Chapter 382: Establishing Authority

No one could withstand the attacks of the Hundred-Winged Birds head-on, nor could anyone deal them serious damage. Relying on a mass attack strategy, the accumulated injuries not only failed to scare the birds but instead made them even more ferocious.
Their shrill cries reached the heavens as the Hundred-Winged Birds ravaged the entire road. Nearly a thousand hunters, for underestimating just one of them, turned from hunters to prey.
Blood mist filled the air. Most of those present possessed the strength of the Mental Phase. Though they couldn’t withstand a single strike from the birds, they shouldn’t have died. However, as more and more people were injured, those warriors who were hurt and trying to avoid the birds gradually became their targets.
The number of slain warriors kept rising.
Cries of agony gradually became the only sound on the road.
The hunters who had come with enthusiasm now saw despair growing in their eyes. No one could have predicted that things would end in such a manner.
Occasionally, faint cries of pleading could be heard, but unfortunately, though the Hundred-Winged Birds had some semblance of humanity, they knew nothing of compassion.
In the small forest, Lin Dong was already drenched in sweat. His strength to resist was waning, and it became increasingly difficult to protect the members of the Hua family.
Seeing his spiritual energy nearly depleted, Lin Dong took out a Spirit Restoring Pill from the mobile counter and stuffed it into his mouth. As if making up his mind, he chewed it fiercely.
As the powder entered his stomach, waves of warmth spread slowly, filling his empty dantian.
“If only someone could give orders,” Liang Ru said, unable to bear watching the scene on the road any longer, and turned her head away.
Lin Dong, waiting for his spiritual energy to recover, had an idea.
That’s right—if someone could command them, the combined strength of nearly a thousand warriors would surely prevent them from falling into such a desperate situation. At the very least, they could remain unbeaten. Even now, with heavy losses and almost everyone injured, unified command could at least temporarily hold off one of the Hundred-Winged Birds.
With wings stronger than spiritual artifacts, the two birds might not be severely injured, but there would still be vulnerabilities. If they had high-grade spiritual artifacts, they could target those weaknesses one by one, giving them a chance to defeat the birds.
The remaining challenge was figuring out how to escape from the competition among the various families and warriors after capturing the birds.
A flash of spiritual light passed by, and Lin Dong sat up, saying, “Niu Hong, I’m going now. You three immediately head back to the south side of the city via the forest. I’ll catch up with you on the way.”
“We’ll go too!” Niu Hong said, clenching his fists tightly.

“You guys going there is just asking for death!” Lin Dong shook his head. “Go back quickly.”
“No way. The Hundred-Winged Bird is so powerful. Brother Lin alone definitely can’t handle it,” Niu Hong said firmly. “Let’s go together; maybe we can help.”
“If you go, you’ll just cause me trouble.” With little time left, Lin Dong was too lazy to explain further. He snapped, “Obey me properly. You can leave later once I’m sure I’m safe. If anyone dares to show up and gets noticed, don’t blame me if I’m harsh with them.”
Niu Hong was scared by Lin Dong’s tone and mumbled, “If we don’t go, we won’t go. But if danger arises, don’t blame me for not coming to rescue you in time.”
Lin Dong couldn’t help but laugh. Ignoring the three, he dashed forward in a flash toward the four warriors about a hundred meters away, who were trembling, unsure whether to flee or stay.
Arriving silently behind them, Lin Dong slashed repeatedly with his hand blade, knocking out all four who were too hesitant to make a decision.
He took out the ninth-tier Golden Leaf Sword given by Yun Lan, took a deep breath, and waited until half of his dantian was filled with the spiritual energy from the Returning Spirit Pill before shooting forward.
“Wow… lightning!”
Lin Dong, shooting from the woods toward the road, made the sharp-eyed Hua Wuqian exclaim.
“Where? Where?” Niu Hong hurriedly searched around.
“Hey, it seems to be Brother Lin! How… how did he fly onto the Hundred-Winged Bird’s back?” Hua Wuqian suddenly raised his arm, pointing at Lin Dong flying toward the bird in the sky above the road, and shouted.
As Hua Wuqian saw, Lin Dong flew through the air and landed steadily on the Hundred-Winged Bird’s back.
The sudden appearance of the man in black gave hope to the warriors below who were in despair.
“Get down quickly! Once someone jumps on the Hundred-Winged Bird’s back, it goes wild.” No one knew how the man in black had arrived, but one more person meant one more strength. Those who had seen the consequences of climbing onto the bird’s back began to shout warnings.
“Everyone, listen up! Form a circle—thicker is better. Those without serious injuries, stay outside and hold off one of the Hundred-Winged Birds.”
With spiritual energy poured into his throat, Lin Dong’s voice rang out like thunder in the sky above the road, carrying his words a thousand meters away.
“What impressive!” In the woods, Niu Hong couldn’t help but feel envious.
Hua Wuqian and the others nodded in agreement, clearly sharing Niu Hong’s opinion. They stared at Lin Dong, holding the golden spiritual sword and radiating an indescribable imposing aura, their eyes unable to move away even for a moment.
“You just say form a circle, and we’ll form one? Why should we listen to you?”

The individual warriors were somewhat better off; most of them had learned cultivation techniques from academies and gradually reached such strength. Apart from pledging loyalty to the Great Han Nation, the only viable path was to become a registered warrior of the Great Han Nation. Unless they encountered trouble and the Martial Assessment Institute stepped in, they usually operated alone, without any form of influence. Although Lin Dong’s words were domineering, under these circumstances, they weren’t enough to offend them.

The descendants of the major families, however, had different thoughts. Arrogant and secretive, their sense of honor made them immediately feel that Lin Dong was trampling on their pride.

Lin Dong paid them no attention. His loud roar also alerted the Hundred-Winged Bird that there were enemies on its back. The Hundred-Winged Bird, too, had the pride of a high-tier spiritual bird, and it was even superior to the descendants of the major families.

With a furious cry, the bird’s wings suddenly retracted toward the north. Its two wings, like invincible steel plates, swept rapidly toward Lin Dong’s legs from both sides.

Lin Dong lightly tapped the bird’s back with the tip of his foot and leaped up swiftly. His timing was impeccable—he landed steadily on the bird’s back just as its wings spread out again.

Chirp…

The Hundred-Winged Bird let out a long cry.

“Idiot! If you don’t do as I say, we’ll all be destroyed.” Lin Dong pushed downward with his right palm, sending an invisible force toward Mount Liangmu below.

In an instant, Mount Liangmu struggled like a chick, flying uncontrollably upward toward Lin Dong’s right palm.

Below, gasps of astonishment filled the air. Among the Hua family’s group, Hua Wuyue’s eyes sparkled, and his heart, once filled with despair, now brimmed with joy. No one present knew this move better than him.

“Let me go! I’m Mount Liangmu! I’m the eldest son of the Liang family, Mount Liangmu!” Mount Liangmu’s body moved uncontrollably, and though he was terrified, he refused to back down, shouting loudly.

“If you want us all to be destroyed, I won’t go back empty-handed! Whoever disobeys orders won’t need to learn martial arts for the rest of their lives!” Ignoring Mount Liangmu’s struggles, Lin Dong stood on the bird’s back, wielding him like a weapon as a demonstration, before striking him in the abdomen with his left palm.

“Stop! We’re from the Liang family!”

The Liang family’s descendants were horrified.

“It wasn’t me! I wasn’t the one who spoke up against it just now.” Mount Liangmu was heartbroken, feeling utterly wronged.

Indeed, it hadn’t been him who questioned Lin Dong earlier. He had thought Lin Dong was just trying to scare them, but he never expected him to actually harm the heir of a major family.

Bang!
Lin Dong’s left palm landed firmly on Liang Mushan’s abdomen.
With a roar, Liang Mushan spat blood and flew backward, crashing into the bushes on one side of the road.
His dantian had completely burst—no even a ninth-level alchemist could save him now.
“It really wasn’t me…”
Liang Mushan convulsed, overwhelmed by regret and injustice.
Below, aside from the warriors fighting another Hundred-Winged Bird, everyone was stunned. They stared up at Lin Dong, who seemed like a hellish demon, their hearts pounding as if struck by a hammer.
Without any provocation, he had disabled the heir of the Liang family.
Lin Dong’s brutality silenced many, including the Liang family members, who dared not speak. Yet others were awakened by his decisiveness.
“Everyone, gather quickly! Find a way to hold off one of the Hundred-Winged Birds. Whether we can return alive depends on our unity! Anyone who tries to hide or save themselves alone will be punished without mercy!” Hua Wuyue roared loudly, his imposing aura instantly changing his entire demeanor.
These words resonated with everyone. Despair gave way to hope, burning like a fierce flame in their hearts.
The heir of the Liang family possessed the strength of a fourth-stage Mind Realm. Having been disabled in just one move, his strength was likely at least at the eighth or ninth stage of the Mind Realm, possibly even reaching the level of a powerful warrior.
If he could fight a single Hundred-Winged Bird alone, even if only for half an hour, and if everyone worked together under unified command, attacking frantically without regard for their own lives, it wasn’t impossible to kill the other bird. Killing one bird might cost half of them their lives, but with another expert who could confront the Hundred-Winged Bird head-on, they could still be confident in defeating the last one.
Perhaps only thirty to forty percent would survive, but that was better than total annihilation.
Moreover, if the men in black on the Hundred-Winged Bird reached the level of powerful warriors, the survival rate could even reach sixty to seventy percent.
Instantly, the crowd became agitated.
“Good. Gather now—those with serious injuries stay inside, those with minor injuries go outside. Watch each other! If we can hold them off for fifteen minutes, I guarantee most of you can leave alive,” Lin Dong said, dodging the bird’s closing wings while trying to reassure them.
The crowd was inspired. Their gazes toward Lin Dong were filled with deep reverence, and their hearts burned with fierce determination.
Fifteen minutes wasn’t long. With proper coordination, it might even be possible to achieve this at the cost of only a few injuries.
The darkness covering the road was completely dispelled by Lin Dong’s words.