"Um?" Dongbo Xueying looked up and saw a dense cluster of arrows flying towards him. Each arrowhead gleamed with a cold metallic luster, tearing through the air with immense power.
"Truly overestimating yourselves." Dongbo Xueying swiftly drew the two spear segments from the weapon case on his back.
Whoosh!
The two spear segments, each over a meter long, were casually swung by Dongbo Xueying. Due to the rapid speed of the Snowtread steed, only about a dozen arrows actually reached Ji Ning. The spear segments easily deflected each arrow, not a single one touching either Dongbo Xueying or the horse.
Following this, Dongbo Xueying instantly leaped off the Snowtread steed and charged up the mountain, merging the two spear segments into one.
"Such a tough nut, retreat!" The leader above was stunned by how easily Dongbo Xueying deflected the arrows, realizing he was not to be trifled with.
Whoosh!
"Leader."
"Trouble—"
"Big trouble!"
The leader and the other bandits were all terrified.
They watched in horror as the black-clad youth, who had leaped off the horse, transformed into a black shadow and soared upwards. Even though he was dashing up the steep mountain wall, his speed was so fast that it made their hearts tremble and their legs turn weak, filling them with fear! It was too fast, incredibly fast! They were on the mountain, nearly two hundred meters above, and the steep, difficult path should have given them enough time to retreat.
However, the speed at which the black-clad youth ascended was terrifying. The rocks and trees were no obstacle, nor was the steep mountain wall. He ran through the forest faster than the Snowtread steed had galloped on the road, so fast that the bandits couldn't even see his exact form, only a blurry black shadow.
"How could this be, how could we encounter a Titleholder?" The leader felt his head nearly explode, his clothes drenched in sweat, his legs trembling. "To be so fast on the mountain, he must be a Titleholder! A Silvermoon Knight isn't this fast; I can at least see their form and fight them."
"Qinghe County only has so many Titleholders, where did he come from? Where did he come from?"
"How could this be?"
"No, no..."
The leader refused to accept this, a mix of despair and fear overwhelming him. He had no intention of fighting back, the gap was too vast.
A Meteor Knight might be able to fight a Silvermoon Knight...
But a Silvermoon Knight would generally be killed in one move by a Titleholder! Even a High Mage of the Silvermoon level would be unable to cast spells against a Titleholder.
This showed—
How powerful a Titleholder truly is! They represent the pinnacle of human strength, a one-man army! A Meteor Knight is powerless against a Titleholder!
"Spare me, spare me, sir, spare me." The burly and fierce leader suddenly knelt down, begging for mercy.
Peng!
A spear shadow suddenly swept across, and the leader, filled with terror, had no time to react. The spear shadow struck his chest, causing it to cave in, his internal organs shattered. He flew back like a broken sandbag, crashing into a distant tree, which snapped, and he fell to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth, eyes wide open, dead.
"Run!"
"Run fast!" The other leaders and bandits went mad, scattering in all directions. It was like a scene where beings of different levels met; though the bandits were numerous, they were all filled with soul-deep fear, with only one thought—run!
Swish, swish, swish!!!
Too fast.
Dongbo Xueying's speed was incredible, especially in the eyes of those bound and captured. He appeared as seven or eight illusions, as if seven or eight 'Dongbo Xueying' were simultaneously wielding their spears. The bandits, moving too slowly to react, were pierced by the spear, even if they tried to block, it was useless. Puff, puff, puff... including the two other Meteor Knights and a High Mage who managed to cast a spell, all were pierced through the body by the spear.
As for the spell? The sharp, blade-like spell was easily dispersed by the high-pressure air currents created by Dongbo Xueying's spear, unable to even touch the spear shaft.
He killed over thirty bandits in succession.
The other bandits scattered in all directions, some rushing down the mountain, others up, in every direction. Dongbo Xueying didn't chase them further; after all, a powerful bandit gang without its core members was no longer a threat.
"Hmm?" Dongbo Xueying scanned the bodies of the most powerful bandit leaders. His external senses were now more acute, and he noticed that the leader's arm ring was a storage treasure.
A flick of the spear tip.
Clang.
The arm ring was immediately dislodged from the leader's arm and then flicked to Dongbo Xueying's hand.
"Sir, save us."
"Sir, please save us." The bound and well-dressed elderly, middle-aged, and young people looked at him hopefully, fearing that the bandits would capture them again once he left.
"Puff, puff, puff..." Dongbo Xueying walked over, casually swinging his spear, the sharp edge of the spear tip slicing through the ropes, freeing the dozen people instantly.
"Thank you, sir, for saving our lives." A white-bearded old man bowed respectfully and quietly ordered the others, "Gather all the valuables and present them to the sir."
"Yes."
These merchants, all shrewd, immediately collected the valuable items from the bandits' loot and the bodies of the bandits. Soon, a pile of items, including a large number of Starbreaker crossbows and gold coins, was formed.
"Sir, these are the bandits' leftovers. We offer these goods and items to you, thank you for saving our lives." The white-bearded old man said respectfully.
Dongbo Xueying scanned the pile.
The thick stack of gold notes was indeed quite valuable, mainly because the other two Meteor Knights of the Cold River Eight Eagles didn't have storage treasures and carried money and valuables with them.
"Fine." Dongbo Xueying readily accepted the stack of gold notes, worth about 80,000 to 90,000 gold coins, "As for the other things, you can keep them. Take the Starbreaker crossbows too, they might help you defend yourselves. What about your caravan? Your horses?"
"The others are dead, the horses were left behind. The Cold River Eight Eagles didn't care about the horses," the white-bearded old man said.
"Understood."
Dongbo Xueying nodded, "Move quickly, I'll take you out of the Cold River Canyon. Once we're out, I won't be responsible for you."
"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir." The white-bearded old man knelt and bowed, and the others followed, grateful. The Cold River Canyon was infested with bandits, and without Dongbo Xueying, they, being old and young, would find it hard to survive.
"Move faster, or I won't wait for you." Dongbo Xueying leaped down from a height of nearly two hundred meters, landing on the ground with a thud, his knees not bending at all.
"Not bad." Dongbo Xueying refined the storage treasure, which was slightly smaller than his mother's, "The gold notes from these bandit leaders add up to over 150,000 gold coins! My Snowstone Castle is in need of money, and now I have this windfall."
Over the years, selling Shadow Leopard furs and other materials had earned him nearly 100,000 gold coins. However, when his brother broke through to become a formal mage, he had given him a better storage treasure and a mage staff! The mage staff wasn't expensive, costing only about 5,000 gold coins, as his brother's strength was still weak, and a more powerful mage staff would be of little use. The storage treasure, however, had a large space, costing 50,000 gold coins, which was even larger than his mother's.
When he reached Titleholder strength, he had replaced his inner armor with a second-tier alchemical armor, which could protect his vital points in a fight with a Titleholder.
He also replaced his boots and clothes with alchemical items, though these were relatively cheap, with the inner armor costing 30,000 gold coins.
So, Dongbo Xueying was a bit tight on funds.
A Titleholder of his caliber...
Being happy over a few hundred thousand gold coins would likely be laughed at by other Titleholders. After all, what status does a Titleholder hold?
...
After leading the dozen or so people who had narrowly escaped to the exit of the Cold River Canyon, Dongbo Xueying left them and sped off on the Snowtread steed.
He galloped all the way, spending the night in 'Huanglong City'.
The next morning, he continued his journey and finally arrived at Qinghe County City by evening.
"Two full days, finally here, this is Qinghe County City?" Dongbo Xueying looked into the distance, where a towering city stretched as far as the eye could see. The city walls, made of grayish-white rock, bore countless grooves that testified to a long history. The walls were a hundred meters high! A hundred-meter-high wall... it was like a mountain.
On this towering city wall, a black sphere was placed every mile, each adorned with golden patterns. The entire massive and imposing city emitted an intangible force, which ordinary people couldn't sense, but Dongbo Xueying, with his acute perception of aura, could detect it.
Qinghe County City had a permanent population of over ten million! Its history was even longer than that of the Dragon Mountain Empire.
Actually, the history of provincial and county cities was generally very long. Dynasties changed, but these ancient cities were continuously reinforced, and their magical arrays became increasingly powerful. The provincial cities were even more impressive, with a permanent population of over a hundred million. The cities were so grand and magnificent that they were like independent nations, and it was said that even the power of deities could not shake the various defenses of the provincial cities.
"Truly broadening my horizons. I can feel that if the magical array of the entire Qinghe County City were to activate, the power of those spheres would likely kill me instantly. This is truly extraordinary power." Dongbo Xueying marveled, though he didn't know how astonishing the cost of activating such an array would be.
"Let's enter the city."
Riding the Snowtread steed, Dongbo Xueying entered the magnificent Qinghe County City.