Mountain Forest, Slaying a Horde of Vicious Men

"Hmph, we've been waiting for you. Now that you're here, you're all staying right here." Qin Meng's roar rang like thunder. Without slowing, he swept into the enemy ranks like a gale.

He charged straight through them, neither dodging nor retreating. As he unleashed the Evil-Slaying Blade-Breaking Saber technique, the Zhanma Dao became a blur of silver. Flesh and blood flew wherever it passed.

Swish! Swish!

In an instant, another man was cut down, his innards spilling across the ground.

The stench of blood spread at once. The remaining masked men faltered, fear showing in their eyes. What kind of hunter was this? He was clearly a god of slaughter!

With a ruthless heart and a swift blade, Qin Meng was already charging toward his next target.

But the leader of the masked men roared and lunged at him.

He was a burly man, his vital energy surging. Blood-red light coiled around the great saber in his hand. He was a Body Forging Realm martial artist.

"Die!" He brought his saber down toward Qin Meng's neck, its immense force sending the wind howling.

Qin Meng swung the Zhanma Dao with one hand and blocked the strike head-on.

Clang!

Metal rang against metal, sparks flying. Qin Meng's arm went numb, but his opponent was knocked back two steps.

"Kill!" the leader roared, charging again without a care for his own safety. His saber work was vicious, every move a bid for both their lives. He managed to keep Qin Meng occupied for the moment.

Seeing this, the remaining five masked men immediately turned and charged at Li Tiezhu and the others.

"Form up!" Li Tiezhu shouted. He, Wang Tieniu, and Qin Xiaoshan stood back-to-back in a tight circle. Their bows were useless now, so they drew their hunting knives to meet the enemy.

But they were outnumbered and weak, while their opponents were desperate men. All five were martial artists, three of them in the Blood Changing Realm. The situation quickly turned perilous.

A blade struck Wang Tieniu's arm, and blood streamed from the wound.

Qin Xiaoshan deflected a blow aimed at his face, but the impact split his palm open.

Qin Meng caught sight of them from the corner of his eye, and his heart lurched.

"Get lost!" he bellowed. His legs bent like a bow, then he sprang forward with all his might!

He leaped more than two zhang, hurtling through the air toward a bandit attacking Li Tiezhu. The Zhanma Dao came crashing down, carrying the full weight of his body—

Enhanced by the sharpness effect,

the blade split the bandit and his saber in two. The scene was a bloody nightmare.

"Your opponent is me!"

But the leader stayed on his heels, grinning savagely as his great saber came slashing in again.

"You're asking to die." Qin Meng flew into a rage, his Zhanma Dao whirling like the wind.

At that moment, a new insight welled up within him. His saber work grew faster and more vicious, and the proficiency displayed on his panel began to climb.

Meanwhile, Li Tiezhu and the others were fending off the fierce attacks of four enemies. They were on the verge of breaking.

Just then—

Wang Tieniu narrowly dodged a blade and roared in fury, "You scum from Leiming Martial Hall! You dare ambush us and disguise yourselves as bandits from Liangshan Marsh? Luming Fort will never let this go. It's us or you!"

His words were like a stone dropped into still water.

The masked bandits' eyes flashed with murderous intent. They were ready to silence them all.

"What bandits would dare commit murder in broad daylight?"

A shout rang out from the other side of the woods.

The next moment, seven or eight men rushed out. They were all martial artists, each carrying a bow and saber, with pheasants and hares slung over their backs. They were plainly a band of hunters.

Their leader was a burly man with a thick beard and bright, sharp eyes. Qin Meng recognized him at once: Zhao Tianhu, the bandit chief from Dawang Mountain whom he had encountered while hunting the demon bear in the forest.

"Kill them!" Zhao Tianhu led his men in a charge straight at the masked bandits.

With enemies on both sides, the situation turned in an instant.

Thud! Thud!

The masked men, who had just held the advantage, were caught off guard. Two fell in the blink of an eye, and the rest fell into disarray.

"Damn it, retreat!" Seeing things go against him, the masked leader made a feint with his blade and tried to escape.

How could Qin Meng give him the chance?

As his opponent's attention wavered, Qin Meng changed his blade's trajectory. The Zhanma Dao shot out like a venomous snake, stabbing straight beneath the man's ribs.

The leader hurriedly raised his blade to block, but he was a fraction too slow—

Crack!

The blade severed his arm, then continued on and pierced his chest.

"Ah—" The leader's eyes widened in disbelief. He lowered his gaze to the blade jutting from his chest, his throat rattling before he collapsed to the ground.

[Life Source +16%]

A warm current flowed into Qin Meng's body, lifting his spirits.

The two remaining masked men saw their leader die and turned to flee in panic. But Zhao Tianhu, Li Tiezhu, and the others surrounded them, and they were quickly killed.

The battle ended, leaving the ground soaked in blood.

[Life Source +1.5%, +1.3%...]

Qin Meng absorbed the invisible energy and surveyed the battlefield. Including the two corpses in the woods, there had been eleven masked attackers in all.

"Thank you, heroes, for coming to our aid!" Qin Meng and his men stepped forward and cupped their fists.

Zhao Tianhu waved a hand, but his gaze settled on Qin Meng. "Young brother, you're quite the fighter. These men didn't look like bandits."

Qin Meng kept his expression neutral. "We're hunters from Bian Fort. We just came from Linshan Town. Maybe someone had their eye on the goods we bought."

"You gentlemen should be careful, too." Wang Tieniu bandaged his wound as he warned them.

"In these chaotic times..." Zhao Tianhu spat. "I thought I heard someone shout 'Leiming Martial Hall' just now?"

Wang Tieniu was about to speak, but Qin Meng answered first. "Brother, my friend was worked up after getting hit and shouted whatever came to mind. Leiming Martial Hall is the biggest martial hall in town and rules the market. Why would they pull a stunt like this?"

Zhao Tianhu gave Qin Meng a long look. "True enough. It must have been a misunderstanding."

Qin Meng saw it all as clearly as a mirror. That day, when he had snatched the prey from the tiger's jaws in the forest, people from the martial hall had been watching nearby. They had been hunted down, and that was what gave him the opportunity.

Zhao Tianhu and his men had shown up here disguised as hunters. That could hardly be a coincidence. It was probably Leiming Martial Hall. Wang Tieniu's angry outburst had reminded them that an enemy's enemy could become a temporary ally.

Qin Meng spoke honestly, giving them a warning in another form. "Things haven't been peaceful in town lately. Leiming Martial Hall took a heavy loss, and its people are checking travelers at every checkpoint. If you're going into town to sell game, you'd best be careful."

A glint flashed in Zhao Tianhu's eyes. He cupped his fists. "Thanks for the warning, young brother. Shall we part ways here?"

"Farewell."

Zhao Tianhu led his men away quickly. He glanced back at Qin Meng, then suddenly called out, "Young brother, the mountains are high and the road is long. I'm sure we'll meet again!"

Qin Meng nodded without a word.

Only after the bandits had gone far away did Li Tiezhu speak in a low voice. "Brother Meng, they..."

"They're from Dawang Mountain," Qin Meng cut him off. "Let's keep what happened today buried in our guts."

"Understood." The others nodded.

The borderlands were chaotic and dangerous. Some things were better understood without being spoken aloud.

"All right, search the battlefield." Qin Meng gave the order again. He skillfully searched the bodies and found some loose silver, then gathered it up along with their weapons.

The masked men were all unfamiliar faces.

Only Li Tiezhu recognized the leader after taking a closer look. "I know him. Last year, I went with my father to the blacksmith's shop in town and saw him there. That guy... he was Sun Qing, a hall leader of the Wild Wolf Gang in town."

"It was definitely those scum from Leiming Martial Hall," Wang Tieniu said bitterly.

"If only we'd kept one alive," Qin Xiaoshan said, his face dark.

"Even if we had, it wouldn't have helped. Lei Jun is arrogant, but he isn't stupid." Qin Meng shook his head. "He only needs to spread the word that we bought a lot of tonics and are carrying a fortune. Plenty of people will come after us."

"There's no proof, and reporting it to the authorities would be useless. We'll settle the score once we're stronger." Qin Meng's thoughts were clear. He looked at Li Tiezhu, Qin Xiaoshan, and the others who had fought beside him, offering an encouraging yet icy smile.

Thinking back on the danger they had faced, everyone nodded firmly.

They dragged the bodies into the depths of the forest. Before half a day had passed, the beasts would clean them up.

After reorganizing their supplies, they set off for home.

The warm sun began to sink toward the west, stretching the shadows of the old pine forest far across the ground. At the edge of the woods, the blood slowly seeped into the soil, as if nothing had ever happened.

Qin Meng walked in front, pulling the drag sled with one hand. He glanced at the wounded Wang Tieniu, then looked back toward the market town, his eyes cold.

Lei Jun... The score from today would be settled sooner or later.

Meanwhile, among the distant mountains, Zhao Tianhu rubbed his chin and smiled at his men. "That kid kills without batting an eye. He's no simple fellow. I can't see through him. Leiming Martial Hall picked a fight with him, and they're going to regret it."

"Boss, why did we help him?"

"Help him?" Zhao Tianhu scoffed. "I was making trouble for Leiming Martial Hall! I lost three brothers on that last hunt. You think I've forgotten that grudge?"

He gazed in the direction Qin Meng and the others had gone, his eyes deep and unreadable. "Besides... most people in Bian Fort come from military households. We can't underestimate them. They might really amount to something. Better to have another friend than another enemy."

"Let's go. We'll head into town and get a good look at what Leiming Martial Hall is really capable of."

Thinking of how someone had stolen the prey from under his nose that day, Zhao Tianhu's eyes turned cold. He waved his hand and led several of his men toward Linshan Town.