The whistle echoed through the mountainside for less than three breaths before Feng Xiaotian's command reached the ears of every team member.
" Ji Ning on the left, Lu Hanxiao on the right, Cheng Luo blocking the rear—three groups flanking, take out all the hidden sentries first! The rest of you, follow me and press forward head-on to draw attention."
Thirteen figures suddenly separated in the darkness. Ji Ning Feng Lingtian led Su Ran to cut in from the left flank, with the hummingbird's rapid attack and the Peregrine Falcon's swooping attack alternating, heading straight for the sentry post on the left side of the mountain wall.
Lu Hanxiao, along with Lu Qing and Bai Yu, flanked from the right flank. The Snowy Owl's silent flight was almost imperceptible in the night, and Lu Qing's Wind Scythe followed closely behind, blocking their retreat.
Cheng Luo, Shi Yan, Ye Qingyu blocked the rear, while the Wind-Binding Vine broke through the soil from the rock crevices, and the pale golden light of the Void Resonance Bell sealed the exit below the mountain wall completely.
From the front, Feng Xiaotian, Su Mei'er, Jiang Lin, and Zhong Yue leaped out, deliberately breaking dry branches to let the firelight shine on them.
The bandits on the earthen field threw down their wine bowls, grabbed their weapons, and surged forward. None of them noticed that their sentries were disappearing one by one into the darkness.
Before the bandits could react, Feng Xiaotian's gaze was fixed on the tall, thin man on the wooden platform—the only one in the entire camp who wasn't eating and drinking around the campfire with the bandits.
He sat alone on a wooden platform three feet above the ground, his curved knife coated with poison, with two Soul Master standing behind him. This posture was not that of an ordinary bandit. His position in this stronghold, even if not the leader, must have been that of a key figure who knew the inside story.
With Gale Flash Step, Feng Xiaotian passed through the firelight and shadows, heading straight for the wooden platform. The tall, thin man reacted extremely quickly, almost the instant Feng Xiaotian landed, he had already sprung up from the edge of the platform, his curved blade drawing a poisonous, ghostly blue arc as it slashed towards Feng Xiaotian's neck. This strike was both fast and cunning; the curve of the blade made the trajectory of the attack almost unpredictable.
Feng Xiaotian didn't retreat. He sidestepped the blade, his right hand slipping inside the curved sword, his fingertips precisely touching the blade. Break the Surface at One Point —not at the person, but at the weapon.
The scimitar emitted a piercing, sharp sound as the poisoned blade shattered in two, the tip spinning as it flew off and embedded itself in the pillar of the wooden platform.
The tall, thin man's pupils constricted sharply. His scimitar, coated with snake venom for half a year, had killed no fewer than ten mercenaries; no one had ever been able to shatter his weapon head-on. He threw away the hilt and retreated hastily, but Feng Xiaotian was faster than him.
With Gale Flash Step step, he grabbed the man's wrist with his right hand and twisted it outwards, while simultaneously using his left hand to cut the man's elbow joint. With a crisp crack, the tall, thin man's right arm was dislocated, and he was pinned to the wooden platform, his cheek pressed against the rough wooden board, unable to move.
At the same time, Su Mei'er's Wind Fire Bewildering Array exploded in the center of the earthen field. The Ultimate Fire transformed into scorching illusory mist, enveloping the dozen or so bandits at the forefront.
The bandits brandished their blades, hacking wildly through the fiery mist, but their weapons couldn't touch Su Mei'er at all—she stood at the edge of the fiery mist, her fingertips flashing red and blue light alternately, releasing Wind Fire Bewildering Array and Water Wind Confinement in turn, trapping one group with firelight and locking another with icy light.
Jiang Lin stood three steps behind her, the pale silver light of his Spirit Eyes sweeping across the entire earthen field. Every bandit who tried to flank him was locked onto in advance, and the image was simultaneously projected into Zhong Yue's perception.
Zhong Yue's Black Tortoise: Wind Armor unfolded in front, knocking away the charging bandits one by one, the recoil causing their weapons to fly out of their hands.
The bandits on the earthen platform were completely suppressed by the four men facing them, and none of them could get close to the wooden platform.
Feng Xiaotian pressed one hand against the back of the tall, thin man's neck, his gaze sweeping over the two Soul Master behind him.
The burly man was imprisoned in place by Su Mei'er's Water Wind Confinement, with a thick layer of frost forming beneath his feet, and every step he took made the sound of ice shattering.
The thinner one had retreated to the edge of the wooden platform at some point, half his face hidden in the shadows, showing no intention of making a move.
"Who's behind you?" Feng Xiaotian asked.
The tall, thin man didn't answer. His lips moved slightly, as if he were biting something.
Feng Xiaotian's pupils contracted, and his right hand swiftly grabbed his jaw, forcibly prying open his mouth—a black pill had already been bitten open, and black liquid was flowing down the corner of his mouth, carrying a pungent, bitter almond smell.
"It's poison." Jiang Lin's voice came from behind, his Spirit Eyes scanning the tall, thin man's mouth. "It's too late."
The tall, thin man's body began to convulse, his pupils rapidly dilating. Feng Xiaotian released his grip, watching him curl up in a ball on the wooden platform, and after a few breaths, he became completely still.
The bandits on the earthen platform witnessed everything that happened on the wooden platform. Their leader—or rather, the men they thought were their leader—had committed suicide by poison.
No one gave the order, but all the bandits lost their will to resist at the same moment. Some threw down their weapons and knelt down to surrender, while others turned to run towards the mountainside, only to be pulled back one by one by Cheng Luo's Wind-Binding Vine.
In the chaos, the gaunt Soul Master who had been standing on the edge of the wooden platform suddenly moved. His figure flickered in the shadows, bypassing Feng Xiaotian and rushing towards the mountain wall—not in the direction of escape, but towards the path leading into the mountain.
Feng Xiaotian didn't chase after him. He simply stood up, watched the thin figure disappear into the crack in the rock wall, and then glanced back at Huo Xiao.
Huo Xiao nodded slightly. He saw it too. That path led to the real destination.