Chapter 789: The Trap

Tianxuecao looked at the strange Human approaching it with a curious gaze.

Judging solely by the clothing the Humans wore, because many of the Armed Civilians in Jier's team were wearing clothes looted from Bandits, Tianxuecao could not distinguish friend from foe based on their attire.

But this could not stump a clever horse!

The Human in front approached it cautiously, but Tianxuecao took the initiative to step forward twice and sniffed the other party with its large nose.

"Oh, oh oh. Very good, good horse, good horse, just like that, yes, yes, yes, Humans are all friendly good friends, and I am a good friend too."

The lackey Bandit looked surprised; he had not expected the Knight's warhorse to deliver itself to him without him having to actively use methods to curry favor with the horse. This saved him quite a bit of effort and time; everything seemed to be going very smoothly.

"It must be the Goddess of Luck protecting me! Praise the Goddess! Praise you!"

The lackey's face blossomed into a smile, as if from this smooth plan, he could foresee a good life for himself in the future!

But the smile on his face only lasted for a few seconds before it vanished.

Sniffing, Tianxuecao smelled some bad odors from the Human in front of it; this Human was not its master's companion, but an enemy!

"Pfft! Neigh—"

Realizing it was an enemy, Tianxuecao first let out a dissatisfied snort, then neighed, lowered its head, and lunged forward.

With a thud of impact, the lackey Bandit, who had just been about to reach out and grab the warhorse's Jiansheng, was sent flying through the air. His chest felt stifled, his mouth hung wide open, and he was caught completely off guard.

Gurgle, gurgle—after hitting the ground, the Bandit rolled a few times. His chest was so impacted that he couldn't breathe normally, which made the lackey puff out his cheeks, his face turning red from the strain, until he finally managed to catch his breath.

"Damn it, where did things go wrong?"

But before he could figure it out, the lackey lying on the ground suddenly felt his vision darken. He turned his head and saw the Knight's warhorse standing beside him, its massive body and Horse Armor blocking the sunlight from above his head.

Realizing things were dire, the lackey hurriedly shouted: "Friendly fire! Friendly fire! Don't hurt me!"

At this moment, he remembered how his Bandit companions had been trampled to death by this warhorse not long ago.

But the horse could not understand Human speech. Realizing the lackey was an enemy, the violent-tempered Tianxuecao would not let the enemy go!

"Neigh—"

It raised a hoof and brought it down, pinning the Bandit's back to the ground and making it impossible for him to get up.

Then the horse applied its body weight bit by bit. The Bandit tried to use his arms to push himself away from the horse's trampling, but whether by coincidence or something else, the belt he used to carry his weapon on his back got caught by the warhorse's hoof, and his only chance of escape failed just like that.

This unlucky Bandit persisted for a moment before death, using his arms to try and prop up his body, but how could an ordinary person be a match for a fully armored warhorse?

Immediately, his chest was crushed, and he died.

As the lackey's consciousness faded, he suddenly realized everything. His luck had always been quite good, but it wasn't without reason. Although he had been a Bandit, after splitting the money, he would donate some to the Church of the Goddess of Luck in the towns. Every time he finished playing at a casino, as long as he won money, no matter how much, he would scatter some Iron Coins to the begging children on the roadside, allowing those starving, scruffy little boys and girls to buy a coarse grain cake or two to eat.

And in the casinos, he had always won more than he lost.

So, I have been under the care of the gods all along.

Then, the gods must have seen those ugly things from before, right?

What a pity, I didn't want that either.

The spirit in the lackey Bandit's eyes gradually dissipated, and he died completely.

Tianxuecao snorted, lifted its hoof, and nimbly rubbed it against the soft wild grass. Then, it strolled toward the Shulin its master had entered earlier, peeking and peering into the depths of the forest where the sunlight was dappled.

From within, faint wails and roars of Humans could be heard incessantly, but none of them were the voice of its master.

However, Tianxuecao was not worried about its master's safety; after all, the scene at this moment was far less critical than that bloody night a few days ago.

At least, that was what the horse thought.

However, a rustling sound came from the Shulin not far away. The horse poked its head to look and discovered a fat, sturdy Human leading many Humans, rushing out quickly from one side of the forest, and it looked like their target was the team moving slowly along the Shanglu.

The clever Tianxuecao thought for a moment and felt that this small group of Humans probably wasn't a match for the large group of Humans on the Shanglu, so it stayed where it was, waiting for its master.

Jier walked quickly through the soft-grounded Shulin. Although he was not as familiar with the local area as the fleeing Bandits ahead, whether it was tree roots that tripped people or dry little rivers that were hard to see on the ground, he simply leaped over these obstacles during the pursuit.

The Bandits carrying bows and arrows had to bend over and roll over the protruding tree roots, or those with some skill would slide and pass through the roots. Facing the dry forest rivers that looked inconspicuous but actually had elevation changes of over a meter, they would use vines hung on trees beforehand to swing across.

Of course, the vines they used were naturally left on the other side of the dry forest river, so as not to be used by the Knight and others pursuing behind them.

But the Knight's skills still exceeded the expectations of many Bandits. For tree roots over a meter high, the Knight would jump while running, using a height far exceeding the roots to leap over them without slowing down.

And for the dry forest rivers that required vines to swing across quickly, the Knight just took a large stride and rushed over as if walking on flat ground.

Such a rapid pursuit forced the fleeing archer Bandits to leave people behind to block the opponent, even though they all knew the bows and arrows in their hands were no threat to the Knight.

But facing the Bandits who turned around and drew their bows in a half-crouched position, Jier, contrary to expectations, did not charge straight at them. Instead, he charged forward with his Shield held high, and amidst the clanging sounds of arrows hitting the shield, he rushed forward and threw a punch, heavily knocking over the Bandit attempting to resist.

If a few Bandits stayed to block, he would throw a few punches and knock them all down.

But beyond that, the Knight did not draw his sword to kill the Bandits, but instead turned his head and shouted to his subordinates, the Warriors, who were unable to keep up behind him: "Kill every Bandit you encounter!"

The Armed Civilians who were anxiously chasing from dozens of meters behind heard the Knight's order and responded in unison: "Yes, my lord! Kill them all!"

Jier laughed heartily a few times and continued to chase the fleeing Bandits ahead.

The Armed Civilians who caught up from behind slowly bypassed the tree roots blocking the way, or when facing the abruptly appearing dry forest riverbeds, they jumped down one by one and then climbed up the other side.

Although they could no longer see the Bandits and the Knight ahead due to the cover of the trees in the forest, they were not afraid of losing them, because the behavior of both the Bandits and the Knight galloping through the forest had directly "treaded" a clear trail on the forest floor, which was full of fallen leaves.

Neither side had the mind to clear away or hide their footprints, so the Armed Civilians following behind could barely keep up without losing them.

Facing the Bandits who had been seriously injured and knocked unconscious by the Knight, the Armed Civilians did not hold back. Although some felt it would be better to capture these Bandits—who had lost several teeth, had dislocated jaws, and were vomiting blood—alive to exchange for money or replenish supplies for the team, the Knight had already said to kill these Bandits, so they didn't say anything more.

Especially these injured Bandits who had bows and arrows left by their sides; many people in the team had been despicably shot and injured by them, so they truly deserved to die.

Thus, the Armed Civilians swarmed up, using their Cleavers and Long Swords to strike directly at the heads of the fallen Bandits, leaving no lives behind.

Of course, the Bandits were bound to be looted, and the bows and arrows were all carried on everyone's backs.

Even if only a few of them were Hunters from their original Village who had learned archery from their elders.

But this didn't stop everyone from confiscating the weapons and equipment.

Whether one knows how to use them is one thing, but having them is another.

Often, whether one knows how to use a weapon only relates to the efficiency of killing the enemy, while having one fundamentally determines certain things.

Right now, the Refugee Team had few long-range projectile weapons, and bows and arrows were in short supply, so the weapons on these Bandits had to be taken.

On Jier's side, the more he chased, the more he felt something was wrong.

First, although he might not have seen clearly enough in the Shulin, he was certain that as he pursued the fleeing Bandits, he was not chasing them deeper into the mountain Shulin, but rather along the edge of the Shulin.

One must know that the deeper one goes into a Shulin, the more complex the terrain becomes. Logically, this should be more suitable for the Bandits who are familiar with the terrain to escape.

Secondly, the Bandits fleeing ahead were still staying together in a group even now, which was truly contrary to common sense and highly suspicious. One must know that he, who was in the tightest pursuit, was after all only one person; if the Bandits had scattered to flee, he would inevitably only be able to knock down one or two people in a short time, and the others would have a high probability of getting away.

Finally, Jier vaguely felt that the direction he was pursuing in was taking him further and further away from the main group on the Shanglu.

The direction the Bandits were fleeing was exactly opposite to the direction the Refugee Team was advancing.

This made him feel increasingly suspicious.

But under his fists, he had indeed knocked down five bow-wielding Bandits, which was, after all, a fact.

Just as Jier took a long stride over a strange pile of fallen leaves, he finally realized what was wrong.

The pile of fallen leaves just now looked like nothing, but in reality, they were non-natural obstacles that could not possibly exist in a Shulin. After all, what kind of Shulin would spontaneously gather dry, flammable fallen leaves together! This must have been man-made.

Thinking of this, Jier quickly stopped his steps, his metal combat boots leaving two deep deceleration marks on the ground.

"Quite sharp! Damn Knight!"

A voice rang out from a tree ahead. Jier looked toward the sound, and through the few beams of light falling into the forest, he finally discovered a sturdy Bandit sitting on a tree trunk ahead.

Although he felt something was wrong, Jier still stubbornly retorted: "A trap, is it? But isn't it ridiculous for rabbits to gather together to plot against a lion? Haha, show your moves, don't hide, it's boring."

"Stubborn!"

After the Bandit in the tree finished speaking, he blew a whistle. The next moment, Bandits emerged from the ground to Jier's left and right, carrying a pile of soft, squishy things and flung them toward Jier.

Although he did not know what the things thrown by the opponent were, Jier clearly had no intention of catching them head-on; catching them head-on would mean falling for the Bandits' trick!

Jier performed a forward roll, dodging all the suspicious objects thrown at him, and then drew his sword. The blade was immediately wrapped in surging white light, which not only startled the surrounding Bandits with its radiance but also provided sufficient combat illumination for this poorly lit Shulin.

Splat, splat.

The suspicious items thrown at Jier by the Bandits fell onto the ground one by one, and after rolling a few times, they spat out a lot of mucus and acid. The mucus glued the leaves on the ground together, while the acid hissed as it corroded the fallen leaves.

The things twisted left and right, gradually burrowing under the moist, soft fallen leaves.

Ah, so they were some very large Spirit Slimes. He didn't know if these Bandits had caught them on the spot, or if the Spirit Slimes living in the mountain Shulin were just this big; each one was even a bit larger than the biggest Spirit Slime Jier had caught in the Swamp south of Kendall City.

Moreover, before these innocent Spirit Slimes were thrown out, they had been viciously stabbed a few times by the Bandits, the purpose being to give the acid sacs in the Spirit Slimes' bodies a chance to damage the armor on Jier's body.

"Is that it? Is that all!"

After Jier saw clearly what was behind him, he mocked them twice, which made the Bandit in the nearby tree so angry his face turned blue.

The Bandit in the tree changed his whistle again, and then several Bandits rushed out from the shadows of the trunks and roots around the tree where he was located. These guys were carrying several fishing nets; he didn't know if they were originally fishermen from the riverside, but their movements of holding the nets and swinging them toward Jier were very standard.

Once the fishing nets left their hands, they relied on the weights on the edges of the nets to expand rapidly in a circle as they covered Jier.

"Hah!"

Jier did not retreat but advanced, swinging his sword forward and upward. Not only did he dodge the coverage area of several fishing nets, but he also sliced the fishing net directly in front of him into two halves.

"Just this piece of junk? It couldn't even net a larger fish, right? And you want to take me down!"

Jier charged forward, knocking over a net-throwing Bandit with his elbow; the other three Bandits saw this and immediately scattered to flee for their lives.

The Bandit in the tree kept a cold face and continued to blow his whistle. Bandits emerged from behind trees in the distance, each holding Throwing Spears common in the Western Province, and threw them at Jier in succession.

These people had some experience and knew not to throw all their weapons at once; often, just as the previous Bandit's Throwing Spear left his hand, the next Bandit would twist his body and swing his arm, preparing to throw his Throwing Spear.

But Jier gauged the positions of the surrounding Bandits, and the Elven Metal Shield on his left arm blocked to the left first.

Clang—

The Throwing Spear hit the center of his shield.

The next moment, Jier used the movement of his legs and the twist of his waist to quickly shift the shield that was blocking on the left to the right side of his body for defense.

Clang—

Another Throwing Spear was blocked.

The next instant, Jier turned sideways and raised his arm, using the blade of his Hunting Sword to parry the third Throwing Spear attacking him.

For the last one, Jier let go of his sword and used the spinning Hunting Sword to smash away the fourth, and also the last, Throwing Spear attacking him.

"Good chance!"

The Bandit in the tree roared excitedly, then quickly added: "All of you, go! Kill him!"

Yet Jier, who appeared to have lost his main combat weapon, simply gestured in the air with his empty right Gauntlet. The Luminous Longsword, still spinning in the air, paused in mid-air, and the next moment, like a reversed movie scene, it flew back into Jier's hand.

It even considerately sent the hilt into Jier's hand first when it landed.

"And now?"

Jier mocked, not fearing the twenty-plus Bandits who had suddenly emerged, and launched the battle first.

Some of the bow-wielding Bandits who had fled earlier shot arrows at him, but the Arrows, just like before, only sparked when they hit Jier, then shattered the metal arrowheads made of crude iron and flew off who knows where.

As for the other Bandits who came charging over while yelling, their foot speed could not keep up with Jier's at all. Jier chose one spear-throwing Bandit, swept past with his sword, and sliced off half of the guy's right forearm.

He then took advantage of the momentum to side-jump, and while in the air from a small leap, he kicked forward, hitting the lower body of a Bandit charging at him. He didn't know how many things that kick burst, but Jier only hoped he wouldn't kick this unlucky Bandit to death, otherwise, this guy might have to join the group of Bandit grudges pestering him tonight.

There were already so many of those grudges; any more, and Jier would be completely numb.

Sleeping every night was as tiring as fighting; in his dreams, he was just running away from the Bandit grudges pestering him.

After kicking the Bandit away, as soon as Jier landed, Bandits on his left and right sides came at him with Single-handed Axes for a Heavy Cleave. Jier's left-arm shield blocked one axe, emitting a clashing sound, while the Long Sword in his right arm blocked the swing path of the opponent's axe a step ahead.

At this moment, one could clearly see the difference between a Knight and an ordinary person, even if Jier was just a young lad who had just entered the Knight realm.

Even though the Long Sword was swung later, by virtue of the Long Sword's weight being several times that of the opponent's Single-handed Axe, plus the strength of his arm, even though Jier was not yet fighting with full intent, the Single-handed Axe that came down in a Heavy Cleave was still deflected by Jier's sword.

"How is this possible?"

After his weapon was deflected, the Bandit let out an incredulous shout, and Jier immediately sent his wrist forward and twisted it, using the tip of his Long Sword to shred the Bandit's mouth and tongue.

He even took the time to retort: "How is it not possible?"

Then he swung his sword to the left again, and with a heavy swing, he cleaved the Single-handed Axe of the Bandit on the left directly into two pieces.

One must know that the head of a Single-handed Axe is a large chunk of iron; Jier's sword strike actually cut the iron on the axe into two pieces.

The Bandit whose weapon had been knocked out of his hands was so scared that he retreated a few steps, looking at Jier the Knight with an expression of disbelief.

Jier rushed up and slammed his Shield into him, sending him flying with a heavy impact.

By the time he turned around again, the dozen or so Bandits still capable of fighting, though they had already surrounded him in a fan shape, did not dare to step forward.

Instead, Jier struck his Shield heavily with his glowing Long Sword, creating a loud clanging sound; the first purpose was to provoke the Bandits in front of him, and the second was to signal his location to his subordinates following behind.

"Come on? Come on!"

It looked like the enemy had him surrounded with their superior numbers, but in reality, it was Jier who had surrounded the dozen or so Bandits all by himself.

At this moment, the Bandit in the tree could finally no longer sit still; he raised his weapon and jumped down from the branch.

After landing and absorbing the impact, he shook his neck and wrists, pushed aside the Bandits blocking his way, waved his hand for them to disperse, and walked with large strides to stand still a few meters in front of Jier.

This Bandit lifted his chin slightly, gripped the Long Sword in his hand tightly, and snatched a Cleaver from the hand of a Bandit to his side, holding the two weapons crossed in front of him, one in front of the other.

His body even maintained a sideways combat stance, with his legs spread apart, one in front and one behind.

"Come, Knight, fight me."

This Bandit was full of bluster, seemingly feeling that based on his observations just now, although this Knight's strength and reflexes were stronger than an ordinary person's and he possessed a suit of thick armor, that was all there was to him; his technique and combat experience were quite average.

Especially after the series of fights just now, this Knight hadn't actually killed a single person, which was truly too soft-hearted.

People who are soft-hearted are mostly soft-minded, and those who are soft-minded will not be a match for a cold and hard person, no matter how strong the opponent is or what incredible weapons or skills they possess.

And as it happened, this Bandit—whose name was Bamian—was just such a vicious and cunning fellow, with a heart as cold as ice and as hard as Shitou.