Sweeping Up Resources

Inside the Village Chief's residence.

The Village Chief viciously yanked at his hair and said hoarsely, "Mu Qing, Mu Feng, Mu Jian—are they not back yet?"

In merely a few short hours, first, warriors from Rebirth Land had assaulted the western village. Then Mu Le led men in pursuit, while he himself led people out of the village, leaving only his younger brother Mukai behind to guard it.

Then the northeastern village came under attack as well, and he knew he had fallen for their trick. That Rebirth Warrior from before had merely been bait, and he hurriedly led his men back.

Yet he had still been too late. His younger brother had died a miserable death right before his eyes. He had sent Mu Qing and the others to pursue the enemy—three Fifth-Ranks and twenty-four Fourth Grade experts—and none had returned so far.

The people who had pursued the Rebirth Warrior ahead of them had returned, but only Mu Tuo had brought the severely wounded Mu He back. Mu Le and Mu Yi had also died, and their opponent had escaped.

"Village Chief, there's still no news."

Mu Tuo swallowed, his voice trembling slightly as well.

For one, he feared the Village Chief's wrath. For another, he was truly afraid. The Rebirth Warrior he had pursued had fought as though he did not value his life at all, trading wounds for lives. He had not cared how badly injured he was, forcibly killing Mu Le, a Fifth-Rank Mid, before they arrived.

When they saw the gravely injured Rebirth Warrior and the already dead Mu Le, they had immediately begun pursuing the Rebirth Warrior without the slightest hesitation.

Three against one severely wounded Fourth Grade Peak—what was there to fear?

Yet before long, Mu Yi had died too. A while later, Mu He had also been heavily wounded. He had become afraid and had not dared continue the pursuit.

If he kept chasing, he would most likely be the one to die!

He had not lived long enough yet! He had hurriedly fled for his life with Mu He.

"Three Fifth-Rank experts, plus twenty-four Fourth Grades—how could they have lost contact? Even if they failed to catch that Fourth Grade Rebirth thief, they should have sent someone back with a report."

The Village Chief spoke in a low voice. His eyes were filled with exhaustion and bloodshot veins. A bad omen rose in his heart. Only three Fifth-Ranks and seven Fourth Grades remained in the village, and Mu He among them was severely injured.

If Mu Qing and the others had truly been wiped out to the last man, then they would be in grave danger.

At that thought, the Village Chief hurriedly ordered, "Mu Tuo, go find Lord Mu Li at once. Explain the village's current situation and request reinforcements."

Mu Li was an expert who had risen from their village. He served as a War General in Demonwood City, and it was because of him that the village had managed to retain so many mid-rank experts to the greatest extent possible.

Without him, half the village's experts would have been conscripted by Demonwood City.

Mu Tuo hesitated somewhat. Nights in the Underground Cave were far from peaceful, and traveling now was extremely dangerous.

Seeing Mu Tuo dawdling, the Village Chief slammed his palm down on the table and roared, "Hurry up! It'll be too late once day breaks!"

The table could not withstand the force and shattered apart beneath the blow, wood chips flying everywhere.

"Yes!"

Gritting his teeth, Mu Tuo hurriedly agreed, turned, and raced toward Demonwood City.

After watching Mu Tuo leave, the Village Chief told Mu He to recover from his injuries as quickly as possible, then ordered the remaining Fourth Grades to take some warriors and begin patrolling.

Staring at the darkness blanketing the outside, the Village Chief collapsed into his chair.

"I hope we can make it through tonight."

Outside the village.

Su Yi and Fu Yinghao had arrived.

A great number of Energy Lamps had already been lit throughout the village, and teams of warriors were patrolling everywhere.

"Looks like we can only force our way in and kill them," Fu Yinghao said with a smile as he watched the warriors constantly patrolling the village.

Su Yi chuckled. "Didn't we expect this already? Just kill!"

The Underground Cave's warriors were not idiots. With so many experts failing to return for so long, they would certainly have taken precautions.

With that, the two charged straight at the village.

"Kagu!"

"The thieves from Rebirth Land are here again!"

"Get people here, quickly!"

"..."

The Underground Cave warriors on patrol immediately spotted Su Yi and Fu Yinghao, who made no attempt to conceal themselves. They sent out signals and charged at the two.

Inside the main hall, the Fifth-Rank High Stage sitting in a chair heard the commotion at once.

"So they still came?"

The Fifth-Rank High Stage rose to his feet, viciously rubbed his face, and rushed out with his broadsword in hand.

Su Yi cleaved the Fourth Grade Mid before him to death with one stroke, then continued toward the next target. Sensing the Fifth-Rank High Stage's arrival, he shouted, "The Fifth-Rank High Stage is here! Kill faster!"

"Kagu!"

By the time the Fifth-Rank High Stage reached the village entrance, the patrolling warriors had nearly all been slaughtered. He roared and charged at Su Yi with his blade raised.

It was this Rebirth Land bastard who had killed his younger brother.

"Kill!"

Su Yi flashed aside, dodging the heavy blade hacked down by the Fifth-Rank High Stage warrior. With a fierce shout, he charged straight at him.

His Spiritual Power surged forth in intimidation as the longsword in his hand came crashing down without mercy.

The Fifth-Rank Abyss Warrior froze for a moment. When he came back to himself and saw the Sword Qi descending upon him, he hurriedly twisted aside.

The longsword sliced through the air, and a crimson Sword Light struck his shoulder.

Seeing that his previous strike had missed the head, Su Yi swiftly changed moves, turning the chop into a slicing cut.

"Die!"

Su Yi roared, desperately pouring Blood Qi into his sword as he slashed at his opponent.

At that moment, the Fifth-Rank High Stage warrior opposite him was filled with horror.

Su Yi's previous attack had exploded within his body, already leaving him somewhat injured. He was not at the Fifth-Rank Peak, and his body had yet to be fully tempered.

He had never expected Su Yi to launch another attack so quickly.

He leaned backward, trying to retreat and evade Su Yi's attack.

But how could Su Yi let him escape so easily? Sword Light swept from his blade, slashing directly toward the man's head.

At that moment, the Fifth-Rank High Stage warrior desperately raised his weapon, trying to block it.

Bang!!

The blazing crimson Sword Light ripped through the air, sending his weapon flying before cutting across his chest.

At the final moment, he had managed to use his weapon to deflect Su Yi's attack. Though a wound had appeared on his chest, it was not a serious injury for a Fifth-Rank High Stage warrior.

Just as he burst forward, intending to rush toward his weapon and continue the fight—

Su Yi had already charged at him once more, gathering his Spiritual Power to intimidate him again as the longsword in his hand came down.

Crack...

The Abyss Warrior's head was cleanly severed and sent flying.

Having dealt with the Fifth-Rank High Stage warrior, Su Yi looked toward Fu Yinghao.

Of the three Fourth-Rank warriors besieging him, only the last one remained alive.

Seeing that the Fifth-Rank High Stage warrior had died, despair appeared in the eyes of that Fourth Grade Mid warrior. He ignored Fu Yinghao's attack and did not counterattack. Instead, he fiercely struck his own heart. A sound like shattering glass rang out, and the Fourth Grade Mid warrior slowly fell to the ground.

Fu Yinghao withdrew his attacking sword, stunned for a moment before shaking his head.

He had seen this situation many times. Before dying, many Abyss Warriors would contaminate their own Energy Stones and shatter their own hearts.

This was the main reason why so few resources could be obtained. Unless they were killed outright, it was difficult to stop Abyss Warriors from committing suicide.

The death of the Fifth-Rank High Stage warrior had already shattered the Fourth Grade Mid warrior's mental defenses. He was bound to die, and since he was going to die, he could not let them obtain more resources.

Su Yi was also slightly stunned. He knew that there were those who committed suicide like this, but this was still the first time he had seen it.

"Keep killing. Don't dwell on it."

"Alright. We'll kill our way through. It's strange that there was only one Fifth-Rank High Stage warrior here. I wonder if the others went to call for reinforcements. Split up, gather resources quickly, and leave as soon as possible."

Su Yi nodded and reminded him.

With that, Su Yi charged directly toward the home of the Fifth-Rank High Stage warrior. As the strongest one, he was certain to possess the most resources.

Fu Yinghao likewise headed off in a different direction from Su Yi, slaughtering his way into the village.

"Run! The Village Chief is dead! They're all dead! Run..."

"The demons from Rebirth Land are here!"

"Ah!"

Along the way, the ordinary Underground Cave Humans scattered in panic upon seeing Su Yi approach. Some Lower Three Grades warriors also began fleeing. The Fourth- and Fifth-Rank powerhouses were all dead; there was no way they could stop a powerhouse from Rebirth Land.

They fled madly, screaming and howling, their faces filled with panic and terror.

All the villagers began fleeing for their lives in every direction.

A trace of pity flashed through Su Yi's eyes, but the sword in his hand did not stop. If there was anyone to blame, blame this cruel world.

They were enemies to begin with. How could he spare them?

If he spared them, who knew how many of his compatriots would die or be injured once they grew stronger?

This was a war between races. Every one he killed meant a little less pressure on the front lines.

He prioritized killing the Underground Cave Humans who had already become warriors, then the young and strong, and finally...

Charging into the Fifth-Rank High Stage warrior's home, he began collecting resources—books, Energy Stones, medicinal pills, Energy Fruits, and the like. Anything of value was swept into his storage space.

An hour later, the sky in the underground cave brightened. Carrying a large sack over his shoulder, Su Yi found Fu Yinghao, who was still gathering resources.

In just one hour, they had not managed to collect many resources from the village. However, Su Yi had prioritized the homes of Mid-Rank warriors. Aside from the sack on his back, his storage space was also piled with quite a bit of supplies.

"Did you find any trace of the Fifth-Rank warrior? I killed that severely injured Fifth-Rank one."

Su Yi asked directly. He had only found a severely wounded Fifth-Rank High Stage fighter in his home. When he found him, the man was slumped on the bed, clutching an Energy Stone as he healed his injuries. Su Yi had casually killed him with a single slash.

"Didn't find him."

Fu Yinghao was also carrying a sack stuffed full in his hand, his expression somewhat grave.

One Fifth-Rank martial artist was missing. If he had fled, that was one thing—but if he had gone to call for reinforcements, they would likely have to leave as soon as possible.

Su Yi frowned tightly and said with some pain in his heart, "Let's go. Abandon the remaining resources and return to Hope City first."

Although there was still a vast amount of resources left uncollected, safety came first. Su Yi painfully chose to give them up. The resources he had harvested so far were not few either.

Fu Yinghao's face was also full of anguish. This was a large village of more than two thousand people, yet they had only been collecting for an hour.

Human martial artists were all poor. These were the resources of an entire village.

But if they were blocked by Abyss Warriors, carrying such a huge haul of resources, they would have no way to escape.

As for throwing away the resources and running, Fu Yinghao had never even considered it. Hadn't they worked so hard precisely for these resources?

Fu Yinghao hesitated for a moment before immediately agreeing.

Resources could be found again, but a person only had one life.

The two of them hoisted their sacks and immediately returned to the Stronghold on the northern mountain peak, dug out the resources they had hidden earlier, and headed back to Hope City.