After the great battle, the battlefield was left in ruins.
Jiang Dali led the bandits who had already surrendered, along with his own men, and directly took over Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold.
Flap, flap—
A carrier pigeon quickly spread its wings and flew away, reaching a mountain hollow near Black Wind Stronghold dozens of miles away before long.
Within the hollow, Swift Wind Mountain Stronghold's chief, Feng Sihai, caught the pigeon. The moment he opened the note and read it, his expression changed drastically. He was so shocked that he sucked in a sharp breath.
"The Black Wind Stronghold Master is actually this formidable? Ghost Blade Ji Ming and the others all died at his hands?"
Feng Sihai was nearly frightened out of his wits by the news, his face turning deathly pale.
At that moment, Sky Wolf Dawn Moon, a player dressed in blue and carrying a curved blade, also received news that all his companions had died. Shocked beyond measure, he hurried into the mountain hollow.
"Chief Feng, something's wrong!"
Feng Sihai's gaze sharpened as he suddenly roared, "Of course I know something's wrong! Men, seize this brat!"
Sky Wolf Dawn Moon was startled and immediately drew his blade. "Chief Feng, what do you mean by this?"
"What do I mean?" Feng Sihai sneered repeatedly. "You've got some nerve, kid, trying to incite me, Feng Sihai, to deal with Black Wind Mountain Stronghold.
Fortunately, I, Feng Sihai, wasn't so easily fooled. For a hero like the Black Wind Stronghold Master, I don't even have enough time to befriend him at the cost of my life. Why would I offend him?"
"Bastard! You're actually so cowardly, bullying the weak while fearing the strong? The moment you saw Black Wind Stronghold's strength, you immediately caved?" Sky Wolf Dawn Moon was both shocked and furious.
Feng Sihai sneered with a piercing gaze. "A wise man submits to circumstances. The Black Wind Stronghold Master is far-sighted, wise, and valiant—a true hero of the age.
He had long since expressed his admiration for me and sent someone to contact me. I accepted his goodwill then and there. Why would I oppose him? Seize him!"
With a furious roar, Feng Sihai shot forward, his two swift swords stabbing toward Sky Wolf Dawn Moon like a gale.
The surrounding bandits of Swift Wind Mountain Stronghold were confused, but they also felt that Feng Sihai had a point.
Compared with opposing the more ferocious and dangerous Black Wind Stronghold Master, capturing this pretty-faced boy was obviously safer and easier.
At once, the bandits shouted and roared as they rushed forward together.
Meanwhile.
Inside the City God Temple near Mengyin County.
More than thirty players revived and walked out, all wearing delighted and excited expressions as they chatted animatedly.
"We made it big, hahaha! I just risked my life to finish off four Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold scumbags with my Black Saber. I got forty Stronghold Contribution Points in one go. Dying once was worth it."
"The most important thing is that the faction battle has been completed. We all received fifty Cultivation Points, fifty Potential Points, fifty Stronghold Contribution Points, and twenty copper coins. That's the real prize."
"Hehe, we hit the jackpot this time. Though dying cost me quite a bit of martial arts proficiency, I'd only learned those skills recently anyway, so the loss was nothing."
"Stop talking nonsense. Let's get moving. Don't forget, we've only taken down Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold so far. There are still two other strongholds, and judging from the Stronghold Master's intentions, he's going to take those too. There'll definitely be new-stage missions."
"Oh, right? Didn't two traitors emerge among us earlier? Why haven't they revived?"
"They probably did revive, just not near Mengyin County. Sure enough, those two were up to no good. But I've memorized their names. I'll kill them next time."
After talking, the players left the City God Temple and prepared to head back to the battlefield, like a fearless suicide squad.
At the same time, Hua Kai Jian Hong and the other players who had not died in battle posted footage of this rare faction battle on the Jianghu Forum.
The moment scenes from such a large-scale Jianghu battlefield appeared, they caused an uproar and drew the attention of countless players.
"This is insane! What am I seeing? A stronghold war? Black Wind Stronghold is way too ahead of the curve, isn't it? They're already expanding this fast?"
"The key is that they won cleanly. All the players who joined Black Wind Stronghold got a huge helping of meat. How many rewards did they get from this faction battle? I'm so jealous. Why wasn't I born near Mengyin County?"
"Politely claiming the front row. My daily holy shit! This wandering kid still hanging around outside Wudang says, with his real name, that he's jealous of those bandit brothers."
"Damn! Being bandits has more prospects than us sneaking into martial arts schools. We haven't even started challenging schools yet."
"The key is that Black Wind Stronghold Master NPC is too fierce. They're both major stronghold BOSSes, but the several BOSSes from Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold weren't enough for this Black Wind Stronghold Master. I get the feeling this NPC is anything but ordinary. Maybe he's really a protagonist-type NPC."
"I just accepted a Mount Hua Sect entry mission, and suddenly it doesn't feel so appealing anymore. I want to take a carriage to Black Wind Mountain Stronghold and join the bandit army—drinking wine by the bowl and eating meat by the chunk. Damn it all."
Seated grandly in the chief's chair inside Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold's Hall of Righteousness, Jiang Dali enjoyed massages from two well-bred young ladies Ghost Blade Ji Ming had captured. He leisurely browsed the activity on the Jianghu Forum and was quite pleased by how sensible some players were.
Having created such a rare major event, he naturally had to let more leeks see it. Otherwise, it would be like making eyes at Blindy for nothing.
Now that the leeks had seen this major event, it was definitely a huge positive.
Nothing more needed to be said. In the next few days, sharp-eyed leeks would surely go all in on Black Wind Mountain Stronghold and rush over to join it.
Perfect. The leek players who had already joined the stronghold had been harvested by him twice in succession, and fresh blood was sorely needed.
With another batch arriving now, his strength would improve even faster.
"Report, Stronghold Master!"
At that moment, Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold's sole remaining mid-to-high-ranking member—the accountant—stepped forward and presented a ledger with both hands.
"Stronghold Master, all of Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold's assets and resources have been recorded here. Please inspect them."
Jiang Dali slightly raised his eyelids and gave an "Mm." He casually took the ledger and flipped through it, quickly confirming that the accounts were accurate.
Because after Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold had been conquered by him, it had become his asset.
On the panel, the faction's detailed information was visible at a glance.
Even if the accountant dared tamper with the books, Jiang Dali would know as soon as he compared them.
Faction: Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold (Black Wind Stronghold subsidiary faction) Location: Mount Tuo beside the Tuoshui River, Mengyin County, under Hui City, Huizhou Faction Members: 76 bandits (71 ordinary bandits, 5 Power Gathering Realm bandit minor chiefs), 1 intermediate blacksmith, 1 groom, 3 boatmen, 2 women, 1 accountant, 1 cook Primary Authority: Black Wind Stronghold Master Jiang Dali Cohesion: 53 (when cohesion falls below 50, bandit desertions and rebellions may occur) Wealth: 5 gold bars, 1,200 taels of silver, 54 strings of copper coins, 3 boats, assorted firewood, rice, oil, salt, alcohol, cured fish, and cured meat Weapons: 57 ordinary iron sabers, 51 ordinary hand axes, 10 fine shields, 1 eight-stone powerful bow Stored Resources: small iron ore vein Mounts: 13 ordinary horses Current Faction Status: vassal Faction Rank: unranked (requirements to advance to the next rank: 1 Outer Qi Realm expert, 2 Inner Qi Realm experts, 40 Power Gathering Realm members, 5 special talents, the Stronghold Master's reputation reaching the Infamous stage, and the killing of 1 large wild beast)
Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold truly deserved to be a faction occupying such an excellent location. Compared with Black Wind Stronghold, it was practically dripping with wealth.
What pleased Jiang Dali most was that Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold possessed a small iron ore vein. Even if it was only the smallest type of vein, it would still be an excellent resource for forging weapons for his brothers in the future.
Moreover, Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold even had a special talent in the form of an intermediate blacksmith. This surprised and delighted Jiang Dali.
A fortune in gold could not buy talent.
One intermediate blacksmith was more valuable than a hundred ordinary bandits.
Iron ore plus a blacksmith—it was no wonder Tuoshui Mountain Stronghold's armory contained so many weapons.
But now, all of it belonged to him.
Yet at this moment, what delighted Jiang Dali even more was another sudden development. He looked toward the two notifications that had appeared.
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