Chapter 78: Pyrrhic Victory

Mu Yun gave a cold laugh and said, "You have some knowledge, not bad, it is indeed a combat technique!"

The middle-aged man took a deep breath, and a hint of greed appeared in his gaze as he looked at Mu Yun. Combat techniques were extremely precious in the Tianyuan Continent. Unless one was born into a large family with decades or even centuries of heritage, or was a renowned powerhouse, it was very difficult for an ordinary martial artist to possess a combat technique. Although some people obtained them by chance, such occurrences were extremely rare on the Tianyuan Continent. Without deep fortune and extraordinary luck, one shouldn't even think about it.

Although the middle-aged man already possessed the strength of a mid-level Holy Master and was considered a formidable expert in the bandit group, he still hadn't mastered even one combat technique. He had long coveted combat techniques, but with his strength and status, he had no qualifications to obtain the secrets of combat techniques.

The middle-aged man slightly moved his right hand, which was hanging down, feeling the burning pain from his palm. He didn't feel the slightest bit of anger; instead, he became excited. With his experience, he could immediately recognize that the combat technique Mu Yun used was a powerful high-level combat technique. Although the combat technique was fire-based and might not be suitable for him, who practiced wind-based Holy Power, this did not hinder his urgent desire to obtain the combat technique. Combat techniques were too precious on the Tianyuan Continent, and the higher the level, the more expensive they were.

"Haha, it seems even the heavens are favoring me today. Boy, everything you have is mine," the middle-aged man laughed, his tone filled with indescribable excitement, as if in his heart, the speed secret technique that Jian Chen used and the combat technique in Mu Yun's hand were already his.

"Arrogant! You overestimate yourself," Mu Yun sneered, taking the initiative to attack. The fiery red giant sword in his hand, enveloped in raging flames, pierced through the dark night sky, aiming for the middle-aged man's chest. As the giant sword approached, a faint, barely perceptible pressure also emanated from the fiery red giant sword, spreading to the surrounding area. However, this pressure was extremely faint, almost imperceptible.

However, for Jian Chen, who was originally very powerful, this faint pressure was still clearly detected. When he felt the source of this faint pressure, the surprise in his eyes intensified.

Seeing the fiery red giant sword approaching with great force, the middle-aged man's face showed a cold smile. "Boy, although you possess a combat technique, your strength is still too weak." As he spoke, just as the fiery red giant sword was about to touch the middle-aged man's chest, his figure suddenly disappeared like a ghost, leaving Mu Yun's giant sword to strike empty air.

Seeing the middle-aged man disappear before his eyes, Mu Yun's expression darkened. At that moment, a sharp, piercing sound came from behind him. Without hesitation, Mu Yun immediately transformed his giant sword into three fire snakes, which he swung backward. In mid-air, the three fire snakes strangely merged into one, forming a larger fire snake.

"Clang!"

With a metallic clash, a large burst of firelight erupted at the point of their clash, enveloping both of them. Immediately, a circle of fiery red ripples spread out from the center of the clash, covering an area of more than ten meters. When this fiery red ripple swept over Jian Chen's body, the high temperature still contained within it scorched his coarse cloth clothes, turning them slightly black. If his clothes weren't already soaked with blood, they would have caught fire.

In the midst of the large burst of firelight, Mu Yun and the middle-aged man both retreated with disordered steps. They both looked disheveled. Mu Yun's originally neatly tied hair was now in a mess, and his face had turned pale. The fiery red giant sword in his right hand had also lost its luster.

The middle-aged man was enveloped in powerful wind-based Holy Power. His originally neat clothes had several black spots from the fire, and the sleeves of his hands were only half left.

Due to the use of combat techniques, the clash between Mu Yun and the middle-aged man was much more intense than that of Jian Chen. The large burst of firelight immediately attracted the attention of many mercenaries. Those still fighting, both mercenaries and bandits, all cast their glances toward the direction of the clash. When they saw the large burst of firelight, some of the more experienced mercenaries couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"That's actually real flames. One must reach the level of Earth Holy Master to produce real flames. Could it be, that's a combat technique!"

"Combat technique! It's actually a combat technique!"

"Someone actually knows a combat technique!"

Whether mercenaries or bandits, anyone who recognized that Mu Yun was using a combat technique couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, their gazes filled with shock and disbelief. After all, combat techniques were extremely rare and expensive on the Tianyuan Continent. Some low-level ordinary mercenaries might never see a combat technique in their entire lives.

After the initial shock, the eyes of most mercenaries and bandits were filled with greed. On the Tianyuan Continent, combat techniques were the most coveted and desired things by any martial artist, far more so than cultivation techniques. With a combat technique, one could unleash attacks several times or even ten times stronger than their own strength. In a world where strength was paramount and conflicts and battles were everywhere, possessing a combat technique meant an additional layer of protection for one's life.

Seeing the greed in the eyes of the mercenaries and bandits, Jian Chen's brows furrowed. He understood the principle that a person without fault is envied for their virtue. Mu Yun possessing a combat technique was something he had not anticipated. Now that Mu Yun's possession of a combat technique was exposed to so many mercenaries, it would undoubtedly bring him endless trouble, and even the risk of losing his life, as his current strength was still too weak.

Now, Jian Chen was also worried about Mu Yun's future safety. Although he and Mu Yun had only known each other for a short time, he understood that Mu Yun had gotten involved in the conflict with the middle-aged man to save him, thus exposing his possession of a combat technique.

Looking at Mu Yun with a burning gaze, the middle-aged man said in a deep voice, "What a powerful combat technique, to be able to block my full-strength attack with the strength of a Great Holy Master!" Here, the middle-aged man paused slightly, then a cold smile appeared on his lips. "Although you can temporarily unleash attacks as strong as a Holy Master with the combat technique, this is not your true strength. I want to see how long you can last." As he finished speaking, the middle-aged man raised his large guandao, and just as he was about to attack Mu Yun again, several powerful auras suddenly came from a distance.

Feeling these sudden powerful auras, the middle-aged man's face showed a hint of joy. In his view, this meant that their side's experts had already defeated the mercenaries' experts and were now coming to support them.

At the dark end of the distance, several black figures were running towards them at an extremely fast speed. In a short breath, the figures became visible to everyone. When the mercenaries saw the faces of these figures, they all cheered loudly.

"It's the leader, the leader has returned!"

"Leader Lang Tian, Leader Lang Tian has returned victorious!"

"It's Leader Xiahou, they have killed the experts of the Cangmang Bandit Group!"

The five returning people all had various wounds on their bodies. In the flickering firelight, their clothes were covered in blood, and they were carrying several corpses on their shoulders.

Hearing the mercenaries' thunderous cheers, the middle-aged man and the bandits still fighting with the mercenaries immediately turned pale. Then, the middle-aged man suddenly turned his head, staring at the returning Leader Xiahou and the others with wide eyes, his gaze filled with disbelief.

"You, you, how could you possibly return alive?" The middle-aged man swallowed hard, unable to believe it. At that moment, he realized that the experts on their side had likely met a tragic end. Otherwise, the returning people would not be the mercenaries but their own experts.

The middle-aged man's words made the five returning mercenaries focus their gazes on him. Then, the five of them slowly put down the corpses on their shoulders, their gazes filled with intense killing intent.

Feeling the intense killing intent from the five, the middle-aged man was startled. Without any hesitation, he immediately shouted, "The situation is not good, everyone, retreat!" Before he finished speaking, he put away his large guandao, and with a flash of pale green light, he quickly retreated, despite the heavy injuries of the five returning experts. Even a dying camel is bigger than a horse, and they had five of them, so the middle-aged man had no confidence in defeating them.

As soon as the middle-aged man moved, two of the five returning experts immediately chased after him.

Hearing the middle-aged man's words, the bandits who were still struggling for their lives immediately abandoned their opponents and fled in all directions.

"Kill! Not a single one left!"

Following the order, the remaining mercenaries immediately sprinted, fiercely pursuing the remaining members of the Cangmang Bandit Group. The mercenaries hated the Cangmang Bandit Group to the core and would not let them go easily.

With their experts defeated and their only leader, the middle-aged man, fleeing, the members of the Cangmang Bandit Group lost all will to fight, only thinking of escaping. The mercenaries, on the other hand, were greatly boosted in morale by the victory of their leaders and experts, and even those who were almost exhausted suddenly regained strength, fiercely pursuing the fleeing bandits.

Shouts of killing echoed in the darkness but quickly subsided. Under the leadership of three experts, more than half of the remaining bandits were killed by the mercenaries, with only a few of the faster ones managing to escape.

"We won! We won!"

"The Cangmang Bandit Group has been defeated by us!"

"We have defeated the Cangmang Bandit Group!"

When the fighting stopped, the remaining mercenaries all began to cheer loudly. The Cangmang Bandit Group was an absolute nightmare for the mercenaries, a symbol of death, and seemingly invincible. Defeating the Cangmang Bandit Group was a matter of great pride for them.