Young Master, It's All Settled...

"Young Master, what should we do? Who are we chopping up?"

Zhu Zi, a burly man, eagerly brandished his huge blade. After getting a taste of fighting in Titanium Alloy Armor with a Titanium Alloy Blade, he could hardly wait to get back into battle.

The dozens-of-jin Titanium Alloy Blade was no more than a wooden slat in Zhu Zi's hands. He was a brawny man who could carry prey weighing several thousand jin and walk around like it was nothing!

The fool had forgotten the Titanium Alloy Blade was over two meters long. As he swung it, it clanged against the others with a racket. Luckily, their Titanium Alloy Armor was sturdy; otherwise, he would have injured several people...

Bai Yang stood at the front of the raft, gazing into the distance with a profound look in his eyes. The breeze stirred his black trench coat, giving him an indescribably flashy air...

He pointed at the river below and said, "We'll stop right here, line up, and wait for those bastards to come. Then we'll chop them up. Look, there's only one river they can use to get in behind us. We'll face them head-on!"

The villagers around him were speechless. What kind of strategy was this? They'd thought the Young Master had some brilliant plan, but this was nothing more than a brawl!

The scene grew awkward. Bai Yang gave a dry cough and pointed toward Deyang Town. "You don't understand my wisdom. Feel it. Close your eyes and feel... What comes to mind?"

Yeah, right. Feel what? They didn't feel a thing. The villagers stared at him, completely baffled...

"You fools! Didn't you feel the wind blowing from Mihe Forest toward Deyang Town?" Bai Yang pointed at them one by one, exasperated.

"Young Master, and then?"

Little Cat blinked her big eyes. The Young Master was so unfathomable. She didn't understand, and neither did anyone else...

He tilted his head, flicked his bangs—which still didn't reach his eyebrows—and pointed toward Deyang Town with a confident flourish. "Have you forgotten? What about the Secret Weapon I asked you to prepare? It's time to put it to use!"

That's right, the Secret Weapon. Did they really think he'd dare wander around in the wilderness as a level-zero newbie leading a bunch of level-one newbies, wearing excellent equipment? If he didn't have a couple of tricks up his sleeve, he'd never have left the forest...

He still had an ultimate weapon: make a whoosh and run away, then come back much later to get revenge...

Of course, he wouldn't use that ultimate weapon unless absolutely necessary. It was a bit too dishonorable...

Ahem, that's a digression. Back to the point.

Zhao Shi's gaze sharpened. His eyes flickered as he asked, "Young Master, has it really gotten bad enough that we have to use that stuff?"

"Zhao Shi, trust me. If we don't want any villagers to get hurt, we'd better use it," Bai Yang said with utmost seriousness.

Hmph. His methods might be a little underhanded, but Bai Yang's goal was to kill the enemy and protect himself. As far as he was concerned, as long as he survived and the enemy died, any means were acceptable!

Zhao Shi nodded, looked around, and called out, "You all heard the Young Master. Do as he says!"

Before long, several rafts lined up across the water. Long poles used to propel them were threaded through holes in the rafts and planted in the riverbed to hold them in place.

The water was calm, so the rafts wouldn't drift away anyway...

The villagers lined up on the rafts, their silvery-gray Titanium Alloy Armor gleaming in the sunlight, bright enough to dazzle the eye. Each held a drawn Titanium Alloy Broadsword in one hand and the Secret Weapon in the other...

As for Bai Yang...

"Hey, you lot, come a bit closer. That's right, surround me like you did when we ran into the bandits. Little Cat, you have to protect me..."

His life came first. Could he eat his pride? He had a feeling the trouble ahead would be far more dangerous than the bandits had been, so he'd better think about his own safety first.

People could be compassionate, or take pity on the world, or even play the saint—but only when they had nothing to worry about and too much time on their hands. When danger struck, they should protect themselves first...

Was that embarrassing? Give him a break. Look at celebrities and business tycoons. If they couldn't even feed themselves, did anyone really think they'd still give their money to charity?

"Why aren't they here yet?"

After waiting a while without seeing the enemy, Bai Yang craned his neck and peered ahead.

"Don't worry, Young Master. If there are enemies behind us, the river is the only way in. Unless they enjoy playing hide-and-seek with poisonous bugs in a thorn-filled forest."

Zhao Shi turned to answer. Those who had lived in the forest for years knew the terrain better than anyone.

"Good."

Bai Yang relaxed. He'd been worried they might be as shameless as he was, scheming to ambush their enemies with the sole aim of killing them...

The enemy still hadn't arrived, and Bai Yang couldn't sit still. He began teasing Little Cat.

"Little Cat, next time we go out, could you skip the armor and leather armor and wear some of the clothes I gave you instead?"

"Why, Young Master? This way I can protect you."

"No, it's just that when you're wearing armor, I can't hug your soft body."

He shamelessly laid it on thick.

"But I want to protect you, Young Master. If you want to hug Little Cat, you can hug me as much as you like back in the village."

Little Cat was torn.

Bai Yang was utterly despondent. Teasing Little Cat was no fun when it was so hard to get a reaction out of her...

Splash...

A faint wave slapped against the rafts. Everyone's eyes narrowed as they looked toward Deyang Town.

The river was calm. The only thing that could be making waves was something moving on the water in the distance.

Far off, Bai Yang and the others saw several fast boats coming from Deyang Town. Men in black stood aboard them, each holding a sword or saber. Black clothes covered them from head to toe, leaving only their eyes exposed—eyes as cold as blades.

"They're here, Young Master."

Zhao Shi returned to Bai Yang's side, his expression grave. He could tell that every one of the newcomers was more dangerous than the bandit leader they'd killed.

"Zhao Shi, see that tree branch? When they reach that spot, use the Secret Weapon."

Bai Yang pointed to a place about two hundred meters ahead, then immediately shrank back into the crowd, which was like an iron wall.

"Understood, Young Master."

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

There were three fast boats in all, each less than twenty meters long. Four or five oars on either side drove them forward at speed.

A masked man in black, about one meter eighty tall, stood aboard the middle boat with his arms folded around a long sword. His eyes were cold as he stared ahead.

When he saw Bai Yang and the others waiting on the river, he called out disdainfully, "I didn't expect there to be a clever one among you. It won't do you any good. Resistance will only make your deaths more painful. I advise you to surrender, and we'll make it quick..."

Standing among the crowd, Bai Yang peered through a gap and saw that they'd reached the spot he'd marked. He ignored the man's bluster and shouted impatiently, "Quick, quick, quick! Heavenly Maiden Scatters Flowers! Kill them!"

Zhao Shi nodded, then said in a low voice, "Get ready. Throw!"

At least thirty villagers held up glass infusion bottles like the ones used for glucose drips. Each bottle was more than half-filled with brown powder. The moment Zhao Shi gave the word, they all threw them at the enemy without aiming.

"Boss, what are they doing? What's that stuff they're throwing? It couldn't kill a bird! Hahaha..."

The men in black burst into laughter. They didn't even bother to dodge; to the naked eye, the bottles would sail right over their heads and behind them.

But in the next instant, arrows whistled through the air from the villagers' side. Just as the glass bottles reached the men in black, the arrows struck and shattered them!

Crash, crash, crash...

As the glass bottles broke, that whole stretch of river turned gray with countless drifting specks of powder!

"Haha! Eat this and die, you bastards! You really thought I was going to face you head-on? Have a big mushroom! No, mushroom powder!"

Bai Yang nearly leaped up and cheered from inside the crowd.

As the bottles shattered and the powder scattered, the men in black... had no next moment.

The powder spread, covering hundreds of meters around them. There was nowhere to run. Even though they were wrapped up from head to toe, with only the tiniest patch of skin exposed, the moment even a speck of powder touched them, a bizarre sight unfolded: their bodies withered at incredible speed. Within seconds, each one had turned into Crispy Noodle!

"Myriad Things Wither!"

The instant the powder spread, the leader's eyes filled with terror. He managed to utter those three words before falling silent. His body withered, and he toppled onto the fast boat. With a bang, he exploded into powder. Every other man in black met the same fate!

The powder drifted down onto the river. The water churned as if boiling, and vapor rose and spread into a thick fog. The wind carried it toward Deyang Town.

"Zhao Shi, is it done?"

Bai Yang called from within the crowd.

Zhao Shi swallowed. His whole body was drenched in cold sweat. He turned around with difficulty and said, "Young Master, it's... it's done..."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go home! Unless you want to spend the night here?"

He snapped impatiently.

"Y-yes... Let's... let's go home..."

The men in black had arrived fast and died even faster. In the end, not a single corpse remained; they'd turned into withered powder and sunk to the riverbed. Who wouldn't be frightened by such a strange and terrifying sight?

"Young Master, was that the Mushroom Powder you insisted on collecting?"

Little Cat gazed at Bai Yang with admiration.

"Of course! How could I pass up such an essential for home and travel? You've seen how amazing your Young Master is, right? I defeated the enemy without drawing blood. In this world, brute force isn't everything. More often than not, brains are even more terrifying."

He gazed up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, unbearably smug...

(Who still remembers the big mushroom from the chapter where they ran into the gorilla? It was planted as foreshadowing, which is why I didn't mention it earlier. I hope it didn't feel too abrupt. Ahem, and finally, please leave recommendations and add this to your collection.)