Coming-of-Age Mission, Part Two

Xue Daxiong was sent flying at once, blood slowly trickling from the corner of his mouth. He shouted, "A Soul Emperor above level sixty?! This is bad! Retreat, quickly!"

At Xue Xiayang's words, cold sweat broke out all over him. The dozen or so followers the father and son had brought were even worse off; some were so terrified they nearly pissed themselves. But Xue Xiayang quickly calmed down and said, "Don't be afraid! There are only two of them. As long as we work together, we can definitely drive them away."

Xue Daxiong looked at the men around him and gradually calmed down as well. Only then did he realize that he and his son had no chance of escaping. Jiang Jiayao and Jiang Jiahao were targeting the father and son directly. If they did not use their subordinates as cannon fodder, they would not have even the slightest chance. Xue Daxiong immediately shouted, "That's right! Don't be afraid, everyone! As long as we work together, we can surely kill these two scoundrels here. Our Blood Eagle Bandit Group will definitely dominate the entire Flying Eagle Mountain Range!"

The Blood Eagle Bandit Group's ferocity and morale were instantly stirred by Xue Daxiong and Xue Xiayang. When they looked at Jiang Jiayao and Jiang Jiahao now, there was no longer any fear in their eyes—only bloodlust.

"Kill!" Everyone from the Blood Eagle Bandit Group surged toward Jiang Jiayao and Jiang Jiahao.

"They've all gone mad! Do they think having more people will help? It's time to show you despair!" Jiang Jiayao swung his Blazing Fire Battle Hammer and said arrogantly, "Come on! First Soul Skill, Explosive Three Fire Hammers."

Jiang Jiayao's Blazing Fire Battle Hammer instantly split into three hammers, each one solid, smashing respectively toward the charging bandits.

The bandits also summoned their martial souls and unleashed soul skills in retaliation.

"Second Soul Skill, Flying Fire Slash."

"Third Soul Skill, Spirit Fox Devour."

"Second Soul Skill, Thousand Jin Press."

"Hahaha... Good! Come at me!" Jiang Jiayao controlled the three explosive fire hammers as they charged head-on.

Boom...

The Blood Eagle Bandit Group members were sent flying backward. Three of them even spat blood and passed out.

"Hahaha... Again! Third Soul Skill, Raging Rhino Charge." Jiang Jiayao immediately activated his Third Soul Skill, swinging his great hammer as he smashed into the Blood Eagle Bandit Group members.

Boom... Boom... Boom...

In less than fifteen minutes, the men Xue Daxiong and Xue Xiayang had brought were nearly all slaughtered by Jiang Jiayao. Only one clever bandit saw that things were going badly and immediately fled, likely to call for reinforcements. The moment Jiang Jiayao saw someone slipping away, his movements became much faster.

"Big Brother, I accidentally let one of them escape. Let's speed this up and finish them immediately, before reinforcements arrive," Jiang Jiayao shouted to Jiang Jiahao.

"You want to finish us quickly? Dream on! Even if I die in battle today, I'll still break a few of your teeth and hold out until the reinforcements arrive!" Xue Daxiong finally went all out. Although he was no match for Jiang Jiahao, he could not surrender. Because he had underestimated Jiang Jiayao and Jiang Jiahao's strength, the men he had brought had already been completely wiped out. Gathering his Soul Power, Xue Daxiong shouted, "Violent Bear Possession! Fifth Soul Skill, Mighty Bear Paw!"

Xue Daxiong knew his strength was completely insufficient to clash directly with Jiang Jiahao. He used his Third Soul Skill—Violent Bear Possession—to add a berserk state to himself. Xue Daxiong's aura became exceedingly violent, his Soul Power surged wildly, and his attacks gained tremendous destructive force.

"Oho! Now this is getting interesting, but you still won't be able to withstand my next move." Jiang Jiahao laughed loudly and said, "Fifth Soul Skill, Blazing Rhino Sun Blast!"

A black soul ring behind Jiang Jiahao transformed into a flaming rhinoceros, which instantly merged into the Blazing Heaven Battle Hammer. The Blazing Fire Battle Hammer, fused with the flaming rhinoceros, resembled a gigantic sun and radiated astonishing heat. He swung the battle hammer and smashed it directly at Xue Daxiong. Xue Daxiong, unwilling to show weakness, raised both palms to meet it.

Boom...

The result was obvious. Xue Daxiong was sent flying at once. Jiang Jiahao gave him no chance to get back up, swinging his battle hammer down again. Xue Daxiong died miserably beneath Jiang Jiahao's hammer.

"Father!" Xue Xiayang cried out miserably. Xue Daxiong had cared for him since childhood, and the father and son had always been very close. Now that his father had died before his very eyes, the blow was enormous. Xue Xiayang said hatefully, "I'll make you pay with your lives! Mad Bear Form!"

Xue Xiayang instantly transformed into a crazed humanoid bear beastman. Raising both fists, he struck at Jiang Jiayao.

"You can seek revenge, but only if you have the strength! With strength like this, you want revenge? Forget defeating my big brother—you can't even harm a single hair on my head!" Jiang Jiayao continued provoking Xue Xiayang. "Go down and keep your father company! Fourth Soul Skill, Mammoth Fury Blast."

A pair of bear fists collided with a battle hammer.

Xue Xiayang was blasted away at once. The gap in strength was something he could not make up for. He was now a level thirty-nine Soul Elder, while Jiang Jiayao was a level forty-two Soul Ancestor. Though they were separated by only three levels, the difference between them was far from small.

"The Blood Eagle Bandit Group's men will be here soon! Kill him quickly, don't create any more complications!" Jiang Jiahao urged.

"Alright! Got it!" Jiang Jiayao replied.

"It won't be that easy!" Xue Xiayang made his final struggle. "Second Soul Skill, Explosive Bear Fist."

Xue Xiayang raised both fists and charged at Jiang Jiayao again. He knew he no longer had any chance. Even if the Blood Eagle Bandit Group's reinforcements arrived in time, he would absolutely be unable to escape the killing blow of Jiang Jiahao, a Soul Emperor. So he unleashed all his strength, burning the last remnants of his life.

"Good! Let me grant your wish! Second Soul Skill, Sky Spinning Fire Hammer." Jiang Jiayao activated his Second Soul Skill. His entire body spun continuously through the air as he controlled the Blazing Heaven Battle Hammer and smashed it down upon Xue Xiayang from above.

Boom...

Xue Xiayang was hammered straight into the ground by Jiang Jiayao. Every meridian in his body was shattered by the hammer force, and he died bleeding from all seven orifices.

"We've killed the Xue father and son. Let's leave now!" Jiang Jiahao said. He did not want any further trouble.

Jiang Jiayao nodded repeatedly. After using several soul skills, his Soul Power had also been depleted. This was not the time to clash head-on with the Blood Eagle Bandit Group. He immediately followed Jiang Jiahao away from the battlefield.

When Huo Dongqiang and Chen Sanbiao of the Blood Eagle Bandit Group arrived, the battlefield was a complete mess, with corpses of Blood Eagle Bandit Group members everywhere. The bodies of the Xue father and son stood out especially clearly. The chief had been killed, and his son had died here as well. Huo Dongqiang and Chen Sanbiao exchanged a glance, and both saw greed in the other's eyes.

"Second Brother... no, you're Big Brother now! How do you plan to handle this?" Chen Sanbiao asked Huo Dongqiang with a smile.

"How else? You and I will naturally become the chief and second chief. Although our Blood Eagle Bandit Group has been weakened, as long as we recuperate, we can rise again in ten or so years." Huo Dongqiang was in high spirits at the sight of the Xue father and son's corpses. "But we have a problem now. We don't know what purpose the killers who murdered the father and son had."

"I'd guess they came to wipe us out. They may have caught Xue Daxiong and his son alone and killed them here. Big Brother, look—they fled as soon as we arrived. That shows their strength isn't all that formidable." Chen Sanbiao analyzed, "We can bring the bodies of Xue Daxiong and his son to that elder and ask him to uphold justice for us. We'll find the culprits who killed them, then ask the elder to kill them for us. That way, we can eliminate future trouble and establish our authority within the bandit group, making it easier for us to reorganize it."

"Hahaha... What a brilliant plan!" Huo Dongqiang laughed heartily, patting Chen Sanbiao on the shoulder in praise. "Let's begin planning immediately! Don't create any more complications!"

Thus, a conspiracy against Jiang Jiayao and Jiang Jiahao was born, and they remained completely unaware of it.