After surviving yet another assassination attempt, Jenny and Keane truly grasped just how perilous the road to Red Dragon City would be. Death could lurk around any corner. Involuntarily, the siblings found themselves relying more and more on Lin Lei.
"Big Brother Lei, what are we supposed to do?" Jenny asked Lin Lei, worry knotting her brow.
At that moment, both Jenny and Keane felt as though the future had been swallowed by fog. They couldn't see the road ahead, and they had no idea what would happen if they kept pressing on.
Looking at these simple, honest siblings, Lin Lei offered reassurance. "Don't worry. A mere acting city lord of a single prefecture — I'm confident I can handle him."
Lin Lei had now reached the eighth level, and with his dragon transformation he stood at the peak of the ninth. The Black-striped Cloud Leopard Black Lu was also a peak ninth-level magical beast, and Bei Bei's strength was no less than Black Lu's or Lin Lei's.
One human and two magical beasts combined — as long as no Saint Realm powerhouse showed up, no number of soldiers could hope to stop them.
Hearing Lin Lei's words, Jenny and Keane both felt a surge of admiration for him well up in their hearts.
No matter how long they'd known him, the siblings still couldn't gauge Lin Lei's true strength. In their eyes, he remained a mysterious, powerful warrior. Lambert, standing off to the side, felt deeply gratified watching this scene. As long as Jenny and Keane could live safe, peaceful lives, this old servant would be content even in death. A powerhouse willing to go out of his way to help a pair of country siblings without asking for anything in return — that alone was enough for Lambert to feel bottomless gratitude toward Lin Lei.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
A knock sounded at the courtyard gate.
"I'll get it," Lambert said with a chuckle. "It's probably the attendants with breakfast."
"Let's eat, then," Lin Lei said with a smile, leading Jenny and Keane toward the dining room. Lambert opened the courtyard gate, and two attendants pushing meal carts stepped inside.
"Bring everything into the dining room," Lambert instructed with a cheerful nod.
"Yes, sir." Both attendants were unfailingly courteous as they wheeled their carts forward. But as they moved, they exchanged a quick glance — and in their eyes flickered a flash of grim resolve.
This time, they had come to assassinate Keane. Whether they succeeded or not, they were as good as dead.
They had known from the start that Lin Lei would be here. Either Lin Lei himself or his black leopard could kill them with ease.
In the dining room, Lin Lei took the seat of honor while Keane and Jenny sat on either side. The two attendants, bearing humble smiles, wheeled their meal carts into the room.
"Sir, miss — shall I present the roast lamb?" One of the attendants lifted the iron lid.
"Set it on the floor over here." Lin Lei pointed to the flagstone beside him, where the Black-striped Cloud Leopard Black Lu lay on the ground, head raised, eyeing the roast lamb.
For Black Lu's appetite, a whole roast lamb was nothing more than a light breakfast.
"Yes, sir." The attendant respectfully lifted the oversized serving platter and set the entire roast lamb directly on the floor. Bei Bei bounded over in an instant, raked a sharp claw across, and snatched away a whole leg of lamb.
Black Lu glared at Bei Bei, then walked over and began tearing into the meat with great relish.
"Sir, please." The attendant placed a plate before Lin Lei, then set another in front of Keane.
The second attendant was laying out dishes on the table at that very moment.
And in that instant —
Both attendants were positioned right next to Keane, who, utterly oblivious to any danger, was eagerly picking up his knife and fork, ready to dig in.
The two attendants locked eyes — and with perfect, wordless understanding, they lunged at Keane simultaneously. Their fingers curled into claw-like shapes, stabbing toward Keane's chest, head, and throat — every vital point.
Four hands struck at once!
An ordinary fifth- or sixth-level warrior could easily shatter a boulder with a single palm strike. Even a fourth-level warrior could punch straight through a thick wooden plank.
Keane was just a frail, untrained boy. Neither his skull nor his throat could withstand a single one of these blows.
They were too close.
The two attendants had gotten far too near to Keane, and the striking distance was negligibly short. At that range, even an eighth-level warrior would barely have time to react — and Keane would already be dead.
Lin Lei gave a cold snort.
A flash of eerie purple light blazed and vanished in the space of a heartbeat. A piercing scream split the air as all four of the attendants' hands came crashing to the floor, severed clean off.
Jenny leaped to her feet with a shriek.
"Master!" Lambert belatedly realized what had happened. Fury contorting his face, he drove two savage kicks into the attendants, hurling them slamming into the wall hard enough to make it shudder.
The two attendants groaned on the ground, staring at each other with naked despair in their eyes.
"You — how —" one of them stammered, staring at Lin Lei in disbelief.
They had been barely half a meter from Keane. Though they were only fourth-level warriors, half a meter was nothing — it shouldn't have taken even the blink of an eye to close that distance and kill him.
Not even a powerhouse could have reacted in time.
But Lin Lei had not only reacted, he had severed all four of their hands.
"Surprised I managed to react?" Lin Lei regarded them with flat calm. "A pair of ordinary attendants — and yet your hands have been trained to that level?"
Both men looked down at their own palms.
The red-haired man who had led this squad was commanding a unit of elite archers. Years of relentless practice as elite archers had left their hands covered in telltale calluses.
The two attendants exchanged one last look, their eyes brimming with despair.