Clang, clang, clang!
The surrounding horse bandits quickly surrounded Bai Ye, brandishing their weapons and hacking at him.
However, all their weapons were blocked by seven-colored sword light, creating a continuous sound of clashing metal.
Bai Ye suddenly drew his twin pulse guns and pulled the triggers, firing in all directions.
Bang, bang, bang...
As the gunshots rang out, streaks of azure energy beams continuously shot outwards, easily piercing through the bodies of the horse bandits.
Crimson blood splashed everywhere, and the smell of blood in the air instantly became much more potent.
"Make way, let me handle this!"
A powerfully built horse bandit roared, gripping a Xuan Hua great axe. He shoved aside the surrounding bandits and charged towards Bai Ye on horseback.
As Bai Ye watched the approaching figure, the bandit raised the Xuan Hua great axe and swung it down at him.
Then...
Bai Ye struck out swiftly, grabbed the shaft of the great axe, and with a forceful heave, flipped the bandit and his horse onto the ground.
With a bang, the warhorse fell, letting out a loud cry as clouds of dust billowed outwards.
Bai Ye approached the bandit, looking down at him from above, then aimed the muzzle of his gun at the bandit's head and pulled the trigger.
With a bang!
The bandit's head was struck by the energy beam, instantly exploding. Blood mixed with brains splattered all over the ground.
Bai Ye murmured, "Just ordinary horse bandits?"
Horse bandits were not particularly strong, and most Chosen could handle them. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many Chosen lingering at the Great Wall, joining the Great Wall Guard, and accepting hunting missions from the quartermaster every day.
However, as this was a hidden mission, Bai Ye felt there might be some difference, but for now, there seemed to be nothing special about it.
On the other side...
"Brothers, kill!"
The surrounding Chang'an soldiers seemed to see a glimmer of hope. Although Bai Ye was alone, his ferocity left a deep impression. In the blink of an eye, he had dispatched over a dozen horse bandits, giving these Chang'an soldiers a sliver of hope that they might survive if they fought back.
The sounds of killing erupted from all around. Broken military banners were picked up from the ground and waved with vigor.
Bai Ye looked at the horse bandits and soldiers fighting around him and raised his twin pulse guns.
"No matter what..." Bai Ye aimed forward, pulled the trigger, and said, "I need to complete the mission first."
Bang, bang, bang...
The twin pulse guns continuously charged energy, then unleashed waves of blue beams that flew out, blowing up the heads of the horse bandits.
About fifteen minutes later, figures reappeared on the ancient road.
Bai Ye glanced back. Dozens of Chosen were rushing towards them, likely the first batch of Chosen who had completed their missions with the quartermaster.
This made the Chang'an soldiers even more excited.
"It's reinforcements from the Great Wall!"
"Reinforcements are here, it's fine, it's fine now."
"Brothers, charge with me, don't let any of these horse bandits escape."
...
Soon, with the addition of the Chosen, the horse bandits began to retreat.
Although there were quite a few horse bandits, around five to six hundred, they were no match for the Chosen. The gap in strength was too significant to be compensated by numbers.
However, Bai Ye frowned.
Up to this point, the story seemed to be unfolding in a correct direction.
Horse bandits attack, loot provisions, the quartermaster assigns a mission, Chosen kill the bandits and retrieve the provisions, receiving their rewards – a seemingly happy ending.
But from Bai Ye's perspective, it was different.
It was supposed to be a hidden mission, yet it only involved killing ordinary horse bandits. Moreover, it overlapped with the missions of other Chosen, effectively giving Bai Ye a large group of helpers...
Since when were hidden missions so gentle?
No matter how Bai Ye thought about it, something felt off.
"Activate it, quickly, get it activated!"
"Didn't you hear my order?"
"Hurry, or we'll all die here."
At this moment, a horse bandit leader suddenly started shouting, whipping his horse and directing the surrounding bandits.
The horse bandits responded with shouts and quickly galloped towards the rear.
In the center of the horse bandits, a massive flatbed cart was being transported, covered with a black cloth and securely fastened with ropes on both sides.
As the horse bandits quickly reached the cart, they cut the ropes with their knives and tore off the black cloth.
Lying on the cart was a giant wooden puppet, about three and a half meters tall. As one bandit reached the puppet's head, he took out a glowing, square stone and inserted it into a slot in the center of the puppet's head.
The next instant, red light suddenly emanated from the wooden puppet's eyes, and then its massive body abruptly sat up.
Bang!
The wooden puppet, now upright, appeared incredibly ferocious. It took a step forward, bent down, and swung its arm, instantly sweeping two Chosen away.
When the two landed, their bodies twisted unnaturally. A majority of their bones were clearly broken, and they were dead.
Everyone around was shocked and immediately pulled back to create distance.
Bang, bang, bang...
The wooden puppet did not stop, continuing to advance forward.
The horse bandit leader instantly became excited, shouting, "Kill, kill them all."
But at this very moment...
A figure suddenly flashed past the horse bandit leader, arriving in front of the wooden puppet and raising his fist high.
"Phoenix Flame!"
Bai Ye threw a punch forward, and a large area of flames erupted and blazed around his arm, transforming into a pillar of fire that shot forward, directly striking the wooden puppet.
The moment the flames engulfed the wooden puppet, Bai Ye clenched his fist in the air.
"Flame Burst!"
Boom!
A deafening explosion suddenly occurred.
A massive fireball detonated, pushing out layers of airwaves in all directions, like ripples upon ripples.
The wooden puppet stumbled from the blast but quickly regained its balance, raising its fist and smashing towards Bai Ye.
"Teleportation!"
Bai Ye's figure suddenly vanished, reappearing directly on the ground.
Looking at the wooden puppet, Bai Ye also felt a surge of excitement.
He had suspected that a hidden mission wouldn't be so easily completed.
It had to be at least this challenging to be interesting!
Meanwhile...
The wooden puppet quickly located Bai Ye's position, raised its arm, clenched its fist, and once again slammed down a powerful punch.
Boom!
The massive fist struck the ground, shattering it. A network of spiderweb cracks spread outwards, and large chunks of rock were lifted by the tremor, sending those nearby flying!