Everything went smoothly. Thanks to the city’s lockdown over the past few days, most of the high-ranking nobles in Fude City with ties to the Immortal Church and other factions were unable to escape.

Even though they had hired mercenaries for protection, the moment those men learned the legendary L was coming for them, they scattered like birds startled by the twang of a bowstring.

They left the nobles behind, completely in disarray.

Baron, for his part, got a good taste of what it felt like to be the villain. By the time the dust settled, it was nearly dusk.

He bid farewell to the City Lord, politely declining the man’s invitation to a banquet, and set off alone on Red Hare.

His destination was the fabled Moon Town.

As his crimson steed galloped along the road, the fading light stretched long before them.

As they passed a certain spot, Baron suddenly felt a throb in his chest.

His heart began to pound.

’What’s going on?’

Baron frowned. An inexplicable tension made him instinctively assume that the precognitive warning from his Dragon Knight Profession was activating. He leaped off his horse, drew his Spear Sword, and cautiously scanned his surroundings.

There was nothing. But when his gaze pierced through a gap in the dense forest toward a certain direction, the inexplicable throb returned.

He placed a hand on his Hunter Badge. The vibration wasn’t coming from it.

’Is it a person?’

The thought had barely formed in Baron’s mind when he heard a sound like tearing silk from behind him.

His body reacted on pure instinct, dodging forward in the same instant. A chill ran down his spine as the blade swept past, close enough to raise goosebumps on his skin.

He spun around to see jet-black Armor engraved with a lion motif, and pale golden hair spilling out to obscure the face beneath the Face Armor.

It was the Undead Knight he had encountered before.

Baron then remembered that it was dusk—the precise time when creatures like the Undead Knight were known to appear.

Baron noticed the Knight was no longer wielding the Big Saber from last time. It now held a Giant Sword, the flat of its blade seemingly stamped with the crest of a passing merchant caravan. ’So the Undead Knight’s weapons aren’t fixed,’ he thought. ’It just uses whatever it has on hand.’

’I easily defeated that first Undead Knight in Yan Nan with Dragon Flame, but Dragon Flame can’t even stop this one. Carmen said it has to do with how the undead died—whatever killed them in life is what will kill them again in undeath.’

’I’m no match for it. I have to run.’

As the thought flashed through his mind, Baron dodged another one of the Undead Knight’s direct thrusts.

But at the same time, Red Hare let out a piercing shriek.

The Undead Knight’s Giant Sword had struck his horse. As the blade was pulled free, Red Hare collapsed with a heavy thud, its entrails spilling onto the ground.

Seizing the moment the Undead Knight took to withdraw its blade, Baron bolted into the depths of the forest, offering a silent, one-second prayer for Red Hare.

’Rest in peace, my horse.’

The Undead Knight watched Baron’s fleeing back, then gave chase without the slightest hesitation.

’Damn it, am I some kind of undead magnet? Why does every single one of them get fixated on me?’

Baron cursed inwardly, but his feet never stopped. He weaved through the dappled light and shadows of the forest, fast as an arrow loosed from a bow, quick as a flash of lightning.

He quickly left the somewhat clumsy Undead Knight far behind.

Baron let out a sigh of relief, thinking he had finally shaken his pursuer.

Suddenly, he felt his heart begin to pound faster and faster, almost like the King Engine.

’This is... ’

As if sensing something, Baron looked up, and his pupils contracted.

Standing in a circle were the Palmer Witch Riders, led by Silver Wizard Fei.

Trapped in the center of their circle was the Red-haired Witch, her red dress as vibrant as fire. Judging by the coldness in the Witch’s eyes, it had to be Carmen, not KK.

Baron was startled to realize he could now tell which of the Witch’s personalities was in control just by looking at her eyes. ’Could that be considered progress?’

At his sudden appearance, all eyes turned toward the Demon Hunter, including the Witch’s.

’No way. There are too many of them. I can’t win. I’m not getting involved in this mess.’

Baron swung his Spear Sword out, but not to attack. Instead, he drove the blade into the ground.

"My eyes are blind! I can’t see a thing!"

As he spoke, he turned with the exaggerated air of a blind man and started walking back into the forest.

"I knew you’d come to save me, L."

The Witch’s exclamation made Baron freeze. Before he could deny any connection to her, he heard Silver Wizard Fei wave a hand and command, "Take him down as well."

Two of the five Palmer Witch Riders broke away and charged at Baron. Their Magic Staffs and Magic Cards moved in concert, unleashing a volley of unknown Magic spells at the Demon Hunter.

’I didn’t even try to be a hero, and you’re already drawing your weapons on me? Fine. In that case, don’t blame me for what comes next.’

Feeling utterly wronged, a vicious glint flashed in Baron’s eyes. He flicked the blade planted in the ground upward, sending sand and dust flying everywhere.

The two pursuing Palmer Witch Riders lost sight of him. Their gazes swept the area, then suddenly locked onto a single point.

There, a giant blade glinting with metallic light came crashing down, the sheer pressure of its descent cutting through the air.

One of the Palmer Witch Riders instinctively tried to use a Magic Card with his Magic Staff, but his gaze met the amber eyes behind the giant blade and he froze, his body trembling with tension.

He didn’t even notice his Magic Staff slipping from his hand and clattering to the ground.

He only snapped out of his stupor when the giant blade slammed to a halt an inch from his Face Armor, blocked by an invisible, transparent barrier.

Silver Wizard Fei held two defensive Magic Cards; it was he who had used the Magic stored within them to block the attack, an act that had cost him a great deal of his Spiritual Power.