Volume 2: The Rising Dragon – The Path of a Mercenary

Chapter 43: After the Failed Robbery…

Singing a little tune, Rod was in high spirits. With steady steps, he soon reached a valley less than twenty kilometers away from Blue Ice City. This was the only route leading to Blue Ice City, with towering mountains on both sides blocking other paths—only this road had been carved out in the valley.

The road was rather narrow, perhaps just wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side. Shrouded beneath two peaks, it remained dark and damp due to lack of sunlight.

Looking at the road ahead, Rod frowned slightly before slowly walking forward.

As soon as he stepped in, he felt a cool breeze with a somewhat eerie vibe. He imagined that walking here alone at night and encountering such a breeze would be quite frightening.

Just as Rod entered the valley, several middle-aged men emerged from the woods along the road behind him. They exchanged glances, each wearing a sinister smile, before quickly continuing to follow him.

Feeling the cool air, Rod instinctively tightened his clothes. At that moment, he still hadn’t realized that those unfriendly eyes were watching him from behind and were closing in rapidly.

“Kid, stop right there!” A sudden roar made Rod stop in his tracks!

A figure flashed past in front of him. By the time he could see clearly, Rod found himself surrounded by four men in the center.

Frowning, still not quite understanding the situation, he asked doubtfully, “You called me? What’s the matter?”

“Hehe, kid, what else could it be? A robbery! Hand over all your valuables right now!” snarled the hulking man on Rod’s left after a cold laugh.

“We’ve been following you for a while. If you don’t want to suffer, hand over what you’ve got willingly. We’re professionals—once we get the money, we’ll leave. We won’t kill you!” added another man on his right with a sneer.

“So it’s a robbery!” Realizing this, Rod gave a helpless bitter smile. So he had become their target? Hah, this was the first time he’d encountered such a thing.

Looking at those few men, they seemed to be bandits or outlaws. They probably hadn’t been doing this for long, as their speech revealed their inexperience. At this moment, Rod wasn’t afraid at all; instead, an interesting idea popped into his mind. A smile that the robbers couldn’t understand appeared on his lips, before his expression suddenly changed and his hands and feet began to tremble. “Sir… I’m just a poor man. I really don’t have any money. How about I bring some next time?” Rod said in a trembling voice.

“Bastard, stop pretending! Don’t think we’re blind. Those clothes of yours must be worth a lot. How can you claim to have no money? Then why can you afford such clothes? Stop joking around! I’m in a bad mood and not patient. Don’t force us to use force!” A cold snort came from the burly man standing right in front of Rod, who glanced at his clothes and shouted loudly.

“I really don’t have any… I even got these from cheating others. If I had money, would I still be walking?” Rod said with a bitter smile, looking around. Indeed, he was very poor; otherwise, he wouldn’t be walking to Blue Ice City like this. But the man’s words also made him realize why he had become a target—it was all because of his clothes. It seemed he really shouldn’t wear such flashy clothes!

“Kid, since you don’t know better, don’t blame us if we become ruthless. Guys, go at him!”

Another cold snort came from behind, followed by the sensation of a fist rushing toward him. Rod narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold smile on his lips. With a quick step to the side, he turned nimbly and kicked the man behind him.

“Ah…” The dull thud made the man who had attacked him cry out in pain as he collapsed to the ground, his face turning pale.

“Dare you fight back! Go ahead, chop him up!”

The sudden turn of events stunned those burly men. They never expected this seemingly seventeen- or eighteen-year-old kid to dare fight back in front of them. More importantly, he didn’t seem like a warrior or mage, which was why they had targeted him. But who would have thought that the one they thought was the easiest target would actually fight back in such a situation?

“Perfect timing, hehe. I haven’t exercised in days!”

With a sly smile, he quickly rolled up his sleeves and shouted loudly. Instead of retreating, Rod charged forward at the three men. Channeling his combat energy to its extreme, he rushed into the crowd and punched the guy in front right in the face. With a dull thud, the poor fellow was knocked aside before he could react. “Bad news—he’s a warrior!” One of the two remaining men cried out upon seeing Rod strike. This statement was like a bombshell to them. Their faces changed instantly, and the other two also stopped charging and froze in place. “What? Weren’t you going to rob us? Aren’t you going to act?” Rod asked, puzzled by the sudden change. “Hm? If you won’t move, don’t blame me for being rude.” Seeing them standing there dumbfounded, Rod said impatiently. He had no patience to wait for them to react, nor did he want to waste time in this valley. To be honest, he didn’t like the surroundings, and he still had to hurry to Blue Ice City! With a cold snort, he pushed off forcefully and dashed forward in a flash, knocking the two stunned men to the ground with punches as they stared in shock. “I’ll fight you!” A loud shout came from behind. The howling wind reached Rod’s ears, and he frowned slightly. There was another warrior! He had thought they were just minor figures, but unexpectedly, among these scoundrels was a warrior—something Rod realized from the force of the punches. With a quick dodge, he avoided the incoming punch. Turning back, he saw it was the guy he had kicked to the ground first. “Interesting!” Rod said calmly, a glint in his eyes. The opponent was an intermediate warrior—not bad. He hadn’t expected to find someone to practice against here. After dodging, he used momentum to turn around and punched the opponent. With another dull thud, the opponent’s strength surprised Rod even more—his own fist tingled from the impact. But the guy wasn’t faring any better either. After being knocked back several steps by Rod’s punch, he almost collapsed, his face turning ashen.

He casually broke off a branch nearby, let out a loud cry, and charged at the opponent without giving them a chance to breathe, swinging the branch at them.
“Ow…” Unable to dodge in time, the guy was hit straight and let out a painful scream!
Instantly, a mark appeared on the arm struck by Rod—it swelled up, just like it would after being whipped.
“Hehe, this is for trying to rob me!”
With a smug smile, Rod mercilessly continued to swing the branch at the big man, striking him repeatedly. Caught off guard by Rod’s tactics, the guy could no longer resist and could only dodge around like a child.
Alarms that shook the heavens and terrified the spirits soon echoed through the air, causing the other three big men to change expressions drastically; they couldn’t help but close their eyes, as if the blows were hitting them instead.
Snap… With a clear sound, the branch broke after countless strikes.
But just as the big man caught his breath, Rod somehow obtained another flexible strip, like a bamboo whip, and launched another fierce attack.
This time, the screams were truly earth-shattering, even making Rod feel a bit embarrassed. The big man was forced to flee everywhere under Rod’s relentless attacks.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
A mocking voice rang out. The big men who turned to retreat instantly paled, like frightened rabbits, and quickly ran away.
Taking three steps as if it were two, Rod rushed forward without hesitation, raising his whip and striking the three guys.
“I’ll make you pay for trying to rob me~!”
“I’ll make you regret not recognizing your superior, for acting tough, for not studying hard and instead coming here to learn robbery!”
Muttering to himself, Rod’s strikes grew faster and faster. The sound of whips cracking filled the air, followed by continuous screams. Those heart-wrenching cries scared countless merchants passing by, who hid outside the valley in fear, not daring to enter. They also scared many adorable animals, forcing them to tremble in their nests.

The scene presented a bizarre sight: a teenage boy with black hair, around seventeen or eighteen, held a thin, whip-like object in his hand and chased after several middle-aged men, beating them mercilessly. The middle-aged men fled in panic within the narrow valley, emitting cries of despair.
“Sir… please stop, ah… we really know we were wrong. Ouch… please stop!” One of the burly men pleaded desperately as he ran away. Surely they must be filled with remorse by now. If given another chance, they would likely prefer to face the devil rather than this demon.
“Damn it, stop crying! Jump, yeah, jump higher! All of you, jump!” Rod, who was in high spirits, had no intention of stopping. He continued to beat the burly men, shouting orders with an evil smile on his face.