Chapter 143 | After Rebirth, I Became the Dungeon's Hidden Boss

By the time night completely enveloped the old road, the three brothers had already set up their traps in advance.

The area was overgrown with weeds, with only a few collapsed low walls remaining.

Before long, Garey appeared with eight other men. He looked around the empty material yard and frowned.

“Where is she?”

Standing next to a pile of rubble, Miles tried his best to keep his voice sounding normal.

“She checks the materials every day. She should be here soon.”

Garey led his men a few steps deeper into the material yard.

The moment the last person stepped into the designated spot, Miles suddenly raised his foot and kicked away the support stone beside him.

Taut ropes instantly snapped up, and the slanted wooden frames on both sides came crashing down. Several coarse nets woven from hemp rope dropped from above, trapping the three men at the front inside.

At the same time, Toby pulled another rope. The thin wooden boards covering the ground suddenly collapsed, and two more men fell into a mud pit dug in advance.

The trap worked even better than he had anticipated. Five of the nine men were already trapped, leaving only four still free, including the scarred man.

The three brothers drew their prepared weapons simultaneously, blocking the path back to the station.

Miles glanced at the men trapped in the nets and the pit, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

The scarred man used to always say that the three brothers were useless trash who didn't even know how to rob someone.

But now, of the nine men the other side had brought, only four remained standing in the blink of an eye.

He smiled with a hint of pride. “It seems you still don't take us seriously, just like before, Garey.”

Garey stared at him, his expression showing not a hint of panic.

Miles thought Garey was just trying to bluff and let out a cold laugh.

“What, are you still hoping the remaining four of you can break into the station? With us here tonight, none of you are getting anywhere near it.”

Upon hearing this, Garey didn't get angry. Instead, he let out a low chuckle.

“Miles, you didn't actually think I only brought these few men, did you?”

A sudden, bad premonition welled up in Miles's chest.

In the next moment, Garey raised his hand and blew a sharp whistle.

A rustling sound immediately came from the surrounding tall grass, and more than a dozen torches lit up one after another in the darkness.

Figure after figure stepped out.

They were all armed, and some even carried clay jars filled with kerosene.

Miles's face finally paled.

The nine men Garey had mentioned were nothing more than bait on the surface.

There were at least a dozen more lying in ambush around them.

“Did you really think I'd tell you about everyone?” Garey sneered. “The three of you couldn't even rob a passing woman back then. If I easily believed you when you suddenly became so cooperative, I wouldn't have survived to this day.”

“Now, look at this.” He gestured with his chin toward the station. “The three of you are here, which means only that woman and a few useless day laborers are left back at the station.”

Miles noticed that several torches were missing from the small path, and his heart suddenly sank.

Someone had already gone to the station.

Garey had clearly prepared two plans.

If Lia followed them to the old material yard, they would surround and kill her here.

If Lia didn't show up, the other group would directly attack the station, capture her, and force her to reveal where the noble lived.

The hand Miles used to hold his short axe began to tremble.

He had been too confident. He had only thought of taking advantage of the enemy's underestimation, forgetting that Garey, who had managed to survive with so many men till now, was by no means a fool who only knew how to swing a blade.

Once the station was burned, all the hard work the laborers had put in over the past month would be destroyed.

In that case, the future they looked forward to would cease to exist.

“Big brother,” Ian's voice was tight.

Miles snapped out of it, holding his axe horizontally to block his two younger brothers.

“I'll hold them off in a bit. You two get out through the low wall to the east and head back to the station.”

Toby immediately shook his head. “I'm not leaving.”

“Shut up!”

This was the first time Miles had scolded him so harshly.

If someone had to die tonight, it should be him, the eldest brother.

They had finally managed to turn from monsters back into humans, and finally didn't have to rely on robbery to fill their bellies.

That sliver of a future they had just begun to see could not be entirely lost here.

Holding his long sword, Garey walked toward them.

“Scared now? I'll give you one more chance. Hand over that woman, and tell me where the noble behind her lives.”

“You three can still follow me in the future.”

Miles stared at him, a sudden smirk twitching on his lips.

“Follow you? To keep taking blades for you, only to be thrown a bag of moldy beans in the end?”

Garey's face darkened. “It's still better than being a noble's dog.”

Miles gripped his short axe tightly, shielding his two younger brothers.

“Being a dog at least gets us decent food. We work, and they pay us—not a single copper coin has ever been shorted.” He glanced at the distant station, firelight reflecting in his eyes. “We built that place, plank by plank, stone by stone.”

“If you want to destroy it, we'll fight you to the death.”

“I don't believe that people who make a living by their own ability can't deal with a pack of stray dogs!”

A trace of ruthlessness flashed in Garey's eyes. He snarled, “Then you can die clutching your dog bowl!”

Over a dozen men closed in at once. Miles was the first to swing his axe, slashing at the foremost man.

The axe blade clashed with the long sword, producing a sharp, ear-piercing ring.

None of the three Miles brothers knew any skills; they were just ordinary people.

Skill scrolls were never something ordinary people could easily obtain.

Even the most basic scroll cost enough to feed them for several months, let alone finding someone willing to sell one, or finding a suitable class and opportunity to learn.

They had drifted from place to place, but the things that could change their fate had never fallen into their hands.

All they could rely on was the strength built from hard labor and the experience they had scraped together to survive on the old road over the years.

But the disparity in numbers and skills quickly overwhelmed that meager experience.

Miles took a slash to the shoulder, and the wound on Toby's back grew deeper. Yet, Toby still held up his wooden shield, desperately blocking anyone trying to get close to Ian.

Just as Ian tried to push himself up from the ground, a longsword thrust toward his chest.

Miles lunged forward, using his short axe to parry the blade.

The mercenary holding the sword sneered, and a faint white glow lit up the surface of the blade.

Miles's heart tightened.

In the next moment, the power on the blade suddenly exploded, knocking the short axe right out of his hand.

Garey immediately followed up with a kick to Miles's abdomen, sending him flying.

Miles's back crashed heavily against the low wall. His chest felt incredibly tight, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Big brother!”

Toby and Ian tried to rush over, but they were blocked by several bandits at the same time.

Double vision blurred Miles's sight. He shook his head, bent down to pick up the dropped axe, and staggered to his feet, supporting himself on his knees.

“Miles, don't you think you're ridiculous right now?” Garey chuckled softly, looking at his wretched state. “When you were with the caravan, you were afraid to die. Later, when you went out to rob, you were still too timid to kill anyone.”

“Now, after being a dog for a month, you've actually learned to risk your life for your master.”

Garey walked up to Miles and patted his cheek.

“What a good dog. If I had known a bag of moldy beans wouldn't buy your loyalty, I should have let you starve to death by the roadside back then.”

A burst of laughter erupted around them. Toby roared and slammed into the man in front of him, but was quickly kicked in the back of the knee from behind, crashing heavily to the ground.

Miles's lips parted. “I'm not...”

Before he could finish, Garey kicked him in the chest, sending his barely upright body crashing down once more.

Weakened, Miles tried to grab Garey's ankle, but his fingers only left a few shallow scrapes in the dirt.

His body had no strength left.

In his daze, a small house suddenly flashed before Miles's eyes.

The roof didn't leak, and there was a small yard enclosed by a wooden fence in front of the door.

Behind the yard was a small plot of land where they grew wheat and vegetables to fill their bellies.

Toby would handle the heavy labor, while Ian would still manage the accounts and run errands, complaining all day but never actually leaving.

They wouldn't have to run around with caravans anymore, nor would they have to sleep in broken shacks that could collapse at any moment.

Every day after work, the three of them would sit by the door and eat.

They didn't need much meat; as long as there was hot soup and enough bread to share, it would be wonderful.

This was the best life he could imagine, and it had been so close.

Miles turned his head and looked toward the distant station.

It was quiet over there. He wondered how Lia was doing.

If the people attacking the station hadn't succeeded yet, his two younger brothers might still have a chance to escape back.

As long as they could stay there, dying here didn't seem so hard to accept.

Miles gritted his teeth and used the last of his strength to reach for a stone beside him.

Garey, however, had already raised his short axe. “Remember to be smarter in your next life.”

The blade of the axe swung down toward Miles's neck.

At that exact instant, a heavy, suffocating pressure descended without warning.

Boom—

The entire abandoned material yard felt as if it had suddenly collapsed downward by a level.

The rubble on the ground vibrated simultaneously, and the burning flames were abruptly pressed low.

The dust floating in the air also seemed to lose all support, falling down in unison.

The faces of the bandits closest to Miles paled instantly. Before they could even figure out what was happening, their knees buckled with heavy thuds as they knelt into the mud one after another.

Some supported themselves with both hands, desperately trying to stand up, but their bodies felt as though they were being pinned down by an invisible giant hand, leaving them unable to even raise their heads.

The short axe in Garey's hand stopped right above Miles's head, barely half a foot away.

His arm trembled violently, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, and his teeth ground together from the exertion.

Yet, no matter how hard he struggled, the axe could not move downward even a fraction of an inch.

In the next moment, an even heavier force pressed down, and the soil beneath Garey's feet caved inward.

His shoulders suddenly sagged, and his standing body was forced to bend, his knees crashing heavily into the ground.

Lying beneath the low wall, Miles stared blankly at this scene.

Amidst the flickering firelight, a slender figure was walking slowly from outside the material yard.

Lia was still dressed in her black Steward uniform, followed by two masked servants. One of the servants was dragging an unconscious man.

A kerosene jar that hadn't been lit in time was still hanging from the man's waist.

When Garey saw that face clearly, his pupils dilated. It was the leader he had sent to attack the station.

Lia glanced at the number of people in the material yard and said calmly, “The seven who went to the station have been dealt with. There are more of you here than expected.”

Garey channeled his mana to forcibly resist the pressure, squeezing out an order through gritted teeth: “Get her!”

Several of the stronger mercenaries nearby struggled to charge forward at the same time.

Lia easily dodged a longsword slashing at her, clenched her fingers, and punched the iron armor on the opponent's chest.

【Armor-Penetrating Heavy Punch】

The center of the iron armor caved in instantly. Before the mercenary could even scream, he knocked back two people behind him and crashed into the pile of rubble.

Another man swung his blade from the side. Lia raised her hand to grab his wrist and twisted it downward, the sound of breaking bones ringing out clearly.

She snatched the long sword and tossed it casually at another fleeing bandit. The blade pierced through his calf, pinning him to the ground.

Garey finally broke free from some of the pressure, using a skill to raise his long sword and slash at her.

Lia stepped aside to dodge the blade, lowered her body, and began to charge her fist.

“Attacking the station and daring to seek the Master's whereabouts.”

“There is no need for you to leave alive.”

Garey's face changed drastically as a fist slammed heavily into his abdomen, sending him flying backward to crash straight through the low wall behind him.

The remaining bandits finally snapped out of it and fled toward the old road.

As if receiving an order, the two servants lunged forward from behind Lia at the same time, pursuing the fleeing crowd.

A table knife flew out from the darkness, piercing the back of the foremost bandit's neck.

The other servant stepped over the collapsed wall, thrusting a silver fork into the back of a runaway's knee, pinning him to the ground.

They were still wearing neat waiter uniforms, and the weapons they held were only knives and forks from the station's dining tables, yet their movements showed not a shred of hesitation.

The fleeing men fell one by one.

They didn't stop, turning back to head toward the nets, the pits, and those who hadn't drawn their last breath yet.

The screams quickly vanished completely. The entire material yard fell silent once more, leaving only the crackling of the fire burning the dry grass.

Ian and Toby supported each other as they stood up, then quickly went over to pull Miles up from the low wall.

Miles watched the scene before him, his Adam's apple bobbing.

These men were mercenaries who killed on the old road year-round, yet in front of Lia and these servants, they had lost their lives without even having much of a chance to fight back.

Miles slowly turned his head to look at Lia.

She was still standing in her original position, the night wind fluttering the hem of her black uniform, without a single drop of blood on her.

If a Steward responsible for managing a station possessed such power, what kind of person was the noble behind her?

Lia seemed to notice his gaze and turned to lock eyes with him.

Miles's heart tightened, and he instinctively lowered his head, avoiding her gaze.

Lia simply walked over to the three of them and briefly checked their injuries.

“Can you still walk?” she asked.

Miles immediately nodded. “Yes.”

Lia withdrew her gaze and opened her ledger. “For participating in the ambush and battle, you will be paid double wages for night work. The station will cover the medical expenses.”

Toby had been grimacing in pain, but his eyes lit up instantly upon hearing this.

“Double?”

Ian quickly nudged him and then bowed his head to Lia.

“Thank you, Steward Lia.”

Lia nodded slightly, then turned to the servants and ordered,

“Clean up the bodies.”

With that, she didn't linger any longer, turning around and walking toward the station.

Toby stared in the direction Lia had left, unable to help but exclaim, “Steward Lia is actually so strong.”

Rubbing his swollen wrist, Ian nodded in agreement. “It looks like we've followed the right person this time. If anyone dares to cause trouble at the station in the future, Steward Lia can smash them into a wall with one punch.”

Toby thought about it and added earnestly, “And she even gave us double wages.”

Only Miles didn't join in. He watched the direction where Lia and the servants had disappeared, and only after a long while did he ask in a low voice,

“Don't you think she's very strange?”

Ian and Toby turned their heads at the same time.

“What's strange about her?”

Miles opened his mouth, but he couldn't quite describe this bizarre feeling. It was like an indescribable stiffness and calmness.

Thinking back carefully, the Steward Lia in his memory always had a faint, indifferent expression, making it difficult to see any other emotions.

A sharp pain shot through his shoulder wound again. Miles frowned, ultimately deciding not to think any deeper.

“Never mind.” He slung an arm over Toby's shoulder. “Help me back first. If we delay any longer, I'll bleed to death before I even get the double wages.”