Jason exchanged more than a dozen blows with the Midgod- Fiend who specialized in Earth Element, and confirmed that his soul attacks from his Death Clone were effective against the enemy, but did not cause much damage.
The Fiend who fight for their lives in the Netherworld have all honed their soul defenses to an extremely high level.
Jason was at a disadvantage. His opponent had likely fully integrated Earth Pulsation and Earth Travel Technique, possessing no weaknesses in attack, defense, or speed, and his advantage of being grounded was fully displayed. Jason's physical defense, on the other hand, was significantly weaker.
If it weren't for the Death Clone's soul attacks constantly restraining the opponent, and the extremely strong defense of his Highgod Defensive Divine Artifact, the Thunder Dragon Leather Armor, Jason would probably have been forced off the ground.
Each swing of the greatsword was exceptionally swift, a mix of physical and spiritual attacks.
Jason transformed into lightning and roamed the surroundings, trying his best not to engage in direct combat with his opponent. However, due to the presence of his clansmen nearby, he had no choice but to attack during the gaps in the attack, confining his opponent to a small area.
The other person darted underground, seemingly intending to attack others.
Jason shouted, "Everyone fly up into the air! Watch out on the ground!"
Just as the Rhine Clan members around them took to the air to fight, a man wielding a heavy sword charged out from another direction.
Jason dodged and blocked the other person's path.
Both were very fast, but Jason was significantly faster than his opponent.
Many of the enemy bandits remained on the ground, too afraid to continue harassing the Rhine Clan.
Just as Jason had predicted, this bandit gang was also a makeshift group, with varying levels of skill among the members and a lack of unity among them.
The bandit group and the Rhine Clan were evenly matched, but if they continued to fight, they might not only fail to gain any advantage but also risk losing their lives. In particular, Jason could levitate, while their leader was hiding underground, which made many of the bandits stay on the ground and afraid to fly.
The Rhine Clan also dared not launch an attack from the ground.
Consequently, both sides engaged in a ranged attack.
Multicolored Divine Power was unleashed, along with summoned creatures composed of Divine Power, and in an instant, the sky burst into a dazzling display of light.
Jason watched the battle, which seemed all bark and no bite, with a sense of helplessness.
But that's how battles between bandits are; unless one side has an absolute advantage, they won't fight to the death—they all bully the weak, and they won't do anything that risks their lives.
Moreover, most of the Midgod who have fallen into banditry are not very strong. If Midgod is strong, it is easy for him to sneak into the city underground. Then he can directly take the exam to Fiend and he will not have to worry about not being able to establish himself in the city.
Although the Rhine Clan's five Midgod had all Refine Divine Spark, their Divine Artifact were far superior to those of their opponents.
Like Jason, Rita possessed a full set of Highgod Artifact. The five Midgod Refine Divine Spark also each possessed an offensive Highgod Artifact. The Divine Artifact held by the remaining Lowgod were also crafted from the Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend's "Blood Blade," making their initial materials far superior to those of their opponents.
The opposing leader broke through the ground in an attempt to launch a sneak attack, but Jason stopped him each time. With support from other tribesmen, Jason was not defeated.
Even so, Jason was still dealt a heavy blow by the French on several occasions when they seized the opportunity.
The Pulsation attack transformed into an arc-shaped wave that surged into Jason's mind, only to Corrosion and eroded by the golden Soul Essence, melting away before even reaching the core of his soul. Jason's Edicts of Death could be used not only for soul attacks but also for defense.
His soul defense was fine; even though the Earth Pulsation was High-level Profound Mystery, Jason's Death Clone was enough to resist it. However, he couldn't withstand physical attacks. Even through the Thunder Dragon Leather Armor, Jason was still greatly shaken, and he almost dropped his straight sword "Waking of Insects".
To Jason's surprise, in less than half an hour, the other members of the Rhine Clan, who were originally playing a friendly match, were almost winning.
The reason was actually internal strife on the other side, which led to a rout.
It's clear that the bandit group has little loyalty to their leader, and there seems to be animosity among the bandits themselves.
Of the thirteen people, eight were Lowgod, and the remaining Midgod, apart from the leader, were of average strength.
First, three Lowgod took the opportunity to betray another Midgod. Caught off guard, the Midgod was easily killed, and the three who started the infighting turned and fled. The opposing leader emerged from underground and attempted to execute the three traitors on the spot.
Seeing this, Jason charged down under the cover of his clansmen, and seized the opportunity to kill another Midgod.
This immediately triggered an avalanche-like collapse.
The opposing leader had not expected his side to be defeated so quickly. Before he could even kill the traitor, the remaining Midgod on his side had already begun to scatter and flee.
The gloomy man glanced at the Rhine Clan's side again.
He also noticed the "wealth" of the Rhine Clan members—they possessed an excessive number of Highgod Artifact.
Realizing their origins seemed unusual, and as a seasoned Fiend had experienced many Fiend missions, he knew this meant they might have powerful backers.
With such an enemy, unless you are confident that you can wipe them out and leave quickly, you should avoid making a fatal enemy if possible.
Now that his side has lost, the gloomy man naturally sees no need to persist any longer.
As for the bandits, they originally tried to rob him after he got separated from the mission team, but he killed their leader and forcibly brought them under his control.
Without further hesitation, the three traitors immediately burrowed underground and fled.
Jason locked onto his target with his divine sense and followed him in flight for a while before realizing he couldn't stop him and giving up the pursuit.
When Jason returned to the battlefield, several Midgod bandits had already escaped, while the remaining two slow-moving Midgod and several Lowgod put up a stubborn resistance.
They originally intended to surrender directly, but the Rhine Clan refused to accept prisoners.
Jason glanced at the family members around him, their faces beaming with joy after their resounding victory, and couldn't help but warn them, "This is just a small band of bandits from a remote area of Netherworld. Don't get too cocky just because you defeated such a weak enemy."
The people around them stopped smiling, but you could tell they were somewhat unconvinced.
Jason knew that although these Deity-level had very long lifespans, they had always been "superior people" on the Yulan Continent. After arriving in the Netherworld, they had Delisha protecting them, so they were unclear about their own strength.
"It's such a great victory, don't dampen my spirits," Rita advised.
Jason didn't say anything more. The reality of the Netherworld can only be truly understood through life and death—unless one is exceptionally talented like the protagonist Linley and has powerful backers.
"Where to next?" Jason asked while the people around him were cleaning up the battlefield and distributing the spoils.
Rita pointed to the east. "I feel this area doesn't quite match the terrain described by the prisoner. Let's go over that hill to the east and search again."
"Alright."
Jason sent his Death Clone on its way, and the Lightning Clone some understanding.
The "mountain" in the Netherworld is not a mountain in the Material Plane. It covers an area the size of the Yulan Continent. With the strong gravity of the Netherworld, even if you can fly at low altitude, it would take a whole day to cross it.
Moreover, Jason and his group's mission was not only to find the cave, but also to explore the surrounding flora and fauna.
The Rhine Clan is currently lacking materials for weapon crafting, so another task for Jason and his group is to search for plants and animals along the way that are worth cultivating.
Rita casually stored a vine in her Interspatial Ring and said to Jason, "The probability of finding suitable plants to cultivate in a place like this is not high, otherwise this area wouldn't be devoid of settlements."
Although the vines that Rita had just gathered were quite resilient, they grew very slowly, and their internal elemental energy would rapidly dissipate once they were separated from the root system.
Jason understood this principle. In his view, the safest way out for the Rhine Clan right now was to develop steadily and then move to a place closer to the city once they had the strength.
With the Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend's Blood Blade, the Rhine Clan could easily exchange it for a large amount of Nether Stone.
"Elder Jason, Director Rita, I've found a cave!" someone shouted from afar.
Lowgod in the Netherworld can only have their divine sense cover ten meters; beyond that, they can only rely on shouting with their Battle-qi.
The group gathered at the cave entrance.
"It looks spacious." "Let someone go down and take a look." The people around chimed in with their opinions.
Jason and Rita immediately stopped the tribesmen's reckless behavior.
The unknown caverns of the Netherworld were far too dangerous for this small team, whose highest combat power was only at the Midgod.
"Those who Divine Clone within the clan, inform the clan leader that we should search the surrounding area to ensure its safety during this time."