Chapter 319: Borrowing Corpses to Feed the Demon — The Bandits' Path to Escape

"Why did you come over?" the Knight asked.

Jier scratched his slightly reddened nose and said: "Following our plan, when the thick fog released by the Magic Beast rose, we took the rescued ladies and safely reached the outside of the Mist. We are currently staying temporarily in a depression in the Forest. We discussed it and felt that once the Magic Beast finishes off those Bandits later, having consumed much of its stamina and while the swallowed Bandits are still undigested, that will be the best time to deal with the Magic Beast."

Knight Lanisha crossed her arms and nodded: "If that is the judgment of those experienced old Hunters, then it should be so."

Then she looked at Jier in front of her: "Then, they didn't come in, why did you come over?" She turned her head to look toward another direction of the Mist: "That Magic Beast is still happily preying on the Bandits trying to escape. It seems something happened to those Bandits; they are scattering in large numbers."

Jier also looked in the direction the Knight was looking, but apart from the thick White Mist, he could see nothing and hear nothing. He could, however, perceive a slight vibration through the ground.

Needless to say, this vibration was definitely caused by the movement of the massive Magic Beast. Or perhaps it did something else that triggered a vibration perceptible to people.

(Actually, it was the Magic Beast swinging its long mouth up and down, smashing the fleeing Bandits flat.)

Coming back to his senses, Jier looked at the Knight and said: "Sorry, sorry, the ground just vibrated."

"It's swinging its long mouth, yuck, disgusting." Knight Lanisha seemed to know what the Magic Beast was doing and did not like the Magic Beast's actions.

"Ahem, it's like this, we discussed it earlier and felt that when we deal with the Magic Beast later, if we want to attack the Magic Beast with everyone's strength combined, we must first break this wide-area Mist it released. I have an idea: later, I can attract the Magic Beast's attacks, while you, Knight, can charge to the Magic Beast's side and attack the body parts that might be triggering the Mist. This way, the Hunters can also participate in the battle."

The Knight nodded: "That guy is afraid of fire. I hope they can bring some Torches to drive the Magic Beast away during the battle. But the old Hunters are experienced and wouldn't be unaware of this. However."

"However what?" Jier asked.

The Knight pointed at Jier: "However, can you delay the Magic Beast? Its legs and feet are sharp, long, and very powerful; with just one sweep, it could disembowel all the Bandits standing in a row. If it stabs into a person, it can pierce through their entire torso." Having said this, Knight Lanisha scanned Jier's equipment, especially the Metal Shield Jier carried behind his left shoulder: "Although your equipment is Hard Leather Armor, it is barely usable. If you can block in time with the Shield."

Jier actually felt that the Shield could not block a head-on strike from the Magic Beast; after all, the Magic Beast's strength was far greater than his, and even if he blocked it, he would be sent flying far away.

What could truly deal with the Magic Beast was the axe he was holding in his hand. This thing was not only sharp but also exceptionally heavy; swinging it to strike the Magic Beast could also cause some damage.

"I have no problem. Please watch my performance in the coming battle." Jier puffed out his chest and patted the Chest Armor to guarantee it.

"Hmph, then I shall wait and see." Knight Lanisha turned around and looked in a direction of the Mist.

Jier knew that this Knight must have the ability to see through the Magic Beast's Mist; this White Mist that left ordinary people like them helpless seemed not to be an obstacle for Knight Lanisha.

And because the Magic Beast had to constantly consume energy to maintain the Mist, fighting this Knight within the Mist was disadvantageous to the Magic Beast itself.

Now that he thought about it, when they raided the Bandit Camp earlier, it had taken quite a bit of time, but Knight Lanisha, who had been blocking the Magic Beast alone, did not look very exhausted, other than sweating a lot and being very thirsty.

Jier did not know how the battle not far away was going, but he knew that if the situation changed, the female Knight would warn him.

Now, he just needed to adapt to the peculiar feeling that was gradually strengthening after swallowing the second Red-eye Mushroom Sugar Pill.

Familiarizing himself with this peculiar feeling would be good so that he could unleash this power in the subsequent battle, rather than it becoming an obstacle to himself.

Over at the Bandits', the fighting was fierce.

Xiao Kesilusi was sturdy in build, and his weapon was both long and heavy; once swung, no Bandit could block it. Several Bandits tried to use a few people holding Shields to resist his offensive, but Xiao Kesilusi performed a large rotation, swinging the Changgan Yuanchui around, knocking the Bandits defending with Shields away one by one.

The Shields exploded into wood chips and fragments, the left arms holding the Shields had their bones and flesh ruptured, and the whole impact slammed into their ribs. Not a single defending Bandit was able to stand up again.

After knocking away several Bandits in succession, no one dared to face Xiao Kesilusi anymore; the still-resisting Bandits didn't even dare to use weapons to block thrown weapons, let alone approach Xiao Kesilusi's attack path.

"Fiske! Don't you think you have great skills? Do you dare to fight me?" Xiao Kesilusi rushed in front of a Bandit Leader and roared. He ignored the other Bandit Leader who hadn't reached the position of boss through skill, because he knew that guy was no match and would definitely be dead facing them now.

Driven to a dead end, the Bandit Leader named Fiske pushed his last two trusted subordinates to the front, and then he gritted his teeth and rushed forward silently as well.

If he killed this Xiao Kesilusi, there was still hope of survival, however slim.

But since Lao Kesilusi wanted to be so ruthless, wanting to use their corpses to feed the Magic Beast to escape, then he, Fiske, would make that old guy pay a painful price.

He used a greatsword; when this heavy and massive weapon clashed with Xiao Kesilusi's weapon, it did not fall behind at all.

After a few heavy and sharp weapon collisions, neither of them managed to gain an advantage, but Fiske's condition was not good.

He used to be a murderous Bandit; with a raise of his hand and a fall of his sword, he would always split his opponent and their weapon in two.

But that was in the past.

Ever since he seized the position of team leader through force, many Bandits who came for his reputation became his new weapons, and they were more powerful and convenient than that greatsword he no longer used.

Moreover, years of living a life of good food and drink had also made his body far worse than before.

Although he could still swing this weapon today, his body was like a leaking balloon—weak and soft—and his technique had become too rusty.

Looking at Xiao Kesilusi, he had killed his way here; although he had consumed some stamina from killing many people, his entire fighting spirit and aura seemed to fill his whole being.

With another loud shout, Xiao Kesilusi disregarded the soreness in his body, and the Changgan Yuanchui swung wide, attacking Fiske.

This forced Fiske to block; in this situation, if you dodged, you would be far weaker than the opponent in terms of momentum. Not only would you lose your own aggressiveness, but the Bandits fighting in other areas were also watching this side.

So he had no choice but to fight hard.

But the more he did so, the more he feared, because he felt the greatsword in his hand that had built his reputation felt increasingly unfamiliar, and his legs were weak, unable to exert strength; standing now was already relying entirely on willpower.

"He's finished!" Lao Kesilusi, watching the duel from behind, shouted a reminder.

As the son, Xiao Kesilusi trusted his father implicitly, forcefully summoning his strength, holding the round hammer high, and smashing it down with force.

Bang!

Fiske held the greatsword horizontally, struggling to parry the falling round hammer.

Bang!

Xiao Kesilusi shouted again and smashed down!

Fiske knelt on one knee, the greatsword propped over his head, his eyes bloodshot, not losing to Jier who had used the Sugar Pill.

"I can't..." He gritted his teeth and squeezed these words out from between them.

"Die!" Xiao Kesilusi planted his feet firmly, his waist muscles exerting force first, followed by his shoulder muscles, and then his arms.

The iron round hammer at the end of the long pole, driven by this, gradually accelerated and smashed down with an unstoppable, powerful impact.

Crack!

Fiske's greatsword was indeed sturdy, but his arms could not withstand the impact; he was smashed downward along with the sword and hammer, crushing Fiske's head into splashing fragments.

His neck also failed to hold up, and it was squeezed into Fiske's chest along with the heavy pressure.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha. Good! Good! I won!" Xiao Kesilusi roared excitedly, and the other Bandit battles instantly turned from resistance to being suppressed.

Fiske's subordinates and the other Bandit Leader's subordinates had no will or hope to win the battle; their limbs went soft, and they couldn't even hold their weapons.

One after another, they were defeated and killed by the Bandit subordinates commanded by Lao Kesilusi.

They took no prisoners; everyone present who was not one of them had to die, to be used as scapegoats fed to the Magic Beast as food.

Another Bandit Leader watched this situation, then turned to look at the thick White Mist outside the campfire.

He shivered, pulled a Dagger from his waist, stabbed it into his chest, and consciously ended his own life.

Compared to being killed by a Magic Beast, he hoped that after committing suicide, his Spirit would have a good destination.

Lao Kesilusi watched as the other Bandits either desperately ran into the White Mist alone or begged for mercy, only to be hacked to death by his men. He had all his surviving men pack up their weapons, then each chose a corpse of another Bandit, and each took a piece of burning firewood.

Then, following his command, everyone moved forward in one direction.

"The Bandits over there have shifted." Knight Lanisha patted Jier, telling Jier to follow her in pursuit.

Because the Magic Beast they were dealing with also ignored the remaining corpses by the campfire and chased after the shifting Bandits. As the Tiaofa Dui meant to deal with the Magic Beast, they naturally had to follow the Magic Beast.

All the Bandits huddled together, walking in a random direction, but after walking for a while, one guy in their group was suddenly knocked over by a Magic Beast limb reaching out from the White Mist, and was immediately pierced through the thigh and dragged into the thick White Mist.

Seeing this, Lao Kesilusi shouted: "Don't stop! Throw away the corpses you're carrying, and keep walking."

The Bandits threw down the corpses they were carrying on their shoulders, and once lightened, they hurried to catch up with the group in front. Because the White Mist was dense, as long as they left their companions by their side by even two or three meters, they would not be able to see them.

Seeing that these Humans had thrown away the dead Human corpses, the Magic Beast looked somewhat troubled at the corpses that were gradually turning cold.

These corpses were different from the ones by the campfire; it couldn't get close to eat the ones by the campfire because it hated the flames. But these corpses thrown casually on the snow were different; it only needed to nudge these food items into its mouth, which was very convenient.

Besides, if it didn't eat them, they wouldn't taste good once the Humans got cold. Although cold was not bad, that was only when the weather was hottest; in this windy and snowy weather, the thing least lacking in the surroundings was cold things.

After much consideration, it still felt it was a pity to let these Human corpses turn cold, so it gave up tracking the fast-running Bandits, turned around, and used its mouth and limbs to nudge the Human corpses on the ground, devouring them greedily.

Although Lao Kesilusi, who was bringing up the rear, felt cold in his body, his heart was burning hot, and his old face was wrinkled like an old orange from smiling.

After throwing away the corpses, they were no longer ambushed by the Magic Beast.

He accelerated to catch up with the Bandits in front, pushing aside the men blocking his way, and while moving forward, he loudly told the men beside him that his plan had succeeded.

Every Bandit subordinate was very excited; although they had lost at least twelve people during the battle just now, everything was still worth it—they were still alive.

The Bandits that Lao Kesilusi passed by kept patting their leader's arm, sending their blessings. The old guy also laughed heartily all the way as he walked toward his son, who was leading the way.

Not until he and his son were walking at the very front of the group did his smiling face twitch and gradually calm down.

It was a cold expression that would make anyone who saw it shiver.

Lao Kesilusi knew that the subordinates he was now leading behind him were no longer subordinates he could trust. They looked the same as before on the surface, but after everything that had just happened, there was no going back.

They would no longer trust him, this guy; they were all scum addicted to slaughter. Being organized together might have started because of interests, but once the scale reached a certain level, one had to rely on other things to maintain the organization.

A Bandit Group was nothing else; it could not rely on roundabout things to maintain its organizational structure, and often could only be controlled through direct things.

These rude and simple murderous guys were hard to accept some ethereal things, and could only be made to know who the boss was through direct and obvious things.

Force, money, safety, trust.

These things could all work.

But those were things useful for Bandits of limited level.

Force?

In a one-on-one duel, except for his son, everyone in the group was actually about the same level, only differing in experience. And he, Lao Kesilusi, was even inferior to those Bandits in their prime due to age and injuries.

Money?

The two largest Bandit groups nearby had just been wiped out by them. Following that was the endless property in their winter Yingdi waiting for them to receive after escaping alive.

It could only be shared by everyone, it had to be shared by everyone.

There was no other way.

Once he or anyone showed an attitude of wanting to take more, they would only be attacked by the group.

The Bandits who had obtained a large amount of wealth might leave without saying goodbye the next day. Of course, maybe as soon as the money was divided, some Bandits would sneak away immediately, never to be seen again.

Safety?

Having killed and used corpses to escape the Magic Beast, no one would think this Forest was safe anymore. Everyone would probably flee one after another and never come back here again in their lives.

Trust?

He, Lao Kesilusi, no longer had this thing.

The cold plan meant that no one would ever believe him again. Although he believed that someone in the team must have thought of the same plan as him at the time, this plan could only be proposed by him. But once he stated this plan, he himself would no longer be trusted by others.

Everyone in the team behind him would feel that they might also be betrayed by him in any possible future action.

He could no longer be the leader of these people.

Perhaps his son could.

Everyone had seen the brave performance just now; the Bandits who believed in force might have some who wouldn't leave, would stay by his son's side, find a new place, and form a new Bandit Group.

And he, he could only follow behind his son, offer some ideas, and lead the newcomers who joined, right?

The old wounds on his body were aching faintly, as if reminding Lao Kesilusi, who had just killed a person not long ago, that he was indeed old. Although he could still kill enemies, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep up with his son's brave performance just now.

Glancing at Xiao Kesilusi, the old guy sighed, patted his son's shoulder, and said to him in a low voice: "Tell the people behind to speed up; we must take the opportunity to escape the Magic Beast's White Mist."

"Why don't you go say it? I'm exhausted. I don't want to open my mouth."

Glaring at his son, Lao Kesilusi still said: "I am the leader. I am now ordering you to notify the people behind to speed up and take the opportunity to leave the Magic Beast's White Mist."

Pouting, Xiao Kesilusi was helpless, so he had to slow down and explain to the companions walking behind them one by one, telling them to speed up and take this opportunity to leave the Magic Beast's White Mist.

Every Bandit was flattered to hear Xiao Kesilusi's words and excitedly expressed their agreement.

By the time he had notified everyone who was still alive and accelerated to the front, they had finally walked out of the White Mist released by the Magic Beast.

Once they came out, everyone was either excited or howling with tears.

Lao Kesilusi shouted twice, but it didn't work; it was Xiao Kesilusi who roared, making all the Bandits calm down.

"Don't stop! Let's just leave here." He said.

This made the Bandits realize that their so-called happiness was nothing more than escaping the Magic Beast's sneak attack. Before coming, everyone was full of confidence, feeling that a Magic Beast was nothing, but just now, when everyone was deep in the White Mist, that feeling of fear still lingered in their hearts.

Perhaps it would haunt them for a lifetime.

In the future, whenever they had nightmares, they would surely relive the moments of despair from before in their dreams.

The old guy bumped into his son; this guy, had he forgotten what he had just told him?

"Oh, right! Although we weren't able to deal with the Magic Beast, the good news is that the other two Bandit Groups have definitely all died in the White Mist. So?" Xiao Kesilusi blinked his eyes.

Among the Bandits, those with quick minds already had their eyes light up.

"So the things they left behind in the wintering Yingdi are now all ours! As long as we launch a sneak attack and kill the old, weak, sick, and disabled left behind to guard, all of their wealth will be ours. Dad said that everyone can split what we get equally." Xiao Kesilusi's words made everyone's mouths stretch wide, revealing all sorts of rotten, yellow, and foul teeth, along with the lewd, cackling laughter of all the Bandits.

"Then what are you all waiting for! Hurry, hurry, hurry! First come, first served!"

The Bandits began to advance through the accumulated snow at a speed half again as fast as before; this burst of energy made even the usually knowledgeable and experienced Lao Kesilusi feel surprised.