Jiang Chen was no longer short of spirit stones, and he could buy many things.
Jiang Chen also bought many other things, such as flammable fire oil.
The Bloodfire Mercenary Group had come knocking on the Jiang Family's door. How could Jiang Chen possibly let it go?
His strength was formidable now, and it was not as if he lacked the ability to retaliate.
This time, Jiang Chen planned to destroy the Bloodfire Mercenary Group's eastern stronghold.
The Bloodfire Mercenary Group had five strongholds. The one currently in conflict with Jiang Chen was the eastern stronghold.
It was also the closest stronghold to Qingyue Town. The mercenaries in conflict with Jiang Chen were from this stronghold.
Zhou Xiang, who had come to threaten the Jiang Family, was also from this stronghold.
After buying everything he needed, Jiang Chen left Qingyue Town.
He headed toward the Bloodfire Mercenary Group's eastern stronghold.
The sky gradually darkened. Before long, night would fall.
As for the corpses of the two Martial Master Realm mercenaries who had intercepted Jiang Chen earlier, someone had come to collect them. Their bodies were brought back to the stronghold.
The Jiang Family's strength was not weak, so those men could only silently retrieve the corpses. They did not immediately seek revenge on the Jiang Family, but brought the bodies back first.
When Zhou Xiang saw his subordinates bring back the two corpses, he was furious.
Most importantly, he had received word that Jiang Chen himself had killed them.
"Damn it, how is this Jiang Chen so strong? Two Martial Master Realm experts couldn't even do anything to him?" Zhou Xiang was utterly shocked.
How much time had passed?
Hadn't it been said that Jiang Chen's cultivation, which he had revealed during the Jiang Family's grand competition, was at the Martial Artist Realm Tenth Level?
No matter how strong he was, it should have been impossible for him to kill two Martial Master Realm experts by himself, right?
Those two were Martial Master Realm Third Level and Martial Master Realm Fourth Level experts, not Martial Master Realm, First Level ones.
"That is true. Many people saw Jiang Chen kill them with their own eyes. Word has it that Jiang Chen has also reached the Martial Master Realm. As for his exact level, the people there were all only at the Martial Artist Realm. They only know that Jiang Chen is a Martial Master Realm expert; they don't know which level he has reached," the subordinate mercenary reported.
"Good heavens, Jiang Chen's strength has increased during this period. He actually advanced to the Martial Master Realm. However, he should only be at the Martial Master Realm, First Level. Even so, the fact that he could kill these two squad leaders with that strength shows how astonishing Jiang Chen's talent is. This Jiang Chen absolutely cannot be allowed to live," Zhou Xiang said grimly.
The more talented the enemy, the sooner he had to be killed. Otherwise, once the enemy grew stronger, the future troubles would be endless.
"I must report this matter to the hall master," Zhou Xiang said.
The loss of two Martial Master Realm experts was a major matter. The hall master had to know about it.
Zhou Xiang thus went to the hall master's quarters and said to the two mercenary guards standing at the entrance, "I have something to discuss with the hall master. Sorry for the trouble, but please inform him."
"So it's Captain Zhou. Very well, we'll go in and inform him. Please wait a moment," one of the guards said.
Zhou Xiang was the hall master's trusted aide and possessed formidable strength. He was also a powerful figure in this stronghold, so the guards treated him with great courtesy.
Before long, the guards came back out and indicated that Zhou Xiang could enter.
Zhou Xiang entered. In a large hall sat a middle-aged man with a walrus mustache, who looked rather sleazy.
However, despite his sleazy appearance, this man's strength could not be underestimated.
Many people spent their entire lives unable to enter the Martial Grandmaster Realm. As a hall master of the Bloodfire Mercenary Group, this middle-aged man was undoubtedly ruthless and vicious.
He radiated the aura of the Martial Grandmaster Realm, First Level, placing tremendous pressure on Zhou Xiang, a Martial Master Realm Ninth Level expert.
The difference of one major realm was enormous.
"Zhou Xiang, it's so late. Why have you come to see me? What happened? As for the matter with Meng, didn't you already report it earlier? Give the Jiang Family three days," Jiang Yuan said.
The hall master of this stronghold was named Jiang Yuan.
"Hall Master, this matter is still related to Jiang Chen," Zhou Xiang said awkwardly.
After all, this was bad news. If the hall master flew into a rage, he would suffer as well.
"Hmm? Jiang Chen? Has he been captured?" Jiang Yuan asked.
He did not care much about Jiang Chen. He was only a boy at the Martial Artist Realm, although he had killed quite a few Martial Artist Realm mercenaries.
That had cost them some face, but by using Jiang Chen to extort a large sum of spirit stones from the Jiang Family, they could make up for all their losses and still turn a profit.
Moreover, the second-rank mercenaries were not important figures in his eyes. If they died, so be it. At worst, they could recruit another batch later.
The Bloodfire Mercenary Group's backbone consisted of Martial Master Realm experts and Martial Grandmaster Realm experts.
As long as experts of those two levels remained, what did Martial Artist Realm mercenaries amount to?
Of course, none of the higher-ups would say this aloud. Everyone understood it perfectly well.
Otherwise, if it were spoken aloud, it would chill the hearts of the lower-ranking mercenaries. The cannon fodder would become difficult to control then.
"Jiang Chen did show up, but I had left two Martial Master Realm experts behind to lie in wait for him. They really did encounter him, but Jiang Chen's cultivation has already reached the Martial Master Realm. He killed the two Martial Master Realm squad leaders," Zhou Xiang said.
"What? Two squad leaders died? And Jiang Chen killed them?" Jiang Ming exploded with powerful might upon hearing this, shaking a nearby table until it cracked. It was clear just how furious he was.
Those were two squad leaders! They were Martial Master Realm experts. Recruiting Martial Master Realm experts was no easy matter.
That was a loss for his stronghold.
"Yes." Zhou Xiang braced himself and answered.
"Zhou Xiang, how did you handle this? You actually lost two Martial Master Realm experts. Where is Jiang Chen?" Jiang Ming asked coldly.
"Jiang Chen returned to the Jiang Family. Since we lacked sufficient manpower, we couldn't pose a threat to the Jiang Family. The Jiang Family's patriarch, Jiang Tian, is also a Martial Grandmaster Realm, First Level expert..." Zhou Xiang explained his misgivings.
Earlier, he had relied on the Bloodfire Mercenary Group's status to threaten the Jiang Family, which was feasible. But he could not bring men to forcefully storm the Jiang Family.
The two sides were mismatched in strength. Unless the Bloodfire Mercenary Group sent more experts, they could not suppress the Jiang Family.
Even if everyone from their entire stronghold joined forces against the Jiang Family now, the odds would probably be even.
If they went to war with the Jiang Family, they would definitely need experts from the other strongholds to provide assistance before they could deal with them.
"Useless. Truly useless. You couldn't even handle such a small matter," Jiang Ming said coldly.
At that moment, he was furious beyond measure.
He had been damn unlucky lately.
First, his mercenaries had been killed by Jiang Chen. Then someone had raided the stronghold at night. Jiang Ming had had something to attend to and had not been at the stronghold, allowing that mysterious person to escape. They had suffered tremendous losses.
After finally learning Jiang Chen's identity, he had wanted to capture a young disciple of a family, only to lose two Martial Master Realm experts.
Everything had gone wrong.
"All right, I understand. This Jiang Chen is courting death. Once he falls into my hands, I'll torture him to death," Jiang Ming said coldly.
"Immediately notify the people in the Great Desolate Mountain Range to return and assemble. We will move against the Jiang Family soon. Tomorrow, I'll contact the higher-ups of the other strongholds and join forces to deal with the Jiang Family," Jiang Ming said.
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