Bandit Gang!

Zhuge Ming watched the two reminisce without disturbing them.

He lay down on the bed and began considering the next phase of his plan.

Nanyang Village was now under his control.

There were three more villages east of Nanyang Village, and they would be his next targets.

However, now that he had two Super Douluo, there was no need to rush this matter.

After all, capturing territory did not mean everything was settled.

How to manage that territory effectively and make it serve its proper purpose was equally important.

Of course, managing a small village of just over a hundred people was not particularly difficult.

He only needed to leave it to Village Chief Zhuge Zhong and Captain Gasen.

However, before attacking the next village, he needed to investigate its population, number of soldiers, and whether any hidden soul masters were present.

Gathering such intelligence would take time.

He immediately got up and left the house, heading to find Captain Gasen and learn the general situation in the other villages...

Meanwhile.

In the Odesir Mountains south of Nanyang Village.

A group of bandits who had just fled from the Star Luo Empire was operating in the mountains near Nanyang Village.

Inside a cave.

The campfire crackled, casting shadows of varying lengths across the rocky walls.

A broad-shouldered, powerfully built man sat atop a slab of bluestone.

Several old scars ran across his muscular arms.

His bell-like eyes gleamed with ferocity.

A broad-bladed machete hung at his waist, dark red patterns flowing across its blade.

Niu Chu swept his gaze over the dozen or so underlings in the cave and noticed that every one of them looked utterly defeated.

His expression darkened sharply.

He suddenly drew the machete from his waist and cleaved a large boulder with a single strike.

Crack!

The boulder split into two instantly with a dull boom, startling all the bandits!

Niu Chu swept his cold gaze over the crowd and roared:

"Get your spirits up, damn it! So what if those idiots from Star Luo drove us out of the empire?!

"As long as we're alive, with my strength as a Rank 39 Soul Elder, we'll rise again sooner or later!"

Niu Chu's words immediately improved the previously lifeless atmosphere.

At that moment, a figure suddenly rushed in from outside the cave, moving as swiftly as a hungry wolf!

The figure quickly stopped before Niu Chu—and he truly looked like a werewolf!

But as the soul power around him faded, he soon reverted to human form.

He had clearly just been in a martial soul possession state.

The man was named Han Feng. He was a two-ringed Grand Soul Master whose martial soul was Lone Wolf, and he was the second-in-command of this bandit gang.

Because he excelled at speed and reconnaissance, he was usually the one who personally went out to gather information.

Han Feng glanced at the split boulder, then at the underlings whose spirits had recovered, and said to Niu Chu with a smile:

"Big Brother, good news! There's a small village southwest of Langya City.

"It only has a little over a hundred residents, and only around twenty soldiers are stationed there. The strongest among them is merely a one-ringed soul master!

"Though it isn't large, its location is quite good!

"We can take that village first and use it as our base.

"Then we can gradually expand our power!"

Niu Chu's spirits lifted. He hurriedly rose to his feet and threw back his head in laughter.

"Brothers! Did you hear that? We've got work!

"I heard there are far more women than men in the Pelagi Kingdom.

"So most of the women in that village must be young and ripe!

"Tonight, we'll hit that village!

"When the time comes, you can all blow off some steam!"

Niu Chu easily roused the formerly dispirited morale by appealing to men's most primal desires!

The dozen or so lackeys immediately began howling excitedly.

Some even started publicly performing Michael Jackson's signature crotch-thrusting move!

But when these bandits did it, it looked utterly obscene!

Yet for these crude bandits, some of the things they had done were a thousand times more vile than that!

Sharp, grating lewd laughter occasionally echoed through the dark cave...

Nanyang Village.

After Guan Yu and Zhao Yun finished catching up, Zhuge Ming had them lead some soul power soldiers to set up defenses around the village.

With two Super Douluo like Guan Yu and Zhao Yun present,

unless other Super Douluo came in person, it would be difficult under normal circumstances for anyone to threaten their village.

But they had to worry about people too weak for Guan Yu and Zhao Yun to notice quietly sneaking into the village.

Even if they could sense those people's presence, it would be difficult to determine what they intended to do or whether they would harm the villagers.

This was where ordinary soldiers and soul power soldiers could serve as an effective warning system.

Before he realized it, night had arrived.

Although their village had been liberated and they no longer had to bear the immense physical and psychological pressure of the past,

the villagers remembered Zhao Yun's words and did not hold a grand celebration for their liberation.

Instead, every household celebrated secretly in their own homes.

The same was true for Zhuge Ming's family.

Zhou Xuan and Zhuge Tong prepared a lavish dinner and even slaughtered a hen that usually laid eggs.

For Zhuge Ming, who had rarely eaten meat during the past six years, it was a hearty meal.

Even though the roast chicken had not been seasoned much, he still found it incredibly delicious!

After dinner, Zhuge Ming went for a walk through the village.

Only the last traces of the sun's glow remained, slanting across the thatched roofs and reflecting a captivating radiance.

As Zhuge Ming passed each household, he could hear cheerful laughter from nearly every home.

Only when he passed Zhuge Yan's house did a strong stench of blood and rot drift out from within.

Village Chief Zhuge Zhong had already led people to deal with Zhuge Yan's corpse, which had been flattened into a meat patty.

They planned to burn the house down along with it tomorrow, both to disinfect the place and to erase all traces that Zhuge Yan had ever existed.

Zhuge Ming looked at Zhuge Yan's house and shook his head with a sigh.

A person needed great strength to deal with those who were always bullying them.

If he had not awakened the Records of the Three Kingdoms martial soul and received Zhao Yun's help,

he could only have watched helplessly as his mother became that man's woman...

Only the strong could make the rules.

The weak could only obey them!

Zhuge Ming took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

He raised his head and looked at the star-filled sky, guessing that tomorrow would be fine weather.

After taking one last look at the soul power soldiers guarding the village perimeter, he returned home to rest with peace of mind...

Before he realized it, the night had reached its latter half.

A group of bandits quietly arrived near the village.

They were Niu Chu's group, who had been hiding in the cave during the day.

Han Feng, the second-in-command with the Lone Wolf martial soul, once again entered martial soul possession.

Using Lone Wolf's night vision, he inspected the guards around the village.

Soon, he frowned and said to Niu Chu beside him:

"Big Brother, something's not right..."

Niu Chu's expression darkened, and he quickly asked:

"What's wrong?"

Han Feng replied gravely:

"I learned from the other villages that Nanyang Village should only have a little over twenty soldiers.

"But now, there are more than fifty soldiers guarding the village perimeter alone!

"And they're fully armed, standing perfectly straight without showing the slightest sign of fatigue.

"Could they have learned in advance that we were coming and sent reinforcements?"

After hearing this, Niu Chu immediately sneered.

"So what if they have more soldiers? It's not like we haven't seen how pathetic the Pelagi Kingdom's soldiers are! They're practically all cannon fodder!

"We're noble soul masters. Taking on a bunch of useless soldiers without even soul power is a cakewalk!"

As he spoke, he ignored Han Feng's somewhat grave expression.

He looked back at the dozen or so underlings who could barely contain themselves, then stomped his right foot fiercely.

"Brothers! Activate your martial souls! Kill these useless soldiers!

"The women in the village belong to whoever gets them first!!"