended to practice sword fighting with Chris.

Upon witnessing this scene, they immediately halted in their tracks.

The soldiers hadn't seen Durant's Zhan Ji, but they had heard of it.

Seeing this, it seemed Knight Chris's new sword was of the same quality weapon.

Such a sword could easily chip their blades.

The soldiers were reluctant to risk damaging their own weapons.

In possession of a quality longsword like this, Chris was extraordinarily excited.

He spent the whole afternoon familiarizing himself with his new sword and testing its limits.

But receiving this new sword made Chris even more anxious at heart.

He wondered when he could serve the Lord.

Nightfall descended.

Chris, feeling somewhat exhausted from training,

briefly washed himself before returning to the cave.

The soldiers on night watch would get hungry, and Amina, along with the servants, would prepare some snacks for them.

After resting, Chris also joined the soldiers for some late-night snacks.

As was customary, the soldiers took turns eating.

One group finished eating before another would come in to replace them.

However, today, the second group of soldiers on guard entered the cave before the first group had finished eating.

Chris looked at the soldiers pouring in with a hint of confusion, slightly furrowing his brow,

"Aren't you supposed to be standing guard outside?"

As soon as he finished speaking,

a young knight with dark skin clad in full body armor walked in.

"Lord Chris."

The knight nodded slightly in greeting,

"I am Sao Gray Stone, captain of the Knight Squad under the Saint Master's command, ordered to take over your defense."

"Please cooperate with my work from now on."

Sao's words made Chris slightly stunned.

He looked out and noticed faint figures outside.

Chris didn't know what was happening, but his good training made him nod immediately.

"Alright."

Chris's hand instinctively tightened around his newly acquired longsword.

The atmosphere inside the cave suddenly became tense.

Amina tactfully picked up her child and, taking another daughter by the hand, led them into the inner cave.

"Thank you."

Sao nodded expressionlessly, then turned and commanded to the outside, "Everyone enter the cave and guard all the entrances."

...

...

In the dead of night.

Vika, whose breathing was light to the point of inaudibility, slowly advanced under the cover of darkness.

He was the leader of the Vika Tribe, covered in dark brown short fur with gray-white spots.

Standing at 1.7 meters tall, he was relatively tall among the Mountain Cat People.

Vika's triangular, sharp ears twitched slightly, straining to catch the surrounding sounds.

His amber slit pupils searched for suspicious figures around him.

After repeatedly confirming that there were no hidden sentinels, he waved his hand behind him.

Another four clan members, looking very much like him, silently emerged behind him like ghosts.

However, some had gray-brown fur, while others had pure black fur.

These clan members weren't as tall as Vika, mostly around 1.6 meters, and were very lean, none of them robust.

"According to the information from the Lizardman, the target is inside the cave ahead."

Vika communicated in a low voice only the Mountain Cat People could hear,

"We will infiltrate, remember, do not alert the others, find the target as quickly as possible, and only kill him."

Vika drew the bone knife from his hand.

This was a weapon passed down from ancestors, extraordinarily sharp.

"Kill the human named Chris, retrieve the Ancestor Spirit Box, and completely distance ourselves from those filthy creatures."

Vika's gaze was firm, and his clan members nodded heavily behind him.

"Move out!"

The five Mountain Cat People silently retreated, melting into the darkness.

The next moment, they reappeared near the cave.

Behind them, each followed by four clan members.

A total of twenty Mountain Cat People encircled the cave.

"Only two guards."

The Mountain Cat People's night vision allowed them to see clearly within a fifty-meter radius even in the dark.

Vika furrowed his brow.

This seemed somewhat simple.

Did the humans not deploy more guards?

Vika's intuition told him that seemingly easy prey was often the most dangerous.

But time was pressing, having reached this point, there wasn't room for much thought.

"Teams one and two remain outside to keep watch and support."

"The other two teams enter from above."

He pointed to the natural fissure at the top of the cave,

"Avoid the entrance guards."

Ten Mountain Cat People climbed up the rock wall like ghosts, their sharp claws not making a sound on the stone.

Their bodies were so flexible they could be like liquid, easily passing through narrow crevices.

Vika was the first to descend into the cave.

His paws lightly touched the ground without making any sound.

The other Mountain Cat People followed closely behind.

Inside the cave, the flickering firelight illuminated guards leaning against the wall, napping, with drool trickling down their mouths.

Vika, using the cover of shadows, silently advanced further into the cave.

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