Farce

Below South Slope, slaughter spread. One band of brigands had set its sights on this place, and one of them stood out in particular: clad in a black robe, a slender sword in hand, wearing an ochre mask that seemed formed from gathered Quicksand. Before long, anyone who drew near him would find a bloody mark across their throat.

He was Li San, the Fast Sword, a top Second-rate Realm expert. He had once exchanged blows with a First-rate Realm expert and escaped unscathed. His swordsmanship was incomparably sharp; most people had yet to see how he drew his sword before their heads had already parted from their bodies.

"The target is up there."

Ignoring the lackeys blocking his path, Li San hurried toward Jiang Chen's residence.

The Quicksand Bandits were a highly loose organization. Their members did not know one another's identities, and normally communicated through specific channels. Whenever there was an operation, the initiator would usually set out the terms and call for willing participants.

For instance, this time, there were only three true Quicksand Bandits. The rest were cannon fodder and laborers the three had gathered through various means. This was also the Quicksand Bandits' usual method.

Before long, Li San appeared before Jiang Chen.

"Jiang Wang, chief of the River-Sweeping Bandits, the future Fourth Boss. At such a young age, you have already reached the Second-rate Realm. That is no easy feat. Unfortunately, someone paid a great price for me to kill you..."

Masked and gripping his sword, Li San looked at Jiang Chen, a glint of cold radiance flashing through his eyes.

With a whoosh, Li San rapidly closed in on Jiang Chen, his hand settling on the hilt of his sword. He had absolute confidence in his swordsmanship. Even though Jiang Chen was not weak and Skinny Monkey and the others stood nearby, he did not care. Within seven steps, nothing could possibly be faster than his sword.

Yet just as he reached Jiang Chen, planted his feet, and was about to draw his sword, he met Jiang Chen's eyes. A strange scarlet gleam reflected in his gaze.

"I..."

His consciousness grew muddled, and darkness fell before his eyes, as though some unseen obstacle had blocked him. Li San never managed to draw his sword, standing frozen in place like a statue.

Seeing this, Skinny Monkey froze for a moment. He had just prepared himself to block the sword for Jiang Chen. Only Rat Prodigy seemed to notice something, tilting its head.

It was then that Jiang Chen finally moved.

"Let's go. This farce should be over."

From beginning to end, Jiang Chen had never regarded Li San as a threat. He walked down the mountain, and as he brushed past Li San, Li San's rigid body fell straight to the ground. He was already dead, slain by Jiang Chen's Eye Killing.

Compared to when he had first reincarnated, Jiang Chen's soul essence had not changed, but its quantity had grown considerably. An ordinary Second-rate Realm martial artist simply could not withstand a single glance from him.

Following behind Jiang Chen, Skinny Monkey, Wang Yuan, and Stone looked at the fallen Li San and grew ever more reverent toward Jiang Chen.

"Truly the means of demons and monsters... no, of immortals and gods."

Reining in his wild thoughts, Wang Yuan knew that this time, he had truly made the right gamble.

After descending South Slope, Jiang Chen stopped when he saw the rampaging brigands.

"It's your turn."

Lowering his gaze, Jiang Chen looked at Rat Prodigy standing by his feet.

Hearing Jiang Chen's words, Rat Prodigy cleared its throat, drew a deep breath, and suddenly let out a piercing shriek.

As that shriek spread through the night, dark shadows emerged from the shadows of Golden Sand Valley one after another, their eyes red as they pounced upon the rampaging brigands.

"What are these things..."

"Rats! Such huge rats..."

Screams rang out. As Rat Prodigy made its move, the situation within Golden Sand Valley instantly changed.

After learning that the Third Boss was making a move, Jiang Chen had seemingly done nothing. In truth, he had long prepared for this. Yet what he relied on was not people, but rats. Compared to the unfathomable human heart, rats were much easier to use.

As time passed, Rat Prodigy's potential as a Rat King continued to reveal itself. Aside from the Giantification Technique, it had also mastered the ability to command, allowing it to order rat swarms to a certain degree. At Jiang Chen's command, it had long hidden a batch of carefully raised rats in the darkness of Golden Sand Valley, waiting only for the enemy to walk into the jar.

The Third Boss and Qian Wen thought their plan was seamless, never realizing they had long fallen into Jiang Chen's trap.

"Skinny Monkey, go to the Mine Protection Team camp with Rat Prodigy. Clean out everything that needs cleaning."

His voice low, Jiang Chen issued the order.

Hearing this, Skinny Monkey bowed and accepted. He understood Jiang Chen's meaning. A considerable number of those who had followed them here had joined the Mine Protection Team, strengthening Jiang Chen's control over it. Yet in recent days, quite a few had been corrupted by wealth and women, drifting from their original stance. These people naturally had to be cleaned out.

"Wang Yuan, Stone, the two of you go and calm the miners. Golden Sand Field still needs them. As for the rest, clean out whatever needs cleaning as well."

Watching Skinny Monkey depart, Jiang Chen gave another order.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuan and Stone hurriedly bowed and accepted. As they left with their men, Jiang Chen headed alone toward the western side of Golden Sand Valley. There was a hidden cave there, where Qian Wen stored the golden sand.

At the same time, inside that cave, Qian Wen was following beside a man in black. Behind them followed six more brigands, each carrying a chest in his arms. Unlike the scattered brigands outside, these six were clearly much more disciplined.

Yet just as they were about to leave the cave, rats rushed out from the darkness, crazily biting at them.

"What is going on with these rats?"

Wearing a Quicksand mask, the man in black punched a rat apart. The confidence he had held in his chest suddenly wavered, and Qian Wen felt the same unease.

"Third Boss..."

With one palm strike, Qian Wen sent a fat rat flying. Almost instinctively, he looked toward the masked man in black.

Hearing that, the Third Boss immediately turned a savage gaze upon Qian Wen.

"There is no Third Boss here. There is only Iron Hand of the Quicksand Bandits."

His voice was deep and powerful, like that of a burly man, as the man in black spoke.

Qian Wen was slightly stunned.

"Yes, yes, I misspoke, Lord Iron Hand. These rats are likely abnormal. I suspect they are connected to Jiang Wang."

Quick-witted as he was, Qian Wen did not believe these crazed rats had appeared naturally. The first person he thought of was Jiang Chen, since Jiang Chen had specifically ordered people to catch rats before.

Hearing this, Iron Hand—or rather, the Third Boss Zhao Meng—showed a subtle change in expression. If all this truly was Jiang Chen's doing, then the other party's methods were somewhat extraordinary.

"Whether it is connected or not, we will kill our way out first."

With a furious shout, Zhao Meng took the lead and charged toward the cave entrance. His fist techniques were fierce and forceful, and no rat could withstand a single punch from him. But the others did not possess his strength.

These rats had all refined Blood Qi, their strength already reaching the limits of an individual body. A single one might still amount to little, but once they gathered in a swarm, even ordinary martial artists found them difficult to deal with.

As time passed, fewer and fewer people remained at Zhao Meng's side. Once any of them fell, rats would immediately swarm over and gnaw them clean, leaving them no chance to rise again. For a time, this short cave seemed infinitely long.