Chapter 751: Night Crow Harbor (2)

Chapter 751: Chapter 462: Night Crow Harbor (2)

Only certain Professionals could use Spirituality to strengthen their bodies.

Let alone manipulate this Spirituality to replenish themselves.

But for Hu Qi, this was simply not a problem.

As one whose essence was that of a True God, accomplishing this was effortless for him.

Though he couldn’t become Extraordinary,

he could mobilize his Qi and Blood to enhance his physical body.

Pushing it ever closer to the physical limits of a human in this world.

This was one of twelve training exercises Hu Qi had designed specifically to improve the Physique of this human body.

However,

he stopped just as he finished the eleventh exercise.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to continue,

but that some uninvited guests had arrived.

At first, there were only a few sporadic sounds, like someone in the distance beating on a damp drumhead.

Gradually, the sounds merged, becoming like the rolling of muffled thunder before a thunderstorm.

At that moment,

the caravan members and Old Butte noticed it as well.

Instantly, they all shot to their feet, their expressions guarded.

Suddenly, the muffled sound of hooves echoed from the distant forest.

The sound grew clearer, as if the very ground was trembling.

The group held their breath, their gazes piercing the drizzling curtain of rain as they stared toward the source of the sound.

Among the dark shadows of the trees, points of torchlight flickered like will-o’-the-wisps, faintly outlining a rapidly approaching party.

The thundering of hooves grew closer, chaotic and urgent, accompanied by the clang of metal and coarse shouts.

Over thirty bandits burst from the woods, their figures appearing twisted and grotesque in the rainy night.

Their battered Leather Armor was caked with mud, and their rusted blades glinted coldly in the torchlight.

As their riders pulled the reins taut, the horses whinnied, snorting white vapor as they stamped to a halt on the muddy ground.

Most of them had their faces masked with ragged cloth, revealing only eyes that shone like a hungry wolf’s.

Rainwater dripped from the bandits’ weapons as they reined in their horses, forming a semicircle in front of the cave.

The horses stamped uneasily, their iron bits clinking and clattering.

Someone let out a sharp whistle that pierced the rain, followed by a burst of coarse laughter.

They were in no hurry to attack, like cats toying with captured prey.

“Everyone inside, get out here now!”

The bandit leader, mounted on a tall black horse, had a hideous scar stretching across his face, his eyes glinting with greed and savagery.

He glared at the people inside the cave.

His voice cut through the sound of the rain.

“My friend, perhaps there’s been a misunderstanding… I had an agreement with Griffith…”

Seeing this,

Old Butte’s expression soured.

Still, he took a step forward, attempting to defuse the situation.

However, before he could finish, the bandit leader brutally cut him off.

“That old bastard?”

The bandit leader spat, pointing the tip of his saber to the ground.

“I chopped him to bits and fed him to the crows three days ago. Now, I’m in charge here.”

He grinned, revealing a row of crooked, yellow teeth.

“Leave all your moneybags, and chop off ten arms. Then I’ll spare your lives.”

A deathly silence fell over the caravan.

Seventeen people against thirty-five blades. The odds of victory were slim, to say nothing of the firearms some bandits had tucked into their belts.

But if they really were to sever their own arms, it would be like lambs surrendering to wolves. There would be only one outcome: death.

Old Butte tightened his grip on the axe handle at his waist.

‘He knew that to compromise would mean entrusting their lives to the enemy.’

But not everyone was so clear-headed.

The coachmen’s gazes began to shift, darting between one another like a pack of foraging rats.

‘Ten arms.’

‘There are seventeen of us here.’

‘If we just hand over five people, the remaining twelve can escape unscathed…’

‘The few must always bleed for the many; self-preservation is only natural.’

At this thought,

some quietly took half a step back, while others tightened their grip on the weapons at their waists.

Seeing this,

Old Butte’s face darkened.

‘He understood now.’

‘This group of bandits was different from the last ones.’

‘The previous bandits had occupied a stronghold, entrenching themselves in the area for the long term. They even collected ‘protection fees’ from nearby villages and travelers.’

‘They acted like a local warlord’s faction. As long as you paid up, they wouldn’t cause trouble. They were interested in long-term business.’

‘But these ones… they must be roving bandits.’

‘This type has no fixed base. They’re nomadic, often attacking merchant caravans and remote villages.’

‘They usually hit one target and then quickly relocate.’

‘This kind was undoubtedly the most troublesome. They had no restraints whatsoever.’

‘In a situation like this, bloodshed is inevitable.’

At this thought,

his expression grew grim.

‘If it comes to it, I’ll fight. Better to take a few of them down with me than to wait helplessly for death.’

“Excellent. The numbers are just right!”

However, just then,

a calm voice abruptly rang out.

Looking toward the source of the voice,

they saw that the speaker was none other than

Hu Qi, who was standing at the back of the crowd.

He was now rising to his feet.

Old Butte opened his mouth as if to speak, but, for some reason, he thought better of it and said nothing.

“I didn’t think there’d be someone here who wasn’t afraid to die!”

The bandit leader narrowed his eyes, the flesh on his face twisting into a vicious sneer.

He waved his Long Saber.

“Go, chop off that brat’s hands and feet! Let’s see if he can stay so calm after that.”

“With pleasure, Boss!”

A burly bandit grinned, striding forward while hefting a rusty Long Saber.

The faces of the caravan members turned deathly pale as they scrambled back, clearing a path as if terrified of being splattered with blood.

Seeing this, the bandit’s grin grew even more sinister.

HISS—!

Suddenly, at that very moment, a faint sound cut through the air.

Then,

the bonfire inside the cave trembled violently, and its flames shot up like vipers, transforming into dozens of hair-thin threads of fire that carved Crimson trajectories through the night.