An awkward atmosphere (bonus chapter)

On the battlefield.

The two sides fought relentlessly.

Most of the bandits of Mingai Mountain were only at entering martial first layer; only their leaders had reached martial entry third level.

As for the teams of players Liu Qinghong and Fu Moyan had brought,

Every player among them was at least at martial entry third level.

In terms of numbers,

With the two teams combined, the players were hardly outnumbered by the bandits.

A sword pulled free, bringing a spray of blood with it.

A bandit fell to the ground.

Zhang Quan bent down and searched the bandit's body for a while before finally taking out a wooden token.

It was the bandit's identification token.

It was also the only proof accepted for completing the quest.

Seeing this, Qin Shujian could not help shaking his head inwardly.

Compared to the players,

The bandits of Mingai Mountain were far too weak.

Only Niu Feng had decent strength, keeping the two player leaders firmly on the defensive.

And that was with him having lost his original faction's bonuses after submitting to Liangshan Stronghold.

Otherwise,

With those faction bonuses, Niu Feng's strength would have risen another notch.

The two players would have been defeated long ago.

But precisely because of that,

Even though Niu Feng had held an overwhelming advantage throughout the battle, killing the two of them was still no easy feat.

As for the other bandits—

Qin Shujian sighed and stepped forward.

Bang!

The ground beneath his foot cracked. A distinct footprint was stamped deep into the hard mountain rock, with cracks spreading outward from its center.

The next instant,

Qin Shujian's gaze abruptly changed. His previously subdued aura erupted, and his body smashed through layer after layer of air, setting off a string of thunderous explosions across the battlefield.

Boom!!!

Every player swept up in that aura paled.

At that moment, a shadow of death rose in Zhang Quan's heart, followed immediately by a terrifying blast of wind from his side.

Then—

He plunged straight into darkness.

"What?!"

Chen Wu was utterly horrified by the sight.

He had not even seen how Qin Shujian attacked before Zhang Quan, who had been standing there, dissolved into white light.

Dead!

A player at martial entry third level had died without even being able to resist.

The sudden turn of events,

Not only terrified the other players, but also gave Liu Qinghong and Fu Moyan a tremendous fright.

They had already suspected that Qin Shujian, who had been standing there motionless, might be Mingai Mountain's strongest boss.

But he had not attacked.

Although both men had their concerns, they had hoped to kill the other boss while he was being careless, then concentrate all their firepower on the last one.

But—

Niu Feng was far stronger than Liu Qinghong and Fu Moyan had anticipated.

And Qin Shujian's sudden attack frightened them even more.

He had killed Zhang Quan in a single move.

This boss's speed and attack power were simply unheard of.

In the space of a single instant,

Liu Qinghong and Fu Moyan exchanged a glance.

Then Liu Qinghong immediately said, "I'll hold off that boss. You hold off this one. Once the others wipe out the remaining bandits, we'll join forces against them."

"Right!"

Fu Moyan nodded.

As soon as they finished speaking,

Both men pulled back at exactly the same time, shouting, "Fall back!"

The other players froze when they heard that.

As for Liu Qinghong and Fu Moyan, they stared at each other, the atmosphere sinking into an awkward silence.

Both had intended to let the other buy time while they led their own people in retreat.

What neither had expected,

Was that the other had exactly the same idea.

But before Liu Qinghong and Fu Moyan could speak, Niu Feng's fierce attack was already upon them.

In the end,

Both had no choice but to fight back again and fend off Niu Feng's attack.

Elsewhere,

Qin Shujian moved as though taking a leisurely stroll through a courtyard.

His Five Elements Eight Trigrams Step flowed with exquisite precision. Without showing any sign of drawing his Tiger Head Saber, he began a massacre using only his Seven Leaves Piercing Flowers Palm.

Those players at martial entry third level,

No matter what cultivation methods they practiced or how powerful they were,

Were nothing more than slightly stronger grasshoppers in Qin Shujian's eyes.

Even the strongest grasshopper,

Was still just a grasshopper.

A little pressure was enough to crush it to pieces.

In barely ten seconds,

Seven or eight players had already died.

That worked out to roughly one player vanishing into white light every second.

"Quick! Everyone, join forces against this boss first, or we're all going to die!"

Chen Wu forced his way clear of the bandit attacking him and darted aside.

Hearing him, the other players snapped out of their daze. They all abandoned their fights with the bandits and gathered together, shifting from offense to defense.

They had no choice.

This boss was too powerful, and his footwork was far too unpredictable.

Against him, they could not even fight back before being sent off to respawn.

"Fu Moyan, if this keeps up, we're going to be wiped out! How about we work together to get out of here first?" Liu Qinghong shouted as he dodged the fierce saber light and thrust out a palm.

He had also seen what was happening to the other players.

So many of them had died in such a short time.

That boss's strength sent a chill through Liu Qinghong.

If they kept dragging this out, the entire expedition would end in a total loss, and all of them would drop a cultivation level.

The loss was too great.

Liu Qinghong could not bear it, and he was certain Fu Moyan would not want to bear it either.

"Agreed!" Fu Moyan also knew the situation was dire. Misjudging the strength of these two bosses had put them at this terrible disadvantage.

In an instant,

The two reached an agreement.

This time, neither dared play any tricks.

A fierce aura emanated from Fu Moyan. A cold gleam flickered along his Green Steel Long Sword, and as its blade swept past in an instant, a faint sound of surging waves seemed to ring out.

Then Liu Qinghong thrust both palms forward. His palms immediately turned crimson, and the howling gust of his palm strike carried a wave of heat.

Neither held anything back.

Both were now using their trump cards.

Facing these powerful attacks, Niu Feng's expression grew grave. Gripping the Nine-Ring Great Saber with both hands, he slashed forward with a force that seemed capable of cleaving mountains.

Boom!!

Fierce winds swept outward, and shattered metal flew in all directions.

Niu Feng abruptly turned to defend himself, his Nine-Ring Great Saber throwing off scattered sparks as he swung it.

Liu Qinghong and Fu Moyan were also struck by the fragments, but they ignored their wounds and immediately pulled back.

At the last moment,

Fu Moyan hurled his Green Steel Long Sword, of which only a quarter remained, at Qin Shujian on the other side.

The other players who had banded together seemed to share an unspoken understanding.

As the broken sword flew, they all unleashed powerful attacks, scattering the bandits surrounding them before chasing after Liu Qinghong and Fu Moyan.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

From Liu Qinghong and Fu Moyan unleashing their attacks, to the sword being thrown, to the remaining players retreating,

No more than three seconds had passed.