Chapter 106: 2 Moves, Finished

Chapter 106: Chapter 106: 2 Moves, Finished

The Second-in-Command’s eyes were instantly blinded by a brilliant flash of silver light. He was absolutely horrified. "What is this..." he thought.

BOOM!

The lightning exploded. The silver dragon burst apart into flying sparks that resembled electric snakes, engulfing a thirty-foot radius. The main force of the blast directly swallowed the Second-in-Command.

SWISH!

The Second-in-Command plummeted at an even faster speed. His face was charred black, his hair blown wide open, and his body violently convulsed and twitched. Silver arcs of lightning continued to dance and leap across his skin.

SWISH!

Lu Yuan also dropped down and swung his blade again. "Thunderstorm!"

The Second-in-Command’s eyes were still flashing with white light, his consciousness entirely muddled. He lay motionless on the ground, completely unable to put up any resistance.

THUD!

There was no suspense left. Without the instinctive protection of his Primordial Gang, he could no longer defend himself, and his head was instantly cleaved in half. He was as dead as a doornail. An injured Seventh Grade Martial Artist was dispatched just like that.

With the Second-in-Command going after Lu Yuan, Xuu Xiao, Liuu Fang, Ye Yan, Chen Ye, Chuu Fang, and even Mu Lingche could not remain calm. After all, they had come here together; they were comrades-in-arms. Moreover, if the Second-in-Command took care of Lu Yuan, he would definitely turn around and deal with the rest of them. Without the help of a top-tier archer like Lu Yuan, their chances of winning were practically zero.

BANG!

Chuu Fang smashed a tree in half with his hammer, sending several Water Bandits hiding behind it flying as well. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, "I’ll go help him!"

"Leave things here to us!" Xuu Xiao, Liuu Fang, Ye Yan, and Chen Ye agreed in unison.

Things should be much better with Chuu Fang heading over to help. After all, Chuu Fang was at the Eighth Grade Peak; he could still barely put up a fight against the enemy.

SQUELCH!

Mu Lingche pierced through an Eighth Grade Martial Artist with a thrust of his spear. He paused for a moment before turning around and heading in Lu Yuan’s direction as well. With Lu Yuan’s Archery Skill combined with his own close-quarters combat prowess, the two of them should be able to handle an ordinary injured Seventh Grade Martial Artist. If they added the Eighth Grade Peak Chuu Fang to the mix, it wasn’t impossible for the three of them to join forces and kill the target.

However, when they arrived at Lu Yuan’s location, they couldn’t help but freeze in surprise. There was no fierce battle taking place, nor were there any sounds of fighting. Looking around, there were only trees; the surroundings were dead silent.

"Did they run off together?" they wondered.

One would be chasing, while the other fled. Lu Yuan was a top-tier archer with sharp eyes; it was entirely normal for him to immediately retreat upon spotting a Seventh Grade coming for him. The Second-in-Command would naturally pursue him. But why wasn’t there any commotion at all? Without any clues, it was impossible to tell which direction they had gone. How were they supposed to provide backup?

"What are you guys looking for?" Lu Yuan squatted on a tree branch, having already picked up his bow and arrows again. Yes, he had climbed another tree.

Mu Lingche snapped his head up. Lu Yuan! It was only Lu Yuan, which meant...

"Where is the Second-in-Command?" Mu Lingche asked.

"Why are you the only one here? Where’s the Second-in-Command?" Chuu Fang also asked, immediately going on high alert. The Second-in-Command had come to kill Lu Yuan, yet Lu Yuan was fine and the Second-in-Command had completely vanished. What exactly was going on?

"He’s lying on the ground," Lu Yuan said, pointing directly below him.

"What?" Chuu Fang and Mu Lingche’s expressions drastically changed. Their eyes scanned the area and quickly locked onto a specific spot.

SWISH! SWISH!

They swiftly approached the location. There, they found a pitch-black corpse lying on the ground with its head split wide open. Judging by the clothes and build, it was undoubtedly the Second-in-Command. The two men were thoroughly bewildered. "What happened? Who killed him? And so fast?" they thought.

RUSTLE!

Chuu Fang quickly crouched down and inspected the wounds.

CRACKLE!

A spark of electricity suddenly jumped out, shocking him so much he shivered and nearly fell flat on his backside.

"The Power of thunder and lightning!" Mu Lingche’s gaze sharpened in an instant as he looked up at Lu Yuan. "You have Thunder Pills?"

Thunder Pills were Disposable Magical Treasures meticulously refined by experts above the Fourth Grade, who used Spirit Treasures to harvest Celestial Thunder Power. The destructive force was immense; let alone a Seventh Grade Martial Artist, even a Sixth Grade Martial Artist would die upon encountering one. However, Thunder Pills were incredibly expensive—not something ordinary Martial Artists or minor families could afford. Furthermore, if he really possessed Thunder Pills, shouldn’t he have taken them out earlier to help Jii Lin blow up that Black Water Profound Snake? Wasting one on the already injured Second-in-Command was truly a squandered opportunity.

"Thunder Pills? I’m not nearly as wealthy as you, Young Master, to have Thunder Pills lying around," Lu Yuan said, shaking his head. "It was just a small trick, there’s no need to dwell on it now. The battle isn’t over yet. Let’s finish this quickly and retreat."

Jii Lin had temporarily lured away the Water Bandits’ First-in-Command and the Black Water Profound Snake. They needed to end the fight swiftly and evacuate immediately. Otherwise, once the First-in-Command and the Black Water Profound Snake returned, they would be in grave danger and find it nearly impossible to escape.

Realizing the critical urgency of the situation, Chuu Fang and Mu Lingche abandoned their questions and spun around to head back to the fray.

SWISH!

THWACK!

Lu Yuan was already drawing his bow and firing. An Eighth Grade Martial Artist who had just stepped out, fighting boldly and confidently, was instantly shot dead.

SWISH!

THWACK!

Another one went down. Lu Yuan’s shooting speed was unbelievably fast. Even though he drew the bowstring to its absolute limit every time, the interval between shots was no more than a second.

SWISH!

THWACK!

That was the thirteenth kill! The Eighth Grade Martial Artists who had shown themselves were basically entirely wiped out. Only one final Eighth Grade Martial Artist stood there all alone, his eyes darting wildly, legs trembling, and his entire body drenched in cold sweat.

SLASH!

Ye Yan dispatched him with a single swing of his blade. By now, all twenty-two Eighth Grade Martial Artists of the Water Bandit Stronghold had been slain. All that remained were forty to fifty bandits at the Ninth Grade or below, either cowering in hiding or standing frozen in fear.

"What is going on?" Chen Ye asked in confusion.

"Lu Yuan is fine?" Xuu Xiao mumbled blankly.

How could that be? It was one thing for a Seventh Grade Martial Artist to fail to handle him, but for Lu Yuan to still have the leisure to shoot arrows? Had Chuu Fang and Su the Ninth managed to tangle up the Second-in-Command, allowing Lu Yuan to provide covering fire?

"How foolish!" Xuu Xiao thought. "Shouldn’t they kill the Second-in-Command first? The three of them joining forces would have a decent chance of succeeding, and we could easily handle things on this end."

SWISH!

Mu Lingche abruptly appeared and hurled the long spear in his hands, sending it spiraling forward like a drill.

SQUELCH!

The spear instantly pierced through two Ninth Grade Martial Artists, then punched cleanly through a two-foot-thick tree trunk, impaling another two Water Bandits.

SWOOSH!

He leaped forward, grabbed the shaft of his spear, and continued his slaughter.

THUD!

Chuu Fang returned wielding his two massive hammers and glared at the four men. "What are you standing around staring for? Hurry up and kill them so we can leave!"

SWISH!

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

Lu Yuan’s arrows rained down once more. It no longer mattered if they were Ninth Grade or below. He had plenty of arrows and needed to end the battle immediately.

"Kill them!"

"Kill!"

SLASH!

Xuu Xiao, Chen Ye, and the others snapped out of their daze and raised their blades to join the fray. The six men quickly slaughtered the remaining Water Bandits. Not a single one managed to escape. By this point, Lu Yuan only had ten arrows left in his quiver.

Lu Yuan glanced at his surroundings, then scaled the thickest and tallest tree to gaze out from the treetop. He quickly spotted the battlefield where Jii Lin was fighting the First-in-Command and her Black Water Profound Snake. They were locked in combat among a stretch of shrubby hills about three or four miles away.

The Black Water Profound Snake’s combat strength would double in or near water, but once it left an aquatic environment, its power would drastically decrease. Jii Lin was exploiting this exact weakness to string them along. However, the Water Bandits’ First-in-Command didn’t completely fall for the bait. Whenever she saw Jii Lin retreating too far, she would stop and command the Black Water Profound Snake to turn around, which Jii Lin naturally couldn’t ignore. As a result, the two sides were locked in a battle of wits and courage across that area.

WHOOSH!

A signal flare shot into the sky.

BANG!

It burst into a cluster of blue fireworks, forming a specific pattern in the air that signaled: "Battle over. Total annihilation!"

"Hahaha..." Jii Lin laughed upon seeing the signal. "Retreat!"