Chapter 015: Xiong Tingbi

Just as Nai Xiuxiu and Du Fan flew to a distance of about two thousand meters from the three men, Nai Xiuxiu stopped. Standing in midair, she drew her bow and shot arrows! Three arrows in a row, each aimed at the vital points of the three Holy Rank experts! Seeing the arrows coming toward them, the three men didn’t dodge at all but immediately unleashed their earth-based defensive magic. Instantly, yellow light began to glow around them. As Nai Xiuxiu’s arrows neared, the three Holy Rank experts shouted in unison. With that shout, the yellow light around them intensified even more! The arrows struck the protective auras they had created with loud thuds. Out of the three, only the old man’s defense was strong enough to withstand the arrows; the auras of the two weaker Holy Rank experts couldn’t stop Nai Xiuxiu’s arrows at all—after all, her arrows were those of a Domain Archer! The two Holy Rank experts in Bear City were overly confident in their own strength, or perhaps they simply didn’t realize the terror of a Domain Archer! Two arrows pierced through their defensive auras and struck the two experts—one arrow hit their arm, and the other hit their thigh. Not only that, but as those two experts were injured, Du Fan also charged at the three combined Holy Rank experts. Seeing the three experts move, Moses, who was leading his army in battle alongside Allen, also turned around and rushed toward the three Holy Rank experts in Bear City. “Hahaha! Great! Just what I wanted!” The unharmed old man suddenly laughed loudly upon seeing Du Fan and Moses charging at him. “Shi Li! You two, follow quickly and find the alliance leader!” the old man shouted abruptly. “Uncle!” Hearing this, Xiong Shi Li and another Holy Rank expert immediately replied urgently. “You’re still young—you’re the hope of our Bear Kingdom! I’m an old man who won’t live much longer. Let me hold off the enemies while you take the chance to escape!” the old man said firmly. “Uncle! Even if I have to die, I’ll die with you!” another Holy Rank expert beside Xiong Shi Li replied immediately. “Silly child, your uncle still hopes you’ll restore the Bear Kingdom!” A kind look appeared in the old man’s eyes.

Suddenly, the old man’s gaze shifted, turning stern in an instant. “Go quickly! If you don’t leave now, it will be too late!”
“Thirteen! Let’s go!” Seeing the old man’s expression, Xiong Shili also became determined!
Hearing Xiong Shili’s words, the old man showed an approving look. It seemed that those who could become kings had to be far stronger.
Xiong Shili was injured in his arm. He grabbed the arrow embedded in his arm and pulled it out with force. An arrow with flesh attached was pulled free.
He threw the arrow hard onto the ground, then took the young man called Thirteen by the hand and quickly headed outside.
Seeing the two saints about to leave, Moses hurriedly sped up, trying to stop them.
As soon as Moses moved, the old man roared toward the sky. With his 2.8-meter height, combined with his roar and his transformed appearance that made him resemble a giant bear, his roar sounded as if the Bear God had descended!
Watching Moses chase after the other two, the old man suddenly raised his right foot and kicked the ground hard. An invisible wave radiated out from his foot.
As this invisible wave approached Moses, he immediately felt an invisible barrier in front of him!
By the time Moses sensed this barrier, it was already too late to dodge. Clutching his chest, he crashed headfirst into the invisible barrier!
At the moment of impact, Moses’s magical combat energy erupted as well! Two invisible, powerful air currents collided, knocking over everything within a hundred meters in all directions! The soldiers within that range were sent flying by the force.
With such a collision, Moses was pushed back two steps. After regaining his balance, the old man strode forward to face Moses.
“Your opponent is me!” Standing between Moses and Du Fan, the old man said solemnly.
“Good!” Facing the old man, Moses also responded with a deep voice.
“Your cultivation is impressive. I am Moses, a magic warrior of the elf race, here to test myself against you!” Moses narrowed his eyes and studied the old man carefully.
Hearing Moses’s words, Du Fan flipped his wrist, and the Thunder Sword appeared in his hand.
“Third brother, let me handle this alone!” Seeing Du Fan’s action, Moses said.
“Alright, then fight first. I’ll watch,” Du Fan said with a smile.

Moses saw that the old man had an extraordinary presence and remained vigorous in his old age, and he felt a sense of respect, unwilling to join forces with Du Fan to attack him. Both Moses and Du Fan were experts in their respective domains; if the two domains attacked a Saint-level opponent at the same time, it would seem too oppressive. Additionally, Moses hadn’t encountered a worthy opponent in a long time, and seeing this old man reignited his desire to win. “Since you haven’t reached the domain level, I don’t need to use my domain to overwhelm you,” Moses said firmly, his fighting spirit surging. His thoughts raced as he poured his intense fighting spirit into the Sword of War! Sensing Moses’s fighting spirit, the Sword of War trembled slightly and emitted faint sounds. “What a great sword!” The old man couldn’t help but praise it upon seeing the sword’s unusual behavior. Seeing the sword in Moses’s hand, the old man suddenly took out a pair of gloves that resembled claws. He put them on, turning his hands into sharp claws like those of a beast—each finger equipped with a gleaming, cold claw. “Kid, let’s fight!” With those strange gloves on, the old man engaged Moses in battle. Those ten sharp claws could emit streams of combat energy, instantly filling the area between them with energy. This old man, now merged with the Earth Bear, could fight Moses on equal terms. They clashed fiercely in the open fields of Bear City. After nearly two hours of fighting, the Northern Army had ended the war, and Xiong Shili and the one named Thirteen left, greatly demoralizing Bear City’s defenders. With the king gone, many soldiers chose to surrender—after all, their lives were their own. By now, only Moses and the old man were still fighting in Bear City. “Old man! Stop fighting and surrender!” Allen shouted from atop his warhorse. “Hmph! Think I’ll surrender? Dream on! How could I, Xiong Tingbi, ever surrender?” The old man snapped in anger at Allen’s words. “Xiong Tingbi?” Hearing this name, Allen was surprised. “Second brother, who is Xiong Tingbi?” Du Fan asked quickly upon hearing Allen’s surprise.

“Xiong Tingbi, the famous Bear King of the Frozen Alliance twenty years ago! Back then, he single-handedly defeated the Nine-Headed Jiao—a monster with nine heads, each capable of wielding an elemental power, equivalent to nine holy-grade experts!” Allen said with a sigh.

“Twenty years ago? Defeated nine holy-grade experts?” Du Fan also widened his eyes upon hearing Allen’s words.

“That’s right. The Nine-Headed Jiao, though just a holy-grade magical beast, had nine necks and nine heads, meaning it was equivalent to nine holy-grade experts. It could even be called the greatest magical beast beneath the realm masters. After Bear King Xiong Tingbi defeated it, people speculated that he must be a realm master!” Allen recounted those past events.

“Even if he wasn’t a realm master, this old man’s strength is likely beyond even ordinary realm masters.” Du Fan also sighed in admiration after hearing Allen’s words.

Previously, Du Fan had firsthand experience with the elf race’s magic warriors—a ninth-level magic warrior could easily defeat a holy-grade opponent, going beyond their rank to kill. The elf race’s magic warriors were definitely capable of such things.

Yet, the old man before him could fight on par with a magic warrior of the same rank as himself without falling behind.

The more Du Fan watched the old man fight Moses, the more surprised he became.

“Second brother, let’s disperse these soldiers. If they keep gathering around, trouble might arise.” Du Fan said to Allen, looking at the growing crowd of soldiers.

“Everyone, go back to your duties!” Allen shouted loudly.

Hearing Allen’s shout, the soldiers of the Northern Legion began to disperse. With the Northern Legion leaving, the residents of Bear City didn’t dare stay to watch anymore!

Soon, only Du Fan, Allen, Naixiu, and a few key military leaders remained to watch the battle.

“Second brother, you should also go and handle post-battle reconciliation work! Healing the wounded and stabilizing public morale are very important.” Seeing that all the soldiers of the Northern Legion had left, Du Fan spoke to Allen again.

“Du Fan, you’re being too vague. What exactly am I supposed to do?” Allen, who had only ever known how to lead troops into battle, asked anxiously.

In Allen’s eyes, since he had taken down Bear City, it could basically be considered that he had conquered the Bear Duchy. Conquering the Bear Duchy meant completing his mission for Allen.

Once the task is completed, there are no more personal matters. Then why does Du Fan say there are still tons of things to do?
“First, you need to investigate in Bear City to see which families have suffered casualties or are lacking food and clothing. We should do our best to help those in trouble,” Du Fan said.
“Then, second brother, you must issue orders not to disturb the people! This is very important. Soldiers who steal from the people of the Bear Principality must be dismissed immediately and tried for theft, while murderers must be punished with death!” Du Fan explained simply.
“Wow, Du Fan, so conquering the Bear Principality isn’t completely useless?” Allen said, puzzled after hearing Du Fan’s words.
After a war victory, allowing soldiers to go wild for a while was a rule on the Roland Continent. As long as the soldiers didn’t go too far, those in power would generally turn a blind eye.
It was considered completely normal among the generals for soldiers to risk their lives to capture a city and then enjoy it as conquerors.
“Second brother, you need to understand that among the eighteen principalities, we’ve only conquered the Bear Principality so far. If we act recklessly here, think about what the citizens of the other principalities will think. Will they surrender easily?” Du Fan said slowly, looking at Allen.