2025-03-04 22:55:25Meanwhile, outside the inn, more than forty bandits were searching through the villagers' houses one by one, looting any valuables they could find.
Painful screams echoed in the night as the bandits mercilessly swung their weapons. They showed no mercy to anyone who dared to stand in their way.
The terrified cries of women and children added to the horror of what should have been a peaceful night. The once-tranquil village was now filled with fear and chaos.
Several young women sobbed as they were dragged away by the bandits. Their desperate cries for their parents did nothing to move the hearts of their captors. Instead, the bandits laughed heartily, pleased with the wealth and women they had seized.
"Tonight, we shall have a grand feast!" roared a tall, muscular man wielding a large sword. His laughter rang out loudly, matching his terrifying presence.
"That's right, Chief! We never expected such a small village to be this wealthy—and its women so alluring," one of the bandits replied.
"How do you plan to celebrate when your lives will be taken this very night?"
A voice suddenly shattered the bandits' laughter.
The laughter ceased instantly. The bandit leader and his men turned their heads, scanning for the source of the threat.
Their laughter erupted once more—louder than before—when they spotted a young man standing not far from where they had gathered.
"Chief, looks like we have a young fool who’s tired of living, hahaha!" one of the bandits mocked.
The bandit leader narrowed his eyes, studying the young man who was staring at them with a sharp gaze. A wicked grin spread across his face as he took in Li Jie's handsome features. His mind quickly hatched a plan to make extra profit.
"Seize him! But don’t kill him. He’ll fetch a high price if we sell him."
"As expected of our wise leader! Lord Prayogo would surely pay a fortune for someone like him," a bandit chimed in.
"Indeed! Lord Han Zi would certainly enjoy a young man like this. His looks surpass any of the boys we've brought to him before," another added.
"You fools must be dreaming if you think you can capture me alive. If you wish to sell me, then I, too, have a wish—to turn your corpses into a feast for the beasts of the forest!" Li Jie retorted.
His sharp words ignited the bandit leader’s fury. He immediately changed his plan.
"Torture him before you kill him! He doesn’t deserve to live!" he bellowed.
A dozen bandits surrounding the leader rushed forward to attack Li Jie. Their weapons swung wildly, aiming to tear him apart.
Without hesitation, Li Jie drew his sword, skillfully blocking and deflecting every strike. One by one, the bandits’ weapons flew from their hands, sent soaring into the air by his expert counters.
Before the bandits could even register that their weapons were gone, Li Jie swiftly slashed his sword, cutting deep into their bodies. Their agonized screams filled the night.
In no time at all, seven bandits lay lifeless on the ground. The remaining ones stood frozen, unable to believe that their comrades had been slain so effortlessly.
Seeing his men slaughtered so easily, the bandit leader turned to one of his subordinates.
"Call the others!" he barked.
"Chief, that young man… he’s a warrior!" a bandit stammered in fear.
"You think I don’t already know that?!" the leader snapped.
Moments later, the fear among the bandits was replaced with confidence as more than twenty of their comrades arrived.
Without waiting for orders, the reinforcements surrounded Li Jie. Yet, upon seeing the lifeless bodies of their fallen comrades, they hesitated.
"Attack him now and kill that bastard!" the leader roared, furious at their hesitation.
"Come at me if you wish to die!" Li Jie said calmly.
The bandits felt trapped. If they attacked, they might be killed. But if they hesitated, their own leader would not spare them.
They made their choice. As one, they charged at Li Jie, surrounding him from all sides.
A small smile played on Li Jie’s lips before his body suddenly spun, his sword slicing through the air.
"Heavenly Light Demon-Slaying Sword!"
A radiant light burst from Li Jie's blade, streaking toward the dozens of bandits closing in on him.
Agonized screams echoed as bodies were sliced cleanly apart, spilling entrails onto the ground.
With a single attack, seventeen bandits met their end.
The remaining ones instinctively stumbled back, their faces pale with terror.
For the first time in their lives, they had encountered a foe beyond their capabilities. Their only thought was escape.
Without hesitation, the survivors turned and fled.
A smirk formed on Li Jie’s lips as he activated his light-foot technique, instantly catching up to them.
"You think you can escape so easily?"
The fleeing bandits skidded to a halt, their eyes widening in disbelief. Li Jie was already in front of them, blocking their path.
"Even if you surrender, I will still kill you. So there is only one choice—either I die, or you do."
Terror gripped them once more. Whether they ran or fought, death awaited them.
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The Liberation of the Captives
The two warriors emerged from Aji’s chambers after a brief but deliberate council, their minds set on a single purpose: to find where King Surajaya indulged his vile appetites. It seemed unthinkable that he would sully his own private quarters with such depravity—thus, they knew they must search the palace’s lesser-known halls and hidden chambers for the place where he kept his victims.For what felt like hours, they wandered the labyrinthine corridors of the palace, their footsteps silent against the cold marble floors. Torches cast dancing shadows across walls adorned with tapestries depicting the glory of Kalingga’s past—scenes of heroes and dragons that now felt like bitter mockeries of the realm’s current corruption. At last, their path led them to a section of the palace they had rarely traversed, where a heavy wooden door stood flanked by guards.Fifteen soldiers were posted there, their backs straight and their hands resting on their sword hilts—far more than would ever be ass
The Princess’s Blessing
A flicker of sheer astonishment crossed Aji’s countenance, and in that very instant, his gaze locked with that of the Princess. The radiant maiden bowed her head low, her delicate features shadowed by a profound sense of shame—for the deeds of her father weighed heavy upon her heart like a boulder cast into still waters.“Your Highness,” Aji ventured, his voice carrying the quiet curiosity of one who sought to pierce the veil of mystery surrounding her thoughts, “what manner of vision has visited you in your dreams?”Princess Larasati closed her eyes, and a long, labored breath escaped her roseate lips. The weight of his question pressed upon her soul with such force that words themselves seemed to wither on her tongue. For deep within her heart lay a fear so potent it threatened to unmoor her resolve: that Aji might be the very figure fate had ordained to bring about her father’s end.Yet she knew, too, that her father’s unseemly conduct could not be allowed to persist unchecked. Onl
Breaking the Curse
“Aji…?” Jaya whispered to himself, his breath catching in his throat. His eyes narrowed to slits, as if trying to pierce through the half-light of the corridor and the veil of his own disbelief. The figure seated at the desk ahead was bent low over a scattering of parchments, their shoulders hunched in concentration—but even from this distance, there was something familiar in the set of their spine, the way their fingers moved across the pages as if tracing words they knew by heart.Still uncertain, Jaya took slow, deliberate steps forward, his boots making no sound against the polished marble floor. The palace corridors were quiet at this hour, save for the distant tread of guards and the soft crackle of torches mounted on the walls. Each step brought him closer, and with every pace, the truth of what he saw became harder to deny.“Aji…” he called out softly, his voice carrying just far enough to reach the seated man when he was barely five meters away.The figure lifted their head t
Entering the Palace
After riding for what felt like hours through the winding paths of the forest, they at last reached their destination—a structure of considerable size, its stone walls weathered by time and gnawed at by countless generations of termites. Thickets of thorny brush clawed at its foundations, while vines as thick as a man’s arm crept across its facade, draping the windows and doorways in a tangled curtain of green. Moss grew in dark patches across the crumbling mortar, and the air around it carried the scent of damp earth and decay—a smell that spoke of long years of abandonment.Setiaji’s face broke into a warm smile as he looked upon the building. “A most remarkable hiding place,” he said, his voice echoing softly in the quiet of the woods. “No soul in all Kalingga would ever suspect that human hands dwell within these walls. The very appearance of it repels all who might draw near—they see only ruin, not refuge.”“Let the exterior remain as it is,” Jaya replied, his eyes sweeping over
The Disguise
“Can it truly be so—that great beast is Lord Jaya?” Setiaji asked, his voice barely more than a whisper, his face etched with a disbelief so profound it seemed carved from stone. Even as he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on the tiger, watching as it paced slowly before the line of royal soldiers, its massive head tilted as if assessing each man with cold, calculating intelligence.Ratih offered him a small, reassuring smile, the corners of her lips curving gently despite the tension that hung heavy in the air. “If you do not believe me, Uncle, watch closely. The tiger will not raise a claw against us—not now, nor ever. Its fury is reserved solely for those who would hunt us down.”The certainty in her gaze was unshakable, like a beacon cutting through the fog of his doubt. Taking a slow, steady breath, Setiaji felt the tight knot of anxiety in his chest begin to loosen. He turned to his companions, who stood clustered together with weapons still raised, their faces pale with fear and
The Aid of Jaya
In the blink of an eye, Setiaji’s company scattered like leaves before a gale. Each member moved with silent purpose, their eyes scanning the forest floor and canopy for trees thick enough to shield their forms, or undergrowth dense enough to swallow them whole. The ancient woods of Kalingga were vast and wild, and in its depths, even a band of men could vanish like smoke if they knew where to hide.Setiaji himself, alongside Ratih, slipped behind a massive thicket of thorny brush—its branches woven so tightly together that not even a shaft of sunlight could pierce through to the ground below. From their concealed vantage, they peered out between the leaves, their gazes fixed on the direction from which Setiaji had sensed approaching hoofbeats. He had guessed correctly that these riders belonged to the royal forces of Kalingga, and now every muscle in his body was coiled tight as a spring.The mounted company—some fifteen strong, their armor gleaming like polished silver beneath the d
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