Listening to the rising and falling screams of his subordinates, the Great Chieftain's face turned ashen, and a flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes.
He pulled a porcelain bottle from his bosom, poured out a pill as red as blood, and shoved it into his mouth.
[Blood Fiend Pill]!
He swallowed it with a gulp.
The next moment, the muscles all over his body swelled at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Bulging blue veins wriggled like earthworms beneath his skin, his eyes were bloodshot, and his aura surged violently!
"Roar—!"
An inhuman roar erupted from the depths of his throat.
The Great Chieftain charged like a fierce tiger breaking out of its cage, his Mountain Splitting Axe sweeping horizontally to cut two blocking clones straight in half!
[Clone Death × 2]
"The drug's effect won't last long! Stall him!" Lin Mo commanded calmly from inside the cave via the Consciousness Link.
Lin End personally led ten men to surround him, not seeking to kill, but only to engage in close combat and consume time.
Sword lights and blade shadows flickered, and the dense sound of metal collisions resembled a heavy rain beating against an iron sheet.
Brave as the Great Chieftain was, the poisonous blood had already seeped into his body; he felt his right arm begin to go numb, and his vision gradually blurred.
"Get out of my way!" he roared in fury, hacking Lin Yi away with a single axe blow as he turned and tried to rush out of the encirclement.
Yet people were everywhere!
Over thirty clones surrounded him tightly, blades and spears forming a dense, impenetrable forest.
"Release arrows!" Lin Yi shouted.
Swish, swish, swish—!
Seven or eight bamboo arrows shot from different angles, sealing off all dodging space!
The Great Chieftain swung his axe to parry, knocking away most of the arrows, but two still struck his thigh and shoulder with dull thuds.
The arrow wounds were not deep, but the poisonous blood seeped into the wounds once again.
"Urgh..." He groaned softly, his movements noticeably slowing down.
"Now is the time!" Lin Yi shouted fiercely, "Kill!"
Seven blades slashed down simultaneously from different directions!
The Great Chieftain raised his axe to parry—
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew wildly in all directions!
He forcefully blocked four blades, but the other two grazed his chest armor and back, leaving a deep wound!
"Ah—!" The Great Chieftain let out a painful roar, feeling a burning agony radiating from his wounds as black poisonous veins spread rapidly like a spiderweb.
The final flash of blade light swept past in an instant.
Thud!
A head rolled to the ground.
Black blood gushed from the severed neck like a fountain, splashing all over the ground and emitting a corrosive sizzling sound.
[Killed bandit Great Chieftain "One-Eyed Dragon Zhao Tieshan" (Valiant Soldier), obtained Experience Points 200]
[Combat ended]
[Cumulative kills: ordinary bandits × 20, elite bandits × 4, bandit leader × 1]
[Total experience points obtained: 1120]
[Level: 5 (1290/500) → 6 (790/600)]
[Experience points overflowed, automatically leveling up...]
[All Attributes +5]
[Maximum Health increased to 350]
[Level: 6 (790/600) → 7 (190/700)]
[Experience points overflowed, automatically leveling up...]
[All Attributes +5]
[Maximum Health increased to 400]
Two levels gained in succession!
A familiar warm current swept through his entire body once more, and Lin Mo felt every inch of his muscles cheer. That sensation of overflowing strength was intoxicating.
He walked slowly out of the Water Curtain Cave, the morning light glaring.
The battlefield was basically cleared.
A large number of corpses lay sprawled across the ground, most of them belonging to the bandits, alongside a dozen clones.
Black poisonous blood mixed with bright red gore, staining the earth an eerie dark brown.
"Lin Yi, tally the casualties and treat the wounded," Lin Mo ordered in a deep, calm voice. "Lin Er, clean up the battlefield and gather all the spoils."
"Yes!"
The surviving clones moved out quickly and methodically.
Lin Mo walked to the headless corpse of the Great Chieftain, squatting down to search carefully.
He pulled a few items from the man's bosom:
[Item: Valiant Soldier Job Certificate (Complete)]
[Type: Job Certificate]
[Effect: The holder can use this certificate to go to any 'Barracks' type building and directly transition into a 'Valiant Soldier' without undergoing a trial.]
[Remarks: An official job-transfer certificate issued by the frontier army, stamped by the Ministry of War, possessing official validity.]
[Item: Blood Fiend Pill × 2]
[Type: Pill]
[Effect: After consumption, Strength +10 and Agility +5 for a short time; lasts 30 minutes. Side effect: Enters a state of weakness after the drug wears off, All Attributes -30%, lasting for 6 hours.]
[Item: Fine Iron Chainmail (Green Quality)]
[Attributes: Defense +15, Strength +2, Poison Resistance +10%]
[Status: Partially damaged (corroded by poisonous blood)]
[Item: Fine Steel Mountain-Splitting Axe (Blue Quality)]
[Attributes: Strength +5, Sharpness +3, Armor Penetration +2, comes with skill "Heavy Strike" (consumes stamina, next slash damage +50%)]
[Item: Money Pouch]
[Contents: Fifty taels of shattered silver, three gold leaves.]
"Good harvest." Lin Mo carefully put away the job certificate and pills, storing them close to his body.
He looked at the iron armor; although the poisonous blood had corroded quite a few pits into it, the main structure was intact and could still be used after cleaning and repairs.
As for the blue-quality Mountain-Splitting Axe... he weighed it in his hand. The weight was right, and the handling when swung was actually a few fractions better than his previous Ghost Head Saber.
"Lord." Lin Yi walked over briskly to report:
"We lost twelve brothers, with seven heavily injured and fifteen lightly injured.
However, the wounds of the heavily injured are self-healing, and they are expected to regain mobility within a day.
In addition, we captured two wounded bandits and have already tied them up."
Lin Mo nodded and instructed, "Clean up the bandit corpses and drag them far away to bury them, lest the smell of blood attract beasts."
"Yes!" Lin Yi acknowledged the order and withdrew.
Then he walked swiftly toward the two captives.
The two bandits were bound with hemp rope, bearing injuries, their faces as pale as paper and their eyes filled with terror.
"How many people are still left behind guarding the Black Wind Stronghold?" Lin Mo asked coldly, his gaze like a knife.
"Not... not many left..." a captive trembled as he spoke, "To avenge the Second Chieftain and Third Chieftain, the Great Chieftain brought out everyone in the stronghold who could fight."
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