Lord Evolution: Starting With SS-rank Skills

It was still the fairly bright hours of the evening in Glenwood, and a figure could be seen sprinting through the deserted streets.

[ 3 of your soldiers have been killed | Casualty rate has reached 9% ]

[ Any more casualties will result in a deduction from your Quest Reward ]

These notifications rang in Rowan's ears as he made his way toward the entrance, running at a speed even the fastest athlete on earth wouldn't be able to comprehend.

Soon enough, the villagers of Glenwood came into view, and the scene in front of him wasn't peaceful at all.

He saw a lot of Glenwood people engaged in a violent protest, some screaming haltingly while others grew hostile and rushed toward the front, where his soldiers were stationed.

"What the fuck happened?" Rowan queried inwardly as he drew two swords from his inventory and approached the crowd.

He swung his swords at anyone standing in his path as he made his way toward the front row.

"Get the fuck out of my way," he barked, his cold voice drifting across the noisy crowd.

A few of the Glenwood villagers quickly noticed him, their eyes widening in shock. Wasn't he supposed to be dead by now? What is he doing here? They asked themselves.

Rowan didn't bother to observe their expressions as he slaughtered his way to the front without restraint. He would rather take many innocent lives than lose his men and his precious evolution points!

After a few more slaughters, he finally reached the front of the noisy crowd, where a lot of youths were engaged in battle with his soldiers, using their numbers to overpower them.

Rowan wanted to yell at the people to stop, but he decided to speak with his actions instead.

The larger crowd behind him, having already noticed his presence, fell silent while some cried over their deceased family members. They were speechless at this moment.

The young men fighting the Winterseed soldiers continued, unaware of Rowan's presence.

Winston could be seen defending himself against three young Glenwood men who swung big sticks at his head. He gritted his teeth and held his sword tightly to block their attacks.

"No one will come to save you! Your lord and his captains are already dead!" the young men cursed as they swung their heavy sticks, each attack laced with hatred.

"Who told you that?"

Before they could launch another strike, a sinister voice came from behind, followed by a swish, the last sound they ever heard as their lifeless bodies slumped to the ground.

Winston looked at the corpses of the three young men, then turned to Rowan.

"Thank you for saving me, Lord Rowan! These bastards started rioting all of a sudden, and we had to break formation to defend ourselves," Winston explained the situation to Rowan.

"You did a great job," Rowan replied quickly before moving to save his other soldiers.

He opened the divine beast plain, letting Blaze out to provide support.

After twenty minutes, most of the hostile youths from Glenwood lay dead on the ground, and the crowd had realized Rowan's presence and his devilish battle prowess.

The rest of the youths dropped their sticks and escaped back into the crowd.

Rowan looked at the cowering figures with a frown. He also observed the expressions of the large crowd, who now looked at him with fear.

This time, he didn't bother to address the crowd to invoke fear — his actions had already taken care of that.

Nevertheless, he couldn't help but be bothered about the young soldiers he had lost. He looked at the corpses on the ground with a solemn expression, wondering how he would compensate their loved ones.

'Fuck, I need that staff ASAP!' he concluded.

"Where is Stanis? Bring him to me," he asked Winston.

Winston responded immediately and ran to the back.

He returned later, dragging a bloodied Stanis, then tossed him to the ground in front of Rowan.

Rowan didn't waste time and grabbed Stanis by the neck, waking him from his subconscious state. "Where is the staff of authority you stole?"

"Huh?" Stanis struggled to decipher Rowan's words.

Seeing his reaction, Rowan scoffed and planted a resounding slap across his face before asking again, "I said, where is the fucking staff of authority you stole from Fagin? Hand it over now!"

Only after the slap did Stanis understand his situation. His heartbeat quickened, and his mind wandered, 'How did he find out?'

Sadly, Rowan had already wasted much time and didn't leave him any chance to collect his thoughts.

He grabbed his dagger and stabbed Stanis in the thigh, causing him to cry out in anguish.

"Speak now! I have no time to waste," Rowan reprimanded.

"I will speak... please don't hurt me!" Stanis pleaded.

"You'd better speak, or I will keep stabbing," Rowan snorted.

Stanis gulped nervously before revealing where he had hidden the staff of authority.

After obtaining the information, Rowan moved away from Stanis and approached one of the kneeling Glenwood soldiers, grabbing him by the collar. "Take me to his place immediately."

The soldier nodded and led Rowan into the village, toward Stanis' house.

This time, the crowd cleared a path the moment they saw Rowan approaching with one of their soldiers as a hostage.

After Rowan passed the crowd, he noticed Ren and the others arriving.

Bryce and the other captains rushed toward him to find out why he had suddenly taken off like that. Rowan didn't have time to explain and simply told them to go see for themselves. He also ordered Roland to hold Fagin and wait for him in front of the crowd.

He gave a few more instructions before dragging the soldier along.

Roland and the others pushed through the crowd and arrived at the front, where the gruesome scene awaited them.

A large number of corpses sprawled across the border, most of them from Glenwood, while a few were from Winterseed. They all had the same question Rowan had when he first arrived.

Meanwhile, Rowan didn't stop until he stood before Stanis' place.

Stanis' house was much larger and more beautiful than the others. Though it wasn't as grand as Fagin's, it was still far superior to anything Rowan had seen so far.

The house had no fences, just like the other houses.

'Hmm...' Rowan observed the perimeter of the house for a few seconds.

"Open the door," he ordered the soldier, who obeyed without hesitation.

The soldier shivered as he approached the door and reached to open it, but it didn't budge. He turned nervously toward Rowan and reported in a low tone, "Sir... it's locked."

"I guessed as much," Rowan snorted.

He pushed the soldier aside and strolled toward the door. Clenching his fist, he slammed it into the door, creating a large hole. He then tore the door apart with his supernatural strength, causing the soldier behind him to stare in astonishment.

After tearing the door open, Rowan stared into the dark interior for a few seconds.

Luckily, Rowan had night vision and could see the interior clearly and brightly, unlike the soldier.

Nevertheless, even with his clear view of the inside, Rowan didn't let his guard down.

'This bastard has the most valuable item in his house, he definitely has some sort of protection against intruders,' he noted to himself before turning to the puzzled soldier.

"Step inside," he ordered coldly.

"Y-Yes, sir."

The soldier didn't think twice about Rowan's command and started toward the house.

Rowan watched as he took the first step inside. No unnatural reaction.

"Keep moving," Rowan ordered again to ensure his own safety.

As expected, the soldier didn't question it and kept moving — after all, this was the house of his captain, and he wasn't afraid of walking in.

Rowan observed him as he took his second, third, and fourth steps, until the darkness swallowed him completely.

However, as the soldier took his fifth step, the sound of objects colliding echoed across the room. Rowan heard it.

The soldier's eyes darted around, searching for the source of the noise.

He spotted a shiny object moving rapidly toward him from behind.

"W-Wha..." he tried to speak, but it was too late. The object pierced his chest, creating excruciating pain that made him scream in agony before falling silent as he died.

Rowan, having observed everything, sighed in disappointment, regretting not bringing more soldiers to test the place for traps.

'Never mind, I have night vision and attack perception. I can defend myself against any traps with those,' he concluded and stepped into the building.

He moved through the narrow passage and reached the room that matched the description Stanis had given. He tore the door open and stepped inside.

There were large wine barrels neatly arranged around the room. Rowan couldn't help but wonder why one person would greedily store so much wine. If Rowan's calculation is correct, the amount of wine in this room would be able to fill up 300 men at least.

'That bastard surely has some weird fetish.' thought Rowan.

"He said the barrel with a double-X mark at the bottom has the staff of authority..." he muttered as he scanned the body of the wine barrels.

His eyes finally landed on one of the barrels with the said mark.

Rowan smirked as he made his way toward it, eager to get his hands on the staff of authority.

He slid off the cover gently, and his eyes fell upon a strange-looking item resting brilliantly at the bottom of the empty barrel.

DING! [ You have found (Wood-Grade Staff of Authority) ]