The Red Vipers

[Two individuals, both in the early Soul Wandering stage, just below,] Mini C said as Ryker passed over a man and woman who seemed to be observing the battle going on in Zhao Gui's village.

"Doesn't look like they're getting involved. Let me know if they try anything funny."

[Understood.]

Ryker ignored the two for now, rushing over to the scuffle in search of Zhao Gui's father.

"Hey! Anyone have a kid named Zhao Gui?!" he shouted over the din of fighting. Those bandits and villagers closest to him looked at him strangely, though the bandits quickly found that this strange newcomer was not friendly as he casually swept them aside with his staff, sending them flying every which way.

"You know my son?!"

A tall, gruff looking man shouted at Ryker as he held the defensive line, at which point Ryker started to wade towards him through the mass of people encircling the village hall. The bewildered bandits attempted to strike at him as he passed through their ranks, but the strongest among them was only in the Foundation Establishment realm, and so he simply shrugged off their blades and spears, shoving them aside or to the ground.

"Let's see... Yup, scar under the left eye," he said, inspecting the man who had spoken up. At this point, the other bandits were giving Ryker a wide berth, nervously crowding away which left a large clearing around him and Zhao Gui's dad.

"Your wife and kids are waiting for you in the forest. Want me to take you there?"

Zhao Gui's father looked stunned for a moment, before he clutched the hilt of his sword to his chest, sighing in relief.

"So they made it safely... Thank you, stranger, but I can't leave here while the village is under attack," he said, pointing behind him at the village hall, "There are people in that building who can't fend for themselves, we're their only hope!"

"Fair enough. I'll help you clean house, then!"

The bandits closest to Ryker watched him warily, but even then, they couldn't react to his sudden, fierce assault, as he exploded into a flurry of strikes aimed at the bandits surrounding him.

"Shit! Watch out!!"

Pained cries echoed through the battlefield as Ryker made his way around the circle, his staff a silver blur as he swung every which way, blowing enemies away or into the air wherever he went.

The villagers initially looked on in disbelief, but soon raised a rousing cheer. They rallied as they pushed the bandits back, while the bandits quickly lost morale, anxiously eyeing the approaching mass of bodies being thrown in the air.

"Forget this! No one said anything about having to face a monster, like that!"

One of the bandits assaulting the village quickly turned to flee, running off towards the woods.

However, before he could even make it halfway, a petite figure appeared in front of him, her face cold and rigid as she sent a disapproving gaze his way.

"If you're this quick to run, then you'd be better off dead," she said, her short sword flashing as it sliced through the fleeing bandit's neck. He gave a surprised gurgle as he grasped at his now bloody throat, giving the woman a wide-eyed look of disbelief before he fell to the ground, dead.

"Red Vipers! Fall back!"

The shaved bandit with a scar on his chest also stepped forward at this time, bellowing out his orders. The bandit small fries tripped over each other to retreat to a safe distance, filing in behind the man and women who had until now been content with observing the battle.

Ryker looked up from his rampage to see the bandits retreating, excepting, of course, those bandits he'd already gone through, who were all unconscious or writhing in pain, on the ground.

"Stranger, are you really picking a fight with the Red Viper bandits?" the shaved headed man shouted with arms crossed, standing leisurely at the forefront. Ryker just shrugged, lips pursed dubiously.

"Sorry, dude, I really don't know who y'all are," he said, leaning upon his staff like a walking stick.

The woman beside the bandits' apparent leader sneered, her eyes narrowed in disdain.

"Then perhaps you know the name of our leader, Gao Shun?"

At this, Ryker's eyes shot wide open, straightening his back as his grip on his weapon tightened. The blonde haired woman just looked at him smugly, nose pointing up in the air.

"Hmph, now do you know who you're dealing with?"

Ryker looked at her with a serious gaze for a moment, before suddenly relaxing, giving her a sheepish grin while scratching his head.

"Ah, no, sorry, I was just pretending to be shocked," he said, "Who's Gao Shun?"

"..."

The woman just stared at him as if to ask whether he was serious or not, but before she could say anything further, her partner put up an arm in front of her to signal her to stop, and she crossed her arms and pouted, looking away in a huff.

"Whatever the case is, stranger, just know that if you walk away now, we won't pursue this matter, any further," he said, taking out his own weapon, a large, single-bladed axe.

"And if I refuse?" Ryker asked, readying his staff, as well.

"Then we will hunt you down with impunity."

The burly bandit set the head of his weapon firmly on the ground before him, resting his hands on the hilt. Ryker rubbed his chin, looking up in thought before he spoke.

"Hm. Well, just for reference, what's the realm of the strongest guy you got?"

"Peak of Nascent Soul realm," the blonde bandit said with an arrogant smile as her partner rolled his eyes, causing Ryker's eyes to shoot wide open, straightening his back and tightening the grip on his weapon.

"... If you're just pretending to be shocked, you needn't bother."

"Hehe, sorry, couldn't help myself."

Ryker laughed again as the blonde bandit gave him an unamused look. He tapped his foot on the ground and swayed in place, looking all around as if he was seriously deliberating over his options.

"Well, I just thought of a better idea," he said, eventually, looking back at the bandits with a toothy smile.

"How about you get lost, and I won't kick your ass, too hard?"

The burly bandit scoffed, smiling slightly, himself, as he picked up his axe and held it at the ready.

"Don't say we didn't warn you, boy. Lanfen!"

Calling out the name of his partner, the two of them rushed Ryker's position, closing in on him rapidly as they swung their weapons. Ryker grinned, his staff moving to meet the axe and short sword coming at him.

"You're a bit stronger than those other chumps, but you'll have to do better than that!"

As their weapons clashed with the Sturdy Iron Cudgel, the two bandits were blown backwards by the force of the resulting shockwave.

Now it was their turn to look shocked; although they'd anticipated he was much stronger than his cultivation would suggest from how he mowed through their troops, they didn't expect his strength to be enough to push back two experts in the Soul Wandering realm!

"Tch..."

"Bastard!"

However, they quickly recovered from their surprise, charging forward once more with renewed vigor. Ryker just held his ground, expression growing more serious as the two split to attack him from both sides, this time.

As they came together to pincer him, the blonde bandit referred to as Lanfen slashed at him from afar, sending wave after wave of sword qi in his direction as her partner closed the distance from the other side.

Ryker blocked a few of the qi blades as he jumped to the side, intercepting the burly bandit with a swing of his staff.

However, even with Ryker utilizing his max speed with the Profound Wind Walking Technique, the bandit was able to parry the blow with his axe, grunting as he got pushed back slightly.

He didn't even seem fazed in the slightest, simply charging forward again. His axe was still raised in front of him defensively, and he used it as a shield, blocking the next swing descending upon his head.

The two of them exchanged blows in rapid succession, neither giving ground as they each took turns attacking and defending. In addition, the burly bandit's partner would dart in and out of their melee, slashing at Ryker or shooting blades of sword qi at him, from afar, forcing him to fight on the defensive.

'Damn, what gives?' Ryker thought to himself, incredulously.

Weren't these two only in the early stage of Soul Wandering? Why was he having so much trouble, with them?