Chapter 58

In the midst of an unnamed mountain in the wilderness, smoke was everywhere, and bodies lay scattered on the ground. Nearly twenty bandit leaders were bound with thick ropes, their heads hanging low in dejection as they knelt on the blood-soaked pile of rocks. Tie Mitao and his eleven Iron Guards, their faces twisted with ferocity, held sharp knives and were interrogating them fiercely.

"Is there anyone who can understand me? Speak up. If no one can, I'll kill all of you." Blood still dripped from a large cut on Tie Mitao's hand, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

The bloody battle they had just fought had seen them, a dozen high-ranking hunters, slaughter dozens of people in this bandit stronghold. The intensity of the fight, which had been a matter of life and death, still left the young master trembling with fear when he recalled it. Real combat was far more intense and dangerous than their usual training.

One of the bandit leaders, trembling, straightened his body and shouted in a terrified voice, "I, I can speak your Tianya Clan's language."

Seeing that they could finally communicate, Tie Mitao and the Iron Guards were all overjoyed and turned around.

After getting separated from Zhou Lu in the magma at the heart of the earth, Tie Mitao had used the unique nitric iron whistle of the Tianya Clan's Iron Guards to reassemble his team with great effort. However, the fat man who understood the language of the wilderness was never found again.

Without a translator, the trail they were following had been covered by the magma, and all clues had come to an abrupt end. Just entering the wilderness had brought so many disasters, and the reconnaissance mission had stalled, leaving Tie Mitao both angry and frustrated.

The Tianya List rankings were to be updated in three months.

Tie Mitao was eighteen years old. Two years ago, he had been eligible to participate in the Tianya List competition but had not. As the core successor of the Grand Elder faction, Tie Mitao knew that many eyes in the clan were watching him. His performance in the competition would directly affect his personal prestige and status in the tribe.

Therefore, if he participated in the Tianya List, he had to do it exceptionally well.

This year, he had registered for the Tianya List.

In this year's Tianya List competition, he not only wanted to be the first but also to be the first with an overwhelming advantage. He wanted to achieve a complete victory in martial prowess and to be adorned with the glory of battle, ensuring he would win the Tianya List before the competition even began.

If he completed this reconnaissance mission, the other opponents would be nothing to him.

What about Meng Tian, whose reputation was so dazzling? Wasn't he still a greenhorn, inexperienced in bloodshed and combat?

By then, Tie Mitao's glory would be enough to make everyone else pale in comparison. Then he could enter the Elder Council's military affairs department and truly enter the core of the tribe's power.

Therefore, he had to complete this mission beautifully, no matter what.

Tie Mitao and his Iron Guards gathered in a sheltered mountain hollow to discuss for a long time. With the situation so dire, they finally decided to take the most extreme measures and use their martial prowess to forcibly gather information.

Each of these Iron Guards was a high-ranking hunter with at least the sixth level of the Tu Man Heart Sutra, possessing immense strength. When such a group decided to use brutal means to slaughter and gather information, the nature of the reconnaissance mission had completely changed. After all, which reconnaissance team could have such impressive strength to use such methods to gather military intelligence?

The Iron Guards secretly approached a small bandit stronghold.

However, the bandits in the wilderness were far more ferocious than the Iron Guards had anticipated. Despite their low strength, these bandits fought like madmen, each move aimed at mutual destruction. The Iron Guards, using all their strength to subdue them, still suffered multiple injuries before they could slaughter all the bandits, leaving only about twenty leaders for interrogation.

Torn armor and numerous wounds made the Iron Guards extremely angry. One of them angrily pulled out his bloody ox-bone horn knife from his shoulder, wincing in pain, and applied a crushed herb to the wound. His eyes turned red as he glared at the bound bandit leaders.

If not for their usefulness, the Iron Guards would have killed these leaders long ago.

"What? Blackbeard Mountain?"

Tie Mitao's expression was excited. He grabbed the collar of the bandit who could speak the Tianya language and lifted him off the ground. "Is what you say true?"

"Of course it's true."

The bandit was almost suffocating, his face turning red as he nodded with difficulty.

Tie Mitao and the Iron Guards exchanged looks of surprise and joy, then turned back to the bandit and said fiercely, "Draw the exact location of Blackbeard Mountain for us."

The bandit, with a mournful face, clearly marked a mountain path on the ground.

Seeing the winding lines, the Iron Guards all sighed in relief. Finally, they had concrete information about the bandits who had taken the miners. The method they had used was correct, and their efforts had not been in vain.

One of the Iron Guards asked for more detailed information about Blackbeard Mountain, but the bandit didn't know much. Tie Mitao, looking at the mountain path on the ground, frowned deeply.

Knowing just this much was not enough to complete the mission. They still needed to provide precise information for the clan's anti-bandit forces. They needed to delve deeper into the wilderness, reach Blackbeard Mountain, and gather detailed information about its location, strength, sentry distribution, and camp layout. Only then would his mission be considered fully accomplished.

However, that was extremely difficult.

This small stronghold had already left them with multiple injuries, and Blackbeard Mountain had over two thousand fierce bandits. If they were discovered, they would be like lambs in the mouth of a tiger, a thought that sent shivers down their spines.

On the mountain peak, the Iron Guards all understood what the young master was thinking. Their eyes were filled with ferocity as they stared at him, and no one spoke. The only sound in the mountains was the howling wind.

Tie Mitao slowly turned around.

For the sake of his future, he had to take this risk. Looking at the Iron Guards, Tie Mitao asked in a hoarse voice, "I must go to Blackbeard Mountain. Will you follow me?"

The Iron Guards all laughed.

An older-looking Iron Guard sneered, "Young Master, go ahead with peace of mind. None of us will fall behind."

"Good!" Tie Mitao, full of spirit, shouted. The bandit leaders, seeing that these demons were about to leave, felt a glimmer of hope and secretly rejoiced. With a "pfft," Tie Mitao, looking forward, suddenly stabbed the bandit who had given him the information, piercing his chest.

The Iron Guards all drew their knives in unison, and the bandits were instantly slaughtered.

Ten days later, when the bloodshed was discovered, the wilderness was filled with fear. They thought another stronghold had been slaughtered for defying the Blackbeard Order.

...

Zhou Lu let out a loud belch, pushed away the empty plates and bowls in front of him, wiped his greasy hands on his clothes, leaned back contentedly, and grinned at the stunned leaders of Niutou Mountain.

For so long, this fat man had been pretending to be foolish, but his mind had been working rapidly.

Knowing just the name of Blackbeard Mountain was not enough to complete his mission. The Blackbeard Mountain range was vast. Where exactly were the bandits located? What kind of mine had they discovered, and where was it? Where were the ten or so captured miners being held?

Zhou Lu needed to gather at least this information before he could return and complete his mission. Otherwise, how could the Tianya Clan's battle forces know where to go in the vast Blackbeard Mountain range?

To achieve a performance that would surprise Meng Tian, he couldn't afford to have a weak ending.

---

---

Zhou Lu, with a satisfied sigh, leaned back and grinned at the stunned leaders of Niutou Mountain. For so long, this fat man had been pretending to be foolish, but his mind had been working rapidly.

Knowing just the name of Blackbeard Mountain was not enough to complete his mission. The Blackbeard Mountain range was vast. Where exactly were the bandits located? What kind of mine had they discovered, and where was it? Where were the ten or so captured miners being held?

Zhou Lu needed to gather at least this information before he could return and complete his mission. Otherwise, how could the Tianya Clan's battle forces know where to go in the vast Blackbeard Mountain range?

To achieve a performance that would surprise Meng Tian, he couldn't afford to have a weak ending.