After following them for a while, Pandana and Dongfang Jiang found the bandits’ hideout.
“What’s the situation inside? Is that young lady really in there?”
Dongfang Jiang removed his finger from Pandana’s shoulder and handed her a glass of water.
Pandana drained the glass in one go and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Yeah, she’s in there.”
“What about the guards?”
“Six at the front gate, three patrol squads of three each. Four are drinking by the wine cellar. Our target is in the very center of the stronghold. As for the bandit chief, his ring finger has a lightning attribute ring—looks like a pretty average one.”
“So what can we do? Selling this info to a wealthy man in town would earn us a nice sum.”
Though Dongfang Jiang said that, he touched his wristwatch, which transformed into a longsword.
His energy shifted from dark green to deep blue.
“We can do it.”
Pandana responded.
She muttered something under her breath, and her ring changed.
A massive dark green circular wheel floated gently behind her.
“Swamp Moon… this is my weapon.”
“Oh, that’s impressive…”
“Um, I learned it in a dream last night. So, let’s begin our operation, Mr. Dongfang.”
“Okay…”
Dongfang Jiang and Pandana controlled their respective weapons and entered the bandits’ stronghold.
Although Pandana had briefly explained the layout, once inside, Dongfang still needed her guidance to find his bearings.
After about ten minutes of weaving through, Pandana signaled Dongfang to stop.
She pressed her finger to his lips, then stood on tiptoe and spoke in a volume only the two of them could hear.
“Here, we need to take out this squad first.”
Dongfang Jiang nodded.
He and Pandana appeared simultaneously in the middle of the patrol squad.
“Who goes there?!”
The patrol squad spotted them.
Dongfang and Pandana channeled energy into their weapons and knocked the squad unconscious.
As planned, the annihilation of this squad drew the attention of everyone in the stronghold.
Dongfang took a deep breath and looked at Pandana.
“I’ll take it from here. You go rescue the young lady.”
“Okay. Stay safe, Mr. Dongfang.”
After they split up, Dongfang caused a commotion.
The bandits in the stronghold quickly took the bait and chased after him.
“You little brat, we’ve got you now…”
When he reached the square, Dongfang saw a dozen bandits surrounding him, panting, glaring angrily.
Remembering Xue’s moves from yesterday, Dongfang manipulated his longsword and slashed at the bandits.
“?!”
The bandits were caught off guard by his attack.
By the time they tried to retreat, it was too late.
In a single exchange, several were down.
A seasoned bandit recognized Dongfang’s technique.
“That’s Sword Control Technique?! We haven’t offended anyone from Maple Language Sword Pavilion…”
‘Xue’s family is from Maple Language Sword Pavilion? Looks like I can ask about this when I go to Grey Tower.’
While thinking, Dongfang finished off the remaining bandits.
Most were all show; many lost their combat ability after a brief chase.
The few with some real skill were quickly overwhelmed by the Sword Control Technique he’d learned from Xue.
He searched them and found a sizable amount of gold coins.
Satisfied, he pocketed the money, but a faint unease flickered in his heart.
“Huff, I wonder how Pandana is doing…”
—
Meanwhile, Pandana crept into the room where the young lady was being held.
As she entered, a thunderbolt struck at her.
Pandana swung Swamp Moon, and a dark green energy shield deflected the bolt.
“Heh, an energy I’ve never seen…”
Pandana looked toward the voice.
A burly man, bare-chested with an old scar across his chest, leaned against a pillar.
He held a giant axe wider than Pandana herself, and the ring on his hand blazed with purple light.
The purple light condensed into a spear and attacked Pandana.
“Then your experience is lacking…”
Swamp Moon clashed with the spear.
With a flash of explosion, Pandana easily neutralized the bandit chief’s attack.
Swamp Moon emitted a faint green glow, sending two crescent waves toward the bandit chief.
The bandit chief placed his ring before his chest.
A shield formed from purple light blocked Pandana’s attack.
Amid a puff of green smoke, the bandit chief realized Pandana and the kidnapped girl were gone.
“Tsk, playing tricks on me? Fine, there’s still one in the square. Cutting off his head should be good enough.”
The bandit chief licked his lips and poured a massive amount of energy into his ring.
A huge Thunder Net surged toward Dongfang Jiang in the square.
Seeing the terrifying Thunder Net, Dongfang instinctively switched his energy to the Swamp Attribute.
He was about to use Ground Escape to flee, but when he saw other ordinary people who had been captured nearby, his mouth twitched.
“Hey, hey, with this energy… can the people here survive?”
[Of course they can’t. Host.]
The System “kindly” provoked him.
‘The hell you say.’
Hearing this, Dongfang knew he couldn’t just sit back.
The Earth Ring blazed with deep blue light.
He formed a massive Ice Wall in the air.
The moment the wall touched the thunderbolt, it exploded, sending Dongfang flying several meters.
He just barely managed to stand up when the bandit chief appeared before him and kicked him several meters away.
Dongfang slammed into a wall, which collapsed, pinning him underneath.
“Heh, quite the kind-hearted person… If that energy had hit me directly, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
The bandit chief looked at Dongfang with lingering fear.
He had thought Dongfang was an easy target, but unexpectedly he had such strength.
Just as the bandit chief moved to finish him off, the longsword flew at his face.
Startled, he deflected the attack and turned to look at Dongfang.
Dongfang was controlling the longsword with his finger, his eyes firm as he stared at the bandit chief.
“The battle isn’t over yet.”