Chapter 422 - 387: Making a Move

Chapter 422: Chapter 387: Making a Move

"Brat, you’ll be punished for running your mouth!" the skinny young man from before said, giving Nie Yun an icy look.

"That’s enough!" Just as everyone was murmuring amongst themselves and shooting contemptuous looks at Nie Yun, a sharp voice cut through the noise. Their miss, Yi Qing, had emerged from her tent.

"Miss, this brat..." The skinny young man rushed forward a few steps as soon as he saw her, a respectful look on his face. But before he could finish, Yi Qing cut him off. "Save it. I heard everything. Nie Yun, I don’t care what your origins are. If you’re going to travel with us, you will follow the rules. Cry wolf about bandits again, and I won’t be so polite!"

Yi Qing’s voice was sharp and her expression severe as she stared at Nie Yun.

"But... there really are bandits!" Nie Yun was speechless. He never expected his warning to be so thoroughly unappreciated.

"We’re Camel Riders. We’ve stared death in the face more times than we can count. We can detect the faintest trace of killing intent. Don’t you think we’d be more sensitive to the presence of bandits than you are? Let me tell you, you’re wrong. There are no bandits. It was just your imagination..." Yi Qing said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Clearly, she didn’t believe him either.

"The Miss is a Secret Realm Powerhouse with exceptional talent. If she says there are no bandits, then there are no bandits!"

"Everyone go back to sleep! We have a long road ahead of us tomorrow. Yi Chang, if I hear you bang that gong again just because some brat spouted nonsense, watch your back, because I’ll personally beat you to a pulp!"

"We were kind enough to save his life, and he repays us by ruining our sleep. A guy like that doesn’t belong in our caravan. We should just kick him out!"

Hearing their miss confirm that there were no bandits, the crowd began to murmur again, their gazes toward Nie Yun turning hostile.

After all, no one would be happy about being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night.

"Alright, so it was my imagination. Don’t blame me when you end up dead..."

Seeing their expressions, Nie Yun couldn’t be bothered to explain further. He turned and walked back to his tent.

"You think you can just spout nonsense and then go back to sleep as if nothing happened? In the army, you’d be beheaded for spreading false reports!" Seeing Nie Yun’s indifferent expression, the skinny young man’s anger flared, and he strode forward.

"Enough. Everyone, back to your tents!" Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Yi Qing’s expression darkened.

Her sharp command startled everyone, especially the skinny young man. All his previous arrogance vanished as he awkwardly scratched his head and retreated a few steps.

"Get some rest. We have a long journey tomorrow..." Yi Qing huffed.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

Before she could finish speaking, a rain of arrows whistled down from the sky. Each arrow pulsed with True Qi Power. As hundreds of them descended simultaneously, the defensive Array protecting the camp roared. Then, with a series of loud CRACKS, it shattered completely.

"Dammit, it’s bandits! Defenses up... Defenses up!"

As the rain of arrows fell from the sky, even a complete idiot would know that the bandits were real. Everyone roared in panic, raising their longswords to deflect the volley.

"Heh heh heh... I didn’t expect the minor Yi Family to actually have an expert capable of sensing my ambush. Not bad, not bad at all!"

After the volley of arrows, a cold, sinister laugh echoed from the distance. The ground began to tremble and dust billowed as a group of Demons on horseback charged toward them.

The group numbered two or three hundred. Their leader, a man with a powerful aura and rippling muscles, was shockingly a Primordial Saint Realm expert.

"Suguo? The Yi Family pays you tribute every single year. Don’t you think ambushing us now is crossing a line?"

Seeing that there really were bandits, Yi Qing knew she had wrongly accused the boy. A flash of apology appeared in her eyes before she turned to face the newcomers. She arched an eyebrow, took a step forward, and stood before Suguo.

"Crossing a line? There’s no line to cross. We’re bandits. We live by taking from others. If we don’t fleece you, how are we supposed to survive?" the Demon named Suguo sneered, his face twisting into a ghastly, zombie-like grin.

"One thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. I’ll give you one thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones!" Yi Qing said through gritted teeth.

"One thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones? Do you take us for fools who came out in the middle of the night for nothing? I’ll tell you what, no amount of money will work. Someone’s already paid a deposit for me to bring you back with me. So you’re just going to have to come along quietly! Brothers, get them!"

With a long howl from Suguo, the mounted bandits charged forward, the sound of their horses’ hooves thundering across the ground.

Most of these bandits were Qi Sect Powerhouses, with a fair number of Ultimate Venerables among them. The moment they struck, the air filled with their interwoven True Qi, forming a cascading torrent of energy that completely encircled Yi Qing and her group.

"You dare! Miss, I’ll protect you!"

Seeing Suguo leading the charge straight for his miss, the skinny young man anxiously leaped forward. With a flick of his wrist, he thrust his longsword toward the bandit leader.

"You’re courting death! Kneel!"

With a thunderous roar, Suguo tapped his toe forward. An immense force immediately bore down on the tip of the young man’s sword.

CRACK!

The young man was forced to his knees, his head splitting open and bleeding profusely. His once-handsome face was instantly crushed into a long, grotesque shape.

"You dare harm our miss! I’ll kill you!"

The middle-aged man from the Magical Power Realm now stood in the way, but Suguo didn’t even grant him a glance as he lashed out with another kick.

THWACK!

The middle-aged man was sent sprawling to the ground, spraying a mouthful of blood.

The gap between the Primordial Saint Realm and the Magical Power Realm was simply too vast; they weren’t even in the same league.

"You want to fight me with this pathetic level of strength? You’re courting death!" Suguo snorted contemptuously, raising a large hand to grab Yi Qing.

"You may be a Primordial Saint Realm expert, but it won’t be so easy to capture me! Fragrant Zero Flower Sword!"

Seeing that none of her subordinates could stop Suguo, Yi Qing’s expression turned grave. A ruthless glint flashed in her eyes. With a flick of her longsword, her blade dissolved into a shower of countless flower petals that shot toward the Demon.

"A little interesting... but what is this nonsense!"

Suguo chuckled, reaching out with his large hand. He caught the entire shower of blossoms in his palm, crushing them, and then flicked his wrist.

THUMP!

Yi Qing collapsed to the ground, her face ashen and pale as wax paper.

"A mere Early-Stage Magical Power Realm practitioner dares to fight me? Come back with me quietly and let me have some fun, and I might just spare your life. As for fighting me? Ten more of you wouldn’t be a match!" Suguo leered, his eyes fixed on the girl’s flawless, delicate skin.

"Nie Yun, I was wrong! Are you just going to stand there and watch?!"

Hearing the Demon’s lecherous laugh, Yi Qing trembled in fear. She turned her head and saw the very boy who had warned her, now watching her humiliation with a faint smile. A surge of indignation welled up inside her, and she screamed.

She had just misjudged him. It was clear now that he was far more powerful than he let on. In that instant, she pinned all her hopes on this young man.

"Him? You’re asking an injured Ultimate Venerable to fight me? Are you dreaming?"

Suguo glanced over warily at the shout, but when he saw it was just an injured Ultimate Venerable, he nearly burst out laughing.

But... his laughter died in his throat as he suddenly saw a bladeless longsword swatting toward his head.

SMACK!

His entire body was instantly flattened into a meat patty on the ground.

"Who ever said an injured Ultimate Venerable can’t kill someone..."

And those were the last words he ever heard.