Andrew gently closed his eyes, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"You two take the things back and put them away first, I'll catch up after I finish up here. Maybe we'll run into a black-spotted deer today."

The two guards were quite 'familiar' with Andrew's strength. Since they were only at the edge of the forest, there weren't any animals that could threaten him, so both of them relaxedly carried their things and headed back.

After the two left, Andrew silently recited a command in his mind.

"Check my current physical stats."

"Andrew·Leo. Strength 0.8, Agility 2.4, Constitution 1.6."

A satisfied curve appeared at the corner of Andrew's mouth.

So far, he had eaten no less than hundreds of red one-eyed orbs. Now, eating the eyeballs of the one-eyed snake raw had little effect on him—it seemed he had developed a resistance. Still, being able to raise his agility to this level already made him very satisfied. Plus, after more than half a month of training, his constitution had improved a lot as well.

Now, even without seed enhancement, his physical stats were already quite strong. However, he had heard that those with seeds could unleash tremendous bursts of power, instantly multiplying their combat strength several times over. In this regard, Andrew couldn't compare.

"But…"

Andrew smiled slightly, then drew the iron sword from his waist with a reverse grip. With a swift slash forward, a silent arc cut through the air. A tree branch as thick as a wrist snapped sharply and fell to the ground right in front of him.

This speed was already a bit faster than when Arnold had demonstrated it before.

"Moreover…" Andrew's gaze fell on the break in the branch. There, a bug resembling a big-headed fly had one of its transparent wings precisely sliced off and was now struggling on the branch with a buzzing sound.

"I'm no longer a weakling." Andrew contentedly sheathed his iron sword.

※※※

In the woods a hundred meters away from Andrew.

A figure dressed entirely in gray was quietly approaching the direction of the castle.

The figure's footsteps pressed into the thick grass, but the sound was masked by the chirping of birds and insects, making it nearly impossible to detect any movement.

"This is the place?" The figure stopped and crouched down in front of a clump of bushes.

As an assassin of the Chapter of Shadows, Dennis was always extremely careful to gather every bit of information about his target before carrying out a mission. Although he possessed the powerful strength of a knight-level fighter, he never let his guard down—this was the main reason he rarely failed.

He recalled the mission requirements in his mind. "Target: kill Baron Leo and take his head as proof. According to the intel, Kyle Reed is also at knight-level strength and once killed more than ten heavy cavalry in a row. But afterward, he escaped exhausted." A trace of disdain appeared at the corner of Dennis's mouth.

"More than ten heavy cavalry? Impressive? Only in a remote countryside like this would that be considered strong." Dennis was fully qualified to look down on his opponent. Not long ago, he had killed twenty heavy cavalry, including a knight-level powerhouse, in a direct confrontation.

If not for his habits, he had enough strength to storm the castle and slaughter everyone, then retreat unscathed.

"But this mission is really easy. Coming to the countryside to kill a minor lord, and just an ordinary knight-level at that." He didn't care about the so-called achievements of his opponent—every knight-level powerhouse he had killed had similar impressive records. He'd seen plenty.

※※※

Inside the castle, in the conference hall.

Baron sat in his seat with a gloomy expression, saying nothing.

Otis and Howard sat on either side of him, both looking grim.

"A Chapter of Shadows assassin—who could have such deep pockets? To actually hire a powerhouse of this level?" Howard said hoarsely. "The Chapter of Shadows spans several countries, and the strength of its members is terrifying beyond imagination."

"The assassination notice has already been delivered to me in advance," Baron said in a deep voice. "This is their usual style—they always let the target know in advance when they will die. But what I can't figure out is, hiring someone from the Chapter of Shadows costs at least several thousand gold coins per job. The total annual income of the Leo territory is only a few hundred gold coins, yet someone is willing to spend thousands to buy my life…"

Otis licked his lips. "What are you afraid of? Even if he comes, the three of us knight-levels aren't just sitting here for nothing."

Baron's face remained gloomy as he fiddled with a black card in his hand. Against a pitch-black background, a blood-red spider pattern was printed on it, looking both eerie and ornate.

Chapter 009: Perilous Situation

Andrew took his bow and arrow and walked straight into the depths of the forest. After more than half a month, he had become very familiar with the environment here. Except for a few times when he ventured too deep and encountered a white-scaled wild boar, there were basically no animals that could threaten him. So his steps were light and agile.

"Unusual target detected." A small pale blue dot flashed in Andrew's eyes.

"Oh? What new prey is it this time?" With a hint of a smile, Andrew took out a white-feathered arrow, slowly nocked it, and drew the bowstring toward the direction of the blue dot. His movements were slow, powerful, and extremely steady.