Velton POV

He snapped the metal case back closed and observed as the image in front of him vanished. That had been Sten, and he had asked Velton about the mission. Velton omitted some details, but that was par for the course. It would anger Sten, and Velton would have to be responsible for his team's actions.

Velton had learned that it was much easier to hide their poor decisions rather than try to change their behavior. He attempted to do that a few times in the past.

Never again.

As the night progressed, the more they relaxed. He and his men had just raided a small village on the edge of the mountains. It was generous to call it a village, even if it was. They only had a few Tier 4s, which was relatively small considering that the northern regions typically cultivated more Tier 4s than usual due to the harsher environment.

What made it worse for them was that only one of those people had a combat-focused path. The others were crafters and definitely not fighters. Velton and his team made quick work of them.

They didn't have that much to take. Velton hesitated over whether or not it was worth it. The only upside was that a few men whom he disliked had died during that raid. He almost wanted to laugh at them. They should be ashamed that they died to a bunch of hicks.

The village didn't have many valuable items or treasures, only a bunch of flowers and plants. However, the people were another story. While slavery was generally not legal in many places on the continent, there were plenty of people who still dabbled in the business. They offered a high price for slaves and maintained a good relationship with the Frost Bear Clan, knowing that they provided a significant amount of "supplies".

Slavery was a complex topic. Most came to realize that, in most cases, it wasn't the most optimal or efficient workforce. It was sometimes just easier to pay someone and let them work willingly. There was also the factor of how slavers have been punished over the years.

He recalled a story that his grandfather used to tell him. A very long time ago, when slavery was still around, a young slave boy managed to escape his captors. This very same boy then went on to become one of the most powerful people on the continent with a singular goal in mind. Kill all slavers.

His grandfather seemed almost reverent of how the man brutally slaughtered hundreds of thousands on his way to wiping out slavery.

With that being said, Velton didn't really have a strong opinion about slavery. He didn't particularly care for it, but he liked the money and rewards he got for bringing them in. Just the merit points alone he earned from the clan were enough to convince him that it was worth it.

He was enjoying the night, but he wished they could have made it back to the base with the prisoners. Their addition made it a much more difficult task. But perhaps it was for the best. Camping was a nice change of pace.

He was about to get up and go to bed when he felt a weird prickling feeling from [Advanced Danger Assessment]. He pursed his lips and spread his senses outward. He wasn't able to detect anything outside the barrier and shrugged his shoulders once he made sure there wasn't any danger.

However, it was by pure chance that his senses got pinged once again. This time, he felt like it came from inside the camp. That was odd because the item that was protecting them was given to him by Sten himself. Not even a Tier 4 would be able to break through without a very powerful skill. If that were to happen, the barrier should have alerted them to the breach.

Yet, it was a fact that his skill told him that something dangerous was inside the barrier's walls. He quickly sent his senses to the tent where the prisoners were being kept. He really hoped that one of the horny idiots didn't get any funny ideas. They weren't allowed to touch the merchandise, and if the clan found out, they would be in a lot of trouble.

After a few moments and not detecting anything, he expanded his search, and his eyes widened when he saw the two dead bodies tucked behind some tents.

He immediately sent out an emergency signal to the rest of his men, who didn't react as quickly as he would have liked. They were too drunk and were disorganized upon hearing the alarm. Some of them were forced to waste a healing potion to get rid of their drunken state.

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"Spread out and find the intruder!" He yelled out, his voice firm. However, on the inside, he was quite nervous. This person who infiltrated must have gotten past the barrier somehow. That, or they had been inside since the start. That was an even more worrisome thought.

He quickly gathered some men and headed over to the central tent where the prisoners were. When he arrived, he paused upon spotting a figure covered in a black cloak standing in front of the barrier that held the prisoners.

The only reason why Velton didn't immediately attack was because his danger-sensing skill was screaming at him not to. He didn't know why it was behaving this way. It had only done so around people who were much stronger than he was. But this person in front of him didn't have the presence he had experienced from other Tier 5s or powerful Tier 4s.

Actually, he didn't sense anything. No aura, barely any mana, and they didn't look particularly tall or big. However, this person had somehow managed to infiltrate their camp, which meant they weren't some random commoner who lost their way.

What made Velton even more wary was that this person didn't seem to care that they were there either. They didn't even glance backward despite there being no way they hadn't noticed their entrance.

While Velton didn't make any moves, he couldn't say that about the rest of his men. Before he could stop them, a couple of them were already making a move to charge this unknown intruder, attacking them with their swords.

However, before they could get close, a wave of powerful energy erupted from the unknown figure, and everyone, including Velton, found themselves unable to move a single inch.

It was like something had chained their bodies to the floor. Some of the men yelled out as they tried to free themselves. They didn't stand a chance. The oppressiveness was absolutely brutal, and some of the men started to groan in pain as they were immobilized. They were hurting themselves as they tried to escape.

Even Velton was barely able to move a muscle despite using his Authority to fight against this skill. It was like trying to hold back an avalanche with a shovel. His willpower found itself helplessly outmatched.

The cloaked figure finally decided to turn around and look at the group of them. His face was partially covered, but Velton was able to see some features and was shocked to see how young the face looked. From first impressions, it was a young boy. But what really caught his attention were the empty, void-like eyes that glimmered with blood red mana. They stared at Velton as if they could see the depths of his soul, like everything was laid bare.

He ramped up his Authority and started to fight back against this weird skill. His naturally strong soul and willpower, which came from being Tier 4, helped him. It was slow and difficult, but he finally managed to take a single step toward this person. However, that was all he could do.

Before he could take another step, his stomach dropped to his knees, and he felt a more powerful wave of aura specifically target him. This aura wasn't like anything he had ever experienced.

If there were something he would compare it to, it would be something akin to pure destruction. It tore straight into him and destroyed all of his aura, his mana, and his skills. Not even his Authority was able to withstand the pressure from this assault.

The small amount of resistance he had managed to gather was wiped out, and he was left gasping on his knees. The restrictive technique snapped into place, and he was immobilized for good.

This young boy must have figured he was done for and stopped focusing his attention on him. Something that Velton was thankful for as the pressure alleviated slightly, but he didn't dare to move another muscle.

He watched as the boy approached the barrier that held the prisoners. It was only now that he noticed the odd bit of mana surrounding the boy's hand. It was barely observable, but whatever it was, it was unique. It almost looked like some kind of space magic.

He didn't know what it was, but he got really nervous looking at the vibrating air.

The boy then used this hand to slash across the barrier, and Velton's eyes widened in astonishment as the barrier was ripped open. There was slight resistance at first, but the barrier was the first to give way and was torn through like cutting paper. The entire structure of the barrier collapsed and shattered into a million pieces.

Velton saw the previously hidden prisoner's faces look upward at the now destroyed barrier. He had no clue how this boy managed to do it. He also didn't know how he managed to get inside the camp in the first place.

Who in the hell is this person? What does he want? Did we kidnap someone he knew? Dozens of thoughts raced through his mind as he watched the boy gently help the prisoners to their feet.

What was even more disconcerting was that he wasn't able to sense an Authority from this boy.

As much as he wanted to believe that it was some kind of item or treasure, Velton knew his skill and trusted it. The skill would not take such things into account when giving him a warning. It would give him a more subtle probe if the danger weren't particular to a person, but to an item. This was a substantial and heavy sensation.

It was more likely that he was hiding his Authority somehow. He didn't know what they had done to offend such a person, but he was starting to regret his decisions up to this point.

He had already felt the difference between them when he had tried to resist whatever skill the boy had used to restrict him, and knew there would be nothing he could do to stop this boy from killing him whenever he wanted. Of that he was certain.

He was only beginning to see what his danger skill had been warning him about. It wasn't merely warning him that there was an enemy nearby. It had been warning him to run away as far as possible.

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