Though a Hundred Oppose Me, I Shall Go On

Inside a room in Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold, the player Green Ox Looks Up browsed through a password-protected post on the Jianghu Forum. Once he finished reading it, his expression immediately darkened, and he cursed inwardly.

"Brother Qingniu, what is it? Did some bad news come in?"

The player Drunken Flower Shade asked curiously.

Green Ox Looks Up said with regret and helplessness, "The brothers who infiltrated Black Wind Stronghold just sent word. Black Wind Stronghold's men have already set out. But sadly, I overestimated that NPC Jiang Dali. He's actually coming to Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold with only a little over eighty men, and fifty of them are players."

"What? Is this Black Wind Stronghold Master coming here to die?" Drunken Flower Shade was stunned.

"An NPC is still an NPC. There's something wrong with his intelligence. I thought this Black Wind Stronghold Master might be different, but it seems the guild doesn't need to take him too seriously after all."

Green Ox Looks Up shook his head. "He's even more foolish than that NPC Ghost Blade Ji Ming. At least Ghost Blade Ji Ming wouldn't be so arrogant—he agreed to join forces with us against Black Wind Stronghold. But this Jiang Dali is far too arrogant and conceited. Now, taking him down will be easy. It looks like it'll be impossible to make the two strongholds fight until both sides are crippled."

"Our goal was to take down this Black Wind Stronghold Master while making the two great strongholds mutually destroy each other, then swallow them whole. Now this Black Wind Stronghold Master is courting his own death, but it seems our other plan will fall through."

Drunken Flower Shade sighed, feeling equally helpless. Plans could never keep up with change.

They had originally thought Jiang Dali would bring every man Black Wind Stronghold had and march out in full force.

That way, they really could have fought Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold until both sides were badly mauled. Then the players could boldly turn on them and reap the fisherman's profit.

But now Jiang Dali had brought so few men, and most of them were players with no real strength. He was simply coming here to die. What could he possibly use to fight Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold to mutual ruin?

More than half an hour later.

Clop, clop, clop—

The earth trembled faintly.

A band of mountain bandits rode swiftly toward Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold.

An ordinary horse could cover around sixty li an hour at full speed.

With two people riding it, however, its speed was naturally affected.

Thus, only after more than half an hour did Jiang Dali lead the main force into Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold's sphere of influence. Before them lay rolling mountain ridges beneath the sunlight and dense, lush forests.

The surging waters of the Tuo River flowed between two mountains. Even from far away, they could hear the roaring rush of the river. Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold occupied one of the peaks, backed by the mountain and facing the water, ruling over the land.

A great river like the Tuo River often saw merchant ships passing through.

That meant Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold's annual income in supplies and silver was no less than Black Wind Stronghold's, perhaps even greater.

"Slow the horses as we approach."

Jiang Dali gave the order.

At that moment, he had already spotted the vessels on the Tuo River in the distance, as well as a crowd gathered along the riverbank.

Clearly, Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold had long known he was coming and had prepared for battle in advance.

Jiang Dali could see it, and naturally the other bandit brothers could see it as well. The atmosphere instantly tightened like a fully drawn bowstring. Amid the grim silence came the scrape of weapons.

Yet though the air was heavy, Jiang Dali remained calm and composed. He appeared utterly relaxed, as though victory were already in his grasp.

That bearing and confidence naturally spread to the brothers around him. Though Black Wind Stronghold's fierce bandits were tense, not one showed any intention of retreating.

Jiang Dali was naturally extremely confident now.

On the way here, he had already met up with Hua Kai Jian Hong and two other teams of returning players.

The strength of those two teams of players could be ignored.

But after joining up with him, nearly all of them had spent the Potential Points and Cultivation Points they had barely had time to warm in their hands, learning new martial arts from him.

As a result, the Cultivation Points he had accumulated now met the requirements to advance to the Outer Qi Realm.

As for the extra 1,000 Potential Points, he had spent them on the ordinary-tier saber technique "Tiger Roar Golden Ring Saber," raising it to the fifth realm, consummate mastery. Its lethality had increased once more.

Therefore, his strength had risen again. Taking down a minor force like Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold was as sure as ten out of ten.

Meanwhile, halfway up Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold, Ghost Blade Ji Ming gazed northward, staring intently at the group from Black Wind Stronghold. So enraged that he laughed instead, he said, "What a Black Wind Stronghold Master Jiang Dali. This man truly is Full of Courage—he came the moment he said he would, and with so few men at that."

"Big Brother, with so few of them, I don't think you need to make a move at all. Brother Qingniu, Sister Zuihua, Brother Condensing Suan, and I can take some brothers down there and capture him!"

Pingfengchan Gu Sun slapped his chest and spoke in a deep voice.

Blood Finger Condensing Suan gave a sinister smile at those words. "That works too. I thought Black Wind Mountain Stronghold would come out in full force this time, with that old fellow Xiong Ba accompanying them. I never expected this Black Wind Stronghold Master to be so overconfident. Since that is the case, Great Mountain Lord Ji, you can hold the line for us."

"Let's go. End this quickly! We only want the Black Wind Stronghold Master!"

Green Ox Looks Up said flatly.

He no longer had much expectation for this battle.

In his view, no matter how formidable Black Wind Stronghold Master Jiang Dali might be—even if he were stronger than Ghost Blade Ji Ming—facing a siege by so many BOSS-level figures of the same realm, he would be unable to escape even with wings. All he could do was stretch out his neck and await execution.

"Kill—!"

Under Pingfengchan Gu Sun's lead, Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold's bandits joined up with the bandits dispatched from Chongfeng Mountain Stronghold. In total, there were more than a hundred and fifty men. Led by Pingfengchan Gu Sun and Blood Finger Condensing Suan, they charged downhill with rainbow-like momentum toward Black Wind Stronghold's mounted bandits.

Those hundred and fifty men were naturally not all of Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold's fighting force. They accounted for only around seventy percent of its troops.

But compared with Black Wind Mountain Stronghold's mere eighty men, they were undoubtedly far stronger.

Seeing the enemy's overwhelming numbers, their charge making the ground seem to thunder and kicking up clouds of dust, Black Wind Stronghold's approaching bandits could not help growing nervous and flustered.

Only the fifty-odd players, barefoot men unafraid of those wearing shoes, were driven into a frenzy by the hefty quest rewards, shouting and roaring for battle without the slightest fear of death.

Jiang Dali remained calm from beginning to end. Watching a band of Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold bandits charge down from the mountain, he indeed spotted two players mixed among them—likely men from Overlord Hall. As for Pingfengchan Gu Sun and Blood Finger Condensing Suan, he did not regard them as threats at all.

"Jiang Dali, Black Wind Stronghold Master! I am Gu Sun, Second Mountain Lord of Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold. Our numbers now exceed yours several times over. I advise you to dismount and surrender at once, or I will surely behead you!" Amid the charging bandits, Pingfengchan Gu Sun raised his massive shovel and shouted. His voice boomed like spring thunder, ringing across the wilds.

"If numbers were useful, what would Jianghu Experts be for?"

Jiang Dali's gaze was icy, touched with mockery. He barked, "Pick up speed. Draw your weapons. Charge!"

"Kill!"

He stomped both feet, driving his spurs into the horse's flanks. The Dayuan fine horse beneath him let out a wild neigh and charged straight at the human wall of more than a hundred men.

The Nine-Ringed Golden Saber hummed in his hand, blazing with dazzling golden light beneath the sun. One man alone charged forth with the momentum to rival a hundred!

The sight instantly set the blood of the bandits behind him boiling.

The players shouted wildly as well, brandishing their weapons and urging their horses forward in a mad rush to follow.

"Kill the bastards! We'll follow the Great Mountain Lord up Mountain of Blades and down Sea of Flames without hesitation!"

"Kill, kill, kill! Killing one means no loss; killing two means a bloody profit! Whoever chickens out is a son!"

"Miao Ren Feng, I'll assist you later—watch for an opening and finish them off whenever you can!"