My Misfortune Crushed Instances

It was obvious that Zhu Wen held a very pessimistic attitude towards the current situation.

"I told you, I told you. This desert is full of dangers, it’s impossible to have everything under control."

"Now it’s bad; those sand bandits won’t let us go. They not only want to rob us of our possessions but also drink our blood and eat our flesh."

The old demon’s heart nearly stopped. If it were the sand bandits he had encountered before, there might have been a bit of acquaintance, and perhaps they could negotiate, but now these faces occupying the Yellow Sand Ruins were strangers, who knows where they came from.

"Wait a moment; let me negotiate with them."

Zhu Wen sighed, walking forward alone toward the bandits.

Swish, swish, swish!

Several arrows pierced into the yellow sand in front of him, their force powerful and swift as meteors.

The three arrows lined up neatly, clearly not due to poor aim but deliberately.

Zhu Wen dared not move forward again, stopping and shouting, "Spare us, great king! Spare us! We are just passing through!"

One of the sand bandits, riding a mount, shouted, "Come forward."

The other demons were silent, seemingly acknowledging him as the leader.

"Great king, we are from the southern Bamboo Village lineage, passing through your esteemed land unintentionally disturbing, if there is any offense, please forgive us. We will quickly depart, hoping you raise your gracious hand," Zhu Wen said humbly.

The bandit chief looked down at the head-lowered old demon and said coldly, "I know the Bamboo Foot Race."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wen felt a glimmer of hope, thinking there might be a chance to foster goodwill and perhaps a turnaround.

The other raised a whip, pointing towards the Yellow Sand Ancient City, and asked, "Do you know how many vengeful spirits are in the city and how powerful they are?"

Zhu Wen dared not slack off, hurriedly responding, "I know, I know, in the past, thirty warriors of the Sharon Race unparalleled in might resided therein, great king..."

Before he could finish his flattering words, the other interrupted, "The undead of the Sharon Race have been eradicated, and my troops unscathed. How do you compare to us?"

Zhu Wen seized the chance to praise, "Your power is unparalleled, great king; we could not match even a tenth of you."

However, the sand bandit leader did not seem pleased; instead, he suddenly changed his tone, "Exactly, for people like us, we still dare not rashly speak of reviving the desert. What capabilities does your Bamboo Foot Race have?"

"A bunch of overestimating fools, unaware of how many powerful families in the north could only retreat quietly. How could you possibly have such capabilities?"

Zhu Wen’s expression stiffened, unable to help but raise his head, only to see many of the sand bandits behind him wearing mocking smiles.

"Y-y-yes, what the great king says is true." Yet, he chose to swallow his anger.

The sand bandit leader said, "Consider yourself sensible; I’ll give you a way out."

Zhu Wen was overjoyed, lowering his head again, and said rather obsequiously, "Please, enlighten me, great king."

The sand bandit said, "Hand over all the valuables you have."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wen felt quite relieved. Encountering such a vicious group, losing wealth was inevitable. If he could save his life, it would already be considered a gain.

However, the following words were something he could not accept.

"And... lead us to find your family members, and thus, you will be spared."

Zhu Wen suddenly raised his head, his eyes shooting sharp light as if he wanted to pierce the other with his gaze.

"What, you refuse?"

The sand bandit leader sinisterly stroked the curved blade in his hand, and the other bandits took a step forward, exuding an air of menace.

Zhu Wen’s hands trembled. He couldn’t help thinking, if only he had taken the chance to escape during the day to avoid this disaster.

If he managed to return alive, he must urge Zhu Qu to relocate quickly, leading the tribe southward to escape the calamity, not staying in this land now filled only with bandits.

But there are no "ifs" in this world.

He was a demon who cherished his life and was afraid of death, always preferring to make safe choices. Only twice did he go against his better judgment and chose a dangerous course.

The first time, he volunteered to use his aged body to replace Zhu Qu, preventing the tribe from losing a vital pillar.

The second time was now.

He raised his fists, assuming a stance he learned in his youth.

He feared death, but if anyone ever dared to use him to threaten his people, he would not be afraid.

He spoke no grand words and did not plead again.

If anything could convey his determination, it would only be left to the blood soon to splash upon the sand.

As Zhu Wen made his position clear, those sand bandits had already moved, with three various demon forms advancing to within a sword’s distance.

The cultivation of these sand bandits far exceeded that of the senile three-legged demon, yet the usually timid old man no longer exhibited hesitation; though he knew his actions lagged behind his opponents’, he still struck with a powerful punch.

This punch contained all his lifetime cultivation, all his strength, with demonic power surging from the fist.

But ultimately, he was not extraordinarily talented or deeply cultivated, and compared to the three curved blades slashing toward him, this punch was like a flickering firefly to the bright moon.

Indeed, he couldn’t even defeat the undead in the Yellow Sand Ancient City, how could he possibly compare to those sand bandits who eradicated the undead?

Clang!

The curved blades slashed down yet did not penetrate flesh, instead resonated with the sound of metal clashing, for they did not strike the elderly three-legged demon but were deflected by a black umbrella.

Li Rui grabbed Zhu Wen, utilizing Thunderbolt Flash to retreat a hundred meters, then stood protectively before him.

"Do you know why I didn’t blame you when you attempted to escape during the day? Because your action of sacrificing yourself for your people has earned my admiration."

Li Rui seemed indifferent to the sand bandit cavalry charging at him, even turning back to glance at the bewildered Zhu Wen.

"However, if I must say, such a mindset is quite unnecessary. Since I brought you into the Nuanyang State Desert, I will certainly escort you out unharmed."

Whish.

He transformed into a flurry of lightning bolts, disappearing from the spot, appearing amidst the sand bandits, raising his hand to cast a Great Fire Bell Spell.

Zhu Wen watched in terror as those demon race sand bandits burned to ashes in the fierce blaze, feeling his heart pounding with fear; such a terrifying spell, it was the first time he had ever seen in his life.

...

South Zhangye State, Yangfeng Mountain.

This was the headquarters of the Polar Alliance. Yet at this moment, a group of people from the Western Kingdom was climbing the mountain path.

The most peculiar thing was that the leader of these people was Ulysses, the commanding officer of the opposing force, who personally came to this place.

However, during this trip, he did not bring Hopkins or any of those capable deputies, only some ordinary entourage; the Polar Alliance could easily kill him if they wanted.

The reason he came with such a low posture was that his purpose was to seek peace.

Escorted to a villa on the mountain, the representative of the Polar Alliance here, Archbishop Leslie, finally appeared to greet him.

"Ulysses, old friend, we haven’t seen each other for years."

His smile was exceedingly sincere, making one wonder if he truly had a deep connection with the opposing Western Kingdom commander.

In reality, they had only met once at an international conference several years ago.

Ulysses appeared quite calm. After shaking hands and exchanging greetings, he got straight to the point as soon as he sat down.

"The Dragon Country is too strong now; we must join forces."