Chapter 40: Where Are The Mountain Thieves Hiding?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After he finished reading Niu Feng’s attributes, Qin Shujian looked at the rest of the Mountain Thieves. They should now all be Mountain Bandits.

Other than the conversion of their identities, the levels of the stages didn’t change.

They didn’t immediately become Martial Entry-Level Three after they joined the Liangshan Stronghold.

When he saw this, Qin Shujian was not too surprised.

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That was because he had received the relevant pieces of information when he conquered Mount Mingai.

Only NPCs that had been from the faction before it became a Level One Faction could receive the benefits brought about by the level enhancement.

The people who joined the factions after the level up would not enjoy such a privilege.

However, because of the Level One Faction, these Mountain Bandits who had just joined the Liangshan Stronghold wouldn’t drop in level if they were killed by the players, as long as their levels were lower than Martial Entry-Level Three.

Then, Niu Feng arranged for a few leaders who had initially been at Mount Mingai to deal with the situation while he invited Qin Shujian into the meeting hall.

The meeting hall wasn’t large.

However, it was slightly better than the Zhongyi Hall that Wu Sheng occupied in the past.

After they entered the hall, Niu Feng knowledgeably took a lower seat.

He left the tallest seat, which he sat on when he was the leader, to Qin Shujian.

Qin Shujian felt a comfortable sensation when he sat on the tiger-hide chair. He was secretly pleased.

There was also a cushion on his chair in the Liangshan Stronghold; however, that cushion was made out of ordinary hide and was slightly poorer than this tiger hide.

“Perhaps I should improve my living conditions,” Qin Shujian thought without reason.

However, the thought had just come up when he suppressed it once again.

Now was not the time to be thinking about that.

He could only think about that after everything else was settled.

Currently, Qin Shujian felt that he couldn’t even eat in peace. How could he have the energy to consider other matters?

“How much of the Yunchuan Stronghold and Messy Gold Mountain do you understand?” Qin Shujian looked down at Niu Feng and asked after he sat down.

Hearing this, Niu Feng froze for a moment, then immediately replied, “To…to answer your question, Stronghold Chieftain. The strength of the Yunchuan Stronghold is about the same as Mount Mingai. The chief there is called Xu Yuanming and is also at Martial Entry-Level Five. He specializes in a technique called the Cloud Parting Sword Technique.”

“The Messy Gold Mountain is quite a bit stronger than the two of us. The chief is called Zeng Hong, and he is Martial Entry-Level Five on the surface. He uses a technique called the Hundred Battle Blade Technique.”

“However, I always suspected that Zeng Hong’s abilities are not as simple as that.”

“Previously, someone even guessed that he might have broken through the limit of Martial Entry-Level Five.”

Qin Shujian had only asked a simple question, yet Niu Feng immediately told him everything about the other two factions.

He didn’t even look guilty.

Even though all of them were Mountain Thieves from the Messy Stone Forest, they didn’t meddle with each other’s affairs often. The three parties would frequently come into conflict with each other, but those would never break out into an all-out battle as they all feared each other’s strength.

Now that Niu Feng had entered the Liangshan Stronghold, he had completely freed himself from the camp of the Messy Stone Forest.

When he thought about how he had lost Mount Mingai just like that, while the other two factions were still free and at large, he felt a sense of indignance.

Niu Feng understood.

Even Zeng Hong wouldn’t be a match for the Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain’s immense strength.

As long as the Liangshan Stronghold decided to deal with the two other factions, then there was no way that the Chuanyun Stronghold and the Messy Gold Mountain could escape.

Qin Shujian didn’t bother himself with Niu Feng’s intentions.

However, as one of the three factions of the Messy Stone Forest, it was natural that Mount Mingai would have a deep understanding of the other two factions.

“If I want to take action, where do you think I should start?”

Indeed! Niu Feng exclaimed to himself when he heard this.

He then deliberated for a moment before saying, “In my opinion, I think that it would be better to attack the Yunchuan Stronghold.”

He adapted very quickly to the change in his identity.

He naturally slipped into the role of a subordinate as he spoke.

Qin Shujian asked out of curiosity when he heard this, “Why do you say that?”

“The Yunchuan Stronghold is the closest to Mount Mingai, and it is slightly weaker. It would be easier for us to take down the Yunchuan Stronghold.”

“Also, Xu Mingyuan is a cautious person. If we attacked the Messy Gold Forest first, and he managed to sense anything, he might abandon his faction and escape.”

“From my point of view, you should first conquer the Yunchuan Stronghold.”

“It wouldn’t be good for you if we allow Xu Yuanming to escape.”

After he said that, Niu Feng continued, “On the contrary, Zeng Hong is more arrogant. He might not escape without putting up a fight after we defeat the Yunchuan Stronghold. Furthermore, if we are fast enough, the Messy Gold Mountain might not be able to receive the information.”

“Yes,” Qin Shujian nodded slightly.

Niu Feng was deserving of his reputation as the master of Mount Mingai. His understanding of the two other factions was something that he could not rival.

Even if he got Zheng Fang and the rest of the group to investigate the situation, they wouldn’t have been able to find out about the personalities of the leaders of the factions.

“Gather the Mountain Bandits of Mount Mingai and follow me to the Yunchuan Stronghold.”

“Yes!” Niu Feng nodded and replied, then he immediately relayed the order.

…

“This is Mount Mingai,” Liu Qinghold looked at the tall mountain and thick forest in front of him. The guide that was given to him by the mission also stopped here.

Zhang Quan asked, “Are we going to charge up the mountain?”

“Be a little more careful. Don’t alert too many Mountain Thieves and get ourselves surrounded by them,” Liu Qinghong instructed. He then took the lead and followed the narrow road up the mountain.

The rest of the players followed closely behind him.

Just now, they had spoken as if they completely disregarded the ordinary Mountain Thieves.

However, when they reached the area, they couldn’t help but become serious.

It couldn’t be helped; the game was too realistic.

They were afraid that several Mountain Thieves would suddenly jump out when they saw the thick forests around them.

“Just where are the Mountain Thieves hiding?” Liu Qingqing was a little impatient after they walked for more than ten minutes. She puffed her cheeks as she pouted.

From the time they arrived, all they saw were trees.

The narrow path in front of them seemed to have no end.

They didn’t even see the shadow of a Mountain Thief, much less an actual Mountain Thief.

“Quiet!” Liu Qinghong scolded.

Liu Qingqing glanced at him indignantly but didn’t grumble anymore.

Then, Liu Qinghong felt as though something was off. He whispered to the rest of the group, “This place has tall mountains and thick forests. We are unfamiliar with the terrain and cannot be sure that we would not encounter any other threats.”

“The path in front of us has been walked on by others for a long time. This should head straight to the nest of the Mountain Thieves. It should not take a long time.”

After he said that, the party suddenly became quiet again.

They walked for another five minutes.

Liu Qinghong and the rest of the party stopped.

They saw many trees that had been split across the middle as if a strong force had broken them.

Beside the trees were scattered and broken scout towers.

Even though there were no corpses around, the image in front of them told them clearly that a battle had taken place here.

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