Flames exploded, engulfing everything nearby.
Fortunately, Wu Yu had backed away immediately, avoiding most of the flying stones, iron fragments, and severed limbs and chunks of flesh.
Only a few fragments landed on his golden shield.
Wu Yu waited until the flames dissipated before approaching.
The one-eyed bandit had become a headless corpse, but he had not disappeared.
Wu Yu glanced around. The ordinary bandits killed in the explosion had already dissolved into light.
Watching the headless corpse twitch from time to time, Wu Yu could not help marveling.
Clearly, a trace of life still remained in it. It was not completely dead.
"Was this thing even human anymore?"
"Was this a trait of transcendent lifeforms? Or was it because he was a tiger wraith?"
He raised his saber. The muscle memory from the Tiger Roar Eight-Slash Saber took over, and he slashed down hard!
Roar!
With a tiger's roar, the blade plunged into the corpse's heart, wreathed in a wisp of black energy.
The corpse shuddered. Several seconds later, it dissolved into light, inch by inch.
"Our hero killed all those bandits with magic!"
"Our hero is invincible!"
"Thank goodness! I survived!"
"Hero, sorry for the trouble, but could you untie us?"
Seeing the bandits dead, the villagers grew excited.
This was a world with transcendent powers. Martial artists and magic alike were things people spoke of.
So when they saw the flames and white light, everyone assumed they were Wu Yu's spells!
Wu Yu ignored them and picked up all the cards on the ground.
They had dropped from the two groups of bandits and the one-eyed bandit leader.
As he did so, he watched the villagers' reactions. Most looked puzzled, unable to understand what he was doing.
It seems there's a fundamental difference between Tower Climbers and the natives.
They can see the bandits dissolve into light, but they can't see the loot.
Tower Climbers, however, can!
The Newcomer Secret Realm is cooperative. If there are competitive secret realms later... or rather, Great Ruins, bloody fighting will probably break out.
Most of the cards dropped by ordinary bandits were things like [Beast Meat] and [Vitality Pill], with green being the highest rarity.
Wu Yu did not bother counting them. He simply discarded the cards he did not want and put all the rest into his Inventory.
Only the one-eyed bandit dropped anything particularly good, such as another [Hundred Taels of Silver]!
It was rather amusing. The one-eyed bandit might never have owned a hundred taels of silver in his entire life, yet he dropped that much after death.
Of course, Wu Yu did not care about the silver. His attention was fixed on another card.
"Tiger Roar Eight-Slash Saber!"
"This one again?"
"Can Technique Cards be used more than once?"
Wu Yu was intrigued, but this was no time to experiment. He put the Technique Card away and went over to untie everyone.
"Thank you, hero!"
"Those damned bandits! Thank goodness you came!"
"Be careful, hero. There are lots of tiger wraiths both inside and outside the stronghold."
None of the villagers were fools. They all thanked him profusely.
Once freed, Old Wu climbed to his feet and caught his breath before asking, "Brother Wu, I saw you come down from above. Could you have killed the bandit chief already?"
"That's right! Our hero came down from above. He must have killed that bandit chief!"
"Our hero's martial arts are superb, and his magic is incredible!"
Everyone chimed in, their faces filled with the joy of surviving disaster.
Wu Yu nodded slightly. "I've killed all the enemies in the stronghold. It's just the bandits who came afterward..."
"These were the only two groups."
Old Wu explained, "Not long after you left, we went to escort the merchant caravan as usual."
"Most of Redfang Village's supplies come from merchant caravans, so we sent a full fifty armored guards this time. Captain Lu went too."
"But halfway through the escort, five groups of bandits attacked! Their five leaders wounded and captured Captain Lu, and the rest of us were routed..."
Old Wu's expression darkened.
"We fought back and killed plenty of bandits, but they'd already become tiger wraiths. Their eyes were blood-red, they could endure far more pain, and their strength had increased enormously."
"The remaining bandits split into five groups. Captain Lu killed one of their leaders on the spot while they were surrounding him. Three of the surviving leaders took Captain Lu and some of our people to Lostway Cave. The one-eyed bandit brought the two groups that had suffered heavier losses back here, with us as prisoners."
Old Wu finished with a bitter smile. "If you hadn't stepped in, Brother Wu, we might already have been minced meat!"
The tiger wraiths had been a threat for far longer than a day or two.
But this was the first time they had suffered such heavy losses.
Old Wu said bitterly, "They capture people and use some as food. The rest they turn into tiger wraiths through the Mountain Lord Rite!"
"But for some reason, they suddenly became much stronger. The numbers of both leaders and ordinary tiger wraiths skyrocketed, far beyond anything we'd seen before!"
Wu Yu frowned slightly at this, something occurring to him.
The caravan's supplies had all been sent to Lostway Cave. After resting, the group dared not linger. They left the stronghold together and headed for Redfang Village.
The journey went smoothly. No bandits appeared to attack them, which let Wu Yu breathe a sigh of relief.
He observed the natives and found that none of them could see or sense the mist.
Clearly, the mist posed a deadly threat only to Tower Climbers!
An hour later, the group returned to Redfang Village.
Another fence had been added at the valley entrance, and villagers bearing shields had even taken up positions in front of the archers.
The guards were astonished to see them return.
But their clothing put the guards at ease.
Their enemies were the Mountain Lord and the tiger wraiths, so there could be no infiltrators among them.
"The caravan people are back!"
"Quick, tell the village chief!"
"The guards too! Old Wu's with them!"
"Come inside, quickly!"
The valley entrance descended into chaos. The villagers had little sense of order, and before long, the place was filled with noise.
Once they learned of the tiger wraith attack, Captain Lu's capture, and the destruction of the Evil Tiger Stronghold, an even greater uproar swept through the entrance. Everyone looked incredulous.
After all, the Evil Tiger bandits numbered in the hundreds. Even a transcendent martial artist capable of magic like the village chief could not fight his way inside!
At once, every gaze settled on Wu Yu.
Astonishment, admiration, awe...
The villagers, who had long suffered under the threat of the tiger wraiths, were simplehearted. None questioned Wu Yu; they all showered him with praise.
Wu Yu calmly accepted their thanks, feeling relieved as well.
Could this be a hidden benefit of the [Newcomer Secret Realm]? There are no treacherous people in Redfang Village, and because of the Mountain Lord Rite, there are no infiltrators either!
No wonder they said the difficulty was greatly reduced...
A short while later, the village chief arrived!
His arrival finally quieted the commotion at the valley entrance, and everyone cleared a path.
The elderly village chief looked solemn. He walked straight up to Wu Yu and saluted with cupped hands.
"Mr. Wu! Please accept this old man's bow!"
Before you continue