Chapter 61: My Life Is In My Own Hands

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The group of Iron-Armored Personal Guards bringing up the rear were indeed very brave, fighting desperately to resist the mountain bandits. However, under Lei Qing’s leadership, the mountain bandits’ morale was incredibly high.

In just a dozen or so breaths, they completely swallowed up the Iron-Armored Personal Guards at the back. Among them, four in total died at Lei Qing’s hands.

The High-stage Bronze captain hadn’t run very far yet while protecting their Eldest Miss.

In this battle, Lei Qing took advantage of the terrain and the enemy commander’s mistakes to display his might, and he fought with boiling blood. But he also knew very clearly that if he didn’t capture that Miss Li in this battle, it would be a failed fight.

“Everyone, chase.” Lei Qing took the lead and used his movement technique, the Thunder Flash. His figure shot out, fast as lightning. Every time his toes touched the ground, he could leap two or three zhang away. The Thunder Flash, which had reached the Small Success realm, was one of Lei Qing’s signature skills.

Combined with Lei Qing’s Bronze Peak Heavenly Thunder Fighting Qi, in just a dozen breaths, Lei Qing had already caught up with that group of people first. The feeling of having a large group of brothers supporting him from behind was really nice; Lei Qing could charge into this group without any hesitation and unleash his greatest combat power.

Otherwise, if Lei Qing had encountered these well-armed soldiers alone—where even the lowest rank was Black Iron-rank—the only thing he could do would be to flee immediately.

“Miss Li, where else do you think you can escape to?” Lei Qing stepped sideways on the cliff wall, his figure leaving a series of ghost-like afterimages. With a flash of the Ice Flame in his hand, he burst out brilliant thunderous sword glows.

Two Black Iron-rank Iron-Armored Soldiers screamed miserably as they were fiercely stabbed in the chest by Lei Qing, blood splashing on the spot.

Just as they reacted, Lei Qing had already appeared in front of this squad. There were more than twenty people, almost all wearing iron armor. Even if Bronze-rank experts didn’t care about the weight, they were ultimately much slower than Lei Qing, who wore soft leather armor. Moreover, Lei Qing’s cultivation was higher, and his movement technique was outstanding.

The High-stage Bronze captain stopped Li Baobao, who was preparing to risk her life in desperation. Instead, he stepped forward two paces, removed his helmet, and revealed the face of a young man in his late twenties. He stared at Lei Qing with an awkward expression: “Brother, our losses this time are already severe enough, why do you insist on killing us all? Why offend the Li Chamber of Commerce to the death?” His heart was also in pain; if he had known these mountain bandits would suddenly become so brave and fearless…

In fact, everyone knew that the strength of these Iron-Armored Personal Guards was far above these mountain bandits. Even Lei Qing himself admitted that if he encountered a fifty-man Iron-armored Heavy Cavalry unit like this on a plain, and if he had subordinates like these mountain bandits, he would definitely avoid them if their number didn’t exceed three hundred.

Such heavily armored Iron-armored Heavy Cavalry, with strong individual strength and riding warhorses, could easily defeat or even crush a disorganized mob several times their size on a plain.

Unfortunately for them, they were on a treacherous mountain path and encountered a group of mountain bandits with exploding morale.

Of course, this was to blame on the enemy commander for not knowing how to fight. For a qualified general, the most basic principle was to understand the combat capabilities of his subordinates and the time and place to maximize their abilities, and then set the battlefield there as much as possible. Naturally, one needed to avoid environments that were unfavorable to oneself.

Lei Qing’s obstruction made these Iron-Armored Soldiers realize that they could no longer break through, so they had to seek other options.

At this moment, the mountain bandits behind rushed over with a clatter, holding various weapons, their expressions incredibly excited. Today’s battle was fought so satisfyingly; those fearsome Iron-Armored Soldiers were chased into a miserable retreat like a bunch of chickens and dogs.

The discipline of the mountain bandits was not strong, and Lei Qing hadn’t trained them carefully yet. At this chaotic moment, a few excited guys stared intently at Li Baobao, swallowing their saliva hard. They had lived their whole lives without ever seeing such a delicate, noble, and beautiful woman. They didn’t dare to ask for this woman for themselves, but they could think of their boss.

“Boss, why don’t we snatch this woman back to Fierce Tiger Ridge to be your Lady Boss?” These mountain bandits didn’t have much education or knowledge, and their understanding of the powerful Li Chamber of Commerce was only half-baked, limited to what they knew in Qingshi Town. They didn’t fully understand that the Li Chamber of Commerce was a massive entity.

“Bastard, what did you say? You’re looking for death. Let’s fight them to the death.”

The mountain bandits’ unfiltered words made the Li Clan’s Personal Guards, who originally wanted to negotiate, become filled with indignation. They excitedly waved their swords, preparing to fight to the death.

“Everyone shut up.” Lei Qing infused his Fighting Qi and projected his voice, landing it heavily in everyone’s ears. He glared sharply past the Iron-Armored Soldiers at the mountain bandits blocking the rear: “What a mess this is! Do you still remember what I told you yesterday? Starting today, we are no longer mountain bandits.”

Lei Qing’s prestige in the hearts of these bandit soldiers had expanded again and again. By now, many of them had started to sincerely worship Lei Qing. Their boss was handsome and fierce, killing four Bronze-rank experts and several Black Iron-ranks back and forth. He also led them to fight such a beautiful battle.

Because of this, Lei Qing’s words were very effective. The mountain bandits immediately shut their mouths, puffed out their chests, and stood straight, as if they really weren’t mountain bandits anymore.

Lei Qing glanced at her pale face, seeing the anger and hatred flashing in her eyes. He then turned to look at the still relatively rational captain and snorted coldly: “You talk a good game, do you take me for an idiot? I can tell just by looking at your Miss’s eyes. If I don’t kill you all today, you will come to kill me tomorrow. Besides, did I start this matter? Your Miss threatened to flatten us and hang my head on the city gate of Qingshi Town. From the moment your Miss shouted that stupid and idiotic sentence, we became mortal enemies who will never stop until one dies, so killing you all is perfectly reasonable.”

Although those Iron-Armored Personal Guards were very loyal to the Li Clan, hearing Lei Qing’s words, it was false to say they had no thoughts at all. Indeed, those mountain bandits were polite at the time and didn’t want to fight. But the Eldest Miss’s tough stance and active attack ruined the big picture. Actually, even if they wanted to wipe out these mountain bandits, why do it then? If they went back and called more people, using normal warfare methods to flatten these mountain bandits would have been an easy task.

That Li Baobao also seemed to regret her previous decision immensely, biting her lip until it bled, but her eyes were fixed dead on Lei Qing.

“Hehe, I understand this reasoning.” The High-stage Bronze captain smiled bitterly and said: “My name is Luo Yun, and I am the captain of the Ninth Squad of the Li Clan’s Imperial Guard’s Second Regiment. Just hearing this title, brother, you should be clear about how powerful the Li Chamber of Commerce is? Even if you kill all of us today, you definitely won’t escape the pursuit of the Li Chamber of Commerce. Even if they have to chase you to the ends of the earth, you won’t escape.”

These words made Lei Qing’s face sink slightly: “Luo Yun, it is your Li Clan that wants to kill me, so why should I be polite to you? As for being hunted down, I’m used to it. My life isn’t worth much. Before I die, having a Miss Li accompany me to the underworld sounds like a good deal no matter how I think about it? Enough nonsense, either surrender and let me deal with you, or fight to the death, and every one of you will die right here.”

That Li Baobao was actually very smart too, knowing she had done something wrong earlier. Now, no matter how angry she was, she didn’t speak. Instead, she left the decision to Captain Luo.

Luo Yun bore a heavy burden, so how could he dare to be negligent? Now, the most important thing was naturally to ensure the safety of Miss Li. Secondly, it was the lives of his brothers.

He suppressed his anger and said, forced to bow his head under the circumstances: “Brother, you can’t say that. It is better to resolve enmity than to create it. If you are willing to let us go now, I can ask the Miss to guarantee in the name of the Li Chamber of Commerce that this matter ends here, and we will absolutely not seek revenge on you, brother.”

“That sounds nice.” Lei Qing put his hands behind his back and said indifferently: “Too bad I don’t believe it.”

“Then what will it take for you to believe me, brother?” Luo Yun suppressed his anger and said with a forced low laugh: “You have to name a price.”

“My life is in my own hands.” When Lei Qing spoke the last word, he suddenly moved, his figure flashing.

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