Chapter 17: Escape

Just by appearance, Tie Li looks older, about half a head taller than them, and his body is sturdier.

"Three Soul Masters, this way, please!"

The caravan's official arrived, looking a bit plump, with a flattering smile on his face.

The caravan waited in the trading house's plaza, using a total of twenty‑four wagons to load the goods, still one person per wagon.

But compared with the Wind‑Snow Trading House's caravan, this one seemed rather amateurish.

In conduct and work, this fat official also fell short.

Bringing Tie Li and the other two to the caravan, they saw some people hadn't finished loading the cargo, and instead went to scold them, leaving Tie Li and his companions aside.

The other two were probably on their first escort mission, and thought it was no big deal.

Although Tie Li had only experienced one escort mission, in his mind the standard for caravans was set by the one led by the horse official; compared, this caravan fell below that level.

In Tie Li's mind, their image was already fixed.

When the wagons were finished, he only then recalled the three Soul Masters he had left aside, and felt immediate regret.

But seeing they were not old, he thought they should be fine, the fat official muttered to himself.

Regaining his composure, the fat official pretended to be calm and approached the three, as if it were the normal procedure, arranging wagons for them.

Sure enough, a clueless rookie—scared me to death.

Tie Li gave the fat official a glance, said nothing, but his impression score was certainly heavily reduced.

Indeed, people can't stand comparison.

One person per wagon, each with a dedicated resting compartment and a driver.

Tie Li chose the last of the three wagons and slipped inside.

The driver assigned to Tie Li was a goofy middle‑aged man.

After everything was arranged, the caravan set off officially.

The journey would take about twenty days, and the reason for hiring three One Ring Soul Masters was that the stretch between Fuyu City and Kailuo City is remote and desolate, with frequent bandit ambushes.

But bandits don't rob just anyone; if they see a Soul Master in the caravan, they'll be considerate enough to let them go.

It's unclear whether their luck was worse, but already on the first night they were surrounded by a group of bandits.

Tie Li stepped out of the compartment and saw the bandits encircling the caravan—over a hundred of them, each wielding a large cleaver.

The caravan's people had been terrified long ago; even those still handling cargo huddled to the side.

Compared with the horse official's caravan, this one lagged by more than one grade overall.

The other two Soul Masters turned pale, momentarily at a loss.

Obviously, it was their first time facing such a display.

"M—my lord, tell us what you need, and we'll try to satisfy you," the fat official whispered, shuffling before the bandit leader, forcing out a smile uglier than crying.

"Leave your goods, and hand over any valuables you carry; perhaps if I'm in a good mood, I'll let you go free."

The bandit leader was a rough, hulking man, brandishing a round‑blade greatsword, his bare torso scarred with numerous wounds, adding to his ferocity.

"Well… the others are easy to deal with…"

The fat official said that on purpose, to see if the other side would be wary of the Soul Masters' status.

"Hahaha, using Soul Masters to scare me?" the bandit leader seemed to hear a joke and burst into laughter.

At that moment, a subordinate beside the bandit leader sneered.

"Our chief and second‑in‑command are both Soul Masters; bring out yours, and watch our chief slash your Soul Master Great Sir."

The fat official hadn't expected the bandit chief to be a Soul Master; momentarily clueless, he instinctively looked at Tie Li and the two.

"Just three kids? I'd say you be sensible, lest you suffer."

The bandit leader's gaze swept the three, lingering a few extra seconds on Tie Li.

Tie Li glanced at the caravan's people, who were already terrified and helpless; indeed, this group was unreliable.

"What, you don't believe?"

The bandit leader pretended to be angry, his aura flaring; two white Soul Rings materialized beneath him.

The two young Soul Masters' last line of defense collapsed; they had just hoped to scare the opponent with their Soul Master status, but the bandit leader's Soul Power Level surpassed theirs and he possessed an extra Soul Ring.

Seeing this, the bandit leader was about to grin, when he saw Tie Li summon his martial soul.

A flash of Lightning Light appeared in his right hand, and the Forging Hammer martial soul manifested in Tie Li's grasp.

A yellow Soul Ring floated onto the Forging Hammer!

He glanced at the Forging Hammer martial soul with slight shock, silently sighing.

Even Tie Li was somewhat shocked by the martial soul's transformation; if he could fully absorb the Thousand-Year Lei Mang Inner Pill, an even greater change would occur.

The blue‑white interwoven Lightning Light and the yellow‑glowing Hundred-Year Soul Ring put great pressure on the bandit leader before him.

Whether martial soul or Soul Ring, both far exceeded him.

When Tie Li summoned his martial soul, the scene instantly grew tense; the caravan folk were the most fearful, unable to muster any thought of resistance against a hundred‑plus bandit horde.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Then they'll have to pay for your actions," the bandit leader swung his greatsword, aiming at the caravan's people.

The other bandits drew their greatswords toward the caravan; at the chief's command, they'd cut the lot down without hesitation.

"Wait… wait, Soul Master Great Sir, they outnumber us; if you suffer any loss, I'll have the trading house compensate you," the fat official shouted hastily.

Tie Li deliberately showed a hint of intent, the moment he was most relaxed, when a small, sharp‑toothed, monkey‑faced figure suddenly attacked from the side, a white Soul Ring appearing beneath him, emitting a pure white glow.

"I've been waiting for you!"

Tie Li's gaze sharpened, the Forging Hammer in his hand crackling with threads of Lightning Light.

The bandit second‑in‑command's First Soul Technique was likely a speed‑boosting soul skill; his ambush was swift, but Tie Li accurately predicted the attack direction.

"Snap"

A hammer smash shattered his skull, red and white splattering outward.

A single strike killed a One Ring Soul Master.

"Attack!" the bandit leader shouted.

A bandit gang of hundreds surged forward; at this moment Tie Li wouldn't even bother dealing with them, snatching a bandit's horse and riding away toward the distance.

The numerical gap was too great, and the caravan members were of such low quality that even if one risked death to kill the bandit leader, they would already have become the bandits' dead under the blade.

Could it possibly be that I must escort these over twenty carts of cargo alone?

Rather than that, it's better to choose the situation most advantageous to oneself.

(End of chapter)