Chapter 73: The Cangmang Bandit Group (Part 2)

At the mention of the Cangmang Bandit Group, all the mercenaries' faces changed dramatically.

"The Cangmang Bandit Group!" Jianchen's brows furrowed deeply. He was not unfamiliar with the Cangmang Bandit Group. Whether it was in the book collection of Changyang Prefecture or in the library of Kagas Academy, he had seen records about the Cangmang Bandit Group. According to the books, the Cangmang Bandit Group was extremely powerful and had existed for over two hundred years.

Two hundred years ago, when the Cangmang Bandit Group first emerged, it already possessed formidable strength, frequently appearing within the territories of several neighboring kingdoms. At that time, the Cangmang Bandit Group was a nightmare for all caravans, as their methods were extremely ruthless. They never left any survivors after robbing a caravan, and the number of merchants and mercenaries killed by them was countless. Moreover, the Cangmang Bandit Group often attacked villages and small cities with weak defenses. Two third-tier cities were completely looted by the Cangmang Bandit Group, and a second-tier city was attacked, although it was not ultimately captured, it suffered significant casualties. The number of villages that were massacred was more than a dozen. At that time, the Cangmang Bandit Group stirred up a storm of blood and rain in several neighboring kingdoms, making caravans hesitant to travel to remote areas, causing significant losses to the kingdoms.

To address this issue, the Garsen Kingdom, Blue Moon Kingdom, Wind Kingdom, and Wall Kingdom once mobilized their forces. After identifying the Cangmang Bandit Group's hideout, they repeatedly sent troops to besiege the Cangmang Bandit Group. Unfortunately, the Cangmang Bandit Group's strength was far beyond anyone's expectations, and each of the kingdoms' attempts to besiege them ended in failure, with heavy casualties.

After several failed attempts, the four kingdoms simultaneously dispatched their top experts, a total of four top experts, to the Cangmang Bandit Group's stronghold, the Cangmang Mountain. Soon after the top experts entered the Cangmang Mountain, a deafening explosion echoed from deep within, causing the entire mountain to shake and crumble. The explosion lasted for a day and a night before gradually subsiding, during which six towering peaks of the Cangmang Mountain collapsed.

When the top experts of the four kingdoms emerged, their faces were not good. They left without saying a word. Within a day, the commanders of the four kingdoms' forces besieging the Cangmang Mountain received orders from their kings to immediately withdraw and cease the operation.

Although no one could witness what happened when the top experts of the four kingdoms entered the depths of the Cangmang Mountain, anyone with a bit of intelligence could guess what had occurred. This outcome was hard for all mercenaries and caravans to accept. Since then, the Cangmang Bandit Group's reputation reached its peak, and in the hearts of many mercenaries and merchants, the Cangmang Bandit Group had become the embodiment of death, intimidating several neighboring kingdoms.

However, the only thing that brought some relief was that after the incident with the top experts of the four kingdoms, the Cangmang Bandit Group's actions became much more low-key. Although many merchants and mercenaries still died at their hands each year, the frequency of their appearances decreased, and they only appeared about once a month. Their methods were no longer as ruthless, giving many merchants a chance to survive. The only drawback was that the Cangmang Bandit Group's appearance time was unpredictable, making it difficult for caravans to avoid them.

"Damn it, what if the Cangmang Bandit Group? I'll still cut off his head." A mercenary, his eyes filled with hatred, looked at the Cangmang Bandit Group in the distance without showing any fear.

Apart from him, many other mercenaries looked at the Cangmang Bandit Group with deep hatred and intense resentment. The Cangmang Bandit Group had been rampant in this area for many years, robbing countless caravans and killing many merchants and mercenaries. Therefore, among these mercenaries, many had lost family and friends to the Cangmang Bandit Group. In their hearts, there was only deep hatred, not a hint of fear.

As a mercenary who had been wandering outside for years, living on the edge of danger, many of them were brave and had a strong sense of justice, not everyone feared death.

"Over a decade ago, my father was killed by the Cangmang Bandit Group. Today, I will avenge him." A mercenary in his twenties, his eyes bloodshot, stared at the approaching Cangmang Bandit Group, his voice filled with grief and intense resentment.

A muscular man, his eyes filled with intense killing intent, gritted his teeth and said, "Cangmang Bandit Group, five years ago, you killed my brother. Today, even if I have to risk my life, I will take one down with me to avenge my brother."

The black light continued to flash, and in just a short time, several more archers fell to this mysterious black light. The other mercenaries sought cover to avoid the unpredictable black light while shooting arrows at the rapidly approaching bandits.

As the bandits drew closer, many of the mercenaries' faces showed signs of panic. The name "Cangmang Bandit Group" had a profound impact on them, scaring many of them to the point where they lost the courage to resist. After all, not everyone was fearless, and there were still cowards among them.

Noticing the mercenaries' situation, a middle-aged man's eyes showed a hint of worry. He shouted, "Everyone, don't be afraid. This is just a small force of the Cangmang Bandit Group, and their strength is not necessarily greater than ours. As long as we all work together, we can definitely repel them. Otherwise, we will only face certain death. Brothers, for the sake of survival, let's all fight to the death."

Hearing the middle-aged man's words, the courage of some of the cowards among the mercenaries was bolstered. This statement was highly motivating for some of them. Only through fighting was there a chance to survive. At this moment, the strong desire to live made many of the mercenaries abandon their fear and decide to fight to the death.

The mercenaries tried to avoid the black light coming from a distance while shooting arrows at the bandits in front of them. After nearly a hundred of them fell, the Cangmang Bandit Group finally reached the mercenaries. At this point, the mercenaries' bows and arrows were no longer effective, and they all discarded their bows, summoning their holy weapons to fight the bandits.

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

The shouts of battle shook the air, and the sound of weapons clashing was continuous. Grim cries of pain echoed, and in the darkness behind the bandits, black light continued to shoot out, each time accurately hitting a mercenary. In this short time, dozens of mercenaries had already died from the black light.

"Captain and the others are being held back by the enemy's experts. Karo, Garsen, and Mel, the three of you come with me. We must hold back the three people hiding in the dark and shooting arrows." In the chaotic battlefield, a mercenary in armor shouted. As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped forward, heading towards the direction from which the black light was coming.

Just as the middle-aged man in armor left, three more mercenaries closely followed, leaping over the bandits' heads and heading towards the direction of the black light.

The hundreds of bandits were helpless against the four mercenaries leaping over their heads. Although the Cangmang Bandit Group's reputation intimidated several neighboring kingdoms, this time they only sent a small force, and it was not their elite. The strongest among them were already being held back by the dozen experts who had rushed forward earlier, leaving no one to stop these four powerful mercenaries.

Three more black lights shot from the dark area towards the four mercenaries. Clearly, the three people with dark holy power hiding in the distance had noticed the mercenaries' intentions.

As the three black lights were just shot, three more black lights appeared, making a total of six black lights in two rows, moving silently and quickly towards the four mercenaries.

These four mercenaries were not weak, far surpassing the guards. They each wielded a weapon, swinging it to block the incoming black lights. When the two collided, the black lights shattered and dissipated, and the four mercenaries only slowed down slightly before continuing their charge. They all knew that if they did not eliminate the three people hiding in the dark, it would cause significant losses to their side.

Although the total number of the three mercenary groups was in the hundreds, in the mercenary world of the Tianyuan Continent, they were only considered a lower-tier mercenary group. Most of the mercenaries were still at the Saint and Great Saint stages, and even those at the Saint Master stage were very few. The Great Saint Master experts were only the leaders and deputy leaders of the three mercenary groups. However, these three Great Saint Master leaders and deputy leaders were already being held back by the bandits in the enemy camp, leaving no one to deal with the three archers.

When the four experts disappeared from everyone's sight, the black light indeed stopped. Regardless of whether the four experts could hold back the three archers, they at least bought valuable time for the mercenaries. The black light was silent and difficult to detect, especially at night, and it was very fast, making it impossible for weaker mercenaries to avoid it.

Without the threat of the black light, the mercenaries no longer had to worry about it while fighting the bandits. They all unleashed their full combat power, engaging in fierce battles with the bandits.

At this moment, all the mercenaries cast aside their fear of the Cangmang Bandit Group. For the sake of survival, everyone fought with all their might, hoping to achieve victory.

The shouts of battle were deafening, and the sound of weapons clashing was continuous. The ground was quickly stained red with the blood that splattered everywhere. In just a short time, dozens of people from both sides had fallen.

Now, Jianchen also joined the battle. Although he was only at the Saint stage, his combat power was so strong that it would shock everyone. Jianchen moved with a mysterious step, dodging attacks from all directions. In his hand, a silver-white sword, only two fingers wide and four feet long, moved with lightning speed, striking continuously. His sword strikes were so fast that only a thin silver-white line could be seen, and the naked eye could not see the sword itself.

Jianchen's sword was not only fast and difficult to defend against, but his sword techniques were also very precise. Each strike hit the enemy's throat accurately, achieving a one-hit kill. Among those of equal strength, very few could avoid Jianchen's lightning-fast sword.