Chapter 4: Surrender and Annihilation (Part 1)

Guo Shier saw that the leader of the opposing group had a military bearing and was likely the strongest among them. He wasn’t bulky, unlike the barbarian experts here; instead, he had a delicate appearance, golden hair, and resembled white people from his past life. He wasn’t wearing leather armor but metal plate armor, and he held a two-handed great sword.
Leaning on his great sword, he stared coldly at Guo Shier and the others, then turned and said something. Immediately, an old man stepped forward from the group. He took a few steps forward and said, “I give you two choices: surrender or be annihilated!”
Guo Shier was furious. He said, “Damn it, don’t they know who won just now? It seems I should be the one to say that!” He added, “Eisen, go negotiate and make them surrender. If not, kill them all!” He gave the same order.
Eisen stepped forward bravely and said, “Hey, you attacked our camp… killed our people. What do you plan to do?”
Guo Shier frowned. This guy was too weak. He shouted, “Come back!” He stepped forward, pulled Eisen back, and said, “I originally planned to recruit you, but… I’ve changed my mind. Heh, I don’t even care who you are. Since you’re so strong, let’s fight!”
The old man sneered, “Seeking death!”
Ezek became enraged at hearing this. He simply said one word, “Death!” Then he rushed forward. A black streak flashed, and in an instant, he was in front of the old man. With a swipe of his hand, he returned to his original position. The sound of that slap echoed, and the old man’s head exploded like a blooming flower, his body collapsing to the ground.
The leader was shocked. He hadn’t expected his opponent to be fearless, killing his deputy with just one strike. Anger surged through his brain, making him tremble slightly. He raised his two-handed great sword and shouted, “Kill! Kill them all! I don’t want prisoners—kill them completely!”
Guo Shier also lost his calm. He hated such crazy people the most. Though he didn’t know who they were, at this point, he didn’t care. He said, “Ezek, since we’ve started fighting, finish them off!” He flew into the air and slapped down, causing a virtual giant hand to appear.

With a loud roar, that giant hand suddenly expanded to cover hundreds of meters in radius. Runes swirled as the hand, seemingly solid, descended with a howl. The man looked up and was instantly terrified—he realized he had encountered an extremely powerful expert who could not only fly but also launch such devastating attacks. He didn’t dare resist and turned to flee at extreme speed, knocking anyone who tried to block his path flying aside.

With a muffled thud, the giant hand slammed onto the ground. Aside from a few clever ones who managed to escape the range of the strike, everyone else was crushed into flesh pies, dying instantly without even making a sound.

Guo Shieru gave the fortress a cold glance. His Moon Blade flew out as he said calmly, “Storm!” The Moon Blade transformed into a violent storm, shooting forth with countless foot-long blades rotating and creating streams of light-edged blades, forming a tornado-like mountain of swords that rolled forward wildly, throwing the bandits in formation into complete chaos.

Boom! Boom! Boom…

Anything or anyone that blocked this mountain of swords was torn to pieces. A road several hundred meters wide appeared within the tornado formed by the Moon Blades, with flesh, blood, and wood flying everywhere. This path carved by the Moon Blades stretched all the way to the center of the camp, destroying every obstacle and person in its path. This single strike sent the entire camp into collapse.

Ezek also was surprised—he hadn’t expected Guo Shieru to be so formidable. He whistled and shouted, “Follow me and fight!” He immediately rushed forward toward the center of the camp.

Yadelan, Essen, De Da, and the others were also terrified. What kind of tactic was this? It was too horrifying. It wasn’t until Ezek charged out that they regained their composure. All the members cheered and rushed after him. With such a terrifying leader, they were no longer afraid. Full of courage, they rushed out of the forest and charged at the fortress.

Guo Shieru followed closely in the air. His Moon Blades, like the summons of the King of Hell, constantly eliminated the bandits who gathered, preventing them from organizing an effective resistance.

Chaos reigned throughout the fortress as Guo Shieru’s Moon Blades destroyed arrow towers one after another. Though these towers posed no threat to him, they could harm his teammates, so he naturally tried to destroy them as much as possible.

The path Ezek took turned into a blood trail—anyone within a hundred meters of him died instantly. The number of people killed by him far exceeded those killed by Guo Shieru.

Yadelan and the others pursued with a large force, driven mad by the thrill of the chase. Hundreds chasing thousands—such carnage filled them with frenzy. Any bandit attempting to fight back was killed by Guo Shier. Thus, Yadelan and his men only needed to keep chasing and killing; there was no need to worry about anything else. Guo Shier didn’t even bring out his altar; he simply used his Moon Blade and Virtual Talisman Hand to overwhelm his opponents, leaving them unable to fight back. Gradually, he eased up, occasionally dispersing the gathered bandits to prevent them from forming an effective attack. Ezekiel, on the other hand, continued to slaughter mercilessly. He was born a butcher, and once he got into a killing spree, it was hard to control him. It was unfortunate for these bandits to have run into such two deadly forces. Soon, bandits began kneeling and surrendering, with more and more doing so. They were terrified, unable to resist or escape—surrender was their only chance to survive, otherwise, death was certain. At least three thousand people surrendered. By the end, only sporadic resistances remained, which were quickly extinguished. Guo Shier landed in the center of the camp. There was still a group of bandits gathered there, who, upon seeing him land, quickly knelt and surrendered. They were completely demoralized, especially when it came to Guo Shier—they trembled in fear as if seeing a ghost. Groups of captives were herded into the open space in the center of the camp, packed tightly—over four thousand people in total. Guo Shier hadn’t expected to capture so many. Yadelan led a group over, bringing one person with them. Upon seeing him, Guo Shier smiled—it was the leader of this place, the one who had threatened to kill them all at the beginning. Guo Shier wondered, “This guy is quite strong… How did you catch him?” He was very curious. He knew well the capabilities of Yadelan and the others; even together, they might not be a match for that man. Eson said, “My lord, he surrendered on his own.” Guo Shier was stunned. He had underestimated his own deterrence power. When he flew into the sky and fought with his Moon Blade and Virtual Talisman Hand, these bandits had already collapsed. Other bandits might not understand, but as the leader of a camp, he knew that someone with Guo Shier’s strength was beyond their ability to resist.

A small bandit brought over a low stool and asked Guo Shier and the others to sit down. Ezekiel returned, radiating murderous intent, yet without a single drop of blood on him. With his abilities, it was hard for blood to splash onto him. He plopped down and said, “They’ve all surrendered. I can’t bring myself to keep killing them. Sigh, a bunch of cowards!”
A red glow flashed, and Guo Shier reached out and grabbed a message token, which fell into his palm. Ezekiel asked in surprise, “Who sent this message token?”
Guo Shier pressed the token to his forehead and examined it briefly before freezing in shock. He said, “It’s Brother Li Ran… Uh, he’s that strong?” Then he handed the token to Ezekiel.
Ezekiel said, “I don’t like these things. Just tell me what it says.”
Guo Shier replied, “Brother Li Ran is under attack, but he’s not in danger. He killed them all. He warned me to be careful—there are very powerful opponents in this world. Don’t be careless… Strange, he didn’t mention why.”
Ezekiel didn’t believe it at all. He knew how strong Li Ran was. The level of these bandits was utterly beneath his notice—they were far too weak. He asked, “Where did they go?”
Guo Shier shook his head. “Drualakaba. I don’t know that place…” He waved for Wusi over and asked, “Wusi, do you know Drualakaba?”
Wusi exclaimed in horror, “The Wasteland?” Drualakaba meant the Wasteland.
Guo Shier nodded. “That’s right. Have you been there?”
Wusi shook her head vigorously. “I wouldn’t dare go there, not even to the outskirts. It’s a legendary place. Only king-level barbarian spirit masters have the strength to enter. It’s too dangerous. I’ve only heard that there are countless ancient ruins there. King-level barbarian spirit masters choose to enter there before they die.”
Guo Shier muttered, “There’s such a great place? Damn, how come I didn’t know?” He said, “Wusi, tell me more about the Wasteland. Heh, I’m really curious.”
Wusi replied, “I’m not very sure either. There are just many legends about it. It’s a forbidden place. It’s said to be an ancient battlefield with many ancient ruins. According to legends… in ancient times, there were many powerful masters, far stronger than our current masters. After a terrible war, many super masters died…”
Ezekiel asked with interest, “Were those masters stronger than you guys now?”

Wu Si said, “Completely incomparable. Not just us, even king-level experts can’t compare… And right now, king-level experts are the strongest.” By king-level experts, he meant ninth-level Barbarian Spirit experts.
Guo Shieru pondered for a moment. He now understood that Li Ran might have encountered such a king-level Barbarian Spirit expert. Yet he still had some doubts. With Li Ran’s strength, even facing a king-level Barbarian Spirit expert shouldn’t be too difficult. After all, this guy was an expert who had surpassed the ninth-tier altar—there might be other secrets, but they weren’t mentioned in the message.
After thinking it over, Guo Shieru put the question aside for now and said, “Bring their leader here.”
Eisen waved his hand, and several bandits brought the man over. Eisen ordered, “Kneel!”
Thud! The man knelt. Ezek muttered with a smirk, “Weakling!”
Guo Shieru said, “Speak. What’s your name? Where are you from… Don’t tell me you’re someone with no background. You must be from the army.”
The man hung his head dejectedly and said, “Pinata. My name is Pinata. I’m from the Duchy of Chiska… Well, I’m the lord of a vassal castle in the Duchy of Chiska. I’m an officer in the Duchy of Chiska.”
Guo Shieru asked, “That barbarian duchy? Heh, what was your mission…”