Note :
I will give a special shoutout to all readers who give me power stones and gifts. For readers who support me with gifts, I will create a character with the name they like.
All of them freshened up and continued their journey towards Shell City...
"Ahhh..."
"Ah..."
"What's happening?" Xu asked, hugging Sese with a fearful look on her face.
"I will go and check it out," said Zhen Xia and moved forward at full speed. Within a few minutes, she returned with bloodstains on her clothes and hands.
"The village was raided by thieves, and I'm late. Many villagers lost their lives at their hands. I was able to save a few villagers and killed more than half of the bandits' group. A few escaped my attack and threatened me as they ran away.' You may protect the villagers now, but who will protect them after I come back with my boss and the remaining brothers from our hideout? ' That's what he said while fleeing. I fear the villagers' lives are in danger," Zhen Xia said with a worried expression. She wasn't concerned about their boss and the remaining thieves mentioned by the escaped one, but rather the lives of the villagers who hadn't cultivated even once in their lives.
Ronin hesitated for a moment and then said, "Let's go and save the villagers; every life is precious in the end."
"Hmm," they all nodded and headed towards the village at full speed, with Zhen Xia leading the way.
It took them a few minutes to reach the village. Doors and windows were broken, villagers' lifeless bodies were scattered on the ground, and a few survivors were painfully shrieking while clutching their injured body parts. The wailing of children and elders filled the air, and the smell of blood pervaded the surroundings. An unsettling dread had completely shrouded the entire village, and the faces of the villagers were marked with despair, their eyes devoid of any hope.
Two little girls, Sese and Xu, clung to Ronin's clothes on his right and left, their faces filled with fear as they glanced around. Despite having witnessed many brutal battles and faced various enemies, their young minds were terrified by the sight of blood and the mutilated bodies of the villagers strewn across the land.
An elderly woman furrowed her brows and remarked, "Such ruthless slaughter. These bandits deserve a fate worse than death."
"Fate worse than death," Ronin muttered inwardly, his expression marked by a steely resolve. Even though he was a demon lord who had pledged to protect demons, he was born a human, and witnessing the villagers' plight stirred a deep anger within him.
Suddenly, the rhythmic gallop of hooves pierced through the eerily silent village. Ronin's group, along with a few villagers helping each other, turned to look in the direction of the approaching sound. Their hearts sank as they saw the bandits once again raiding their village.
"Everyone, run! Bandits are approaching our village again! Run for your lives!" shouted one of the villagers, whose eyes were fixed on the rapidly approaching bandits.
Meanwhile, as the bandits closed in on the village...
"Hmph, that woman dared to interfere in our affairs. I'm going to exterminate the whole village and ensure she's fucked by every last one of our brothers in our hideout," declared the bandit's boss, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.
"Yeah..."
"Yeah... Long live the boss."
"Long live the boss."
All the bandits following behind him expressed their enthusiasm for the promise of such a delicious reward.
Ronin took a deep breath to control his emotions, restraining the urge to strike immediately. He wanted to observe their actions first.
It didn't take long for the bandits to reach the village. As they entered, one of them spotted Zhen Xia, who was wearing a mask.
"Boss, it's that bitch! It's the one who killed our brothers and rescued many hot and sexy young girls from us," barked a bandit beside the boss, pointing towards Zhen Xia, who was concealed behind her mask.
"Oh," the bandit's boss acknowledged, then turned his menacing gaze towards Zhen Xia. He continued with a threat in his voice, "You there, I'll give you two choices: serve all of us brothers until you die in the bed, or meet your end right now at my hands."
"She'll step forward and say, 'I choose the third option,' and slaughter all the bandits, including the boss, without much effort. Same old plotline, boring," Ronin shook his head and advanced toward the group of bandits.
"Who are you?" barked the bandit's boss, his brows furrowed in confusion.
"Your daddy," Ronin replied nonchalantly, folding his arms.
"Boy, do you have a death wish?" the bandit's boss retorted, his anger evident, while he silently wondered, "I'm feeling very uneasy facing him. Is it really a good idea to clash with him?"
Having been a bandit steeped in countless acts of violence, he had developed a keen sense for danger. He hadn't been concerned when it came to Zhen Xia because he considered her just a warrior meddling in their affairs. Cultivators never cared about the lives of mortals in his experience, so he confidently believed that Zhen Xia was merely a martial artist, nothing more or less.
"Yes, I have a death wish," Ronin affirmed with a nod.
"Is he a fool, or does he truly possess the strength to face all of us alone?" the bandit's boss muttered under his breath, his brows furrowed in growing unease. The more he conversed with Ronin, the more his sense of disquiet intensified.
"If you leave right now, I will spare your life and the lives of the people with you," said the bandit's boss, his forehead damp with sweat despite the cool climate.
"No, I don't want to leave, and you don't have to spare anyone's life here," Ronin replied with an amused expression.
"This..." Overwhelmed by an intense feeling of unease, the bandit's boss began to sweat profusely, his back drenched in cold perspiration as beads continued to trickle down from his forehead.
"I think I forgot to poop. Sorry, I have to take my leave," the bandit's boss hastily commanded his horse to retreat from the village.
"Boss?" All the bandits stared at their leader with bewildered expressions. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't fathom why he was departing as if he were running for his life.
They then turned their attention to Ronin, who simply shrugged his shoulders in response to the curious gazes fixed upon him.