"Who are you?" Facing the suddenly appearing middle-aged man, the trio checked his attributes. Seeing he was only level 10, they didn’t relax—they grew even more vigilant.

"I wonder, friend—which company do you represent? We’re all just trying to make a living. How about we earn our own coin and leave each other be?" The knight gave a slight bow.

"Don’t you think this is too cruel?" Ou Tao glanced at the ground. Bloodstains were stark, mixed with traces of magical and physical attacks. These bastards were using living villagers as cannon fodder.

The mechanic mirrored Ou Tao’s own: snowmen wearing black-and-white scarves might drop rare loot… or spawn monsters. Ou Tao sent his fifty-buck buddies to open them—keeping the good drops, letting them "gloriously" die on monsters. But the difference was stark. His buddies could be repaired. These villagers? Truly gone.

"They’re living, breathing people! How can you just… kill them!"

"So what?" the cleric snapped impatiently. "Dead is dead. Remember—this is another world. Its laws don’t touch our real-world bodies. No legal consequences for us."

"Fair point. But I’m short on white-scarf snowmen. Hand over fifty, and I’ll walk away now."

"You spit on kindness and drink punishment!" The female mage slammed her fist on the table. "Since you refuse to leave, we’ll make you! Honestly—who fears a mere level 10 Tier 4 class?"

She dropped the hostage girl and fell back. The knight drew his sword and advanced. The trio locked into a textbook thirty-degree right-angled formation.

"Textbook warrior-mage-cleric positioning," Ou Tao murmured, shaking his head. His cloak snapped open. Three swords plunged into the snow. Left hand: the purple-inscribed knight’s blade. Right hand: Ami’s Persecution.

"A legendary weapon? Must fetch a pretty penny," the cleric muttered, eyes locked on the black curved blade, tongue flicking his lips.

Ou Tao lunged. The knight, avoiding complications, activated Principle of Heaven Skill: Swift Step. Speed doubled. Shield raised. He charged forward—snowflakes scattering in his wake.

The cleric’s hand rose slightly. Strength. Speed. Armor. Three blessings flashed onto the knight. The female mage hurled a fireball. Their coordination was chillingly precise—a machine roaring to full power.

Ou Tao sidestepped the fireball and Flash’d. The knight’s shield-charge hit empty air. "Impossible! He saw through us!"

Those three fireballs? Just bait to force positioning. Ou Tao stepped left—exactly where the charge would land. Front line holds, back line outputs. But he waited until the last millisecond to Flash. Broke their formation. Now the back line was exposed.

*Must fall back!* The knight’s throat tightened. A new debuff flashed in his status bar: Suppression—Splash-type Snow Despair Potion.

Ou Tao vaulted through the dust cloud, pouncing on the squishy backliners like a starving tiger. Target: the female mage.

No time to chant. She tried to reposition—but couldn’t outrun him. His cross-slash triggered Persecution. Launched skyward, she screamed in pain.

*Persecution slashes defense… he’s pressuring my HP!* Kane was chanting Purify for Knight Porter. *I must break free!*

Flash! Golden light flared. Ou Tao’s second strike missed. He reversed his grip and hurled Ami’s Persecution into the ground.

The curved blade dissolved into shadow. A donkey-eared girl with slender legs materialized. The mage, reappearing from Flash, turned—only to meet a smooth forehead slamming toward her.

Intelligence-Draining Headbutt connected. Dazed and knocked back, she flew at a perfect angle—crashing straight into the cleric, shattering his Purify chant.

Her Flash afterimage and knockback path formed a crisp "7," pivoting cleanly on Yami.

Ou Tao didn’t pause. As they collided, he drew a blue longsword from his inventory. Dual blades thrust toward the cleric—a feint. Pretending to pressure the mage’s HP, he used the knockback to isolate and eliminate the healer.

"We can’t lose our healer!" Fear choked the knight. *How many of those potions does he have?* He’d saved his Principle of Heaven Skill, waiting for Purify…

But the moment Ou Tao launched the cleric upward, Yami kicked him mid-air. Bouncing like a trampoline, the cleric flew again and again.

Reverse Edge swept out. The three planted swords and Ami’s Persecution erupted into four soul shocks—piercing the cleric’s body. A choked scream tore from his throat.

Trapped between three goblins, Yami, and Ou Tao, the frail cleric had zero chance to resist.

The female mage tossed her hair, charged Maximum Fireball, and hurled it at the goblins. It didn’t one-shot them. All three clung to slivers of health, still dealing damage. Her eyes widened—her Intelligence had plummeted to 75. That rabbit-eared girl’s? Soared to 30.

"Stealing a third of my INT? Disgusting! What *is* this rabbit-eared girl? Base INT only 5?!"

"That’s *after* stealing," Ou Tao said calmly, driving his sword into the cleric’s chest and pinning him to the wall.