Chapter 277: The Bandit's Courtyard — Fierce Battle

Jier spread his feet, standing firm with one in front and one behind, his center of gravity sinking. Because his shield was very lightweight, Jier extended it forward to expand his defensive space.

He loosened and tightened his right hand holding the Long Sword, moving it about to prepare for the coming battle.

The Bandit Leader opposite saw that his opponent was ready for combat; he stroked the neat beard on his face, let out a shout, planted one foot firmly, pushed off with the other, and lunged forward rapidly.

Jier did not expect that even with an impaired leg, the opponent could still execute such a fierce lunging attack.

Lao Feisi lowered his body, moving out of the light cast from the room behind him, letting the bright light shine directly onto the upper body of the young Warrior opposite.

Jier narrowed his eyes; the intense light shone straight into them. Realizing the opponent's intent, he shifted his shield toward the angle of the opponent's likely Battle Knife strike, while he himself stepped back, attempting to use movement to avoid the range of this attack.

Clang!

The heavy, powerful strike of the Battle Knife hit the shield, spraying sparks before it followed the rotation of Lao Feisi's body, swinging back around for another fierce slash.

Jier dodged to the right, avoiding the light shining directly out from the room. This time, he saw the opponent's attack pattern clearly. As the shield met the incoming Battle Knife again, the two collided and scraped, and Jier took the opportunity to strike with his Long Sword.

But Lao Feisi, as a Bandit with very rich combat experience, sensed Jier's impending counterattack just from the rhythm of the fight. With a scoop and a swing of his Battle Knife, he deflected Jier's rapid thrust.

To the side, Yigena crouched low and rolled, arriving at Jier's flank. Although his Dagger could not do much to the fully armored Warrior opposite, moving there could pose a threat to him.

This way, he could assist his boss in seizing the favorable position in the fight. They were Bandits, after all; there was no need to talk about fairness in battle—they would do whatever was to their advantage.

The only reason they didn't coat their weapons in poison was that the current weather was too cold, and the poison would freeze on the blades.

Otherwise, throwing stones, tossing daggers, cursing, and pulling at limbs were all methods they would use in a fight.

Jier sensed the faint threat brought by the Bandit on his left. Although the opponent's weapon was too light and small to threaten his armor, if the opponent were to recklessly throw himself at him just to create a chance for a killing blow for their leader, Jier had to consider that possibility.

Therefore, he continued to shift his feet to the right, parrying the old Bandit's Battle Knife while widening the distance from the Dagger-wielding Bandit, not giving the latter a chance to intervene in the fight.

The old Bandit's blade technique was seasoned. The rapid lunging technique from the start seemed unusable multiple times due to his leg issues, so the old Bandit mostly used a type of blade dance uncommon in the local area to launch attacks at Jier.

The opponent's blade dance sounded like a weak method of attack, but in reality, the continuous sound of Jier's shield colliding with it declared that this technique was, in fact, a swift and fierce way of fighting.

The opponent's attacks gave Jier absolutely no chance to think or counter, with a continuous stream of offensives coming from the old Bandit's direction. Not only that, the attacks were not just a chaotic mess, but precise strikes—up, down, left, right, with both downward slashes and upward cuts.

Jier had to exert all his strength just to keep the shield on his left arm moving fast enough to keep up with the opponent; the sparks from the blade-and-shield collisions were practically forming a solid line on the shield's surface.

Gritting his teeth, Jier realized while barely defending that if he did not counterattack, he would surely be killed before his opponent grew tired. Because the opponent currently occupied the initiative of the situation, he himself only had the strength to defend blindly; if he didn't counter, the opponent would put all his effort into the offensive, leaving Jier with nowhere to hide and no way to defend.

Once a single mistake occurred, the armor on his body—while capable of defending against a light, short-bladed Dagger—could not possibly defend against the opponent's long-bladed Battle Knife. Although the opponent's Battle Knife was not heavy, it wasn't light either, and it had the added inertia and speed from the rotation.

The sharp blade would slice right through his Hard Cowhide Armor.

Jier steeled his spirit, trying to fix his gaze on the opponent's form to find a flaw in the old Bandit. To be honest, he regretted not taking that unknown Mushroom that enhanced one's spirit and reflexes before coming. Although his body had felt terrible after eating it last time, with his eyes and head aching for two days, he understood the boost it provided at the time.

Amidst the continuous onslaught, Jier looked past the sparks flying from the shield's surface and saw the old Bandit's entire body rotating with the swing of the Battle Knife. He wasn't just rotating in one direction; when the Battle Knife swung from the left, the opponent was rotating counter-clockwise from Jier's perspective.

If this strike was blocked by the shield, the old Bandit would use the recoil from the collision to rotate his entire body clockwise along with the Battle Knife.

By doing so, the next strike would come from Jier's right side.

Although he understood this fighting style, the old Bandit was very proficient in this technique; his arm seemed to have become a Rope winding around the Battle Knife, swaying left and right with the blade according to different forces.

And the main body of the old Bandit was not rotating randomly either.

Before every strike, his waist would twist to add force in the direction of the slash. As for the old Bandit's feet, his lame leg—which was inconvenient to move and had likely suffered a severe injury before—served only as a pivot point.

The other, good leg pushed off the ground, serving as the starting point to initially boost the blade's momentum, adding force to the Battle Knife in his hand.

Jier forcibly seized an opportunity; after the opponent slashed his shield once, he immediately followed up with his counterattack, taking advantage of the moment the opponent was still using the recoil force to prepare for the next strike.

He slashed his Long Sword rapidly toward the old Bandit's legs; Jier saw that the opponent's weakness likely lay in his legs.

This type of blade dance technique surely required a stable and solid pivot point. And that pivot point was the old Bandit's lame leg, which had not moved significantly.

But the old Bandit had been waiting for Jier's counterattack.

Lao Feisi kept one foot still, stomped the other good leg hard on the ground, and then, taking advantage of his whole body rising slightly, he retracted both legs to let Jier's strike pass by.

With the strike missing, Jier hurriedly thrust his left-arm shield forward.

Sure enough, the old Bandit's Battle Knife stopped rotating and instead thrust straight at Jier's sword-wielding arm at a tricky angle.

He wanted to ruin the hand this young man used to hold his sword. Once that hand was injured, the opponent would only have a shield left; how could he fight with just a shield? He would only be waiting for death next.

Seeing that the shield wouldn't make it in time, Jier's right hand holding the sword twisted the Long Sword upward slightly, letting the old Bandit's Battle Knife collide with his Long Sword first.

Clang!

As the blade and sword collided and slowed slightly, Jier's shield hurriedly followed up, pushing the opponent's Battle Knife back with a shove.

Yigena, the Bandit guarding the flank, saw this situation with a look of regret on his face.

Lao Feisi was quite excited, laughing out loud as he stopped the blade dance: "Hahahaha, it seems this trick can't do anything to you. I'm going to use my full strength now, hahahaha."

He switched the Battle Knife to his other hand and shook it. At this moment, Yigena rushed forward, using his Dagger to fiercely attack Jier's flank and back, forcing Jier to sweep his Long Sword a few times to drive away the Bandit who was disturbing him.

Lao Feisi shook his hand and panted in place for a moment. Seeing that his subordinate Yigena was at a disadvantage and could be injured at any time, he swung his Battle Knife and approached the Warrior opposite step by step.

Seeing the old Bandit closing in, Jier brushed off the Dagger-wielding Bandit and hurriedly faced the strong enemy head-on.

As the battle progressed to this point, Jier felt a wave of fatigue in his body.

He had previously led many civilians on a trek through the wilderness and mountains for many days, only returning to Bingxun Pass this afternoon. As a result, he had just taken a bath when he was suddenly attacked by Bandits in the inn. Afterward, he settled the injured civilians, immediately put on his armor, and tracked them all the way here. Then came the fierce battle, where he used his equipment and the terrain to kill and defeat several Bandits, broke into the hidden Jiedian in the Bandit's outpost, and then proceeded to fight this Bandit Leader.

The long hours of fighting and running caused his physical stamina to drop very quickly. Especially since the many days of trekking in the mountains had not allowed him to rest well and relieve the fatigue and exhaustion deep in his body.

Now, in such an intense battle, Jier finally felt breathless and realized he could no longer keep up with the opponent's offensive.

Although the old Bandit was also lacking in stamina due to his advanced age and had just used the physically demanding blade dance to attack, he had been sitting in command at Bingxun Pass for the past few days and had not lost a shred of stamina; if the fight continued, he could still maintain it for a while.

For the subsequent attacks, Lao Feisi no longer launched a fierce assault, but instead competed with the opponent in blade and sword techniques.

The two's weapons often collided and tangled; Lao Feisi's technique was superior, and he could always spot the opponent's openings or parry the Long Sword to launch attacks at the opponent's body.

However, the shield on Jier's left arm performed a miracle; because the shield was sufficiently lightweight, it could always move to the landing point of the opponent's Battle Knife before the blade could slash into his body.

What Jier did not know was that his rapid defensive movements with the shield also greatly confused Lao Feisi.

From the very beginning, Lao Feisi had seen the Metal Shield on Jier's left arm. Seeing that the opponent did not use a Mudu but instead used a heavy Metal Shield, he had always assumed that this Warrior had astonishing stamina and strength.

He would never have guessed that Jier's unfinished shield was made of an unknown metal from the Elf Ruins and was extremely lightweight. It looked like a large shield, but its weight was barely more than a steel Dagger.

In the ensuing battle, Lao Feisi was somewhat puzzled; the young Warrior opposite clearly still had the strength to quickly use his shield to defend against his Battle Knife, yet the force in his hand was becoming weaker and weaker.

An anomaly implies a trap.

As an old Bandit who often used tricks on others, Lao Feisi was certain the Warrior opposite him was deliberately hiding his stamina. By pretending his hands lacked strength, he created a direct misunderstanding for the one currently trading blows with him, while at the same time, he still blocked every strike aimed at his true vitals, fearing that a trick might lead to a blunder.

Lao Feisi felt the opponent was looking down on him; with his sharp eyes, he had already discerned through the speed of the opponent's Shield defense that the Warrior opposite him was deliberately setting a trap, just waiting for him to misjudge and then carelessly launch an attack.

With a smirk, Lao Feisi ordered Yigena, who was skirmishing not far from Jier's side, to launch a desperate attack: "Yigena, it's time!"

Having followed Lao Feisi for several years, Yigena, as Lao Feisi's main subordinate, knew what his boss meant: it was the critical moment to go all out.

Yigena took a deep breath, then kicked out with all his might from Jier's side.

At the same time, Lao Feisi also mustered the not-so-abundant stamina left in his body, and his Battle Knife slashed fiercely toward Jier.

On one side is a flying kick, on the other is a lethal Battle Knife; which one would you choose?

Jier naturally chose to defend against the onslaught of the Battle Knife, and the Shield quickly moved toward the fiercely slashing blade. And because the other Bandit was attacking from his left side, it was difficult for his right-handed Long Sword to launch a counterattack.

At this moment, a flash of inspiration struck Jier; he swung his right-handed Long Sword behind his waist, the blade passing by Jier's lower back and extending straight toward the kicking Bandit.

Although Lao Feisi saw that Jier had the intention to counterattack, his goal had already been achieved.

Taken the bait!

When he and his subordinate coordinated an attack, anyone would first try to block the lethal Battle Knife in his hand, but the true lethality came from his subordinate.

"Yigena!" Lao Feisi shouted his subordinate's name as the Battle Knife was blocked by the Shield.

Although Yigena saw the Long Sword stabbing out from behind the Warrior's waist, he did not hesitate; the leg he had kicked out was pierced through by the Long Sword.

Enduring the pain, he ignored his right leg being sliced open by the sharp Long Sword and grabbed hold of this fully armored young Warrior.

After being grabbed, Jier realized things were bad.

The old Bandit's Battle Knife came again, while Jier's left arm was being forcibly held by the Bandit on his body.

This is deadly! Jier stopped caring about anything else and stepped forward with his whole body, crashing into the Battle Knife slashed by the old Bandit.

However, Jier kept his wits about him; although his Shield was too slow, he turned his body to the side, using the thigh of the Bandit on his body to take the slash of the Battle Knife.

Seeing this, Lao Feisi wanted to pull back his strength, but it was already too late.

Puchi! With this strike, the Bandit's thigh, unprotected by armor and covered only by a layer of not-very-thick fur pants, was completely slashed open by the heavy and powerful blow of the Battle Knife. Then, after severing the thigh, the blade slashed into Jier's waist and abdomen.

Fortunately, Jier's waist and abdomen also had armor for protection; although this strike landed on him, the force was ultimately blocked by the armor.

However, through the sensation coming from his abdomen, Jier realized that his abdominal armor had developed a large gash, and the hard cowhide layer had already been cut through more than halfway by the Battle Knife.

Although Jier felt things were ominous, he also felt this was an excellent opportunity; if the fight continued, his stamina, which was on the verge of exhaustion, would definitely be drained dry by the two opponents, and he would be dead for sure.

But now, one Bandit was clinging to his body, one leg was pierced by his Long Sword, and the other leg was severed at the thigh; the blood loss alone would be enough to kill this Bandit. As for the troublesome old Bandit, the opponent's Battle Knife was stuck in his abdominal armor, which was the perfect opportunity for a finishing blow!

The old Bandit realized something was wrong after his Battle Knife got stuck in the opponent's armor. Then, he saw the Warrior opposite him look up at him, and from beneath the Helmet's Faceplate, he saw a deep, profound killing intent.

Heh, a warrior of Kendall, what of it? The killing intent in those eyes was deeper than that of a Bandit like him who slaughtered the innocent.

With a roar, Jier, carrying the Bandit who was still trying to pin him down, forcibly pressed toward the old Bandit. Lao Feisi tried to move away from the opponent lunging at him, but his lame leg made it impossible for him to walk quickly.

Jier directly let go of the Long Sword that had passed behind his waist and pierced the Bandit's leg, freed his right hand to pull out the Steel Dagger hanging from his belt, and stabbed straight toward the old Bandit in front.

Yigena was in agony from the pain of his severed thigh, but seeing this young Warrior about to use a Dagger to stab his leader at close range, Yigena still managed to use his own Dagger to stab at the Warrior's body.

But how could thick, full-coverage armor be pierced by his small Dagger?

Yigena stabbed wildly a few times, but each time the Dagger could only pierce a tiny bit into the surface of the armor before it could advance no further. This made him howl frantically, partly to vent the pain in his legs, and partly out of the agony of being unable to help his leader.

Especially at such a critical moment.

Jier stabbed the Steel Dagger toward the old Bandit; the old Bandit in front opened his mouth wide, revealing his full set of teeth, and laughed out loud while swinging his fist at Jier's arm.

An arm made of flesh and blood was naturally no match for a Steel Dagger; Jier stabbed into the old Bandit's fist, then twisted with force, severing two fingers of the old Bandit's left fist.

The old Bandit attacked again; this time, he used his head as a hammer, crashing straight into Jier's Helmet.

Jier wanted to counterattack with his right hand holding the Dagger, but found his Dagger was entangled by the old Bandit's left hand, which still had three fingers left.

Thud!

Lao Feisi's head collided with Jier's head; Jier was only slightly dizzy, but Lao Feisi's face was covered in blood.

On the other side, seeing the leader's offensive, Yigena also howled and used his head to ram into the opponent's Helmet.

Thud!

Unlike Lao Feisi, who rammed into the front of Jier's Helmet Faceplate, Yigena hit the side of Jier's Helmet, which had some metal parts originally meant for decoration and fixing the Faceplate; these metal objects directly smashed Yigena's face out of shape.

With his face deformed, Yigena mumbled something unintelligible and once again used his head to hammer fiercely at Jier's Helmet.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Lao Feisi watched with eyes splitting in rage; while laughing out loud, he was also gritting his teeth and cursing something, hammering at the front of Jier's Helmet.

Although Jier had the protection of the Helmet, his whole person felt like he had drunk too much alcohol, dizzy and swaying; his only consciousness was to control his right hand, once again mangling the fingers of the old Bandit who had grabbed his Dagger, and then, gripping the Dagger tightly, he stabbed wildly at his two enemies.

After a long while, Jier finally gasped for air and recovered his clear consciousness from the dizziness.