An Extraordinary Man Among the Blood Cloud Bandits!

Tang Tianhao came out of the room, his expression rather grave. "Jie'er, anyone who can rank on the Death Warrant List is no ordinary character. These Blood Cloud Bandits are certainly no pushover."

Clearly, Tang Tianhao had heard their conversation just now.

"Mm, I know. I'll be careful." Tang Jie nodded.

Tang Jie himself had displayed formidable strength. Even after breaking Tang Tianhao out of the execution grounds, he had only been designated a Level 1 Fugitive, whereas the Blood Cloud Bandits had been placed on the Death Warrant List—one level higher than a Level 1 Fugitive. They were the kind who had to be executed without exception. From that alone, it was clear that the Blood Cloud Bandits were no easy opponents!

Of course, this was also because Tang Jie had not slaughtered innocents indiscriminately. Otherwise, he might have been placed on the Death Warrant List as well.

"The Blood Cloud Bandits... Is every one of them a fighter capable of taking on ten men alone?"

Tang Jie felt a faint stir of excitement. According to Sun Tielong, the Blood Cloud Bandits were few in number, yet every one of them was monstrously powerful. With only twenty or thirty men, they had faced an elite force of two hundred soldiers and slaughtered them one-sidedly. Every one of them was a master!

Tang Jie was equally eager to face enemies like that.

After making his preparations, Tang Jie bade farewell to Tang Tianhao and Du Jue, then set out alone for Fengxi Village three days later at dawn.

Outside Fengxi Village, it was still the dead of night. Tang Jie waited quietly at the village entrance, breathing in the fresh air of the early morning.

An hour later, the sun rose. At the far end of the distant horizon, a small mounted party came riding over. The man at its head was none other than Sun Tielong.

Sun Tielong and the others stopped several dozen meters away. He said something to the few people traveling with him, then dismounted and walked toward Tang Jie alone.

"Brother Tang."

Sun Tielong came before Tang Jie with a smile on his face.

"Any news of the Blood Cloud Bandits?"

Tang Jie got straight to the point.

Sun Tielong's expression turned solemn. "According to Fengyue City's investigation, the Blood Cloud Bandits may choose to attack a remote town called Tashan Town. We can lie in ambush there ahead of time."

"Mm." Tang Jie nodded. What he had to do was simple: encounter the Blood Cloud Bandits, then kill them all!

"This young brother is joining us as well?" A man's voice came from the distance. It was one of the few people who had come with Sun Tielong.

Tang Jie followed his gaze and saw a thin, tall, middle-aged man. The man wore a beard, but both his hands were nearly half again as large as an ordinary person's, and every inch of them was covered in thick calluses.

"Brother Tang, let me introduce you. This is Wang Shan, the leader of Fengyue City's Iron Palm Gang. His Iron Sand Palm has reached an extremely profound level. His strength is no less than mine."

Sun Tielong immediately introduced him to Tang Jie.

Tang Jie nodded slightly. Just by looking at the hands of the man called Wang Shan, one could tell that he was certainly a master of palm techniques.

"So this is Brother Tang? Lord Tielong speaks extremely highly of you." Another elegant man holding a folding fan smiled.

The others also looked at Tang Jie, their eyes filled with doubt. They were all masters whom Sun Tielong had invited from Fengyue City, first-rate martial artists and the main force in the campaign to exterminate the Blood Cloud Bandits.

When Sun Tielong had said earlier that he was going to meet someone, they had all assumed it would be some famous martial artist. But Tang Jie looked far too young.

Seeing the doubtful gazes of the others, Tang Jie understood that Sun Tielong had certainly not told them his identity. After all, if they knew Tang Jie was a fugitive—moreover, a Level 1 Fugitive—they might not be willing to join forces with him. They might even harbor other ideas.

"Lord Sun, there's no time to waste. Let's set out." Tang Jie spoke to Sun Tielong.

"Good. Move out—to Tashan Town!"

Sun Tielong nodded. Tang Jie mounted a spare black horse that Sun Tielong had prepared, and the group set off toward Tashan Town.

Tashan Town was a small town with a population of fewer than a thousand. It lay in a rather remote location, and by the time they arrived, it was already afternoon.

"Lord Sun, we've made all the preparations." After the group entered Tashan Town, a man in coarse cloth came over and spoke with a respectful expression.

The man appeared to be dressed as an ordinary resident of the town, but in reality, he was an elite soldier of Fengyue City in disguise.

There were already a hundred carefully selected elite soldiers hidden in Tashan Town. With Tang Jie, Wang Shan, and the other martial arts masters added to their ranks, everyone was brimming with confidence that they could exterminate the Blood Cloud Bandits.

"Mm. This time, we'll make sure the Blood Cloud Bandits come and never return!"

Sun Tielong nodded.

In truth, Sun Tielong was not confident either. According to the intelligence from Fengyue City, the Blood Cloud Bandits might be targeting Tashan Town, but it was only a possibility. If they did not come, or attacked another village or town instead, they would have waited here for nothing.

"They're here!"

Everyone waited quietly inside Tashan Town. It was not until the sky was nearly dark and impatience filled their hearts that Tang Jie's ears twitched. He heard the rapid thunder of hoofbeats.

At the far end of the distant horizon, a group of twenty or thirty riders appeared in view. Tang Jie saw that every one of them wore black clothes and had a towering build, radiating a savage, baleful aura.

"They're finally here!"

Inside Tashan Town, the soldiers disguised as ordinary townspeople placed their hands on the weapons at their waists, waiting only for the enemy to enter the town before launching their attack.

Wang Shan and several other first-rate masters were also visibly excited. Among the Blood Cloud Bandits, there was even a cultivator who had died at their hands, causing the other cultivators in Fengyue City to refuse to intervene.

First, the Blood Cloud Bandits had killed a cultivator. Second, these cultivators were all superior beings. Knowing that a fellow cultivator had died at the hands of the Blood Cloud Bandits, they were unwilling to risk their lives. Besides, even if they exterminated the Blood Cloud Bandits, there was no benefit in it for cultivators like them.

But for martial artists like Wang Shan, exterminating the Blood Cloud Bandits would earn them merit and rewards—and might even bring blessings to their descendants and Lineage!

Everyone waited for the Blood Cloud Bandits to enter Tashan Town, but something astonishing happened.

When the group drew within two hundred meters of Tashan Town, they stopped.

"Chief, my treasure has smelled something unusual. There must be an ambush in Tashan Town."

A red-haired rat perched on the shoulder of a sharp-faced, simian-looking man among the Blood Cloud Bandits let out a shrill squeal. The man with the pointed mouth and monkey cheeks looked toward Tashan Town in the distance.

The one addressed as Chief was a tall man around forty, with disheveled hair and eyes faintly glowing red. Hearing this, the tall man's lips curved upward. "Looks like these fellows aren't entirely useless after all. They actually managed to detect where we're attacking today."

The tall man with the disheveled hair waved his hand. "Brothers, fall back. Draw those fellows out!"

No one knew how many people were lying in ambush inside Tashan Town. If they faced an assault by more than a thousand men, it would be extremely dangerous. Even some powerful cultivators could perish beneath a sea of people.

So the best course was to lure the enemy out, see exactly how many there were, and then respond accordingly.

"Neigh!"

At the Blood Cloud Bandits' command, the riders turned around. One swift horse after another began walking slowly back the way they had come.

"Th-they discovered our ambush? They want to lure us out!"

"This is a provocation!"

Inside Tashan Town, everyone saw the Blood Cloud Bandits turn around and slowly leave. Their expressions changed at once.

Sun Tielong's face darkened. The Blood Cloud Bandits were indeed incredibly sharp. There seemed to be an extraordinary man among them who could judge in advance whether an ambush lay ahead. Now they were slowly withdrawing. If they did not pursue them, the Blood Cloud Bandits would surely leave. They had no idea when they would next encounter them, and more people would suffer as a result.

"All troops, attack! Don't let them escape!" Sun Tielong gritted his teeth and issued the order.

Their ambush had been discovered. There was only one choice left: launch an assault and fight them head-on!

"These Blood Cloud Bandits... are unusual." Tang Jie narrowed his eyes. From far away, he watched the twenty or thirty Blood Cloud Bandits. A beast-like aura seemed to surge from their bodies. Every one of them was anything but ordinary!

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