"Damn it, is that the Imperial Legion of the Jia Ma Empire?!"
"Who the hell leaked this information? Mo Li, I'm going to kill you!"
Hearing the battle cries from behind, Wang Lin turned his head, only to see a well-trained legion of hundreds charging at them with unstoppable momentum. Leading the charge was a young female general.
Wang Lin's first reaction was clear: they had been betrayed. For a bandit like him, the worst possible enemy was the Empire's Legion. Even if they managed to escape, it would come at a huge cost. His suspicions immediately fell on Mo Li, and, in a fit of rage, he abandoned his pursuit of Gu Changqing and rushed toward the cliffs where Mo Li was hiding.
"Retreat, men!"
Wang Lin shouted to his fellow bandits from the Happy Forest Whirlwind Group as they made their escape.
"Where do you think you're going, bandits?!"
The young female general threw her spear with precision, the weapon cutting through the air like an arrow aimed straight at Wang Lin.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Simultaneously, heavy military crossbows fired volley after volley of arrows, each as sharp and deadly as a lance, raining down on Wang Lin.
"Damn bastards! If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!"
The military crossbows of the Empire were extremely powerful. Even a high-ranking Dou Master would die if hit.
Although Wang Lin was a two-star Dou Spirit, there was no way he could withstand so many crossbow bolts without retreating.
"Brothers, charge! We'll cut our way through!"
Wang Lin roared, his body enveloped in Dou Qi that formed a massive shield in front of him. With a blade in one hand and shield in the other, he charged madly toward the Imperial Legion.
To capture the king, one must capture the leader. The legion had already sealed off their escape routes from both sides of the canyon. Breaking through the front would only get them riddled with crossbow bolts. Their only hope was to rush forward, capture the young female general, and force the Empire into a stalemate. Only then would they have a slim chance of survival.
As expected from a veteran bandit, Wang Lin's instincts were sharp, but sadly, he used them for the wrong reasons.
"Fire the arrows!"
"Form the Wind, Fire, Wood, and Earth array—prepare for battle!"
The young general, brimming with confidence, raised a golden spear and pointed it forward. The sky filled with a barrage of arrows flying toward Wang Lin.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Hah, little wench! Once I get my hands on you, I'll show you the real meaning of the Happy Forest!"
Wang Lin, despite the relentless barrage of arrows, charged on. His Dou Qi shield, combined with his sheer brute strength, rendered the military-grade arrows ineffective. His hulking body moved like a rampaging beast, drawing closer to the young general.
"Protect the Princess! Stop him!"
A group of over ten high-level Dou Masters formed a defensive array and moved to intercept Wang Lin.
"Princess? Hahaha, so it's a big fish today! Brothers, charge! Capture this princess and we'll make it worth our while!"
Wang Lin paused for a moment, then burst into loud laughter, his fighting spirit surging. Since they were already being hunted by the Imperial Legion, why not go for the prize? Capturing a princess would make it all worthwhile, even in death.
"Hahaha! Boss, we're with you!"
"We've tasted noble women before, but an imperial princess? That's a first!"
"Yeah, let's capture her and take turns!"
The bandits, hardened by years of living on the edge, knew they were facing a life-or-death battle. If they were going to die, they figured they might as well make it count. The thought of capturing and defiling an Imperial Princess seemed like a last, twisted victory to them.
"Fools!"
Princess Yao Ye, mounted on a warhorse, gritted her teeth in anger.
She had come to the Black Rock City region of the Magic Beast Mountain Range on orders from her great-grandfather to maintain the Empire's order and prevent bandits from other empires from causing chaos.
Sure enough, no sooner had she arrived than she received word that the Happy Forest Whirlwind Group had infiltrated the Jia Ma Empire. She had hoped to wipe them out today, but some idiots had exposed her true identity, ruining her plans.
"Brothers, gather around me! Use the Whirlwind Formation I taught you! Today, we'll carve a bloody path through this Imperial Legion!"
Wang Lin shouted as his massive body began spinning like a whirlwind. Sword light flashed all around him as the Imperial soldiers who blocked his path were shredded into pieces.
"Kill!!!"
"Follow the boss!"
"Form the Happy Forest Whirlwind Formation!"
The members of the Happy Forest Whirlwind Group were no pushovers. Most of them were at least Dou Masters, and once they unleashed their full strength, their combat prowess was terrifying.
Under the amplification of the Whirlwind Formation, they closed the distance toward Princess Yao Ye, cutting down anyone in their way.
"Form the Earth-Wood Shield Array! Fire the arrows!"
Despite being targeted, Yao Ye remained calm, issuing orders to her soldiers with precision.
Under her steady leadership, the Empire's legion managed to push back the ferocious onslaught of the bandits. After several waves of attacks, the Happy Forest Whirlwind Group suffered heavy losses. From their original hundred men, only thirty remained.
The Imperial Legion wasn't unscathed either. Nearly a hundred soldiers had fallen in the bandits' desperate counterattacks.
"You wench! I'll fight you to the death!"
Wang Lin couldn't believe how difficult Yao Ye was to deal with. She fought like a seasoned warrior, making full use of her experience and tactics to neutralize his Whirlwind Formation.
Grim-faced, Wang Lin pulled out a purple-red pill from his pocket and swallowed it in one gulp.
"Wench, forcing me to use the Dou King Pill and destroy my future—you should be proud! Today, I'll make sure to torture you to death!"
Wang Lin's eyes blazed with madness as his Dou Qi surged explosively.
Three-star Dou Spirit!
Four-star Dou Spirit!
Five-star Dou Spirit!
Six-star Dou Spirit!
"Dou King Pill?!"
"Stop him! Kill him now!"
Yao Ye's face paled as she shouted in alarm.
The Dou King Pill was a high-tier medicinal pill used by Dou Kings to recover their Dou Qi. However, if a Dou Spirit consumed it, they could temporarily elevate their strength to the Dou King level. The catch was that it came with severe consequences: ruptured meridians, destroyed dantian, and, in the worst cases, permanent disability. Wang Lin had clearly decided to go all out.
"Kill him!"
"Don't let him live!"
"Charge!"
The Imperial soldiers, sensing the imminent danger, rushed toward Wang Lin with everything they had.