Crack!
The crisp sound of bones breaking echoed in the air. Qingming expressionlessly withdrew his hand from the head of a mountain bandit, allowing the body to slowly fall to the ground.
Hoo…
He let out a quiet breath.
Turning around, Qingming looked at Liangjie and Mizutani Shizuko. "The lookout posts have all been taken care of. Let's proceed as planned. Shizuko?"
"Mm."
At Qingming's call, Mizutani Shizuko involuntarily straightened her body.
"Watch the path down the mountain and handle any stragglers," Qingming instructed.
"Okay."
Though still a bit tense, Mizutani Shizuko nodded earnestly, indicating her understanding.
Next, Qingming turned to Liangjie. "You and I will go up the mountain and eliminate those bandits."
"Sure."
Liangjie was much calmer than Mizutani Shizuko. Even with the more dangerous task ahead, he showed little fear.
What can I say?
He was truly a child born into the world of ninjas, quickly adjusting to the situation.
After giving Liangjie a deep look, Qingming said, "Let's get moving!"
"Mm."
Liangjie and Mizutani Shizuko nodded in agreement.
Qingming immediately headed towards the mountain.
Liangjie followed closely behind him.
Mizutani Shizuko stood in place for a moment before diving into the dense forest, hiding her presence.
It had already been three hours since they arrived at the Little Black Mountain. They had spent the first two hours resting and the last hour clearing the lookout posts.
Now that the obstacles were removed, it was time to launch the final assault.
Uh…
"Final assault" might be a bit exaggerated.
From the information gathered at the lookout posts, Qingming learned that there were only about fifty bandits on the mountain. Given that many had already been dealt with, there were likely less than forty left alive.
With such a small number of enemies, as long as there weren't any extraordinary threats, they posed little pressure. The only challenge was overcoming psychological barriers.
Fortunately, both Qingming and Liangjie seemed to adapt quite well.
Under the moonlight.
Qingming and Liangjie treaded silently over rocks and branches, stealthily approaching the bandits' camp.
While it was referred to as a camp, it was essentially just a wooden building surrounded by twenty or so wooden huts, with not even a wooden fence around the perimeter.
Seeing this simple camp, Qingming finally understood why they had deployed so many lookouts; it was clearly out of fear!
Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought and made a few hand signals to Liangjie. The two then moved towards the camp, one to the left and the other to the right.
The wooden building in the center was the bandit leader's residence, and to avoid being surrounded, he and Liangjie decided to start clearing from the outskirts.
As long as they moved quickly, they wouldn't need to worry about alerting the enemy.
Thud!
The sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out.
Inside one of the wooden huts.
Qingming covered the bandit's mouth with one hand while plunging a kunai into the bandit's chest with the other.
With this heavy blow, the bandit opened his eyes wide—first in confusion, then in pain, followed by terror, before ultimately fading into a dull gray.
Qingming kept his gaze locked on the bandit's eyes throughout, forcing himself to accept it all, to adapt to this reality.
Without the ability to change the world, he could only learn to adapt. Only by adapting to the rules of the ninja world could he survive better.
Hoo…
After confirming the target was dead, Qingming left the wooden hut.
This hut was on the outermost edge; both its geographical position and structure were the weakest, so it was natural that only one person would inhabit it.
Thus, Qingming didn't have to worry about alerting others.
Standing outside, he observed carefully for a moment before selecting another similar wooden hut and cautiously approached.
Peeking through the crack in the door, he confirmed there was only one person inside, then he pried the door open with a kunai and swiftly slipped inside.
Moments later, Qingming emerged again.
Things were progressing smoothly; the bandit was still deep in sleep when Qingming slashed his throat.
Following the same method, Qingming moved like a reaper, entering and exiting from one wooden hut to another, reaping lives silently.
If he could continue this way, it would save them a lot of trouble.
Unfortunately, things rarely go as one wishes.
Just as he took the life of the tenth victim, a terrified scream echoed throughout the camp.
Qingming's movement paused for a moment, but he quickly became more agile, finishing off the remaining target.
Then, in a flash, he dashed outside, looking in the direction of the scream.
He saw a bandit clutching his throat running out of a hut, yelling, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
However, before he could shout twice, a figure dashed out of the hut behind him—none other than Liangjie.
Liangjie sprinted forward, reaching the bandit from behind and thrusting a kunai into his back.
The bandit's voice abruptly stopped.
Despite this, the entire camp was now in turmoil.
Qingming could vaguely hear the faint sounds of movement from inside the wooden huts.
After a moment's thought, Qingming moved to one of the wooden huts and kicked the door in with a powerful strike.
Seizing the moment while two bandits were still trying to comprehend the situation, he dashed in and swiftly eliminated both.
Next, he dashed out of the wooden hut, heading towards another one, repeating the process to take down the bandits inside.
It was not just Qingming; Liangjie also no longer hid his presence, striving to kill as many enemies as possible in the shortest time.
Thus, when the chaos momentarily subsided, only twelve bandits remained in the camp.
The bandit leader glared at the remaining eleven men gathered around him, his expression grim.
Thud, thud, thud…
The sound of footsteps approached.
Qingming and Liangjie emerged from their respective huts, one to the left and the other to the right.
Upon seeing their headbands, a bandit screamed in terror, "Ninja! We've been targeted by ninjas! It's over, we're done for!"
Clearly, the Ninja World War had not only dragged the major ninja villages into its chaos but had also ensnared countless ordinary people.
Perhaps in times of peace, these bandits wouldn't recognize Qingming and Liangjie as ninjas, but after experiencing the tumult of the war, they instantly recognized them.
Moreover, they had gained some understanding of the terror of ninjas.
Slap!
The crisp sound of a slap echoed.
"Pah! Nonsense."
The bandit leader slapped the terrified bandit across the face, spat on the ground, and glared fiercely at Qingming and Liangjie. "What's there to be afraid of? They're just a couple of kids! Everyone, attack together! I refuse to believe we can't kill them!"
With that, he took the lead to charge forward.
However, just then, Qingming flipped his hands over, revealing six shuriken nestled between his fingers.
In the next moment, the shuriken flew out.
The bandit leader attempted to dodge, but with Qingming's level 2 'Ninja Tool Throwing' skill, evasion was not an option.
Had they been true ninjas, they might have been able to evade or block the attack, but a mere bandit had no such ability.
Thus, just as the bandit leader took half a step forward, he collapsed straight to the ground.
"Ah! The boss is dead!"
"Everyone, run!"
It was unclear who shouted, but the eleven bandits immediately scattered in all directions, like birds and beasts fleeing in panic.
Qingming and Liangjie exchanged glances, each pursuing the fleeing bandits, leaving only those heading down the mountain.
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