“Genuine without a doubt,” said Hein, “And who might you be?”

Elijah evaded the question. “I didn't kill your men. Around nine o'clock, I saw a thick cloud of smoke rising on the eastern hill, shooting up into the sky like a hawk, and then flying off towards the northwest. When I entered the fortress, all your men were already dead.”

“Do you know what the charge is for trespassing on a military fortress?”

Elijah raised an eyebrow. “No.”

“Neither do I,” Hein stroked his chin. “Why don't we go and ask the sheriff together and also get the matter of the 'wizard killing' investigated clearly.”

“I'm quite busy,” Elijah wasn't going to cooperate.

“I'm afraid you don't have a choice,” Hein smiled. “You know who I am, right?”

Hein Vondio was far more than just a name. It symbolized the very presence of the premier warrior on the western shore of the Stormy Sea, an honorary title that had endured countless challenges throughout the ages.

Elijah untied his cloak and threw it on the ground, followed by his waistcoat.

Heavy clothing was not advantageous for sword fighting.

He only kept his shirt on to ensure absolute flexibility of his shoulders and elbows, and tied his hair into a ponytail at the back of his head.

“You want to fight me?” Hein said in disbelief.

Elijah shrugged. “To be honest, if you weren't Hein Vondio, I wouldn't bother to lift a finger.”

“What's your name again?” Hein asked.

“Beat me and I'll tell you.”

“Good plan. I'll leave you just enough breath at the end.”

When setting out this time, Elijah brought a hand-and-a-half sword, which could be used as a long sword or as a single-handed sword in combination with a dagger.

All along, he had liked the steady style of the long sword, but considering his previous winning rate, using the sword and dagger combination seemed to be better ...

“Clang—”

The sound of the sword being struck interrupted Elijah's thoughts.

Hein looked up and had a brief eye contact with Hein Vondio.

Before coming down, Hein had requisitioned Elon's rapier. Although it wasn't the right weight for him, it was already the best weapon for an indoor fight.

He deftly twirled the sword in a flourish and showed a confident smile.

Elijah had a thought and gave up the dagger, only taking the sword. He held the scabbard in his right hand and placed his left hand on the hilt.

“Eh? You're not left-handed,” Hein said. “When you attacked Ketch, you used your right hand. Moreover, with the left arm in front, it's easiest to expose the heart when facing a rapier. An expert wouldn't do that.”

Elijah remained unshaken. “Just give it a try.”

Hein nodded, lowered his center of gravity and got into a fighting stance. After remaining still for a few seconds, he took the lead and launched a straight thrust.

Elijah dodged by sidestepping.

The trajectory of Hein's sword blade changed accordingly, chasing after Elijah relentlessly, yet Elijah still didn't draw his sword.

Instead, with a flick of his wrist, he spun the sword along with its scabbard halfway around. He then grasped the middle of the scabbard tightly with his right hand, and the weighted ball at the end of the hilt, which was filled with lead, was precisely aimed at the blade that Hein was swinging.

With a clang, sparks flew everywhere and the tip of the sword broke off, instantly shortening Hein's weapon by one-third.

This was the result of a forging error in the rapier.

Before Hein could think further, Elijah had already grabbed the scabbard with his left hand and slid his right hand onto the hilt. The screeching sound of the sharp blade being drawn from the scabbard was enough to make one's teeth ache.

Combined with the arm span and footwork, the attack range of the hand-and-a-half sword was nearly two meters. With just one draw-and-cut motion, an enemy could be cut in half at the waist.

However, at this moment, Elijah couldn't draw his sword.

Hein made a prompt decision. He threw away the damaged weapon, took a step forward, grabbed the adversary's scabbard, and used sheer brute force to twist it in a different direction before ramming forward.

Elijah lost his balance, fell backward, and his forehead was hit. Blood flowed out from under the mask and covered his left eye.

Even with his vision obstructed, he could still guess the opponent's intentions.

Before Hein could mount on top of him, Elijah lifted his elbow and jammed it between the opponent's ribs.

At the same time, he twisted his body, wrapped his legs around Hein's right calf, and lifted it up at a specific angle. Hein instantly lost his balance and flew over Elijah's head, nearly landing face-first on the ground.

Elijah seized the opportunity to grapple from behind, wrapping his arms around Hein's throat, attempting to choke him quickly.

Hein's face turned purple from being choked. Even with the sword in his hand, it became a burden due to its excessive length. He had no choice but to drop the hard-won sword, grab the enemy's arms, and curl his abdomen to roll forward.

Not wanting to break his own neck, Elijah had to stop the choking attempt.

Finally, the crisis was averted, and Hein immediately jumped to his feet.

However, Elijah had no intention of getting up to fight. Instead, he grabbed Hein's wrist from below, forcing him to lean forward. At the same time, he pressed his left foot against Hein's right heel and swept his right leg outwards, hitting the inside of the latter's ankle bone.

Hein's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground again.

"What the hell kind of move is this?" he roared.

Elijah remained silent, crossed his arms, and skillfully locked Hein's wrists, intending to disable one of the opponent's hands first.

Although he didn't hold back, Hein's joints were surprisingly sturdy and didn't break.

Accompanied by heavy breathing sounds, Hein's muscles swelled like stones, his tendons tensed, and his blood vessels bulged. For a moment, Elijah saw two scarlet glimmers deep in the opponent's pupils.

“I see,” said Hein. “You did it like this, right?”

With that, he twisted his waist and flipped over, forcing Elijah to release his force, and then grabbed the Elijah's wrist.

Elijah knew something was wrong, but it was already too late.

Hein's arms crossed up and down, forming a lever. As the joint lock took shape, Elijah's right wrist gave a sudden “click” sound.

Although Elijah's joint wasn't broken, his bone was injured, and cold sweat kept breaking out on his forehead.

“There's something off about you,” Elijah gasped. “No normal person has this kind of physical strength. It's almost like a power-type monster.”

Hein was quite smug: “Jealous? I was born with it. And to be honest, I haven't even gone all out yet.”

“Yeah, and you still had the mind to steal my moves.”

“Your techniques are a bit complicated,” Hein commented. “But once I figure out the principle, it's not that scary. Let me think, what kind of people would practice this kind of ground grappling and killing techniques...”

At that moment, Elijah slapped the ground hard, rotated his waist with core strength, and his left hand shot towards Hein's throat.

“You're still far from it.”

Regarding joint locks and chokeholds, Elijah had mastered not only the principles but also a set of systematically mature offensive and defensive techniques.

He abandoned his right hand and went straight for the enemy's vital parts. It was the optimal decision made from countless experiences, biting the bullet and taking a calculated risk.

Hein quickly lowered his head, using his chin to shield his throat.

Elijah then changed his move, delivering a chop to the side of Hein's neck artery, making Hein see stars.

Hein had to release his hold and tried the same trick again, wanting to flip over the opponent with sheer strength. Unexpectedly, by a strange turn of events, Elijah grabbed the necklace on his chest.

The thinner the cord, the more suitable it is for choking.

Ignoring the intense pain in his right hand, Elijah yanked it hard, crushing Hein's windpipe and pulling the chain back with all his might.

Although having lost the initial advantage, Hein's physical strength was extraordinary. Enduring the searing pain in his lungs, he grabbed the opponent's neck and slammed him to the ground—

“Hey, stop! Rangers on patrol!”

Illuminated by torches, a group of fellows emerged at the southern end of the tunnel, with badges on their chests and spurs hanging from the backs of their boots. They landed with the lift platform, on high alert, holding crossbows with the strings already drawn.

Elijah was stunned for a moment, and the strength in his hands loosened.

Oxygen rushed into Hein's windpipe, and he took a greedy, long breath and shouted hoarsely, “Don't be rash. I'm Hein, the legion commander.”

Who would have thought that these words seemed to trigger something.

At a single command, arrows came shooting towards them like a fierce storm.

In the deadly rain of arrows, Hein and Elijah simultaneously let go and lunged to the left and right, smashing the nearest oil lamps.

In the darkness, the two of them pressed themselves tightly against the walls, searching for cover.

With the light sources extinguished, the rangers lost their targets. After another round of blind shooting, they drew their scimitars and walked slowly into the tunnel in groups of three.

By the torchlight of the rangers, Hein noticed Torus and Aaron among the ranger group. They looked panicked, the brands on their foreheads make them conspicuous.

“It seems your men don't like you,” said Elijah.

Hein clicked his tongue. He groped along the base of the wall and soon found what he remembered - an inconspicuous helm wheel.

With a hard pull from him, driven by the wheel, a secret door slowly slid open.

Hein said towards the darkness, “Do you plan to come with me or stay and take on these fifteen idiots alone?”

There was no answer from the other side.

However, after a moment, Hein was touched by a cold and wet hand. He shuddered, and before he could react, the hand moved away.

There was a smell of rust.

It was blood.

Elijah groped around until he found the secret door, ducked his head and slipped inside. A moment later, he heard the sound of Hein following him.

With a light click of the chain mechanism, the passageway closed, enveloping the two of them in darkness and silence.

Elijah felt a ladder and started climbing up it.

“Are you hurt?” Hein’s voice came from below. “Is it serious?”

“It’s nothing major.”

The first round of arrow rain hadn’t injured Elijah, but he’d been unlucky during the subsequent blind shooting. An arrow had pierced his left arm, with the arrowhead pressed against the bone.

The injury was really affecting his speed.

Unfortunately, this secret passage was like a chimney, narrow and long, going straight up and down, making it almost impossible to turn around. Even if Elijah had wanted to, he couldn’t have switched places with Hein.

He could only climb up as quickly as possible, but the faster he moved, the more difficult it was for him to breathe.

Blood loss can lead to oxygen deficiency, but judging from experience, that wasn’t the case here.

“There’s not enough air up here,” Elijah warned.

“It’s okay,” Hein replied. “We’ll be safe once we reach the escape room. You can climb a bit slower. We’re almost there.”

Elijah slowed down as he was told. Sure enough, he soon reached the top.

After feeling for the mechanism to open the door, he hesitated for no apparent reason.

“Just pull out the latch,” Hein said. “The spring will push the door open.”

“Isn’t there water on the other side?” Elijah asked.

According to the calculations of their position, the two of them were ten meters vertically above the tunnel, very close to the riverbed of the Tain River.

And the depth of the river was around ten meters, with an enormous water pressure. It was impossible to open the door with just a spring. What’s more...

“I can’t swim.”

“Huh?” Hein raised his voice. “Really?”

“Not very good at it, anyway.”

“There’s no water up here,” Hein assured him. “It’s just a room with excellent airtightness. Trust me.”

Elijah pulled out the latch.

Sure enough, the secret door sprang open on its own. He grabbed the edge of the floor with one hand and pulled himself up. As soon as he landed, he felt a tightness in his chest and his head was spinning.

It was clear that not only was there no water here, but there was also pitifully little oxygen.

Hein quickly followed him up and sealed the door shut behind him.

“Do you have anything to start a fire with?”

“No,” Elijah gasped for air. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you. If we start a fire, we’ll suffocate.”

“That’s good.”

Hein flipped a switch, and suddenly there was a hissing sound of air leaking in the space.

“There mustn’t be a single spark in here, or we’ll die even faster.”

“Black oil?” Elijah asked.

“No. Why do you ask?”

“I heard your men mention it earlier.”

Elijah took a few deep breaths and felt much better. Instead of decreasing, the oxygen in the space was increasing, becoming more and more abundant. He didn’t know what the principle was.

He took off the belt around his waist and began to tie up his wound.

Not only his fire-starting tools, but also his sword, dagger, clothes and crystal compass were all left in the tunnel. His arm was also injured. The losses were truly heavy.

If he managed to get back alive, Elijah really didn’t know how to explain it all.

“Um,” Hein suddenly said. “You’re not a spy, are you?”