Pounded into Minced Meat

Pounded into Minced Meat

"Ha ha ha ha! Kid, who the hell do you think you are? How dare you mouth off in front of me?" The scar on his face twisted with laughter, making him look even more ferocious. "Xiao Ding, Xiao Li, is your Desert Iron Mercenary Group so short on people that you sent a brat like this out to die?"

"Courting death!"

Insulting him was one thing, but insulting his third brother was unacceptable!

Xiao Li's eyes immediately filled with bloodshot veins!

Without wasting another word, the black spear in his hand let out a hum. His entire body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, charging straight at Mo Xing!

The spear moved like a dragon. A sharp gleam of spear light, accompanied by a piercing howl, rapidly enlarged in Mo Xing's eyes!

Too fast!

The wild grin had yet to fade from Mo Xing's face before terror replaced it. He only had time to summon his protective Dou Qi and barely turn his head aside.

Screech!

The force grazed his neck, leaving behind a bloody gash!

Blood instantly dyed the front of his clothes red.

The icy brush of death made every hair on his body stand on end. He knew that if he had been even half a beat slower, his head would have been gone!

"Get lost!"

After landing the blow, Xiao Li did not pursue. He merely stood there with his spear in hand and roared, his voice like thunder exploding from flat ground!

Mo Xing stumbled backward several steps and only managed to steady himself with the support of his men. Still shaken, he touched the wound on his neck. His hand came away covered in blood, and when he looked at Xiao Li again, his eyes were filled with fear.

"Y-you... just wait!"

After throwing out that weak threat, he did not dare linger any longer. Amid undisguised mocking laughter, he fled in disgrace with his terrified subordinates.

A clash that had seemed ready to erupt ended in such an anticlimactic fashion.

"Third Brother, this time... we've completely crossed them."

Xiao Ding looked in the direction the Sand Mercenary Group had left, his brows tightly furrowed and his face full of worry.

"With Sha Luo's vindictive nature, he'll definitely lead men here tomorrow morning to cause trouble. When that happens, I'm afraid a bloody battle will be unavoidable."

"Big Brother, Second Brother, there's no need to worry."

Xiao Yan looked at his two brothers, his face still carrying that calm, untroubled smile.

He took the trouble upon himself.

"A mere Sand Mercenary Group can't stir up much of a storm." He turned to Tian Xin and Xun'er. "Tonight, Xun'er, you and Sister Tian Xin should keep a closer watch here in case they return to pull some underhanded trick."

"Don't worry, Brother Xiao Yan." Xun'er nodded obediently.

Tian Xin merely gave a cool "Mm."

After arranging everything, Xiao Yan took Qing Lin's hand. She was still somewhat timid as he smiled at his two brothers. "Big Brother, Second Brother, you should take everyone back to rest up as well. I'll be back soon."

"Third Brother, where are you going?" Xiao Li hurriedly asked.

"I'm going... to have a proper chat with Captain Sha Luo."

A cold curve lifted at the corner of Xiao Yan's lips.

With that, ignoring the worried looks on his brothers' faces, he led Qing Lin toward Stone Desert City and vanished into the night.

Night fell. Sand Mercenary Group headquarters.

The brightly lit hall was filled with an oppressively tense atmosphere.

"Captain! You have to stand up for me!"

With thick bandages wrapped around his neck, Mo Xing was embellishing his account of the day's events to a bald, powerfully built man seated at the head of the hall.

"That Xiao Li from Desert Iron relied on having more men and attacked without a word! And that third brother of theirs, who knows where he came from, was even more arrogant. He didn't put our Sand Mercenary Group in his eyes at all!"

"There's definitely something strange about the patch of sand they've occupied! I saw Desert Iron's men digging up Desert Spirit Medicine from there with my own eyes! Captain, we absolutely cannot hand over such an opportunity to them!"

Seated at the head of the hall, Sha Luo, captain of the Sand Mercenary Group, wore a grim expression as his fingers rhythmically tapped against the table.

Desert Spirit Medicine?

Greed rose in his heart, yet reason told him that the Desert Iron Mercenary Group was now strong and well-manned. If they fought head-on, he might not gain any advantage.

After hesitating several times, greed ultimately triumphed over reason.

"Damn it!"

He slammed a palm onto the table and rose to his feet.

"Pass down my order! Gather all our men. At dawn tomorrow, we move out! I want to see whether Xiao Ding and Xiao Li dare start an all-out war with our Sand Mercenary Group over that patch of worthless sand!"

"Yes! Captain, you're wise!" Mo Xing's face immediately lit up with wild joy.

However, at that very moment.

A calm voice carrying a trace of amusement suddenly rang through the hall without warning.

"No need to wait until tomorrow."

"I can give you an answer right now."

The expressions on Sha Luo and Mo Xing's faces instantly froze!

They turned around in horror, only to see that two figures had somehow silently appeared within the shadows of the hall.

One was the black-clothed youth who had spoken so arrogantly during the day.

The other was the green-eyed little girl who had been at his side.

"Y-you... how did you get in here?!" Sha Luo's face changed drastically as Dou Qi explosively surged from his body.

"It's you!" Once Mo Xing recognized Xiao Yan, he was both shocked and enraged. He shouted sharply, "Kid, you actually dared barge into our Sand Mercenary Group headquarters! You're simply asking to die—"

He did not get to finish.

Because a black shadow flashed before his eyes like a ghost.

Too fast!

So fast that he did not even have time to react!

Xiao Yan closed the distance in an instant. He used no Dou Technique, merely pressing a palm against Mo Xing's chest.

Bang!

With a muffled impact, an immense force erupted. Mo Xing's protective Dou Qi shattered on the spot.

His body flew backward like a kite with its string cut. He slammed heavily into the wall, spat out a mouthful of blood, and passed out.

One move. Instant defeat!

"Qing Lin."

Without even glancing at the unconscious Mo Xing, Xiao Yan calmly gave the girl beside him an order.

"Make him shut up."

"Yes, Brother Xiao Yan!"

Qing Lin nodded. Three strange patterns slowly rotated within her emerald eyes.

"Come out, Little Mo!"

Roar!

A deafening serpentine roar shook the entire hall!

A gigantic black-scaled serpent more than ten meters long appeared out of thin air. Its massive body nearly burst the hall apart! The pressure of a Fourth-Order Magical Beast descended upon Sha Luo's heart like a mountain!

The Black Jade Earth Dragon's icy vertical pupils fixed directly on Mo Xing lying on the ground. Its enormous tail, carrying a sonic boom, swept down viciously!

"No—!"

Sha Luo only had time to let out a terrified scream.

Boom!

A dull, teeth-grinding impact rang out.

Mo Xing, who had been so arrogant only moments ago, along with the floor beneath him, was smashed into a mangled pile of minced flesh.

Blood and shattered bones splattered across the walls.

The thick stench of blood instantly spread through the hall.

Sha Luo stared blankly at the pile of flesh that no longer resembled a human, then at the giant serpent watching him with icy vertical pupils. Finally, his gaze fell upon the black-clothed youth whose expression had remained calm from beginning to end.

As a One-Star Great Dou Master, he felt a chill rising wildly from the depths of his soul, as though the blood throughout his body were about to freeze.

Who exactly were these people?!

A Dou Master capable of instantly defeating another Dou Master.

And a little girl who looked no older than ten could casually summon a Fourth-Order Magical Beast comparable to a Dou Spirit!

Under the tremendous pressure, Sha Luo's legs gave out with a thud, and he collapsed onto the ground. Cold sweat soaked through his back.

He no longer dared resist in the slightest. In a trembling, nearly pleading voice, he said, "S-senior, spare my life! I failed to recognize greatness! I... my Sand Mercenary Group will never set foot on that patch of sand again! I swear!"

A trace of disdain flashed through Xiao Yan's eyes as he looked at Sha Luo's pathetic state.

He was not a bloodthirsty man. He had already achieved his purpose of killing the chicken to warn the monkeys.

He slowly walked over to Sha Luo and looked down at him, his voice cold.

"Remember what you said today."

"Behave yourself."