46: Armor-piercing cone

Black Wind Fiend took the bag, weighed it, and his smile broadened: "Thank you, Lord City Lord! With the gang-breaking crossbow, I’d even dare to challenge those old fogies in the Marrow Cleansing Realm!"

The two whispered for a few more moments before Advisor Hu, accompanied by two attendants, mounted his horse and departed from the other exit of the stone forest.

Lin Mo lay flat on the Pillar, a chill permeating his heart.

Li Chongshan! It really was him supporting the Black Wind Gorge Horse Bandits from the shadows! He wasn't just providing intelligence and protection; he was smuggling Armaments, possibly even lethal weapons like the gang-breaking crossbow!

What is he planning? To foster bandits to enhance his own standing? Or is it outright rebellion!?

Those supplies covered in tarpaulin are very likely military Armaments!

I must destroy them!

Lin Mo's eyes scanned the camp, searching for flammable materials and defensive weaknesses.

Beside the supplies piled in the center of the camp were several wooden barrels that looked like they contained Fire Oil.

Though the patrolling Horse Bandits were vigilant, their numbers were limited, and they seemed to think this place was so well-hidden that their defenses weren't impenetrable.

"I'll strike once Advisor Hu is far enough away and the patrol is changing shifts," Lin Mo planned, waiting patiently.

Half an hour later, Advisor Hu's figure had long since vanished into the night.

The Horse Bandits in the camp began to change shifts. Some exhausted bandits returned to their tents to rest, while the incoming patrol had just started and hadn't fully settled into their routine.

Now!

Lin Mo slid down from the Pillar like a night owl, landing silently in the shadow of a tent.

He took out a Fire Starter and a small bag of Combustion-Supporting Powder specially made by Lu. Using the wind and the darkness as cover, he approached the supply pile like a ghost.

Two Horse Bandits guarding the supplies were leaning against each other, yawning.

Lin Mo swept past them from behind, his hands moving like lightning to strike the back of their necks. With muffled groans, the two slumped to the ground.

He quickly scattered the Combustion-Supporting Powder over the tarpaulin and wooden barrels, lit the Fire Starter, and tossed it onto them.

Boom!

Flames instantly surged upward, spreading rapidly with the help of the powder and Fire Oil!

"Fire! Fire!" Piercing alarms tore through the night sky.

The entire camp instantly descended into chaos. The Horse Bandits were jolted from their sleep and rushed out in a panic to fight the fire.

Lin Mo used the confusion to blend into the crowd, pretending to help while secretly tossing Fire Starters into other tents and the stables.

The fire grew more intense, fanned by the wind, until the entire stone forest camp was engulfed in a sea of flames.

"What happened? Who set this fire?!" the Black Wind Fiend's roar echoed.

Seeing that his objective was largely met, Lin Mo didn't linger. He moved with a burst of speed, slipping out toward the edge of the stone forest.

"There's a spy! Catch him!" A sharp-eyed Horse Bandit spotted Lin Mo's unusually swift movements and shouted.

At once, dozens of Horse Bandits brandished their sabers and spears, shouting curses as they moved to surround him.

Lin Mo had no desire to linger in battle. He fully exerted his Willow Catkin Following the Wind Step, darting through the stone forest to evade the encirclement.

Just as he was about to break free from the stone forest, a sudden roar erupted ahead: "Kid, where do you think you're going!"

Black Wind Fiend stood in his way, wielding a ghost head great saber and flanked by three leaders with formidable auras.

A terrifying light glinted in his single eye, and the aura of his Great Accomplishment of Muscle erupted without restraint.

"You dare burn my camp? I'll tear you into a thousand pieces!"

The murderous glint in Black Wind Fiend's single eye was almost tangible as he pointed his ghost head great saber diagonally toward the ground, its blade reflecting the firelight.

The three leaders behind him fanned out in a Triangular Formation. Though their auras weren't as ferocious as Black Wind Fiend's, they had all reached the realm of Minor Achievement in Tendon Transformation, sealing off Lin Mo's escape.

"Kid, name yourself."

Black Wind Fiend's voice was like grinding sandpaper, laced with mockery. "My blade does not claim the lives of nameless ghosts."

Lin Mo stopped ten paces away. Above his black mask, his eyes remained as calm as still water.

The physique within him, stacked hundreds of times, surged to life. His blood boiled, the Qi Sea Acupoint spun faster, and pale gold internal qi flowed beneath his Meridians, ready to strike.

He didn't answer; he simply reached back and untied the cloth bundle on his back.

The cloth fell away, revealing the rusted sword. It was still mottled, yet under the firelight, parts of it shimmered with a dim, starlight-like luster.

Black Wind Fiend's pupils suddenly contracted. With the instincts of a man who lived by the blade, he felt a heart-trembling aura emanating from this seemingly broken sword.

"Playing tricks!" Black Wind Fiend suppressed the unease in his heart and gave a sinister grin. "Kill him!"

Before the words even left his mouth, a leader behind him wielding a Chain Spear struck first!

"Take this!"

The Chain Spear shot out like a venomous snake, its tip piercing the air with a shrill whistle as it aimed straight for Lin Mo's throat!

Lin Mo didn't dodge. He only gave his right wrist, which held the sword, a minuscule flick.

Clang!

A soft sound rang out.

The rusted blade struck the side of the Chain Spear's tip with unerring precision.

The spear-wielding leader felt an indescribable, massive force surge through the weapon. His tiger's mouth split open instantly, and his entire right arm went numb with agonizing pain, nearly causing him to drop the Chain Spear!

He grunted and stumbled back, his eyes wide with horror.

His full-strength thrust had been brushed aside so casually?! The power behind that sword didn't even seem human!

Black Wind Fiend's single eye widened. He knew a master when he saw one.

"All together!" he roared, no longer hesitating. His ghost head great saber unleashed a brutal wave of blade light, enveloping Lin Mo like a violent storm!

The other two leaders pounced at the same time. One used twin hooks to lock weapons, while the other used a scimitar with a vicious, tricky style. The three coordinated seamlessly, clearly veterans of many battles.

Facing the combined assault, Lin Mo still didn't retreat.

Executing the Willow Catkin Following the Wind Step, his body became like a catkin in the wind, drifting unpredictably through the blade lights and hook shadows, evading every fatal strike with perfect timing.

The rusted sword in his hand poked, parried, and diverted. His Moves were simple, yet they always managed to disrupt his opponents' momentum at the perfect moment with minimal effort.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of clashing metal was constant, sparks flying wherever the sword met the sabers and hooks.

The more Black Wind Fiend fought, the more his alarm grew.

This physical resilience, this strength, this reaction speed—and the sheer durability of that strange rusted sword—were all far beyond his expectations!

His ghost head great saber was forged from hundred-refined steel. Combined with his Great Accomplishment of Muscle internal qi and brutal saber techniques, he could snap an ordinary iron sword in three strikes.

Yet, when it struck that rusted sword, it left only faint white marks, while the recoil left his own arm numb!

Moreover, the opponent didn't seem to be going all out. Was he adapting? Observing?

The thought sent a chill through Black Wind Fiend's heart.

"Old Second, use the armor-piercing cone!" he barked.

Hearing the command, the leader with the twin hooks retreated a step. His left hook continued to feint, while his right hand lightning-fast drew a black, polished metal cone—tapered at the front and thick at the back—from a pouch at his waist. Infusing it with internal qi, he hurled it!

Swoosh—!

The armor-piercing cone moved with incredible speed, spinning and shrieking as it tore through the air, aimed directly at Lin Mo's chest!

This was a vicious hidden weapon specifically designed to pierce internal Protective Aura and iron armor!

Almost simultaneously, the scimitar-wielding leader pulled back his blade light and lunged, moving with his weapon in a treacherous arc along the ground toward Lin Mo's legs!

The twin hook leader pounced again, his hooks creating a flurry of shadows to lock down Lin Mo's sword arm.

Attacks came from all sides, brimming with killing intent! Combined with Black Wind Fiend's ferocious frontal assault, it was a Move designed for a certain kill!