This time, the force contained in the silver ingot was even greater. A crisp sound of bones breaking rang out, and Zack Zhu screamed as he was knocked backward, crashing several meters past the gate.
“Wow, you’re a strange one. You were begging me for silver, but now that I give it to you, you don’t want it!” Ian Song toyed with the silver ingot that bounced back into his hand, speaking with playful mockery.
The two bandit minions stared blankly, instinctively fixing their eyes on the silver ingot in Ian’s hand. Secretly, they swallowed nervously—for the first time, they felt genuine fear toward silver itself.
Zack Zhu crawled up from the ground, his vision blurred and a sharp pain radiating from his nose. He wanted nothing more than to tear Ian apart, but after witnessing Ian’s strange technique, he couldn’t help but feel a little afraid.
But letting this kid off just like that felt unbearable. With a fierce glint in his eyes, Zack shouted, “Men, kill this government spy sent by the authorities!”
The dozen or so bandit minions on the wall had already noticed the commotion below. At Zack’s shout, they grabbed their weapons and rushed down from the wall.
Soon, five bandits wielding broadswords and seven armed with bows and arrows gathered behind Zack Zhu.
“Boss Zack, are those two really government spies?” one of them asked.
Zack Zhu replied with a sinister sneer, “That’s right. This spy is dangerous—I fell for his trick. Quick, shoot him with your bows!”
Immediately, the seven archers each drew an arrow from their quivers and nocked them to their bows.
At that moment, Ian rubbed his hands together, and the ten-tael silver ingot instantly crumbled apart.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
More than ten flashes of silver streaked by. All fifteen bandits present—including Zack Zhu—let out muffled grunts and collapsed to the ground, silent.
“B-B-Boss... you didn’t... really kill them, did you?”
Seeing this, Burt "Bull" Bolton couldn’t help but ask, trembling with fear.
Ian couldn’t be bothered to explain to Bull. He simply ordered, “Go search their bodies and bring me anything valuable!”
Tonight, Lone-Blade Gideon had invited the other stronghold chiefs to a banquet, so Zack Zhu and his men must have collected plenty of gate fees. Ian certainly wasn’t going to leave that small fortune behind.
Bull hesitated for a moment, then quickly rushed over and began rifling through the fifteen corpses. His movements were so practiced, it was clear he’d done this plenty of times before.
Soon, Bull came back excitedly, clutching over a hundred taels of silver. “B-B-Boss, so much silver!”
Ian snatched the silver away with mild annoyance. “Pathetic. It’s just a hundred taels—what’s there to be so happy about? Now, strip their clothes and toss the bodies off the cliff!”
Half an hour later.
Ian and Bull finally appeared at the summit of Sunrise Peak.
The summit was vast and open. It was evening, and golden sunlight poured over rows of buildings, filling the world with a peaceful atmosphere. What a shame—such a beautiful place was nothing but a bandit lair.
Ian sighed inwardly. Suddenly, a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes. Should he move Clearwind Stronghold to a new mountain? After all, the system had given him the task of building the number one bandit lair in the world, and Clearwind’s current location was too small—at most, it could hold two hundred people.
"You look unfamiliar, brother. Which stronghold are you from?" a voice called out. Ian looked up to see a charming middle-aged woman smiling at him.
“I’m Shen Shaoyan, the new chief of Clearwind Stronghold. I came by invitation for the banquet.” Ian smiled as he spoke, though inwardly he thought: This woman must be Madam Shaw, the Sixth Chief of Blue Dragon Stronghold—a notorious figure among the 108 lairs of the Blackwind Mountains.
Rumor had it that, though she was already in her sixties, her mastery of dual cultivation kept her looking twenty years younger.
Any man she harvested would, at best, be bedridden for days; at worst, suffer severe loss of vitality.
Thus, throughout Blue Dragon Stronghold, her reputation surpassed even Lone-Blade Gideon’s. Except for a few chiefs, every man who saw her would take a detour—once she latched on, escape was nearly impossible.
Today, Lone-Blade Gideon had invited the other chiefs for the banquet, and Madam Shaw had requested the job of greeting guests.
In truth, Lone-Blade Gideon was well aware of her intentions. But as long as she didn’t prey on his own men, he turned a blind eye and didn’t bother interfering.
"So you’re Chief Shen—young and promising indeed!" As she spoke, Madam Shaw greeted Ian with practiced familiarity, her arms skillfully wrapping around his.
Ian shuddered all over—this was a sixty-something old lady, after all.
Thinking of this, he quickly broke free from her grip and leapt aside, calling to Bull, "Let’s go, Bull!"
Watching Ian’s hasty retreat, Madam Shaw was a bit surprised. For Shen Shaoyan to slip free so easily, he must have some skill. It was a pity, though—this handsome young man clearly regarded her with caution, having heard of her notorious reputation.
The banquet was held in the Assembly Hall of Blue Dragon Stronghold.
Activating his clairvoyance, Ian quickly located the Assembly Hall.
He’d arrived rather late. The spacious Assembly Hall was almost full—aside from the host’s seat and the tables beside it, only a few tables near the entrance remained empty.
But Ian noticed that the closer a table was to the front, the more lavish the food and fruit piled upon it.
On the tables near the entrance, there was only a plate of peanuts and a bottle of cheap wine.
Since the host, Lone-Blade Gideon, hadn’t arrived yet, the other chiefs who came early didn’t dare touch the food or drink. Instead, they chatted among themselves.
Ian’s arrival didn’t draw much attention—only a few people glanced his way.
But soon, nearly every gaze in the hall was fixed on him.
Because Ian had brought Bull and sat down at the prime table to the left of the host’s seat—the one reserved for Bruno “Bear King” Barrett.
Instantly, everyone’s expression turned strange.
After all, seats in the hall weren’t taken at random—the stronger the stronghold, the closer to the front they sat.
That seat to the left of the host was reserved for the chief of Bear King Stronghold, ranked second among the 108 lairs. Now this kid had blatantly taken Bruno’s place—things were about to get interesting. Bruno’s temper was infamous; if he saw his seat occupied, Ian’s fate might be worse than death.
"By the way, does anyone know which stronghold this kid leads?" asked the chief of Yellow Pine Stronghold, curious.
"Heh, he’s Victor Steele’s son. After Victor died, Clearwind Stronghold fell apart—only a dozen old, weak, or sick followers remain. Calling him ‘chief’ is generous; soon enough, Black Tiger Stronghold will swallow them whole." Logan “Blood Wolf” Xiao said with a sly grin.