He decided not to act rashly for fear that the soldiers would use the famished peasants as hostages, moreover the "mage" made him uneasy, so he decided to follow them in silence and wait for his chance, a chance to clean them all up in one go.

As the day wore on, the soldiers set up camp and soon went to sleep, leaving only two of them as sentries to watch the area.

One of them had to move away into the thick bushes for a moment to relieve himself, he crouched down and began his business.

He did not have the time to process what happened to him. His skull suddenly rotated 180 degrees as his neck snapped with a sinister crack. His lifeless body fell back silently into his own dejections as the killer stepped over his body to slip closer to the second soon to be corpse.

This method of assassination was old but effective, especially since breaking bones was a mere formality for an exo. The second guard, however, didn't perish until he let out a muffled groan that alerted his comrades. As they were urgently getting up, the traveller sprinted to the closest soldier and plunged a blade into his heart, killing him instantly.

The traveler removed the combat knife from the convulsing, blood-spitting guard and quickly surveyed the situation, he was in the middle of the three remaining guards, including the mage, a good ol 3 to 1.

Despite the fact that half of them had just died a few seconds ago they remained calm thanks to the mage who coordinated them efficiently, the 2 warriors charged at him while he started to recite some kind of incantation.

The traveler felt an ominous sense of danger, simple swords would have difficulty to hurt him but he did not know the power of what the mage was preparing nor could he exclude the warriors to possess some skills of their own. No choice... He took out his handgun and fired three times.

The explosive shells blew the soldiers to pieces with a deafening sound, blood and chunks of flesh splashed over a large perimeter, the upper part of the guards having become a gruesome sight.

The sudden explosions first threw the villagers into a panic but the calm was soon restored when they realised that no one was attacking them.

They still seemed afraid, the children were crying and the adults were whispering among themselves, probably cautious of the new figure.

He did not pay much attention to them at first, he just stood there and looked at his bloodstained hands holding a knife and a gun. A somewhat sad expression on his face.

He did not regret his act, far from it! But he had just killed 6 men and he felt nothing, no hatred... no scruples.

Even though he was an elite soldier created to kill, this emptiness was not normal, he quickly understood that it was the skill [Cold-blooded] that purged his mind of fear and hesitation... And even remorses.

This was a great asset in battle, but at the same time he felt that he was losing a part of his humanity.

At this moment new messages appeared:

[Level up]

[Level up]

[Common Language]; [Basic Mana Control];[Basic swordsmanship] skills have been learned

He shook his head, a world based on levels and skills wasn't exactly normal either, better use everything he could to survive in this faraway place.

He decided to leave these thoughts in a corner of his head and was about to look further into his new skills when the girl who was beaten up earlier spoke up:

"Hey! You! Thanks again for saving us! Would you mind untying us please? "

The others looked at her with unease trying to shut her up.

He understood perfectly what she had just said, so she must have been speaking the common language he had only just learned.

He nodded and started untying them one after another, after everyone was freed, the men of the group and the young woman came to him and she began to tell him their story.

Her name was Era and she was a member of the militia of a small village near the border between the kingdom and the empire, one day these men had come to her village and killed everyone who resisted before kidnapping many people. Apparently the nobleman who ruled them had not seen fit to send troops to help them.

After hearing these explanations he wondered what attitude to adopt, better to link himself to the Kingdom since he had just murdered several of the Empire's soldiers. But again he could simply walk away from there and don't look back

Era gave him the opportunity he needed.

"We're all grateful for what you've done for us, would you escort us home? We're not rich, but we'll reward you as best as we can.”

She seemed embarrassed to ask and was fidgeting around.

“How far away is your village?”

“Only one or two days by horse.”

“That's okay for me, but more than money, I want information."

The young woman seemed surprised but happily agreed. He also felt relieved, it was his first conversation since his arrival in this world.

He took the weapons and armors of the soldiers that were still in good condition and distributed them among the villagers, then they all set off soon after.