Against the Gods

NEW NOVEL: First and foremost, I'm delighted to announce that our long-time veteran translator littleshanks has finally launched his new novel, Rise!  Rise is a novel about the esports scene in Shanghai, the competitive gaming capital of China. It follows the story of Lin Feng, a boy who has just moved to the city for his last year of high school. He's a passionate gamer and dreams of being the best professional League of Legends player in the world. The twist? He almost achieved his dream, but failed at the...

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Chapter 172 - Black Dragon Bandit Group

With an anguished wail, the Ironback Blue Wolf fell heavily towards the ground and rolled far away like a rubber ball. After which, it stayed paralyzed there, and there were no longer any signs of movement. Underneath its body, a large pool of blood slowly began to spread.

Even though it was a Spirit Profound Beast, it still perished immediately upon a single hit with all his strength. This was enough to show how strong and terrifying the heavy sword was. Yun Che strapped the heavy sword back to his back and shot a glance at the quivering Mu Xiaoling. He did not even look at the Ironback Blue Wolf’s carcass as he walked straight ahead onto his original path.

After quite a while, Mu Xiaoling finally recovered from the enormous shock and fright. As she watched Yun Che’s figure walk further and further away, her voice trembled as she said, “Thank… thank you.”

In another direction, the Sun Zhou who had already escaped a considerable distance stopped where he was, stunned by the scene he had just witness. No matter what, he just couldn’t believe that the terrifying Ironback Blue Wolf was actually purged by just a single attack from the youth at only the fourth level of the True Profound Realm.

Unless that wasn’t really a Ironback Blue Wolf, and was actually a True Profound Beast that looked extremely similar? If not, how would it appear in the threshold of the True Profound beasts, and actually get thrashed by someone of only the fourth level of the True Profound Realm…… Thinking to here, Sun Zhou felt a sudden wave of regret. Watching Mu Xiaoling, who was getting up from the floor, he gritted his teeth and quickly ran back. He shouted in a loud voice from far away: “Junior Sister Mu, are you alright? Did you get injured?”

Seeing Sun Zhou run over, all the admiration in Mu Xiaoling’s eyes disappeared; all that was left was deep disappointment. She pushed Sun Zhou’s outstretched hand away violently and angrily said, “Senior Brother Sun, you’ve made me too disappointed in you. It’s fine if you don’t bring me with you while escaping, but you actually pushed me towards the Ironback Blue Wolf. You…… you’re practically not a human being. I’ve been wrong about you all these years!”

“Junior sister, you’re mistaken. You’ve completely misunderstood me!” Sun Zhou said with a wronged expression on his face, “We’ve been in the same sect all these years, do you still not understand what sort of person I am? Even if I die, I still wouldn’t let a single hair on Junior sister come to harm. When I pushed Junior sister just now, it was to push you away, and then attract the Ironback Blue Wolf into chasing me alone! I was prepared to use my own life to save Junior sister’s, yet Junior sister actually misunderstood me this way….”

Mu Xiaoling laughed coldly, “Do you take me for a three year old child? You’d find better luck tricking a ghost!”

Sun Zhou instantly lifted two fingers and furrowed his eyebrows, and said very solemnly, “I swear to my Sun family ancestors, if any of what I’d said just now was a lie, let I, Sun Zhou, get hit by lightning, and die a painful death!”

Hearing Sun Zhou lay down his toxic oath, Mu Xiaoling’s heart swayed for a moment. Thinking of Sun Zhou’s past actions, as well as the words he had spoken, it didn’t seem like a definite impossibility.

Thinking of this, even though she didn’t believe him completely, her heart was still somewhat comforted. Additionally, her other senior brothers were fainted on the ground and it was unknown if they were alive, so the only person she could depend on now was Sun Zhou. At once, her expression softened a little as she said, “Alright, I’ll believe you for now. Let’s go check up on senior brothers Ding and Han for now….”

She had just finished speaking when a series of nearing footsteps suddenly came from the black wood forest area behind them.

“Mn, it’s definitely the cry of the Ironback Blue Wolf, it should be in front.”

“It’s too scary to enter the Spirit Profound Beast’s area. Picking off the Spirit Profound Beasts which have run into the True Profound Beast’s area is so easy and refreshing, hahahaha.”

“Eh? Why is the sound of the Ironback Blue Wolf gone? Could it be that it escaped far far away?”

As the sound grew close, a twelve person group also appeared in their line of sight. The first person looked to be about forty years old and held a broadsword. The aura he had no intention of concealing was that of the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm. The person behind him was around the same age and wore animal hide. His profound energy was similarly of the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm. The ten people behind had profound strengths that were concentrated between the fifth to tenth level of the True Profound Realm. The picture of a Black Dragon was emblazoned on the shoulders of all twelve men.

Within the outer ring of the Wasteland of Death, this was a rather strong group.

Within the Wasteland of Death, anyone who met any stranger must be on high alert. Mu Xiaoling and Sun Zhou, who had just calmed down, suddenly stood and raised their guard. And after they saw the pattern on their shoulder, their faces simultaneously revealed expressions of terror…… A terror that surpassed even the time they’d met the Ironback Blue Wolf.

“Black….. Black Dragon Bandit Group!”

“Quick…. Let’s escape quick!”

Just when Sun Zhou and Mu Xiaoling were preparing to escape at top speed, a shout come from the shady forests behind them, “You two, daddy here commands you to stop.”

Upon hearing this voice, both their bodies stiffened, but they did not stop. Rather, they picked up their speed and continued running forward. They had not come to the Wasteland of Death many times before, but the bad reputation of the Black Dragon Bandit Group preceded them. This bandit group did not have many members, but each of them were experts, and their methods were extremely vicious. Every time they robbed, the victims were always killed too; never had they let a single one live.

“Dammit, these two whelps are still trying to escape!!”

The mouth of the middle aged man in the lead parted as he stepped on the ground. Profound energy exploded as his entire person lunged out like a large bird and suddenly lept over the heads of both Sun Zhou and Mu Xiaoling, landing in front of them. After turning around, he turned back to slash upwards.

“Senior brother, let’s fight it out to the death with them!!!”

Mu Xiaoling lifted her sword, clenched her teeth, and rushed towards the bandit leader’s long sword. However, a first level in the True Profound Realm truly had no chance against another who was in the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm. Just by going face-to-face with him, the vibration was enough to send her tumbling back, falling on the floor and unable to get up for a long while. Sun Zhou also parried a few hits with all he had, but was also sent quaking on the ground with a hit as his longsword flew far far away.

“Oh! Ninth level in the True Profound Realm, not bad, you must be considered a genius. What a pity, hehe….” The bandit’s leader approached with a knife as he began to laugh maniacally.

“Leader Black Dragon is mighty, Leader Black Dragon is mighty.” The goons at the back began to holler in succession.

“Hoh, there’s actually a spatial ring on him. Looks like it didn’t waste half a day’s worth of energy from your great lord. Hand over all your spatial rings, as well as anything valuable you have on you. Daddy here might just consider leaving your corpses whole. If not, hehe, daddy here has countless of ways of making you regret being born in this world.”

Even though they had just nearly escaped the Ironback Blue Wolf’s sharp claws, they now encountered the even more terrifying Black Dragon Bandit Group. Mu Xiaoling’s heart was already devoid of hope. Sun Zhou, who was beside her, struggled to get up. Initially, she thought Sun Zhou was going to protest and fight for his life, yet she saw him kneel in front of Black Dragon with a ‘plop’ and place his rings by Black Dragon’s feet in excessive panic as he kowtowed while desperately begging for his life, “Great….. Great Lord Black Dragon, your honorable name has been known to me for a long time, your reputation is well-known to all. I…. I’ve placed all the items on me here. Altogether, there’s six thousand yellow profound coins as well as nineteen Profound Recovering Pellets and thirty eight True Profound Beast’s profound cores. I present all of these to Great Lord to show my piety for Great Lord. May Great Lord spare my life. I don’t want to die, don’t want to die!!”

“HAHAHAHA…. What a despicable wretch.” Vice-leader White Dragon and the ten other group members behind them all started to laugh maniacally in scorn.

Senior brother Sun, you…… you…….” Mu Xiaoling’s little face paled as she lost all faith, and her heart turned cold towards this senior brother she had usually admired.

Hearing Mu Xiaoling’s voice, it was as if Sun Zhou had just woken from a dream. He pulled one of her arms and said impatiently, “Right….. right! Great Lord, this is my junior sister, she’s called Mu Xiaoling. She has quite a fresh appearance, and is still a virgin up til today. I offer her to Great Lord, may Great Lord enjoy her as much as you please….. May Great Lord spare my lowly life on account of my piety. From now on, I’ll be deeply grateful, and I won’t ever forget your grace.”

“You…… you….. you’re a beast, a bastard! You’re not even human…… you…….” Mu Xiaoling shook all over. The her who was deficient vocabulary-wise already could not find any words to insult this nasty person who had shown his true nature. Her face was ashen and her heart was filled with grief.

“HAHAHAHA!” Black Dragon laughed manically, “I’ve seen many miserable wretches, but one as contemptible as you….. Tsk tsk, there are really few. However, your piety is really insincere. This lass is someone I, your great lord, seized myself. After a while, your great lord will naturally enjoy it; it’s not something you delivered. Taking this daddy’s spoils of war to present it to daddy here to show piety, do you take your daddy here to be a fool? Such a useless thing, why would I still keep your life for? Go beg for forgiveness from the king of hell!”

Saying that, Black Dragon took a step forward and was about to chop towards Sun Zhou’s neck.

“Great Lord! W… Wait! Wait!” Seeing the raised chopper, Sun Zhou nearly pissed his pants in fright. He kowtowed repeatedly to beg for his life, “I have a big bargain! It’s absolutely worth it; if these few honorable lords kill this man, it’ll definitely bring you more than a year…. No, three years’ worth of profit. If great lord would just agree to spare my life, I will immediately tell these few honorable lords about this large bargain.”

“Oh?” Black Dragon withdrew his broadsword and looked at him with narrowed eyes, “A large transaction? Let’s hear about it, if it’s really big enough, hehe, I might just spare your doggy life. After all, taking your cheap life would dirty this daddy’s hands.”

“Thank…. Thank you, great lord.” Although he was facing Black Dragon’s extremely humiliating words, Sun Zhou heaved a large sigh of relief instead and reached his hand out to point north, “There, that person! Just now, I clearly saw a purple spatial ring on that person’s hand. It’s purple, definitely. My fellow apprentices and I saw it very clearly, and not only is that person traveling alone, his profound strength is also only at the fourth level of the True Profound Realm.”

This area was more spacious and Yun Che did not walk quickly. Following in the direction Sun Zhou had pointed in, they could clearly see Yun Che’s distant silhouette.

Looking at Sun Zhou’s despicable face, he definitely did not have the guts to lie to them. Black Dragon’s eyes moved, and he suddenly waved, “Bring these two along, go!!”

Yun Che walked slowly, thinking about how he should perfectly execute his training journey. In his contemplation, Jasmine’s sadistic voice sounded in his heart, “Looks like a group of people are specially coming to seek death.”

Yun Che paused in his steps and he disgruntledly lamented in his heart….. Sigh, I came from so far away just to train, yet I have to be waylaid by these trash.

Just when he was sighing in his heart, the sound of chaotic footsteps came from behind him. Very quickly, he was surrounded by a dozen or so people. Behind them, he also saw the restrained Sun Zhou and Mu Xiaoling.

“You’re right, it’s him! It’s exactly him!” Sun Zhou pointed at him and roared in excitement, as if he had just found a new lease of life.

“Sor… Sorry.” Mu Xiaoling’s face was already stained with tears and she lowered her head, not daring to look at Yun Che. She had just been saved by him, yet here she was again, giving him trouble by causing him to fall into the hands of the Black Dragon Bandit Group...

“Leader, look at his left hand! It’s really a purple spatial ring!”

“Rich! We’ve struck gold! Once we kill him, we’ll have enough to live free and unfettered lives for the better half of the year! HAHAHAHA!”

Looking at the purple light on Yun Che’s left hand, everyone in the Black Dragon Bandit Group grew extremely excited. One of them, who carried a large sword on his shoulder and wore a black eye-patch walked out, and said to Black Dragon, “Leader, this fellow’s young, and his profound strength is only at the fourth level of the True Profound Realm. There’s no need for you to take action, just watch your subordinate take him down!”

“One Eyed Dragon, I think you’ve taken a fancy to that sword on his back.” Black Dragon grinned.

One Eyed Dragon chuckled, “This fellow’s sword is actually bigger than mine, and he still carries it so arrogantly on his back. Tsk tsk, as someone who uses a purple spatial ring, the sword on him must be quite extraordinary. I’ve been using this sword for a good many years, and I’ve killed many with it. It’s long been blunt and should be substituted already, heh heh…. If I don’t get him to obediently kneel down and shout ‘Grandfather!’, and hand over even his undergarments, I, your father, will walk on my hands in future.”

In between hoots of laughter, One Eyed Dragon strode towards Yun Che. Brandishing the large sword on his shoulder, he stuck it deep into the ground in front of him, laughing sinisterly, “Kid, you could have gone anywhere to play, yet you actually dared to come into your grandfathers’ territory. Would you like your grandfather to be a bit more courteous towards you, or less?”

Yun Che tapped his chin, and asked worriedly, “What will make you courteous, and what will not?”

“It’s extremely simple. As long as you listen obediently, us grandfathers will naturally be courteous. However, if you’re disobedient, hehe…..” His gaze fell on the heavy sword behind Yun Che, “If you want grandfather to be more courteous towards you, then you should first throw your sword over for grandfather to play with. If grandfather’s happy, he might just leave you a pair of underwear, hahahaha!”

A wave of laughter rumbled throughout the Black Dragon Bandit Group.

“This One Eyed Dragon has really taken a fancy to that sword.”

“Tsk tsk, that sword’s so huge, it has to be at least one hundred or one fifty kilograms.”

“One hundred or one fifty kilograms? Cut the crap. This youngster’s so smooth-skinned, and his profound strength is only at the fourth level of the True Profound Realm. If it were really one hundred or one fifty kilos, how would he be able to keep carrying it on his back? I think it’s only the sword’s appearance that’s big, and it’s merely an empty husk. It’s at most fifty or so kilos, maybe it isn’t even fifty kilograms. He probably only carries it on his back to scare others.”

“You want to play with my sword?” Upon hearing One Eyed Dragon’s words, Yun Che starting to laugh strangely. He stretched his hand out to take the Overlord’s Colossal Sword from his back. It wasn’t too large an action either. With a passing throw, he threw it towards One Eyed Dragon, “Since you want to play, then I’ll let you play. Catch~ it~ well~”

Yun Che’s act of throwing the sword was nimble, it was flippant and simple, as if he was conveniently throwing pebbles. With this throw, the Overlord’s Colossal Sword also “nimbly” flew towards One Eyed Dragon.

“I’ll consider you smart!” One Eyed Dragon laughed loudly. He stepped forward as if he couldn't wait any longer, and reached his hand out to catch the heavy sword that was thrown at him...

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