Zong Shen had no intention of showing these marauders any mercy.
To him, they were nothing more than monsters.
At least, he had that much figured out.
He gently patted Old Travel Horse on the head.
The two of them continued forward.
They soon reached the outskirts of the Bandit Camp.
At once, the marauders rose to their feet, their eyes turning toward them, cruel and vacant.
Zong Shen focused his gaze on them.
[Fallen Bandit lv3] [Race: Human] [Slash Damage: 13–19] [Health: 115] [Armor: 5] [Skills: None]
The attributes of these dozen or so marauders were nearly identical.
Only one was a little stronger: a marauder wearing Leather Armor and carrying a battered cleaver with a small piece broken off its tip.
[Fallen Bandit Leader lv5] [Race: Human] [Slash Damage: 19–23] [Health: 150] [Armor: 16] [Skill: Wild Slash (slashes at a target 2–3 times in quick succession)]
Aside from the leader, who was fairly sturdy, the rest of the marauders were as weak as they came.
Just as Luna had said.
They were nothing to worry about.
When Zong Shen and Luna reached the edge of the camp, they seemed to have triggered the marauders' alert.
The marauders rose to their feet and, without saying a word, advanced toward Zong Shen with their weapons in hand.
"Go, Luna!"
Zong Shen had already drawn his Kite Shield and One-handed Sword.
He pointed the blade straight at the marauders!
Luna received Zong Shen's order.
The Black Panther beneath her leaped into the air, covering several meters in a single bound before landing in front of the marauders.
She flung the Triple-Arc Moon Glaive from her hand!
It ricocheted among the marauders three times.
Three sprays of bright red blood burst into the air.
[-52]
[-26]
[-13]
Three progressively smaller damage numbers appeared above the heads of three different marauders.
That was the Moon Glaive's passive effect!
"Kill!"
The marauders showed no fear at all.
It seemed these really were proper humanoid monsters.
Instead, the marauders charged at Luna.
"The killing begins!"
Luna's lips curled into a cruel yet captivating smile.
She was no ornament. She was a hunter of the jungle, a warrior who ranged freely across the battlefield, a rose nourished by blood. Her place was amid the slaughter of war.
The Black Panther leaped about, constantly changing position.
Each time it landed, the Moon Glaive whirled through the air, sending sprays of blood flying.
It was a strange sort of bloody romance.
After several rounds of attacks like that,
half the marauders had been killed.
Like the Grassland Wolves Zong Shen had slain, the marauders turned into balls of white light. The things that burst from them shrank into little blocks and fell to the ground, while their bodies sank into the soil in an instant.
Zong Shen stood with his arms folded, silently watching the slaughter.
He didn't join in.
Nor did he feel the slightest discomfort.
Luna was more than capable of dealing with these marauders.
The Black Panther was nimble, leaping and weaving in every direction. The marauders couldn't even touch the hem of her clothes.
With the powerful ricocheting Moon Glaive, she made short work of them.
The Black Panther also bit down on them from time to time.
Calm, graceful, powerful!
Honestly, if Zong Shen had to face the Huntress right now, he would surely be defeated.
To him, these marauders were just humanoid monsters. He felt no sentimental guilt or pressure about killing them.
From the moment he had landed in this world, he had understood that the world had changed.
System notifications kept appearing in the lower-right corner of his vision.
[Your subordinate, Night Huntress, killed Fallen Bandit lv3. You will receive half the experience.] ... ...
A flash of white light, and Zong Shen leveled up!
Not long afterward, another flash of white light appeared.
It seemed he could also earn half the experience when his soldiers killed monsters.
Just as the Strategy Guide said, once his forces were established,
he could simply lie back and level up while his hired muscle did the work.
Zong Shen stood still, lost in thought.
Under the Huntress's hand, the dozen or so marauders hadn't lasted three minutes.
Only the Fallen Bandit Leader held out a little longer.
But under Luna's hit-and-run attacks, it took less than ten seconds for him to turn into a beam of white light and vanish completely.
Luna rode the Black Panther around to make sure no other marauders were hiding nearby before returning to Zong Shen.
"My lord, we've wiped out the entire bandit gang!"
Zong Shen nodded.
"Thanks for your efforts, Luna!"
"Let's see what loot these marauders left behind."
Riding Old Travel Horse, Zong Shen entered the camp.
As soon as he stepped inside, a foul, pungent stench of urine and feces hit him.
There was also a strong smell of blood.
He went over to the bonfire.
The next moment, he saw something that made his stomach turn.
The ground was soaked with blood, strewn with clots, scraps, and bits of flesh,
and a charred, mutilated corpse was skewered on a wooden pole nearby.
These marauders had been eating people!
Zong Shen swallowed.
Even with his exceptionally strong ability to adapt, the sight made him deeply uncomfortable at first glance.
"Luna, burn that corpse."
Zong Shen turned away from the bonfire and headed for the few crude tents.
Still on horseback, he slashed open a tent with his One-handed Sword.
Inside the first tent, resources were scattered about. He had no idea whether the marauders had gathered them or stolen them.
Zong Shen waved his hand and collected everything into his personal Storage Grid.
[Wood ×23] [Stone ×15] [Hemp Rope ×3] [Hemp ×15] [Iron ×10] [Copper ×3] [Money ×380] [Primary Elemental Crystal ×1] [Unknown Dried Meat ×23]
He had secured a haul of supplies.
A lord's personal Storage Grid started with 20 slots. Zong Shen had previously put a point into Item Management, which added 6 slots, giving him 26 slots in all.
With the 24-slot Kodo Beast Leather Backpack as well, Zong Shen could carry quite a few resources.
Among the supplies was some Unknown Dried Meat. Zong Shen couldn't tell what kind of meat it was yet.
But it would make excellent food for the Black Panther and Giant Wolf.
Then Zong Shen headed for another tent.
This one was also the largest.
Just as he was about to slash it open with his sword,
he suddenly saw the tent move.
"Someone's in there?"
Zong Shen hesitated.
"Mmgh! Mmgh!"
At that moment, muffled sobbing came from inside the tent.
Zong Shen planted the Kite Shield in front of him,
covering most of his body.
He raised his sword and cut through the hemp rope securing the top of the tent!
The entire sheet of white canvas came tumbling down.
The inside of the tent was laid bare.
Zong Shen peered over the edge of his Kite Shield and froze.
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