Chapter 052: Anla and Perhaps

Under the cover of night, two shadows slipped swiftly out from the dense woods of the lumberyard. With practiced ease, they made their way to the outskirts of the tribe, arriving at the wooden palisade in the blink of an eye.

Crouching low, the pair cautiously surveyed their surroundings. Only after confirming they had not been spotted did they draw their weapons—two ordinary longswords—which they used to gingerly pry at the wooden stakes.

Ordinary Longsword:

Attack: 15
Accuracy: +3
Durability: 20
Bonus: 2% chance to break defense
Weight: 7
Requirements: Level 18, Swordsmanship [Beginner]

Just by looking at these weapons, one could tell the two were far from ordinary. Though the swords themselves were standard, they could only have been forged in a major metropolis like Motling’s joint workshops, and at a considerable price. Any imperial player would be astounded to see the extensive list of skills these two possessed. Fortunately, this game did not allow casual inspection of others’ attributes, and the two always kept their swords wrapped in sackcloth, so in the eyes of others, they appeared no different from regular wandering players.

Their movements were light and deft, clearly indicating this was not their first time at such work. In no time at all, a crack the width of a finger and several inches long appeared in the palisade, all accomplished in utter silence.

The one who finished first turned to his companion with a smirk and whispered, “Hey, looks like I’ve won again. Why do you always fall behind? Does this mean you’re a bit slower than me?”

The man called “Perhaps” glanced at his companion, “Relax,” then turned back to his task, his face expressionless. “Perhaps,” he replied.

Relax and Perhaps: both had only entered the game a day after its launch. Upon entering, they immediately relinquished the position of tribal chief to focus on leveling up at breakneck speed. Their progress was so rapid it could only be described as lightning-fast; they now ranked sixth and seventh in the China region’s leaderboard. They had already utilized the system function to hide their names, so there was no worry of being recognized by other players in public.

Relax paid little heed to what Perhaps said. Sword sheathed, he peered through the crack into the Yanhuang Tribe, then said, “Do you think if we get caught now, they’ll take us for thieves?”

“Perhaps.”

“If the old man knew we spent hours here every night, rain or shine, watching over things, do you think he’d praise us?”

“Perhaps.”

“Do you think that kid will try anything funny with Miss? He’s with her all day, and they seem pretty close.”

“Perhaps.”

“Miss almost recognized me in the market today. If she caught us on the spot, do you think we’d come to a bad end?”

“Definitely.”

Relax was so startled by the rare affirmative that he shuddered, then glanced nervously at Perhaps, who was still working on the fence, and swallowed hard.

“She’s coming out—Miss is coming out.”

Relax pressed his face to the crack, squashing himself against the palisade like a flattened persimmon, watching intently. At last, Perhaps finished prying open a gap, put away his sword, and did the same.

Inside the tribe, Ruoyan emerged from the main hall and walked straight to the dye shed. All the villagers were asleep. The cool night breeze stirred, bringing a quiet sense of comfort. After securing the torch, Ruoyan sat at the loom, her hand resting on the machine, but she did not weave. Instead, her thoughts turned to those two she had glimpsed at the market earlier.

Though it was only a brief glance, and both wore cloaks, Ruoyan found them strangely familiar—almost certain they were the two young bodyguards who had begun serving her grandfather this year. Aunt Lan, the housemaid, had mentioned more than once how skilled they were, though she couldn’t say exactly how—just that each had a mountain of championship trophies to their name. Ruoyan had seen them a few times while visiting her grandfather’s company. They’d never spoken, but those brief encounters left her with a distinct impression of their faces.

They really did look like them. The more Ruoyan thought about it, the more convinced she became that the two following her at the market were her grandfather’s bodyguards. But why would they be following her? She was puzzled. Though her parents had initially objected to her playing “Empire,” her grandfather had taken her side and overruled their objections. Since her family had finally agreed to let her play, and it was her first time interacting freely with peers online, shouldn’t they keep their promise? How could they still spy on her? It was just too much. It had always been this way—never any freedom. Even at school on Cai Xing, she’d had two female bodyguards shadowing her, making the classmates behind her seethe in silence.

The more she dwelled on it, the angrier Ruoyan became, her lips pursed and brows furrowed. She couldn’t be sure she was really being watched, but if she were to ask, they would certainly deny it, and, as always, the three of them would concoct a mountain of excuses to make her speechless.

Outside the palisade, Relax and Perhaps, seeing Miss’s annoyed expression, broke into a cold sweat. Relax knew this trouble was his fault—if he hadn’t approached when he saw other players crowding around Miss, worried she might be taken advantage of, she wouldn’t have noticed him, nor would Perhaps have been exposed. The old man doted on his only granddaughter. If Miss uttered a single negative word about him to the old man...

An odd cramp seized Relax’s legs.

At that moment, Ruoyan exhaled deeply, deciding to set aside this headless worry for now. If she encountered those two again, she would not let them off so easily. With her mind made up, Ruoyan glanced around the tribe, and when her gaze swept across the palisade, Relax and Perhaps shrank down hurriedly, as if her eyes could pierce the finger-wide crack hundreds of meters away and spot them.

Flattening themselves to the ground, they exchanged a look and nodded: this place is no longer safe—retreat.

Immediately, they activated their Stealth skill, moving like the wind and vanishing into the vast night.

———

Note:

Stealth: Move swiftly using terrain or shadows as cover. As skill level increases, concealment and movement speed both improve.