Caravan Attack

The bandit group moved through the forest. Huan Wei was holding tightly the sword they gave him. He was excited. "If I can prove myself here, my plan will go much faster," he thought.

His plan to get out of slavery was to join the bandits. He had worked harder than the others. He gave a gift to one of the bandit leaders. He had fought Cao Jingguo many times. Finally, he proved his courage by attacking someone who had reached the fourth step on the Path of the Divines. For the first time in a long time, Huan Wei thought, things were going so well.

On the other hand, the bandits were uncomfortable with him. They all looked at him often, then turned away, talking quietly to themselves. Huan Wei could understand the curses being hurled at him.

The trio's attack had halved the number of bandits in the group. It would take time to find new recruits to replace the deads. That was probably why they had chosen the most suitable of the slaves. Huan Wei thought that if he could prove himself, they would take him in. He could finally be free of this slavery and these ungrateful bastards. He would whip Ai Tung every night.

The group was led by Yun Ying and Lan Xifeng. Ou Yu didn't come with them. The boss only showed her power on the big jobs. These two had to handle everything else.

"Xin Hai," Yun Ying suddenly spoke. "The slave will be your responsibility. If you see him do anything wrong, kill him."

Xin Hai was a tall, well-built bandit. Huan Wei had seen him badly injure one of the hounds during the battle. Xin Hai was using a Dadao. A two-handed weapon, the Dadao resembled a large scimitar. The man's stern gaze was the kind that proclaimed that he was dangerous.

Xin Hai put one hand on Huan Wei's shoulder. "Don't worry, Yun Ying." Then he leaned into the young man's face. He was looking directly into his eyes. "If he disobeys us, I will cut him in half."

Huan Wei was not afraid of the man's words. Instead, he thought about what he would do in such a situation. The sword in his hand didn't look very sturdy. It would probably break with a few blows from the scimitar.

Huan Wei looked at Yun Ying. The fat woman had already turned around. After a short walk through the trees, they finally saw the camp.

All the bandits hid behind the trees. Huan Wei had also found a place for himself. He was excited about the battle.

The mercenaries of the caravan were probably strong men. At the very least, they might have chosen a path. Huan Wei knew that he could not win a one-on-one fight with one of them. So he had to make the right moves at the right time.

The people setting up camp were merchants and their escorts. Huan Wei realized that their route was Bitter Sea Town. The tracks on the dirt road indicated this. The caravan was traveling south.

The merchants were sitting in front of a large campfire eating. They were in good spirits. About 10 mercenaries were standing guard around the camp. They were all armed.

"What do you think, Yun Ying?" Lan Xifeng spoke. "Do you think there's any loot here worth spending a talisman on?"

The fat woman laughed. "It's definitely worth it. Blow them up."

Lan Xifeng smiled and took out a talisman from his ring. When Huan Wei looked at the letters on the piece of paper, the talisman ignited. Lan Xifeng held it out to the mercenaries.

Suddenly a formation circle appeared in front of them and shot out a small light ball. Everyone in the camp noticed it. As they stood up, the light ball hit the ground and caused a violent explosion. Several of the merchants and two of the mercenaries did not survive the explosion.

"Attack!"

The Forest Masters attacked at Yun Ying's command.

Xin Hai clenched his fists and thrust forward. The earth suddenly split open and rose up, knocking aside the mercenaries in front of him.

"Bandits!"

One of the mercenaries stretched his fingers forward. The lightning from his fingertip struck one of the bandits, knocking him back.

In an instant, the mercenaries and the bandits clashed. The sound of clashing weapons echoed through the trees.

Yun Ying grabbed two of the mercenaries with her technique and threw them at the merchants. Lan Xifeng's light daggers had already pierced through two of them.

Huan Wei dodged the spear of a mercenary attacking him. But the man's Qi suddenly surged, and a wave of water swept Huan Wei away. He could only stop by crashing into a tree.

When he stood up, the mercenary leapt up and thrust his spear through the air towards him. The young man dodged that too.

A struggle then ensued between the two. Huan Wei blocked the successive spear thrusts with his sword and was able to stand thanks to Oakbody.

In an unguarded moment, he thrust his sword into his opponent's stomach. The spear-wielding mercenary parried the sword with the shaft of the spear, spun around and kicked hard.

Huan Wei jumped back. His back was against the tree. The mercenary did not wait and swung his spear at a wide angle. Huan Wei ducked and dodged, yet a surge of water slammed him against the tree. Fortunately, he did not drop his sword.

He blocked his opponent's attack with his sword. The spear shattered the bark of the tree. Huan Wei was knocked back a few paces but did not fall. It seemed that his opponent did not yet possess the Stonebody. The young man was therefore not weak in physical strength.

Meanwhile, Lan Xifeng went towards the merchants. After all, they had the real loot. The mercenaries were only those who would be paid to protect this caravan.

The thin-waisted woman waved her whip at the merchants, who stepped aside in fear. One of the merchants showed her the talisman in her hand.

"Come closer and I will kill you."

"Hahhahhahhahhha!" Lan Xifeng laughed, covering his mouth with one hand. He looked elegant. "You will kill me?"

In an instant, the woman threw a light dagger that pierced the skull of the merchant holding the talisman. The dead woman collapsed to the ground and the other merchants started to get up and run away in fear.

The mercenaries were generally on the second step of Path of the Earth. Yun Ying and Lan Xifeng's strength far surpassed them. Lan Xifeng, who had only practiced one technique, could pierce through anyone.

Huan Wei was still fighting while Lan Xifeng and the other bandits went to capture the merchants.

He lunged for the mercenary's neck. But he blocked the attack with his spear and hit the young man on the head with the shaft. Then he struck the staggering Huan Wei's leg with his spear, knocking him to the ground.

He was preparing for the final blow. But Huan Wei picked up a handful of earth and threw it in his face. The man, who had retreated to protect his eyes, was sliced in two vertically by the scimitar that landed on his head. The pieces toppled in different directions, exposing his organs. His half-empty body twitched.

Xin Hai looked at Huan Wei. "You're not dead yet," he said.

Huan Wei also stood up. "I have no intention of dying."

"Save your fancy words, you lowly piece of slave. Yun Ying is waiting. Start walking."

Huan Wei walked without repetition. Being able to fight against a cultivator who had chosen a path was a good improvement to his cultivation. His focus on survival had kept his Qi flowing vigorously. This allowed him to make good progress in the early phase of the Wanderer stage.

Learning the techniques was a laborious task. It required hard work and perseverance. That is why people in the Path Realm knew only one or two techniques. People preferred to master the techniques they knew rather than increase the number. The simplest example of this was Lan Xifeng.

Although she knew only one technique, she could pierce through the bodies of cultivators of equal strength. She had mastered the technique. Thus, her opponent's Qi was not enough to stop her.

Huan Wei, together with Xin Hai, arrived at the bandit group. All the merchants were tied up. Even though they all possessed Oakbody, they were no match for Lan Xifeng and Yun Ying. Having the power was not enough. It was also important to have the courage to use it.

There seemed to be no casualties in the bandit group. This was not the first time they had done this, and they were used to caravan raids. The weak ones had already died in the trio's attack. The only ones left were the strong ones. Those who would not die easily.

Yun Ying grabbed one of the merchants by the chin. "How much ransom do you think your friends will pay for you?"

"A lot of money. I can give you 50 gold coins. Please don't hurt me."

"Where is this 50 gold coins?"

"In my ring. In my ring." The merchant was panting with fear.

Yun Ying took his ring off his finger and put it on her own. After checking the inside for a while, she said, "Nice money," and stepped back. She turned her head and looked at Huan Wei. "Kill him."

Huan Wei took a deep breath and drew his sword. Ignoring the merchant's frightened, pleading gaze, he came right up to him.

"Please! I have more money! If you don't kill me, my friends will send it to you!"

Huan Wei turned to look at Yun Ying. Perhaps she might have wanted to keep this merchant alive. But it was not what she thought.

"What are you waiting for, idiot? Kill him."

Huan Wei turned back to the merchant and stabbed his sword into the face of the man, who screamed in fear. The bandits were surprised as the other merchants began to scream too. This was not the kind of killing they had expected from him.

Yun Ying approached another merchant. "What's in your ring?"

Huan Wei waited with a smile. Even under their command, it was a great power to be able to kill someone. He liked having that power. For the first time, he didn't have to hide a murder that others would know about.

While Yun Ying talked to the merchants, Huan Wei waited eagerly.