The bald bandit leader's roar and the cold glint of his blade plunged the riverside camp into a deathly silence of panic. The villagers' faces turned ashen, and their hands, gripping their crude weapons, trembled like leaves in the wind.
Fear, like an icy tide, instantly overwhelmed the joy of the recent harvest. Faced with this group of ferocious, knife-wielding desperados, they instinctively felt a suffocating despair!
"Hand over the grain! Hand over the grain! Or we'll all be slaughtered!" The bandits brandished their knives and spears, shouting menacingly as they pressed forward step by step!
In this moment of despair, everyone's gaze involuntarily turned to the figure in the center of the camp, like drowning people grasping at the last straw!
Jiang Chan!
She stood there, not particularly tall, even somewhat thin. But the dark, menacing-looking "iron rod" in her hand exuded a chilling aura!
The villagers suddenly remembered something!
The official, pointed at by this "iron rod," had his chest explode with blood and died instantly! Riding an iron bird to soar through the sky! With a wave of the hand, harvesting mountains of grain! Summoning divine beasts to reclaim wasteland…
She's a fairy!
The "iron rod" in her hand... is a deadly weapon!
A surge of inexplicable courage, or perhaps a kind of unwavering trust in the face of adversity, instantly overcame most of the fear! With the fairy here! What is there to be afraid of?!
No matter how fierce these bandits are, can they be fiercer than the "divine punishment" of the fairy?
The villagers gripped their hoes and wooden sticks tightly. Although their palms were still sweating with tension, their eyes were no longer as unfocused and desperate as before. Instead, they stared intently at Jiang Chan with an almost devout expectation!
The bandits were initially aggressive, thinking that the group of old, weak, sick and disabled would be so scared that they would run away and beg for mercy.
The expected breakdown and screams did not occur! These peasants... were not in much disarray. Instead, they all looked at the woman holding the strange iron rod with strange expressions.
The bald bandit leader with scarred face twisted his head, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.
He'd been a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and outlaws) man for years, committing murder and robbery; he'd seen it all. This group of people before him, especially that woman… they were too calm! Unnaturally calm!
"Damn it! What are you looking at!"
To bolster his courage, a one-eyed henchman stepped forward, brandishing his machete and spitting as he shouted, "I'm talking to you! Bring out all the grain! If you dare hide a single grain, I'll rip your hearts out and use them as a snack!"
"Yes! Move out!"
"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for! Do you want to die?!"
The other henchmen joined in the shouting, wielding their blades even more rapidly, trying to mask their inner unease with ferocity.
Jiang Chan moved.
She slowly raised the shotgun in her hand, the cold muzzle pointing at the bald, burly man at the head of the group. Her voice wasn't loud, but it pierced everyone's eardrums like an ice pick: "Final warning. Now, take your men and get out of here."
Her tone was calm and even, without anger or threat, simply stating a decision: "Otherwise, you won't be leaving; you'll stay here forever."
The bandits were stunned for a moment, then burst into ear-piercing laughter!
"Hahaha! You stinking woman! Who are you trying to scare!"
"You're just pretending to be a ghost with a fire poker!"
"You think you can get the hell out of here? I'll chop you up first!"
The bald bandit leader was also amused, his hideous scar contorted in anger. "Little wench! You've got quite the nerve! I'll see how you manage to get me to stay!"
He suddenly raised his ghost-headed saber, the blade pointing directly at Jiang Chan, and roared, "Brothers! Give me..."
"Ten." Jiang Chan's icy voice interrupted him, and she began the countdown.
The bandits' laughter abruptly stopped! Everyone was stunned! This woman… she really dared to count?!
"Nine!"
The bald bandit leader's face darkened, his eyes fixed fiercely on the "iron rod" in Jiang Chan's hand, and he tightened his grip on the knife.
"eight!"
The one-eyed henchman swallowed hard, feeling a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason.
"seven!"
The crowd held their breath, their hearts pounding! Chen Yan gripped his knife tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging! The villagers nervously watched Jiang Chan, then glanced at the bandits whose expressions were shifting.
"six!"
A fierce glint flashed in the bald bandit leader's eyes! Damn it! Forget what she's doing! I'll just chop this pretentious woman down first! He took a step forward, raising his ghost-headed knife high!
"five!"
"Four!"
Jiang Chan's eyes were as cold as ice, and the gun barrel remained motionless, locked onto the bald, burly man's brow!
"three!"
The bald bandit leader's arm muscles bulged, revealing his murderous intent!
"two!"
"one!"
Countdown is over!
The last trace of hesitation in the bald bandit leader's eyes was replaced by ferocity! A beastly roar erupted from his throat: "Kill her!!!"
The ghost-headed saber, accompanied by a chilling whistling sound, slashed down fiercely towards Jiang Chan! Almost at the same instant he made his move!
Bang—!!!
A deafening, terrifying explosion that tore through the air erupted on the riverbank! The muzzle of the shotgun spurted blinding flashes of light and thick smoke!
The bald bandit leader at the forefront had a huge head that looked like a watermelon that had been smashed by a heavy hammer!
Pfft!!
A thick, red, white mixture, mingled with skull fragments, exploded backward! The stench of blood filled the air, splattering onto the faces and bodies of several henchmen behind him!
The headless corpse froze for a moment in its forward-charging, knife-wielding stance, then collapsed to the ground like a ripped sack! Blood gushed out like a fountain from the severed neck, instantly staining the ground beneath its feet red!
Deathly silence! Absolute silence enveloped the riverbank! Time seemed to freeze! All the shouts, all the ferocity, all the movements, all were frozen in this moment!
The remaining bandits' ferocious grins instantly transformed into utter terror and stunned silence! Their eyes widened as they stared at the headless, convulsing corpse on the ground, still gushing blood, and at the brain matter and blood splattered on their companion's face and body…
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