Feng Lianzikuang’s knuckles cracked as his fists clenched, but he didn't mention his greatest loss. The Cikuang headquarters also had a vault, where the bandit group had stored the majority of their spoils from years of raiding. It held far more than just two million gold coins.

And not only that, but also numerous rare materials! Potions! Weapons and equipment! These were the treasures amassed over many years! Valued in gold coins, they were likely worth even more than two million!

Gone! From the moment he received the news that the vault was cleaned out by the Marauder Hunters—not even a single copper coin was left behind!

Gone. Everything gone! Over half of his life's work, wiped out in an instant!

Hate! Feng Lianzikuang was consumed by hatred! He had worked so hard for so many years, always wanting to acquire a Dou Guo, but Dou Guo were exceedingly rare, and auctions for such items were only ever held in the nation's capital—a place where he would be arrested immediately! Despite years of raiding, he hadn't managed to secure a single one, forcing him to stash his ill-gotten gains in the vault instead.

As a result, Feng Lianzikuang felt an intense itch deep in his gums. The sheer hatred caused his very roots to tingle!

Heifeng clicked his tongue, sighing softly. Anyone in this situation would feel utterly miserable, wouldn't they? A bandit group that survived by robbing others had now been robbed themselves! And then extorted by the robbers! Where could one even begin to seek justice for such a thing?

If an ordinary merchant were robbed, they could report it to the Zhence Dynasty. But where could a bandit group go to file a complaint? They didn't even have a place to voice their grievances or complaints!

"It is certainly… interesting."

Feng Lianzikuang’s spread-out fingers suddenly clenched into tight fists, the joints popping loudly like exploding beans. His eyes glared fiercely toward the source of the comment: "You…" Feng Lianzikuang clearly saw the speaker, and the rage on his face instantly stiffened. His body trembled with fury, but he couldn't unleash it.

Peter Gomez!

Feng Lianzikuang looked at the Barbarian Prince sitting beside Heifeng, a man easily over two meters twenty tall and built as robustly as a savage beast. He dared not show too much displeasure. "What does the Twelfth Prince mean by that?"

"What do I mean?" Gomez lightly tapped the letter held between his index and middle fingers, causing a sharp snap sound. "Haven't you noticed? These Marauder Hunters don't care if the bandits are alive, dead, or even still exist. They only want to convey one message: Money!"

Gomez flicked his wrist, and the light piece of paper spun through the air like a metal plate, flying toward Feng Lianzikuang. A look of smug disdain crossed his face—what did these bandits know besides killing and robbing? They couldn't even discern the true information within a simple letter.

Feng Lianzikuang raised his hand to catch the spinning, iron-like paper. He frowned slightly as the letter softened in his grip. Could he not see this simple fact? If it weren't for this Barbarian Twelfth Prince interfering, all of Heifeng's opposition faction would have already been executed!

Women! All this fool knows is women! Feng Lianzikuang cursed inwardly. If it weren't for the Twelfth Prince's special status, he would have drawn his blade and killed him long ago! What was he doing here outside the frontier, acting as a puppet master and only concerned with chasing women!

"What? Not going to read the letter again?" Gomez rested one hand against his cheek, looking down at Feng Lianzikuang with a cold sneer. "Don't you trust my judgment?"

Feng Lianzikuang’s gaze swept past Gomez, settling on the Barbarian warriors standing behind the Twelfth Prince. If it weren't for this Prince having such a Bimon bloodline warrior as a bodyguard, who cares what kind of Barbarian Prince he is—I'd have killed him outright!

Look! Just look again! Feng Lianzikuang gripped the letter, pretending to read, while his peripheral vision stealthily appraised Gomez’s bodyguard—a Bimon bloodline warrior over two meters twenty tall, with eyebrows thick as dark ink, a nose bridge twice as high as a normal person’s, a huge mouth, and two protruding fangs. Why did it have to be a direct royal lineage Bimon bloodline warrior?

Although all Bimon bloodline warriors carried royal blood, after countless years of breeding, countless branches and sub-branches had emerged, meaning many Bimon bloodline warriors were no longer truly direct Barbarian royalty.

"Go find them," Gomez waved his hand dismissively. "I am very interested in these Marauder Hunters. Their numbers should not be large—how were they able to take down the Cikuang Bandit Group headquarters?"

Feng Lianzikuang suppressed his surging anger and turned, striding toward the entrance of the tent.

Heifeng gave an awkward smile and rose to follow him out. "Cikuang! Cikuang…"

Feng Lianzikuang’s face was shadowed by dark clouds, the veins on the grip of the saber at his waist bulging violently. "Who does he think he is? Just a lapdog for the Demon Clan! If I’m pushed too far, I’ll just lead my men aside and let those rebels escape! I'd like to see who ends up looking worse in the end!"

"Cikuang!" Heifeng’s eye muscles twitched wildly as he hurried to catch up. He raised his index finger to his lips and made a shushing gesture, his face tense. "Keep your voice down! Do you want the Bandit King to hear about this?"

Bandit King? Feng Lianzikuang’s scalp jumped, making his hair tremble. Terror bloomed in his pupils. The Bandit King, Baxiangsheng! The true overlord of the frontier! The leader of the Unsurpassed Bandit Group, the foremost bandit organization today!

Even if the bandit groups ranked second to tenth among the Ten Great Frontier Bandit Groups were combined, in Baxiangsheng’s eyes, they amounted to nothing. His status on the frontier was like that of a distant, lofty Celestial God.

He was a terrifying overlord who maintained a rule that was both lax and ruthlessly strict. Normally, Baxiangsheng never interfered with whatever bandits did outside the borders—killing or robbing.

But! If any bandit faction dared to pledge allegiance to the Demon Clan, or to the Zhence Dynasty or the Barbarians, the result was always the same: annihilation!

This was not a hypothetical scenario. Once, the leaders of the Ten Great Bandit Groups received invitations from the Barbarians; if they brought their forces over, they would be granted general positions and even enfeoffed as Marquises!

While the life of a bandit was high-risk with decent returns, it was vastly inferior to possessing one's own fiefdom as a Marquis.

Overnight! In the span of a single night, they were wiped out! It didn't matter if the other members of the bandit group agreed to side with the Barbarians or not—every single one was executed!

After that incident, when another bandit leader considered defecting to the Demon Clan, his own subordinates secretly poisoned their chief that very day and delivered him to the Unsurpassed Bandit Group, averting a similar massacre.

The bandits of the frontier soon understood one thing: as long as they didn't attack the Unsurpassed Bandit Group and didn't align with any other power, remaining contentedly as bandits, Baxiangsheng wouldn't meddle in their affairs! If a bandit leader ever tried to defect to another power, they would simply be turned over to the Unsurpassed Bandit Group to avoid collective execution.

Heifeng suspiciously scanned the few loyal subordinates around him, pondering whether it would be safer for his own survival to simply kill all those who had heard the truth.

The Demon Clan! The Marquis of Ease from the Demon Clan! Heifeng’s breathing grew rapid. Although the Twelfth Prince of the Concubine Clan was here this time, he had already secretly pledged allegiance to the Crown Prince of the Demon Clan, securing their support to contend for the leadership seat of the Peter lineage.

However, it was inconvenient for the Demon Clan's Crown Prince to appear on the frontier, which was why this Barbarian Twelfth Prince was being used to handle the matter.

He had assumed that all the high-ranking leaders were willing to submit to the Demon Clan and enjoy a comfortable life, but he hadn't expected the Third Leader to outwardly agree only to try and lead his people away later.

"Damn Hua Yanjian!" Heifeng muttered hatefully. That Twelfth Prince, Peter 7 Gomez, insisted that although the woman’s face was covered by metal, she must be a beauty, and demanded that Hua Yanjian not be harmed.

Feng Lianzikuang watched the tent with a cold smile brewing internally. If they captured Hua Yanjian and found that the woman was merely ordinary-looking, who knew how the stupid Barbarian Prince would react? Relying on the Demon Clan to ascend the Barbarian throne? The Demon Clan's influence was indeed significant, but the Barbarian Clan had always been fiercely self-possessed; if they could be swayed by external forces, they would have been annihilated long ago.

"Leader… Leader…"

A Heifeng bandit, riding a swift horse, galloped up shouting repeatedly. He reined his horse in before Heifeng, dismounted, and said with a face drained of color: "The Greatsword… the Greatsword Bandit Group…"

"The Greatsword Bandit Group is finally here?" Heifeng’s face lit up with joy. "With the Greatsword Bandit Group joining us, that means—"

"The Greatsword Bandit Group won't be coming," the Heifeng bandit said dejectedly, panting heavily. "The Third Leader of the Greatsword, bringing over sixty elites, was ambushed by the Marauder Hunters on the way—all… all of them…"

Feng Lianzikuang’s arm tightened on his saber, his eyes wide as he anxiously asked, "All of them what?"

"Killed…"

The Heifeng bandit lowered his head, his face ashen, his eyes revealing a disbelief in his own words.

The Greatsword! The sixth-ranked bandit group on the frontier! A chill ran through Feng Lianzikuang’s limbs. What kind of Marauder Hunting team was this? Even if he personally led sixty Cikuang elites to ambush the team brought by the Greatsword’s Third Leader, he wouldn't be certain of killing every single one.

"Then…" Heifeng looked toward his subordinate with a glimmer of hope. "What price did this Marauder Hunting team pay?"

Feng Lianzikuang quickly pricked up his ears. He had only heard rumors of this Marauder Hunting team rampaging across the frontier, but they had never left a trace. Now, the Greatsword’s Third Leader had led sixty elites into battle; even if they were all killed, the enemy should have suffered some losses, right? Now they should finally learn some details about this group!

The Heifeng bandit kept his eyes fixed on the ground, shaking his head repeatedly: "Just like before, based on the traces at the scene—they didn't suffer any losses."

"What!"

Feng Lianzikuang gasped, yet felt no chill in his lungs. What kind of people were these? That was the Greatsword’s Third Leader leading the charge, sixty elites! Excellent bandits skilled in archery at a distance and swordsmanship up close!

"Judging by the situation at the scene, this team wasn't large, but they were incredibly strong!" the Heifeng bandit gritted out. "I estimate, in a one-on-one fight, the Esteemed Leader might not… might not…"

"Might not win?" Heifeng was truly stunned. The strength he publicly advertised was that of a top-tier fighter with a Golden Dou Heart, mastering the Nine Demon-Slaying Wars, and on the verge of breaking through to the Dou Soul realm!