Chapter 367: Faceless Brotherhood (12)

Desolate, remote mountains and wilderness.

A clearing in the forest beside a muddy footpath.

Militia captain Wilson never expected things to turn out like this.

They only wanted to capture a witch in order to exchange her for a bounty in Lyon Town.

Just as they were about to seize her, a group of masked strangers suddenly burst out of nowhere, attempting to abduct the witch.

Fierce beasts roamed the mountains, and the village militia, who could survive there, were all rugged and fierce; how could they stand by as their prey was snatched? So the two sides clashed.

The witch ran at a great speed; she was clearly no ordinary target.

To avoid mishaps, almost all the village militia were mobilized, numbering over forty.

The masked strangers were also numerous, with more than thirty.

Although their weapons were crude, their martial skills were formidable and their bravery fierce; the moment they burst forth, they inflicted considerable casualties on the militia.

As militia captain and the village's strongest warrior, Wilson was both furious and bewildered.

His weapon was a hardwood staff wrapped with iron at both ends; with one swing he knocked a charging masked man to the ground and roared loudly:

"Who exactly are you? State your identities!"

Among the masked men, a tall, muscular man with astonishing martial skill laughed heartily.

"Black Wolf of the Deep Forest Rudolf, have you heard of me?"

Wilson was startled, but even more confused: "Black Wolf, we have never provoked you; why attack us?"

"For that purple‑haired woman, give her to me and we will leave at once."

Wilson frowned: "The elder said she is an evil witch!"

"I know, I want the witch herself."

Wilson was shocked: "Black Wolf, have you become a devil's apostle?"

"Ha— devil's apostle~~ The church really knows how to frame people,"

"But I'm not a devil's apostle; I seized her for the bounty, ha ha!"

Mid‑speech, the powerful Black Wolf swung the Tumor Wood War Hammer with force, striking a militia member's head precisely and killing him instantly.

"Release her now, or I will kill all of you."

The militia were not easily frightened; they were not only comrades but also lifelong companions, even family.

Seeing their kin slain and the enemy trying to seize the prize, militia captain Wilson's eyes reddened as he roared in anger.

"Kill— kill all these robbers!"

He himself brandished the iron‑wrapped staff fiercely, charging toward the panting witch leaning against a nearby tree.

His goal was clear: kill the witch so that the Black Wolf would get nothing.

Black Wolf Rudolf noticed his intent and rushed forward to intercept.

Soon, the two sides collided.

In terms of martial skill, Black Wolf Rudolf was stronger, but his weapon was less handy than Wilson's, so the fight was evenly matched.

Seeing he couldn't break through Rudolf's entanglement, Wilson swept his staff with full force to push the opponent back and shouted loudly: "Shoot arrows—shoot the witch dead!"

He had intended to leave a survivor, since a living capture fetched a higher bounty, but since the Black Wolf had resorted to treachery, no one would get any reward.

The mountain‑village militia were also hunters, relying on bows and arrows for game, so their archery was excellent.

Wilson's shout prompted three militia members to respond at once.

Rudolf shouted immediately: "Protect the witch! Don't let them use arrows!"

The masked warriors immediately tangled fiercely.

But in the end, a militia member managed to fire an arrow.

Bang!

With a resonant twang, an iron arrow flew precisely through the forest battlefield, striking the purple‑haired witch's chest.

Black Wolf Rudolf saw it and felt a chill: "It's over."

Perhaps there are martial masters in the world who can intercept flying arrows, but none among those present possessed such skill.

Clang!

A crisp metallic clang rang abruptly, and the iron arrow was deflected away.

Immediately, a disheveled black‑haired man appeared beside the purple‑haired witch.

He held a filthy metal sword, evidently the weapon that had deflected the deadly iron arrow.

Wilson and Rudolf were both shocked, their movements pausing involuntarily.

Then the man waved his hand and hurled stones in succession.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

The militia's hunting dogs failed to dodge and were instantly killed.

Immediately, the man crouched and, with one hand, lifted the purple‑haired witch.

The witch was tall and voluptuous, her weight considerable, yet in the man's grasp she seemed weightless.

While the onlookers were stunned, the black‑haired swordsman turned and fled.

Even while carrying a woman, his running speed was astonishing, and in an instant he vanished from sight.

The contested prize was gone, and the swordsman's displayed martial skill was truly terrifying.

Black Wolf Rudolf and Wilson locked eyes and each took a step back.

Wilson glared fiercely at Rudolf: "Black Wolf, I will remember this blood debt forever!"

At least five or six militia members fell in battle, and over a dozen were wounded; given a chance, he will surely seek revenge.

Rudolf, intent on seizing the witch, saw her flee and lost interest in further grappling with Wilson; he chuckled: "My Black Wolf has many foes; I don't need one like you."

While speaking, he waved his hand, his subordinates also brought the dead brothers, quickly retreating back into the forest.

After the black wolf left, a militiaman asked: "Captain, should we still chase?" Wilson looked at the dog that had been smashed to death, and shook his head.

"Chase what? Go chase to get ourselves killed?"

"That swordsman can kill our dogs with stones; couldn't he also smash us with stones?"

Upon hearing that, all the militiamen present shrank their heads, saying nothing more.

Wilson then said: "Alan, Laisen, Corey, Ade, you four go to Lyon Town Church to deliver a letter, telling Bishop Lebati everything that just happened without omission."

"Yes, captain."

"We lost six brothers; don't forget to ask the bishop for compensation."

"Yes, captain."

The four militiamen immediately set off north toward Lyon Town.

"The rest of you, take the wounded and dead brothers, and follow me back to the village."

On the other side, Black Wolf Adolf led his brothers through the forest.

After walking about one li, Rudolf said: "Dig a pit~ bury the fallen brothers."

They had lost one man, the rest were wounded.

The masked warriors did as instructed.

Before burying the bodies, the masked warriors performed a peculiar action.

They deliberately fetched stones, smashed the dead men's faces until they were unrecognizable, then carefully buried them.

Throughout the process, no one objected or cried; everyone was accustomed to it, their expressions even indifferent.

After the burial was done, Rudolf waved his hand: "Continue forward."

The squad walked silently in the forest for a while, soon reaching a clear mountain stream deep in the woods.

Rudolf raised his hand: "Rest here."

Then, nearly thirty people took off their masks, some washing their faces, some drinking water, some tending to wounds.

The whole process was very quiet, no one spoke or groaned in pain, like a rigorously trained army.

Rudolf then took out a piece of dried meat and several potatoes, eating and drinking with the clear stream water.

After eating a while, he suddenly felt something off; turning his head, he saw two people upstream of the stream.

They were exactly the black-haired swordsman and purple-haired witch who had left earlier.

The purple-haired witch was sitting on a stream-side stone washing up, while the black-haired swordsman stood beside her, staring at him with a strange gaze.

Rudolf was greatly startled, immediately gripping the Tumor Wood War Hammer tightly: "Alert!"

The warriors instantly assumed combat stances, the whole process taking less than two seconds.

Rudolf then spoke: "Young man, who exactly are you?"

The black-haired swordsman's displayed martial skill was truly astonishing; even though the opponent was just one person, Rudolf dared not act rashly.

The black-haired swordsman was naturally Luosen; looking at the more than thirty warriors downstream, he calmly said: "You don't look like bandits; you look more like soldiers."

Rudolf remained silent.

"You are certainly not here to kidnap for bounty; you have some other purpose."

"I am curious about your purpose."

Rudolf said in a low voice: "Young man, this has nothing to do with you."

Luosen smiled faintly: "The so-called witch you covet is my wife; therefore this matter is very much related to me."

Rudolf was slightly surprised: "You are also a devil's apostle?!"

Luosen gave a faint smile: "We haven't done any evil; how did we become devils?"

Rudolf said solemnly: "The doctrine of the Eternal Blazing Sun says that all beings with extraordinary power are bewitched by the devil and are the devil's agents in the world!"

Luosen countered: "Do you believe that?"

"Everyone believes it."

While speaking, Rudolf and the surrounding thirty-plus warriors all had tense expressions.

But they did not show excessive hostility; instead they revealed an undisguisable curiosity and longing.

This state moved Luosen slightly; he smiled faintly: "You want extraordinary power, right?"

In the wilderness, Rudolf did not hide it: "Exactly, we are members of the Faceless Brothers Society."

"In our view, the devil is the church's excuse; most so-called devils are merely slandered by the church, but extraordinary power truly exists."

"We are not the church's lackeys, and we are tired of this mundane mortal world; we seek great power to transcend life and death, to rise above the mundane."

Luosen smiled: "Is it only you who seek this? Or is there perhaps a deeper hidden group behind you?"

After a few seconds of silence, Rudolf said: "We certainly have patrons behind us, but their identities must remain secret, after all this world belongs to the church."

Luosen nodded to show understanding, then said: "We need mortal service; if your service pleases us, we will grant you extraordinary power."

While speaking, he bent over, lifted a stone weighing nearly 200 kilograms with one hand, and threw it straight up over five meters high.

Immediately after, a flash of sword light from his right hand split the stone instantly in half; one half rolled with a 'gurgling' sound to Rudolf's feet.

Rudolf looked at the split stone, seeing the cut surface smooth as a mirror, clearly cleaved by the sword blade.

Any warrior knows how terrifying this is; it far exceeds mortal strength.

Rudolf's brows jumped as he watched; the warriors on site could not help but cry out in low voices, greatly shocked by Luosen's display of extraordinary power.

Rudolf's face showed a hint of fervor; he immediately rose, bowing humbly to Luosen.

"Extraordinary beings, we are willing to serve you!"

Afternoon second update.

(End of chapter)