37: Chapter 37 Crushing Defeat

Clang—!!!!

An unprecedented, deafening roar, like a thunderclap, rang through the entire battlefield!

Where the axe and hammer collided, a visible circle of white shockwaves erupted, kicking up a thick layer of dust from the surrounding ground!

In the next second, before everyone's horrified eyes.

"Mountain Suppressing Hammer" General Zhao Wuji's prized dual hammers were actually split right down the middle by that massive mountain-cleaving axe, as if they were made of paper!

He himself was struck as if by lightning, sent flying backward over ten meters. While still in mid-air, he spat out a mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning pale as paper.

One move!

Just one move!

A renowned expert at the Peak of the Third Stage had been severely wounded head-on!

The terrifying strength of a Fourth Stage powerhouse was fully revealed at this moment!

"Vulnerable!"

Bear Overlord let out a roar of disdain. His massive body exerted force again, and like a cannonball leaving the chamber, he caught up to General Zhao Wuji, who was still in mid-air.

The giant axe in his hand was raised high, carrying the shadow of death, and slashed down again!

"Brother Zhao, watch out!"

"Flowing Cloud Sword" Li Chunfeng and the others, their eyes splitting with rage, wanted to rescue him, but were intimidated by Bear Overlord's violent Aura, unable to get close for a moment!

"No—!"

Endless fear and despair appeared in General Zhao Wuji's eyes.

"Splurt!"

Blood splattered!

Under the gaze of hundreds of Government Soldiers and countless bandits, this long-famed expert at the Peak of the Third Stage was actually cleaved in two from head to toe by Bear Overlord with a single axe strike in mid-air!

Blood and internal organs rained down like a storm.

The entire battlefield fell into a deathly silence at this moment.

Everyone was completely stunned by this bloody and cruel scene!

"Hahahaha!"

Bear Overlord's wild laughter broke the dead silence.

Bathed in the rain of blood, like a demon god crawling out of Hell, he pointed his giant axe at the remaining three Third Stage experts.

"Who is next?"

Li Chunfeng and the other two felt a bone-chilling cold rush from the soles of their feet straight to their skulls!

They were terrified!

Facing such an unreasonable monster with monstrous strength and defense, the pride they felt as Jianghu experts had long been smashed to pieces!

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

Li Chunfeng let out a terrified scream. No longer caring about his image as an expert, he turned and ran!

He pushed his movement technique to the limit, fleeing like a stray dog toward the camp of the Government Soldiers.

The other two were also scared out of their wits and scattered like birds and beasts.

With even the top experts running, how could the ordinary county soldiers have any fighting spirit left?

"Defeated! We're defeated!"

"Run! That's a monster!"

The line of the Government Soldiers collapsed instantly!

Five hundred county soldiers, like headless flies, threw away their armor and weapons, crying for their parents, wishing they had been born with more legs as they fled frantically along the path they came.

"Want to run? Did you ask me first?"

How could Bear Overlord let go of this chance to beat a dog in the water? He roared and charged into the crowd of routed Government Soldiers.

The giant axe in his hand was simply the most efficient meat grinder.

Every swing brought forth a bloody storm, with several Government Soldiers being cut in half or smashed into meat paste.

Seeing their Chief Leader display such Divine Might, the bandits of Dushan Stronghold were also greatly emboldened!

"Kill! Cheer for the Chief Leader!"

At the order of the strategist Liu Chengfeng, the gates of Dushan Stronghold boomed open!

Hundreds of ferocious bandits shouted and rushed out like a tide, launching a one-sided massacre against the already collapsed Government Soldiers!

The rout turned into a thorough massacre.

The flat land at the foot of the mountain completely turned into a Shura field.

Severed limbs flew everywhere.

Howls and screams rang through the clouds.

Blood gathered into small streams, staining the land red.

On a hillside over a mile away.

Gao Feng and Thin Monkey saw everything clearly.

Thin Monkey's face had long since turned deathly pale.

His hand holding the binoculars was trembling slightly from nervousness.

"Stockade... Stockade Master... that Bear Overlord... is he a monster?" His voice was trembling.

The image of an axe cleaving a Peak Third Stage expert in two had hit him too hard.

Gao Feng did not speak, but his heart was equally turbulent, unable to calm down for a long time.

Shock!

Unprecedented shock!

He knew that a Fourth Stage powerhouse was strong, but only after seeing it with his own eyes did he realize he had underestimated them.

That was a kind of pure, unreasonable, crushing power!

In the face of absolute power, all techniques and cooperation seemed so pale and weak.

He asked himself, if he were to face Bear Overlord now, what would the result be?

The answer was self-evident.

Even though he was already a Third Stage Tendon Refiner and had the help of Tiger King Ada, he feared he could only last ten moves against Bear Overlord at most.

Maybe even five moves was pushing it.

"It seems I have to change my plan," Gao Feng thought, his eyes flashing with a grave light.

He had thought he could wait for the Government Soldiers and Dushan Stronghold to fight until both were injured, then come out to clean up the mess.

But now it seemed this was simply a one-sided massacre!

The Government Soldiers had been defeated too quickly and too miserably!

They hadn't caused any substantial damage to Dushan Stronghold at all!

His plan to be the oriole had failed before it even began.

No, he could even say he didn't have the qualifications to be the oriole now.

In front of a true fierce tiger like Bear Overlord, his so-called "oriole" was at best just a slightly stronger sparrow.

"Let's go!"

Gao Feng made a prompt decision and didn't linger.

"We are returning to the Stockade immediately!"

He knew this crushing defeat of the Government Soldiers would bring a series of chain reactions.

And the most direct one was—

Dushan Stronghold's reputation would reach its Peak after this battle!

And a neighbor whose ambition and strength were both skyrocketing was definitely not good news.

Especially when this neighbor might have already noticed their "prosperous" little stockade.

Then, a greater crisis was quietly approaching Panshi Stockade!

He had to go back immediately and readjust all strategic deployments!

This time, what they were facing was no longer the corrupt Government Soldiers, but a true army of tigers and wolves led by a Fourth Stage expert!

The news of the Government Soldiers' crushing defeat spread like wildfire across the entire Gui Jian Chou Mountain Range.

The name of Dushan Stronghold was unrivaled in popularity for a time.

And "Mountain-Splitting Bear" Bear Overlord was rumored to be an unparalleled expert with three heads and six arms, impervious to blades and spears.

Some small groups of bandits and outlaws in the mountains surrendered one after another and went to join Dushan Stronghold.

Within a few short days, the influence of Dushan Stronghold expanded rapidly like a snowball!!