At the same time, in the shadows of the cliffs on the other side of Mute Pass, several pairs of eyes gleaming with greed and malice peered through the rock crevices at the slowly advancing caravan below.
Leading them was none other than Scarface from yesterday. Beside him, in addition to his original five subordinates, were two new faces—
one was a short, skinny man, agile as a monkey, who carried an exquisite longbow on his back; the other was a burly man of imposing stature, holding a heavy mace.
The atmosphere among them was rather strange.
Scarface stood to the side with a gloomy expression, staring intently and meaningfully at Matthew's group as they ventured deeper into the pass.
His original subordinates all shrank back, not daring to breathe too loudly, their timid eyes darting toward the two newcomers.
The skinny, short man leaned against the rock wall, one foot propped on a protruding stone. His longbow hung loosely behind his back as he scanned Scarface and his men with a smirk, his eyes flashing with undisguised contempt.
Beside him, the burly giant rested his iron hammer casually on the ground. His thick, muscular arms bulged with veins, and he occasionally cracked his neck with an impatient pop, exuding an invisible, oppressive aura.
The short man snorted, seemingly bored. He spat out the grass stalk in his mouth and squinted at Scarface.
“What's the matter, Boss Scarface? Still not ordering the attack?”
Scarface's expression stiffened slightly at the short man's sarcasm. Twitching the corner of his mouth unnaturally, he said in a low voice,
“You two are the true masters of Mute Pass... We are merely staying here temporarily. Now that you both have returned, you naturally call the shots.”
Though his words were respectful, his heart was filled with resentment and hatred!
These two belonged to the original gang of Mute Pass. Even though they weren't the leaders, the fearsome reputation of Mute Pass's original owner was more than enough to completely suppress Scarface and his crew!
There was a hierarchy even among bandits.
Since they were dominated, the grievances Scarface's crew suffered went without saying.
The newcomers had snatched the lion's share of all their recent spoils, leaving them with nothing but scraps that could barely sustain them. Naturally, they loathed the duo to the bone.
Hearing this, the burly giant let out a gruff snort from his nose and slammed his mace heavily onto the ground.
“Cut the crap! The fat sheep below are almost at the ambush point! Scarface, get your men ready, and charge on my mark!”
The muscles in Scarface's cheeks twitched. He gave a subtle signal and waved his hand, whispering to his men,
“You all heard him? Get ready!”
Before his voice could fade, the short man quickly found a high vantage point, gripping his longbow as the cold gleam of an arrowhead flickered.
The giant shouldered his mace, his eyes locked onto Matthew's group below, waiting for them to enter the narrowest part of the path.
...
Down in the valley path.
Matthew was advancing with the caravan. Although his expression was calm, he had already quietly activated the 【White Snake Breathing Technique】, pushing his senses to their absolute limit.
The surroundings were dead silent, save for the whistling of the wind and the crunch of wheels rolling over gravel.
Yet, within this silence, Matthew faintly sensed something amiss. Guided by an intuitive premonition, he looked up at the cliff face and spotted a figure waving at him.
“Hmm?” An alarm went off in his mind.
Matthew couldn't tell in an instant whether that person was friend or foe, but in the span of a heartbeat, he made his decision.
Lowering his voice, he commanded Delank and the young boys beside him,
“There's an ambush. Don't panic. Slowly turn around, we're retreating.”
His goal was to lure the enemies to pursue them.
The path ahead was too narrow, and the terrain gave the enemies the high ground. While he could protect himself, the young boys and Uncle Delank might not survive a volley of arrows.
Only by retreating to an open area could they leverage their numbers and team coordination.
The team slowly turned around, the donkey cart turning clumsily in the narrow path.
Seeing this, the giant on the cliff shouted, “Chase them! Don't let them escape!” He was the first to charge out of hiding, leading several men down the steep slope.
The short man cursed under his breath, also descending the mountain to sprint after the giant.
As Matthew retreated, he observed the scene. He couldn't help but feel a touch of gratitude toward the figure who had waved to warn them from the cliff. Whoever it was, their gesture had alerted them in advance, saving them from being ambushed at the narrowest bottleneck of the valley.
However, danger was still closing in. The giant was incredibly fast, and they still had their goods to worry about!
Seeing the pursuers drawing closer, he ordered decisively,
“Uncle Delank, leave the donkey cart and goods by the roadside! Retreat light, keeping everyone safe is our top priority!”
Though abandoning the goods was painful, survival and defeating the enemy were the utmost priorities right now.
Delank nodded heavily, calling out to the boys to abandon the cart and run toward the valley exit with only their weapons.
Seeing his prey fleeing, the giant's greed flared. He gave chase even harder, his speed remarkable as he closed more than half the distance in the blink of an eye.
Matthew calculated rapidly as he retreated.
The pursuers numbered about seven or eight in total, with the giant being the most ferocious. The other bandits had been left behind by him, and there were no archers on the high ground to the left or right.
If the grain caravan did nothing but run, they would inevitably be caught and picked off one by one in this rugged valley.
“No, we can't outrun them!”
Matthew's gaze sharpened. He immediately came to a halt, turned around, and barked,
“Halt! Everyone, back to the rock wall, maintain formation! Uncle Delank, keep everyone together and look out for one another. Don't scatter!”
His voice was steady and powerful, instantly suppressing the initial panic of the group.
Upon hearing his command, Delank and the boys immediately gathered together. Backs against the inner rock wall and clutching their crude weapons, they nervously faced the direction of the oncoming threat.
Matthew stepped forward alone, taking his position at the front of the line. Resting his hand on the hilt of his sword, his eyes locked onto the giant charging at the very front.
In a one-on-one fight, he wouldn't fear any bandit...
Meanwhile, as the giant closed the distance, he was briefly taken aback to see that the youth was not fleeing but had instead assumed a combat stance. A savage light erupted in his eyes, and he let out a low growl:
“You're courting death!”
Stamping his feet to sprint even faster, he raised his mace high above his head. Accompanied by a howling wind, it looked set to smash directly down onto Matthew's skull!
Matthew neither dodged nor retreated. The 【White Snake Breathing Technique】 surged to its absolute limit in an instant, and life energy coursed wildly through his body.
The moment the shadow of the mace was about to crash down, his feet executed a strange, sliding step. He slipped to the side, evading the frontal impact, while simultaneously drawing and slashing his longsword from his waist!
A condensed arc of light swept upward from below—it was 【Melting Slash】!
Matthew unleashed his strike, the sword light flashing like a streak of white silk as it precisely sliced across the giant's arm holding the mace.
Empowered by the fully active 【White Snake Breathing Technique】 and the 【Melting Slash】 combat technique, the sword cut through like a hot knife through butter, severing the giant's entire arm cleanly from the armpit without a single shred of resistance!
Rate on N.U.
