53. Bandits – 4/5

With cunning strategy, Mei Lin concealed herself behind the rubble, patiently biding her time as she awaited the bandit's next move. Anticipating his pursuit, she plotted to ambush him as he ventured outside the ruins in his relentless hunt for her.

As the bandit emerged from the ruins and beheld the tea-house looming before him, uncertainty clouded his mind. He deliberated whether to persist in his pursuit of Mei Lin or to retreat to safety.

In that crucial moment of hesitation, Mei Lin seized the opportunity. With swift precision, she unleashed an arrow from a bow that was next to one of the bandits in the ruins, catching the bandit by surprise as it flew from behind him.

Mei Lin was shooting for the first time in her life and her target was very close. Arrow hit the bandit in the arm. He started to scream and fell to the ground. In the instant, he rushed forward to Mei Lin. With the machete in their right hand, he prepared to swing but Mei Lin didn't know what to do with the bow, she wanted to shoot him and end the fight. Unfortunately, Mei Lin didn't expect that he would survive, so she tossed the bow after him. As he swung with the machete, to get rid of the bow, Mei Lin was near him and cut into his right arm with a crystal knife.

As the crystal knife sliced through his arm with unnatural ease, the bandit's machete clattered to the ground, forgotten in the wake of searing pain. Blood gushed from the grievous wound, spraying in crimson arcs as the bone yielded to the enchanted blade's merciless edge. In shock and agony, the bandit recoiled, instinctively lashing out to kick Mei Lin away. With his arm rendered useless, dangling grotesquely by a thread of skin, he staggered in a desperate escape bid. But the agony proved too overwhelming, and before long, his strength failed him. Screams of pain echoed through the air as he collapsed to the ground.

The force of the bandit's kick sent Mei Lin hurtling through the air, a fountain of blood erupting from her mouth, creating a crimson arc in the air. Agony consumed her as she crashed to the ground, the arrow from earlier piercing through her body, adding to her torment.

Every breath sent waves of excruciating pain coursing through her body, threatening to overwhelm her senses. Mei Lin's vision blurred with tears of agony as she struggled to comprehend the intensity of her suffering. Despite the searing pain, Mei Lin summoned every ounce of her willpower.

"Fuck! Fuck!..." After a while of cursing Mei Lin cut off unnecessary parts of the arrow and with the rest inside the body she tried to stand up. Mei Lin's gaze fell upon her bloodied Bamboo-hat nearby. Summoning every ounce of strength, she pushed herself to her feet. With grim determination, she went towards her Bamboo-hat.

*****

In the meantime, when Mei Lin went into the ruins of the slug house.

Amidst the ongoing chaos, the battle between the bandits and the tea house raged on with relentless intensity. Despite the dwindling numbers of bandits, a few managed to ignite fires in various parts of the house, sending tendrils of flames licking at the wooden structure.

Xu Jie and Xu Yi, valiant in their efforts, dashed frantically with pots brimming with water, desperately attempting to quench the spreading inferno. The crackling of flames mingled with the shouts and cries of combatants, creating a cacophony of chaos.

The old guard stood resolute on the first floor, anticipating the bandits' inevitable ascent. With their leader absent and the most skilled among them only at the first stage of BT, the bandits faced an old guard.

Of the initial ten first-stage BT bandits, only three remained. Recognizing the futility of their situation, they abandoned their futile attempts to breach the tea-house defenses and turned to flee. With panic driving their movements, they dashed away from the scene, their hopes of victory dashed by the stalwart defense of the tea-house guards.

The old guard, consumed by the chaos and bloodshed, rushed from the doors of the tea-house, his body radiating bloodlust and his javelin-like spear poised for deadly accuracy. With a display of inhuman strength and precision, he hurled the spear after one of the fleeing bandits, the weapon impaling him with brutal force, piercing through his chest and leaving a gaping hole in its wake. His run suddenly stopped as he looked at the missing part of the chest and without even sound fell to the ground.

Undeterred by the sight of their comrade's demise. "What the fuck! Who the hell was inside that house? FUCK!" The last two bandits pressed on in their desperate bid to escape, but the old guard showed them no mercy. With relentless determination, he pursued them without hesitation, his formidable presence casting a shadow of dread upon them.

In a matter of moments.

"Is he still hunting ahhh."The bandit fell victim to the old guard's relentless pursuit, impaled by the spear in the chest. The final bandit, overwhelmed with fear and despair, dropped to his knees. "Please don't kill me. I will never do something like this again." His please were meaningless, because none of the mercy was to be found, as the old guard, driven by a primal fury, brought down his weapon with savage strength. The thick wooden shaft of the spear tore through the bandit's neck, leaving behind a gruesome tableau of blood and gore as his life was abruptly extinguished.

As Xu Yi and Xu Jie frantically poured water from the second floor to extinguish the spreading flames, their attention was suddenly drawn to Mei Lin, who lay nearby, crawling on the ground. Despite the chaos surrounding them, her distinctive red robe made her unmistakable.

Without hesitation, Xu Yi abandoned the pot he was carrying and rushed to Mei Lin's side, his concern evident in his urgent movements.

As Xu Yi rushed to her side, Mei Lin's gaze flickered briefly to her bamboo hat before settling on him. His expression of concern was unmistakable, his focus solely on her well-being amidst the chaos surrounding them.