The man who resembled a lion charged to the front of the group of bandits. The silver longbow was more than five feet long, smooth, and taut. It was incredibly eye-catching and intimidating under the sunlight.
The silver longbow was drawn and released repeatedly in the hands of the man who resembled a lion! Every single time he focused on someone, the sound of the bowstring released would be accompanied by a sonic boom that shook the air. Every single time he let loose an arrow, a player would be pinned to the ground. It was a terrifying sight to behold.
Once ten or so people died, the fleeing group finally realized that they were in a dire situation.
The bandits had intentionally controlled their speed and went after them to slowly kill all of them. Soon, nearly half of their people were dead. The bandits were constantly after the people with the tributes. So sooner or later, all of them would die.
The man with the body fortification technique was clearly the leader of the group. Once he regained his composure, he noticed that the bandits had come for the tribute, and he gritted his teeth before he ordered his companions. "Throw away the tributes!"
"Boss!"
They had planned meticulously to snatch them from the thirteen staff-using monks. They had even sacrificed around ten companions to do it. On top of that, no one would be able to release the tributes that were worth cities just like that.
"They only have one Mystical Realm fighter! Split up!" one person with a quick mind suggested loudly.
Their leader's eyes lit up.
"Alright! If we lose one tribute, then so be it. If we manage to save at least one, then our trip wouldn't have been in vain!"
As long as they got to save one tribute, then the sacrifices they made would be rewarded greatly. The group swiftly followed the order.
"Protect me!"
The leader took one of the tributes. His qi instantly reached Gate Realm before it reached Blessed Realm! His body became light, and he ran away at full speed. With one jump, he crossed a few feet and landed in the distance.
The other two people turned around at the same time and left the government-made road with the tribute boxes.
The unkempt middle-aged man could see all of this from the distance. His eyes lit up, and he chuckled before he mumbled under his breath. "At least they're not completely dumb."
"Split up and chase them!"
When the players split into three groups, the bandits quickly did the same. They increased their speed, and the arrows chased after the players.
The powerful Mystical Realm bandit went after the group of people to the left.
He had with him Cloud Piercing Arrow, which could fly long distances. Everyone was killed before they could flee far into the distance. So naturally, the first tribute fell into the hands of the Mystical Realm bandit.
He shifted his gaze and looked toward the battlefield on the government-made road. The people there fought fiercely, entangled in a fierce melee. He frowned slightly, and with a single command, the sound of his horse galloping could be heard. He rushed after the second tribute box like a tidal wave.
The twenty or so bandits on the government-made road did not have a Mystical Realm bandit helping them. Before they could charge too far into the distance, they were faced with a frenzied counterattack from the remaining ten or so Blessed Realm players!
They had been chased by the NPCs as if they were prey. Right then, it was time for them to take revenge. There was no way they would accept defeat.
If they could kill tough opponents like the thirteen staff-using monks, then their abilities had to be pretty good in terms of their martial arts, equipment, and weapons!
They might not be able to fight against three people alone, but they could easily fight against two people.
In a short period of time, twenty or so bandits were cut down along with their horses. They turned from the pursuers to the gifts under the players' weapons. If it were not because their blood would disappear in a short period of time, the government-made road would have become bloody and terrifying.
When the Mystical Realm bandit led a group of people over to provide reinforcements, the twenty or so bandits were already lying dead while the players had fled in all directions!
"Kill them!"
The eyes of the Mystical Realm bandit leader went cold. With two simple words, he made all his bandits chase after the players, and he patted his horse's b.u.t.t to catch up to two players.
With two Shooting Stars Chase the Moon, he swiftly pinned them down and cast his gaze on other prey within his sight.
Just like this, the group who ambushed the thirteen staff-using monks were swiftly reduced to single digits, and their numbers continued dwindling as the Mystical Realm bandit continued chasing after them.
However, all the members of the group had taken the initiative to make this happen.
To stall the Mystical Realm bandit and protect the final two tribute boxes, they could only use their lives as bait and try their best to attract the Mystical Realm bandit's hate to make him stay so their brothers who protected the tribute boxes could escape.
When the Mystical Realm bandit killed the final person within his sight and opened the map again, he found that the two dots on the map had gone into two separate directions, and they were both very faraway!
The Forest Union bandits swiftly split into two groups and vanished from the government-made road.
*****
In the area to the east of the forest at the foot of Mount Song, the man with the high-tier body fortification technique dashed forward madly with a resolute expression at a speed as if there was wind under his feet. He held a tribute box with his left hand while a sword was in the other. His wretched appearance from before had disappeared without a trace, and he now looked much more relaxed.
A piece of paper had been shredded not too long ago behind him. Written on it was: [They're headed west! Be careful on the way!]
Unfortunately for him, his peace was short-lived. He had clearly forgotten one thing—he was next to Mount Song, and it belonged to Shaolin Temple…
Shaolin disciples appeared frequently at the foot of Shaolin Temple, and the tribute box in his hands was like a moving transceiver that sent out signals to attract all the players within a circular area of half a mile of where he was.
Soon, blurry figures appeared in the forest around him.
The man's face paled, and he came to a stop in horror.
He just had to run into his enemies!
*****
The Mystical Realm bandit brought twenty or so bandits through the government-made road in the direction of the pavilion.
Before they could get close, two bandits in Blessed Realm cried out in pain at the same time. They rolled down from the backs of their horses, and it shocked the bandits so much that they tugged at their reins at the same time. With furious glares, they stared at the single man in black within the pavilion!
Chapter 118 - Attack!
The person in black was naturally Happy, who had prepared himself to reap benefits as the third party.
*****
The storyline did not change in general. It still progressed the same way as it did in Happy's previous life. Nothing had changed in the game because of his appearance, even though the unkempt man, who was rumoured to be very skilled in his lightness skill, seemed to have been very troubled when he left.
Happy sized up the matter in his heart.
Based on his memories, the unkempt middle-aged man whom he had met in the pavilion would snatch one of three brocade boxes, another would be taken away by Black Heron, the leader of the group who ambushed the thirteen staff-using monks, and the group of bandits would take the last brocade box back to Taihang Mountains[1] after they failed to catch up to the unkempt middle-aged man.
Happy had decided to handle the hardest brocade box after he pieced together all his memories from his previous life.
He chose to aim for the Mystical Realm bandit because while the
unkempt middle-aged man did not seem imposing and did indeed not possess a lot of combat strength, his extraordinary lightness skills made him someone that could cause a headache even to the powerful people at the two empresses and three kings' caliber. All those who provoked him would not have a good night's sleep. They would have to constantly be on guard to prevent their items going missing for no reason.
As for Black Heron, his high-tier body fortification technique, Rotating Spherical Cover, could reflect a portion of the attacker's damage back at them. In the game right then, there were very few people who could stand up to him. Besides, even if Happy had the confidence to snatch his brocade box, he would not be able to run from the numerous eyes and ears that were at the foot of the mountain that belonged to Shaolin Temple. He would just get into even more trouble.
Also, Happy did not intend to get multiple brocade boxes.
If he only had one tribute, he would be able to handle the bounty the system assigned to him and the pursuit of the Forest Union. If he had more, he did not know whether he would be able to handle the dangers that would be associated with it. That was why he went to the Mystical Realm bandit.
He casually stood up in the pavilion. His very blatant provocative stance instantly angered the bandits.
"You're just asking for death!"
When the Mystical Realm bandit leader saw that this person had killed two of his brothers right before his eyes, he flew into a rage. His expression morphed into one of anger, and he drew the silver longbow!
Bang!
The bowstring quivered, and an arrow shot into the pavilion with a powerful sonic boom!
Happy had played the game for more than three years, and he had an easy time in it later on. If he could not even dodge arrows, he would have wasted all his time in the game.
He raised his arms and two of his lancet knives out again.
"Ahh!"
The ones who cried out in pain were not humans, but horses!
Upon being struck, they neighed in fright because of the pain. They raised their front hooves before the two bandits on their backs could react to the situation and threw them off.
Happy had been able to kill two Blessed Realm bandits in one go earlier because his attacks had taken the bandits by surprise, and the sound of horse hooves had disguised his attack. They were ready to fight him right then though, so it was only natural that he would not be able to kill them as easily as before.
Happy's two lancet knives were thrown almost at the moment the bandit leader fired the arrow.
Thud!
At the same time the two people fell off their horses, the arrow sank a few inches into the stone table, and its fletching trembled violently. It was a clear sign of how great the archer's Arm Strength was.
However, while the damage of an arrow was more terrifying than that of the throwing knives, arrows were slightly more inferior in terms of shooting speed and agility.
Thud! Thud!
The two bandits covered their c.h.e.s.ts and fell to the ground. They could no longer get up.
In a flash, Happy killed four Blessed Realm bandits, and he reduced the group of twenty-one to seventeen…
"Kill him!"
When he saw how agile Happy was and found that he was not like the other Blessed Realm players he dealt with in the past, a grave expression finally appeared on the face of the bandit leader. Once he shouted his order in anger, the bandits got down from their horses to surround the pavilion.
Happy smiled faintly. He threw two knives to confuse his enemies' sight and hearing, and a Hundred-battle Saber landed in his hands. It drew a saber glare in the air that formed a blue halo that swept through the middle of the Forest Union bandits.
It was just as Happy had expected, the bandit leader did not immediately join the fray.
Of course, it was not because the bandit leader had decided to put on airs. It was because of his natural instincts. The cunning bandits cherished their lives a lot. Before they fought, they used their subordinates to spearhead the attack.
If it were not because he had a deep understanding of how the bandits did things, Happy would not have had the courage to appear in front of a Mystical Realm bandit and a dozen other Blessed Realm bandits by himself.
Normal Blessed Realm bandits did not have any high-tier martial arts. Their overall abilities might not even match up to Black Wind Mountain's chief bandit. They did not have any secret techniques, and neither did they have good equipment. They relied on max-level low-tier martial arts that were strengthened by their qi realm to oppress others. Their sabers shone brightly, and they looked incredibly powerful.
Not a single hint of nervousness and panic could be seen on Happy's face when he charged into the bandits' group by himself.
The bandit who led the charge had not even been able to show his bold and heroic momentum when Happy disarmed him with a single slash performed without any flourish. He was sent flying sideways by the force contained in the blade. From then on, he would probably have a scar that would be difficult to get rid of on his face.
Happy caught up to the bandit closest to him with small but fast steps. Using Golden Dragon Stretches Claw, he dexterously seized the bandit's arm. With a pull and tug, the bandit lost his balance, and Happy guided his movements, making him block the others. The bandits then hesitated to attack their companion.
Meanwhile, Happy brandished his Hundred-battle Saber with one hand. Its blade shone brightly, and he made two people retreat.
Whoosh!
Happy did not forget about the Mystical Realm bandit leader, who posed the greatest threat to him. When he saw the bandit leader move, he calmly pushed the bandit in his hand forward to be shot. He also executed Flowering Knights Slash and turned in the air like a spinning top while surrounded by enemies. The dazzling blue glare became brighter by several degrees, and Happy, who had now turned into a meat grinder, moved forward swiftly.
Roooaaaaar!
The three bandits in front of him had never seen such a violent attack. They were caught off guard, and blood gushed into the air. The bandits around them were also injured badly. They fell to the ground.
As for the bandit whom Happy had flung out as a shield, the bandit leader had shot through him and he was undoubtedly dead.
Whoosh!
With fire burning in his eyes, he jumped from the back of his horse. He put away his silver longbow and lifted a purple-red great ax, which he swung down while still in the air.
As expected of a powerful Mystical Realm fighter, even though he had jumped into the air, he practically curled himself into a ball, which meant that most of his body was protected by the ax's blade. He was so fast that Happy did not have time to throw any throwing knives at him.
"Perfect timing!" Happy shouted. He took two steps backwards, which resulted in the bandit leader's attack missing.
Thud, thud, thud, thud…
The bandit leader was like an enraged but agile King Kong. With murderous intent in his eyes, he moved swiftly. The glare on his blade was so bright it was blinding to the eyes. His jump into the air was so strong that he arrived in front of Happy in just a few steps.
Happy's expression did not change. He continued retreating.
One person chased after the other. The wind blew against the leaves on the ground, lifting them up, and dust flew in the air!
Soon, the two people retreated to an empty spot that was very far away from the bandits. An aura that was slightly inferior to the bandit leader's rose from Happy.
Chapter 119 - Unkempt Man
As of then, NPCs who had reached Mystical Realm were very rare and practically invincible existences in World of Martial Arts. They had all necessary skills: a body fortification technique, a lightness skill, a high-tier martial art, and a secret technique. Their equipment and weapon were also extraordinary. They had an attack system that they declared entirely their own, and because of how rare they were, it made them even more difficult to deal with.
Hence
, even players with high-tier martial arts would feel nervous when they ran into NPCs in Mystical Realm. They could only run when they caught wind of them. That was why the forty or so people had taken flight after meeting the bandits earlier.
But Happy was different.
After playing the game for three years, the powerful players he had fought before were all people who could kill Life and Death Realm NPCs with just a few attacks. Even if they faced Moksha Realm NPCs, they could still win easily. The Mystical Realm NPCs might seem strong, but to Happy, as long as he did not commit any beginner-level mistakes, it would not be difficult while being a Blessed Realm player to defeat them.
However, the bandit leader's ax techniques were indeed very fierce and domineering. Once he executed his skills, light in the shape of a few axs could be seen in the air. It was even brighter than the saber glare Happy had from Flowering Knights' Song! It moved forward constantly and forced Happy back. He had to keep avoiding the glare from the ax.
Attacks based on fierce and strong techniques might be violent, but they could not be fast.
The bandit leader's ax technique had an astonishing speed, but his footwork was not ingenious.
Hence, even if he was oppressed by the bandit leader, Happy did not panic. He remained calm and composed, acting carefully. He temporarily prioritized defense and evading the bandit leader's attacks.
The process might be simple, and to Happy, it was something he could do skillfully, but that was because it was an acc.u.mulation of three years of experience with martial arts. When the bandit leader raised his hand and moved his feet, the aura and ax glare he revealed would automatically tell Happy his possible attack trajectories, and he could subsequently parry or avoid the attack.
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