Chapter 22 – Explosive Increase Of Strength

After walking for around six hours of time, the illumination within the forest grew brighter and brighter. Perhaps it was because of that Inner Core from last night, but they weren’t attacked by any of the venomous snakes within Snake Forest. However, even if it was like that, Yang Ye hadn’t let his guard down because he knew that caution was paramount, and it was best to not be careless in the Grand Myriad Mountains.

When they walked out of Snake Forest, Man’zi and the others immediately heaved sighs of relief. The horrifying scene from last night had caused them to feel deep fear towards Snake Forest, and they could finally heave sighs of relief when they walked out of it now.

Swish!

Right at this moment, the sound of air being torn apart resounded. Right when this sound had just arisen, Yang Ye who was originally by Qing Hong’s side frowned, and at the same time, his figure vanished on the spot and appeared before Man’zi before he smashed his fist out.

Bang!

An ink black colored iron arrow shattered into countless pieces.

As they gazed at the iron arrow that had shattered into countless pieces, all four of their expressions had changed greatly. Especially Man’zi, at the same time that he was furious in his heart, he felt deep fear because if it wasn’t for Yang Ye, then he would be heavily injured even if he was able to survive it.

Man’zi and the others’ reaction wasn’t slow at all, and they swiftly withdrew their weapons before gazing vigilantly towards the surroundings. On the other hand, Yang Ye’s expression was gloomy. Even though he’d heard from Man’zi and the others last night that mercenaries frequently robbed and killed others, he’d ever expected that it would happen to him so quickly.

Clap! Clap!

Along with the sound of clapping, a middle aged and bald man leaped down from an enormous tree over 30m away. There were another three men and one woman by his side. The woman held an inky green colored longbow in her hand, and she was the only archer. Obviously, that black iron arrow from before had been shot by this woman.

Of course, the most surprising member amongst the five of them was that man on the right of that woman. That man was none other than Xiu Yuan who’d abandoned his companions yesterday.

The expressions of Man’zi and the others became extremely heavy when they saw these people make an appearance. Obviously, they recognized this mercenary group.

As she watched the five of them walk over, Qing Hong walked over to Yang Ye’s side and said in a low voice, “They’re the Wolfhead Mercenary Group, and they frequently attack and plunder weak mercenary groups in Grand Myriad Mountains. Their leader is called Baldy Qiang, and he’s a peak ninth rank Mortal Realm expert who’s said to be halfway into the First Heaven Realm. The slightly chubby men at his side was a pair of brothers, and they were called Big Bear and Small Bear. Both of them are ninth rank Mortal Realm experts as well, and they’re slightly stronger than Xiao Hei and me. As for that woman, she’s Hong Ye, and she’s a peak ninth rank Mortal Realm expert as well. Moreover, her skill in archery is much better than my own.”

When she saw Xiu Yuan, Qing Hong knew that they’d come with ill intent and would absolutely not let even one of them go. So, Qing Hong hurriedly gave Yang Ye information about them because only Yang Ye could go against Baldy Qiang.

Yang Ye frowned when he heard Qing Hong, and he silently calculated the difference in strength between their groups. After calculating for a while, Yang Ye’s brows knit together even more tightly because he noticed that they utterly had no choice of winning under ordinary circumstances. That man called Baldy Qiang who led the group wasn’t inferior to him in strength at all, whereas, the strengths of those others by Baldy Qiang’s side surpassed Man’zi and the others. Thus, so long as Baldy Qiang kept him busy, then under the circumstances that they fought three against four, it wouldn’t be long before Man’zi and the others would definitely be defeated.

If he didn’t fight, then he was confident in his ability to escape. However, Qing Hong and the others would definitely be unable to flee, and if they were unable to flee, then the consequences they faced were obvious. So, at this moment, Yang Ye was in a slight dilemma.

Right when Yang Ye was thinking about how he should deal with this situation, the bald man and the others had arrived 10m away from Yang Ye’s group. The bald man sized Man’zi and the others up, and his gaze lingered on Qing Hong for a while before he looked at Yang Ye and said, “Good reaction and good strength. Brother, which sect are you from?”

“He isn’t from any sect!” Meanwhile, Xiu Yuan stood out and gazed at Yang Ye as he said with disdain, “He’s someone that cleans up the battlefield. Brother Qiang, ignore him and deal with all of them. That Twin Wing Python’s Inner Core and skin are definitely in their possession.”

Actually, he didn’t really want to obtain that Inner Core and skin, and he wanted to kill Yang Ye and the others instead. After he fled yesterday, he’d originally intended to return in order to bury their bodies and plunder their possession. However, when he returned to the battlefield, the Twin Wing Python, Man’zi, and the others had all vanished. When he noticed the traces of blood on the ground, he knew that the four of them had definitely been assisted by someone.

At that time, he was truly in panic. He knew that if Man’zi and the others returned alive, then his reputation would be doomed. In the future, not to mention that he wouldn’t be able to eat from this rice bowl any longer, other professions would probably be unable to tolerate him as well. Because no profession desired a companion that abandoned their companions in battle!

“You bastard!” When they heard Xiu Yuan, Man’zi and the others were utterly exasperated. Man’zi pointed his saber at Xiu Yuan and said furiously, “Xiu Yuan, you piece of trash that abandons his companions in battle. You abandoned us and fled for your life yesterday, yet now you bring others to look for trouble with us. You scum! You’re truly the shame of the mercenary world!”

When he heard Man’zi, Xiu Yuan’s expression was slightly unsightly. Originally, he’d advised Baldy Qiang and the others to directly make a move against Man’zi and the others, and Hong Ye had launched an attacked. However, he’d never expected that the arrow which was guaranteed to land a killing blow would actually be blocked. Moreover, after Baldy Qiang saw Yang Ye block that arrow, Baldy Qiang actually didn’t continue attacking. So, Man’zi had the chance to curse at him now, and it filled him with hatred!

When they heard Man’zi, the gazes of all the members of the Wolfhead Mercenary Group towards Xiu Yuan had become disdainful. Even though their reputation in the mercenary world wasn’t that great, they’d never abandoned their companions, whereas, this person before them had abandoned his companions in battle, and they similarly looked down upon such a person.

Baldy Qiang glanced coldly at Xiu Yuan. He looked down upon such people as well, and if Xiu Yuan didn’t possess an older brother at the First Heaven Realm, then Baldy Qiang would swing his palm over at Xiu Yuan. However, when he thought about Xiu Yuan’s older brother, Baldy Qiang forcefully suppressed the displeasure in his heart. He directly overlooked Yang Ye and looked at Man’zi before he said in a deep voice, “What’s with all the nonsense? Hand over the Twin Wing Python’s Inner Core and skin. Mmm, leave that little girl behind as well, and the three of you can fuck off!”

“Brother Qiang, you can’t let them go!” Meanwhile, Xiu Yuan was slightly anxious. However, when he noticed Baldy Qiang’s icy cold gaze, he hurriedly shut his mouth, and then he hesitated for a moment before he gritted his teeth and said, “If Brother Qiang can deal with them, then I’m willing to borrow Big Brother’s low-grade Profound Rank technique for Brother Qiang to have a look!”

Baldy Qiang was slightly moved when he heard this because even he hadn’t seen a low-grade Profound Rank technique in his lifetime! After hesitating for a moment, he looked at Yang Ye and the others before a wisp of a cold glow flashed in his eyes, and he said, “Since all of you are unwilling to do as I said, then don’t blame me for showing no mercy. Attack!” As soon as he finished speaking, he flipped his wrist, and a large saber appeared in his hand. After that, his figure flashed, and his saber chopped down at Man’zi who was in the lead.

At this moment, the strength of their mercenary group was revealed. At the instant Baldy Qiang made a move, the two men and a woman around him had found their own opponents with extreme tacit understanding amongst each other. Especially that woman, she was the first to release an arrow towards Qing Hong who was similarly an archer.

On the other hand, Man’zi and the others hadn’t reacted to this sudden change of events at all. Especially Qing Hong, she’d only returned to her senses when the iron arrow had arrived before her, and then she dodged to the side. However, she’d already lost the initiative, causing her to suffer successive shots from Hong Ye.

Right when Baldy Qiang charged at Man’zi, Yang Ye who originally stood silently by Man’zi side had moved. A sword that was suffused with a light golden glow had suddenly appeared in his hand, and then it slashed down like a bolt of lightning towards Baldy Qiang.

It was so swift that it shocked everyone present in the surroundings.

Especially Baldy Qiang who was the target of that bolt of lightning, he was even horrified. Never had he imagined that the originally inconspicuous Yang Ye would actually possess such strength and speed. Earlier, when Yang Ye had blasted that arrow into pieces with a single punch, he’d indeed been slightly surprised. However, when he noticed Yang Ye’s age and head what Xiu Yuan had said, he’d completely disregarded Yang Ye. He felt that it was definitely Hong Ye who hadn’t utilized her full strength earlier, and even if Yang Ye didn’t make a move, that fellow called Man’zi would be able to avoid it!

However, at this moment, he knew that this was of thinking was mistaken.

Suddenly, Baldy Qiang withdrew his saber and utilized it to block before him.

Clang!

The sword in Yang Ye’s hand that was covered in a golden glow struck on Baldy Qiang’s saber, and the saber instantly shattered into pieces, whereas, Yang Ye’s sword didn’t lose any momentum and directly penetrated through Baldy Qiang’s stomach.

“What, what formidable strength….” Baldy Qiang wasn’t able to finish speaking before his body was directly chopped into two, and his internal organs and blood sprayed all over the ground.

Yang Ye paid no further attention to Baldy Qiang that had been split into two, and he didn’t slow down at all before arriving before Big Bear and Small Bear that were still stunned. Under Xiu Yuan’s astounded gaze, his sword carried a string of golden afterimages as it flashed past Big Bear’s neck, and then a head fell to the ground.

Yang Ye’s speed didn’t reduce at all as he arrived before Small Bear next. After Baldy Qiang and Big Bear had died, Small Bear had finally recovered from his shock, and he was astounded in his heart as he raised his saber instinctively to block Yang Ye’s attack. However, just like what happened to Baldy Qiang earlier, his saber had instantly shattered when the sword and saber collided, and then another head fell to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, Yang Ye had dealt with three ninth rank Mortal Realm experts, and this time, Yang Ye didn’t continue attacking. Because only Xiu Yuan remained amongst his opponents.

When he made a move to kill Baldy Qiang, that woman called Hong Ye had put her bow away before turning around and entering the dense forest, and she’d fled so swiftly that it surprised him.

As they gazed at the three corpses on the ground, Man’zi and the others were utterly stunned on the spot. My god! They were at the peak of the ninth rank of the Mortal Realm. However, they didn’t even have the strength to resist before Yang Ye’s sword? Had he concealed his strength before this? Is Yang Ye a First Heaven Realm expert?

A string of questions ceaselessly flashed through Man’zi and the others’ minds.