Black River Village launched a surprise attack and won a great victory. With just one encounter, the mountain bandits' will was crushed.

When the outcome was already decided,

there was still a mountain bandit, a fish that slipped through the net, who had not been captured by the villagers. Seizing a moment to escape, he fumbled for an object from his waist, trembling and about to ignite it.

Li Xian shot an arrow immediately, killing him on the spot.

Picking up the object, he found it to be a "Skyrocket", used for signaling.

"Uncle Fu, count the numbers and tally the casualties,"

Li Xian shouted.

After a moment, Uncle Fu replied:

"Master, our village only has one injured, who was hurt during the charge."

"Hahaha, it seems these mountain bandits are not that formidable."

"Master, if you had come earlier, we wouldn't have suffered bullying for so long."

All the villagers showed joy, the anger of decades of oppression was fully vented at this moment, as they kicked, punched, and cursed the bandits.

"Arrogance leads to defeat."

Li Xian calmly said: "It's not that the mountain bandits are weak, but Niu Liang is foolish. This victory indeed has an element of luck, we should not blindly be overconfident."

"You're right, you're right." Uncle Fu dared not argue after being reprimanded.

At this moment, they already regarded Li Xian as a Divine Being.

If he said it was luck, then it was luck.

"Tell everyone not to sleep tonight, and clean up the battlefield."

"I already explained how to do it just now."

"Bury the dead, strip the clothes of the living, loot the silver. Make sure they are tightly bound, and bring all these horses into the village."

Li Xian walked around the battlefield, taking in the chaos, and spoke with deliberate energy so that everyone could hear clearly.

As for Niu Liang…

This person was extremely fierce and might be difficult for ordinary villagers to restrain, requiring Li Xian to handle him personally.

Only to see several knife strikes fall, blood spurting.

Niu Liang groaned, his left leg and right hand were cut off. The pain woke him up only to faint again.

Li Xian's decisive execution not only shocked the mountain bandits but also the villagers of Black River Village.

With blood on his hands, Li Xian remained exceptionally calm. Such was the world; if he lost, the end would be even worse.

Moreover, those who became mountain bandits were all unforgivable villains without exception.

Seeing the number of mountain bandits here, Li Xian suddenly had a flash of insight. The stronghold was always located in treacherous mountains, with a limited number of bandits.

With nearly a hundred bandits here, the stronghold must be unguarded. If he seized the opportunity to infiltrate, he might overturn the situation.

Immediately, he brought a horse, mounted it, and after instructing Uncle Fu on a few matters, rode towards the stronghold.

The mountain horse recognized the way and approached the stronghold ever closer. Li Xian looked into the distance and saw that the bandits in the stronghold were sparse, as expected.

"A stronghold, in reality, is just a bunch of motley crew."

"In terms of manpower, resources, scale, it's far inferior to the Black Water Gang."

The Great Wu Dynasty was in turmoil, with factions, sects, and clans emerging relentlessly.

And the "stronghold" was among the weakest.

No other reason.

The term "stronghold" destined its scale to be small. A few hundred to a thousand people were the limit, and... with no industrial base, they could only rely on pillaging the common people.

The mountain bandits were highly transient, with no loyalty, surrendering or even defecting at the slightest sign of trouble.

This kind of force daring to confront the Black Water Gang was solely because of the terrain of the stronghold.

The stronghold's location choice had to be easy to defend and hard to attack, with natural barriers as a shield. The Black Water Gang controlled the river for profit, far richer than Mountain Wind Stronghold, but never thought of annexing it.

"The core members of a stronghold are often just a few leaders."

"The others' martial arts skills don't amount to much."

"But even so, extreme caution is necessary."

Outside the village entrance.

Li Xian lay hidden in the grass, ear to the ground, listening to the sounds within the stronghold.

The guards in the mountains were few and scattered, full of flaws, but the real obstacle was the mountain terrain.

After observing for half an hour and getting a clear view of some key passages in and out,

Li Xian focused his energy, grabbed a handful of snow, and stuffed it into his mouth. The snow turned into icy water, stimulating the mouth and boosting his spirits.

Due to Niu Liang's rashness, he took away most of the mountain bandits, leaving the stronghold defenses empty. Although there were watchtowers everywhere, half were unmanned.

He sneaked into the mountain, passing by several houses.

Inside snores thundered, one after another.

"In terms of sleeping conditions, these bandits are no different from the servants in the manor."

Going deeper, there were buildings like Brotherhood Hall, Sheep Farming Hall, and Black Prison...

Because it was on the mountain, transporting timber and firewood was extremely troublesome. Therefore, the buildings were low and lacked aesthetic quality.

...

Mountain Wind Stronghold.

The five leaders had their own residences with beautiful maidens to serve them. The Third Leader's residence was on the south side.

"Cough, cough."

"Help me up."

Peng Huli saw the sky darkening and could no longer sit still, he called to the maidservant beside him.

The maidservant dared not disobey and helped him up.

"Bring me paper and a pen!"

Peng Huli said in one breath, coughing a few more times.

Soon, the maid laid out paper and handed over a pen. Peng Huli hesitated for a moment, dipped the brush in ink, and began to write.

He originally thought that with Little Brother already on the move, even though his nature was rash, but given his strength, manpower, and equipment, revenge and victory were a certainty.

Once he had collected those heads, the matter would be settled.

There was no need to let Big Brother know and risk being seen as ineffective.

However, night had fallen, and Little Brother was still not back. Anxiety grew in his heart, and he could no longer ignore it. He immediately wrote down everything on paper.

He placed it in a bamboo tube and sent it off with a homing pigeon.

"Hopefully, Little Brother can come as soon as possible. Otherwise… with the stronghold now undefended, I also..." Peng Huli muttered, watching the pigeon fly away.

At this moment...

Li Xian suddenly appeared, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Peng Huli shivered, "You... really dared to come?" His voice trembled.

He knew the opponent was bold, but not to this extent.

"Is Little Brother... dead?" Peng Huli asked gasping.

"Not dead, but soon." Li Xian inquired, "What did you just release?"

"Cough, cough, it was a pigeon." Peng Huli reached inside his clothes for a hidden dagger, suddenly turning and stabbing. Li Xian seized the blade, twisted it back.

The blade pierced the heart.

Peng Huli fell to the ground, knowing he was beyond saving, blood gushing from his wound, eyes wide open, pointing at Li Xian, "Little... little Brother will surely avenge me!"

With that, he breathed his last.

"Too late."

Li Xian looked in the direction the pigeon disappeared.

"Little Brother?"

"Is it the... exceptional Fifth Leader?"

Li Xian's eyes narrowed slightly.

...

...

The next day, around 7 a.m.

Li Xian was practicing boxing in the courtyard, fists whistling through the air. [Four Directions Fist] had just reached Perfection, exuding the grandeur of a Grandmaster, drawing attention.

With skills steadily improving, it was not far from reaching Peak, and Li Xian gradually achieved "effortless execution," his punches powerful yet restrained.

[Skill Level +1]

Having completed a set of Four Directions Fist, his Body Lake slightly rippled. In high spirits, he was eager to practice more, but a visitor was already outside the door.

Helplessly, Li Xian called out: "Come in."

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