Volcanic Age

"Ugh!"

Gua Dal'e fell backward violently, his majestic stature nowhere to be found.

The great saber in his hands fell to the ground in pieces.

"..."

The burning tension was doused in cold water.

The battlefield, which had been filled with screams and shouts, became eerily silent.

No one could bring themselves to speak.

Everyone, both the punitive force and the forest bandits, just gaped.

Am I dreaming?

After all, who was he?!

Wasn't he an Expert of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven and the Boss of the Great Tiger Stockade, the Mountain Blood Tiger?!

However, he couldn't even fight back against some starry-eyed child! The more unbelievable part was the young brat's blade.

Harmony Realm?

Even the Ten Empyrean Overlords had taken over thirty years to reach the Harmony Realm.

This wasn't something that a child like the one before him should have been able to achieve. No matter how talented he was, it was an impossible feat.

Gua Dal'e still seemed completely flabbergasted, his mouth agape, and he continued to deny the situation before his eyes.

"Yes, this must be witchcraft!"

Gua Dal'e shook his head and glared.

"Plum Blossom Order Sword, you cowardly bastard—ugh!"

Before he could finish speaking, a foot flew in and kicked him in the chest.

"I told you not to waste any time because I'm busy. I have a lot to ask you, so just surrender without resisting."

Gua Dal'e still couldn't come to his senses.

The Great Tiger Stockade Boss fell to the ground pathetically in front of his subordinates. Not even nightmares were this terrifying.

The members of the punitive force and the stockade couldn't fathom the situation, either.

Zhou Xuchuan had vanished, and when he reappeared, Gua Dal'e was on the ground.

His disciple brothers and sisters just stared at him in disbelief, their eyes widening so much it seemed they might burst. Only those who already knew about Zhou Xuchuan's cultivation weren't surprised.

"Since ancient times, a stick has been the best medicine for villains who are not in their right minds."

Bam!

"AGK!!!!"

A scream erupted from Gua Dal'e's mouth.

D-damn it!

It hurt.

It hurt so much that tears filled his eyes.

While it may have seemed like Zhou Xuchuan had swung the stick carelessly, that wasn't the case. He had swung it using his qi.

Even though Gua Dal'e was trying to circulate his qi to lessen the pain, nothing he did worked. Zhou Xuchuan was purposefully only hitting the bandit on his acupoints, disrupting his concentration.

Zhou Xuchuan grabbed Gua Dal'e by the back of the neck and dragged him forward.

"The Great Tiger Stockade Boss was defeated by me, Zhou Xuchuan!"

The forest bandits' expressions darkened.

Some of them were already looking around, searching for an opportunity to escape.

Meanwhile, the punitive force members deflated. Just as they were about to launch a fierce offensive, everything had ended.

No, was Zhou Xuchuan really that strong?

So it wasn't luck that he won against the Flower Scattering Palm!

They say that the Sect Master taught Senior Brother Zhou. Is that how he gained enlightenment and grew so strong? I envy him.

I can't believe an expert of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven was defeated so easily!

While the name, the Plum Blossom Order Sword, was famous, not many people had witnessed his strength. That was why there had been so many people who were skeptical about his prowess.

The members of the Mount Hua Sect were especially skeptical. After all, since Zhou Xuchuan had always acted alone, none of them had ever actually been able to spend time with him, let alone see him display his cultivation.

The Great Tiger Stockade has fallen!

Clang!

The forest bandits lost their will to fight. Weapons fell from their hands one by one, making a loud clattering noise.

"Great Hero! Please spare us!" the underboss pleaded, slamming his head into the ground and kowtowing.

****

The subjugation of the Great Tiger Stockade ended in a ridiculously simple manner.

After all, didn't they say that to defeat an enemy, one had to capture their leader first? The result was already decided the moment the Mountain Blood Tiger was defeated.

While things wouldn't have gone so easily if Zhou Xuchuan had only brought the Gold Will Sword Sect, thanks to the Mount Hua Sect of the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Tang Family of the Five Great Ancient Families joining in, the punitive force was easily able to handle the surrender.

They weren't prestigious sects for nothing.

The prestige of the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Ancient Families was enough to make the forest bandits surrender just from the weight of their titles.

After accepting the Great Tiger Stockade's surrender, the forest bandits were tied up and gathered in one place. Soon after, hordes of wild beasts began to gather.

The punitive force silenced the forest bandits' cries for help and then dealt with the wild beasts who had been lured by the bait.

While the Mount Hua Sect watched the forest bandits, the warriors of the Gold Will Sword Sect and the Tang Family scoured the stockade for any remaining forest bandits.

Any who resisted were killed, and any who surrendered were tied up and brought to the center of the stockade. In addition, they found and released all of the kidnapped commoners.

"Long live!"

"Thank you, thank you!"

"I'm alive! I'm alive!"

Every day, the prisoners had lived, not knowing when they would die.

Men were turned into the prey of wild beasts as women were raped until they died.

While some were animated and cheered, others were shocked and hollow after experiencing hell.

When the sun was high in the sky, the punitive force members confirmed that there weren't any hidden forest bandits left and took the remaining bandits that had surrendered to the prison.

Meanwhile, Zhou Xuchuan took the boss and the underboss of the Great Tiger Stockade aside for questioning.

"I think you know how vicious the Tang Family's poisons are supposed to be. So, you'd better speak truthfully."

"Understood!" the underboss stuttered as if he had been waiting for this moment.

He would do anything to save his life.

"That bastard ordered us to do all of it."

He brought up all sorts of evil deeds without prompt, blaming it all on the boss. He also told Zhou Xuchuan where the stockade had hidden all of its treasure. Zhou Xuchuan had interrogated him and Gua Dal'e separately because he knew the underboss would be too scared to spill any details if he had interrogated them together. It was a successful plan.

"You really are the worst bastards in the world."

Zhou Xuchuan looked at the pile of gold, silver, and treasures. Rather than admiring their spoils, he thought about how many people they had to have harmed to get this much wealth.

Since the Nine Forest Gangs were a mid-level mountain bandit den, each of the stockades had quite stockpiled a bit.

Even with just the gold, silver, and treasures, the stockade was full of it. Zhou Xuchuan dug through the stockade's hidden wealth and took out all of the medicine and food.

After filling the stomachs of those who had been enslaved by the stockade and weren't able to eat properly, he and the others treated their wounds with the medicine.

"Oh dear, I'm just grateful that you saved me. You didn't have to go this far!"

"It's nothing. We've just done what we should as martial artists."

That wasn't all. Zhou Xuchuan opened the Great Tiger Stockade's warehouse and distributed the wealth so that the people could get back on their feet. The prisoners, who, while now free and saved, had concerns and a bleak outlook on how they were going to survive in the future, shed tears of joy.

He also told those who had lost their homes after being attacked to head for the Gold Will Merchants.

"With that much money, the Gold Will Merchants will be able to find places for you to live and things for you to do."

"Sob, thank you! Thank you!"

With a newfound hope for survival, the prisoners' emotions surged as they finally let out their tears.

Good. With this, we can get the support of the people.

The Gold Will Merchants had easily gained money and power thanks to the skills of the Merchant King. However, their reputation among the common people was less than favorable.

That was understandable, as they had started out as war merchants who sold weapons and supplies on the battlefield from the very beginning days of their merchant company.

Moreover, their reputation within the murim left much to be desired.

While supplying weapons to the Righteous Faction earned them goodwill, that goodwill had immediately fallen when they used the Multiple Fire Lance Launcher during the Seven Swords War.

It wasn't that Li Yicai wasn't providing charity, but it had a minimal effect in improving their reputation, and he had been worried about what to do.

Destroying the Great Tiger Stockade, rescuing the people, and leaving the cleanup and rehabilitation to the Gold Will Merchants should do wonders for their reputation.

After finishing the distribution of wealth, Zhou Xuchuan called the warriors of the Gold Will Sword Sect to hand over the surrendered forest bandits to the imperial government.

"Junior Brother. I really am proud of you," Zhang Hong said, lightly patting Zhou Xuchuan's shoulder with a serious expression.

"While I know the sect taught you not to covet wealth, that's not as easy as it sounds. I'm ashamed to say that when I first saw this mountain of wealth, I even thought to myself, 'With this much, wouldn't it be okay to sneak a handful?'"

It was impossible to be a Daoist without desires.

If one were a person, they would have desires.

"However, you said that we should distribute this wealth to the people who were captured without any hesitation. I really am proud of you, Junior Brother."

"It's just as Senior Brother said. There isn't much difference in how you were in the Lotus Pavilion when we were children and how you are now. Neither your cultivation nor your temperament can be matched."

Zhang Xuen smiled in agreement.

It's because this amount is nothing…

Zhou Xuchuan felt a slight prick in his conscience.

"Hoho."

Luo Xiaoyue smiled pleasantly, appearing so happy that one might misunderstand and think she had been the one praised.

"While this warm atmosphere is good and all, shouldn't we discuss what's going to happen next?" Tang Hui asked, squeezing into the conversation between fellow disciples.

"I would like it if you could finally tell us everything you've been keeping secret. It'll be difficult for us to move forward if you continue to leave us in the dark."

Chu Lian nodded in agreement with Tang Hui's point.

"Actually, we were thinking the same, too."

After destroying the Great Tiger Stockade and sending the forest bandits to the imperial government, the news would soon spread beyond the Nine Forest Gangs and into the Central Plains.

There was no reason to hide it anymore.

"As you all may know, the goal of this punitive force is to destroy the Eighteen Stockades of the Red Forest or something similar to that effect."

Gulp.

"However, we all know that's not as easy as it sounds."

It wasn't for nothing that the Mount Hua Sect and the Zhuge Family had grudges from the past.

The amount of manpower they lost dealing with the stockades wasn't small.

While the members of the punitive force were not weak, they weren't strong enough to deal with the entirety of the Eighteen Stockades of the Red Forest.

They wouldn't always be able to take advantage of a gap in the defenses like this or leverage wild beasts to create chaos.

If they attacked a stockade and the enemy's support forces surrounded them, they were done for.

Even if an expert like Zhou Xuchuan could somehow escape, the chances of the rest of the punitive force surviving were low.

"If we go south for half a day, at most a day, from the Great Tiger Stockade, we'll come across the Green Dragon Stockade."

"Ah!"

The people exclaimed, catching on.

"The Green Dragon Stockade Boss, or rather, the Stockade Boss of the Red Forest, is our final target."

The structure of the Eighteen Stockades of the Red Forest, a confederation of bandits, was similar to that of the Martial Alliance or the Evil Valley. Just as the Righteous Faction forces gathered among themselves and the Evil Faction forces did the same, the bandits had gathered together and elected a representative.

The one who led the coalition of the Nine Forest Gangs and the Nine Water Gangs was the Stockade Boss of the Red Forest.

"It's realistically impossible for us to deal with the entire Red Forest with just our strength. So, I plan on taking the Stockade Boss' head and retreating."

"I see!"

Luo Xiaoyue clapped her hands, realizing Zhou Xuchuan's intentions.

"Indeed, I understand. You intend to kill their leader and cause a civil war, making it impossible for them to make any moves for a while."

Tang Hui expression seemed to say that she understood everything.

"Junior Sister Luo and Young Lady Poison Phoenix are both really smart. If it's okay with you, could either of you explain it to me?" Zhang Hong scratched the back of his head, looking confused.

"Are you saying that we should take advantage of the guaranteed struggle for the throne?" Zhuge Shengji asked, seeking clarity.

Zhou Xuchuan nodded instead of answering.

"Hmph! Damn it, can someone please just explain it to me in layman's terms for us idiots?"

Chu Lian thumped her chest in frustration.

"Those bastards have no sense of loyalty. Even if their boss dies, they won't get filled with desire for revenge. Rather, they would be more concerned about who would become the next boss," Zhuge Shengji stepped forward and explained kindly.

"So?"

"If we kill the Stockade Boss and continue fighting, the Red Forest will continue chasing us, and the war will be filled with bloodlust. However, it would be a different story if the entire punitive force retreats immediately."

As long as one became the Stockade Boss of the Red Forest, they would command all of the bandits in the Nine Forest Gangs and the Nine Water Gangs.

That authority wasn't ordinary.

"Indeed."

Zhang Hong slapped his knee, finally understanding.

If the punitive force retreated after killing the Stockade Boss, the Eighteen Stockades of the Red Forest would begin to assess their losses and reorganize. Discord would surely arise during that time. After all, the gains and losses would depend on whether their new Stockade Boss was a forest bandit or a pirate.

Moreover, a civil war of that scale would not end easily, and in the meantime, the persistent plundering of the Gold Will Merchants would stop.

"I was wondering why you were targeting the Great Tiger Stockade. Was it simply because it was close to the Green Dragon Stockade?" Luo Xiaoyue asked.

"Yes."

The only reason the Great Tiger Stockade had suffered such calamity was simply because it had been the closest to the Green Dragon Stockade.