After everything was ready, Matteo advanced alone, disguising himself as a human hunter who mistakenly wandered near the Murloc camp.
As Matteo shot and retreated, successfully killing three spear-wielding Murloc warriors, the entire Murloc camp erupted like a disturbed hornet's nest.
Following a noisy clamor in Murloc language, suddenly, twenty or thirty Murloc warriors armed with various spears, knives, and clubs surged out, charging at Matteo with overwhelming momentum.
Murlocs are typically bullies that fear the strong and oppress the weak. Seeing only one human opponent, how could they resist charging at him!
Matteo immediately pretended to be overpowered and hurried back to the ambush circle that had been set up in advance.
Soon, this large group of Murloc warriors passed through a narrow mountain valley and directly rushed into the Night Watchman's encirclement.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!"
The other prepared Night Watchman elites, from a higher position, drew their bows and shot arrows at the densely packed Murloc warriors with the fastest shooting speed.
As expected, these Murloc warriors, with their bubble eyes, upon seeing nearly ten human Archers suddenly appear, instantly got scared and started to flee.
Although they were fleeing in terror now, once they returned to their camp, they would quickly bring more Murloc warriors back for revenge.
To prevent this, Weilun and Rein had already discussed using the strategy of gradually defeating the Murlocs step by step, never allowing this group of Murloc warriors to return.
Suddenly, a figure swiftly attacked from behind, blocking the entrance of the valley with just one person.
A long Dual-Handed Greatsword, like a silver blade, kept flipping up and down. With each beautiful arc it made, it brought up a storm of blood and gore as Murloc limbs, weapon fragments, or light blue blood were splattered into the air.
"(In Murloc language) Waaarluuuloo~~~"
The Murloc warriors, caught between attacks from both sides, instantly panicked, scrambling around like headless flies!
However, they helplessly found that with 'Dense Arrow Rain' in front and 'Brutal Greatsword' behind, after several futile and fruitless counterattacks, only a few Murlocs remained trembling within the encirclement.
With a few twangs of bows, these last few were also eradicated!
Looking at a large pile of Murloc bodies, Weilun stepped forward and patted Rein, who was heavily panting, and said, "Well done, Rein!"
"I finally understand why Lord Hamilton values you so much. It seems your strength has improved since last time!"
Weilun and the other elite Night Watchmans discovered, to their astonishment, that Rein had managed to emerge from the intense battle completely unscathed.
This was due to his superhuman 11 points of spiritual power and his 'danger perception' ability that allowed Rein to avoid many attacks that would have otherwise hit him.
The sharpness of the 'danger perception' ability correlates directly with Rein's spirit; the stronger the spiritual power, the more acute the perception.
"Captain Weilun, you flatter me! It was good teamwork. Look, most of the Murlocs actually died from the arrows," Rein said with a smile, pointing at the Murloc bodies.
Weilun's smile grew even broader at Rein's modesty.
Who wouldn't like a subordinate who not only has the strength but also knows how to speak well!
"You guys rest for a while, then clean up the next wave! I'll keep watch," Weilun signaled for the others to take a brief rest.
Rein took this opportunity to focus his attention on the panel.
The system had just prompted the following:
[Your skill Giant Bear Sword Technique has been upgraded, Experience Points+132]
[You have undergone a battle, gaining Night Watchman Professional Experience Points+67]
Night Watchman Profession Level successfully advanced to the next level, currently Night Watchman lv2 (54/300).
Profession: Blacksmith lv1 (52/100) / Night Watchman lv2 (54/300)
Remaining attribute points: 2
Remaining Skill Points: 1
Additionally, the Giant Bear Sword Technique had reached lv3 (101/500).
Having just battled the fishmen, the technique Rein used the most was the Giant Bear Sword Technique's crowd-control move — Whirlwind Slash.
Therefore, after the upgrade of the Giant Bear Sword Technique, the fragments of swordsmanship training brought to Rein's mind primarily consisted of memories related to Whirlwind Slash. These training memories were quickly assimilated by Rein and swiftly embedded into his muscle memory.
Thus, when Rein grasped the Fine Steel Greatsword again, it seemed to feel a bit different.
The greatsword in his hands felt even more familiar, and he was more proficient in handling it.
About the Skill Points, after pondering briefly, Rein added that 1 point directly into the core skill "Blacksmith's Strength."
Given that level 2 of Blacksmith's Strength had again demonstrated tremendous support! During roughly 40 seconds of burst duration, Rein nearly single-handedly held off and defeated a large crowd of fishman warriors.
As soon as that 1 Skill Point was invested, the icon resembling Popeye flexing his biceps suddenly lit up around the edges.
The line of text beneath the icon also changed, displaying:
[Core Skill: Blacksmith's Strength lv3 (Active)]
Blacksmith's Strength lv3 (Active) Effect: When this skill is activated, your Strength will increase substantially.
(Note: The effect of this skill is based on a proportionate increase to the host's own strength, and its duration is proportional to the host's Constitution and spiritual power.)
Rein scrutinized it carefully, noting that besides the increase from lv2 to lv3, the description of Blacksmith's Strength had changed the word "slightly" to "substantially."
Clearly, lv3 of Blacksmith's Strength would further increase the amplification of his Strength.
Although he did not know the exact proportion, it was definitely stronger than the previous roughly 40%, and judging by the past increase, it could likely be 60%!
Shoot! If the increase really is 60%, that would be 10 (+6), a total of 16 points of Strength.
He wouldn't be far behind a full-fledged Knight now!
A thought suddenly flashed through Rein's mind, "Could it be that I am on the path of 'great strength brings miracles'?"
After adding the Skill Point, looking at the panel which now showed 2 remaining attribute points.
Rein thought briefly and quickly added 1 point to his Constitution, while keeping the last point in reserve as a backup.
Rein clearly remembered, the duration this time was nearly ten seconds longer than the previous battle with the ferocious werewolves, which was likely due to the increase in his Constitution.
As the effects of Blacksmith's Strength became stronger, Rein naturally wanted to enhance its endurance.
After all, being strong but not durable just wouldn't do!
A man has to be durable!
And the special effect of full stamina recovery that came with adding points instantly invigorated the otherwise somewhat weary Rein!
Immediately, Rein, holding the hilt of the greatsword, felt eager to test it out.
However, before Rein could say anything, the fishmen in the camp opposite seemed to become restless as well.
After all, the fishmen were not fools; seeing that none of the previous batch of fishman warriors had returned, they knew something might have gone wrong.
At that moment, everyone saw a fishman warrior, who was notably taller than the other fishmen and wielding a gleaming trident, step out of the fishman camp, with what seemed like all the remaining fishman warriors rallying behind him.
The opposing fishman swung his trident, and a massive throng of fishman warriors surged in their direction!