In a short span of time, only three of the dozen or so bandits remained alive; finding a single intact corpse among the others proved impossible.

Qian Jin stared at the battlefield carved out by the two women and sucked in a sharp breath. One truly should never casually offend women! Especially women wielding such formidable combat prowess!

Body parts! Aside from the horses, which were all still alive, the ground was littered solely with severed limbs and chunks of flesh! Not one whole body remained.

"The Stabbing Fury Bandit Group?" Lucifer Flow stepped on the face of the one-eyed bandit leader with a foot. She pressed just a fraction too hard, sending his teeth flying out of his mouth. Leaning on her bent knee, she gazed at him with the casual air of a street ruffian. "Weren't you just trying to take me just now? Well, old lady’s giving you a chance! Get up, why don't you?"

The slow-witted Tian Ce rode up beside Qian Jin and murmured quietly, "Your woman... is quite the character."

My woman? Qian Jin frowned. This one was a demoness, the royal demoness Lucifer, hyped up by the True Strategy Dynasty as utterly vicious, one who drank human blood when thirsty and ate human flesh when hungry. And she was surely destined to return to the Demon Race eventually, leaving him to...

Qian Jin’s frown deepened. A deeply unsettling feeling welled up in his heart. The thought of Lucifer Flow leaving him to return to the Demon Race made him deeply, profoundly uncomfortable, stirring a fierce desire to keep her by his side.

"Xun Yu, what are you saying?" Gu Yue Jiaying stepped carefully between the scattered corpse fragments and chunks of flesh, walking slowly toward the bandit leader. "Your man is right over there."

Lucifer Flow looked up at Qian Jin, playfully stuck out her tongue, and then nodded respectfully toward Gu Yue Jiaying. "Big Sister, I was wrong."

Gu Yue Jiaying tossed a bandit she had been dragging next to the leader. Her curved saber struck without hesitation, cleanly severing the man’s head. The gush of blood propelled the head several meters away, its dead eyes wide with the final terror of death, staring directly at the bandit leader.

The bandit leader’s body shuddered, and a wave of heat, accompanied by a faint, sharp odor amidst the blood, rushed down his lower body.

Dead men? The bandit leader had seen plenty of those. Just moments ago, he had watched these two female butchers carve a squad of bandits down to only two survivors.

But—at this moment! Watching a head hacked from a neck, the bandit leader was overcome by a fear and dread unlike any he had ever known. Death had never felt so intimately close.

"Tell me what you know about the Stabbing Fury Bandit Group," Gu Yue Jiaying maintained an unwavering calm. "Why you are here, the group’s distribution of strength, the location of your headquarters, and what forces are currently there?"

Watching Gu Yue Jiaying, Qian Jin felt a wave of desolate sorrow rise within him, a tangible heartache. This woman seemed strangely quiet, so perfectly serene... Why was it that when he watched her swing her saber, he seemed to hear the sound of her weeping?

Even though she was merely standing still, he could still hear her; she was crying! Her very aura, the moment she unleashed her power for the slaughter, was saturated with desolation, an atmosphere that evoked infinite pity.

The moon was like a silver plate; the outer steppes offered an intensely cold night. Even the insects had ceased their chirping. Only the roaring gale continued its furious howl, and the flickering flames, dancing in the wind, snapped and crackled, illuminating the relatively small bandit encampment brightly.

The bandits, clad in thick leather armor, stood on the wooden watchtower, rubbing their hands together. They would periodically exhale hot breath onto their palms, pacing back and forth on the narrow platform, frequently glancing toward the surroundings.

Another gust of wind howled, lifting the leather cap slightly off the bandit’s head. He raised a hand to press it down—and instinctively looked toward the distance. An arrow rapidly expanded in his vision. He tried to open his mouth to shout—but the shaft had already pierced his throat, nailing him to the watchtower's wooden post.

Blood slowly trickled down the arrow shaft, soaking the black fletching before dripping down to the ground, pattering against the wooden pillar in the fierce wind.

Blood surged out of the bandit’s mouth, still open in a shout. His eyes stared blankly into the pitch darkness of the steppes, desperate to find the source of this icy arrow. How could an arrow so fast have arrived without even the slightest whistle of its passage?

Had it not been for this accidental sighting, perhaps upon returning to the embrace of the stars, he would never have been able to tell the Star God precisely how he died.

What a terrifying arrow...

That was the last thought that flashed through the bandit’s mind before his eyes slowly closed. His body instantly went slack, only the sturdy arrow preventing him from collapsing completely.

"This... this is a terrifying shot!" Tie Nan, standing behind Qian Jin, assessed the distance—nearly a thousand meters! With the gale raging, let alone shooting an arrow, even tossing a brick would result in its trajectory being drastically altered by the wind. Yet, the arrow before them had experienced absolutely no interference in its flight path.

The Yi Yu Clan? Mu Du Tian Ce gently shook his head. This shot bore some resemblance to the Godly Archer Clan, yet it was subtly different; it also carried a hint of the archery style associated with the barbarian tribes’ Purple Vein Bloodline families. And yet, the one who loosed the arrow was just an ordinary warrior!

Could it be that he possesses a special natural talent for archery? Mu Du Tian Ce scrutinized Qian Jin up and down. Was this an archery style he invented himself? Did it coincidentally bear some resemblance to the great archery clans?

Qian Jin looked at the strong bow in his hand and softly shook his head. This bow was becoming inadequate; he needed to forge a new, special bow for himself soon.

"Still watching?" Qian Jin tucked the strong bow away, crouching low as he moved forward quickly. He glanced back and whispered to Mu Du Tian Ce and the others, "Time to move."

Lucifer Flow followed, eager to engage, but then felt a hand grasp hers. She turned in confusion to look at Gu Yue Jiaying. Why was this person slowing down her assault?

In a short while, Qian Jin and Mu Du Tian Ce were leading the charge, with the others following closely behind as they reached the outskirts of the Bill Bandit Group’s camp.

Compared to the Ten Great Bandit Groups, this type of operation was far smaller in both power and influence, but that didn't stop Qian Jin from intending to wipe them out.

Mu Du Tian Ce shook his head repeatedly as he watched Qian Jin deftly vault over the stockade, sighing. "I, this Prince, have never had to climb a fence before. I never thought I’d be doing such a thing today."

Qian Jin pulled the black-cloth-wrapped Zhanmadao (Horse-Cutting Saber) from the Dou Realm and proceeded cautiously.

Bang!

The gate of the stockade exploded with a violent sound, the deafening noise immediately spreading throughout the entire camp in the otherwise quiet night.

Qian Jin and Mu Du Tian Ce turned back in astonishment to see the Sleeping Lion Hong Zhelínguān, who had just blasted the gate open. If the intention was a stealthy approach, why did they have to sneak in quietly beforehand only to have the door violently breached?

The unconventional method of entry quickly roused the sleeping bandits.

Having survived long by stealing and killing, the bandits possessed far higher vigilance than ordinary men, and their movements were swift. Clad in armor and holding long knives and spears, they rushed out of their rooms, looking toward the two young men in the courtyard.

Mu Du Tian Ce lightly fanned himself, smiling amidst the raging gale. "Today, we have come to annihilate your Bill Bandit Group?"

"Just the two of you? And you think you can wipe out the Bill Bandit Group?"

In the largest wooden structure, Bill, the leader of the Bill Bandit Group, stood fully encased in black metal armor, covering his entire body, even his face; only his eyes were visible. He held a wide, heavy saber in his hand, staring coldly at Qian Jin and Mu Du Tian Ce.

"Two? Are your eyes malfunctioning?" Mu Du Tian Ce turned back and pointed his folding fan toward the gate. "We are—... Crap! Where did they go?"

Qian Jin gave a wry smile and shook his head. After blasting the gate, Hong Zhelínguān and the others hadn't entered the camp but had instead retreated collectively? Now, only he and Mu Du Tian Ce were surrounded inside the stockade! If not for the presence of Gu Yue Jiaying and Lucifer Flow staggering behind them, he might genuinely suspect that Hong Zhelínguān was trying to get him killed.

"Tie Nan! Tie Nan!" Mu Du Tian Ce raised his voice, repeatedly calling out. His personal guard had dared to abandon his Prince and throw him into danger without notice. When had that fellow learned to be lazy?

"Young Master..."

In the darkness, Tie Nan looked toward the distant stockade with a conflicted expression. As a guard to the Prince, leaving him this far away was a dereliction of duty!

"Young people need to grow up," Hong Zhelínguān yawned, slumping onto the ground and closing his eyes. "It helps them to see a few more dead bodies. Wake me up when the fighting is done. I’m sleeping."

Lucifer Flow looked at the languid Hong Zhelínguān. "Aren't you just finding an excuse for being lazy?"

Hong Zhelínguān offered no verbal reply; the faint sound of snoring already drifted from his nostrils.

Gu Yue Jiaying watched the stockade quietly. The strong wind caused the white fabric of her clothes to snap and crackle.

Lucifer Flow looked at Gu Yue Jiaying, puzzled. Why hadn't she attacked again since she last made her move? Why did Qian Jin privately say that Gu Yue Jiaying’s power carried sorrow? Why couldn't she sense it? Could power even carry sorrow?

Lucifer Flow’s mind was filled with questions but yielded no answers. She had asked Gu Yue Jiaying once before, only to be met with a faint smile.

Lucifer Flow had privately asked Qian Jin, only to receive this reply: I don’t know either. I just know she doesn't want to talk about it right now, so let’s let her be. When she’s ready to speak, we’ll just be quiet listeners.

At that moment, Lucifer Flow felt a tenderness from Qian Jin she hadn't noticed before—a gentleness that deeply moved the demoness!

"You have others? It seems they aren't as foolish as you!"

Bill suddenly took a step back, raising his arm and shouting down, "Nock and fire!"

Six bandits, holding crossbows armed with arrows, quickly emerged from the rear. They leveled the crossbows to shoulder height, and the arrows emitted a cold gleam under the moonlight.