First Battle with Mountain Bandits

At that moment, the group of mountain bandits had already reached a spot not far from the tree where they were hiding.

A shifty-eyed mountain bandit at the back of the group suddenly clutched his stomach, his face turning pale.

"Ah... I can't take it anymore, Boss. My stomach hurts like hell. I need to take a dump!"

The Bandit Leader waved impatiently. "You're always such a nuisance! Go and get back fast!"

Clenching his legs together, the mountain bandit dashed toward the depths of the woods—straight toward the patch of bushes where Lin Mo and the Clone were hiding!

"Damn, this place looks good..." the mountain bandit muttered. He stopped just three steps away from Lin Mo and the Clone's hiding place, turned his back to them, and began unfastening his belt.

Lin Mo and the Clone held even their breaths, crouching motionlessly behind the bushes.

But just then, a gust of wind swept through, making the leaves rustle.

"Hm?" The mountain bandit suddenly turned around!

His gaze slipped through a gap in the branches and met Lin Mo's eyes directly.

Their eyes met.

The air froze for half a second.

Move! Lin Mo roared in his mind.

With their consciousness synchronized, Lin Mo's thoughts were the Clone's commands!

Two figures suddenly sprang out from either side of the bushes!

On the left was bare-chested Lin Mo. He swung the Stones in his right hand with all his strength at the mountain bandit's unprotected temple.

On the right, the equally bare-chested Clone lunged like a beast, throwing his entire body into the mountain bandit's upper body!

"Wha—!" The mountain bandit only had time to let out a short cry of alarm. The sudden pincer attack left him utterly stunned.

Bang!

Lin Mo's stone struck solidly just behind the mountain bandit's temple, producing a dull, teeth-gritting thud.

The mountain bandit's vision went black. Pain and dizziness made him groan as his body staggered and tilted to the left.

At nearly the same time, the Clone pounced on him from behind and locked his arms tightly around the mountain bandit.

Quick! Kill him! the Clone shouted frantically in his mind.

Lin Mo's eyes reddened as well. He raised the stone and smashed it down again.

Bang!

The stone shattered on impact. Blood immediately splattered from the mountain bandit's forehead, but he still did not fall.

"Damn it... you're courting death!" Though caught off guard, the mountain bandit's savagery, honed by years of living on the blade's edge, was instantly roused.

Enduring the agony and dizziness in his head, he relied on his superior strength and ferocity.

His elbow slammed backward, striking the Clone squarely in the ribs.

"Ah!" The Clone cried out in pain, and his grip loosened.

Seizing the chance, the mountain bandit twisted his partially freed right wrist, swinging his sharp dagger backward toward the Clone's shoulder.

Slash—!

Blood sprayed out.

"Get the hell off me!" The mountain bandit kicked the Clone in the stomach, sending him flying away.

Then he turned toward Lin Mo with a savage expression. "You little bastard, I'll kill—"

The next moment, a sudden change occurred!

The sprayed blood that had splashed onto the mountain bandit's arm began to sizzle with corrosion.

The skin on his arm rapidly blackened and rotted, as though concentrated sulfuric acid had been splashed over it.

"Ah! My hand! Wh... what the hell is this?" The mountain bandit stared in terror at his rotting arm.

Even more terrifyingly, the decay was spreading upward at a visible rate.

In the blink of an eye, his entire face turned a bizarre bluish-black. His eyes bulged, while foul-smelling black blood seeped from his nose and mouth!

He frantically shook his arm, trying to fling away the horrifying "poisoned blood" that clung to him like gangrene, but it was all futile.

The rot continued to spread as the poison surged madly through his bloodstream.

"Help... me..." He squeezed out two final, indistinct syllables from his throat. His body convulsed violently, and in less than five seconds—

With a thud, he collapsed to the ground. His limbs still twitched unconsciously, but he was clearly beyond saving.

[Battle Ended]

[Mountain Bandit ×1 killed. Obtained 30 Experience Points]

Less than ten seconds had passed from the moment he touched the poisoned blood to his sudden death.

Lin Mo and the Clone stood frozen in place, staring dumbfounded at the Corpses on the ground, which was rapidly turning pitch-black as portions of its flesh even began to dissolve.

The air was dead silent.

Only the mountain bandit leader's impatient roar carried over from the dirt road in the distance:

"Skinny Monkey! Hurry the hell up! The lazy donkey pisses and shits when it's time to turn the millstone!"

Lin Mo suddenly snapped back to his senses, his heart pounding like a drum in his chest.

He glanced at the short blade the mountain bandit had dropped on the ground, then at the Clone's blood, which could be called "death upon contact."

An outrageously bold thought, carrying a fatal sort of temptation, began to grow wildly beyond his control.

He slowly raised his eyes toward the seven remaining mountain bandits on the dirt road not far away. His gaze had changed.

The Clone looked at him as well. A thought came through, carrying the same lingering fear and a trace of irrepressible excitement. "My blood... is that poisonous?"

Lin Mo took a deep breath, bent down, picked up the short blade stained with a little black blood, and gripped it tightly.

The cold hilt calmed him down somewhat.

"Looks like it," he replied through their thoughts, the corner of his mouth twisting into a slightly distorted curve. "And it seems they haven't noticed yet."

He glanced at his status panel:

[Essence Blood: 90/100]

Then he looked at the Clone beside him, whose eyes were also beginning to gleam with the same dangerous light.

"Tell me," Lin Mo said, licking his lips. His voice was extremely low, rough with the recklessness of someone throwing caution to the wind.

"Are seven clothed men enough for the two of us... no, enough for 'us' to get a change of clothes?"