"That was quite impressive!"
Both Gabriel and Seraphina paused instinctively, their defensive instincts flaring instantly.
The reason for their tension was simple.
Whoever this person was had managed to sneak close to them, bypassing their high perception and awareness without being detected.
The shock was clearly visible on Seraphina’s face as she turned toward Gabriel. However, the latter was already facing the direction from which the voice had come, his senses fully alert.
Gabriel narrowed his eyes. Standing about five meters away was a man wearing a large trench coat, his messy and unkempt hair falling loosely around his face. His facial features were hollow, like that of someone who had not eaten properly in a long time, but his eyes were sharp and piercing like a predator’s.
"It must be because we were so engrossed in killing the hyena that we didn’t notice his presence," Seraphina said softly, now facing the strange looking intruder. Her voice was low, audible only to Gabriel.
Gabriel could not disagree. He nodded faintly. "That might be the case."
He then shifted his gaze to the man, who completely ignored him and instead ogled Seraphina.
The man’s eyes were wide, his heartbeat thudding loudly against his chest. He was barely holding himself back from pouncing on the red haired woman.
She was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his entire life. The man tried to make himself appear presentable, not even sparing Gabriel a glance.
His gaze slowly trailed over her slightly transparent gown, which revealed just enough to be teasing. It was enough to make any hot blooded person lose composure, and he unconsciously licked his lips.
"He’s under her charm," Gabriel thought with a frown, slightly disgusted by the reaction. This was simply Seraphina’s natural allure, not any external vampiric skill.
"I shouldn’t have worn this dress. I didn’t dress this way just for low lives to ogle at me," Seraphina complained openly, not bothering to sugarcoat her words in the slightest.
Initially, she had worn it to impress someone. However, that foolish target seemed completely oblivious and had not even noticed.
Finally, the man snapped out of his daze and cleared his throat, secondhand embarrassment creeping onto his face.
"I apologize for the sudden intrusion," he spoke in a surprisingly deep voice. For someone who looked so lanky, neither of them had expected such a tone.
"I was passing by and sensed monsters here. I didn’t expect to run into such a fine lady," he said, flashing what he believed was his most charming smile at Seraphina, who looked more disgusted than offended.
"Who are you, and what are you doing on this side of the wilderness?" Gabriel spoke in a firm, authoritative tone.
Because there was no name displayed above his head, it was easy to tell that this man was a native of this world. Extending his perception slightly, Gabriel noticed that the man was significantly stronger than him in terms of level, a level seventy individual.
For someone of such level to be wandering dangerously close to his camp was highly suspicious.
"Who I am?" The man finally turned to Gabriel, irritation flashing across his eyes. "How about you keep quiet while I talk to the pretty lady."
Although Gabriel’s expression remained calm, a deep frown appeared on Seraphina’s face.
"My partner asked you a question," she repeated in an unfriendly tone.
The man frowned briefly, but because the woman was beautiful and had a pleasant voice to match, he did not care much about her attitude. "Since the pretty lady asked, my name is Garrett. I’m part of the Eastern Camp. I was deployed here by the big boss to check out this area after sightings of a new camp were reported."
The moment Gabriel heard the key details Eastern Camp, deployed, and big boss, his eyes flashed sharply.
Just as he had expected, the longer they delayed, the sooner the Eastern Camp would initiate contact.
If the Eastern Camp were to attack, there was no way the small Broken Dawn camp could withstand the brunt of their magic and ammunition. They would collapse within mere hours. That was precisely why launching the attack themselves was the better option.
Sensing the subtle change in their expressions, Garrett instinctively understood the effect of mentioning the Eastern Camp. Out here in the wilderness, especially within the Valerian Kingdom, the north and east were dominated by otherworlders, and everyone both respected and feared them.
"May I ask who you people are?" he said casually. "I’m quite impressed by your skills. I’ve never seen such a simple looking attack take out so many magic beasts at once."
He deliberately ignored Gabriel, his gaze settling back onto Seraphina.
It was clear that he considered Gabriel unimportant, despite having witnessed him kill the hyena leader with a single slap.
Did Gabriel care about what this man thought? Not at all.
In fact, this person was so insignificant that Gabriel overlooked his antics entirely, much like ignoring the tantrum of a child.
If anything, Gabriel’s attention was focused behind Garrett.
That was where the real threat lay.
"If you don’t mind, are you rogue adventurers?" he asked in a softer tone when Seraphina did not reply, her expression clouded with disgust.
Seeing no response, he continued with a wide smile, completely oblivious to her lack of interest. "If so, I’d like to make a proposal. You can join our Eastern Camp. With your looks and skills, you’d surely be given a good position in the base. Who knows, you might even become one of the concubines of the big bosses"
FWOOOSH!
Garrett’s eyes shrank.
Before he could finish his sentence, Seraphina lost the last shred of restraint she had. She waved her hand, and a blood red dagger materialized instantly, shooting forward.
The blood blade moved at a terrifying speed, aimed directly between the man’s eyebrows.
Bang!
A transparent barrier appeared right in front of him, halting the projectile. Upon impact, ripples spread across the barrier’s surface as cracks formed along it.
BOOOM!
The brief moment the barrier held was enough for Garrett to twist his head to the side, narrowly dodging the blade.
Moments later, from the direction Gabriel’s gaze had been fixed on all along, another figure emerged from thin air.