24: Chapter 24 Greed? Betrayal? Counterattack! Distributing the spoils!

The Radiant Griffin collapsed.

Rowan slowly lowered his longbow, his arms slightly numb; the continuous high-intensity shooting had taken a significant toll on him.

He scanned the surroundings vigilantly, while also looking toward the two fallen Senior Knights.

Victor was heavily injured, but it didn't seem life-threatening; he was struggling to pull out a healing potion.

Parker was also struggling to sit up.

At that moment, Jeremy, who had been primarily responsible for harassing the flanks, slowly stood up.

He greedily scanned the faintly glowing Magic Crystal on the griffin's forehead, then turned his gaze toward Rowan, who was currently catching his breath not far away.

A long-range archer should be at the end of his tether after such a continuous burst of power. Victor and Parker were heavily injured and had lost their combat effectiveness.

As for Jeremy himself, because he had intentionally preserved his strength, his injuries were far lighter than they appeared.

The overall value of a Radiant Griffin was close to two thousand gold coins.

A fortune of two thousand gold coins was enough for him to flee far away and enjoy a life of luxury in another major city for a long time.

Thus, a murderous glint flashed in his eyes as he silently drew a spare shortsword from his waist.

He planned to deal with the uninjured Rowan first. Since the opponent was an archer, as long as he closed the distance, it wouldn't be much of a problem.

He lightened his footsteps, pretending to stagger toward Rowan while saying, "Brother Rowan, are you alright? Thanks to that final arrow of yours..."

The distance was closing.

Five steps.

Three steps.

Two steps.

Just as Jeremy entered the optimal lunging distance and was about to strike violently.

Rowan suddenly took a step to the side, his body twisting at an incredible angle!

Jeremy's certain-kill thrust grazed Rowan's clothing at his ribs and missed!

"You?!" Jeremy was greatly shocked, but his reaction was extremely fast; he changed the thrust into a slash, aiming for Rowan's neck.

But Rowan's hand had already abandoned the bow and gripped a sword at some unknown point.

Clang!

That simply decorated knight's longsword suddenly unsheathed. There was no dazzling light, only a burst of extreme, deep cold that seemed capable of freezing the very air!

Winter Oathkeeper: Falling Snow!

The sword light was like drifting snowflakes, appearing slow and gentle but actually incredibly swift. Carrying a dense Frost Qi, it precisely parried Jeremy's shortsword.

The Frost Qi spread along the blade, instantly condensing thick ice crystals on Jeremy's shortsword and even his wrist!

Jeremy felt his arm go numb as the cold seeped into his marrow, filling his heart with horror.

This was not the close-combat strength an exhausted archer should have! And what was this bizarre Frost Battle Qi!

He wanted to retreat, but Rowan gave him no chance.

The longsword's trajectory suddenly became elusive, leaving trails of frost in the air that blocked all of Jeremy's paths of retreat.

Jeremy desperately swung his stiffened shortsword to parry, but he felt the force coming from the opponent's sword was incredibly heavy. With every collision, more cold air seeped into his weapon and arm.

"You played me!" Jeremy was both shocked and furious, fully realizing that the opponent had hidden his strength and he had kicked a steel plate.

Rowan's eyes were cold, and he did not speak.

The sword style changed again, shifting from dense and continuous to extreme concentration and advancement! A direct strike!

He moved with his sword, turning into a straight beam of light in a lunge!

At the tip of the sword, a point of deep blue extreme cold suddenly condensed.

Jeremy's soul almost left his body. He pressed his numbed left hand against the shortsword as well, parrying with all his might.

Clang!

The shortsword snapped upon impact!

The sword tip pierced into Jeremy's chest without any resistance.

No blood sprayed out; the extreme cold instantly froze everything around the wound, including the blood, muscles, and Jeremy's final expression of shock.

Oath of Freezing: Winter Shockwave!

The cold air erupted.

Jeremy's entire body was shattered from the inside out, then turned into a stiff ice sculpture, his face still bearing an unbelievable, hideous look.

Rowan withdrew his sword.

The ice sculpture fell to the ground and shattered into several pieces with a crash...

On the other side.

Victor and Parker, who had barely propped up their upper bodies, witnessed this lightning-fast battle with faces full of shock.

They then looked at Rowan nervously.

They saw Rowan walk to Jeremy's remains, lean over to pick up the poisoned shortsword, examine it, and put it away.

Then, without saying a word, he sat cross-legged and began to recover his Battle Qi on his own.

Seeing this, Victor and Parker breathed a sigh of relief and also hurried to begin their own recovery.

About half an hour later, all three had recovered somewhat and opened their eyes almost simultaneously.

"Let's process the prey; this is no place to stay for long." Rowan was the first to stand up, breaking the silence.

Hearing this, Victor and Parker nodded.

They stood up and walked toward the Radiant Griffin's corpse, preparing to handle the spoils.

As for Jeremy, the three of them tacitly did not mention him.

He had chosen a path of greed, and his current end could only be said to be well-deserved.

As for Rowan, since he dared to agree to enter the inner reaches of the Mess Mountains to hunt, he naturally had the confidence to protect himself.

Since stepping into the rank of Official Knight, he had entered the Mess Mountains many times to fight magical beasts, and he found that his strength was far greater than he had imagined.

Even among Official Knights, the gap could be massive.

With his class bonuses and the perfect-grade Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique, he was a top-tier expert of his rank, enough to contend with those Senior Knights.

The three of them began to process the Radiant Griffin's body on the spot.

The Radiant Griffin's feathers were as tough as iron, and beneath the skin were fine scales that were difficult for ordinary swords to damage.

But this was no problem for three powerful knights.

Victor condensed his Battle Qi and precisely cut into the joints of the scales, his movements as skilled as a butcher carving an ox.

Parker used his greatsword as a lever, combined with the brute force of his Battle Qi, to peel away the tough hide.

Rowan used his Frost Battle Qi to handle the relatively delicate parts like the eyeballs and glands.

Soon, the body of this priceless magical beast was completely disassembled.

The most valuable heart, Magic Crystal, a pair of eyes swirling with radiance, and twelve of the most complete primary radiant feathers were carefully stored in oilcloth and special containers.

The remaining flesh, bones, secondary feathers, and claws were also partitioned and packed.

Since Jeremy was dead, according to the pre-agreed distribution principles, the pair of Radiant Griffin's Eyes that originally belonged to Jeremy naturally went to Rowan, along with all the items on Jeremy's person.

After returning to Ice Lake City.

The remaining materials were also quickly sold off, fetching a total of over six hundred gold coins.

Rowan received two shares, getting over three hundred gold coins.

Adding in the proceeds from selling the Radiant Griffin's Eyes that he didn't need, his total harvest was over six hundred gold coins.

The temporary team disbanded at this point.

For Rowan.

This trip to the Mess Mountains had yielded results beyond his expectations.

The main ingredients for his secret medicine were in hand, and he had also received the entire net worth of an Official Knight as an extra bonus.

He took a rough look and found an Excellent-grade Shadow Wolf Breathing Method, which pleasantly surprised him.

In this world, Breathing Techniques were often closely guarded family secrets; even a crude-level Breathing Technique from a chamber of commerce would cost over a hundred gold coins.

And an Excellent-grade Breathing Technique, which possessed at least one [Trait], could easily cost thousands of gold coins—enough to buy a house in a county city.

After Rowan disposed of the things he didn't need from Jeremy, he set off to return to White Cliff Castle.

...