Sword Among Us

“Senior Brother Happy!”

“It’s kind of embarrassing if you call me that way, why don’t you just call me Happy?”

“Heh heh, you’re Whirlwind Young Li’s senior brother, so you’re our senior brother as well. I can get in the right mood when I do this.”

“That’s right, it’s just like in the movies. I feel like you really have the air of a wandering martial artist, Senior Brother Happy.”

“By the way, now that we’ve met him, don’t you think that Senior Brother Happy resembles someone?”

“Who is it?”

“Hu Ge[1]!”

“Hey, aren’t your attempts to suck up to him getting too obvious?’

Happy was completely speechless.

After Whirlwind Young Li and Azure Wolf left, he waited quietly outside Water Revival Village with Eastern Green Gate, Qian Kunzi, Xuan Kun, and Xuan Zhong. He had never expected that the four would use that time to tease him.

“Haha…”

When they saw how red Happy was due to embarrassment and noticed the look of resignation on his face, the four laughed, and their relationship became closer.

“By the way, why do you need so many throwing knives?” Eastern Green Gate suddenly drew the topic away from all the teasing. “I heard that hidden weapons are very difficult to train, and their accuracy is very low, and they’re very costly as well.

“The disciples from Tang Sect on the official website’s forum are almost driven mad, and they’re cursing every single day…”

“Why?” Before Happy could reply, Xuan Kun and Xuan Zhong spoke up with curiosity.

“No money, I guess.” Eastern Green Gate spread his arms and shrugged. “The people from Tang Sect are pouring out their woes every single day. Forging a set of hidden weapons means throwing away a bunch of money, and when you throw it out, you won’t be able to get it back.

“If you hit wild beasts, their pelts will be damaged, and you won’t be able to sell it for much. If you look for higher-level brigands, you will either not be able to hit them, or before you even have a chance to hit them, you’ll die.

“The people on the official website are saying that if you don’t have the money to practice higher-level martial arts, it’s best for you to not learn how to use hidden weapons in the beginning.”

Happy might have told him that he had killed the third bandit chief earlier, but he did not tell them what skill he used. Naturally, they did not know that his Lancet Knife Throwing Technique had already reached the middle of the ninth realm.

When he heard this, Happy nodded, because he had prior experience of it.

“Hidden weapons are indeed very difficult to train…” Happy then changed his tone. “But it’s not as bad as they say.”

He remembered that in his previous life, all the Tang Sect disciples who wandered the lands were powerful martial artists, especially during the first few months. Once they mastered the hidden weapons, all the Tang Sect disciples walked with their heads held high. Even though they faced powerful martial artists who were in the same realm as they were, they could easily fight against two or three of them by themselves. They could drive other people mad from the distance!

There was no other reason behind this. The long-range damage, speed, and ability to stay hidden was something that other martial arts found difficult to compare to.

Before their qi increased to Blessed Realm, players’ ability to determine where something came from based on sound was very low. It was very difficult for them to avoid hidden weapons, and once they had their vitals hit in an ambush, they would face grave danger. If they came off with light injuries, fighting ability would only be slightly affected, but if they came off with heavy injuries, they might die straight away!

There was a reason why hidden weapons were difficult to train and reach a breakthrough.

Once Happy provided the others a general description of the hidden weapons, Eastern Green Gate and the others had shocked and enlightened expressions. Then, they did not forget to ask him about the realm of his Lancet Knife Throwing Technique.

“I just reached the ninth realm for that technique.”

Happy found that there was no reason for him to hide things from his friends.

When the four people heard it, they were in high spirits.

“How’s the power?”

Happy thought about it for a while before he said in a reserved manner, “If I’m up against normal mountain bandits, I now have a 50% chance to kill them in one shot.”

The four’s eyes instantly went wide.

Happy could oneshot a Gate Realm mountain bandit they needed to work together to kill?!

When he saw their surprised expressions, Happy smiled coyly. “I was lucky. I managed to kill a tomb robber a few days ago, and when I completed the quest, I got around two thousand taels of silver crumbs and this Universe Bag from him. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the money to support my practice of Lancet Knife Throwing Technique. I was actually thinking about farming some money today, but I ran into this quest instead.”

Happy’s honesty made the four feel touched.

As they spoke, the topics they discussed became even more packed with information.

Without them even noticing it, evening drew close.

Rustle!

Happy turned his head around and gingerly caught a messenger pigeon that flew right in front of him.

Once he spread out the letter, a solemn expression appeared on his face.

“They’re coming from the south!”

The four became excited.

“Then what should we do?”

“Send a message to Young Li. Tell him to hurry up and rendezvous with us in the south. We’ll have to move now. We absolutely must not let the Black Wind Mountain Bandits take even half a step near Water Revival Village!” Happy’s tone turned cold.

As the messenger pigeon flew out again, the five nodded at the same time and swiftly left for the south of the mountain through the main road.

Soon, they ran into Azure Wolf as he rushed down the mountain.

He ran down impatiently, and when he saw Happy and the other four in the distance, he immediately cried out loudly in excitement.

“They’re behind me!”

“Search for a few different places and hide separately.” Happy quickly stopped and turned his head around to everyone again. “Be careful. If you catch the attention of the mountain bandits, think only about making them run in circles. You must be careful.”

“We get it. Don’t worry.”

The five quickly ducked into the bushes by the road.

Happy stood where he was for a while. Soon, he saw an abnormally dazzling firelight move down the mountain.

Under it were around fifty black-robed mountain bandits. They had torches lifted high and were heading down the mountain rather quickly. There were shining swords and sabers held in their hands, and they looked murderous.

‘Very good.’

When he saw the forces dispatched from Black Wind Mountain, Happy was not alarmed, but was instead happy.

‘All of them have torches…’

He was originally worried how he could handle the mountain bandits if they ran into the bushes and forest, but the mountain bandits from Black Wind Mountain were kind enough to solve this rather troublesome problem for him.

Mountain bandits with torches in their hands were like walking targets that were very distinct to the eye. The enemy was out in the open, and Happy was hidden in the dark. It was exactly what he had hoped for.

He moved dozens of feet forward and quietly hid himself in a bush next to the road!

The fifty Black Wind Mountain Bandits were like a fire dragon. When he drew closer, Happy could vaguely see that they had their faces covered in black facemasks, which was quite noticeable among the crackling of the fire. Only a pair of ruthless eyes could be seen. A fierce presence radiated off them as they headed for Water Revival Village with white strips bound around their arms.

When the mountain bandits draw near, Happy narrowed his eyes slightly. He swept his gaze across the group and swiftly found the person who was dressed in a more unique attire!

That man was in the middle of the group, and he had a shiny black leather armor. He held a ringed broadsword in his hand, and his footsteps were steady. He swept his gaze past the bushes by the side with a somber gaze, looking quite wary of his surroundings.

It was the second bandit chief of Black Wind Mountain!

Happy was slightly startled.

The second bandit chief’s wariness and the leather armor gave him a headache. By the looks of it, the leather armor was inlaid with soft metal pieces that connected together.

There was no need to describe just how well it could protect the body! It would definitely be very difficult for the lancet knives to hurt him.

Happy did not even need to think to know that the man had to have learned from the third bandit chief’s death and had intentionally changed his equipment into leather armor to defend against the throwing knives.

However, there was still hope. At least he had not gotten himself a full set of leather armor. He only protected his torso, which meant that his neck, head, and his limbs were still exposed. He did not reach Class S danger—Determined to Die.

While Happy thought about this, the Black Wind Mountain Bandits entered the range of his lancet knives. Happy silently narrowed his eyes and quickly brought out two of them. A faint ruthless presence turned into two rays of cold light under the cover provided by the rather dark sky, and they sliced through the air without a sound.