Grief and Indignation

Morning.

Yi, Jia Ruo, and Neeko were walking on a mountain path.

Jia Ruo was happily twirling the You Meng in his hand, creating sword flowers. The good deeds he had done these past few days, coupled with the Sword Saint's praise for his progress, had rekindled his childhood dream of upholding justice.

Suddenly, Yi frowned and said, "Something's not right ahead. Let's pick up the pace."

Although he said "let's pick up the pace," he himself had already transformed into a streak of light, heading straight for the front.

"Neeko, be careful."

Jia Ruo said as he looked back, then gave his all to catch up.

He had a vague premonition—this was the first time he had encountered something that made Yi so tense.

When Jia Ruo ran into the village ahead, he saw a group of fierce men clad in Leather Armor, wielding Sharp Blades and Round Shields, subtly surrounding Yi.

Yi noticed Jia Ruo's arrival. Ignoring the pirates closing in, he closed his eyes instead.

"Everyone in this village is dead."

"What?"

Jia Ruo heard Yi's words, then saw these men whose weapons were still stained with fresh blood, and the supplies piled together.

Not only was there no sound from any of the houses, but a stench of blood wafted from them.

He could already guess what had happened with eight or nine certainty.

"You beasts! Robbery is one thing, but why kill them all!?"

Jia Ruo's veins bulged on his forehead, his eyes about to split.

He had gradually grown to like the land of Ionia, and the simple, kind Ionian people it nurtured.

"Attack."

The Bald Leader said no unnecessary words.

Their group's whereabouts had been discovered, so there was nothing more to say. Kill one, kill both.

Cold-blooded and merciless, killing without batting an eye—that was the label of these pirates.

Hearing their leader's command, the pirates took their stances and ferociously charged forward.

But Jia Ruo was faster.

Accompanied by Purple Radiance, he dashed to Yi's side.

You Meng drew a purple line through the air, Cherry Blossom petals slowly drifting within it.

The pirate who charged forward the most was instantly decapitated.

So fast!

This time, they'd run into a tough opponent.

The Bald Leader frowned and said, "Brothers, attack together. This kid is trouble."

The pirates had already surrounded Jia Ruo and Yi. The Bald Leader squeezed his way in, licking his lips, "I'll trade a few blows with you."

Back in Freljord, they had encountered many tough opponents.

But even a fierce tiger couldn't withstand a pack of wolves; two fists couldn't fight four hands.

Once surrounded, they would have the Bald Leader tie up the strongest opponent while the rest of the pirates swarmed, always grinding down all enemies.

Jia Ruo gripped You Meng tighter. He crouched and exerted force, instantly charging in front of the Bald Leader.

You Meng swung horizontally.

The Bald Leader's pupils contracted. Years of combat experience had him prepared.

He pressed down his left hand, which he had already placed protectively on his chest, blocking the blow with his small Fine Steel Round Shield.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal echoed. A deep gash appeared on the Round Shield.

This kid is incredibly strange.

The Bald Leader made his assessment internally.

Although the opponent was shorter than him, not only was his speed astonishing, but his strength was also far greater than his own.

His left arm had already gone numb from that one blow.

The Bald Leader thought, while swinging the Axe in his right hand to force Jia Ruo back, he signaled to the surrounding pirates.

Then, he and four or five other pirates closed in on Jia Ruo, forming a small circle within the larger encirclement that constantly rotated around Jia Ruo.

Realizing he couldn't win through brute force, the pirate leader seized the advantage of numbers.

This tactic would make Jia Ruo hesitant to attack—when he attacked one pirate, he would inevitably be surrounded by the others.

This way, even if a few of them died, they could use a "life for an injury" method to slowly wear him down.

As for whose life it would be, these pirates who lived by the sword didn't care.

In real combat, the more cowardly and afraid of death someone is, the faster they will die.

Swish, Jia Ruo drew a sword aura with You Meng, temporarily repelling the pirates' attack.

This won't do.

The pirates weren't in a hurry at all, because they had the advantage in numbers.

But if this continued, their numbers could rotate between the encirclement and attack formations, while he would be worn down to death through attrition.

After a few moments of stalemate, Jia Ruo suddenly attacked.

He pierced through the pirate who appeared least agile with a single sword strike, then quickly withdrew, dodging the incoming attacks from the other pirates.

This time, Jia Ruo wasn't injured.

But what about next time?

Rapid advances consumed a lot of stamina and magic power.

Jia Ruo's magic power hadn't yet circulated within his body—once his breathing became ragged, he would surely lose.

The surrounding pirates were not disturbed by the death of their comrade.

Another one stepped out from the encirclement and silently joined the fray.

At the same time, the pirates on the periphery made a mistake.

Seeing Jia Ruo and Yi surrounded, they were convinced that Jia Ruo would be worn down to death.

So, they split off another group and surrounded the middle-aged man wielding the Green Sword.

The kid with the Purple Sword seemed to be protecting him; he must be an old geezer who looks good but is useless.

But they didn't know that this middle-aged man was the truly terrifying existence.

If they had marveled at Jia Ruo's speed before, now they didn't even have the chance to be amazed.

Unlike Jia Ruo's rapid advance, this was a Green Flowing Light that was impossible to see clearly. As it passed through, the five pirates who had closed in were instantly killed.

The once orderly pirate band descended into chaos—the terrifying strength displayed by Yi was no longer something that could be compensated for by numbers.

"Damn it, didn't they say Ionian people were all wimps? How did we run into a monster like this right off the bat?"

"What's the point of fighting this? Let's run."

"Let's go back to Freljord. Those Noxians really have eyes like a blind dog."

Even when facing a lone Troll, they had the courage to resist the Viking Raiders, but they were so terrified by Yi's sword strike that their livers and gallbladders were shattered.

Yi sheathed his sword and stood, lightly spitting out a sentence: "Those who run first, die first."

Immediately, the few pirates who had run the furthest fell to the ground, dead.

The pirates descended into chaos.

As the pirates became disordered, Jia Ruo seized the opportunity to break through the encirclement.

He finally broke free from his restraints. Now, no pirate could singly contend with his swift attacks.

Ding!

The Bald Leader's Round Shield blocked You Meng again.

Only he could offer even a slight resistance.

"Heh heh, kid, you must have important people back in the village. They're all dead now. And all the young girls, we've had our way with them. Their screams were quite pleasant."

Seeing that death was inevitable, the Bald Leader began to try and shake Jia Ruo's resolve.

All he wanted now was to make the person about to kill him pay a greater price.

Upon hearing this, Jia Ruo's already burning rage became uncontrollable, instantly consuming his entire mind.

He kicked the Bald Leader in the abdomen, sending him flying.

Immediately after, he leaped up and heavily pinned him to the ground.

"Killing me is useless. They'll accompany me."

From his bloodied mouth, the Bald Leader uttered his last words, dying with a sinister grin.

Puff, puff, puff.

Three more slashes. You Meng fiercely and repeatedly pierced the Bald Leader's chest.

Jia Ruo's anger did not diminish in the slightest.

He lunged at the remaining pirates.

You Meng swung with all its might. His breathing grew ragged, his chest heaved violently, and his reason began to blur.

He even forgot to use the sword techniques of Wuji. The last few pirates were all hacked to death by him relying on brute force and the sharpness of You Meng.

This allowed a dying pirate to counterattack, finding an opening and smashing Jia Ruo's left shoulder fiercely with a Mace.

All the pirates were dead.

Jia Ruo was still hacking at their corpses.

It wasn't until Yi appeared behind him, placing a hand on his uninjured right shoulder and restraining the You Meng in his hand.

Neeko had only just arrived. She looked at the scattered limbs, the viscous pool of blood, and the blood-soaked Jia Ruo, covering her mouth.

What on earth happened here?