Night Without End
Chapter 91 - 58: That’s All

Chapter 91: Chapter 58: That’s All

The elder who had been reborn three times died, twitching slightly for a few moments after falling to the ground.

Enshrouded by night, the cold snowflakes fell, and even the bright glow of Fire Spring could not dispel the gloom in the hearts of the people at Jinji Ridge.

The sight of that man on his mount made them feel as if a massive cavalry was charging at them all at once, the pressure was simply too great.

This was a veteran expert of the stronghold who had reincarnated three times, yet he was slashed in two by the man who rode the Purple Lightning Beast, the severed body seemed to crush their hearts, the vibrant red blood staining not just the snow but also casting an icy chill through them.

Two of the bandits had cold eyes. Despite the heavy hearts, fear did not deter them. Having killed countless people and been through the trials of blood and fire over the years, their resolve was unshaken.

Most importantly, the man came riding on the Purple Lightning Beast, an Alien Species whose speed exceeded even those Humans reborn five times, making escape impossible for the two of them.

If the two were to split up and flee, they would surely be defeated one by one. By the strength of the man before them, who had come alone in the night to attack Jinji Ridge, it was clear his intention was to eradicate everyone.

Qin Ming rode forward on the Purple Lightning Beast, its heavy, steady hooves hitting the ground like the somber beats of a drum echoing and intimidating.

Many of the bandits felt their courage wane. Although they had seen bloodshed in their everyday life and were ferocious by nature, they now wished to flee, the powerful sound of the hooves as if trampling on their increasingly fragile spirit.

Qin Ming’s right hand clutched a long spear, pointing straight ahead, while in his left hand, the long blade was raised after flinging off the bright red blood that splattered on the ground.

"What are you waiting for, let’s join forces and take him down!" a bandit leader commanded, his cold words sending many into the abyss of fear.

It was a warning—they were not allowed to run, they had to join the fight.

They knew all too well the methods of this lineage—if even the two bandit leaders perished, the Golden Bandit above would cruelly deal with the cowards of today.

At that moment, one of the bandit leaders wielded a Broadsword, wider than a palm, slashing towards the lone man and his mount, like lightning striking down.

The other bandit leader held a Big Spear with formidable strength, its blade glinting under the light of Fire Spring, leaping forward like a streak of Rainbow Light that brought forth a violent wind and swept up the accumulated snow on the ground.

Previously, the two bandit leaders had watched Qin Ming’s moves and judged that he might also be a four-time Newcomer, worth engaging in combat to see who would prevail.

Qin Ming was fearless. With a flick of his right-handed long spear, he dispersed the swirling snow, deflecting the sharp spear blade aside and thrusting towards the assailant’s chest.

His left-handed long blade likewise struck out, clashing with the other man’s Large Sword, sending sparks flying as he charged forward atop his beast.

Wielding a blade in his left hand and a spear in his right, aided by the astonishing speed of the Purple Lightning Beast, Qin Ming generated a terrifying impact, sending the two bandit leaders stumbling back alone.

The onlookers around changed their expressions - these were two leaders who, even fighting together, were driven back by one man.

The two bandit leaders felt their blood churn and a chill run down their spines, the power of their opponent was abnormally strong, surpassing them by a notch.

Qin Ming didn’t stop the Purple Lightning Beast, crashing into the wooden huts behind them, while simultaneously, the sound of chains rattled rapidly.

With a mighty boom, a terrifying explosion echoed as someone operated a special Crossbow, firing large arrows like spears; one was dodged by Qin Ming, stirring a terrifying gust of wind that flew past his ear, the sheer force palpable.

Another large arrow was slapped away by his blade, changing its direction, piercing through a house, and impaling a man standing in the snow, gushing a great deal of fresh blood.

At the same time, Qin Ming cleaved through the wooden huts and other obstacles in front of him with his long blade, the bright light from the blade shredding everything in its path.

Two elders lunged forward, each gripping a long spear, thrusting at him.

The two bandit leaders from behind also swiftly closed in for an attack.

Qin Ming had already witnessed four elders returning alive from Dalie Valley on a previous occasion, knowing that there were more than one or two third-time Newcomers at Jinji Ridge.

He was aware of the lurking presence of third-time Newcomers here and now sought to eliminate them first, to avoid interference when confronting the bandit leaders.

Most importantly, he feared that these third-time Newcomers might escape in secret, as they were far swifter than the other mountain bandits.

As for the bandit leaders, they would naturally become his primary targets should they try to flee.

The two old bandits suddenly felt as if struck by lightning, the opponent’s power was overwhelming and unmatched, the vibration causing their arms to spasm and tremor.

What was most terrifying was that the opponent’s Large Spear and long blade seemed to possess life and soul, reaching a realm they could hardly attain. Though Qin Ming was engaged in slaughter, his every move possessed an inexplicable charm, giving the act of killing an aesthetic visual appeal, turning it into an art form.

Qin Ming’s long blade continuously struck out, blade light after blade light, unleashing the Sword Intent between the sky and the sea. Layer upon layer of blade light amassed, flinging aside an elder’s long spear with ease. With a gentle slash, blood seeped from the elder’s neck, and then he collapsed, head rolling to the ground.

The other elder was submerged by numerous spear shadows, his long spear struck away in an instant, and Qin Ming’s long spear impaled his chest, lifting and suspending him in mid-air.

Qin Ming shook the Big Spear, and instead of multiple overlapping spear shadows, a burst of power erupted inside the elder, who had been reborn three times, tearing his body into pieces in a flash!

This scene sent a chill through the bandit leaders.

Other mountain bandits, upon witnessing this, had chills running down from their heads to their feet, fearing the ferocity of this man and beast, eager to flee the scene immediately.

Who cared about future retribution from the Golden Thief? Staying alive at that moment was crucial; they realized that even the leaders could not hold against this man.

Some started to run!

"Stand your ground!" bellowed a bandit leader.

Qin Ming collided fiercely several times with the two bandit leaders, then charged past them, pursuing up the mountain path, brandishing his blade to slay six men, all falling in pools of blood.

Several remaining mountain bandits were ashen-faced, their way blocked.

Qin Ming stood across from them with his blade, looking on coldly, driving the Purple Lightning Beast once more toward the heart of the stronghold.

"Who in the world are you, and what has Jinji Ridge ever done to you?" a bandit leader finally burst out, up to that point still clueless about the attacker’s identity.

"If this stronghold is uprooted, the Golden Thief will not let it go unchallenged," another bandit leader spoke up, clearly lacking confidence.

"You mountain bandits, even after being granted amnesty, have failed to change your thieving ways and have only become more vicious, bringing disaster to this region. Did you think the City Lord would ignore this? Even outsiders have been provoked to anger by your evil deeds, which are too numerous to record. If Jinji Ridge is not eradicated, even the heavens could not stand to watch!" Qin Ming said hoarsely.

Two bandits were filled with shock and uncertainty, a bad premonition growing in their hearts. Mention of the City Lord and the outsiders indeed hinted at the possibility of them taking action.

A new official takes office with three burnings, and it may well be that they would extend their reach to them. Moreover, they had recently collaborated with a mutant beast from Fangwai, which had mysteriously disappeared.

Qin Ming spurred his beast into a charge, scattering the remaining bandits.

"What are you panicking for, head to the back mountain!" one of the bandits shouted.

Immediately, some eyes flickered as they ran towards the back mountain.

Qin Ming then drew his bow and shot several men in quick succession.

When two bandits charged close by, forcing him to draw his sword again to meet the battle.

This time, Qin Ming focused on his Blade Technique; the dim sword light flowed as if the Phoenix Pattern Long Sword was endowed with life, carrying the sound of wind and thunder, accompanied by slices of bright light, seeming to cut through the sky.

The two bandits trembled, the level of life of their opponent was similar to theirs, but he had reached a level in Sword Tao that made them look up to him. It was a good thing Heavenly Light was not yet extending outside the body of the sword, or else it would have been even more frightening.

They seriously doubted that, based solely on the understanding of Blade Technique, this person might not be weaker than some Golden Thieves.

Thump!

One of them was struck in the shoulder, blood spurting out.

Qin Ming was somewhat surprised. The instinctive intuition of a Third time Newcomer was indeed strong. His slash was originally meant to behead his opponent, but the bandit preempted this and suffered only a scrape on the shoulder, not even breaking the bone.

Fiercely, the bandit abandoned his Broadsword, with a booming sound, and with an extremely sharp Spiritual Sense, he seized an opportunity and clamped Qin Ming’s long blade between his hands.

Although a wisp of Heavenly Light Force emerged from the bandit’s hands, protecting himself, his palms were still wounded, dripping crimson blood.

With a snap, he broke Qin Ming’s long sword.

Is this what a Third time Newcomer is? Indeed, much stronger than those old men, the total amount of Heavenly Light Force greatly increased, meaning that when they fought with bare hands, it got a lot more dangerous.

Another bandit attacked fiercely, aiming to suppress Qin Ming and prevent him from seizing his long spear.

They both realized that this mysterious man’s skill with the sword and spear was beyond their reach, embodying the power to turn decay into magic, and should he continue to grow, he would transcend. Within the artistic beauty, the force of killing surged again, almost touching the realm of Tao.

Unafraid, Qin Ming too wanted to test his own Heavenly Light Force; he threw his long blade, piercing another mountain bandit far away with a thud, and with a shake of his spear, the corpse was torn apart.

Then, he fought with his bare hands.

The two bandits launched a swift and powerful assault from both sides.

Qin Ming’s left hand met one of the bandits, their palms collided solidly, releasing their Heavenly Light Force in an instant.

In a flash, that bandit flew backward, holding his palm, his face pale as his right hand was covered in blood, a large chunk of flesh sticking together.

Not only that, a horrifying penetrating power wreaked havoc in his palm, blurring the flesh and breaking three bones.

Qin Ming leaped up, leaving the Purple Lightning Beast, and collided with another bandit who pounced like a hawk, striking several times in the briefest moments.

This bandit fared worse, his hands completely deformed, screaming as he flew six or seven meters away, his hands like chicken claws, unable to straighten, flesh hanging loose, all finger bones broken.

"He has fused several kinds of Heavenly Light Force!"

"Why are you attacking us?" Both bandits emanated a bone-chilling coldness, for a Fourth time Newcomer to be able to merge several Heavenly Light Forces signals they weren’t trained by a small organization; they must have notable origins.

They didn’t know that Qin Ming was only a Third time Newcomer.

"Am I too strong, or did I overestimate you at first? This is all the Fourth time Newcomer bandits amount to." Qin Ming spoke hoarsely, looking down at his hands.

He had already sat back on the Purple Lightning Beast, which had started to move its hooves, ready to gallop away. It could only grit its teeth secretly.

In fact, it had a chance to try to run away, but it was intimidated by Qin Ming’s might, afraid of being killed by him like those thieves.

Qin Ming patted its head and said, "The choice you made is correct. See this long spear? It’s prepared for you. If you dare run, I will throw this with all my strength and guarantee I will nail you dead on the mountain trail."

The two bandits backed away, now completely lacking the courage and strength to fight Qin Ming to the death.

They turned and fled, using the buildings for cover, attempting to shake off their pursuer as they rushed towards the back mountain.

Qin Ming rode the Purple Lightning Beast in pursuit and speared another bandit to death on the way, jerking his spear to tear the body apart.

Then, he saw what was at the back mountain and muttered to himself, "No wonder it’s called Jinji Ridge."

...

In the deep night, at the base of Jinji Ridge, within the dense forest beside the path, a group of people stood silently in the darkness, a woman pondering something.

"Miss, shall we continue to wait?" A maid beside her asked in a low voice.

In the gloomy forest, the woman stood tall, her face not clearly visible, and said, "Hmm, let’s wait a little longer and see, that figure riding on the Purple Lightning Beast seems familiar..."

"Resembles whom?"

"Cui Chonghe."