"No," Lone-Blade Gideon shook his head.
"Then was he taken away by the Thousand-Mechanism Guard?" Hank Huo pressed.
"Not that either." Lone-Blade Gideon shook his head again, his tone growing more complicated.
"Boss, quit keeping us in suspense. What actually happened?" Hank Huo urged.
Lone-Blade Gideon gave a bitter smile. "All two hundred constables who went with them were killed. Three regular Thousand-Mechanism Guards died, and even a Thousand-Household commander!"
"What—how is that possible?" Hank Huo was nearly scared witless. Two hundred constables were one thing, but the Thousand-Mechanism Guard? They’re the emperor’s personal enforcers! Even the lowest among them are Innate experts, and as for a Thousand-Household, only those at Innate Fifth Layer and above can qualify.
"That’s not even the half of it. Do you know how the rest of the Thousand-Mechanism Guards left the mountain?" Madam Shaw interjected.
"How did they leave?" Hank Huo asked, still dazed.
Unlike Lone-Blade, Madam Shaw was positively beaming. "All twenty-nine Thousand-Mechanism Guards were stripped down to just their underpants—including a Thousand-Household at Innate Seventh Layer! Damn, that Shawn Steele is something else. He even dared to strip a Thousand-Household of his uniform. If I could sleep with a man like that even once, I’d die happy!"
Sss!
Hank Huo sucked in a cold breath. It all sounded like a fairy tale—how could Shawn Steele possibly be that strong, able to force a Thousand-Household to strip? The drug he’d brought might paralyze an ordinary Innate, but against anyone Innate Third Layer or higher, it probably wouldn’t work.
For Shawn Steele to force an Innate Seventh Layer Thousand-Household to strip and flee, he must be at least Innate Eighth or Ninth Layer—a true monster among experts.
Even if they managed to drug him, it probably wouldn’t knock him out.
"So, Boss, what do we do now?"
"What else can we do? Prepare gifts and go pay our respects at Clearwind Stronghold!" Lone-Blade Gideon sighed. He never imagined the Blackwind Mountains would produce such a terrifying powerhouse.
Clearwind Stronghold.
Shawn Steele was still lying in the courtyard, sunning himself.
"Boss, Lone-Blade Gideon is here with Blue Dragon Stronghold's six chiefs, his foster son, and ten chests of gifts to pay respects!" Old Stick hurried over, his face full of delight.
When he heard this, Shawn Steele frowned. "Lone-Blade Gideon’s coming to surrender already?"
Old Stick grinned smugly. "Heh, Boss, your reputation’s spread far and wide. You even dare kill Thousand-Mechanism Guards—of course that turtle Lone-Blade wants to curry favor with you!"
But Ian cursed out loud: "Damn! Looks like I've made too much of a splash—go out there and chase them off! Paying respects? What a joke. If I take their gifts, how can I justify robbing Sunrise Peak later? Go, drive them away!"
Hearing Ian wanted to send them away, Old Stick panicked. "Chief, isn't that a bit much? I peeked in the chests—three are silver, the other seven are filled with fine silk. That's at least three thousand taels of silver, and the cloth is worth another two thousand. Wouldn't it be a shame to just let it go?"
"You want it?" Ian asked, as if reconsidering.
Old Stick nodded like mad. "Of course! That's five thousand taels! With that, we could buy a mountain of grain!"
"Then rob them!" Ian said, thoughtful as ever.
Old Stick froze, his face full of confusion. "Chief, those gifts were already meant for us. Why would we rob them?"
Does robbing someone who brings you gifts count as a new style of robbery?
Ian thought to himself, but couldn't be bothered to explain. He got up and strode outside.
Outside the stronghold gate, Lone-Blade Gideon was waiting with his people.
Suddenly, a young man carrying a wooden cudgel strode out.
Lone-Blade's eyes lit up and he hurried forward, about to greet Ian, but before he could speak, Ian—still holding his cudgel—shouted, "Hey! It's robbery time! Leave the chests and get lost!"
Lone-Blade and his crew were stunned. The gifts were meant for Ian, but now he was robbing them? What was this supposed to be?
After a moment of silence, Lone-Blade finally spoke up: "Chief Shawn, these gifts were already meant for you..."
Ian rudely cut him off, pointing his cudgel. "I don't like things that are given—I only like things I rob! Since we're all bandits here, I'll be generous: just leave the chests and scram!"
Old Stick, who had followed behind, watched Ian actually rob the gift-bearers and felt dizzy. He started to wonder if his chief was maybe a little crazy.
"Fine, we'll leave the chests and go!"
After so many years as the dragon-head, Lone-Blade still had his pride. He barked the order, turned, and strode away.
"Oh, and Lone-Blade, get ready—I'm coming to rob Sunrise Peak next!" Ian called after him.
"Shawn Steele, you're pushing it too far!"
Gavin Loneblade couldn't hold back and roared at Ian.
"Yeah, I'm being excessive. What are you going to do about it?" Ian shot back, looking as cocky as ever.
"Enough, Gavin! Not another word. Let's go!"
Lone-Blade held Gavin back—there was no way they could stand up to Ian's power.
Watching Lone-Blade and his crew leave, Ian felt a tiny pang of guilt. But with the system's ridiculous mission, if he didn't keep robbing, he'd never finish the task!
"Old Stick, have the guys haul these chests inside. Eve Autumn, Lily Qi, Valerie Loneblade—you three, come with me. We're going to rob Sunrise Peak!"
"Yes! Yes!" Lily Qi cheered, face bright with excitement. After more than a month at the stronghold, her cultivation had already reached the second-rate level.
Eve Autumn just rolled her eyes at Ian. She couldn't figure him out at all—he was absurdly strong, yet insisted on being a bandit. And not just any bandit—one who robbed people at every turn, with zero expert demeanor.
Valerie Loneblade hesitated, then stepped forward. "Chief, could you please not kill my foster father and the others?"
Ian glanced at her. "You're a dutiful daughter. Don't worry, I only rob—I won't take their lives."
Back at their own stronghold, Lone-Blade and his chiefs began to discuss how to deal with Ian.
"Chief, let's just surrender," the second-in-command sighed.
"Yeah, we can't beat him even if we all band together. Surrendering is just simpler!" Madam Shaw nodded in agreement.
Lone-Blade looked at the other four chiefs. "What do you all think?"
...
A quarter of an hour later.
Ian arrived at Sunrise Peak's Blue Dragon Stronghold with Eve Autumn, Lily Qi, and Valerie Loneblade in tow.
Lone-Blade was already waiting outside the stronghold gate with his six chiefs and foster son.
"Chief Shawn, our Blue Dragon Stronghold is willing to surrender!" Lone-Blade bowed deeply to Ian.
Ian exploded: "What the hell? We haven't even fought yet—how can you just surrender?"
Lone-Blade's face twisted. "Chief Shawn, you're a peerless master. What else can we do but surrender?"
Ian snapped, "Hell no! You're not allowed to surrender. If you dare, I'll kill you all. But if you fight me with everything you've got, I'll spare your lives!"