"What's going on?"
"Why hasn't the compass stopped yet?"
The Eighteen Thieves of Yunshan exchanged glances, somewhat puzzled.
According to their usual experience, the pointer on the compass should have stopped spinning quickly.
Even when being chased by the subordinates of the Prince of the North, it would only spin for about a dozen breaths before stopping.
But now?
It's been spinning for more than half an hour?
If it weren't for having witnessed the magic of the bronze compass before, the Eighteen Thieves of Yunshan would have already lost their patience.
"Let's wait a bit longer."
The Eighteen Thieves of Yunshan held their temper and continued to wait.
Another half an hour passed.
The bronze compass in front of the eighteen, with the copper needle suspended in the center, was still spinning rapidly.
"Is the compass broken?"
The rough-looking man in the lead stood up and carefully examined the bronze compass.
"Oh compass, oh compass," he murmured. "Which direction should we go next to ensure our safety?"
The rough-looking man decided to change the question and ask something else.
As soon as he spoke, the copper needle in the center of the bronze compass spun even faster.
"What does this mean?"
This scene left the group utterly baffled.
What is the compass trying to tell them?
The rough-looking man furrowed his brows. He vaguely thought of a possibility, but it seemed too far-fetched.
Even when they were caught in the Prince of the North's deadly trap, they managed to escape unscathed. But here, in this remote place?
"We must split up and retreat immediately."
The rough-looking man put away the compass and looked at the other seventeen with a serious expression.
"Yes."
"Understood, boss."
Although the seventeen didn't know why the rough-looking man gave this order, they trusted him completely after all these years.
It was precisely because of this trust that they had been able to escape danger so many times.
Whoosh.
In the next moment, the youngest of the eighteen bandits was the first to choose a direction and dash away.
The rest also planned to pick their own directions and retreat.
Suddenly.
Whoosh.
A figure silently appeared behind the retreating youngest bandit.
Then, with ease, it twisted the youngest bandit's neck and casually tossed the corpse of this wicked peak-level Witch King aside.
This scene immediately made the remaining seventeen bandits' faces turn grim.
At the same time, an indescribable terror rose in their hearts.
The youngest bandit wasn't much weaker than them, also at the peak of the Witch King level, yet he was killed without even being able to struggle or resist?
"I finally found you."
Lin Yuan looked at the Eighteen Thieves of Yunshan, or more accurately, the remaining seventeen of them, and smiled.
With his current strength, he could easily crush the youngest bandit into meat paste with just a slap. But if he did that, he wouldn't have been able to confirm that the person was indeed the youngest bandit. So, he just twisted the neck, leaving a whole corpse.
"Are you sent by the Prince of the North?" the rough-looking man asked in a low voice after steadying himself.
The other sixteen stared at Lin Yuan, their throats dry.
"Prince of the North?"
"Never heard of him," Lin Yuan shook his head. "But I am very interested in the bounty on your heads."
"Bounty?"
The remaining Eighteen Thieves of Yunshan were slightly taken aback.
To them, Lin Yuan's strength, even if he wasn't at the Witch Sovereign level, must be very close, likely at the peak of the Witch Emperor level.
Yet, he was after a bounty of mere tens of millions of Witch Crystals?
"Sir," one of the bandits spoke carefully, "if you spare us, we are willing to pay you sixty million—no, ninety million Witch Crystals as compensation."
As he spoke, he took out a box of purple Witch Crystals.
In this two-dimensional world, Witch Crystals are a special metal, and purple Witch Crystals are the highest quality, with this box being worth nearly a billion.
"So many Witch Crystals?"
Lin Yuan's eyes lit up slightly.
Originally, the bounty of sixty million on the Eighteen Thieves of Yunshan had already pleased him, but now there was an even bigger reward?
"If it's not enough, we can add more," the other bandits, though heartbroken, continued with forced smiles.
Ninety million Witch Crystals was a huge sum for them, but with their lives at stake, they were willing to pay any price to persuade Lin Yuan.
"What do you think, sir? Sixty million Witch Crystals is just a start; we can offer more," the bandit continued.
However.
Crack.
Lin Yuan's figure suddenly disappeared.
When he reappeared, he was already standing next to the bandit, casually taking the box of purple Witch Crystals and twisting the bandit's neck.
"If I kill you all, won't everything be mine?" Lin Yuan said as he closed the box and carefully put it away.
He smiled.
"Run!" shouted the rough-looking man, immediately retreating at full speed.
The other fifteen also chose different directions and fled.
"You think you can escape?"
Lin Yuan opened his mouth and lightly inhaled.
Boom.
A terrifying wind surged from all directions, funneling into Lin Yuan's mouth like the eye of a storm, uprooting all the ancient trees within miles and sending them flying toward Lin Yuan.
Along with them, the sixteen fleeing bandits were also caught in the wind, unable to move.
"This…?"
The sixteen remaining Eighteen Thieves of Yunshan, seeing this, felt their scalps tingle with fear.
Is this even human?
Is this still human?
Just inhaling caused such a terrifying scene?
At this moment, these peak Witch Kings felt their understanding of the world shatter.
"Die."
Lin Yuan's figure disappeared again, and in an instant, six more bandits had their necks twisted.
"Explode!" the rough-looking man, who was the furthest away, didn't hesitate to burn his blood essence, causing his strength to surge, crossing into the realm of the Witch Emperor.
As the leader of the Eighteen Thieves of Yunshan, the rough-looking man had many trump cards, and this was one of them—an explosive burst of strength that could elevate him to the Witch Emperor level temporarily.
Even though it would come at a cost later, as long as he survived, it would be worth it.
"Escape," he thought as he fled without a second thought, not even considering staying behind to cover for the others or delaying Lin Yuan.
Although he didn't know Lin Yuan's exact strength, even after forcing his way into the Witch Emperor realm, the rough-looking man still felt an overwhelming pressure from Lin Yuan.
This pressure was no different from when he was at the peak of the Witch King level.
"Run, run, run," was the only thought in the rough-looking man's mind.
He didn't know how long he had been running when he finally stopped.
Because not far ahead, Lin Yuan was standing there quietly, looking at him.
"Sir," the rough-looking man trembled. He had burned his blood essence, reaching the Witch Emperor level, yet he still couldn't escape far from Lin Yuan?
He didn't need to think to know that his brothers were all dead.
At this moment, countless thoughts flashed through the rough-looking man's mind, and the scene of the bronze compass spinning endlessly resurfaced.
"So... the compass wasn't malfunctioning after all…" he thought in horror.
The reason the pointer on the bronze compass kept spinning was because the eighteen of them had no path of survival.
No matter which direction they chose, they couldn't escape Lin Yuan's pursuit.
Realizing this, the rough-looking man couldn't help but kneel, begging, "Sir, we shouldn't have tried to negotiate with you. If you spare my life, I will follow your orders from now on and serve you for the rest of my days."
The rough-looking man wanted to live.
If he could survive, even as a servant, he would gladly accept it.
"Serve me?" Lin Yuan smiled.
"Ok"
The rough-looking man was incredulous, then smiled like a child.
"I was joking, you can die now" said Lin Yuan.
The rough-looking man immediately cried.
Lin Yuan had killed seventeen of the Eighteen Thieves of Yunshan. It was said that the eighteen of them were as close as brothers, with a strong bond. After killing seventeen of them, did the rough-looking man have no thoughts of revenge?
Even if the rough-looking man was too scared of Lin Yuan's power to harbor such thoughts now, what about in the future?
Lin Yuan didn't want to leave such a hidden danger by his side, so he decided to kill him outright, saving himself the trouble.
As for subordinates? There were plenty of natives in this world, so why worry about finding followers?
"You should all go together," Lin Yuan said as he raised his right hand and easily twisted the rough-looking man's neck.
"I…" The rough-looking man's eyes widened, but soon the light in them faded.
"The Eighteen Thieves of Yunshan are all here now," Lin Yuan said as he withdrew his right hand.
"Sixty million Witch Crystals, plus that box of purple Witch Crystals worth ninety million—a total of 150M Witch Crystals. And with the resources these eighteen had accumulated, I now have enough to break through to the Witch Sovereign realm."
A smile appeared on Lin Yuan's face.
This trip had completely fulfilled his expectations. He had thought he would need to take on several more bounties to gather enough resources, but it turned out that he got everything in one go.
"Hmm?" Lin Yuan was searching the rough-looking man's body when a bronze compass suddenly fell out.
"Hmm?"
Lin Yuan's gaze fixed on the bronze compass. He faintly sensed an unusual aura emanating from it.
...
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