Volcanic Age

"AGHHH!" Meng Gang screamed, unable to contain his anger.

"You damn bastards!"

He had been taken for a fool, a fool!

From beginning to end, he had been dancing on the palm of his opponent's hand.

He was like Sun Wukong trapped in the grasp of Buddha.[1]

Not only had he never experienced such humiliation in his life, but the fact that most of his enemies were children made it even harder to bear.

"Mount Hua Sect, Zhuge Family! You bastards―!"

Zhou Xuchuan had sent letters for aid to three forces.

The Mount Hua Sect, the Sichuan Tang Family, and finally, the Zhuge Family.

The Zhuge Family had a debt to settle with the Red Forest, just like the Mount Hua Sect. It wasn't that hard to convince them to make a move.

However, it was unclear how much support they should send. For the same reasons as before, they couldn't move on a large scale.

Zhou Xuchuan didn't want that either.

He had only wanted a formation that could attract the enemy's attention and deceive them.

So after much deliberation, the Zhuge Family had sent a select group of elite warriors.

"You bitch! So you're the one who must have planned this entire thing!"

Meng Gang turned his fiery gaze toward Zhuge Xiuluan.

"Tactician Phoenix!"[2]

The Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes had undergone a generational change.

The eldest of the Phoenixes was removed from the list of younger generation talents when she turned thirty, and Zhuge Xiuluan had taken her place.

While it was a title that she should have received much later, history had already changed considerably from Zhou Xuchuan's past.

"Not the entire plan," Zhuge Xiuluan replied, her expression unreadable.

"AGHHH!"

While Meng Gang wanted nothing more than to tear Zhuge Xiuluan to pieces, he chewed his lip and forced himself to hold back.

It wasn't for nothing that Zhuge Xiuluan's Daoist title had the word 'Tactician' in it. The strategies she devised were notoriously difficult to counter.

Although the two hundred or so people he had assumed were hidden elite had been reduced to forty, there was likely another trap lying in wait.

"Damn it!"

He was frustrated and annoyed by the situation, stuck and unable to do anything.

I might end up caught in a formation if I go down, but I can't just ignore them and leave.

The more problematic part of it all was the urgency of the situation.

There was no time to make a leisurely decision.

He was worried because the punitive force, which he now couldn't tell if it was the main force or the distraction, was advancing from behind him.

What if their goal is to keep me stuck here, trapped in worry?

Meng Gang's face was filled with anxiety.

This is why I hate the Zhuge Family!

Could it be that even this feeling of anxiety was part of the enemy's intentions?

Anxiety and irritation surged within him for some reason.

"Stockade Boss of the Red Forest," Zhuge Xiuluan said.

"Surrender."

There was no emotion on her face.

There was no sense of accomplishment from the success of the operation, nor was there any anxiety about failure.

She didn't have a look of confidence, expecting an imminent victory, nor did she have a look of contempt for him being a bandit.

It wasn't a surge of anger or a chilling sense of emptiness.

It was simply calm.

A calm, straightforward suggestion to surrender.

"Damn it!"

Meng Gang snorted.

"I was considering taking you as a concubine considering your face isn't bad, but since I get more and more annoyed the more I look at you, I'm going to kill you especially cruelly!"

"You dare?!"

Zhuge Xiuluan's guards immediately reacted at their master getting insulted.

"It's fine."

However, the one that actually got insulted didn't care at all, instead raising a hand to stop the guards.

Zhuge Xiuluan opened her mouth to say something, but Meng Gang turned away as if he did not want to hear.

"Block that bitch and her men and keep them from coming up. If you allow them to set foot here, I'll personally behead all of you."

Gulp!

****

A bounty had been placed among the Red Forest bandits for Zhou Xuchuan's head.

"Kill him!"

The reputation of the Plum Blossom Order Sword definitely wasn't low.

After all, he had proven his reputation by taking down Zhang Du before their eyes.

However, the thing about wealth was that it had a tendency to dull people's fear and sway their objective judgment.

"Whew…"

Zhou Xuchuan took a breath, his chest rising and falling steadily.

His fingers holding the hilt of his sword clenched, the purple veins near his wrist bulging.

His brachial muscles rippled as if dancing.

The power that started from deep within his core rippled once, circulating through every nook and cranny of his body before returning to its origin.

Thud, thud!

He looked straight ahead, where seven Red Forest bandits stood.

Blinded by the promise of wealth, even the bloodshot veins within their eyes were visible.

It seemed as if they moved in slow motion, but they weren't the ones who were slow.

Zhou Xuchuan was just abnormal.

From his vision to his ability to recognize and react to the situation, even the bundles of nerves that transmitted signals from his brain to his muscles—they were all on a different level.

By the time he had decided to move, he was already within arm's reach of the seven bandits, who had been one zhang away.

There's no need for any techniques.

Most of the bandits were poorly skilled.

While they may have been better than the forest bandits of the Great Tiger Stockade, it wasn't by much.

To use the Twenty-four Sword Forms of the Plum Blossom would be like using a cow butchering knife to kill a chicken.

So, Zhou Xuchuan didn't bother making any complicated plans and just swung his sword.

"Huh?"

The Red Forest bandit at the front widened his eyes in shock.

How?!

They had definitely been one zhang away. But in the blink of an eye, Zhou Xuchuan had disappeared and reappeared right in front of their noses.

He was so surprised that he didn't even have time to swing the sword in his hand.

The last things on his mind were questions.

"One."

As he muttered to himself, Zhou Xuchuan's sword traced a clean, horizontal line.

"Ugh!"

The bandit's hand shot to his throat, blood streaming through his fingers as he fell.

"C-crazy bastard!"

The remaining six reacted immediately.

Not only had their target disappeared and then reappeared as if he had risen from the ground, he had even taken a life in an instant.

They each swung the weapons in their hands to deal with the incoming threat.

Swish!

A saber came down, aiming for Zhou Xuchuan's head.

"Two, three."

He stepped forward with his left foot, using it as a pivot point, feinting an advance before twisting to avoid the attack.

He didn't just dodge, he swung the sword in his right hand, drawing a half circle. His sword moved as gracefully as flowing water.

"Ugh!"

The Red Forest bandit screamed. The last thing he saw was the severed lower half of his body.

Through the falling torso of the man in front of him, Zhou Xuchuan caught a glimpse of the wide-eyed face of the bandit next to him.

Swi—sh!

A spine-chilling crack echoed as Zhou Xuchuan's sword swept toward the next bandit.

You dare?!

The Red Forest bandit stepped back as if Zhou Xuchuan's attack was audacious.

This was the first time he had ever moved this fast in his life.

But, unfortunately for the bandit, he didn't have the chance to celebrate.

Even though he might have dodged the range of Zhou Xuchuan's sword, he was unable to avoid the sword qi that gushed out of its blade.

"Ugh!"

A hole appeared in the center of his chest, piercing straight through to his back. He collapsed, lifeless, before he could even attempt to defend himself.

As three of their seven members fell in an instant, the other four froze, hesitating.

The greed that had clouded their minds faded as they took in the sight of their dead companions.

"Seven."

Swish!

It wasn't his usual flashy swordsmanship, just a careless swing.

However, it was enough to end the lives of the Red Forest bandits who were frozen in fear.

As Zhou Xuchuan quickly swung his sword toward them, they fell without a word.

"Ahhhh!"

"He expects us to fight a monster like that?"

"You can't even see him!"

The fear that had disappeared among the Red Forest bandits returned.

Only then did their paralyzed reason return to them. Moreover, their inflamed desires froze over entirely.

"I completely understand how you feel. There's nothing you can do, right?"

Zhou Xuchuan paused for a moment and smiled.

Memories of his past life came flooding back.

He had also met an outrageous expert back then and almost died.

Back then, even at a glance, it was unknown if he could even survive, let alone win.

Although he had also thought that the expert would have been exhausted back then, that hadn't been the case, either.

He knew he would lose even if he struggled, and since they were on different levels in the first place, he had wanted to leave that battle to someone else.

"Don't be stubborn and just surrender."

He was being serious.

Under normal circumstances, the Green Dragon Stockade might have had a fighting chance. But in their current state, they were doomed.

"Ridiculous!"

The underboss intervened.

If we surrender, we die.

They would die, not at the hands of Zhou Xuchuan, but to Meng Gang.

The Stockade Boss had entrusted him with command. If he couldn't handle this properly, he wouldn't be dying gracefully.

"Seeing how he's trying to get us to surrender instead of fighting, his qi must definitely be running low."

"If I'm tired, I'll call you Hyungnim."

"Younger brother! It's not too late! Surrender!"[3]

"What bullshit."

Zhou Xuchuan snickered, genuinely baffled by the underboss's audacity.

"Good, you've come at a good time."

The underboss was more annoying than he thought. At the very least, he hadn't gotten his position through mere flattery.

Rustle.

W-was it a mistake to step out?

They were closer than he had thought. Moreover, the punitive force was stronger than he thought.

Could he really be tired?

Although he had been the one to boast, he still felt uneasy after saying it.

The brat before him hadn't even broken a sweat, and his breathing was stable.

Besides, he wasn't even injured, he was completely unscathed.

Damn it. I have to buy time.

He had to hold out somehow until what was happening at the back door was resolved.

To him, the Stockade Boss of the Red Forest was the Number One Expert Under the Heavens. He was like the common man, just waiting for the hero to appear.

But, just how the hell am I supposed to stall?

He was worried that morale would drop, so he pretended not to care, but in fact, he was actually crying inside.

The swordsmanship of Mount Hua and the poison arts of the Tang Family were no joke. Even the new force, the Gold Will Sword Sect, was no ordinary power.

Sob, sob, Stockade Boss!

His legs trembled slightly, tears welling up in his eyes.

His morale was dropping fast.

"ZHOUUUUUU XUUUUUUUCHUAAAAAAAAAAN…"

It was then.

The moment the underboss felt like he couldn't see a path ahead, the long-awaited voice echoed across the mountain.

It was truly the voice of salvation.

The shadow on the underboss' face vanished, replaced by a grin full of confidence.

"Stockade Boss!"

Meng Gang had arrived, having given up on the rear and joined the rest of the Green Dragon Stockade.

"You idiots!"

Meng Gang was furious when he saw the situation on the battlefield.

Although he had sent half of his forces to the front, only half of those he had sent remained.

In comparison, while the punitive force had some light injuries, they were no serious injuries.

Good. Everything is going to plan.

Zhou Xuchuan's eyes narrowed.

I was worried that they might have been discovered, but it looks like they got through it unscathed.

Meng Gang was one of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven. Moreover, he had also reached the Harmony Realm.

At that level, even if he couldn't recognize the formation, he could still get a general idea.

He wouldn't have been so worried if Meng Gang's brain had been made of muscle, however, as the Stockade Boss' mind wasn't ordinary, Zhou Xuchuan had been worried that Meng Gang would discover his plans. If the Stockade Boss had noticed and not divided his forces, this fight would've been far more challenging than he anticipated.

It wouldn't have mattered to him personally, but it was a completely different story for the punitive force members.

Even if their enemy were mere bandits, if that many people came rushing in, things wouldn't have ended with just minor injuries.

"It's the Stockade Boss!"

"Support has arrived!"

The mere presence of an expert empowered and reassured those around them.

The morale that Zhou Xuchuan had worked so hard to ruin rose once again.

The Stockade Boss of the Red Forest, Meng Gang.

He was a man who pricked Zhou Xuchuan's mind for many reasons.

One day, he had suddenly appeared in the Stockades and displayed his powerful cultivation. It didn't take long for him to become the Stockade Boss of the Green Dragon Stockade.

His cultivation wasn't the only thing extraordinary about him. He possessed considerable knowledge for a bandit.

The ideas that had transformed the Green Dragon Stockade, which had just been a fairly large stockade into something reminiscent of a castle, had come from Meng Gang.

However, despite being a talented martial artist, Meng Gang was a nobody.

His whereabouts before he appeared in the stockade were unknown.

Realizing something was strange, Zhou Xuchuan had investigated him separately. However, nothing had been uncovered, the Stockade Boss was still a mystery.

Even when he searched through his memories of his previous life, nothing stood out. It wasn't that he couldn't remember, but that there was nothing to remember.

As the Eighteen Stockades of the Red Forest had only ever been used by the other forces, it was never considered important, and there were few mentions of it in the records of the Era of War and Chaos.

Even the problematic Meng Gang had died in the war.

Putting everything else aside, his skills aren't ordinary.

The fury boiling like lava and bloodlust raging like a tempest were proof.

1. Sun Wukong had a wager with Buddha, with the Buddha promising to make the Jade Emperor abdicate if Wukong could jump out of the palm of his hand. Wukong leaps to the highest mountains in the world in succession, only to find out each of those peaks were a finger of Buddha and that he had been dancing in his palm. ☜

2. We've changed the title to match the naming system for the other phoenixes. ☜

3. Refresher, Hyungnim means older brother. ☜