Jian looked at his six enemies, their faces full of confidence, as if they already saw him as a dead man.
And they weren't entirely wrong. He knew he would likely die there; his only chance of survival was to abandon everyone and try to escape, just like Liao had done.
Sighing, he reflected on his life.
"And you, little guard? Aren't you just a mercenary? Won't you flee with your friend? Or do you really want to die here?" the one-eyed bandit asked Jian.
Jian took a deep breath and said, "I am a Martial Artist of the Black Lotus Sect. I don't need to run from mere worms like you. Come at me all at once! I, Yi Jian, will erase your existence from this world!"
"Haha! If you want to die so badly, I'll gladly grant your wish. You martial artists are so annoying. You think you can do anything just because you're a little special. But you'll die, and that pretty girl will be ours!" The one-eyed bandit said this, making the other bandits laugh.
All six charged at Jian.
Liu Feiyan looked at Jian as if he were her last hope of salvation.
***
Two mountain bandits headed toward the wagons further behind the caravan. The frightened workers of the merchant guild tried to resist.
They grabbed pieces of wood, stones, and whatever else they could find, but they were too weak, and their enemies had real weapons. In seconds, they were cut down and smashed to the ground.
Cries of pain and agony filled the air.
Some tried to run, but the bandits were far more suited for physical activity. The workers who attempted to flee were quickly caught. One rough-looking man drove his sword into the back of a guild worker.
Another, holding a club with both hands, knocked someone else to the ground and struck their skull until he heard something break.
Zhou Lan saw two mountain bandits coming toward him, terror filling his eyes, one wielding a club and the other a long sword.
Lan grabbed a piece of wood, trying to protect the children. It was the first thing he thought of, but the bandit with the club hit his legs and then his head, making him fall to the ground.
"No, Grandpa!" Yue ran toward him.
The bandits looked at Yue and Tristan.
"Take the girl. The Buyer will pay more for her. Girls her age are his favorites!" the bandit with the club said to his companion.
"No! Yue, run!" Zhou Lan shouted.
"And the boy?" the bandit with the long sword asked, pointing at Tristan's small figure.
"Forget him. He'll starve to death here, or some animal will eat him," the bandit with the club replied after glancing at the small, skinny child with bandaged arms.
Yue looked at her grandfather, worry filling her eyes. She wanted to help him, but she didn't have the power to do so.
She looked around, searching for a solution to her problem, for someone or something that could help her.
But there was no one—no one except Dusk. Her eyes quickly found his face since he was standing nearby. She looked at his face, calm and expressionless as always. Dusk's face turned toward her, and he looked into her eyes, frowning slightly in confusion. It was as if he were thinking, "Do you think I'm going to do something? Why?"
Yue quickly turned her face away, feeling hopeless.
The bandit lunged at her, trying to grab her.
But she dodged him effortlessly. The bandit tried again and again, but it was useless. He couldn't keep up with her speed; it was like trying to catch a rabbit.
Zhou Yue tried to fight back, her light body moving as swiftly as the wind, but her punches and kicks had no effect on someone more than three times her size.
The bandit sighed in frustration as he chased Yue.
"Enough of this!" the other bandit shouted, pointing his club at Lan's head.
"Stop resisting, girl, or I'll splatter your dear grandpa's brains all over the ground!"
"Yue, don't worry about me, just run... grahh!" The bandit kicked Lan in the head.
"Shut up, or you'll regret it!" the bandit continued kicking Lan's head.
"No! Stop! Please, stop! Don't kill Grandpa!" Yue fell to her knees, tears streaming from her blue eyes.
The bandit approached and grabbed her small neck tightly.
"Damn girl, causing us so much trouble," the bandit growled angrily, dragging her away.
Meanwhile, Tristan watched the situation thoughtfully.
He looked at Yue, desperately struggling and crying.
A certain emotion stirred in his heart.
"Ah," his eyes widened slightly in surprise at his new realization.
"Hey, you."
The mountain bandit turned to Tristan, confused and irritated.
"What?" he replied instinctively.
"You can't take her. Let her go," Tristan said in his usual tone.
"Huh? What? Why?" The bandit asked, confused, finding it odd that he was even listening to what a child was saying.
"Because I don't want you to," Tristan answered with a shrug.
"Ha ha," the bandit laughed at the strange situation, confused.
A child ordering him around in such a confident tone was amusing to him.
"Kid, you—" He tried to say something but couldn't finish because, at that moment, Tristan moved toward him at an inhuman speed.
Crossing the distance between them in an instant, Tristan bent his legs, and as agile as a tiger, he jumped nearly two meters into the air, spinning his body as he aimed a horizontal kick at the mountain bandit's neck.
[Dark Blade]
A dark mist emanated from his body, swirling around his left leg, and then a black blade formed on his foot.
His leg sliced through the mountain bandit's neck in just a second, making crimson blood gush from the open wound, splattering through the air.