31: Chapter 25 Persuasion 31: Chapter 25 Persuasion “All dead!?”

Larry, who was slightly overweight, looked at the scene before him with an incredulous expression.

At this moment, he was no longer the spendthrift he appeared to be back at the tavern.

The luxurious yet impractical robe had been replaced by a similarly colorful but noticeably more practical snug outfit.

However, perhaps purchased hastily without considering his slightly oversized frame, it seemed a bit too tight, as if he was wearing children’s clothes.

“Buddy, did you do all this?”

Larry’s eyes were fixed on Xia Nan, who stood in the clearing ahead, gripped his sword handle, and was still full of disbelief in his voice.

Without waiting for Xia Nan’s response, he turned around abruptly, like a bystander in a street crowd, exposing his unprotected back to Xia Nan.

“Doris, I said it, those guys were just bandits.”

“Adventurers should be like this!”

Unexpectedly, the blonde girl with a graceful figure, despite turning a bit pale, nodded in agreement when she heard Larry’s words.

Xia Nan even sensed a hint of excitement from her?

“Friend, it’s a misunderstanding, we bear no hostility.”

On the other side, the Half Elf Hai’an had roughly figured out the situation, sheathed his longbow, and spread his fingers before him, signaling he was unarmed.

Xia Nan wouldn’t easily believe a stranger’s assurances.

Especially since the man he suspected to be a “professional,” with a very low presence, was standing beside the Half Elf, watching him warily, showing no signs of concealing hostility.

So Xia Nan responded with a firm grip on his long sword, facing the group as he slowly retreated.

Noticing Xia Nan’s gaze, Hai’an was momentarily stunned before realizing something.

He turned to the guard beside him, “Wood,” and scolded sternly:

“Wood, he’s not our enemy!”

The young master, who always spoke gently, suddenly used such a harsh tone.

Although Wood was reluctant, he put away the daggers in his hands, muttering:

“That’s not a certainty.”

Seeing this, Xia Nan, who had retreated to the edge of the clearing and distanced himself from the others, couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

The Mist Forest’s environment was complex, and even the most experienced adventurers could easily get lost if they rushed in blindly.

The others seemed genuine,

and at that moment, Xia Nan could retreat into the forest at any time, allowing for some margin of error.

Maybe it’s worth listening to what this Half Elf has to say?

Meanwhile, seeing Xia Nan halt his steps, Hai’an breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Then, across the entire open ground, he raised his voice to explain:

“Friend, first of all, I want to apologize to you.”

“The other day, our team had just entered the Mist Forest and was ambushed by enemies.”

“Fortunately, our team was competent enough not to fall for it.”

“To uncover their mastermind, my teammates and I deliberately let two escape.”

“And then, it ended up like this…”

Hai’an glanced at the two corpses lying ahead and added:

“Friend, I’m apologizing, on behalf of my teammates, for unintentionally involving you.”

Xia Nan’s gaze swept across the group without leaving a trace.

The grass clinging to their hair from their swift movements, mud on their boots, even bloodstains on their armor…

Considering the duo’s earlier behavior, what the Half Elf said seemed somewhat credible.

Thinking back, the two who rushed at him did indeed have a do-or-die desperation about them.

So they mistook him as the Half Elf’s ally?

Indeed, he was caught up unintentionally.

But…

This is it?

Going to such lengths just to apologize?

Xia Nan’s expression remained unchanged, though he felt peculiar inside.

After a moment of thought, he finally spoke his first words since their arrival:

“So what?”

Simultaneously, he formed a thought inwardly.

Perhaps, he encountered the more amiable sort among adventurers?

After all, if they were in cahoots with the duo earlier, there’d be no need to separate into two groups to deal with him.

They could easily overwhelm him with just the presence of the minimal guard.

No need to waste words here.

So…

is it about handing over the loot he took from the duo, or compensating for disrupting their plan to track the mastermind?

Xia Nan speculated about the situation’s development but didn’t expect his “So what” to silence the field suddenly.

“Yeah, so what?” Hai’an opened his mouth, momentarily clueless about how to respond.

Beside him, Wood, who followed him like a shadow, tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Though long accustomed to the young master’s pure-heartedness akin to a Paladin’s oath of dedication.

Yet faced with this predicament, Wood found it hard to maintain his composure.

Fortunately, the silence didn’t last long.

Looking at Xia Nan, who wielded an iron-gray two-handed longsword, Larry suddenly had a light bulb moment and leaned in, saying:

“Hai’an, didn’t the new adventurer we recruited in the team already die at the hands of those bandits?”

“Going back to River Valley Town to recruit again would take an entire day, so why not…”

“Young master, please reconsider!” Half Elf Hai’an hadn’t spoken when Wood had already interjected, advising against it.

“This person we know nothing about, letting him into the team might bring unnecessary risks.”

As someone who had attained a Professional Level and embarked on the path of shadows and secrecy known as the “Wanderer,”

Wood was extremely observant.

This young man with black hair, despite being covered in blood, appeared unscathed.

The two corpses on the field were intact, only having sustained fatal wounds to the head, with neat cuts clearly fatal in one blow.

Considering the short window of 6-7 seconds they had from realizing the situation to reaching the young man.

To conclude the battle so swiftly and efficiently.

Even if the duo’s skills weren’t exceptional, merely ordinary adventurers.

The man before him, wielding the iron-gray Beheading Longsword with black hair, was far from as simple as his youthful appearance suggested.

Coupled with the seemingly “coincidental” encounters in River Valley Town, Wood couldn’t help but feel more suspicious of him.

Under such circumstances, actively inviting this person into the team would undoubtedly plant a ticking time bomb.