Shen Ling shut his eyes tightly. He could still remember how these people were so committed as they practiced their saber skills two days ago. Although they were very tired, they still persevered in their practice.
But in less than a day...
These few people, who were once full of vigor and vitality, became cold corpses lying in the open space in the village center.
Only if he hadn't returned the previous day...
This was all Shen Ling could think of.
But even at that, he knew deep within himself that the people who killed the sharecroppers were the Bandits of the Green Mountain.
He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in anger. He was determined to avenge the deaths of these four sharecroppers.
"He's here!"
Someone yelled on top of his voice, which attracted everyone's attention.
They saw a bandit riding a horse while pointing his saber at them. At the same time, there were several dozens of bandits behind him, all with fierce expressions on their faces.
"They were the ones who killed our brother just now! They are also responsible for the deaths of our other brothers," the bandit yelled angrily.
Immediately after he was done speaking, the face of the man on the horse turned cold.
He stopped in front of them, stared at the old village chief and the surrounding sharecroppers and asked angrily, "Were you the ones who killed my men?"
He didn't wait for them to answer before ordering his men, "Kill them all!"
He waved his hand in the air as he signaled to the other bandits.
When Shen Ling saw this, he couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.
He had it in mind to avenge the people these bandits killed. But he didn't expect that they would come knocking on his door and deliver themselves on a platter!
How interesting this was!
He looked at the group of bandits as they charged towards him. He kept his cool and walked towards them calmly.
Slowly, he drew out his longsword, looked at the bandits, and revealed a sneer. Merely looking at Shen Ling, one would know that he was ready to kill! This made people feel a chill run down their spines.
"Watch closely," he said in a low voice.
The young sharecroppers around heard his voice.
He was about to demonstrate to them the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique and, at the same time, avenge the death of the young sharecroppers who had been ruthlessly killed.
"Mountain-splitting stance."
As the bandits came forward, Shen Ling swept his longsword swiftly.
Under normal circumstances, the longsword was supposed to be held with both hands, but he had used just his right hand and was able to slash the throats of the bandits accurately.
"Mountain-shaking stance."
One of the bandits charged towards him and just as he tried to attack, Shen Ling raised his sword to block him.
As soon as both their weapons collided, sparks flew around and it was obvious that the bandit felt a strong attack. His hands began trembling visibly.
Subconsciously, the bandit wanted to retreat, but all to no avail.
The saber flashed in that instant.
The bandit held the wound on his abdomen and fell to the ground with a loud thud.
The mountain-splitting stance and mountain-shaking stance.
Shen Ling kept using these two moves and, one by one, the bandits rushing towards him fell down like wheat being reaped.
On the other side, the man on the horse watched as his men all died. He couldn't help but frown in anger.
He jumped off his horse and walked briskly towards Shen Ling and yelled, "You bunch of trash! Get out of my sight!"
Hearing this, the other bandits retreated.
Shen Ling looked at the man without any iota of expression. He only wiped off the blood on his sword with his hand.
The man held a large sword in his hand and said coldly, "Well, I am the third in charge of the Green Mountain stronghold. My name is Gu Dashan. What's yours?"
Shen Ling didn't say a word in reply.
Gu Dashan looked at him with a smirk and spoke again, "Do you think just killing some trash makes you a hero? I know you've cultivated martial arts, but you aren't the only one in the world!"
As soon as he was done speaking, he walked forward.
As his feet met the ground, it produced a muffled sound. With the large sword in his hand, he charged towards Shen Ling.
Although he had great strength, his speed was on average.
Shen Ling reckoned that he should not use the mountain-shaking stance, as it might not turn out effective this time.
Shen Ling, who was the target, calmly analyzed Gu Dashan's move without blinking and made a quick move horizontally.
"Mountain-cleaving stance."
Shen Ling quickly moved to his opponent's side and slashed his sword downwards with all his strength.
Gu Dashan, on the other hand, flipped and raised his sword from below.
Clang!
The two swords collided.
Immediately, Shen Ling felt a strong force coming towards him and a strange look flashed in his eyes.
Gu Dashan raised his sword gently with his backhand, but his strength actually remained the same.
"Ha-ha."
He laughed hysterically.
At that moment, Shen Ling launched another attack.
"What's the use?"
Gu Dashan thought to himself as he blocked the attack with his sword and raised his leg at the same time.
Since he was relying on his strength and body size, he felt no pressure at all.
A cold glint flashed in Shen Ling's eyes.
He attacked again with his longsword which hit that of Gu Dashan heavily. He also used his legs to attack.
Since both of them didn't know any leg techniques, the fight between both legs was equal.
However...
After fighting for a while, Shen Ling became even more confident.
He was able to study and understand Gu Dashan's attack patterns and was ready to use them against him.
Although he cultivated martial arts, his skills only helped in increasing his strength.
He had practiced the sword techniques before and it was obvious that he was just getting started.
This was the end!
He exerted the intent of splitting the mountain!
All of a sudden, Shen Ling's temperament changed and the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique in his hand became even more aggressive.
After he had severely injured Gu Dashan using the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique, he seized the opportunity to chop off Gu Dashan's head swiftly when he noticed that the latter was completely exhausted.
Immediately after the old village chief saw that Shen Ling had won the battle, he shouted excitedly, "Don't let the others get away!"
Those young sharecroppers, who had long prepared for this, came together and launched a fierce attack on the mountain bandits.
The bandits of the Green Mountain stronghold were still staring at Shen Ling in a daze. In a flash, they lost control of their fighting style, were surrounded, and killed without mercy.
Since Gu Dashan was no longer in the picture, the pride that these bandits came with disappeared instantly.
"Leave only one alive."
As Shen Ling wiped the fresh blood off his blade, he spoke to the sharecroppers who were about to execute all the bandits on the spot.
"Noted."
The sharecroppers looked all around them, wiped the blood off their faces, and put away their swords.
Indeed, there was only one left.
Among these young sharecroppers, only two of them had some slight injuries, and they had managed to kill all the invading bandits.
Looking at the group of young sharecroppers who were glaring like tigers waiting to eat him up, the only surviving bandit was filled with fear.
He never imagined that there will be so many lunatics in such a dilapidated village.
The craziest one had even killed the third-in-charge of their mountain stronghold! He couldn't help but imagine what they would do to him.
Shen Ling walked slowly and squatted in front of this bandit who didn't dare to move an inch. He looked him in the eye and asked gently, "Who are you and what are you known for in the Green Mountain stronghold?"
"I... I'm just an errand boy. Really, I'm telling the truth. I... I can't lie to you."
The mountain bandit muttered as he swallowed in fear.
His gaze showed that he was terrified. As if to say that the person in front of him was not at all a handsome young man, but a devil incarnate.
He couldn't stop his body from trembling. It was obvious that he wanted to escape.
But the way the young sharecroppers surrounded the place so tightly, it was not possible for him to escape unnoticed.
"Hmm... An errand boy."
Shen Ling looked at him with a sinister smile and said, "Don't be nervous. I won't kill you."
"Really?"
The bandit's face lit up. He didn't have the time to doubt Shen Ling's words.
"Of course."
Shen Ling nodded and continued, "But you'd help me deliver a message to the head of your Green Mountain stronghold. I, Shen Ling, will be waiting for him here tonight. If he wants to avenge the death of your third-in-charge, he should meet me here."
"I won't wait for him if he didn't come here on time!"
Shen Ling sounded a note of warning and stood up slowly.
He looked at the surrounding sharecroppers and said, "Make way for him. Let him go with the horse as well."
"Alright."
They all nodded in agreement.
Although they didn't understand why Shen Ling did this, they believed that he wouldn't do anything to harm them.
As Shen Ling watched the back of the bandit riding away quickly...
His eyes blinked involuntarily.
What would happen next? He'd wait and see.