Jian looked at his six enemies, their faces full of confidence. They looked at him as if he were already a corpse.

  And they weren't far off; Jian knew he would probably die there. His only survival option was to abandon everyone and try to escape, as Liao had done.

  Jian sighed and reflected on his life.

  "And you, little guard, aren't you just a mercenary? Why didn't you run off with your friend? Or do you really want to die here?" The one-eyed man asked Jian.

  Jian took a deep breath and said, "I am a Martial Artist of the Bck Lotus Sect. I don't need to flee because of mere worms like you. Come at me all at once! I, Yi Jian, will end your existence in this world."

  "Haha, if you want to die so badly, I'll be happy to grant your wish. You Martial Artists are so annoying. You think you can do anything just because you're a bit special. But you're going to die, and that pretty girl will be ours!" the one-eyed man said, making the other bandits ugh.

  All six of them rushed towards Jian.

  Liu Feiyan looked at Jian as if he were her st hope.

  ***

  Two mountain bandits headed toward the carriages at the rear of the caravan. The terrified guild workers tried to resist.

  They grabbed pieces of wood, stones, and anything else they could find, but they were too weak, and their enemies had real weapons. Soon, they were cut down and crushed to the ground.

  Cries of pain and agony filled the air.

  Some tried to run, but their enemies' bodies were much more suited for physical activities. The workers who attempted to flee were quickly caught. A rough-looking man plunged his sword into the back of a guild worker.

  Another, wielding a club in both hands, knocked another worker to the ground and struck his skull until he heard something break.

  Zhou Lan saw two mountain bandits coming toward him, terror in his eyes, one holding a club and the other a long sword.

  Zhou Lan grabbed a piece of wood, trying to protect the children. That was his first thought, but the bandit with the club struck his legs and then his head, causing him to fall to the ground.

  "No, Grandpa!" Yue ran toward him.

  The bandits looked at Yue and Tristan.

  "Take the girl. The Buyer will pay more for her. Girls this age are his favorites!" That's what the bandit with the club said to his companion.

  "No! Yue, run!" Zhou Lan shouted.

  "And the boy?" The bandit with the long sword asked, pointing to the small figure of Tristan.

  "Forget him; he'll starve to death here alone or be eaten by some animal," the bandit with the club replied after looking at the short, thin child with bandaged arms.

  Yue looked at her grandfather with concern in her eyes. She wanted to help him, but she didn't have the power to do so.

  She looked around, hoping to find a solution to her problem and searching for something or someone who could help her.

  But there was no one, no one except Dusk. Her eyes quickly found his face since he was close to her. She looked at his face, which was as calm and expressionless as ever. Dusk's face turned to her, and he looked into her eyes, frowning slightly in confusion. It was as if he were thinking, "You think I'm going to do something? Why?"

  Yue quickly turned her face away, losing hope.

  The bandit lunged toward her, trying to grab her.

  But without much effort, she dodged him. The bandit tried again and again, but it was useless. He couldn't keep up with her speed; it was like trying to catch a rabbit.

  Zhou Yue tried to fight back. Her light body was as fast as the wind, but her punches and kicks had no effect on someone with more than triple her mass.

  The bandit sighed in exhaustion as he tried to chase Yue.

  "Enough of this!" The other bandit shouted, pointing his club at Lan's head.

  "Stop resisting, girl, or I'll spread your dear grandfather's brains all over the ground!"

  "Yue, don't worry about me; just run... grahh" The bandit kicked Lan's head.

  "Shut up, or you'll regret it!" The bandit continued kicking Lan's head.

  "No! Stop! Please stop! Don't kill Grandpa!" Yue fell to her knees, tears streaming from her blue eyes, and dripping from her face.

  The bandit approached and grabbed her small neck tightly.

  "Damn girl, you're causing us so much trouble." The bandit gritted his teeth in anger and started dragging her away.

  Meanwhile, Tristan watched the situation thoughtfully.

  He looked at Yue, struggling desperately while crying.

  A certain emotion arose in his heart.

  "Ah," his eyes widened slightly in surprise at his newfound understanding.

  "Hey, you, Bandit."

  The mountain bandit turned to Tristan, confused and irritated.

  "What?" He reflexively responded.

  "You can't take her. Let her go," Tristan said in the same tone as always.

  "Huh? What? Why?" The bandit asked, confused, finding it strange that he was even listening to what a child was saying.

  "Because I don't want you to," Tristan replied, shrugging.

  "Haha," the confused bandit ughed at this strange situation.

  A child ordering him to do something in such a confident tone was amusing to him.

  "Kid, you..." He tried to say something but couldn't finish because, at that moment, Tristan advanced toward him at superhuman speed.

  Crossing the distance between them in an instant, Tristan flexed his legs, and as agile as a tiger, he jumped nearly 2 meters (6'7") into the air. He twisted his body, aiming a horizontal kick at the mountain bandit's neck.

  [Dark Bde]

  A dark mist emanated from his body, swirling around his left leg, and then a bck bde formed on his foot.

  His leg sliced through the mountain bandit's neck in just a second, causing crimson blood to gush from the opening in his neck, spttering through the air.