Sword Among Us Novel - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Kiting 1
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“How dare you?!”
Almost the moment the lancet knives left Happy’s hand, the second bandit chief roared, and he jumped into the air from the group of Black Wind Mountain Bandits! He bent his knees and looked like an eagle that dove from high above toward the place where Happy had hid himself!
It seemed like all the people in the world of martial arts loved doing this—oppressing others by force!
Happy’s Lancet Knife Throwing Technique had reached the ninth realm. His skill and speed was much more accurate and faster than before. When he saw the bandit’s actions, he was neither happy nor alarmed. The moment two short grunts rose into the air, two other throwing knives left his hands at the same time. One of them was above the other, and they shot straight toward the second bandit chief’s head and lower body.
Their speed was incredibly fast, and when they attacked, their strikes were fatal…
The second bandit chief roared in anger in the air. He spun viciously and miraculously avoided the two fatal throwing knives.
Thud! Thud!
The lancet knives grazed past the second bandit chief’s body and stabbed into the tree bark. The sounds that rose when they sank into the tree were heavy and dull.
‘As expected, he’s much more difficult to deal with compared to the third bandit chief…’ 1
“Kill them!”
Happy did not panic. He suddenly shouted, and another two throwing knives charged swiftly toward the second bandit chief.
At the same time, the six other people hidden by the roadside revealed themselves.
Qian Kunzi, Eastern Green Gate, Whirlwind Young Li, Azure Wolf, Xuan Kun, and Xuan Zhong all rushed forward. Their shining weapons worked together with Happy’s dull throwing knives, and they finally made a surprised look appear on the second bandit chief’s face, even though the man had kept his cool all this while.
The youth had actually called for reinforcements!
From what he knew, when Happy killed the third bandit chief, he had come alone. The only helpers he had were the three villagers who were called to divert the attention of the other mountain bandits…
Alarm appeared on the second bandit chief’s face!
The brief loss of composure was exploited by Happy. His lancet knife made use of the opportunity and went straight into the second bandit chief’s shoulder. The sharp pain shocked and enraged the second bandit chief, but his level-headedness made him press his hand against his shoulder and move back. With an even faster speed, he returned to the Black Wind Mountain Bandits and shouted at his brothers, “Attack them together!”
With that command, around forty Black Wind Mountain Bandits drew their weapons. They shouted and pounced on Happy and his friends.
Happy retreated into the bushes calmly and reminded the other six loudly. “Act based on the plan!”
Whirlwind Young Li and the others did not leave immediately. Instead, they quickly spread out and ran off into different directions!
The second bandit chief remained at the back of the group. He could not see the situation in the forest clearly, and because of it, he did not know that his forty or so brothers had instantly been divided into smaller groups and led into different directions. 1
When the second bandit chief noticed that there was a prolonged absence of any sound of activity in the forest and that his brothers were going further and further into the distance, he finally realized that there was something off about the situation, and a hint of uneasiness appeared on his face!
“Come back!”
But unfortunately for him, when he gave the order, the mountain bandits could no longer hear him.
‘This is bad.’
The second bandit chief gritted his teeth and pulled out the throwing knife in his shoulder. He stopped the blood before he viciously lifted his broadsword and ran into the forest in hot pursuit.
Happy had left the earliest. Hence, practically all the Black Wind Mountain Bandits’ attention was focused on Whirlwind Young Li and the other five. When those extremely violent and wicked people chased them into the depths of the forest, they noticed that the brothers around them had started dwindling in number, and they finally realized that something was off.
“Urk!”
Two extremely faint grunts came from the back. Some of the mountain bandits turned their heads around to look, and they were just in time to see two of their brothers at the very end of the group roll over and fall to the ground.
Shick! Shick!
The throwing knives came nonstop. They brought with them a faint sound of air being sliced apart, and they swiftly claimed the lives of two more mountain bandits.
“Get the money.” 2
The remaining six mountain bandits were no longer a threat to Happy. While he spoke, he drew his sword. In the dim firelight, a cold glare shone, and two torches fell to the dust on the ground along with their owners.
It became darker in the forest.
The remaining Black Wind Mountain Bandits simply could not tell where the hidden weapons came from. Fear blossomed in their hearts, but at that moment, Happy swiftly charged out from the bush behind them…
“It’s him!”
“Kill him!”
The fear of the unknown was the most terrifying. When they saw their real enemy appear, the remaining four bandits actually regained their courage. They lifted their torches with one hand and their blades with the other.
But Happy did not intend to waste time with them!
Whoosh!
“Ah!”
“Urgh!”
Before the two by his side could get closer, they flipped over and fell. The spot where they were struck by Happy’s throwing knives were swiftly dyed dark red.
The terrifying throwing knives caused the final two to come to a swift stop, and they completely lost their courage! They turned around and fled with pale faces…
But unfortunately for them, they forgot that with such a distance between them and Happy, it was impossible for them to escape from his throwing knives!
Qian Kunzi saw the final two mountain bandits fall to the ground with knives in their backs. Since the start of the fight, he had watched it with his mouth open in surprise. He felt like he had just seen a crisply executed chase in the world of martial artists.
The ten Black Wind Mountain Bandits who had been after him had died in the blink of an eye. If the others knew about this, things would turn chaotic. Qian Kunzi quickly recorded all of this in his mind and answered to Happy’s orders in extreme enthusiasm. He ran to the side of one of the corpses, extended his hand, and began groping about… 2
He might not be able to kill mountain bandits, but he could certainly handle their money and valuables.
‘Yes, no matter how many of them appear, I’m not scared!’
Qian Kunzi crouched down among the corpses that were scattered all over the ground and lowered his head to snicker nonstop. He looked incredibly sleazy. 1
*****
It was incredibly easy to locate the mountain bandits in the dark woods when all of them had torches in their hands. Once Happy dealt with Qian Kunzi’s pursuers, he went to Azure Wolf’s side. He had fewer people on his side, only seven bandits. Happy immediately repeated his actions. He quickly got rid of the bandits in a few neat motions and let Azure Wolf handle the wrapping up. He did not stop using Complete Reality Qi Cultivation Technique to circulate his qi and restore his qi while he rushed off to another batch of firelight.
By then, more than one-third of Black Wind Mountain Bandits had died.
However, the situation of Happy’s party was not very good either…
The second bandit chief had lightness skill, and he had already caught up to Xuan Kun.
Even though the young man kept running to places that had a complicated terrain, the second bandit chief had a lot of qi, and his speed was astonishing. In the blink of an eye, he blocked the path. Xuan Kun’s face instantly turned pale, and he used all his strength to shout loudly, “Eldest senior brother, be careful!”
When he heard a voice from another group of light deep in the forest, Happy froze for a moment before anger flashed briefly in his eyes!
The inevitable sacrifices had finally happened.
Xuan Kun died in battle!
But once he remembered that he would soon be revived in Gusu City’s Guanlin Temple [1], the negative emotions were soon replaced by calmness. ‘Xuan Kun has died. I can’t let anyone else be sacrificed in vain!’ Happy moved, and he swiftly ran to the group of light to the east.
That was where Xuan Zhong was.
When he remembered that the second bandit chief had already entered the forest in hot pursuit and that every single one of them bore the risk of dying, Happy instantly increased his speed of killing the Black Wind Mountain Bandits!
The Lancet Knife Throwing Techniques became the God of Death in the forest at night. Every single time the lancet knives whisked through the air, they would take at least two lives.
The speed and frequency at which Happy attacked increased, and his attacks became even more ruthless!
At that moment, the Blue-robed Noble Sword User became even more unfathomable in Eastern Green Gate, Xuan Zhong, Azure Wolf, and the other people’s eyes. The elegant and passionate Eldest Senior Brother Happy had turned into an experienced killer.
Wherever he went, no one was left alive!
His attacks were even more astounding than those of Flower Snatcher Li Xunhuan[2]. 2
When all the Black Wind Mountain Bandits on Eastern Green Gate’s side were killed, the second bandit chief intercepted Whirlwind Young Li…
Even though Whirlwind Young Li had sharp movements, extraordinary speed, and kept using the objects behind him to stop his opponent in his tracks, these things were of no effect before the second bandit chief.
Whoosh!
Before long, a dark black figure stopped in front of Whirlwind Young Li. He turned around slowly and saw that the level-headed expression of the second bandit chief was replaced by ruthlessness and anger.
Around forty out of his fifty brothers had been killed by a nameless brat as if he were keeping them chasing after his comrades, but making sure that they were at a distance where they could not attack them [3]…
The second bandit chief gritted his teeth and hissed, “Damn it!”
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
Mogumoguchan Mogumoguchan
Translator’s Note:

[1] Guanlin Temple: Also known as Temple of Guan Yu and Wu. It is a temple dedicated to General Guan Yu.

[2] Li Xunhuan: He is the protagonist from Little Li Flying Dagger, also known as Xiaoli Feidao. He was born in a family of scholars and earned the position of tanhua, Flower Snatcher (探花; third best candidate) in the imperial examination. (Source: Wikipedia)

[3] This is obviously kiting, all you gamers know it’s kiting. Don’t lie.