39 Sacrificial Stab (2/2)
The next couple of days, the group advanced slowly through the landscape. The barren land turned into a forest, and they slowed down. The captain walked with light steps, and his senses were on high alert.
This was a bandit-infested location where one knew that there were quite a lot of bandits, but there were also a lot of Fierce Beasts in these forests. Although most of them would stay away from such a large group of people, the strongest beasts might be alerted and attack them.
They were still walking on a road that cut straight through the forest, but no one spoke although the speed at which they traveled had been slowed down. Everyone looked around them, and Xue Wei had his senses heightened to their limits as he had a feeling that something was wrong.
The eerie silence in the forest did not last long. They continued walking for half a day when they suddenly came to a stop.
”We have been surrounded,” The captain said with a loud voice, ”It is bandits this time, and they will be even more ferocious than the Sand Snakes from last time. Take everything you have learned from your last fight and try to survive!”
The captain instantly drew his weapon, and everyone else followed suit, except Xue Wei who closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He could feel the urge to do battle rise in him again. But this time he had been prepared, and he used his calm and collected part of his soul to overwhelm the other part.
”I will not let you out unless I am on the verge of death!” Xue Wei said to himself. He did not like the part of him who found pleasure in killing others.
Just as they had drawn their weapons, Xue Wei sensed that the bandits were moving. Suddenly, the crowns of the trees next to them were black from bandits that were standing on the treetops. Some jumped down on the ground, some stayed in the tree crowns, but there were at least as many bandits as there were people in their group of new recruits.
These bandits also varied in strength from the third layer of the Ordinary Warrior rank to the first and second layer of the Earth Warrior rank.
On top of this was their leader who was at the ninth layer of the Earth Warrior rank. Although he was weaker than the captain of the group of youngsters, overall, the bandits held the advantage in strength.
”Brothers! We will interfere with their captain, the rest of you kill and pillage. If there are pretty girls, just wound them and let us take them back with us!” the bandit leader yelled out. Fifteen of his men, all at the ninth layer of the Earth Warrior rank, jumped down from high above in the trees and surrounded the captain.
”KILL!” someone yelled out, and all of them rushed towards the youngsters. Some of the youngsters were terrified, their faces pale and their hands that held their weapons trembling, while others looked excited.
After experiencing the first life-and-death battle against the sand snakes, the youngsters were split into two groups. One was terrified and had a hard time moving and defending themselves, while the other was excited and filled to the brim with confidence.
In the army, this was precisely the way these two groups were. One was cowardly and feared death and more likely to be killed, while the other consisted of energized and excited experts. They were dancing on the blade of a sword, ready to fall into the abyss, but this was what made them feel alive.
Xue Wei was also one who was eager to do battle. He wanted to fight; he wanted to feel the blood boil in his body, feel his strength soar and the feeling of having someone else's life and death in his hands. He wanted to kill.
Xue Wei sat down on the ground and made a zither from Qi. After this, he started playing on it as note after note followed by shockwaves exploded out and pushed back a whole group of bandits, causing three of them to vomit blood on the spot.
Another note was released and with it a shockwave, yet this time it was not aiming for a full group of bandits but for two of the experts that had been pushed back.
The shockwave was sharp like a blade, and it headed straight for the heads of the two experts. One of them could feel the tremor of the air proving that it was on the way, and managed to lift his weapon just in time to block the attack, while the other never noticed what happened before his head was severed from his neck, blood spurting out as his head rolled away.
”Hmm, the zither is a great weapon. I can use the soundwaves in every way I wish, but my experience with the zither is too low. I need to try using the sword,” Xue Wei decided after some time and stood up. The zither morphed into a sword made from Qi, and without noticing it, a smile had once again emerged on Xue Wei's face.
Xue Wei started walking slowly towards the outskirts of the group of youngsters. This was where the bandits were most numerous, and he wished to display his skills to their limits. Sacrificial Stab was an attack he had learned just before leaving Tiankong City, and it was one of the superior attacks that he had picked from among the ones in the ring his uncle had given him.
Sacrificial Stab was an attack that sacrificed the soul of the killed to the ancient god. In return, Xue Wei would be given a divine boon to increase his strength, and according to what he had understood from the technique, this boon stacked.
”I never had a proper time to try it out,” Xue Wei smirked. ”Sacrificial Stab requires the soul of a human to be sacrificed so it is not as useful as one might think, but against such a massive group of bandits, this is indeed the perfect attack to try out.”
Everyone who saw the smile on Xue Wei's face felt a chill run down their spines, but at the same time, they felt relieved. As long as Xue Wei started acting, many of the enemies would be wiped out, and the pressure on the rest of them would be lessened.