...

The tingling on his scalp wasn’t because Lynch was afraid.

After facing the phantom of a Demigod in the Storm Mine and the desperate struggle of a Tier Seven Holy Flame Knight, a few mere assailants like these weren’t enough to make him panic.

What rose in his heart was more a sense of helplessness and exasperation.

He had originally come to Red Ridge Mountain to find his senior brother, Raymond, determined to get away from the hornet’s nest that was Saint Roland City. He’d planned to lie low in this remote area for a while, properly absorb his spoils of war, and strengthen his foundations.

’But who would have thought? It seems I really am a trouble magnet.’

He had just set foot in the Red Ridge Mountain region and hadn’t even met up with his senior brother yet, but he’d already stumbled headfirst into some inexplicable vortex of conflict.

In that same instant, Lynch’s extended Spiritual Power gave him a crystal-clear "view" of the attackers charging into the camp.

There were seven of them in total.

They were dressed like common adventurers in simple leather armor with varied weapons, but they all wore identical blue scarves over their faces. At first glance, they looked just like the rabble from the Draenei Brotherhood.

But Lynch saw that something was off right away.

These men moved with extreme discipline and coordination, completely different from the disorganized Blue Scarf stragglers he had encountered in the Storm Mine.

The moment they charged into the camp, they communicated instantly.

Their leader assigned tasks with a single, simple hand gesture.

There was no verbal communication between them; they coordinated with just glances and subtle movements.

Their advance, their turns, their target selection, and even the way they held their weapons all reeked of professional training.

This was definitely not the quality of a loosely disciplined rebel army. They were more like... elite scouts or a special operations team from a regular military legion.

Of the seven, the leader was a powerfully built Warrior wielding a broad, two-handed sword.

A faint cyan battle aura swirled around him, marking him as a Tier Two Extraordinary Warrior with a solid foundation and a wealth of real combat experience.

The remaining six included two archers, one Dual Blade Scout, and three standard Shield Warriors. Their auras were all formidable, and every one of them was at Tier One!

Perhaps they saw the sudden appearance of a Necromancer as the greatest threat and variable. The Tier Two Warrior leading them, along with the Dual Blade Scout and the two archers, chose to execute a decapitation strike against him immediately.

In an instant, the group had already adjusted their formation specifically to counter Lynch’s class.

The leading Tier Two Warrior charged him head-on.

The two Tier One archers fell back slightly, drawing arrows from their quivers in a motion as smooth as breathing.

The Scout, holding two recurved daggers, had already activated a sprint and was rapidly flanking to encircle Lynch.

"SWISH! SWISH!"

Two sharp whistles cut through the air almost simultaneously.

The arrows, infused with battle aura, were incredibly fast, leaving two faint white trails in the night sky as they shot straight for Lynch.

Necromancers were troublesome, but as long as you killed them right away, their Undead Units were nothing to fear.

But in the face of such a sudden, deadly attack...

Lynch wasn’t flustered at all. He leaned against Red Rabbit, making no extra movements.

However, the little Vampire, Esther, who had been lying lazily on his lap as if half-asleep, snapped her eyes open, revealing a pair of beautiful, scarlet, Gemstone-like eyes.

Suddenly disturbed, a clear look of anger appeared on her delicate, porcelain-doll face.

She didn’t get up, merely reaching a small hand upward.

"SNAP!" "SNAP!"

Two soft sounds.

The two arrows, carrying lethal kinetic energy, had their flight abruptly halted. They were now held gently in Esther’s pale little hand, the fletching at their ends still trembling slightly.

This sudden turn of events not only left the two archers stunned on the spot, but even the Tier Two Warrior charging at the front had a clear look of astonishment in his eyes, his steps faltering for a moment.

The next moment, Esther’s dress fluttered behind her as a pair of membranous wings with blood-red patterns unfurled. With a gentle beat, they lifted her petite body into the air, positioning her in front of Lynch.

She pursed her small lips, revealing two sharp, cute fangs. Her scarlet eyes glinted with the cold, murderous intent of a supreme predator.

With a casual flick of the hand holding the arrows, they were enveloped in a flash of scarlet energy. Then, with even greater speed than before, they tore through the air, shooting back the way they came.

"THWIP!" "THWIP!"

Two sickening thuds rang out almost in unison.

The arrows pierced directly through the archers’ eye sockets. The arrowheads burst from the backs of their skulls, creating a small spray of blood and brain matter.

Their bodies stiffened, and they collapsed backward without even a chance to scream, killed on the spot!

"It’s a Vampire, at least Tier Three! Abandon the mission, retreat, now, retreat!!!"

The leading Tier Two Warrior’s pupils contracted as he roared in absolute terror.

His forward charge came to an abrupt halt. He stomped his feet, his battle aura erupting, and shot backward like a startled fawn, moving even faster than he had on his approach.

The Dual Blade Scout’s reaction was just as fast. He immediately abandoned his flanking maneuver, twisted his body, and darted toward the darkness outside the camp.

The other three Shield Warriors, who had been charging the "Seventh Prince," also instantly gave up on their target, covering each other as they attempted a rapid retreat from the battlefield.