Xu Xing’s heart jolted when the knife in her hand snapped in two. This was a gift from the City Lord, and now it was broken. After the initial shock, Xu Xing erupted in fury. Her eyes turned red as she glared at the bandits on the mountain, shouting, "It's all your fault! The City Lord's knife broke because of you! You all deserve to die!"
With that, Xu Xing continued her charge up the mountain. The broken half of the knife was already sheathed, and now, Xu Xing no longer needed a weapon.
The bandits immediately opened fire on Xu Xing. Many were already terrified by her previous display. Despite appearing to be just a young girl, Xu Xing had charged in with a samurai sword, leaving countless dead and injured in her wake. The sound of her blade still echoed, a truly terrifying sight.
Now, with Xu Xing’s knife broken, the bandits saw an opportunity. They had to kill this great villain now, or their casualties would surely skyrocket.
However, as the bandits aimed and fired at Xu Xing, they were surprised to find they couldn't lock onto her position. Xu Xing’s speed had reached a level that was difficult for the naked eye to track, making it impossible to hit her even with gunfire.
At this moment, Xu Xing charged into the crowd again, abandoning her weapon and using her fists as her armament. She landed punch after punch on her enemies.
Even without a weapon, it seemed Xu Xing was at a disadvantage. Yet, when Xu Xing truly entered the fray, she still killed one person with a single punch.
Xu Xing's strength alone was enough to kill a water buffalo with one blow, not to mention her vibration ability. As soon as her fist made contact, a powerful shockwave would instantly impact the enemy's internal organs. From the outside, there would be no visible abnormality, but one punch could directly rupture a person's heart.
The bandits were already in despair, watching their comrades being sliced in half. It felt like they were next to die. Such a terrifying scene had a profound impact. Any normal person witnessing this would have likely died of fright.
Yet, after losing her weapon, Xu Xing continued to kill. One bandit fell with each punch, the dull thud of fists hitting flesh echoing continuously, "Bang, bang..." One by one, the bandits fell. The bandit leaders on the mountain watched in sheer terror. They could not fathom such a horrific scene; it was beyond human capability.
Cang Ying stared at Xu Xing as she rampaged through the crowd, frozen in shock. He murmured, "Is this what an ability user is like? Are there truly such terrifying ability users in the world? It's unimaginable. How can a woman achieve this level?"
Cang Ying felt his worldview collapsing. Ever since he led his men up the mountain, he had been robbing passing merchants. He couldn't help but bring beautiful women back to the mountain to enjoy. In his eyes, women were all weak and fragile. Even the most fiery woman couldn't withstand his fists. Now, a woman this powerful was slaughtering his subordinates. Only now did Cang Ying truly understand how powerful ability users were.
Although there were four thousand bandits here, which seemed like a lot, more bandits gathered here would still not be a match for Xu Xing and her companions. Moreover, there was more than one ability user!
Besides Xu Xing, Cao Fu Lie and Lin Yue had also charged out. Lin Yue's gathered sonic blasts could kill dozens of people at once. While fighting, he constantly roared, not out of anger, but to amplify his sonic attacks. Many enemies had their eardrums burst, rendering them deaf unable to hear anything, only seeing figures moving before them, but the sound no longer reached their brains.
Cao Fu Lie's fighting style was simpler. As he charged out, countless plastic fragments transformed into sharp spikes, instantly piercing enemies, or coalesced into fists. The massive fists swung continuously, and anyone hit by them would suffer broken bones and shattered joints.
Under the charge of the three ability users, the bandit lines retreated steadily. Bandits had no concept of loyalty; they would not fight to the death. If the situation turned unfavorable, they would retreat.
Seeing that the battle was lost, many bandits turned and fled into the distant woods without a word, their escape skills fully displayed.
Cang Ying, unable to command his subordinates and seeing the ability users below approaching him, turned to ask his brothers, "Brothers, should we run..."
Before he could finish, Cang Ying saw the mountain peak was empty. The other bandit leaders who had been standing with him had all vanished. They had likely fled when the situation turned bad.
Seeing this, Cang Ying couldn't help but curse, "What a bunch of cowardly rats! Not only are the grunts useless, but these leaders are also useless."
With that, Cang Ying also turned and fled into the distance. He wasn't resentful of his allies' cowardice, but rather that they had secretly slipped away without calling him when they decided to escape.
The bandits' combat effectiveness was inherently lower than that of mercenaries. Their initial advantage came from a surprise attack. Now, their numerical superiority was gone, and their command structure had completely disappeared. The bandits immediately scattered into the mountains to escape.
Xu Xing had been watching the figures on the mountain for a long time, especially a bald man with a scar on his face. This man had been the most vocal at the start of the battle, indicating he held the highest rank. Killing him would be the greatest achievement. Therefore, seeing Cang Ying fleeing, Xu Xing charged directly at him.
"Trying to leave? It's too late now!" Xu Xing sneered and stomped down hard. Instantly, the entire mountainside began to shake. While it wasn't enough to cause a major earthquake, shaking a mountainside was no longer difficult.
Xu Xing’s foot landed on the ground, causing violent tremors on the mountainside. Trees shook continuously. It was autumn, and leaves fell from the trees, while unstable rocks rolled down.
Taking advantage of this, Xu Xing charged forward and found Cang Ying, who had already fallen to the ground.
"You were the one who found these scoundrels to rob us, weren't you? Die!" Xu Xing was about to strike and eliminate this ringleader.
However, Cang Ying suddenly knelt before Xu Xing with a "plop." He then kowtowed profusely, tears streaming down his face, begging, "Heroine! I was coerced! I didn't want to come up the mountain, but those damned people tied me up and brought me here! My wife and child were all killed! Please don't kill me, I know I was wrong."
Hearing this, Xu Xing became confused and asked, "Weren't you just shouting on the mountain? You even said, 'Charge forward!' If you weren't the boss, who would believe that?"
Cang Ying quickly sobbed, "Heroine, I'm truly not lying. I was tied up and brought to the mountain. Because I knew the mountain paths, they used me as a guide. Since I have a loud voice, they made me responsible for relaying messages. I was shouting earlier because those scoundrels told me to."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xing actually believed him. The explanation was seamless and seemed entirely plausible. Otherwise, how could he have said it all so quickly?
Furthermore, one reason Xu Xing spared these two was their address. When the man repeatedly called her "Heroine," Xu Xing's desire to uphold justice was satisfied, and her face filled with pride.
"Alright, get up. I'll spare your life. Tell me, where did the real boss go?" Xu Xing pressed.
Cang Ying felt immense relief, fortunate to have escaped. He thought, "I didn't expect a naive newcomer to believe my casual words so easily. I managed to get away."
Next, Cang Ying pointed towards the dense forest in the distance, precisely in the direction the bandit leaders had fled, and shouted, "That way! They ran that way. The ones wearing luxurious clothes must be the bosses. They keep all the good things on them, so they wear the cleanest clothes."
Without a word, Xu Xing rushed towards the dense forest, causing the mountainside to shake as she ran. Besides her, it was difficult for anyone to maintain their footing.
Seeing the "killing demon king" heading in the direction he indicated, Cang Ying finally breathed a sigh of relief. He changed direction and fled. Reaching a steep slope, he tucked his head, cupped his hands over his head, and curled into a ball, rolling straight down the mountain. His speed was surprisingly not slow.
In fact, this was a family tradition. His great-grandfather was a bandit. Unfortunately, he was captured and executed during a bandit suppression campaign. However, it took the army over two months to capture his great-grandfather. The reason was simple: his great-grandfather knew a technique called "Rolling Rock." He would protect his head with his hands and find a steep slope to roll down. As long as his legs were not injured after reaching the bottom of the slope, he could escape.
Most of the bandit suppression troops were militia and lacked such courage. Therefore, Cang Ying's great-grandfather escaped several times. It wasn't until two months later that he encountered an extremely steep slope. While rolling down, he broke both legs, and only then was he captured and executed.
Now, facing mercenaries swarming the mountain, Cang Ying had no choice but to follow his ancestor's example, hoping to safely reach the foot of the mountain. As long as he could survive, anything else was secondary.
Cang Ying rolled down the mountain with his head protected, his speed undiminished. His hands, meant to protect his head, continuously hit the rocks on the mountain. Soon, his hands became bloody and mangled, and one of his arms broke. However, even under the continuous impact, Cang Ying did not let go, and finally reached the foot of the mountain.
"Hoo..." Cang Ying saw that he had reached the foot of the mountain intact and finally breathed a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face. He thought, "My ancestor's method really works. Now, who can catch me? I must never provoke people from Yuzhou again; they are too terrifying."
After this battle, Cang Ying was utterly defeated. He didn't know how many of his subordinates were killed. His plan to rob grain and live a life of pleasure was now ruined. Moreover, it would not be easy to make a comeback in the future.
However, Cang Ying had also gained knowledge. He had never seen ability users before and thought they were just exaggerated tales, completely unbelievable. But now, Cang Ying truly believed in the power of ability users and would never provoke them again.
Cang Ying limped into the woods. When the mercenaries reached the mountain, they indeed discovered the bandits rolling down from the mountain. Everyone exchanged glances, hesitant to pursue. The slope was too steep; if they ran down, they wouldn't be able to stop and would fall to their deaths.
"Forget it, one minor rogue escaped, it's nothing. Let's pursue into the woods." The mercenaries discussed and decided that chasing a minor rogue was a waste of time; it was better to capture more people.
Luo Qing saw the battle conclude swiftly. He took out his phone and checked it, saying, "Forty minutes to achieve victory. It seems bandits are just at this level."