The Enemy Joined Forces

Someone from an unknown faction, disguised as a bandit, stood in the path Amy and Li Qi had to take.

Li Qi remained calm. Hiding behind Amy, he confirmed that aside from two Tactical Rank fighters and two Third Rank fighters, everyone else in front of them was an ordinary person.

But...

They had guns.

It wasn't that only a few of them had guns. Every single person here had one.

At a time when firearms were still exclusively used by the military and nobility, how could a group of "refugees" who had been forced into banditry just to survive actually have guns?

Li Qi had no idea whose intelligence these people were insulting.

But none of that mattered. Judging from the situation, they clearly didn't want Amy to survive.

"Who are you?"

Amy had no time to worry about Li Qi hiding behind her. She stared grimly at the group, her gaze sweeping over each person.

She was looking for someone.

The "bandits" walked up to Amy. They worked the bolts on their Single-Shot Rifles and aimed them at Amy and Li Qi.

One of them, who looked like the leader, said:

"Us? You can see for yourself. We rob people on the road! I advise you to behave and not make any unnecessary moves. Otherwise... you'll have a few extra holes in you!"

"Do you want money? Or people?"

Amy forcibly suppressed her anger and asked as calmly as possible.

Who would have thought that the moment she finished speaking, the bandits would burst into laughter?

"Hahahaha!"

Their arrogant laughter echoed through the mountain forest. The bandit who had spoken earlier laughed as he said:

"At a time like this, do you think you can still negotiate with me?"

After saying that, his expression instantly turned savage. "We want both people and money! The brothers are sick of staying in this godforsaken forest. We can have some fun with you two 'young ladies'!"

"Do you know who I am?!"

Amy finally lost control of her anger and roared at them.

But instead of asking who she was, the bandits merely wore mocking smiles.

When Amy saw those smiles, her heart immediately sank halfway.

They knew who she was. They really did know who she was.

"Idiots."

Li Qi muttered softly from behind her.

Amy heard him clearly but didn't refute it.

She said in a low voice:

"...It looks like we won't be able to escape today. I'm sorry for dragging you into this."

It had clearly been Li Qi who insisted on following her. Even if something had happened now, Amy wasn't responsible.

Yet she still apologized to Li Qi.

Li Qi didn't know whether Amy was apologizing because she had taken a liking to him, or whether this was simply her nature.

Regardless, Amy's apology improved his impression of her considerably.

Li Qi poked her in the back and asked softly:

"If I can draw their attention, how many can you deal with?"

"...?"

Amy's eyes widened slightly. She glanced at Li Qi from the corner of her eye and asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Stop wasting time. Answer my question."

"...I...don't know how strong they are. If they're all ordinary people..."

"There are fifteen in total. Two Tactical Rank, two Third Rank, and the rest are ordinary people. The problem is that they have guns."

Li Qi quickly stated what he had observed.

Amy was even more astonished.

How did Li Qi know the strength of this group?

But she had no time to dwell on it. She quickly estimated the difference in strength between the two sides and asked:

"...How many can you hold off?"

"Other than those two Tactical Rank fighters, I can deal with everyone else by myself."

"..."

Amy thought Li Qi was boasting.

But at a time like this, she could only try anything she could.

In any case, the worst outcome was death.

"What? Have you finished discussing? Have you decided to surrender now, or should we beat you up until you surrender?"

The bandit leader's tone was filled with amusement.

He had seen Li Qi and Amy communicating, but he hadn't stopped them.

Perhaps in his eyes, all fifteen of them had guns, and they even had Tactical Rank knights to keep things under control. Even if a Strategic Rank Mage Master showed up, they still wouldn't be able to escape their encirclement.

Not to mention two delicate young ladies.

Under normal circumstances, the bandits' reasoning would have been correct.

To truly fight one's way out of their encirclement, one had to be a Title Rank powerhouse who had experienced battlefield slaughter and possessed a special title.

And they didn't believe there would be a Title Rank powerhouse here.

Unfortunately, Li Qi was here.

So their "normal" was about to become "abnormal."

Under the bandits' watchful eyes, Li Qi concealed himself even more thoroughly.

He looked just like a frightened young lady, completely hiding behind Amy as if only that could make him feel safe.

The bandits didn't pay attention at first.

That was until they heard the faint rumble of thunder.

Crack--

The sound of lightning rang out behind Amy. By the time the bandits realized something was wrong, Li Qi's figure had already shot out from behind Amy like a swift leopard!

Golden electric light suddenly flashed through the air. The "girl's" figure left afterimages along the road as he charged straight toward the bandit closest to Amy!

"Fire!!!"

The bandit leader reacted quickly.

When he saw Li Qi rush toward them, he immediately ordered his men to fire, attempting to shoot Li Qi down before he could reach them!

But Li Qi was too fast!

Golden electric light flowed over his legs. Stimulated by the golden current, he crossed more than ten meters in the blink of an eye and arrived in front of the nearest bandit!

His left hand reached behind him and drew the dagger hidden at his lower back. Infused with a few wisps of blue-black mana, it slashed across the first bandit's neck.

Before the severed artery could spurt blood, Li Qi's right hand had already drawn his revolver and fired at several people in the distance!

Bang!!

With one shot, the farthest gun-wielding bandit collapsed. A bloody hole appeared in his face—the shot had blown his head apart.

At such close range, Li Qi had no chance of missing.

Only when Li Qi had used his handgun to kill the distant man did the bandit whose throat he had slashed begin to spray blood.

At the same time, the bandits' gunshots rang out.

Li Qi grabbed the bandit whose throat he had cut first and used him as a shield.

With one hand, he adjusted the revolver in his right hand. Through the gap between the corpse and himself, he fired at another person.

Bang!

The second bullet struck the enemy with equal precision.

In less than five seconds, the enemy had lost three men.

"Damn it! Kill her!!"

Seeing this, the bandit leader immediately abandoned his previous attitude of toying with his prey and ordered his men to surround Li Qi.

He himself charged toward Amy.

Li Qi wasn't important to them. Amy was their target!

But the moment the leader turned around, he saw Amy charging straight toward him.

At the same moment Li Qi had drawn everyone's attention, Amy had already made her move. By the time the leader turned around, she was already in front of him!

At such close range, the leader couldn't use the rifle in his hands, so he simply swung it down at Amy's head as a melee weapon.

Amy reached out and grabbed the rifle's barrel, then raised her knee toward the leader's chin.

The leader's other hand blocked Amy's knee in time. Red mana surged through the hand gripping the rifle as he tried to enhance his strength and force Amy's hand down!

The two of them were locked in a stalemate!

But the leader wasn't alone. The other Tactical Rank fighter hesitated between "dealing with Li Qi" and "completing the mission," then chose the latter and turned to help the leader deal with Amy.

But this was undoubtedly the wrong decision.

When the two of them had pinned Amy down, Li Qi's side... had already gone berserk.