By the time the caravan stopped beside the main road, it was already dark.
The mercenaries arranged the wagons in a circle, leaving men to keep watch around the perimeter. More than a dozen campfires were lit one after another, and the merchants and travelers sat around them, taking out dry rations and jerky.
Linley sat beneath a large tree.
Edgeless rested against the trunk, while Haeru lay nearby. Bebe sprawled on Haeru's back, his tail hanging to one side and his eyes half closed.
Doehring sat on the other side of the campfire, holding a piece of freshly roasted meat.
More than a year after regaining a physical body, he had grown used to the taste of food, but he still paused after the first bite.
Langzi added a piece of firewood to the flames.
"Brother Lei, that black panther of yours really is imposing. All along the way, those low-level magical beasts haven't even dared show themselves."
Haeru raised his eyelids and glanced at him.
Langzi immediately shut his mouth.
Lude laughed. "He understands you."
"Of course high-level magical beasts understand us." Langzi lowered his voice. "His temper just isn't very good."
Linley offered no explanation.
Haeru was a magical beast at the peak of the ninth rank. Without Linley keeping him in check, ordinary people would never have been entitled to sit so close.
Not far away, a boy of about fourteen was staring at Haeru.
The boy wore neatly pressed clothes, his hair carefully combed, looking every bit a young noble. After watching for a long time, he finally could not resist leaving his own campfire and slowly approaching.
Haeru did not move.
The boy grew a little bolder and took another two steps forward.
Bebe opened his eyes and watched him with interest.
The boy was now only three steps away from Haeru.
Haeru suddenly raised his head.
"Roar!"
A low growl rolled from his throat.
The boy went pale and stumbled backward, tripping over a stone and landing squarely on the ground.
Haeru lay back down.
"Keane!"
A gentle voice rang out.
A young woman ran over from a campfire more than ten meters away. She wore a pale purple dress and looked seventeen or eighteen, her long hair swaying softly with her steps.
She first helped the boy up, then checked his palms.
"Are you hurt?"
"No." Keane brushed the dirt off his clothes, still looking at Haeru. "Sis, that magical beast is amazing."
"You shouldn't have wandered off."
After softly scolding him, the young woman turned to Linley.
Looking somewhat embarrassed, she gave a slight bow.
"Lord Lei, I'm sorry. Keane didn't know any better and disturbed your magical beast."
"It's all right," Linley said. "Haeru didn't hurt him."
The young woman nodded gently.
As she raised her eyes, her gaze met Linley's. Her face flushed slightly, and she quickly looked away.
"Thank you, Lord Lei."
With that, she took Keane back to their original campfire.
An old man with neatly combed hair was waiting there. When the siblings returned, he first glanced at Linley and Haeru before speaking quietly to Keane.
"Her name is Jenny," Lude whispered, leaning closer. "That's her younger brother, Keane, and the old man is Lambert. They joined the caravan along the way too."
"Mm," Linley acknowledged.
Langzi glanced at Jenny, then looked at Linley with a smile.
"Brother Lei, Miss Jenny is quite..."
Linley looked up at him.
Langzi gave a dry cough and swallowed the rest of his words.
Doehring slowly finished his roast meat, watching the scene with a smile without interrupting.
The campfires gradually dwindled.
Late into the night, most of the people in the caravan had fallen asleep. Only a dozen or so mercenaries still patrolled the perimeter, while the horses occasionally snorted.
Linley sat cross-legged beneath the tree.
Edgeless lay across his knees.
His spiritual energy spread outward. The wind passing through blades of grass, wood cracking in the fires, the footsteps of distant mercenaries-all reached his mind with perfect clarity.
Suddenly, Linley opened his eyes.
Extremely faint vibrations came through the ground.
Again and again.
Closely spaced.
Not magical beasts.
Human footsteps.
"Noticed them?" Doehring stood behind him.
"About a hundred people," Linley said. "Three hundred meters ahead, approaching."
Doehring glanced into the darkness.
"They aren't strong."
"Let's wake the mercenaries first."
Linley rose and walked to the wagon where Langzi and Lude were resting.
"Wake up."
Langzi rolled over.
Linley reached out and slapped the wagon bed.
Bang!
The entire wagon shuddered slightly.
Langzi and Lude sat up at the same time.
"What is it?" Langzi grabbed his longsword.
"Bandits. Three hundred meters away, about a hundred of them."
Langzi's expression changed, and he immediately jumped off the wagon.
"Lude, wake the others!"
The two split up.
The sleeping camp soon fell into confusion. Mercenaries grabbed their weapons, while merchants and travelers hid behind the wagons.
"What bandits?"
"There's nothing out there."
Several freshly awakened mercenaries grumbled quietly.
The heavily bearded Malone strode over and seized Langzi by the front of his clothes.
"Is the information reliable?"
"Lord Lei spotted them," Langzi said.
Malone released him and turned toward Linley.
Linley said only, "Two hundred meters now."
Malone's expression darkened.
"Everyone, prepare for battle! Archers, onto the wagons! Everyone else, form up around the perimeter!"
The mercenaries immediately moved.
Shields rose.
Bowstrings were drawn.
A little later, a jumble of footsteps finally came from the darkness.
A group charged out from farther up the main road.
At their head was a blond, one-eyed man. He rode a horse, carrying a long saber, with more than a hundred bandits following behind.
Seeing the mercenaries already in formation, the one-eyed man paused in surprise, then burst out laughing.
"Ha ha! Beardy Malone, I didn't expect you to be so alert. Since a sneak attack won't work, we'll just have to storm you."
Malone tightened his grip on his greataxe.
"McKinley the One-Eyed Snake."
"Still remember me?"
"Don't take things too far," Malone said gravely. "I'll give you five thousand gold coins. Let us pass."
McKinley sneered.
"Five thousand gold coins? Do you take me for a beggar?"
He raised his saber.
"One hundred thousand gold coins. One coin short, and everyone here dies tonight."
A stir ran through the mercenaries behind Malone.
The payment for the entire escort mission was only sixty thousand gold coins. The caravan simply could not produce a hundred thousand.
Malone said no more.
He raised his greataxe.
"Loose!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dozens of arrows flew out at once.
The bandits loosed arrows as well.
Screams immediately rang out.
Several mercenaries fell with arrows in them, while several bandits in the front ranks were also shot down. Just as both sides finished their first volley, McKinley had already leaped from his horse.
He cleared more than ten meters and brought his saber down viciously from above, gripping it with both hands.
Malone roared and raised his greataxe to meet it.
Dark battle-qi lit up the surface of McKinley's saber.
Saber and axe collided.
Bang!
Malone's arms trembled, and he staggered back five steps. Each step stamped a deep hole into the ground.
McKinley landed and swung again.
Malone held his axe crosswise to block.
Clang!
The greataxe was knocked aside, and a bloody gash opened on Malone's shoulder.
"Eighth rank!" Malone stared at McKinley.
"Only realizing that now?"
Laughing loudly, McKinley pressed after him.
Saber strikes fell one after another.
Malone could only keep blocking, and soon suffered two more cuts.
Elsewhere, the bandits had already clashed with the mercenaries. The sounds of colliding weapons and screams merged together.
Linley stood inside the camp without acting immediately.
Bebe crouched on his shoulder.
Haeru had already stood up, his golden eyes fixed ahead. Whenever a bandit crossed the mercenary line, he swatted them back with a paw.
Doehring stood beside Linley.
"That one-eyed fellow is at the early eighth rank."
"Mm."
"You aren't going to act?"
"This is the mercenary company's battle," Linley said. "Malone hasn't asked me to act yet."
McKinley brought his saber down again.
Malone barely blocked it, but the impact drove him to his knees. He rolled aside, avoiding the blade that immediately followed.
The saber cleaved into the ground.
Fragments of stone scattered.
McKinley pulled out his saber, his gaze passing over Malone and settling on the center of the camp.
Jenny was shielding Keane as they retreated behind a wagon.
Firelight shone on her face.
McKinley's single eye lit up.
"That woman is mine!"
Two bandits immediately rushed toward Jenny.
Lambert drew his longsword and stood in front of the siblings.
Linley frowned slightly.
Haeru gave a low growl and was about to pounce, but Linley raised a hand to stop him.
The two bandits had yet to get close when the mercenaries rushing over intercepted them.
Malone took the chance to retreat, staggering over to Linley.
His chest heaved, and blood flowed from his shoulder and flank.
"Lord Lei."
Malone gritted his teeth and lowered his head.
"Please save our mercenary company."
Linley looked at McKinley, who was approaching.
"I'll only deal with the leader."
Joy appeared in Malone's eyes.
"That's enough!"
Linley reached out and gripped Edgeless's hilt.
Clang!
The Black Jade Heavy Sword left its sheath.
McKinley stopped and looked Linley up and down.
"You're the one who spotted us?"
"I am."
"Then you die first."
McKinley pushed off the ground.
His body swayed from side to side, his speed suddenly surging. In the firelight, two figures charged at Linley at the same time, two long sabers slashing toward him from different directions.
"Phantom Blade!"
Malone's expression changed.
He had once lost to this move.
Linley did not retreat.
The two phantoms drew closer and closer.
There were no footsteps on the left.
When the figure on the right landed, the ground trembled faintly.
Gripping Edgeless with both hands, Linley slashed straight down in front of him.
There was no sword light.
There was no pressure on the surrounding space.
There was only the 3,600-jin heavy sword, carrying Linley's mid-eighth-level Dragonblood Battle Qi as it descended toward the figure on the right.
A trace of shock flashed through McKinley's lone eye.
The phantoms dispersed.
He had no time to dodge and could only hold his saber across his body to block.
Clang!
The saber snapped in the middle.
Edgeless continued downward, striking McKinley heavily in the chest.
At the instant of contact, all the power concentrated within the heavy sword burst forth.
Rushing Thunder!
Bang!
McKinley's chest caved in violently, his bones and internal organs shattering at the same time. His entire body flew backward more than ten meters and crashed into the bandits.
He landed on the ground and lay motionless.
One strike.
McKinley, an Eighth-level Warrior, was dead!
The surroundings suddenly fell silent for a moment.
The bandits stared at McKinley's corpse, their faces filled with terror.
"The leader's dead!"
"Run!"
No one knew who shouted first.
The hundred-odd bandits immediately scattered.
"Kill!" Malone raised his massive axe.
The mercenaries pursued them for a distance, shot down the few at the rear, then gave up the chase.
Quiet returned to the main road.
Linley drew Edgeless back.
There was no blood on the blade.
Haeru glanced at McKinley's sunken chest, his golden eyes narrowing slightly. When he had first fought Linley, Linley's Rushing Thunder had not been as steady as it was now.
Doehring walked over to Linley.
"You didn't draw on heaven and earth, nor did you let the power disperse prematurely."
Linley looked at Edgeless.
"At the last moment, I still used a little too much force."
"Killing isn't the same as splitting rocks," Doehring said. "That strike was enough."
The mercenaries began clearing the battlefield.
The dead were carried to the side of the main road, while the wounded gathered around the fire to have their injuries bandaged. Jenny stood behind the carriage, holding Keane's hand, her eyes still filled with shock as she looked at Linley.
Keane, however, was brimming with excitement.
"Sis, did you see that? Just one strike!"
Jenny nodded gently.
She looked at Linley, then quickly averted her gaze.
After having his wounds treated, Malone came over with Langzi and Lude.
He took out a Magic Crystal Card and offered it to Linley with both hands.
"Lord Lei, there are ten thousand gold coins in here. If not for you tonight, I'm afraid none of us would have survived."
Linley did not take it.
"Use it to compensate the families of the mercenaries who died."
"But..."
"I'm not short of gold."
Malone looked at Linley for a moment, then put away the Magic Crystal Card and bowed solemnly.
"Thank you, Lord Lei."
Langzi and Lude bowed as well.
Linley turned and returned to the tree, laying Edgeless across his knees once more.
Bebe jumped onto Haeru's back.
Doehring sat back down beside the campfire and took another piece of roast meat.
The people in the camp lowered their voices, discussing that strike.
Linley paid them no attention.
He closed his eyes, once again sensing every subtle change in power as the battle qi circulated within him.
Beside another campfire, Keane was still staring at him.
The boy's eyes shone, as though he had already made his decision.