Chapter 314: The Burning Wooden House — Moments Before the Battle

"What on earth is going on? How come only your men returned?" A Bandit Leader questioned, staring wide-eyed at the Old Bandit Leader.

Another Bandit Leader said nothing, nodding in agreement with this questioning.

With a cold snort, the Old Bandit Leader spoke indignantly: "Hell! Didn't you see that I also lost two men on my side? Five went out, only one came back. If my son hadn't been a bit quick-witted, he wouldn't have made it back either."

This sentence left the two beside him with nothing to say; after all, they all knew Kesilusi, and he was indeed the Old Bandit Leader's only child. Originally, they had only sent men because they saw the other party doing so, but they hadn't expected such a situation.

Although seeing that everyone had suffered losses made it difficult to bring this up again, in reality, both had misgivings in their hearts, fearing that this matter was specifically staged for them to see.

"So, what exactly happened? Kesilusi, what happened up ahead?" they asked.

Glancing at his old man, Kesilusi, after a slight nod from him, briefly recounted what had happened previously, naturally concealing the matter of intercepting the two men's subordinates.

A massive Magic Beast shrouded in abnormal Mist, a female Knight fighting the Magic Beast, and the hostility both held toward them, the Bandits.

"A female Knight, huh? I haven't slept with a woman like that yet. Tsk tsk." A Bandit Leader's attention shifted elsewhere upon hearing Kesilusi's words.

The Old Bandit Leader gave a disdainful sneer; this guy was too ignorant. He was afraid this person didn't know that a so-called Knight was not just a Soldier riding a horse; they were true powerhouses who completely transcended ordinary people. Just from his son's words, it wasn't hard to hear that the Knight was suppressing a massive, mysterious Magic Beast.

This guy still wanted to get a piece of the action; he truly didn't know what death was.

The other Bandit Leader was much more cautious: "Lao Kesilusi, what do you think? Can we handle these two?"

The Old Bandit Leader looked at the hundred-plus Bandits surrounding the three leaders and guided the other two to look at the current situation: "It's not a matter of whether we can handle them or not. Look, everyone is watching us. As free-roaming residents, we have a pride in our hearts—that is, our lives are chosen by ourselves, and this does not tolerate the disturbance of other existences.

No matter where they come from or what their purpose is. As long as they have stepped into the territory where we reside, they must act according to the rules set by us Bandits. Not to mention they killed the men we sent to scout. That is a blood feud! A blood debt! As Bandits, we would rob them even if they passed by for no reason, let alone now that blood has been spilled. Whether it's a Knight or a Magic Beast, today they must be decapitated and their souls scattered!"

"Oh!!!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The Bandits shouted loudly. Because basically all the Bandits present knew the reputation of Lao Kesilusi, after hearing his loud proclamation, regardless of whether they understood it or not, they were stirred by the momentum and shouted excitedly.

The complexions of the other two Bandit Leaders were not very good, especially since their own Bandits were also shouting and excited, which made them somewhat unhappy. They could only leave behind two sentences: "Then let's eliminate them. Your men will lead the way, and we will follow."

Then they rode their horses back to their own teams, angrily whipping their own subordinates who were blocking the way on the road. The Bandits who took a few lashes fled in a panic; not knowing how they had annoyed their boss, they could only curse under their breath, not daring to fight back.

"So what do we do now?" Kesilusi looked at his old man and asked.

Raising his finger to point at the pillar of smoke rising again in the distance, the Old Bandit Leader said: "You said that Knight said something when seeing the smoke pillar, right?"

"That's right."

"That means they still have people; that Knight isn't dealing with the Magic Beast single-handedly. There is a settled Yingdi in that direction. Looking at that black smoke, I reckon that Yingdi has already been captured. Tch, never mind that. Although things are chaotic, we have more people, and the passage from the Forest to the outside hasn't sent any warnings. This shows that although the opponent's men are Refining Qi, their numbers are small, and they are exactly what can be easily defeated by our numbers. Have everyone prepare to enter combat status, take out the throwing axes and spears, and have the slings ready. Once we find the enemy later, we'll directly smash them to death from a distance."

"Yes! Old man."

On the other side, Knight Lanisha was leaping rapidly while swinging the Bandit whose ankle she was dragging. She used this Bandit to maintain her balance while running fast, and instead, she overtook the rampaging Magic Beast and arrived at the Bandit Yingdi ahead first.

Her people were lined up neatly, leaning against the burning large wooden house in preparation for battle. On the road from the Forest to the open space of the Yingdi, the snow was splattered with hot blood everywhere, mottled red and white, ferocious yet possessing a unique aesthetic.

Knight Lanisha took a brief look and saw that one person was missing from her Hunter team, and that person's corpse was lying not far away near the original campfire of the Yingdi.

She pursed her lips; this was unavoidable. Just looking at the large traces of battle on the ground, she knew how intense and dangerous the previous fight had been for her subordinates.

Arriving at the front of the team, the Knight threw the Bandit she was holding onto the ground, tossing the dizzy Bandit into the middle of everyone.

Everyone looked at this Bandit in confusion; they hadn't let any Bandits go just now, a point the old Hunters were clear about.

"This is a Bandit who came to scout from another direction while I was obstructing the Magic Beast. It seems they haven't been idle either. Tell us, how many of you are there?" Knight Lanisha reached out, took a waterskin handed over by an old Bandit, and drank the supplies just scavenged from the Bandit Yingdi in big gulps.

The intense battle made her sweat profusely, but this sweat had to be shed; otherwise, with her body moving at high speed, the heat generated by herself alone could cook her to death. Therefore, replenishing water after a battle was a must.

Hearing other Knights say that when she took a step further, at that time, the Life Energy stimulated by her body could replace many things, and this kind of heat dissipation could be solved by the Life Energy controlled by the Knight.

The Bandit, having recovered from the spinning world, saw the situation around him: the female Knight wearing thick Steel Armor, Jier wearing full-coverage armor, and nine Refining Qi Hunters who looked like they were not to be trifled with. Of course, there was also the wooden house that was burning fiercely. Looking through the flames of the wooden house, one could also see through the gate of the wooden house the pile of Bandit corpses inside that were being roasted until their skin was torn and flesh was gaping.

The terrified Bandit only kept begging for mercy, unable to say anything else.

An old Hunter walked over and kicked the man, stopping the Bandit's endless pleas for mercy: "When asked what's going on, just say it. Whether to spare you or not is a matter for later."

Seeming to realize that he might not die, the Bandit tremblingly told them about the three gangs gathering together to deal with the Magic Beast that had intruded into the Forest.

The others were shocked to hear that there were more than a hundred, nearly two hundred Bandits coming over. But Knight Lanisha didn't look afraid at all; she just took a whistle from the small bag at her waist and blew it with her mouth.

Strangely, apart from the initial sound, the whistle made no sound in the subsequent blowing.

After blowing the whistle, Knight Lanisha put it away, turned around, and saw the Bandit lying on the ground becoming gradually arrogant, as well as her panicked subordinates.

She smiled: "It's no big deal, don't worry. If those Bandits are all at this guy's level, they can't do anything to us."

The Bandit on the ground was just about to show disdain; after all, the fear and worry written on the faces of the others present when they heard that there were hundreds of Bandits rushing over were all seen by him. Suddenly, this Bandit felt that these people weren't actually that scary.

But Knight Lanisha continued: "Our speed of movement in the Forest is definitely faster than theirs. If we want to retreat, they won't be able to stop us."

"You're talking nonsense!" the Bandit on the ground shouted loudly, but he failed to see his own situation. As soon as this sentence was spoken, it stirred the anger of the Hunters.

"Take back your words, you scum. Sir Knight is not someone you can insult."

"Looks like you think your tongue is too long, then I'll have to trim it shorter." Saying this, the young Hunter drew a skinning knife from his waist.

Jier didn't show much; he wasn't very familiar with the others, and pledging loyalty wasn't his turn as someone who had just joined.

Knight Lanisha smiled. She closed her faceplate, and from beneath it came the Knight's mocking words: "Insignificant thing." She walked up to the Bandit, kicked him, and sent him flying.

And the landing point of his flight was the roof of the wooden house burning brightly beside them.

After the Bandit landed on the roof of the wooden house shrouded in flames and thick smoke, he immediately smashed through the burning roof and fell onto the pile of corpses inside the wooden house.

The shrill screams subsided in an instant. After only a moment, the loose-lipped Bandit, like the other corpses in the house that had curled up due to the burning, slowly shrank into a ball and began to burn.

The fat accumulated from eating and drinking well became the best fuel for burning. The crackling fat burst through his charred skin, and the fat particles that popped up burned in the air, then turned into a wisp of black smoke from the charred protein, drifting rapidly into the gloomy sky along with the other black smoke.

"Never mind that person, the Magic Beast is coming. Hmm, right, although that person spoke a bit rudely, a hundred-plus Bandits are indeed a bit troublesome. I don't want to kill too many people; the Spirit will dislike me," Knight Lanisha said helplessly, hands on her hips.

Jier suddenly spoke up at this moment: "Although my next suggestion might make our work go to waste, can we drive the Magic Beast to deal with those Bandits who are about to come? Both the Magic Beast and the Bandits are damned things, so wouldn't it be best to let them attack each other? Isn't it convenient for us to just deal with the remaining side at the end, or if they both suffer heavy losses?"

An old Hunter glanced at Jier. Although he was satisfied with Jier's excellent performance in the previous battle, he still saw Jier's little scheme: "You still haven't been able to let go of your idea of wanting the Bandits' metal weapons? This is a dangerous thought."

"No, perhaps it's possible. You hide, right here, in this open space, and let both the Magic Beast and the Bandits come over to get to know each other a bit more. Perhaps they will be very satisfied with each other," Knight Lanisha chuckled, though the somewhat low laughter coming from under the faceplate sounded a bit strange.

Jier and the Hunters looked at each other. The Hunters stared at Jier with their eyes, while Jier spread his hands, making a 'none of my business' gesture. Anyway, the decision was made by your Sir Knight; I just made a suggestion.

Although the Hunters were not very willing, they still retreated into the other two wooden houses in the Yingdi. Although this caused some panicked screams from the women hiding inside, they were immediately suppressed.

Knight Lanisha even curiously went over to take a look. There were six of those scantily clad women in the two houses combined, three of whom were pregnant, their bellies bulging.

In their panicked eyes, Knight Lanisha lifted her faceplate to let them see her face: "Don't worry, it's fine. Don't wrap yourselves in animal skins; find some clothes to wear. Who knows what will happen later."

After she finished speaking, she gave some instructions to a few old Hunters, then hurried out the door amidst the cries of the Magic Beast.

Everyone stretched their heads out of the wooden hut's doorway, revealing only their heads, carefully watching the situation not far away.

The Magic Beast crawled over in a panic through the accumulated snow on the ground; it felt very uncomfortable, and the large wound on its hind belly was still slowly losing body fluid, which made it feel increasingly exhausted.

And what it saw after passing through the low Shulin that it found annoying made it even more angry and disappointed.

Humans were burning another group of humans inside wooden houses; it was truly abominable, they would rather burn them than let it eat even a little bit.

Perhaps, this was exactly what they expected? Too evil, too evil.

It was still hungry; it had been full, but with the loss of body fluid and a large amount of body tissue after being injured, it now needed food to replenish itself, and these annoying guys had burned it all away.

However, perhaps there were still some inside that hadn't been burned that it could eat?

Or, should it bypass the place that was currently burning and go check the other two houses that held humans? Through Magic Perception, it seemed they were packed full of people.

Just as it hesitated, the Magic Beast suddenly turned its body; it spread out the long, thin, stiff bristles it had kept retracted against its body, pressed them slightly against the snowy ground, and kept its entire body still.

Something in large numbers was slowly approaching from behind.

Knight Lanisha, through her Magic Perception ability, discovered that the Magic Beast under the Mist had turned around and then stopped moving.

Strange, what is wrong with this guy?

She leaped, jumping onto the roof of the wooden hut where Jier and the others were hiding, squinting her eyes to look at the direction the front of the Magic Beast's body was facing.

It was the direction she had previously fought the Magic Beast in; hmm, that direction also seemed to be the direction those few Bandits had fled in.

Perhaps, those large numbers of rude Bandits would come from that direction.

Knight Lanisha took another look at the Magic Beast and found that the Magic Beast was somewhat restless.

Heh, how could I let you have your way.

Thinking of this, she jumped off the wooden hut and ran over quickly to stop the Magic Beast. You just stay here obediently; this open place is where you should be.

She used her Armor-piercing Rapier to strike casually at the Magic Beast's legs and feet, forcing the Magic Beast to spare its legs and feet to defend. But once it used its limbs to defend, it wouldn't have enough limbs left to slide and move across the snow.

After obstructing it for a while like this, Knight Lanisha's warhorse came trotting through the snow and ran out from the Forest.

Knight Lanisha exited the Mist beside the Magic Beast, ran toward her horse, and with a flip, climbed onto it.

The sturdy, tall warhorse wearing horse armor, combined with Knight Lanisha's heavy Steel Armor, made the weight of this man-and-horse-as-one Knight quite significant; the snow on the ground was no longer an obstacle for the warhorse; as long as it ran forward, the thick snow would naturally be parted by the horse armor it wore.

Knight Lanisha casually leaned down, scooped up one or two weapons that the Bandits had dropped on the ground from the snow, and then rode her horse in a circle around the Magic Beast, fiercely throwing the weapons she had picked up from outside the range of the opponent's leg and limb attacks.

Whoosh, bang!

Whoosh, bang!

Through the Mist, Knight Lanisha could continuously hit the front of the Magic Beast's body with these weapons, smashing the area where its eyes—which were actually many Human Heads—were located into a mess.

This forced the Magic Beast to bend one of its legs and feet to cover the front of its body.

And at the same time, it hissed angrily: "Zhi! Zhi! Ji! Ji!"

Just like that, after delaying for a while, a noisy sound came from the Forest, growing from small to large. That was the sound of many Bandits moving forward, the sound of items on their bodies rubbing together, and the crunching sound of them stepping on the thick snow.

Soon, the sparse Shulin could no longer block the view; the vanguard Bandits saw, through the gaps between the tree trunks, the huge, mysterious semicircular White Mist on the open ground ahead, as well as the Knight riding an Armored Warhorse and patrolling near the White Mist.

They had never witnessed the power of either, so they pointed and gestured while approaching. Of course, they also hurriedly sent men to report the situation to the main force behind them.

The several leaders in the rear team heard the news reported by their subordinates and immediately had everyone prepare for battle; at the same time, they each watched the other Bandit Groups.

For these people who grew up in killing and looting, they paid more attention to other Bandit Groups of the same status than to their prey.

Who hadn't engaged in double-crossing before?

When teaming up for anything, the important thing was never what they were doing, or whether they could succeed. Success was good, of course, but failure didn't matter; what was truly important was not letting others succeed, or not letting oneself suffer any losses.

You might say they had no sense of the big picture, but to these cruel Bandits, immediate personal interests were the most important; everything else was beyond the understanding of these rude, cruel, bullying, and evil guys.

Looking at each other, these three Bandit Groups each separated a little distance, then walked out of the Forest at the same time and arrived at the open ground of this Yingdi.