Closing the door tightly, Xu Feng smiled bitterly as he wondered if someone was toying with him.
There was probably only a minute left till he would be kicked out.
So just why would the guards verify the information he was lying at this moment?
Couldn't they have waited until he was kicked out first?
'Ugh, maybe this is the Divine World System playing a horrible joke on me. Or a punishment for trying to cheat and get a headstart?' Xu Feng scratched his head as he pondered over the timing of such a coincidence.
Alas, he could barely get any time to ponder things over with the constant banging sound of the door outside.
"Despicable liar, open the door or else your punishment would be even more severe!" The guards outside shouted in fury.
"So now you all decided to act humanlike and want to deceive me back?" Xu Feng rolled his eyes, finding the situation laughable.
Obviously, he would be a fool to believe their words that the punishment wouldn't be more severe.
Deceiving the guards and ransacking their sacred garden herbs, each one of them was a huge offense.
Another loud banging sound echoed throughout the garden, prompting Xu Feng to be alerted.
Fixing the position of his glasses, Xu Feng understood the magnitude of the current situation. He had underestimated the guards' desire and anger of wanting to detain him.
Despite the grim situation, Xu Feng was rather calm now.
"Enough of the banging, okay? I'll open the door, but the banging just now has caused quite a rumble in the Garden." He announced loudly.
"As long as you know that you're in the wrong. Quickly open the door and accept your punishment. I promise to be lenient if you cooperate."
"I want to open the door quickly too, but thanks to whoever was making the banging on the door, the scenery here is a mess. Lots of soil is scattered around with some of the herbs even being uprooted. If I don't tend to them now, then they'll lose their medicinal effect."
Instantly, the atmosphere turned silent, almost as if the guards outside were thinking about what to do.
As for Xu Feng, he was naturally spouting nonsense.
A sacred garden could easily be toppled over because of a few banging on the door?
What kind of nonsense was that?
The main point of speaking such stuff was to stall them.
At the same time, it would make the guards pause for a moment. After all, they believed he was trapped in here so there was no rush in arresting him.
However, if the herbs became spoiled or had their medicinal effect diminished because of their unwillingness to let him tend to them, then the fault would be placed on the guard, and not him.
It was a wicked and shrewd lie that Xu Feng made up on the spot. Not only was it extremely effective, but Xu Feng could also take this time to rob the remaining 30 percent of the herbs.
Previously, he needed to be cautious with his actions and refrain from disturbing the central herbs, which were in full view of the guards. But now that his personal facade had been exposed, there was no longer any need to be polite with them.
To leave behind such precious herbs, despite having the opportunity to pocket them, would be a sin—a sin so grievous that it could curse him and his entire lineage for centuries.
"Bless the game for having easily fooled NPCs." Xu Feng prayed sincerely as he swiftly cleaned up the entire herb garden.
The harvest that he earned today could be quadrupled into real currency if he played his cards right.
Just as he was joyfully celebrating in his mind, the banging on the door resumed, this time with a greater force than before.
'What? They weren't fooled? No– that's impossible. The guards clearly hesitated when I mentioned the possibility of herb destruction.' Xu Feng was stunned initially.
He didn't understand what made the guards regain their composure to act so decisively.
There must have been an unknown variable at play that caused his deception to fail.
With the situation rapidly changing for the worst, Xu Feng retreated to the far end of the wall, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the door.
"If only I'm not a cleric, but a sorcerer right now, then I would have been able to delay them longer." He knitted his brows, realizing the flaw of being a cleric at such an early stage.
As a level 1 cleric, there were limited abilities that could be utilized. He would have to level up in order to unlock the abilities that are useful.
Currently, Xu Feng's skill trees contain five abilities: Heal, Blessed Protection, Blinding Strike, Blessing Valor, and Sacred Fire. Out of the five, only one of them, Sacred Fire, actually deals damage to the opponent.
Just when Xu Feng finished buffing himself with supporting abilities, a loud boom echoed throughout the garden.
The door broke open from the brute force of the guards, causing some debris of the door to scatter across.
"Immediately surrender now or else you will die a painful death, despicable liar!" One of the guards brandished his spear, issuing a stern warning.
"Now that it comes to this, you all leave me with no choice." With a resigned sigh, Xu Feng realized there was no avoiding confrontation.
Instead of succumbing to panic, Xu Feng calmly produced a Sunfire Lotus herb he had acquired earlier. Cradling the delicate herb in his left hand, he cast Sacred Fire.
With a deft motion, the Sacred Fire flickered dangerously close to the herb, eliciting gasps from the guards.
"Do not push me further. I am but a cowardly and timid soul. Any sudden movements or shouts might result in this herb meeting an untimely demise," Xu Feng's trembling voice carried a hint of fear, echoing through the tense atmosphere.
The guards, observing Xu Feng's nervous demeanor and the perilous proximity of the Sacred Fire to the herb, faltered in their resolve.