Sword Among Us

The person in black was naturally Happy, who had prepared himself to reap benefits as the third party.

*****

The storyline did not change in general. It still progressed the same way as it did in Happy’s previous life. Nothing had changed in the game because of his appearance, even though the unkempt man, who was rumoured to be very skilled in his lightness skill, seemed to have been very troubled when he left.

Happy sized up the matter in his heart.

Based on his memories, the unkempt middle-aged man whom he had met in the pavilion would snatch one of three brocade boxes, another would be taken away by Black Heron, the leader of the group who ambushed the thirteen staff-using monks, and the group of bandits would take the last brocade box back to Taihang Mountains[1] after they failed to catch up to the unkempt middle-aged man.

Happy had decided to handle the hardest brocade box after he pieced together all his memories from his previous life.

He chose to aim for the Mystical Realm bandit because while the unkempt middle-aged man did not seem imposing and did indeed not possess a lot of combat strength, his extraordinary lightness skills made him someone that could cause a headache even to the powerful people at the two empresses and three kings’ caliber. All those who provoked him would not have a good night’s sleep. They would have to constantly be on guard to prevent their items going missing for no reason.

As for Black Heron, his high-tier body fortification technique, Rotating Spherical Cover, could reflect a portion of the attacker’s damage back at them. In the game right then, there were very few people who could stand up to him. Besides, even if Happy had the confidence to snatch his brocade box, he would not be able to run from the numerous eyes and ears that were at the foot of the mountain that belonged to Shaolin Temple. He would just get into even more trouble.

Also, Happy did not intend to get multiple brocade boxes.

If he only had one tribute, he would be able to handle the bounty the system assigned to him and the pursuit of the Forest Union. If he had more, he did not know whether he would be able to handle the dangers that would be associated with it. That was why he went to the Mystical Realm bandit.

He casually stood up in the pavilion. His very blatant provocative stance instantly angered the bandits.

“You’re just asking for death!”

When the Mystical Realm bandit leader saw that this person had killed two of his brothers right before his eyes, he flew into a rage. His expression morphed into one of anger, and he drew the silver longbow!

Bang!

The bowstring quivered, and an arrow shot into the pavilion with a powerful sonic boom!

Happy had played the game for more than three years, and he had an easy time in it later on. If he could not even dodge arrows, he would have wasted all his time in the game.

He kept his eyes fixed on the Mystical Realm bandit leader. At the moment he drew the bow and trained the arrow on him, Happy moved to the side at an ingenious angle and easily avoided the fatal arrow that came at him at an astonishing speed.

He raised his arms and two of his lancet knives out again.

“Ahh!”

The ones who cried out in pain were not humans, but horses!

Upon being struck, they neighed in fright because of the pain. They raised their front hooves before the two bandits on their backs could react to the situation and threw them off.

Happy had been able to kill two Blessed Realm bandits in one go earlier because his attacks had taken the bandits by surprise, and the sound of horse hooves had disguised his attack. They were ready to fight him right then though, so it was only natural that he would not be able to kill them as easily as before.

Happy’s two lancet knives were thrown almost at the moment the bandit leader fired the arrow.

Thud!

At the same time the two people fell off their horses, the arrow sank a few inches into the stone table, and its fletching trembled violently. It was a clear sign of how great the archer’s Arm Strength was.

However, while the damage of an arrow was more terrifying than that of the throwing knives, arrows were slightly more inferior in terms of shooting speed and agility.

Right after Happy threw the lancet knives, two more throwing knives landed in his palm. He did not stop moving. He spun, and the knives left his hands. Their cold glares sank into the two bandits who had fallen off their horses after they lost their balance.

Thud! Thud!

The two bandits covered their chests and fell to the ground. They could no longer get up.

In a flash, Happy killed four Blessed Realm bandits, and he reduced the group of twenty-one to seventeen…

“Kill him!”

When he saw how agile Happy was and found that he was not like the other Blessed Realm players he dealt with in the past, a grave expression finally appeared on the face of the bandit leader. Once he shouted his order in anger, the bandits got down from their horses to surround the pavilion.

Happy smiled faintly. He threw two knives to confuse his enemies’ sight and hearing, and a Hundred-battle Saber landed in his hands. It drew a saber glare in the air that formed a blue halo that swept through the middle of the Forest Union bandits.

It was just as Happy had expected, the bandit leader did not immediately join the fray.

Of course, it was not because the bandit leader had decided to put on airs. It was because of his natural instincts. The cunning bandits cherished their lives a lot. Before they fought, they used their subordinates to spearhead the attack.

If it were not because he had a deep understanding of how the bandits did things, Happy would not have had the courage to appear in front of a Mystical Realm bandit and a dozen other Blessed Realm bandits by himself.

Normal Blessed Realm bandits did not have any high-tier martial arts. Their overall abilities might not even match up to Black Wind Mountain’s chief bandit. They did not have any secret techniques, and neither did they have good equipment. They relied on max-level low-tier martial arts that were strengthened by their qi realm to oppress others. Their sabers shone brightly, and they looked incredibly powerful.

Not a single hint of nervousness and panic could be seen on Happy’s face when he charged into the bandits’ group by himself.

The bandit who led the charge had not even been able to show his bold and heroic momentum when Happy disarmed him with a single slash performed without any flourish. He was sent flying sideways by the force contained in the blade. From then on, he would probably have a scar that would be difficult to get rid of on his face.

Happy caught up to the bandit closest to him with small but fast steps. Using Golden Dragon Stretches Claw, he dexterously seized the bandit’s arm. With a pull and tug, the bandit lost his balance, and Happy guided his movements, making him block the others. The bandits then hesitated to attack their companion.

Meanwhile, Happy brandished his Hundred-battle Saber with one hand. Its blade shone brightly, and he made two people retreat.

Whoosh!

Happy did not forget about the Mystical Realm bandit leader, who posed the greatest threat to him. When he saw the bandit leader move, he calmly pushed the bandit in his hand forward to be shot. He also executed Flowering Knights Slash and turned in the air like a spinning top while surrounded by enemies. The dazzling blue glare became brighter by several degrees, and Happy, who had now turned into a meat grinder, moved forward swiftly.

Roooaaaaar!

The three bandits in front of him had never seen such a violent attack. They were caught off guard, and blood gushed into the air. The bandits around them were also injured badly. They fell to the ground.

As for the bandit whom Happy had flung out as a shield, the bandit leader had shot through him and he was undoubtedly dead.

However, because of this, the bandit leader had been enraged even more.

Whoosh!

With fire burning in his eyes, he jumped from the back of his horse. He put away his silver longbow and lifted a purple-red great ax, which he swung down while still in the air.

As expected of a powerful Mystical Realm fighter, even though he had jumped into the air, he practically curled himself into a ball, which meant that most of his body was protected by the ax’s blade. He was so fast that Happy did not have time to throw any throwing knives at him.

“Perfect timing!” Happy shouted. He took two steps backwards, which resulted in the bandit leader’s attack missing.

Thud, thud, thud, thud…

The bandit leader was like an enraged but agile King Kong. With murderous intent in his eyes, he moved swiftly. The glare on his blade was so bright it was blinding to the eyes. His jump into the air was so strong that he arrived in front of Happy in just a few steps.

Happy’s expression did not change. He continued retreating.

One person chased after the other. The wind blew against the leaves on the ground, lifting them up, and dust flew in the air!

Soon, the two people retreated to an empty spot that was very far away from the bandits. An aura that was slightly inferior to the bandit leader’s rose from Happy.

He activated Blessed Realm.