Ye Hongyu drew her sword and fought the bandits. For a time, blades flashed and swords danced.
The mounted bandits understood as well: only if Ye Hongyu died could they survive.
But they had underestimated the gap between themselves and cultivators.
Moreover, Ye Hongyu was no ordinary cultivator. She had reached the Mysterious Realm and was a swordmaster skilled at killing.
Time passed little by little. After the later-arriving bandits fell, many of them never rose again.
Once they were covered in wounds, blood gushed wildly from them.
In an instant, they became blood-soaked figures.
This was Ye Hongyu's first time truly killing people. Under her sword intent, more than half the mounted bandits were killed or wounded.
The surroundings were already littered with ruins and severed limbs. Very few had survived, while the heavily wounded lay on the ground, groaning.
Ye Hongyu did not strike again after seeing this. Given their injuries, death was not far away.
Gradually, she walked to the center of the stronghold. Beneath what had once been the assembly hall, the chief was kneeling on one knee, his head lowered.
He no longer possessed the high spirits Ye Hongyu had seen when they first met. His hair was disheveled, his clothes stained with blood. He braced himself against the ground with his saber, trying to stand again.
Unfortunately, his wounds and his trembling, powerless legs made his repeated attempts futile.
He was a cultivator, which was why he was still alive after Ye Hongyu's attacks.
But even if he survived now, he was already at death's door from his severe injuries.
At that moment, he heard footsteps. Without needing to guess, he knew the person approaching was the one who had destroyed the stronghold.
"You're very strong. It wasn't unfair for us to lose to