Mountain Bandits Annihilated

Listening to the screams of his subordinates, the bandit chief's face turned ashen, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

He took out a porcelain bottle from his embrace, poured out a pill as red as blood, and stuffed it into his mouth.

[Blood Fiend Pill]!

He swallowed it with a gulp.

The next moment, his muscles began to swell at a visible rate.

Veins bulged like earthworms beneath his skin, his eyes filled with bloodshot streaks, and his aura surged!

"Roar--!"

A non-human roar erupted from the depths of his throat.

Like a tiger released from its cage, the bandit chief swept his axe, cleaving the two clones blocking his path directly in half!

[Clone Death x2]

"The medicine won't last long! Stall him!" Lin Mo commanded calmly through their mental link from inside the cave.

Lin Yi personally led ten men to surround him, not aiming to kill, but only to entangle and buy time.

Sword light and blade shadows flashed, the dense sound of metal colliding like a downpour hammering tin.

Though the bandit chief was fierce, the poison blood had already seeped into his body. He felt his right arm growing numb, and his vision began to blur.

"Get lost!" he roared furiously, smashing Lin Yi away with an axe strike, and turning to charge out of the encirclement.

But people were everywhere!

Over thirty clones surrounded him, their blades and spears forming an impenetrable forest.

"Fire arrows!" Lin Yi shouted.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh--!

Seven or eight bamboo arrows shot from different angles, sealing off all escape routes!

The bandit chief swung his axe to block, deflecting most of the arrows, but two still "thwacked" into his thigh and shoulder.

The arrow wounds weren't deep, but the poison blood seeped into them again.

"Urgh..." He grunted, his movements noticeably slowing.

"Now!" Lin Yi roared, "Kill!"

Seven blades descended simultaneously from different directions!

The bandit chief raised his axe to block--

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sparks flew wildly!

He endured four blows, but two other blades sliced across his chest plate and back, leaving deep wounds!

"Ah--!" The bandit chief let out a pained roar, feeling a burning pain from the wounds as black poison veins spread rapidly like a spiderweb.

The last blade light flashed past.

Thwack!

His head hit the ground.

Black blood gushed from the severed neck like a fountain, splashing everywhere and emitting a "hissing" corrosive sound.

[Killed Bandit Chief "One-Eyed Dragon Zhao Tieshan" (Tough Soldier), gained 200 experience points]

[Combat ended]

[Total Kills: Common Bandit x20, Elite Bandit x4, Bandit Leader x1]

[Total Experience Gained: 1120]

[Level: 5 (1290/500) -> 6 (790/600)]

[Experience overflow, automatically leveling up...]

[All Attributes +5]

[Max Health increased to 350]

[Level: 6 (790/600) -> 7 (190/700)]

[Experience overflow, automatically leveling up...]

[All Attributes +5]

[Max Health increased to 400]

Two levels in a row!

The familiar warmth surged through him again, and Lin Mo felt every inch of his muscles cheering. The feeling of power filling him was intoxicating.

He slowly walked out of the Water Curtain Cave, the morning light blinding.

The battlefield had been largely cleared.

The ground was littered with corpses, most of them mountain bandits, but also over a dozen clones.

The black poison blood mixed with the bright red blood, staining the earth a bizarre dark brown.

"Lin Yi, take stock of the casualties and tend to the wounded," Lin Mo ordered in a calm, deep voice. "Lin Er, clear the battlefield and collect all the loot."

"Yes!"

The surviving clones quickly sprang into action, working in an orderly fashion.

Lin Mo walked to the headless corpse of the bandit leader and squatted down to search it carefully.

He pulled out a few items from its embrace:

[Item: Tough Soldier Job Transfer Certificate (Complete)]
[Type: Job Certificate]
[Effect: The holder can use this certificate to go to any 'Barracks' type building and directly transfer to 'Tough Soldier' without a trial.]
[Remarks: A transfer certificate officially issued by the border army, bearing the seal of the Ministry of War, with official validity.]

[Item: Blood Fiend Pill x2]
[Type: Pill]
[Effect: After taking, Strength +10, Agility +5 for a short period, lasting 30 minutes. Side effect: After the effect wears off, fall into a weakened state, all Attributes -30%, lasting 6 hours.]

[Item: Fine Iron Chainmail (Green Quality)]
[Attributes: Defense +15, Strength +2, Poison Resistance +10%]
[Status: Partially Damaged (Corroded by poison blood)]

[Item: Fine Steel Mountain-Splitting Axe (Blue Quality)]
[Attributes: Strength +5, Sharpness +3, Armor Piercing +2, comes with skill "Heavy Chop" (Consumes stamina, next chop damage +50%)]

[Item: Money Pouch]
[Contents: Fifty taels of silver, three gold leaves]

"A good haul," Lin Mo said, carefully putting away the job transfer certificate and the pills, storing them close to his body.

He looked at the iron armor. Although it had many pits from corrosion by the poison blood, its main structure was intact. It could still be used after cleaning and repairing.

As for the blue quality mountain-splitting axe... he hefted it. The weight was just right, and it felt even more comfortable to wield than his previous Ghost Head Saber.

"Lord," Lin Yi said, walking over quickly to report.

"We lost twelve brothers, seven seriously wounded, and fifteen lightly wounded. However, the wounds of the seriously injured are healing themselves, and they are expected to be able to move within a day. Also, we captured two wounded mountain bandits and have them tied up."

Lin Mo nodded and instructed, "Clean up the mountain bandit corpses and drag them far away to be buried, so the smell of blood doesn't attract wild beasts."

"Yes!" Lin Yi accepted the order and retreated.

He then quickly walked over to the two captives. The two mountain bandits were bound with rope, injured, their faces as pale as paper, their eyes filled with terror.

"How many people are left guarding Black Wind Stronghold?" Lin Mo asked coldly, his gaze like a knife.

"N-not many..." one of the captives stammered. "The leader brought out everyone capable from the stronghold to avenge the second and third leaders."