Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han watched as the bandits, brandishing their sabers, surrounded them. They calmly descended the stairs.
Since dawn had broken, Doctor Ye and the others should have already made their way down the mountain. All the valuables, edible, and usable items within the mountain stronghold had been thoroughly plundered by Leng Ruo Li and her companions. Therefore, it was time for Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han to emerge and deal with this group of bandits.
"Who are you people? How dare you trespass into our Black Cliff Stronghold," Gou Dan roared.
"We are here to take care of you," Leng Ruo Li replied dismissively, stepping out from behind Jun Mo Han.
The bandits were stunned into silence upon seeing Leng Ruo Li's breathtaking beauty.
Was this woman a celestial maiden descended to earth?
How could anyone be so beautiful?
The bandits scrutinized Leng Ruo Li from head to toe. She possessed a delicate oval face, her hair styled in a sloping bun adorned with a white jade hairpin intricately carved with butterflies. Her eyes, as beautiful as glaze, were almond-shaped, complemented by a delicately upturned nose and a pair of alluring lips. She wore an ice-blue off-the-shoulder, wide-sleeved, cinched-waist, knee-length dress, with small roses embroidered at the collar. Her feet were clad in white boots reaching over her knees, embroidered with plum blossoms and auspicious clouds. Her entire demeanor was neat and sharp, exuding a cool, detached aura.
The bandits stared fixedly at Leng Ruo Li, from her head to her toes, completely forgetting what they were about to do.
Seeing the scum's eyes fixed on his consort, Jun Mo Han felt a surge of fury rise to his head. With lightning speed, he drew the soft sword at his waist, infused it with internal energy, leaped into the air, and swung his sword towards Gou Dan and the bandit subordinates. A blinding cold gleam erupted, followed by a chorus of screams from the bandits, who collapsed to the ground, spitting blood, and died.
The chief bandit, alerted by the commotion, saw his subordinates lying lifeless on the ground. Enraged, he pointed at Jun Mo Han and roared, "You wretched brat! How dare you slaughter all my subordinates! I will take your dog lives to accompany my little brothers in death."
Leng Ruo Li let out a cold laugh. "And who are you? With all that blubber, you think you can take our lives? I'd like to see whose dog life is taken first."
"Oh, you little lass, you're quite a looker. Once I kill these three men, I'll keep you and make you my stronghold bride. How about that? Haha…"
The chief bandit's attention was drawn to Leng Ruo Li. His small eyes widened as he stared at her, not forgetting to tease her.
This woman was truly beautiful; he resolved to keep her as his stronghold bride.
He immediately picked up the three-part axe handed to him by a subordinate and swung it towards Jun Mo Han. Jun Mo Han swiftly dodged, then leaped into the air again, soft sword in hand, and slashed at the chief bandit. The chief bandit quickly blocked with his three-part axe. Unexpectedly, upon contact with Jun Mo Han's sword, the axe head cracked, and then the axe broke into pieces on the spot.
Several subordinates standing behind the chief bandit were also killed by the edge of Jun Mo Han's sword.
Enraged, the chief bandit threw the handle of the three-part axe to the ground. He then gathered all his internal energy, clenched his fists, and slammed them heavily onto the ground, intending to collapse the main building.
Instantly, a long crack appeared on the ground in front of the main building. Subsequently, several main beams and pillars within the main building collapsed.
However, Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han reacted with extreme speed, quickly distancing themselves from the main building. Just as they safely moved away, the main building rapidly crumbled. Unfortunately for the second-in-command, who had just regained consciousness, he had fumbled his way to the door, attempting to escape, only to be crushed and killed by the falling roof of the main building.
Witnessing his own brother being crushed to death, the chief bandit grieved for a few seconds before turning and fleeing towards the stronghold's exit.
In truth, his martial arts were not good. He had fled from Nanzhao with over a hundred men to this mountain to establish Black Cliff Stronghold, relying entirely on his ruthless methods and brute force to wield the three-part axe to suppress his subordinates.
Now, his three-part axe had become scrap metal, and his martial arts were poor. He was no match for these three powerful martial artists. If he didn't run now, when would he?
But it was too late to flee. He had barely run a short distance when a dagger thrown by Leng Ruo Li pierced his heart from behind, killing him.
Black Wolf and Black Bear, hidden in the shadows, had witnessed everything that transpired in the stronghold.
"Brother, now that they haven't discovered us, let's escape the stronghold quickly, or we'll all meet a miserable end," Black Wolf whispered to Black Bear.
Hearing this, Black Bear nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's run now."
Immediately, the two quietly avoided the main courtyard near the main building and escaped through the small gate where Liang Yan had been killed.
The two believed that Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han had not seen them, but Jun Mo Han, having tracked Black Bear's scent the previous night all the way to Black Cliff Stronghold, was already familiar with his aura.
When Black Bear appeared near Jun Mo Han and his companions, Jun Mo Han, recognizing the scent, knew where Black Bear was hiding.
Jun Mo Han hadn't rushed to kill them because he intended to deal with the bandit leader first before taking care of the two of them.
But now that the stronghold's bandit leader was dead, it was time to deal with these two cunning little bandits.
"Li'er, press that… that timed explosive pack of yours and blow this bandit den to smithereens," Jun Mo Han said sternly, his cold eyes sweeping over the stronghold before him.
Jun Mo Han did not want any escaped remnants to have the opportunity to rebuild this stronghold again.
Hearing this, Leng Ruo Li nodded.
At the same time, Jun Mo Han immediately transformed his soft sword into a Flood Dragon. Leng Ruo Li and Jun Han, along with two others, quickly mounted it. Subsequently, Jun Mo Han's Flood Dragon soared into the air. Leng Ruo Li gently pressed the button on the timer, and with a series of "Boom! Boom! Boom!" sounds, the entire stronghold was reduced to ruins by Leng Ruo Li.
At that moment, Black Wolf and Black Bear, fleeing on the mountainside, were stunned by the explosion from the stronghold. A massive shadow fell over them. They came back to their senses, looked up, and saw a Flood Dragon soaring in the sky. Only then did they realize they needed to escape for their lives, but they were no match for the Flood Dragon's speed.
They hadn't run far before Jun Mo Han shot and killed them both, one with each shot.
At this point, Leng Ruo Li teased Jun Mo Han.
"My, my, a Cold King is indeed a Cold King. I only taught you how to use a handgun once, and you immediately learned it and shot so accurately. Truly worthy of being the God of War of Tianwu."