"Who else could it be but you?" the current raider leader asked angrily.
"I... I said it was me."
The crowd then realized that the voice was coming from the tree the attacker leader was using as a shield. The attacker leader shook his head and looked up, his bright eyes fixed on him with a mocking gaze.
The raider leader's attention was completely focused on the bow and arrow in the tree-dweller's hand. At such close range, the moment the archer released the bowstring, it would pierce his body. His legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground, crying, "Spare me, spare me..."
Unexpectedly, the attacker was so incompetent. Li Jun was slightly taken aback. It turned out that he was just a young man of seventeen or eighteen. His once imposing face was now filled with fear. Li Jun said, "Tell all your men to put down their weapons."
The raider leader shouted, "Put down your weapons! Put down your weapons!"
The dozen or so attackers looked at each other, hesitated, and then dropped their weapons. The other mercenaries herded them together, and Xiao Lin gave Li Jun a thumbs up.
Li Jun closed his eyes again as if nothing had happened. Just then, a shrill scream pierced the night sky.
Li Junyi flipped over and squatted on the tree, arrows darting through the forest. Every now and then, mercenaries screamed as they were hit by arrows. Then came various kinds of Taoist magic, blue-black water magic, dark yellow earth magic, and green wood magic, which knocked the mercenaries down so they couldn't lift their heads.
Li Jun concealed himself among the branches and leaves to avoid being seen by the enemies attacking from afar. His companions and the initial group of attackers were all lying on the ground. To turn the tide, they either had to wait for the enemy to run out of mana or kill the enemy's spellcaster first.
"Why would the other party be so careless with their magical power?" Li Jun's mind raced. Even the ultimate masters like Confucian sages, Taoist immortals, or Buddhist living Buddhas have limited magical power, which must be replenished after use. The fact that the other party was so willing to use their magical power for attacks that were not very effective must mean they had another purpose.
Xiao Lin raised his head and gestured to Li Jun, who immediately understood the other party's intention. The other party originally planned to launch a surprise attack under the cover of night, but they did not expect that the dozen or so attackers would wake up the mercenaries. They must have thought they had been discovered, and they started attacking before they could complete the encirclement. In order to buy time for their companions to outflank them, the mages in the other party's team used spells at great expense.
Like a snake, Li Jun slithered along the branches to another tree. Under the cover of darkness, he successfully reached the taller tree. By then, he had roughly determined the location of the opposing sorcerers—probably three or four Taoist sorcerers, a very dangerous combination for the small mercenary team. Li Jun aimed an arrow at the source of the spell and fired. As the bowstring twanged, a muffled groan came from that direction. Li Jun immediately ducked behind the tree trunk after firing the arrow. Sure enough, several streaks of light and arrow shadows swept past where he had started, knocking down some leaves.
To prevent Li Jun from attacking with arrows again, most of the arrows flew towards Li Jun's hiding place. Xiao Lin, who was lying on the ground, found that the pressure had eased. He nodded to Luger, whose huge body suddenly stood up and charged forward from behind his huge shield. The remaining arrows and magic were indeed attracted to this huge target. Xiao Lin rolled over and the other mercenaries crawled forward.
"It's a Qiang!" Someone in the opposing camp recognized Luger's identity. They dared not let him approach. If the incredibly strong Qiang got close, even a warrior in full armor could be turned into a pile of minced meat with a single blow. Luger swung his giant shield left and right to parry magic. Even if the enemy's arrows pierced his armor, they could only damage his skin. However, he could not resist the five elemental magics other than earth magic.
Xiao Lin and several agile mercenaries had greatly reduced the distance between themselves and their opponents. Just then, the sounds of fighting came from behind them. The enemy had already surrounded them, and there was no need to use bows and arrows or magic anymore.
When Xiao Lin discovered that there were several times his number of soldiers around him, he knew that there was no chance of survival this time. He roared, "Break through!" and suddenly leaped up from the ground. The enemy in front of him was not expected to be so close and was startled. Xiao Lin's right-hand knife had already slit his throat.
The sounds of battle immediately erupted. The first group of attackers, captured by the mercenaries, were initially bewildered. That arrogant king even sat on the ground, took out some snacks from his pocket, ate them while watching, and cheered for both sides.
The leader of the first raiders picked up a knife from the ground, looked around, and saw a mercenary and a soldier fighting fiercely next to him. He brandished his knife between the two and shouted, "Go! Go! Go!"
The two men locked in a life-or-death struggle were startled by his shout. They exchanged glances, each assuming he was the other's ally, and decided to deal with this seemingly easy opponent first. So, both weapons attacked him simultaneously. The leader of the first wave of attackers, terrified, scrambled away, but before he could catch his breath, he was kicked in the backside, falling face-first into the mud, wailing, "It's over, I'm dead... Mom, come quick..."
This man had a loud voice; his crying drowned out the sounds of the fighting. Both sides found it both infuriating and amusing. In times of war, bloodshed and death were commonplace, and these soldiers were used to brave warriors who would turn their backs without batting an eye. Such a rogue was a rare sight indeed.
Li Jun was speechless, but this was not the time for him to laugh. The enemy archers had already concentrated their fire on him, and the tree had become the most dangerous place. He jumped down from the tree, threw away his bow and arrows, and pulled out a short arrow.
Although he hadn't received any formal training during his seven years as a young mercenary, he had still learned a great deal of practical fighting skills from these daredevils, and had become a very outstanding warrior.
The short sword moved with almost no fancy movements in his hand. He reached out and stabbed an enemy with his back to him in the back. Then he pulled the enemy's corpse over and shoved it into another enemy who was charging at him with a sword. Before that enemy could move his companion's body away, Li Jun's body had already rushed in front of him. A cold sensation ran down his side as the short sword pierced through the gap in his chainmail. The last thing that enemy saw was Li Jun's cold eyes.
In the chaos of battle, the enemy could not freely use lethal magic. Xiao Lin's twin blades swept past the throats of one enemy after another like a whirlwind. After killing six enemies in one go, the enemy realized how terrifying this mercenary leader was. An officer holding a round shield blocked his escape.
"Charge!" Xiao Lin gave the order to the mercenaries again, slashing at the officer with his left-hand sword. The officer blocked the blow with his shield, and before Xiao Lin could strike with his right-hand sword, his own sword quietly thrust out.
Xiao Lin felt a violent jolt in his left hand, almost losing his grip on the knife. He had to retreat and dodge his opponent's sword. He took a breath and slashed at his opponent's sword-wielding hand with all his might with his right hand, but there was another violent jolt. It was as if the opponent's shield had been waiting there all along.
Secretly amazed by his opponent's strength, Xiao Lin swung his numb right hand and retreated repeatedly to avoid the opponent's fierce attacks. The officer pressed his advantage relentlessly, launching wave after wave of attacks like the wind. Although Xiao Lin could see that his opponent was also panting, the offensive showed no signs of slowing down.
With a loud "bang!", a giant shield blocked the officer's round shield. Luger let out a muffled laugh, while the officer grunted and retreated. Xiao Lin crouched down and attacked the officer's feet with both swords from the left and right. The officer tried to block Xiao Lin's attack with his sword, but it was blocked by Luger's giant shield.
But the enemy outnumbered them, and several of them rushed forward to separate Xiao Lin and Lu Ge. Xiao Lin looked back and saw that there were not many of his mercenaries still fighting, so he had to issue his third order: "Spread out!"
Li Jun and two other mercenaries formed a group and rushed in the opposite direction from Xiao Lin. The enemy, assuming Xiao Lin was their leader, paid little attention to this side, but outnumbered them, and Li Jun and his companions were quickly separated. Listening to the screams of his comrades as they died, Li Jun knew he was now in dire straits.
Ruger realized the danger to his side. Anger and despair surged into his heart at the same time. His mind slowly faded, and his eyes turned a terrifying red. The soldiers surrounding him noticed his change and were too terrified to approach him. Suddenly, Ruger threw away his shield and axe and pounded his breastplate with his fists, letting out a horrifying howl.
"He's gone mad... the Qiang people have gone mad!" The soldiers began to panic. The leader of the first wave of attackers stopped crying and watched as Lug charged at them with his arms outstretched. The soldiers instinctively tried to block him with their weapons, but the blows seemed to have no effect on Lug, not even slowing him down. Two unfortunate soldiers had their necks grabbed and lifted by Lug's huge hands. They only managed to cry out twice before their neck bones turned to dust. Lug brandished the two corpses and angrily charged into the ranks of soldiers.
Almost everyone's attention was drawn to the crazed Qiang man, and to stop him, the officers urged the soldiers to surround Luge. The leader of the first raiders was the first to realize the opportunity; he quietly slipped into the bushes and disappeared, while the arrogant king scrambled away from the danger.
Most of the soldiers were sent to Xiao Lin and Lu Ge's side. Li Jun discovered the enemy's weak point. This was not the time to be loyal; as mercenaries, they should run if they could, and only rescue others after ensuring their own safety—this was Xiao Lin's repeated instruction. After killing two enemies in succession, he disappeared into the darkness.
Having finally escaped the battlefield, Li Jun circled back again. He found a spot upwind and lit more than a dozen fires in one go. Moments later, the mountain wind carried the flames towards the battlefield.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Note (1): Qiang people: The tallest human group, with an average height half a meter taller than the average person. They are extremely strong, but their personality is gentle and even somewhat slow. Their elemental attribute is Earth (Earth element increases attack and defense by 50% to 100%). Their strength and loyalty are their most reliable assets. Although they are somewhat slow in reaction, they are by no means stupid. Because of their size, they often treat other races as children. When they walk with the Yue people, they often become the objects of the Yue people's command. They do not mind this, because helping and caring for others is in the nature of this race. However, due to their strong offensive and defensive capabilities, especially their amazing attack power in a berserk state after being strongly stimulated, they often become an indispensable force of infantry in wars between various countries. Because of their simplicity, the Qiang people worship the goddess Jing, the mother of all things.
Note (2): Yue people: They are only about three-fifths the height of ordinary people. Originally living in hilly areas, they were scattered all over the world during the "Million Ears" war. It is said that they are also distributed in other continents besides Zhongping Shenzhou, but they are called "dwarfs". They are extremely confident and proud of their height. They believe that when the goddess Nüjing created humans, she first carefully crafted the short-statured Yue people. Later, the goddess got tired of it and randomly molded other human races. Therefore, they have a talent for creation and production that no other race has. However, the Yue people split into two groups. One group lives in cave dwellings in deep caves. Their element is metal (metal element increases attack and defense by 50% to 100%). They are excellent casting masters. The other group lives in nests in trees. Their element is wood (wood element increases attack and defense by 50% to 100%). They are excellent mechanical designers. Although the two groups of Yue people look down on each other and do not trust each other, they can maintain a superficial respect and tolerance. In addition to their religious beliefs, they also believe in the legendary god of craftsmen, Gongshu Pan.
Note (3): Goddess Nüjing is the common mother of all mankind. She created the human race with soil and blocked the gate to another world with her body, transforming into the stars in the sky.
Section 2
The wind direction in the mountains is unpredictable, and the flames are sometimes carried eastward and sometimes swept westward by this unpredictable wind.
As noon approached, Li Jun, who was dizzy from the smoke of the fire he had set, finally stumbled and found a mountain path, giving him hope of escaping the boundless forest.
After drinking his fill by a stream by the roadside, Li Jun looked at his reflection in the water with distress: not to mention his tattered clothes and armor that was almost unrecognizable, nor the black and white grime on his face, his hair and eyebrows alone made him feel ashamed to be seen by others.
Although mercenaries don't have many rules, anyone with most of their hair burned off and only one eyebrow left will feel uncomfortable wherever they go. Li Jun sighed after washing the ashes off his face with stream water and stared blankly at his own face for a moment.
He's temporarily out of contact with Xiao Lin and the others, if they're still alive. Then he'll have to face the world alone. He's acted alone before, but back then he knew he had the support of Xiao Lin and the other mercenaries. Now, Li Jun feels somewhat lost.
A series of chaotic footsteps approached, and Li Jun alertly drew his short sword. He saw a bloated figure tumble and crawl towards him, plunging headfirst into the stream and gulping down the water. Immediately afterward, another person rolled over and buried their head in the water, drinking voraciously.
After filling his water bottle, the person who arrived later finally noticed Li Jun and exclaimed in surprise, "Ah...it's you..."
Li Jun had already recognized them as the first group to ambush them—that arrogant king and his leader. He gave them a cold glance, adopting a ruthless demeanor; dealing with these two was simply a way to intimidate them.
But Li Jun quickly realized his mistake. If a person's hair is half long and half short, and he only has one eyebrow, no matter how dignified he tries to appear, the result will only be more hilarious. The two people in front of him burst into laughter.