PFFT!
A chunk of earth suddenly churned.
Immediately after, a figure caked in mud emerged from the ground.
He coughed a few times.
It was Jiang Chen, looking utterly frustrated. "I almost buried myself alive."
"This Thunder Pill... it looks like next time I use one, I’ll need to prepare a Defensive Magical Treasure. Otherwise, blowing myself up would be a truly pathetic way to die."
He was still shaken. The power of the Thunder Pill had been utterly terrifying.
Looking out now, he saw that the great Nanming Mountain bandit stronghold, which had stood here moments before, had vanished from the face of the earth. Only splintered branches lay scattered on the ground.
Many of the buildings had been caught in the blast, completely razed to the ground.
Not a single person was in sight.
Jiang Chen strode toward the center of the recent explosion.
When he got there, he saw a massive, deep crater where the Thunder Pill had detonated, still belching clouds of dust.
The entire mountaintop looked like the scene of an apocalypse.
COUGH, COUGH...
Just as he was searching, he heard a few coughs.
Following the sound, he spotted a figure lying in a miserable state in the dirt.
Only half of their head was visible.
Jiang Chen walked over and yanked the person out of the ground.
Taking a closer look, he saw it was none other than the stronghold’s Village Chief, Xuan Zhiyong.
The Xuan Zhiyong of this moment was missing his lower body; only his torso remained.
He was on the verge of death.
His face was a mess of gore, and one of his eyes was blinded.
The Bear Demon possession was gone.
The Bear Demon possession was powerful, but it was no match for Jiang Chen’s Thunder Pill.
Blood gushed continuously from Xuan Zhiyong’s mouth.
His face was ashen.
Upon seeing Jiang Chen, terror filled Xuan Zhiyong’s face. He couldn’t believe he had been nearly blown to death by that inconspicuous little thing.
The memory of the explosion still made him tremble with fear.
He didn’t know what it was, but he knew that even with his Combat Power boosted to the Martial King Eighth Layer Heaven, he hadn’t been able to withstand that small, black object.
He knew he was dying.
But even on death’s door, Xuan Zhiyong couldn’t rest in peace.
He asked weakly, "You..."
"What... was that... treasure...?"
Jiang Chen said flatly, "It’s called a Thunder Pill. You can die in peace now."
Sure enough, Xuan Zhiyong’s eyes widened, and he took his last breath.
Jiang Chen held Xuan Zhiyong’s corpse and scanned his surroundings.
The Martial Cultivators who had been frozen in ice earlier had long since been obliterated by the Thunder Pill’s explosion, dead beyond a doubt.
As for the rest, Jiang Chen couldn’t yet tell if they were alive or dead.
However, Jiang Chen knew that a large number of them must have survived.
The power of the Thunder Pill was ultimately limited. Those who were far enough away and took shelter in time would certainly not have died.
PFFT!
A figure emerged from the dirt—one of the stronghold’s Martial Cultivators.
His mind was still ringing.
He was about to look around when he noticed the cold glint of a sword hovering before his eyes.
He froze completely.
Looking up, he saw it was Jiang Chen.
He was so horrified he nearly wet his pants.
"It’s you..."
Jiang Chen had killed Miao Yu and defeated their leader, Xuan Zhiyong.
And that explosion just now—that was also Jiang Chen’s doing.
He was already filled with terror for Jiang Chen, as if he had seen a ghost.
At the same time, a glance revealed their leader Xuan Zhiyong’s upper body in Jiang Chen’s hand.
He was so frightened his soul nearly left his body.
The whites of his eyes showed, and he fainted dead away.
After that, more people began to emerge from the dirt.
But every one of them faced Jiang Chen with fear and trepidation.
"Hmph. Listen up."
"All of you, kneel on the ground and don’t move. Anyone who resists will die."
Jiang Chen held his Cloud Mist Sword, his cold gaze fixed on the bandits.
He felt no pity for these people.
Knowing they couldn’t escape, they knelt on the ground one by one, awaiting Jiang Chen’s judgment.
Holding Xuan Zhiyong’s upper body in one hand and his sword in the other, Jiang Chen stood there.
He waited quietly.
After all, the battle was over.
SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH...
Figures rushed up the mountain. Leading them was Huo Wu, clad in armor, looking heroic and formidable—a fierce female general.
She was shouting inwardly,
’I’ll definitely be the first to get the bandit leader’s head, before Jiang the Military Advisor!’
As soon as she reached the top, she waved her hand. "Charge into the stronghold! Kill any bandit you see!"
However, a Martial Cultivator beside her pointed at the desolate mountaintop, his voice lacking confidence.
"Lord Huo, look. The summit... it looks like it was just destroyed."
Only then did Huo Wu notice the scene. Recalling the booming sound she’d heard halfway up the mountain, her expression changed.
She said in shock, "Could there have been a battle on the mountain before we got here?"
That was the only possibility.
She scanned the area but didn’t see Jiang Chen or his men.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Never mind that. Let’s find out what happened first."
At the same time, she thought to herself, ’Jiang the Military Advisor, you might be too late.’
’By the time you arrive, I’ll have already killed all the bandits here.’
With that in mind, she immediately headed for the stronghold’s location.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH...
The figures arrived at the former site of the stronghold.
Everyone was dumbfounded, frozen in stunned disbelief.
"Lord Huo, the Nanming Mountain bandits’ stronghold... it’s gone."
"It seems to have been destroyed by some immense force. Look, all the buildings have vanished. When we came here before, there were many buildings."
"Look, the trees here are all snapped in half. It looks like they were hit by some terrifying impact."
Huo Wu’s people immediately surveyed the area, all of them stunned by the scene before them.
Huo Wu was completely baffled.
’Something is clearly wrong here.’
Her face was filled with suspicion.
"My lord, we found a body!"
Just then, a Martial Cultivator suddenly shouted, holding a corpse in his hand.
No, he ran over with half a corpse.
He threw it down in front of Huo Wu.
"Lord Huo, we just found this in the woods."
Huo Wu immediately looked down and saw that it was just a person’s two legs and lower torso.
It was extremely mangled, clearly having suffered severe destruction.
Even the bones were shattered.
She frowned slightly.
"It seems someone fought with the Nanming Mountain bandits."
"This corpse... it looks like one of the Nanming Mountain bandits."
She immediately ordered her subordinates, "Quick, look around!"
"Report anything you find immediately."
Before long, someone cried out in alarm.
"Look, over there!"
Everyone looked over and saw a row of people kneeling behind a cluster of fallen trees, right where the Nanming Mountain stronghold used to be.
Huo Wu was even more shocked.
She immediately led her people over to surround them.
Just as she was about to question them...
Suddenly, a voice came from a large tree overhead. "General Huo Wu, you’re late."
Huo Wu’s expression changed drastically. She snapped, "Who’s there? Show yourself!"
Immediately, a figure leaped down from the tree.
When he came into view, they saw it was Jiang Chen.
He was a bit disheveled and covered in dirt, but it was unmistakably Jiang Chen.
Huo Wu’s men were about to attack, but when they saw it was Jiang Chen, they were all stunned.
"Jiang the Military Advisor..."
A wave of gasps went through the crowd.
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