Iron-Tooth Gorge earned its name not from poetic metaphor, but from its brutal geological shape. Sharp limestone cliffs jutted from the valley floor, angling inward as if the earth itself were trying to chew anyone who dared pass through the middle.
The mist here was thinner due to the strong winds blowing through the narrow gap, but that only made the scenery more terrifying. Above the cliffs, carrion birds circled lazily, as if knowing that dinner would soon be served.
Vaelen lay prone on the lip of the southern cliff, blending in with the grey rock thanks to the Ghost Pepper he had rubbed slightly on his clothes to mask his human scent—a trick he learned from the Skinny Bandit's memory fragment when absorbing his soul (a minor side effect of Siphon: glimpses of the prey's instinctual memories).
Down below, about fifty meters vertically, a narrow winding path snaked along the bottom of the gorge. It was the only access flat enough for a horse carriage.
And Vaelen wasn't alone on the cliffs.
Through a crack in the rocks, Vaelen observed activity on the opposite cliff (North). There were about ten Black Wolf bandits there. They were busy.
They were piling up large logs and boulders at the cliff's edge, held back by a net of thick hemp rope.
"Classic rockslide trap," Vaelen commented inwardly, observing the mechanism.
It only needed one cut of the rope, and tons of rock would fall, crushing anything on the path below. Simple. Effective. Barbaric.
Vaelen's position on the southern cliff was slightly higher and more hidden. From here, he had a VIP view of the theater.
According to the stolen letter, the target convoy would pass this afternoon. The bandits were ready. Besides the trap team on the north cliff, Vaelen also saw the main ambush force hiding behind a bend in the gorge below.
About thirty bandits. And they didn't just carry swords.
Vaelen's eyes, enhanced by Qi, caught the figures of monsters chained beside the troops. Two Wargs—wolves the size of ponies with glowing green eyes.
[Monster Analysis: Shadow Warg (Tamable)]
[Rank: Rank 9 (High Stage)]
[Ability: Shadow Blend, Bone-Crushing Jaw]
[Note: Very fast.]
"Thirty armed men. Two Rank 9 High Stage monsters. Plus a rock-throwing unit on the cliff," Vaelen calculated the odds. "Any foolish hero trying to save the girl would surely die within 30 seconds."
Vaelen chewed on his last piece of jerky.
His goal wasn't to save the Viscount's daughter. To hell with noble girls. His goal was Survival & Profit.
If he let the bandits win decisively: Vaelen got nothing, maybe just leftover scraps. The bandits would get stronger, and the region would become more dangerous for him. If he warned the convoy: The convoy guards might arrest Vaelen and accuse him of conspiring because he looked suspicious. High risk, zero profit.
"The best scenario," Vaelen muttered, his eyes shining coldly. "Is 'Mutual Destruction'."
Let them slaughter each other until both sides were dying, then Vaelen would swoop in to clean up the remains. Harvesting souls, looting Mana Stones, and taking equipment.
But for that, the balance of power had to be shifted. These bandits were too prepared. The convoy would be destroyed instantly by the rockslide before they could fight back.
"I need to eliminate their air superiority," Vaelen glanced at the trap team on the north cliff. "That rock trap must not fall on the convoy. It must fall on..."
Vaelen looked at the position of the main bandit force hiding below, right under the north cliff.
A devilish smile carved itself onto Vaelen's face.
"Ah, the beauty of physics."
But there was one problem. The rope mechanism was on the opposite side. Vaelen was here. The distance was about 30 meters across the gorge. There was no bridge.
Except... an old fallen tree spanning the narrowing cliffs at the far end.
Vaelen moved back, crawling away from the cliff edge, then ran around toward that natural bridge.
***
Fifteen minutes later.
Vaelen had crossed the fallen tree trunk. Now he was on the same cliff side as the bandit trap team—the North Cliff.
He moved in silence using a still-rough Shadow Walk technique (before he had the Skill, this was just manual sneaking).
The trap team consisted of three men. One guard leaning against a tree holding a crossbow, and two workers checking the rock bindings.
They were relaxed. They felt safe at this height.
Vaelen drew his new longsword (Steel Longsword). The weight was satisfying.
He approached the guard at the tree from behind. Dry leaves on the ground were wet with morning dew, dampening the sound of steps.
When the distance was five meters, the wind changed direction. The Guard, whether by instinct or luck, turned his head.
"Hey, who—"
Vaelen didn't give him time to finish the sentence.
[SKILL: ABYSSAL STEP]
Vaelen's body became a black shadow, shooting forward five meters in the blink of an eye.
SLASH!
The longsword blade decapitated the guard before he could raise his crossbow. His head fell with a confused expression, his body slumping slowly.
The other two bandits squatting to fix the ropes turned in shock upon hearing the sound of a body falling.
"What was that?! Garett?"
Vaelen was already standing there. Blood dripped from the tip of his sword. His face was flat and expressionless, like a cracked porcelain mask.
"Not Garett," Vaelen answered casually. "But an apprentice Grim Reaper."
"Damn it! Kill him!" yelled the first bandit, drawing a small axe. His friend pulled out a sledgehammer.
They weren't great fighters. Maybe Rank 9 Initial—just hired thugs for manual labor.
Vaelen didn't use Abyssal Step again (it was wasteful of Mana/Qi). He advanced with normal steps.
The Axe Wielder charged, swinging vertically. His technique was messy, too many openings. Vaelen parried easily.
CLANG!
His good quality steel sword clashed with the low-quality iron axe. Vaelen rotated his wrist, sliding his sword down the opponent's axe handle, then slicing the bandit's wrist.
"ARGH!" The axe fell.
Vaelen followed the movement with a front kick to the bandit's chest, sending him stumbling backward—right to the edge of the cliff.
"Oops," Vaelen said.
The bandit slipped, his hands grasping empty air, then fell screaming into the gorge far below.
AAAAAAhhh... THUD!
The sound of a body impact was heard faintly from below. Definitely instant death.
The last bandit, the hammer wielder, froze. His face was pale. His friend had just been eliminated in three seconds.
"W-wait! We can split the share! Whatever you want!" he begged, backing away slowly until his back hit their own pile of trap rocks.
Vaelen approached slowly, his sword pointed at the man's neck.
"What do I want?" Vaelen tilted his head, pretending to think. "I want you to do your job."
"What?"
"The rope," Vaelen pointed with his chin toward the rope holding the large rocks behind the man. "That rope holds the weight of the rocks, right? Cut that rope."
"B-but... The convoy hasn't arrived! Captain Fenrir will kill me if I drop it now! Besides..." the man looked down in horror, "The main force's position is right under this cliff! If I cut it now, these rocks will fall on my own friends!"
Vaelen smiled. A sincere smile that was very out of place.
"Exactly."
The Bandit realized he was facing a madman. He screamed, raising his hammer for a final desperate attack.
Vaelen dodged to the side elegantly, then thrust his sword into the man's stomach.
SHLUCK.
"If you don't want to do it, let me do it," Vaelen whispered in the ear of the dying bandit.
[Essence Absorbed (Passive): +5 Qi.]
[Murder witnessed only by the rocks. No alert triggered.]
Vaelen let the corpse fall.
Now, he was alone on the North Cliff. In front of him was the rockslide trigger mechanism. Down there, dozens of bandits and Warg wolves were waiting in ambush positions, unaware that a Grim Reaper was standing right above their heads.
Vaelen looked to the end of the Gorge road.
Dust billowed. The sound of carriage wheels and galloping horses could be heard approaching.
The Viscount's convoy had arrived. A luxurious carriage plated in black steel, escorted by eight elite-looking silver-armored knights (likely Rank 8 Peak Knights).
The bandits down there held their breath, ready to attack. The bandit captain—a large man with a wolf helmet—raised his hand, signaling "Wait".
They were waiting for the convoy to enter the "Kill Zone". And they expected rocks from above to fall on the convoy.
Vaelen stood beside the retaining rope. He took the oil flask from his pocket and poured it onto the thick hemp rope.
He took out his flint.
"Your Captain said 'Wait'..." Vaelen lit the fire on the oily rope.
The fire spread quickly, eating the rope fibers greedily.
"...But I'm an impatient person."
The rope fibers began to snap one by one. Snap... Snap...
Below, the bandits started to hear a subtle rumbling sound. The Captain looked up, his eyes widening as he saw the rope breaking before the designated time.
"Huh?! What is that idiot up there doi—"
SNAP!
The main rope broke completely. The retaining net opened.
Dozens of tons of large rocks and logs slid off the cliff. Not into the middle of the road where the convoy hadn't yet reached.
But falling vertically straight down, hitting the cliff wall, bouncing off, and the rain of rocks landed right on top of the heads of the main bandit force hiding in the bushes under the cliff.
BOOM! CRASH! KABOOM!
Human screams and wolf howls vanished instantly, replaced by the sound of crushing bones and trembling earth. Thick dust billowed high, covering the bottom of the gorge.
Vaelen stood on the cliff edge, staring at the chaos below with crossed arms. His cloak fluttered in the dust wind.
His Status Screen blinked crazily, receiving an overflow of "Kill Assist" EXP, even though he didn't get Essence directly because the distance was too far to suck souls.
[Kill Streak x4]
[Massive Chaos Bonus: +150 EXP]
[Tactical Awareness Up!]
"Round one complete," Vaelen said calmly amidst the screams of pain from below. "Now, let's see how the Silver Knights deal with the panicked remnants of the bandits."
Vaelen sheathed his sword, his eyes fixed on the luxurious carriage below which had now stopped abruptly in shock.
The real hunt had just begun.