After White's arrangement for the battle, these men were truly awestruck by him. Their group of bandits had managed to kill one Bronze Armor warrior without sustaining a single injury—a feat they had never dared to even imagine, let alone achieve.
Thus, they respectfully addressed White as "Sir." As for Chen Feng, they called him—"Boss"!
"What is it?" White leaned back, sitting upright in the mountain cave, sipping tea from a freshly brewed cup in his hand, seemingly certain of victory in the recent battle.
"Those two Silver Armor warriors didn't come in," the bandit paused, glancing up at White, "instead... they went to the entrance of the cave where the Boss is in seclusion, apparently intending to smash their way in!"
"Pfft..." Upon hearing this, White spat out the tea in his mouth, his eyes wide open: "To the Boss's place?"
The bandit before him innocently wiped the tea from his face and nodded with resignation.
"Haha... Aren't these two just asking for death? ... I went to all the trouble of preparing so much magma to welcome them... Haha..." White almost laughed himself senseless.
The bandit blinked, unable to stop himself from asking, "Aren't you worried about the Boss at all, Sir? They are two Silver Armor warriors!"
"Worried about him? That freak. Even if ten Silver Armor warriors came, the only one who should be worried is the opponent. Hurry up and go see, or we'll miss the good show..." White declared, tossing his cup aside and bolting out with a speed rivaling a swift steed.
It was only then that the bandit remembered. Sir himself was only a Level Six Bronze Armor warrior...
………………………………………………
Chen Feng was tending to his bare arm. A dozen or so Purple Fire Crystal Stones lay before him.
The potent Fire element energy was like scorching flames, seeming to melt the very rock surrounding the cave.
Cultivating with the 13x speed boost from the Purple Fire Crystal Stones was indeed rapid. He was already at the peak of the Fourth Level of Dou Zun. If nothing unforeseen happened, absorbing the dozen or so stones on the ground would allow him to reach the level of Fifth Level Dou Zun.
But life is full of surprises. Chen Feng swept his spiritual perception outward and immediately detected something abnormal.
A bald man stood firmly planted outside his cave entrance, executing a stable horse stance, striking the stone sealing his cave with fierce blows.
"Who is this?" Chen Feng paused, then understood—it must be the enemy. He smiled, shook his head, stood up, and simultaneously hammered back against the giant stone blocking the entrance!
………………………………………………
The bald man was a Ninth Level Silver Armor warrior, possessing incomparable, powerful muscle cultivation. At this moment, he channeled all his strength into his right fist, confident that not just a mere stone, but even steel, would be punched through with a single blow.
"Hmph, break!"
He roared, his right arm plunging forward like a venomous dragon erupting from the mountain, smashing violently into the massive stone.
"Crack..." The stone remained utterly unmoved, but the man himself was sent flying backward, the bones of his right wrist snapped clean off!
"This..." The tattooed man stared at the stone, then at the bald man, disbelief warring in his eyes.
He felt he was going mad. A Ninth Level Silver Armor warrior was repelled by a stone while trying to smash it, resulting in a broken wrist. What in the world was happening?
"Rumble..."
With a deafening roar, the strange, massive stone actually receded from the cave entrance on its own.
The bald man, enduring excruciating pain, forced himself up, only to see a red-haired youth slowly walking out while casually holding the giant rock.
The stone sealing the cave weighed at least over a hundred thousand catties, yet in the youth's hand, it appeared as light as a toy, requiring no apparent effort.
The Bronze Armor ranks were graded based on increasing strength starting from 200 catties. Being able to lift 1,800 catties designated one as a Ninth Level Bronze Armor warrior. The Silver Armor level represented a significant leap; a First Level Silver Armor warrior could lift [specific weight omitted for stylistic flow in translation], with each subsequent level adding 5 catties of strength!
This meant a Ninth Level Silver Armor warrior could lift [specific weight omitted for stylistic flow in translation] based on pure physical strength alone!
The Gold Armor level was an even greater jump, capable of lifting [specific weight omitted for stylistic flow in translation] using only their body. A weight of [specific weight omitted for stylistic flow in translation] catties indicated reaching the level of a First Level Gold Armor warrior, with each level increase adding 1 catty of strength.
Thus, although the (Armored Warrior) ranks seemed few, advancement became increasingly difficult the higher one progressed. Reaching the Gold Armor level made further progress almost insurmountable, which is why Gold Armor warriors were highly valued by the Church.
This red-haired youth casually lifting a stone weighing over a hundred thousand catties—didn't that prove he had already reached the level of a Gold Armor warrior?
Gold Armor warrior? The bald man and the tattooed man both shivered simultaneously.
"Who are you?" Chen Feng stood his ground and asked coldly.
"We..." The bald man and the tattooed man remained rooted to the spot, afraid to move an inch, cold sweat streaming straight down their foreheads.
"Not talking?" Chen Feng wasted no more time. He raised the massive stone in his hand and brought it down toward their heads.
A boulder weighing over a hundred thousand catties slammed down towards their skulls, sweeping over them like a collapsing mountain with a "whoosh."
"Thump..."
Stone debris scattered as two distinct head-shaped indentations immediately appeared on the surface of the large rock.
Silver Armor warriors' bodies were resilient, so even being struck on the head, they were not killed outright, especially since Chen Feng held back somewhat.
Seeing that their bodies were quite tough, Chen Feng casually lowered the stone.
"Crash..." The hundred-thousand-catty boulder instantly pinned the two men to the ground, leaving them utterly unable to move.
"Boss..." White rushed out of the cave just in time to witness this scene. He struggled to suppress the laughter bubbling up as he walked forward.
"Boss?" Chen Feng looked at him.
"Ahem... Our entire group consists of bandits, Sir. They all call you Boss, so I followed suit!" White explained.
Chen Feng rolled his eyes slightly. What kind of bizarre situation was this... Still, "Boss" wasn't too bad; it sounded much better than "Lord Dragon God."
Being called "Lord Dragon God" was a legacy inherited from the remnants of the Earth Flame Dragon; "Boss" was a title earned through his own strength.
"Who are they?" Chen Feng pointed at the two men pinned under the boulder.
"Oh, they were likely coveting the imperfect ore. I don't know the specifics; we'll need to ask," White replied.
"Boss, Sir!" All the bandits now emerged from their hiding spots.
"We brought these remaining fellows over!"
It was the remaining few Bronze Armor warriors. Seeing their captains crushed beneath a single stone, they immediately surrendered all will to resist, willingly becoming captives.
All the bandits had ceased to view Chen Feng as a normal person the moment he smashed a cave entrance with one punch, but seeing him now casually hoist a mountain-like rock still made them gasp in shock.
"Then ask them," Chen Feng instructed, "whether they are the only ones who know about our crystal mine, or if there are more who do."
"Very well, but... but could you move this large stone first, otherwise they'll be crushed underneath..." White said with a troubled expression.
"Oh," Chen Feng acknowledged. He reached out, grabbed the stone pinning them, tossed it aside, stepped forward two paces, lifted the bald man and the tattooed man, and casually infused two bursts of flame energy into their bodies.
"You can question them now!" Chen Feng tossed the two men onto the ground and paid them no further mind.
The two Silver Armor warriors, who had been so formidable in town, were now treated like discarded dogs tossed onto the earth.
When it came to interrogation, White was certainly more adept than he was. Chen Feng knew little about this world; even if the captives revealed things, he wouldn't understand the context. It was better to delegate this unpleasant task to White.
The bald man and the tattooed man had fallen unconscious from being crushed by Chen Feng's massive stone. White had no choice but to have someone fetch cold water to douse them awake.
After questioning them for quite a while, they finally pieced together the truth: the two men were captains of the guard detachment from the town's Church, and the bald man was, surprisingly, a Ninth Level Silver Armor warrior.
Chen Feng inquired in detail about the strength of the Church Guard and the power of the Church Priest.
The Guard Detachment consisted of eight squads, with ten men per squad, totaling 1600. The squad leaders were all Silver Armor warriors, ranging from Second to Ninth Level.
The remaining members were almost all Bronze Armor warriors. This strength didn't particularly worry Chen Feng, but the mention of the Church Deacons sent a chill down his spine. There were fifty Deacons in this town, and every single one was a (Nether Master) level!
And the Church Priest had actually reached the level of (Nether Venerable)!
Although he had never fought a Nether Venerable before, judging by White's father, the old man, Chen Feng knew that a Nether Venerable was definitely not someone to be trifled with. Such an individual could discern your intent the very instant you moved to attack and integrate your force into nature, dissolving it without a trace. These two abilities alone were enough to cause apprehension.
Now that they had captured two guard captains, killing them would certainly prompt the Church to send people searching; but sparing them meant the Church would know the location of the crystals and would lead forces to attack.
"What should we do?" White had also processed these implications and couldn't help but ask.
The best solution was to kill these two, and everyone could leave this place without mining further, but the ore had already been discovered, and leaving now felt genuinely regrettable.
Chen Feng also fell into deep contemplation. The strength of one individual was ultimately limited. If he had his own forces, he likely wouldn't be so worried. But building his own power base wasn't easy. It was unclear how long it would take to train these bandits into Bronze Armor warriors. If only there were a faster way to boost their strength.
Dou Qi? A flash of inspiration struck Chen Feng.
Right! Why insist on cultivating them into Bronze Armor warriors? Why not train them as Dou Shi (Battle Masters) or Mages?
He still had captured Dou Qi and cultivation methods for elementary magic in his waterskin, along with the heaven-defying cultivation artifact, the Cultivation Platform. If he had these men cultivate Dou Qi simultaneously, and he taught them some simple applications from the techniques of the Fist Emperor...
Their combat effectiveness would definitely soar!
Thinking of this, Chen Feng suppressed the excitement churning within him, his eyes blazing with sharp light.
PS: A new week is upon us, so send those recommendation tickets raining down! Thank you all; I'll strive to get Old Ya onto the category recommendation charts... (To be continued. To know what happens next, please log in to m, for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!) First published.