Before long, three more bandits came running from the river.
But as soon as they saw Li Xing, one of them cried out, "What are you doing here?"
Seeing the puzzled looks on his companions' faces, the man suddenly shouted.
"Be careful! He's a Miracle Controller."
"That's right! Several of our brothers were killed by his Miracle. I don't even know whether he's a man or a ghost now!"
"Be careful. His swordsmanship is excellent, so don't go near him. The brothers who died were all killed by the sword in his hand."
The three newcomers would have been better off saying nothing. Once they opened their mouths, the bandits already there became even less willing to come forward.
The reason was simple: in this world, strength was what gave a person the right to speak, and Miracle Controllers were beyond the reach of ordinary people, let alone these illiterate bandits!
Seeing fear appear in the bandits' eyes,
Li Xing was swept up in emotion and roared,
"The alarm bell in Hunter Town has already sounded, and I've sent my signal. If you want to fight to the death, come on!"
Then Li Xing pointed his thumb at himself and continued to roar fiercely,
"I've only got one worthless life! Kill one and I break even! Kill two and I've made a profit! Kill three, and I, Li Xing, have made a killing!
"Come on!
"When you kill me and step over my body,
"that's when the hunters of Hunter Town will avenge me, Li Xing.
"The bell has already sounded all the way here, and my mission is to hold you scum here until the Hunter Town party arrives.
"Come on!
"Fight me! Let me see what you're capable of, daring to challenge the might of Hunter Town!"
This rousing speech
left Aniekra, who was behind Li Xing, deeply stirred.
Li Xing's willingness to face death also touched Aniekra's heart.
That's right! Rather than be abused to death, it's better to fight back. Just as Li Xing said, kill one and I break even; kill two and I've made a killing.
With that thought, Aniekra found a small knife in Lucy's pack, then got up behind Li Xing, ready to support him in the fight.
In Aniekra's eyes, the speech was an inspiration.
But to the bandits, it had a different effect.
What? Hunter Town is on alert! He sent a signal!
What? This man is willing to throw his life away just to kill us. What grudge does he have against us? Is that really necessary?
What? His goal is to hold us here and wipe us all out!
What? The Hunter Town party will be here any moment.
What? This man thinks he can provoke us like fools and wants to see what we can do! Does he really think I'm stupid?
Then, with Hunter Town's bell sounding around them, the bandits recalled the warning from the mage they followed. "Don't go provoking Hunter Town for no reason. Remember! We can't afford to cross them yet!"
The black-clad bandits present exchanged looks and quickly discussed it.
Then they all began backing away!
"Retreat!"
The dozen or so men immediately ran back the way they had come, hurrying to leave what they suspected was a trap.
Seeing the bandits retreat, Li Xing shouted anxiously,
"Don't run! You bastards, you scum! If you've got the guts, don't run from me! Come back and fight me to the death!"
Hearing Li Xing's taunts, the bandits all sped up, using their own two legs to get away as quickly as they could.
Hmph! Does he really think we're stupid? Fight him and let him hold us up for nothing, only to be killed when Hunter Town's reinforcements arrive?
What? The leader?
To hell with the leader. He led us into a trap and then got his head cut off with a single stroke. A man like that isn't worth avenging. Let's get out of here!
After seeing the black-clad bandits leave completely, Li Xing hurriedly loosened the reins that held the horses in place.
He asked Aniekra on the carriage,
"Can you drive a carriage?"
Seeing this, Aniekra answered instinctively,
"Yes!"
Then Li Xing handed her the reins, jumped onto the carriage, picked her up, and set her in the driver's seat.
Once Aniekra came to her senses, she blushed and asked,
"Brother Li Xing! What are you doing?"
"What am I doing? Getting us out of here, of course! If those bandits come to their senses and attack us again, won't we be at a disadvantage?"
At Li Xing's explanation, Aniekra asked in confusion, "But just now you..."
"I was only bluffing them. I promised Lucy I'd bring you back safely.
"Even if I don't care about my own life, I still have to consider your safety."
Seeing the look of understanding on Aniekra's face, Li Xing hurriedly urged her on.
"If there's anything you don't understand, ask me when we get back. Let's get out of here now."
Having understood, Aniekra hastily flicked the reins and drove the carriage toward the mainland.
Meanwhile, the fleeing black-clad bandits also felt that something was increasingly wrong the more they thought about it!
Wait! We clearly had him surrounded, so why were we afraid of him? Even if Hunter Town's patrol party dared to come, it would still take them some time! So why are we running?
One bandit who had figured it out shouted, "Stop!"
The whole fleeing group immediately stopped where they were.
"Something's wrong!"
The bandit pointed at the man at the back of the group and said,
"Go check behind us and see if that man is following!"
The bandit he had singled out turned around in confusion and went to scout behind them.
Before long, the bandit who had been at the rear returned and reported,
"There's no one behind us! Even the carriage that was there is gone!"
Hearing the bandit's report,
a thought suddenly flashed through the bandits' minds.
A quick-mouthed black-clad bandit shouted, "Damn it! Hurry back, we've been tricked!"
Yes, they had indeed been tricked.
Although Li Xing's bluster had been intimidating, it had been full of holes.
The greatest credit for making the group believe him went to the person on duty who had sounded the alarm bell in Hunter Town's bell tower.
His efforts alone had convinced the black-clad bandits far across the river that Hunter Town's party could arrive to reinforce Li Xing at any moment!
In fact, the two places were still a long way apart.
But the person on duty had made the bell carry farther.
As a result, it had created the illusion that they were just outside Hunter Town. On top of that, Li Xing had relied on the reputation of Miracle Controllers, as well as his own results in battle and his impassioned speech.
All of this had ultimately led the bandits to make the wrong judgment!
At that moment, at Hunter Town's west gate,
Yilaikesi's party rode through on horseback, heading west out of town.
Alex's party followed close behind the first group, riding out of town.
Just as Yilaikesi was wondering whether he had left too hastily and forgotten to ask for the signal firework's exact location,
the hunter squad riding ahead encountered Lucy and Jerry as the two made their way toward town!