But the embarrassed and angry Fanny instantly pinned him down, her little fists raining onto Simon's chest.
Simon did not resist, simply lying there and letting Fanny vent her frustration.
Unlike the cheerful horseplay aboard the Flower-shaped Metal Lifeform, the atmosphere inside the Black Wind Mountain bandit cave not far away was extremely tense.
"So you're saying Quite, the third leader, and the hundred-plus Midgods under his command were just killed like that?"
A bald young man asked coldly.
"Reporting to the chief, when I was fleeing, I looked back once. Third Leader Quite was indeed killed by a female expert who cultivated the Law of Fire. Assisting her was a male Midgod who cultivated the Law of Wind and was highly skilled in speed."
A Midgod bandit who had escaped from the previous battle replied in a trembling voice.
If he had not been positioned behind everyone else at the time, and cultivated the Law of Thunder, which was likewise good at speed, he truly would not have escaped.
Another Midgod who cultivated the Light Element and had escaped alongside him said the same thing.
"A woman with the strength of a Five-Star Fiend, who seemed to have fused two Profound Mysteries of Fire, and a Wind Element Midgod skilled in speed... Hmm, this is somewhat troublesome."
After pondering for a moment, the bald bandit leader looked at another bandit.
"Second Brother, do you have any good way to deal with them?"
"They're just a Five-Star Fiend and a fast Midgod. Third Brother was probably only killed because he underestimated them. With my Gravity Space, that Wind Element brat won't be able to run. As for that Five-Star Fiend, Big Brother's strength should be enough to handle her."
The second bandit leader, who had a head of short earthy-yellow hair, said.
"With the two of us joining forces and the other brothers assisting, capturing them should not be a problem. They dared provoke Black Wind Mountain. We must make them pay the price!"
After saying that, the bald leader led every elite bandit in the cave out at once.
Having heard from the subordinates who escaped that the pair had flown toward Timbu City, the bandits boarded a Black Dragon-shaped Metal Lifeform and moved to intercept them.
To ensure they successfully stopped Simon and Fanny, the bandit leader personally controlled the Metal Lifeform. Under his near-Six-Star Fiend strength, the Black Dragon-shaped Metal Lifeform sped toward Timbu City.
Simon and Fanny, still playing around, had no idea they had stirred up a bandit nest. But even if they had known, they would not have cared.
They would simply kill however many came.
Bandits in Hell were like weeds. No matter how many were killed, new ones would grow back after some time.
Simon even wished the bandits would come in greater numbers and be stronger.
There was still much room for improvement in his ultimate move, and these utterly evil bandits of Hell were perfect whetstones for him.
Encountering an Attack
"Simon, Timbu City is still over thirty million kilometers away. That's so far."
Fanny lay on the sofa, rolling around in boredom.
"There's no helping it. Hell is too vast, while the number of cities is fixed. The distance between every city is extremely great. Our Metal Lifeform can fly two million kilometers a day, which is already considered fast for traveling."
Along the way, Simon and Fanny had encountered several other Metal Lifeforms, but none were nearly as fast as theirs.
It was like the difference between luxury cars and vans on the highway in his previous life. Every Metal Lifeform Fanny used was probably among the very best, with a speed limit far higher than others'. Their intelligence was not low either; once the direction was set and Divine Crystals were loaded, there was no need to manage them further.
"But it'll still take more than ten days to get there."
At first, Fanny had been immersed in the excitement of adventuring through Hell. After a battle in which she had successfully killed a Highgod bandit, she had been especially full of confidence.
But as time passed, the excitement and confidence faded, leaving only boredom. She was not the sort who could patiently cultivate for long. Whenever she was bored, she would play around with Simon, but seeing him cultivating diligently, she felt embarrassed to disturb him too much. Most of the time, she played by herself or stared blankly into space, only cultivating a little when she was truly bored.
Having just arrived in Hell, Simon was not cultivating single-mindedly either. While playing around with Fanny, he also observed Hell's environment.
He discovered that Hell's wilderness was not barren at all. Mountains and rivers, forests and swamps were everywhere, and the resources seemed abundant.
There were many places suitable for living, but due to the lack of order, they were extremely dangerous without powerful experts to protect them. One constantly had to face the threat of bandits.
That was why the population seemed so sparse.
After traveling so far, they should have mostly left Black Wind Mountain's sphere of influence. Over the past few days, Simon and Fanny had occasionally encountered small groups of bandits, but they were all minor gangs composed of Midgods. The moment they saw Highgod Fanny appear, they scattered in terror.
Of course, some blind bandits insisted on robbing them. Simon did not hold back against those ones, directly unleashing Ice Wind Space and slaughtering the Midgod bandits without restraint.
After killing so many, Simon had become numb to it. These Midgod bandits had very few Inkstones, yet they were remarkably bold.
Perhaps they saw that there were only Simon and Fanny aboard the Metal Lifeform and wanted to rely on their numerical advantage. After all, there were weak Highgods too, and over a hundred Midgods joining forces could completely contend with, or even kill, one.
But neither Simon nor Fanny was an easy target. Naturally, they would not be merciful toward such tactless bandits.
Although these insignificant bandits were not very strong, Simon's practical combat experience had still increased greatly after several battles.
Another three days passed. They were now only a few million kilometers from Timbu City. Flying farther ahead would bring them close to the city's protected territory, and even the boldest bandits generally did not dare establish themselves within a hundred thousand kilometers of a city.
That would be no different from regularly spawning monsters for others to farm.
Simon had recently been busy sorting through what he had gained from the recent battles. Although most of them had been one-sided beatdowns, his gains were still immense.
First, he had determined the strength and maximum effective range of Ice Wind Space. After testing it in several battles, Simon found that within a thousand meters around himself, it could maintain its strongest binding force. Beyond that, the binding force rapidly declined, completely vanishing past two thousand meters.
Limited by the fact that Simon was still a Midgod, even though he constantly consumed Soul Golden Beads and Purple Crystals, his soul had yet to grow anywhere near the Midgod limit. The binding force of Ice Wind Space had likewise not been fully unleashed.
After testing it, Simon found that even when he released his Divine Sense with full force in Hell, it could only cover a range of slightly more than a thousand meters, comparable to a Highgod whose soul was only slightly strengthened.
Based on his understanding of Coiling Dragon from his previous life, Simon deduced that the Divine Sense of the most ordinary Highgods could cover roughly a thousand meters. Those with the money to consume Soul Golden Beads or Purple Crystals could strengthen it to around three thousand meters.
That was the limit to which an ordinary Highgod's soul could be strengthened. Even Asuras were the same, provided their race was ordinary and they had not undergone Soul Mutation.
This naturally did not include Paragons. They did not belong in the category of ordinary Highgods.
Indeed, Simon received the same answer when he asked Fanny.
The limit of her soul's coverage was around three thousand two hundred meters.
Simon also remembered that in the original story, Linley had relied on a damaged Soul Defense Sovereign Artifact and absorbed Purple Crystals for several centuries before strengthening his soul to its limit.
Although Simon mostly used Soul Golden Beads, which absorbed quickly, not much time had passed. Additionally, his soul was ten times stronger than that of an ordinary Midgod. Therefore, his soul was still constantly strengthening. Simon estimated that it would take at least several hundred more years to strengthen all three souls to their limits.
He believed that once he became a Highgod, his soul power would surge again. After strengthening his soul with all kinds of treasures, the range and power of Ice Wind Space would certainly rise further as well.
Then there was the Speed Profound Truth. Simon discovered that in battle, being as fast as possible was not necessarily best. After repeatedly reviewing things in his mind, Simon found that alternating between fast and slow, making the enemy unable to grasp his true capabilities, was the ideal approach.
"Sure enough, battle is the only standard for testing strength. If I were still in a Material Plane, I might never see so many Midgods in my entire life, much less fight them and improve my combat experience."
Not long after arriving in Hell, Simon found that he was already beginning to integrate into it. Sure enough, the environment had a huge influence on people.
The formerly refined and elegant Simon now carried a touch of murderous severity.
It was a change in temperament brought about by having too much of the blood of similarly ranked experts on his hands.
Thus, Simon repeatedly reviewed every battle, large and small, that they had encountered along the way, incorporating their essence into his fighting style.
Just as their Flower-shaped Metal Lifeform passed through a canyon, a fierce attack directly blasted apart the Metal Lifeform as it flew at Extreme Speed.
"Who was it? Who blew up my cute, beautiful Metal Lifeform again? I'm definitely going to blow him up!"
Fanny looked furiously and heartbrokenly at the Metal Lifeform that had once again exploded into fragments filling the sky, vowing to make the culprit pay a heavy price.
Simon immediately released his Divine Sense to observe their surroundings.
After searching, Simon did not find any trace of the enemy. Clearly, the other side had come prepared and hidden here in advance.
With that thought, Simon shielded Fanny behind him and vigilantly observed their surroundings with his eyes. In Hell, one's eyes were sometimes more useful than Divine Sense.
After all, the eyesight of gods was not affected by Hell's binding force. With an unobstructed view, they could clearly see people or objects a hundred kilometers away.
"Haha, brat, you're quite cautious."
A booming voice came from within the canyon.
Immediately afterward, two Highgods and over a thousand Midgods appeared ten thousand meters in front of Simon and Fanny.
Seeing how many enemies there were, Simon immediately grew tense and hurriedly said to Fanny.
"Fanny, there are many of them, so don't panic. Once the fight begins, do not move more than a thousand meters away from me. You must remain within my domain. Remember, protecting yourself is the first priority. Killing enemies comes second. Understand?"
Simon said calmly.
"Okay, Simon. I won't run around."
Fanny also knew that the situation was urgent. Seeing so many enemies, she had initially been anxious, but when she saw Simon remain composed and remembered his miraculous domain, she quickly calmed down.
The instant Simon saw the enemy, he unleashed the Ice Mist Battle Armor and the Wall of Illusion, ensuring that he would not be ambushed. At the same time, Ice Wind Space was ready to be activated at any moment.
"You must be from the Black Wind Bandit Group. I didn't expect that the death of just one Highgod would make you mobilize such a force. If you bury your entire bandit group because of one Quite, wouldn't that be quite a loss?"
Simon verbally provoked them. He had learned this from that green-haired bandit: first overwhelm the enemy in momentum.
"You're not very strong, but your mouth is quite tough. It seems you really did kill my third brother. Remember this: I am Romson, chief leader of the Black Wind Bandit Group. Don't die without knowing who killed you."
After saying that, Romson took the lead in charging toward Simon and Fanny. At that moment, Simon also discovered that bandits had already surrounded them on all sides.
Great Battle
It turned out that the bandit chief had secretly ordered his subordinates to surround them while they were exchanging words.
"Damn it, these professional bandits really are more insidious. I still have a lot to learn."
Seeing that the bandits had already rushed into the domain range of Ice Wind Space, Simon did not hesitate and immediately fully expanded his domain.
Fanny burst forth with her movement technique, following close around Simon like a shadow and waiting for an opportunity to strike.
At that moment, a hazy earthy-yellow glow also spread across the battlefield, enveloping Simon and Fanny.
"This is bad, Simon. It's Gravity Space cast by an Earth Element Highgod. Our speed has been greatly affected."
Fanny said anxiously.
"Gravity Space? Don't panic, Fanny. Look at their speed."
Only then did Fanny realize that the Midgod Fiends within Ice Wind Space had already been bound in place, unable to move. Every one of them was frozen in the instant they launched an attack, terror appearing on their faces as well.
They could only attempt to use Soul Attacks, but Midgod Soul Attacks had a very short range and mediocre power. Simon, moving at Extreme Speed, dodged most of them. The few that struck him were neither painful nor itchy and had no effect whatsoever.
As for their chief leader Romson, his speed had now fallen to half of its original level. Upon noticing the abnormality, Romson wanted to retreat and widen the distance, only to discover that it was already too late.
Surrounded by a pale azure glow that offset the binding force of Ice Wind Space, Fanny appeared behind Romson like a ghost.
Although her speed was affected by Gravity Space, Romson was more heavily affected by Ice Wind Space. Comparatively speaking, Fanny still held an absolute advantage in speed.
Her figure flashed explosively, and in an instant, Fanny launched a full-power attack.
Romson, who cultivated the Laws of Darkness, was not skilled in defense to begin with. Although he had fused three Profound Mysteries of the Darkness Element, his strength had only barely reached the level of a Six-Star Fiend.
Before you continue