The Mission in Progress

"Enemy attack!"

"Enemy attack!"

The shrill cries rang out across the entire Howling Wind Valley Bandits' stronghold.

"Who's there? How dare you attack us?" A loud voice rang out across the stronghold.

A bandit force appeared before the fiends. In the middle of the formation stood a burly figure over two meters tall, who roared, "Who are you? How dare you attack the Wind Valley Bandits?"

The burly man in the green robe, Bell, laughed. "Our mission is to wipe you out. You brought this on yourselves by making yourselves too conspicuous. There's no point talking. Die!"

The three Four-Star Fiends waved their hands and engaged the bandit leaders in battle. The other fiends busied themselves with their own missions, while the remaining prospective fiend examinees all moved away from the fighting between the three Four-Star Fiends and went after ordinary bandits.

"Whoosh!" Several soul attacks suddenly shot toward Hodan. A smile tugged at his lips. He'd been wondering where they were. Hodan launched a soul attack of his own, knocking the ordinary bandits out.

Most of these ordinary bandits were Mid-Gods, the elite among their ranks. But the gap between a Mid-God and a Highgod was enormous, especially since Hodan was as strong as a Five-Star Fiend.

Hodan walked over and collected their wrist guards and Space Rings, intending to claim ownership of them once the mission was over.

Hodan was considering killing the bandit leaders to raise his fiend rank, but he decided to observe first and wait for the right moment. After all, he wasn't a fiend yet.

Besides, he wasn't the one applying to raise his fiend rank, so there was no need for him to rush in and steal kills. That would only make people resent him. Unless necessary, Hodan wouldn't do that. He could always step in if the Four-Star Fiends really couldn't handle the fight.

Howling Wind Valley was in complete chaos.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"The bandit's wrist guard is mine!"

"Get lost! I killed him. Go kill someone yourself if you want one."

Chaos here. Chaos everywhere!

Hodan spotted more than a dozen groups fleeing frantically within the range of his divine sense. Several hundred people were scattered across the various parts of the valley. The bandits who had been hiding in rooms were astonished to discover that, however well they'd concealed themselves, they were still plainly visible to Hodan.

They were all walking fortunes. Those who killed and plundered wore gold belts; those who built bridges and roads were left without corpses.

The battle began in an instant!

"Boom!" "Boom!" Explosions of energy, angry shouts, and the sounds of fighting rang out from every part of the stronghold.

Hodan reaped the lives of Mid-Gods like a scythe through grass, while helping himself to their wealth as well.

The battle in Howling Wind Valley was nearing its end. The three leaders were still fighting the three Four-Star Fiends, but the bandit leaders' teamwork was flawless, and the Four-Star Fiends couldn't break through their combined defense.

Hodan watched from a distance with a smile. A battle at this level was quite entertaining to watch. He could also tell that the three Four-Star Fiends were already at a disadvantage. If they had no other trump cards, then given enough time, the three leaders of Howling Wind Valley would certainly kill them.

The other fiends below weren't fools. They were no match for the three leaders, so once they'd completed their respective missions, they quickly flew away. They didn't even know those Four-Star Fiends; they'd only joined them for a mission.

Everyone looked after their own doorstep, caring little about the frost on someone else's roof.

The fiends who had completed their missions all flew back into the Metal Lifeform, waiting to return to Silvermoon City and turn in their missions. Naturally, they weren't going to help the three Four-Star Fiends. Once they were back inside the Metal Lifeform, they were safe. With their strength, the bandits wouldn't dare attack the fiend examiners.

Anyone who dared to do that would need to be at least a Seven-Star Fiend. But if they were that strong, why would they settle for being bandits? They could challenge a City Lord and become one openly. Why sneak around as bandits? It wasn't as if some Asura or Paragon had taken control of their souls and ordered them to amass wealth everywhere.

Hodan, too, simply watched the three Four-Star Fiends fight without the slightest intention of getting involved.

Finally, the three Four-Star Fiends gritted their teeth. Two of them combined their efforts to withstand the bandits' coordinated attack. But they were gravely wounded, blood spurting from their mouths and noses as they staggered backward. Meanwhile, the man in black had prepared his attack.

"Well done! Absolute Zero!"

The man in black plucked a string and loosed an arrow. The arrow, formed from Water Law elements and capable of freezing everything, streaked through the sky toward one of the leaders. He was clearly skilled in the Water Law.

The arrow flew silently. Everything in its path was frozen by Absolute Zero, as if everything in space had come to a complete standstill, with only time continuing to flow.

It seemed they wanted to kill one leader first, then join forces to take down the other two. But the three leaders had worked together for many years. Their coordination was no joke.

No matter how skilled the man in black was with a bow or how accurately he aimed, the other two leaders had reacted by the time the arrow had traveled halfway. They rushed to the rescue. Their attacks were hurried, but the combined force of the three made the arrow turn transparent. The chill that could freeze everything gradually faded along with it.

Seeing that the plan wouldn't work, the man in black seized the moment when the three leaders were busy blocking the arrow and turned into a streak of light, flying toward Silvermoon City. He took the two wounded Four-Star Fiends with him. It seemed they had a good relationship; even as they retreated, he didn't forget to bring them along.

That also meant their mission had failed. But they could tell the difference between a failed mission and losing their lives.

"You destroyed our camp and think you can just leave? Damn it! Kill them!" the three bandit leaders shouted.

The fiend examiners had already taken advantage of the chaos during their surprise attack to kill quite a few bandits.

But the Wind Valley Bandits had over a thousand Mid-Gods. Even after Hodan had killed several hundred, they still had around seven hundred left. When those seven hundred Mid-Gods charged out under their leaders' command, the result was a one-sided slaughter.

The fiends, on the other hand, were in trouble. The Four-Star Fiends had fled, and no one could stand up to the three leaders. The bandits scattered them in every direction. When the fiends and prospective fiends realized the situation was bad, they tried to flee. Of those who had come for the fiend examination, only a handful escaped; the rest had completed their missions during the earlier surprise attack and left.

"Hm? There's still one left here. Kill him to vent our anger."

While the bandits pursued the remaining fiends, the three leaders had already returned to their camp, leaving the chase to their subordinates. If they had to handle everything themselves, what did they need subordinates for? That was when they spotted Hodan, still in the valley.

Hodan was taken aback. He hadn't even planned to go after them, and yet these fellows were more arrogant than he was. Hovering in midair, he smiled at the three leaders. "Do you think I'm as weak as those useless fellows from earlier?"

Hodan had once been timid and cautious, afraid that one wrong step would reduce him to ashes. But his strength gave him confidence. With his current abilities, he had every right to disregard the arrogance of these bandits.

The three leaders' eyes filled with even greater contempt. Each was individually as strong as a Four-Star Fiend, but together they were comparable to the strongest among ordinary Five-Star Fiends. They had every reason to be proud. Hodan knew little about battle formations, but he did know one way to break them: use overwhelming strength. It didn't matter what formation they used; he'd wipe them all out.

Although most of the bandits had gone after the examinees, quite a few had stayed behind. To keep these ordinary bandits from interfering, Hodan unleashed a wide-area soul attack and knocked them all out.

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