Abandonment

The bandits could do nothing but cover themselves—they apparently could not keep up with the relentless assault by the Han Valley cultivators.

And what frightened them even more was that when the particular Han Valley group which lit the torches suddenly released their combined auras and started to advance with their attacks.

A deafening battlecry started to echo coming from the group which 'The Hunters' Plateau' team led as the group split into two—one went straight to the bandits' encampment while the other headed to aid the teams which took on the bandit boss' camp.

It looked liked the bandits would be pincered from two sides. Although in truth, the torches only made the illusion that the group was a large one.

"Little Qai," Shu Wu called. "Bring Xiao Ning with you and save the children you earlier saw."

Shu Wu was referring to the small encampment which Qai previously scouted and assumed to be some sort of prison.

"Alright," Qai quickly answered.

'The Hunters' Plateau' team had already agreed that the best time to save the children was during the time the bandits would be chaos—and that it would be Xiao Ning's turn to take on a special mission.

"Xiao Ning," Qai hastily called. "Let's go."

Xiao Ning, who was riding one of the two War Horses nodded and followed Qai's lead.

*****************

Meanwhile, Mo Clan's Elder Long was having an easy time wrecking havoc in the boss' encampment. It was if he had not met any challenge at all.

"Where's that bastard bandit boss!?," he sarcastically asked in a loud voice. "I'm itching to have a good fight.."

Surprisingly, not even a high leveled sage could be seen—although there were still plenty of cultivators, none of the familiar leaders they earlier faced appeared.

"They must have ran with his tails between his legs," a Han Valley elder said in jest.

All the other cultivators from the Han Valley side laughed at the gestures of the elders. They themselves had no idea where the boss and the other leaders were.

"Something's fishy going on around in here," the Mo Clan elder said.

What the Han Valley side did not know was that the bandit boss had decided to abandon the organization and picked some of his most trusted allies and went his way to flee. The leaders, thus, made their bandit companions the sacrificial victim for the Han Valley's onslaught.

Elder Long suddenly took a big leap from where he stood that it almost looked like he flew several meters in the air. And as he went down, he rammed on one sage leveled bandit whom he instantly grabbed by the collar.

"Aarrgh."

"Bastard..," the Mo Clan Elder infuriatedly asked, "..where the hell is your boss?"

He tried to interrogate the bandit for information as he appeared to be a bandit group leader but all the elder could get was the fact that the bandit boss and his trusted aides left upon learning that the Han Valley had arrived.

"Someone send a word to the chief," the Mo Clan elder ordered. "Tell her the bandit boss is nowhere to be found."

A team near him immediately heeded the elder's instruction and swiftly went its way to the other side of the battle.

And as soon as the team left, Elder Long directed everyone to sweep the entire encampment.

"Kill everyone and raid every hut you see," he angrily said.

The elder is pissed that the boss he so wanted to kill was not around—that was because he felt that the rest of the bandits were too weak as his match.

*****************

Few moments later, the team sent by the Mo Clan elder reached the Han Valley chief and reported everything that Elder Mo told them.

"What!?" The Han Valley chief exclaimed.

She paused for a while and went into deep thought. And after few breaths, she got near the leader of the team that was sent by Elder Long.

"So this is why the bandits seems to have lost their fighting spirit from the get go," the chief surmised.

She looked around her and deeply sighed.

"Tell the Mo Clan elder to take over in my place and tell him to give everyone the instructions how to clean everything up," Chief Xing Yi clearly instructed.

She then gestured to a group of cultivators to follow her. And without further word to the Han Valley elders around her, the Han chief together with her chosen companions left the scene.

*****************

Meanwhile, Qai and Xiao Ning finally reached the small bandit encampment.

"It doesn't seem to be guarded this time," Qai said.

"The bandits must be fleeing by now," Xiao Ning replied.

Qai nodded. He then activated his Hawkeye skill and looked ahead to double check the surroundings.

"There are only three bandits patrolling," he said. "And that hut in the middle is where the children are."

The three bandit cultivators though were in different areas—however, they were no easy opponent as all of them were in Earth stages in the Sage realm.

"What should we do?" Xiao Ning asked.

Qai soflty smiled then rubbed his nose.

"Can you take that one on?" Qai asked while pointing to one of the patrolling cultivator. "Shandian and I shall take care of the other two.."

"Eh."