Young Master, It's All Settled...

"Young master, what do we do? Who do we cut down?"

Zhu Zi, tall and burly, brandished his massive blade with impatient eagerness. Having tasted the thrill of battle with the Titanium Alloy Armor and Titanium Alloy Blade, he couldn't wait for a fight.

The dozens-of-jin Titanium Alloy Blade felt like a wooden chip in Zhu Zi's hands—he was a beast of a man who could carry a prey weighing several thousand jin and walk normally!

But the fool forgot the blade was over two meters long; swinging it around clanged against the others with a clatter. Luckily, the Titanium Alloy Armor was sturdy, or he'd have wounded a few by accident...

Bai Yang stood at the front of the raft, his gaze deep as he stared ahead. A black trench coat fluttered in the light breeze, radiating an indescribable swagger...

He pointed at the river beneath them and said, "We stop right here, line up in a row, and wait for those bastards to come so we can cut them down. See? There's only one river channel behind us to enter—we'll face them head-on!"

The surrounding villagers were speechless. What kind of tactic was this? They'd thought the young master had some flashy plan, but this was just a brawl setup, plain and simple...

The atmosphere turned awkward. Bai Yang coughed dryly, pointed toward Deyang Town, and said, "You don't get my genius. Feel it—close your eyes and feel... What do you think of?"

As if I'd believe your nonsense. Feel my ass... They felt nothing at all. The villagers were baffled.

"You're hopeless. Didn't you feel the wind blowing from Mihe Forest toward Deyang Town?" Bai Yang jabbed a finger at each of them, annoyed.

"Young master, and then?" Little Cat blinked her big eyes. The young master was so inscrutable—she didn't get it, and neither did anyone else...

He tilted his head, flicked his bangs that barely reached his eyebrows, and pointed grandly toward Deyang Town. "Did you forget? The secret weapon I had you prepare? Now's the time to use it!"

Yes, the secret weapon. Did they really think he'd wander around as a level-zero noob leading a bunch of level-one noobs in fancy gear without a plan? If he didn't have a trick or two up his sleeve, he'd never leave the jungle...

He also had an ultimate weapon: bolt the hell out of there, then come back way later for revenge...

Of course, that ultimate weapon wouldn't be used unless absolutely necessary—it was a bit unscrupulous, after all...

Ahem, getting off track. Back to business.

Zhao Shi's eyes sharpened, flickering as he asked, "Young master, is it really serious enough to use that thing?"

"Zhao Shi, trust me. If you don't want the villagers to get hurt, it's best to use it," Bai Yang said with utter seriousness.

Hmph. The method might be a bit dirty, but with the goal of killing the enemy and keeping myself safe, I think any means are acceptable as long as I'm fine and the enemy's dead!

Zhao Shi nodded, scanned the crowd, and shouted, "You all heard that? Do as the young master says!"

Soon, several rafts lined up in a row on the water. The long poles used to paddle them were thrust through small holes in the rafts straight into the riverbed to anchor them.

The river was calm anyway, so they wouldn't drift away...

The villagers stood in a row on the rafts, their silver-gray Titanium Alloy Armor gleaming dazzlingly in the sunlight. Each held a drawn Titanium Alloy Blade in one hand and the secret weapon in the other...

As for Bai Yang...

"Hey, you all, come closer—yeah, like when you're facing bandits, surround me. Little Cat, you've got to protect me..."

Life comes first. Can you eat integrity? He had a feeling the coming trouble would be way more dangerous than facing bandits—many times over. Better secure his own safety first.

People can have compassion, pity, or even a saintly heart, but only when they're perfectly fine and bored out of their minds. When danger hits, protect yourself first...

Is that shameful? Don't be ridiculous. Look at celebrities or business tycoons—if they couldn't even feed themselves, would they still donate money to charity?

"Why aren't they here yet?"

After waiting a while with no sign of the enemy, Bai Yang craned his neck to look ahead.

"Young master, rest assured. If there are enemies behind us, the river is the only way in—unless they enjoy playing hide-and-seek with venomous bugs in the thorny jungle," Zhao Shi said, turning back. Having lived in the jungle their whole lives, they knew the terrain best.

"Good."

He relaxed, relieved that the enemy wasn't as shameless as him, scheming to ambush and kill by any means...

Since the enemy hadn't shown up, he couldn't sit still and started teasing Little Cat.

"Little Cat, next time we go out, could you not wear armor or leather gear? Just wear those clothes I gave you, okay?"

"Why, young master? This way I can protect you better!"

"Not that—it's just that with your armor on, I can't hold your soft body."

He said it with a shameless grin.

"But I want to protect you, young master. If you want to hold Little Cat, you can do it anytime in the village."

Little Cat looked conflicted.

Bai Yang felt utterly defeated. Teasing Little Cat was way too unrewarding...

Splash, splash...

A faint sound of waves lapping against the rafts made everyone's eyes snap toward Deyang Town.

The river was calm; the only thing stirring ripples was something in the distance vibrating the water.

From far off, Bai Yang and the others saw several fast boats emerge from Deyang Town's direction. On them stood black-clad figures wielding swords and blades, their entire bodies wrapped in black cloth with only their eyes exposed—eyes as cold as knives.

"Young master, they're here."

Zhao Shi retreated to Bai Yang's side, his voice grave. He could sense that every one of these newcomers was more dangerous than the bandit leader they'd killed!

"Zhao Shi, see that branch? When they reach that spot, hit them with the Secret Weapon."

Bai Yang pointed at a spot about two hundred meters ahead, then immediately shrank back into the crowd that was like an iron wall.

"Understood, young master."

Zhao Shi nodded but didn't leave Bai Yang's side.

Three fast boats were approaching, each less than twenty meters long, with four or five oars on each side rowing swiftly.

On the middle boat, a black-clad masked man about 1.8 meters tall held a long sword in his arms, his eyes coldly fixed ahead.

When he saw Bai Yang and the others waiting on the river, he sneered and shouted loudly:

"I didn't expect there to be a smart one among you, but it's useless. Resistance will only make your deaths worse. I advise you to surrender, and I'll give you a quick end..."

Bai Yang, standing in the crowd, saw through the gaps that the enemy had reached his designated spot. Ignoring the man's nonsense, he said impatiently, "Quick, quick, quick! Heavenly Maiden Scatters Flowers! Kill them!"

Zhao Shi nodded, then said in a deep voice, "Prepare... throw!"

At least thirty villagers held glass IV bottles filled with a brownish powder. The moment Zhao Shi's voice fell, they hurled them blindly toward the enemy.

"Boss, what are they doing? What are they throwing? Can't even kill a bird with that, hahaha..."

The black-clad men laughed, not even bothering to dodge, since a glance told them the bottles would fly right over their heads.

But the next moment, arrows whistled through the air from the villagers' side. Just as the glass bottles reached above the black-clad men, the arrows shattered them!

Bang, bang, bang...

After the sound of breaking glass, the area turned hazy, with countless powders scattering!

"Haha, choke on that, you bastards! Did you really think I'd fight you head-on? Here's a big mushroom for you—no, wait, Mushroom Powder!"

Bai Yang almost jumped up in celebration from within the crowd.

When the glass shattered and the powder scattered, the black-clad men... well, there was no "then."

The powder spread, covering hundreds of meters around them with no escape. Even though they were wrapped tightly, with only a tiny bit of skin exposed, the moment they touched even a trace of the powder, a bizarre scene unfolded: their bodies rapidly withered, and within seconds, they turned into 'Crispy Noodles'!

"Myriad Things Wither!"

The black-clad leader's eyes filled with extreme terror the moment the powder scattered. He managed to spit out those three words before falling silent, his body shriveling as he toppled onto the boat with a bang, then exploded into powder. The same fate befell all the other black-clad men.

The powder drifted, landing on the water, which churned as if boiling. Steam rose and spread into a thick fog, carried by the wind toward Deyang Town.

"Zhao Shi, is it done?"

Bai Yang asked from within the crowd.

Zhao Shi swallowed hard, cold sweat pouring down his back. He turned with difficulty and said, "Young master, it's... it's all done..."

"Then what are we waiting for? Head home. You don't want to spend the night here, do you?"

Bai Yang said irritably.

"Right... home... let's go home..."

The black-clad men came fast and died even faster, leaving not even corpses behind—just withered powder sinking to the riverbed. Who wouldn't be terrified by such a bizarre and horrifying scene?

"Young master, is that the Mushroom Powder you were so determined to collect?"

Little Cat looked at Bai Yang with admiration.

"Of course. How could I pass up such an essential travel item? See how awesome your young master is? Defeated the enemy without bloodshed. In this world, force isn't everything. Most of the time, brains are scarier than brawn."

Bai Yang tilted his head at a forty-five-degree angle, looking at the sky with unbearable smugness...

(Anyone still remember the big mushroom from the chapter with the gorilla? I didn't mention it before to set up this foreshadowing. Hope it doesn't feel too abrupt. Ahem, and finally, asking for recommendation tickets and favorites.)