The first wave was a material attack, and the second was a soul attack.
After launching their long-range attacks, Robson and the other two Highgod bandits observed the casualties among Kenchi's caravan from the side.
Seeing that the two waves had only killed a small number of Midgod Fiends, Robson was dissatisfied. He immediately charged at Tara, while the other two Highgod bandits moved to surround Fanny.
In Robson's eyes, Tara was the greatest threat in the caravan, followed by Fanny. That was why he used every means at his disposal to attack Tara first.
Simon and the others had been prepared. The instant the bandits made their move, they had already pulled away, and only a few stray attacks struck them. No one was seriously hurt.
Afterward, Elno and the others charged at the bandits according to their previously arranged tactics.
Simon and Fanny also joined the melee.
Although Tara was only a Three-Star Fiend, he had independently cultivated to become a Highgod. His strength was not poor, and his combat experience was incomparably rich. He faced Robson without the slightest fear.
Both Tara and Robson had independently cultivated to become Highgods, but neither had fused any Profound Mysteries. As a result, neither their material attacks nor their soul attacks were particularly strong.
Moreover, Tara cultivated the Laws of Water and specialized in defense, while Robson cultivated the Law of Light and specialized in speed and soul attacks. The two clashed in an instant.
Yet neither Robson's soul attacks nor his material attacks could break through Tara's defenses. He could only rely on his speed advantage to kite Tara.
Tara, meanwhile, fearlessly received every attack. They were all within his limits, and he could endure them for as long as necessary.
He attacked Robson as well, but his attacks merely scratched the other man.
Likewise, Robson could do nothing to Tara, and the two fell into a stalemate.
Fanny, on the other hand, was confronted by two Highgod bandits.
However, both of these Highgods had fused Godheads, and their strength was quite ordinary. At the start, they only unleashed their Highgod Domains to assist their subordinates in attacking the caravan.
But those who had undergone the Fiend Examination were hardly pushovers. They each raised their own God Domains, reducing the influence of the two men's Godhead Domains to a minimum.
Seeing that their methods were useless, the two Highgod bandits could only grit their teeth and fight Fanny.
At that moment, Fanny was thoroughly enjoying herself as she slaughtered Midgod bandits. She even remembered to boast about her achievements to Simon through Soul Transmission.
Simon harvested bandits with his speed advantage while keeping his full attention on Fanny.
He did not want to use Ice Wind Space to end the battle yet. He needed more real combat experience to trigger deeper insights into the laws.
Thus, he held the Wind-Annihilation Longsword and fought with the Speed Profound Truth and Sigh of the Wind, while keeping the defenses around his body and within his mind fully prepared.
While harvesting bandits, Simon noticed two furtive figures approaching Fanny.
He instantly used Divine Sense to warn Fanny, then flashed over to her side and joined her.
"We'll take one each. I'll handle the blond one. You deal with the other."
After saying that, Simon fully unleashed his movement technique and charged at the blond bandit.
At first, the blond man had feared Fanny, a Highgod Fiend. But when he saw a Midgod charging at him, he only thought Simon had lost his mind.
He casually swung his longsword while circulating the Profound Mystery of Dimension from the Law of Wind, slashing at Simon.
Seeing that his opponent also cultivated the Law of Wind and was using the Profound Mystery of Dimension, which Simon had not yet grasped, Simon decided to exchange a few more moves with him.
Because the blond man's longsword only contained the Profound Mystery of Dimension, his sword speed was not especially fast. Simon used a movement technique fused from three Profound Mysteries to easily dodge it, then thrust at him with Sigh of the Wind.
The blond man had not expected the Midgod before him to evade his full-force strike so effortlessly.
All contempt vanished from his heart. He only felt that he seemed to have encountered someone he could not afford to provoke.
As if confirming his guess, Simon's ghostly sword thrust toward his head. Sigh of the Wind, fused with three Profound Mysteries, possessed tremendous attack power. Even using only Wind Divine Power, it caused violent ripples to spread through Hell's space.
Feeling the terrifying destructive power within that strike, the blond man's heart turned bitter.
"What kind of monster is this? A Midgod's attack is actually this powerful."
Though helpless, he could only use the Profundity of Speed with all his strength and raise his sword in an attempt to block Simon.
But the blond man only barely blocked the first strike through his divine power advantage. Simon's second strike then bypassed his sword and pierced directly into his forehead.
The Highgod Artifact armor on the blond man's body might as well have been nonexistent. Simon's Wind-Annihilation Longsword felt only the slightest resistance before breaking through his Divine Armor with another burst of force, stabbing into his Godhead and shattering the blond man's soul.
Thus, a Highgod bandit was killed in fewer than two moves beneath Simon's blade.
At the same time, Fanny also finished off the other Highgod bandit. Her victory was even simpler. Though he had fused a Water Element Highgod Godhead, he had not fused even a trace of any Profound Mystery. He could not block even one casual strike from Fanny, and she cleaved apart his head, ending his wicked life.
Napote and the others, who had been defending together nearby, felt greatly reassured when they saw Simon and Fanny fighting so fiercely.
"Wonderful, Simon! You killed a Highgod with just two swords! You're incredible!"
Hamut shouted excitedly.
Robson, who was still fighting Tara, looked over upon hearing this and was instantly scared out of his wits. He had originally intended for those two men to hold Fanny back. Once he dealt with Tara, he would join them in fighting Fanny.
But now, it seemed that Fanny's side was actually the caravan's true top combat force.
Treatment for the Strong
Robson no longer intended to continue the attack. Having lost two Highgod subordinates, he knew the situation was hopeless and only wanted to flee immediately.
He instantly blew a whistle signaling retreat.
Upon hearing the sound, the bandits began fighting as they retreated.
Robson also looked for an opportunity to slip away.
But Fanny and Simon had no intention of letting him leave so easily.
The two closed in from both sides. With Tara tying him down, Robson could not find any chance to escape. Left with no choice, he could only fight head-on.
But he possessed, at most, the strength of a Four-Star Fiend. How could he possibly be Fanny's match?
Simon did not even need to intervene. Fanny found an opening and swung her shortsword like lightning, instantly killing Robson.
The bandits watching the battlefield saw that all three of their leaders had fallen. They lost all will to fight and erupted with their full strength as they tried to flee.
Seeing the bandits scattering in every direction, Simon had no intention of using his domain to pursue them.
After seeing enough of such things, he had realized that many Midgod bandits were not acting entirely of their own will. If they could escape, then he would let them go.
Napote, Elno, and the others, however, showed no mercy to the bandits. They all attacked with full force, killing the fleeing men.
Elno truly deserved to be called an expert of the Law of Death. Grayish-white light repeatedly shot from his eyes, and nine out of every ten bandits struck by it were killed. The remaining one, whose soul defense was strong, was instantly slain by Lona with a material attack from her blade.
Napote also followed beside Lona, pursuing the bandits with all his strength. Hamut transformed into lightning and darted around Elno, protecting him while finishing off any survivors.
Very quickly, the bandits who had lost their leaders were slaughtered by the elite Fiends of the caravan. Only a small number of the swiftest ones escaped, simply because there had been too many of them for Tara and the other Fiends to kill them all.
Like Simon, Fanny had little interest in chasing down those Midgod bandits.
"This Green Wolf Bandit Group was so weak, yet they dared imitate others and rob travelers. They deserved to be wiped out."
Elno put away his spoils and walked over to Simon and Fanny.
Simon smiled and nodded. "This bandit group really was too weak. They did not even have a Five-Star Fiend."
"Still, Simon, it's truly incredible that you killed a Highgod as a Midgod. I, Elno, have gone through several Two-Star missions, but this is the first time I've personally seen a freak like you."
Elno clicked his tongue in amazement. He had only heard legends of such things before. He had never expected one to unfold right beside him.
He felt an intense sense of unreality.
Simon had killed a Highgod bandit so casually. Although they had previously guessed that Simon's strength far exceeded that of ordinary Highgods, speculation was still speculation. The shock of seeing it happen was far greater than they had imagined.
"He was only a Highgod who fused a Godhead. If Napote and Lona found an opening, they would have a chance to kill him as well."
Simon replied modestly.
"Haha, Simon, don't flatter the two of us. Don't we know our own strength?"
At that moment, Lona flew over with Napote and said with a smile.
"Oh? Since when did you become so modest, Lona? Your material attacks really are strong. They feel almost comparable to Lord Tara's."
Hamut, who had finished cleaning up the battlefield, came over and teased her.
"Lord Tara primarily cultivates the Laws of Water. It is normal for his material attacks not to be strong," Lona said.
"And a Highgod who fused a Godhead is still a Highgod. Their Divine Bodies, souls, and domains are all ten times stronger than ours. At most, my material attacks can compare to those of the weakest Highgods. I still could not withstand their attacks."
"If a Midgod wants to defeat a Highgod, they must either be an exceptionally gifted Divine Beast or a monstrous Midgod like Simon, who has fused at least three Profound Mysteries."
Lona sighed. She had once thought that Highgods who fused Godheads were nothing special. But after the previous Fiend Examination and this battle, she had personally seen Midgods whom she once considered powerful get targeted by such Highgods and killed within a few moves. That instantly sobered her up.
If she or Napote faced one alone, just the Highgod's Godhead Domain would be enough to give them a terrible time, let alone killing one.
If the two of them were together, they would most likely be able to escape.
Only Simon possessed two Midgod divine clones. Moreover, they had heard that his attainments in the Laws of Water were not much lower than those in the Law of Wind. With both divine clones working together, he did not fear Highgod Domains. If they attacked together, killing those inferior Highgods would be even easier.
Only now did they truly begin to understand Simon's strength.
It was not just Lona and the others. The entire caravan had now discovered how powerful Simon and Fanny were.
Fanny was one thing. She was a Highgod, after all, so it was only natural for her to be stronger.
But Simon was clearly still a Midgod, yet he killed Highgods even more easily than Tara did.
"I never realized Lord Simon possessed such abilities. Please forgive my earlier disrespect. I will have to rely on you three lords, as well as all the Fiend brothers, for the rest of this journey. Once we reach Lier City, I will certainly offer everyone a generous reward."
The merchant Kenchi also walked over and spoke respectfully to Simon.
He had not expected to encounter bandits led by Highgods just after the journey began. He had originally wanted to save some Inkstone by hiring one fewer Highgod Fiend.
But looking at the situation now, if he had not been fortunate enough to encounter Fanny and Simon, this business venture would most likely have failed. If his luck had been any worse, even losing his life would not have been impossible.
That was why he respected and valued Fanny and Simon so highly. Inkstone could be earned again, but once a life was gone, everything was gone.
And with the strength Simon had displayed, calling him "Lord" was perfectly appropriate. In Hell, strength had always commanded respect, and Kenchi greatly admired powerful individuals.
"It's simply our duty. You needn't worry about it, Kenchi."
Simon replied casually.
That calm and detached manner made Fanny swoon. Hehe, the man I chose really is different.
Fanny knew that Simon still had a domain ultimate technique he had not used. If he had used it, not a single member of this insignificant Green Wolf Bandit Group would have escaped. Simon alone could have wiped them all out.
The other One-Star and Two-Star Fiends also looked at Simon differently now.
Their gazes had become reverent and fearful.
They had not expected Simon to be so powerful. But when they thought of carrying out a mission alongside such an expert, they could not help feeling secretly delighted. At the very least, their safety had increased by far too much.
Before you continue