Sword Among Us

“Ah!”

“Damn it! Run!”

As more and more rushed out from the forest, a grave expression appeared on the unkempt man’s face while he hid behind a fork in the road.

There were more than seventy Forest Union bandits on horseback chasing after the players. More than half of them were archers, and all of them were equipped in full armor. Their archery skills were extraordinary. They had only chased after the group for a few seconds, but they had already killed seven and caused eight others to flee while injured!

The unkempt middle-aged man naturally did not believe that forty or so Blessed Realm players would be terrified of seventy Blessed Realm bandits. He held his breath carefully and stood in a rather hidden corner quietly. He watched the group of people charge past and studied the bandits behind them.

Soon, he noticed that most of the players who had been killed were killed in one hit by a man who held a silver longbow.

He was very eye-catching. His hair was disheveled, and his gaze was as fierce as that of a lion. His arms were as thick as an ape’s, and he gave off the feeling that he was valiant and overbearing. The fine horse beneath him was entirely red. His eyes burned brightly, and there was a diamond shaped mark on his forehead. He looked incredibly dashing!

The man who resembled a lion charged to the front of the group of bandits. The silver longbow was more than five feet long, smooth, and taut. It was incredibly eye-catching and intimidating under the sunlight.

The silver longbow was drawn and released repeatedly in the hands of the man who resembled a lion! Every single time he focused on someone, the sound of the bowstring released would be accompanied by a sonic boom that shook the air. Every single time he let loose an arrow, a player would be pinned to the ground. It was a terrifying sight to behold.

Once ten or so people died, the fleeing group finally realized that they were in a dire situation.

The bandits had intentionally controlled their speed and went after them to slowly kill all of them. Soon, nearly half of their people were dead. The bandits were constantly after the people with the tributes. So sooner or later, all of them would die.

The man with the body fortification technique was clearly the leader of the group. Once he regained his composure, he noticed that the bandits had come for the tribute, and he gritted his teeth before he ordered his companions. “Throw away the tributes!”

“Boss!”

The three players with the tributes hesitated.

They had planned meticulously to snatch them from the thirteen staff-using monks. They had even sacrificed around ten companions to do it. On top of that, no one would be able to release the tributes that were worth cities just like that.

“They only have one Mystical Realm fighter! Split up!” one person with a quick mind suggested loudly.

Their leader’s eyes lit up.

“Alright! If we lose one tribute, then so be it. If we manage to save at least one, then our trip wouldn’t have been in vain!”

As long as they got to save one tribute, then the sacrifices they made would be rewarded greatly. The group swiftly followed the order.

“Protect me!”

The leader took one of the tributes. His qi instantly reached Gate Realm before it reached Blessed Realm! His body became light, and he ran away at full speed. With one jump, he crossed a few feet and landed in the distance.

The other two people turned around at the same time and left the government-made road with the tribute boxes.

The unkempt middle-aged man could see all of this from the distance. His eyes lit up, and he chuckled before he mumbled under his breath. “At least they’re not completely dumb.”

Before his voice could even disappear, he quickly vanished from the spot and chased after one of the people carrying the tributes.

“Split up and chase them!”

When the players split into three groups, the bandits quickly did the same. They increased their speed, and the arrows chased after the players.

The powerful Mystical Realm bandit went after the group of people to the left.

He had with him Cloud Piercing Arrow, which could fly long distances. Everyone was killed before they could flee far into the distance. So naturally, the first tribute fell into the hands of the Mystical Realm bandit.

He shifted his gaze and looked toward the battlefield on the government-made road. The people there fought fiercely, entangled in a fierce melee. He frowned slightly, and with a single command, the sound of his horse galloping could be heard. He rushed after the second tribute box like a tidal wave.

The twenty or so bandits on the government-made road did not have a Mystical Realm bandit helping them. Before they could charge too far into the distance, they were faced with a frenzied counterattack from the remaining ten or so Blessed Realm players!

They had been chased by the NPCs as if they were prey. Right then, it was time for them to take revenge. There was no way they would accept defeat.

If they could kill tough opponents like the thirteen staff-using monks, then their abilities had to be pretty good in terms of their martial arts, equipment, and weapons!

They might not be able to fight against three people alone, but they could easily fight against two people.

The situation instantly changed!

In a short period of time, twenty or so bandits were cut down along with their horses. They turned from the pursuers to the gifts under the players’ weapons. If it were not because their blood would disappear in a short period of time, the government-made road would have become bloody and terrifying.

When the Mystical Realm bandit led a group of people over to provide reinforcements, the twenty or so bandits were already lying dead while the players had fled in all directions!

“Kill them!”

The eyes of the Mystical Realm bandit leader went cold. With two simple words, he made all his bandits chase after the players, and he patted his horse’s butt to catch up to two players.

With two Shooting Stars Chase the Moon, he swiftly pinned them down and cast his gaze on other prey within his sight.

Just like this, the group who ambushed the thirteen staff-using monks were swiftly reduced to single digits, and their numbers continued dwindling as the Mystical Realm bandit continued chasing after them.

However, all the members of the group had taken the initiative to make this happen.

To stall the Mystical Realm bandit and protect the final two tribute boxes, they could only use their lives as bait and try their best to attract the Mystical Realm bandit’s hate to make him stay so their brothers who protected the tribute boxes could escape.

When the Mystical Realm bandit killed the final person within his sight and opened the map again, he found that the two dots on the map had gone into two separate directions, and they were both very faraway!

He scowled.

The Forest Union bandits swiftly split into two groups and vanished from the government-made road.

*****

In the area to the east of the forest at the foot of Mount Song, the man with the high-tier body fortification technique dashed forward madly with a resolute expression at a speed as if there was wind under his feet. He held a tribute box with his left hand while a sword was in the other. His wretched appearance from before had disappeared without a trace, and he now looked much more relaxed.

A piece of paper had been shredded not too long ago behind him. Written on it was: [They’re headed west! Be careful on the way!]

Unfortunately for him, his peace was short-lived. He had clearly forgotten one thing—he was next to Mount Song, and it belonged to Shaolin Temple…

Shaolin disciples appeared frequently at the foot of Shaolin Temple, and the tribute box in his hands was like a moving transceiver that sent out signals to attract all the players within a circular area of half a mile of where he was.

Soon, blurry figures appeared in the forest around him.

The man’s face paled, and he came to a stop in horror.

He just had to run into his enemies!

The people before him were dressed in grayish-white monk robes and held Eyebrow-height Staffs[1]. They had pale faces, but their breaths were long and steady. They stared at him with cold and fierce gazes, and they were the thirteen staff-using monks from Shaolin Temple who had just revived.

*****

The Mystical Realm bandit brought twenty or so bandits through the government-made road in the direction of the pavilion.

Before they could get close, two bandits in Blessed Realm cried out in pain at the same time. They rolled down from the backs of their horses, and it shocked the bandits so much that they tugged at their reins at the same time. With furious glares, they stared at the single man in black within the pavilion!