Chapter 178: Leave none of these bastards alive!

As his voice fell, the nine Storm Knights behind him, along with Fula who had been by his side, simultaneously erupted with powerful Battle Qi.

Ten figures transformed into ten streams of death, charging into the bandit army of over two thousand men without a second thought!

A one-sided slaughter had begun!

Chaos!

The entire Bulake Wolf Bandit Group was in complete chaos!

Roko's sword, which had been like divine punishment, had completely destroyed their psychological defenses.

And at this moment, Roko and the ten knights under his command, who were like tigers entering a flock of sheep, made them even more terrified.

Each of these knights wore black armor that was impervious to swords and spears, and the weapons in their hands seemed to tear through their bodies with ease.

Their coordination was perfect; every charge and every swing brought about a storm of blood.

Especially the young man leading them, Roko.

The golden flame longsword in his hand was simply the scythe of the Grim Reaper.

No one could last a single round before him.

Whether it was ordinary bandits or those small leaders with decent strength, as long as they were touched by those golden flames, they would instantly be burned to ash.

"Devils! They are devils!"

"Run!"

The bandits collapsed; they threw away their weapons and fled in all directions, crying out.

However, their escape seemed so ridiculous in front of the Storm Knights.

"Want to run? Did you ask the spear in my hand?"

Hart took the lead, charging over with his ten brothers from another direction, perfectly blocking the bandits' retreat.

Two teams, twenty-three riders, were like two sharp scissors, beginning to crazily harvest these fleeing lives from the outside in.

On the city wall, the defenders and townspeople of Harvest Town were completely stunned.

They opened their mouths wide, watching the one-sided slaughter below the city, feeling as if they were dreaming.

A moment ago, they were still struggling on the edge of hell.

The next moment, their Lord had brought divine soldiers to trample hell under his feet.

What divine might this was!

"Long live the Lord!"

It was unknown who shouted it first.

Immediately after, earth-shaking cheers erupted from the city wall, reaching the clouds!

"Long live the Lord!"

"Long live Vanguard Valley!"

Everyone's face carried the ecstasy of surviving a disaster and heartfelt worship.

Roko ignored these cheers.

His gaze, like an eagle searching for prey, scanned the entire battlefield coldly.

He was looking for someone.

Looking for the culprit, "Bulake Wolf"!

"Fula!"

"Present!"

Fula's figure appeared beside Roko like a ghost.

Her body was covered in the enemy's blood, but those heterochromatic eyes remained clear and cold.

"Find him."

Roko's voice carried not a hint of emotion.

"Yes."

Fula nodded and closed her eyes.

A peculiar mental fluctuation, centered on her, instantly spread out.

This was a new ability she had awakened after fusing her Ice and Fire Battle Qi, capable of sensing all living beings around her that contained malice and dark energy.

In her perceived world, on the entire battlefield, the vast majority of light points were gray, representing fear and chaos.

Only a few light points appeared dark red, representing killing intent and resentment.

And among them, one was the most dazzling and the most evil!

"Found him!"

Fula opened her eyes abruptly and pointed to a black-robed man who was quietly retreating at the edge of the battlefield.

"It's him!"

That black-robed man clearly sensed Fula's probing as well.

He shuddered, no longer hiding, as powerful Dark Battle Qi erupted from his body, and he turned and fled for his life toward the distant mountain forest.

"Want to leave?"

Roko sneered and squeezed his horse's belly.

The warhorse was like black lightning, instantly catching up.

The black-robed man's speed was extremely fast; he was clearly a powerhouse who had reached the Silver Grade.

But in front of Roko, this speed was simply not enough.

"Stay!"

Roko was still in mid-air when the longsword in his hand had already left his grasp.

The golden flame longsword drew a brilliant arc in the air, as if it had eyes, accurately shooting toward the black-robed man's back.

The black-robed man felt the fatal threat behind him and was scared out of his wits.

He roared, slashing back with a black blade light, trying to block the sword.

However, his blade light was like paper in front of the Holy Sun Battle Qi, instantly torn to shreds.

Pfft!

The flame longsword penetrated the black-robed man's body without any resistance, pinning him firmly to the ground.

Golden flames began to burn crazily on his body.

"Ahhh!"

The black-robed man let out a scream that didn't sound human, rolling wildly on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames on his body.

Roko slowly dismounted and walked to his front step by step, looking down at him from above.

"Are you 'Bulake Wolf'?"

"You—who exactly are you?"

The black-robed man, that is, Bulake Wolf, raised his head, revealing a face burned beyond recognition by the flames, looking at Roko in terror. He couldn't understand it no matter what.

Didn't the intelligence say that Roko Raymond was only a Bronze Peak Knight?

Why was he so strong?

What kind of power were these golden flames?

They could so easily restrain the Dark Battle Qi he was so proud of!

"Who am I?"

Roko's foot stepped on Bulake Wolf's face, grinding down hard.

"I am someone you cannot afford to provoke."

"Speak, who sent you? Archibald? Or the Poison Scorpion Society?"

"Ptooey!"

Bulake Wolf spat out a mouthful of black blood, staring at Roko with resentful eyes.

"Just kill me! The Poison Scorpion Society won't let you go! The Marquis won't let you go either!"

"Is that so?"

Roko smiled, a smile that was incredibly cold.

"I have a habit."

"I never worry about whether someone will come to take revenge on me."

"Because, before they can take revenge on me, I will take the first step and pull them out by the roots!"

"As for you—"

Roko applied force with his foot, and the Holy Sun Battle Qi erupted violently.

"You don't have the qualifications to die so easily."

Golden flames instantly engulfed Bulake Wolf's entire body.

But this time, the flames did not immediately burn him to ash, but instead burned his flesh and soul inch by inch at an extremely slow speed.

That kind of pain far exceeded any torture.

"Ah!"

Bulake Wolf's screams rang through the entire valley, completely scaring the wits out of the bandits who were still putting up a desperate struggle.

They threw away their weapons, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed desperately for mercy.

"Master, spare us! We were all forced!"

"We won't dare again!"

Roko didn't even bother to look at them.

His gaze passed over these people and looked at the city wall of Harvest Town.

He issued an order to the defender commander on the wall, who was equally stunned.

His voice clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Open the city gate."

"Leave none of these bastards alive."

When the dawn's light pierced the eastern horizon, the battle outside Harvest Town had completely ended.

The air was still filled with a nauseating smell of blood.

The corpses and wreckage everywhere silently told of the tragedy of last night.

Of the more than three thousand Bulake Wolf bandits, except for a few who fled into the deep mountains during the initial chaos, the rest were all slaughtered.

Leave none alive.

Roko's order was executed thoroughly.

The city gate of Harvest Town was wide open.

Martina brought officials from the main city and a team of medics, rushing there overnight.

When she saw Roko standing safe and sound amidst the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, the heart that had been hanging all night finally let go.

Her eyes instantly turned red.

But she held back her tears, only walking quickly to Roko and giving a standard military salute.

"Master, welcome back."

Her voice carried a hint of imperceptible trembling.

"You've worked hard."

Roko looked at Martina's haggard face and bloodshot eyes, a surge of guilt rising in his heart.

"It was my carelessness that made you suffer."

"This is not your fault."

Martina shook her head.

"It's the enemy who is too despicable."

"What is the casualty situation?"

Roko asked in a deep voice.

Mentioning this, Martina's face dimmed.

"Harvest Town garrison, 173 killed in action, 82 seriously injured."

"In the border villages and outposts, preliminary statistics show over 500 military and civilian deaths."

"And a large amount of farmland and houses were burned, the losses—are immeasurable."

Every number was like a hammer, striking heavily on Roko's heart.

His fists clenched, making a clattering sound.

"Compensation."

Roko squeezed two words out from between his teeth.

"For all soldiers killed in action, issue compensation at three times the highest standard! Their families will be supported by the Lord's Mansion!"

"For all civilians who perished, also issue triple compensation! All their children will be brought to the main city of Vanguard Valley, raised uniformly by the Lord's Mansion, and receive the best education!"

"All destroyed houses and farmland will be rebuilt with funds from the Lord's Mansion!"

"Tell everyone, the blood they shed will not be in vain! Their sacrifice will be remembered by Vanguard Valley forever!"

Martina nodded heavily.

"Yes! I will go handle it immediately!"

Roko looked again at the soldiers and townspeople who were cleaning up the battlefield, their faces still carrying the shock of the aftermath.

He took a deep breath, gathered his Battle Qi, and his voice spread throughout the entire Harvest Town.

"Warriors of Vanguard Valley! Fellow countrymen!"

"I, Roko Raymond, have returned!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at the figure standing in the morning light.

"I know you have experienced fear, experienced despair."

"You have lost loved ones, lost your homes."

"All of this is my responsibility!"

"It was I who failed to protect you well!"

As he spoke, Roko bowed deeply to everyone.

This action left everyone stunned.

Since ancient times, only commoners knelt to nobles; where had there ever been a noble bowing to commoners?

A warmth surged in everyone's hearts.

The eyes with which they looked at Roko were filled with emotion and heat.

"However, I promise you!"

Roko straightened up, his voice clanging with power.

"Such a thing will never happen a second time!"

"From today on, Vanguard Valley will enter the highest state of combat readiness!"

"I will use the gold I knocked out of the enemy to forge the sturdiest armor and the sharpest weapons for you!"

"I will expand our legions, so that the flag of the 'New Wind Legion' will be planted throughout the entire New Wind Province!"

"I will make all enemies who dare to covet our home pay a bloody price!"

"I swear to you, I will personally twist off Archibald's head, and I will personally level the lair of the Poison Scorpion Society!"

"Using their blood to sacrifice to our fallen countrymen!"

Roko's vow was like a thunderclap, exploding in everyone's heart.

Everyone's blood was ignited at this moment.

"Revenge! Revenge!"

"Blood for blood!"

The earth-shaking roars converged into a torrent, rushing straight to the clouds.

The hearts of the people of Vanguard Valley were condensed to an unprecedented peak at this moment.

Lord's Mansion, inside the study.

Roko finished handling the aftermath of Harvest Town and finally had a moment to breathe.

He looked at the intelligence urgently sent by the Commercial Alliance in his hand, his face growing colder.

This was the investigation he had asked Silas to help with, regarding all the strongholds and the list of high-level members of the Poison Scorpion Society in the western part of the Bulake Kingdom.

The intelligence was very detailed, even marking out the secret doors and mechanisms of certain strongholds clearly.

"Master, Silas really went all out this time."

Martina sighed from the side.

"The value of this intelligence is probably no less than 100,000 gold coins."

"He is investing."

Roko snorted coldly.

"What he has his eyes on is my ability to help him open up the market in the three major western provinces, as well as that 'Road of Hope'."

"However, I will accept this gift."

Roko's fingertips tapped lightly on a place on the map located on the border of the Sunset Province, called "Bulake Stone City."

"Martina, look here."

Martina leaned over.

"Bulake Stone City is the gateway from the Sunset Province to the Mist Mountains, and its geographical location is very important."

"According to intelligence, the largest branch of the Poison Scorpion Society in the west is hidden in this city."

"Moreover, the person in charge of this branch, codenamed 'Poison Blade,' is a genuine Golden Grade assassin!"

Golden Grade!

Martina's heart skipped a beat.

That was an existence one major realm higher than the Silver Grade.

In the entire Bulake Kingdom, the number of Golden Grade powerhouses on the surface could be counted on one's fingers.

"Archibald dares to act so unscrupulously against me; his biggest reliance behind the scenes is probably this 'Poison Blade'."

Dangerous light flickered in Roko's eyes.

"He thinks that with a Golden Grade powerhouse backing him, he can sleep soundly."

"He thinks I have no way to deal with him."

"Then I will let him see what true despair is."

Martina looked at Roko, vaguely guessing his thoughts.

"Master, you want to—"

"That's right."

Roko stood up and walked to the window, looking toward the direction of Sunset City in the distance.

"Doesn't Archibald like to play the 'lure the tiger away from the mountain' game?"

"Then I will play along with him once."

"Doesn't he think I will lick my wounds and recuperate in Vanguard Valley?"

"Then I will give him a huge 'surprise'!"