Everyone burst out laughing, and it took a while for them to stop. The black-faced middle-aged man at their head chuckled. "In this day and age, someone still thinks he can fight alone. You're a rare breed. All right, hand over your resources and I'll spare your life. I'm only doing it to leave a sliver of light in this world."
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed the bright sky suddenly darkening.
He looked up and saw a vast black cloud descending overhead.
"Holy crap!"
The black-faced middle-aged man had barely cried out when the cloud came straight down. It landed on the ground—and turned out to be more than a hundred cultivators, forming a tight encirclement that surrounded him and his men.
Silence. Utter silence.
"Th-this..."
"Big Brother, I think we're surrounded."
The black-faced middle-aged man and his men were completely dumbfounded. They had roamed this region for years and encountered all kinds of situations, but they had never seen—or even heard of—anything like this.
Within a hundred thousand li of Ruolan Cave City, there was no one besides the city itself who could bring such terrifying forces to bear.
This wasn't a robbery anymore. It was a military operation! They were only holding up a few travelers. Was there really any need to make such a huge fuss?
"Everyone, could there be some misunderstanding? We have no quarrel with you. There seems to be no need to take things this far, does there?"
The black-faced middle-aged man hurriedly called out.
No one answered. The hundred or so people stood like posts driven into the ground, forming an impenetrable fence around them.
He swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "At this point, I have nothing to hide. I'm Zhang Wanhe, brother-in-law to the Head Shopkeeper of Lijing