"The chief is here!"
"We're saved!"
"Brothers, run!"
Everyone looked toward the sound and saw a Black Mane Horse charging through the rolling dust like a dark cloud.
The man on horseback stood over eight feet tall, clad in scale armor forged from black iron. A scar slashed diagonally across his face from brow bone to jaw. He was the chief of the Mountain Bandits here—Black Whirlwind Li Jinba.
The Ghost Head Saber in his hand was as wide as a door panel, and half a bloodstained lapel still hung from its spine, as though flaunting his glorious record.
At Li Jinba's side were the second chief, Mountain-Climbing Tiger Zhou Tong, and the third chief, Life-Claiming Judge Wu Liu.
Zhou Tong carried a pair of Bincast Iron Wolf Tooth Clubs over his shoulder, each weighing thirty jin. Shreds of flesh still clung to the barbs at their tips.
Wu Liu, meanwhile, held a Soft Sword. Its blade gleamed coldly beneath the setting sun, while his sinister eyes resembled venomous snakes lurking in the dark.
Most eye-catching of all was the tall, skinny man at the rear flank of the group. He wore a short gray cloth shirt, with both hands hidden inside his wide sleeves. A cold glint occasionally flashed between his fingers. He was Ghost Hand Liu San, a man feared by all in the martial world.
Behind them, several hundred bandits stood in neat ranks. Each had a Short Axe tucked at his waist and a Hard Bow slung over his back. The Gourd Flasks at their waists swayed with their steps, making gurgling sounds.
This group had just returned from pillaging at the foot of the mountain, and the scent of blood still clung to them. Seeing their scattered comrades, they immediately burst into laughter, their cruel,