774. The Dilemma of the Special Iron Cage / 775. Sent Flying

The bandit felt a chill down his back. He turned around and saw a human standing beside him, staring at him coldly. That icy gaze made him shudder.

When the bandit saw that he had been scared out of his wits, panic rose in his heart. He hurriedly threw away his weapon and fled.

The bandits attacked Izayoi again, but all their attacks missed. Izayoi swiftly dodged aside while slashing at them with the sword in his hand, his swordsmanship fast and fierce.

Then Izayoi’s figure flashed, and the longsword in his hand thrust straight at a bandit’s throat. He executed the move with remarkable fluidity.

The bandit was startled by Izayoi’s move and hurriedly raised his weapon to block it, only to discover that he could not do so at all.

His vision went dark, and Izayoi was already in front of him. He felt a chill at his neck, and then Izayoi’s longsword passed through his throat, slicing off his head.

Izayoi swiftly cut down several bandits.

The Predicament of the Special Iron Cage

Seeing their companions die, the other bandits grew even angrier and continued attacking Izayoi. They waved their weapons at him, then cast a huge net that trapped him directly. Seeing Izayoi’s bedraggled state, they burst into laughter.

The bandits’ faces were full of mockery, as though they believed Izayoi had finally fallen into their hands and could now be ravaged however they pleased.

"Brat, weren’t you so smug before? Now we’ve finally caught you, haven’t we? Haha, prepare to die!"

"Yeah! Weren’t you so impressive just now? Why aren’t you moving now? Haha!"

The bandits’ words thoroughly enraged Izayoi. He swiftly cut through the net, then rushed over, intending to kill them all. He felt that only this could vent his fury.

The clanging of weapons echoed all around. The bandits’ weapons collided continuously, sparks flying and crackling through the air. Their faces were flushed red, clearly enraged by Izayoi.

Izayoi hurriedly ran into the distance. He knew he was no match for them and needed to find somewhere safe as soon as possible.

When the bandits saw Izayoi flee, how could they let him go? They pursued him relentlessly, smashing their weapons toward his back. Then he suddenly heard several screams.

Looking back, he saw a bandit cleaved in two, blood pouring out and staining the earth red.

Izayoi quickly withdrew and did not dare linger, afraid that if they caught him, they would take his life without hesitation.

"Haha! Brat, you can’t escape!" A bandit laughed. "Today is the day you die!" With that, he raised his weapon and charged again, thrusting at Izayoi’s chest.

The bandit stared at Izayoi with a savage expression, convinced that this move would definitely kill him.

Whoosh!

At that moment, Izayoi threw a stone. It shot through the air and struck the bandit squarely on the foot, making him stumble and fall to the ground.

Splurt!

He rolled over, climbed back up, and charged at Izayoi again. His weapon came chopping down at Izayoi, who hurriedly raised a hand to block it, but the bandit’s strength was far too great.

With one blow, he shattered Izayoi’s sword, then thrust toward his chest…

The bandit wore a smug expression, as if he could already see Izayoi’s chest being pierced through by his sword.

Seeing the sword strike, surprise appeared on Izayoi’s face. He had not expected the bandit’s attack to be so powerful, and he hurriedly retreated.

The bandit looked even more pleased with himself.

Clang!

Izayoi’s short sword collided with the bandit’s weapon again, and two powerful forces exploded in midair.

The bandit’s hand went numb, and his short sword snapped apart. He hurriedly released it, tossing the broken blade aside before looking at Izayoi.

"How is this possible?" His eyes widened.

He did not know what material the short sword was made of, but it was his finest weapon for attacking others. Yet now his weapon had been broken by Izayoi. What an utter irony. How could this be possible?

Izayoi lightly turned and killed the man, then slew several more bandits. At that moment, the bandits suddenly released a specially made iron cage, trapping him inside.

Sent Flying

When the bandits saw Izayoi trapped inside the special iron cage, they all rejoiced, their faces full of ridicule. "Haha, wasn’t this brat so impressive just now? Now we’ve finally locked you up!"

A bandit who looked like a fat pig laughed loudly. His face was covered in folds of fat, and he wore ragged clothes stained with grease. There was even some dirt on his face, making him look utterly disheveled.

Yet this bandit showed no restraint. He continued laughing and mocking Izayoi, completely unconcerned with his own appearance, acting so brazenly in front of so many people.

Many of these bandits had lived here for some time and had heard rumors about Izayoi. They were all curious about his strength, so they wanted to see what he looked like after being locked up.

They whispered among themselves and laughed at Izayoi.

"Haha, did you see that? That guy actually got caught by us."

"Yeah, yeah, look at how pathetic he is."

"Oh, this is way too funny."

The bandits’ voices were neither too loud nor too soft, but they reached Izayoi’s ears perfectly.

Izayoi narrowed his eyes. He wanted to break out of the special iron cage and kill these bandits, but the cage was simply too sturdy.

Even if he wanted to get out, he could not. Thinking of this gave him a terrible headache. He had not expected these bandits to be so cunning as to use such a method against him.

He knew he had to calm down. Although these bandits had been captured by him, they did not know how formidable he was. They believed that since he had been trapped by them, he had no power to resist and would be easily dealt with. He had to stay calm and think of a way to escape the iron cage. Otherwise, they would certainly show him no mercy.

At that moment, the fat-pig bandit summoned several archers. Looking at Izayoi, he threatened, "Brat, are you surrendering or not? If you don’t surrender, we’ll shoot you into a pincushion right now!"

Hearing this, fear appeared on Izayoi’s face. After all, he was still trapped inside the iron cage and did not dare move carelessly. If he angered the bandits…

He might really become a pincushion. In the bandits’ eyes, his life was no different from a pile of grass.

"I surrender! I surrender!"

Izayoi hurriedly begged for mercy. In this situation, preserving his life was the most important thing. Only by staying alive would he have a chance to find a way out of this place.

Seeing Izayoi compromise so quickly, the bandits nodded in satisfaction. One of them said, "Good. If you know what’s good for you, surrender obediently and save yourself some suffering. Let me tell you, our stronghold is no place for kind-hearted people!"

"I understand!" Izayoi quickly replied. These damned bandits really are a bunch of bastards!

"Good. From now on, you’ll follow us. If you don’t behave yourself, heh heh, I’ll show you how formidable our stronghold is!"

"Yes, I understand." Izayoi nodded repeatedly.

At that moment, Izayoi took the opportunity to cut through the special iron cage. He had been pretending all along, gathering strength so he could sever the cage in a single strike.

Just a Weak Chicken

After getting out, Izayoi first dealt with the bandits holding bows and arrows. Ranged attacks were still extremely troublesome. The other bandits charged at Izayoi with axes. One bandit swung his enormous axe and attacked Izayoi madly, but Izayoi blocked him.

Unwilling to accept this, he gripped his weapon again and thrust at Izayoi’s throat.

Clang!

Once again, the weapon in his hand was blocked by Izayoi’s longsword. Izayoi stared at him coldly.

He did not strike again, merely watching him as the killing intent in his eyes grew increasingly intense. With a shake of his longsword, he was about to thrust it at him.

Thud!

The sword in his hand was pierced through by Izayoi and fell to the ground.

"That’s impossible! I won’t lose to you!"

Disbelief appeared on the bandit’s face. He roared and lunged at Izayoi again.

The bandit leaped in front of Izayoi, raised his weapon, and stabbed at Izayoi’s throat.

Izayoi hurriedly swung his longsword and blocked the strike, but the bandit’s strength was simply too great.

The force in his hand was not hindered in the slightest. He continued viciously stabbing his weapon toward Izayoi’s chest.

At that critical moment, Izayoi suddenly stepped forward and flicked his sword upward. The tip pierced the bandit’s neck.

The bandit froze. Looking down, he saw that the sword tip had pierced through his neck, blood flowing out. His eyes widened, and then he fell, no longer breathing.

Izayoi pulled out his longsword. At that moment, the other bandits lunged at him again. Izayoi found them somewhat difficult to deal with, as their strength could not be underestimated.

He thought that he had to deal with them carefully. With that in mind, he hurriedly used his sword to block the axes’ attacks.

Soon, as his sword clashed with the axes, Izayoi was sent flying again. Fortunately, his reactions were fast enough. He grabbed a wooden stick beside him, borrowed its force, and charged back at the bandits.

When the bandits saw Izayoi rushing at them, they quickly scattered and dodged.

Taking advantage of the opening, Izayoi charged at the fleeing bandits and slashed at them.

Izayoi chased and cut down bandits all the way, killing quite a few of them.

Before long, he ran in front of the group of bandits and kicked one of them to the ground.

Then Izayoi placed his sword against the man’s neck. "Don’t move."

The bandit froze in fright and did not dare move, afraid that Izayoi would really stab him in the neck. He did not want to die.

Seeing this, Izayoi nodded in satisfaction and pressed the sword against the man’s throat.

The bandits panicked again, not knowing what to do.

Their leader was also forced out by Izayoi.

"Let them go. Whatever it is, we can talk it over."

"Hmph. Do you think there’s anything left to discuss now?"

Izayoi glanced at him and continued holding his sword to the bandit’s neck.

The man was terrified and hurriedly begged, "Hero, spare my life! I’m just a minor lackey. I didn’t want to get involved in this. Please, let me go back!"

"Heh, do you think you have any choice now?"

Izayoi sneered and swept his longsword across, severing the man’s neck. At that moment, someone who looked like the bandit chief appeared.

He Might Even Take You as His Disciple

Beside the bandit chief stood another person, dressed in a cloak and looking like a mage. The mage was observing Izayoi’s battle.

After watching for a while, the mage burst into laughter, his face full of mockery.

"Haha, this brat is just a weak chicken. He’s nothing to fear. If I make a move, I can take him down in minutes!"

After hearing this, Izayoi’s face filled with fury. He drew his sword and charged straight at the mage. The mage snorted coldly, and a magic circle appeared beneath his feet.

When Izayoi saw the magic circle, his expression changed. Intense vigilance rose in his heart, and he immediately retreated. He knew that he might be facing a true expert, so he chose to avoid confronting him.

But when the archmage saw Izayoi’s actions, he laughed loudly, his face full of scorn.

"Brat, trying to run? Let’s see where you can run to!"

Under the archmage’s control, the magic circle flew directly toward Izayoi.

Izayoi was extremely fast, but he was still slower than the magic circle. He retreated rapidly while quickly casting magic as well.

Bang… A tremendous force struck him, blasting Izayoi several meters away.

Seeing Izayoi sent flying, the archmage burst into laughter.

"Brat, stop running! Get on your knees and admit defeat! That way, you’ll suffer a little less. Otherwise, you’ll be in great pain!"

The archmage’s words were full of arrogance and conceit, utter contempt for someone weaker than himself.

After hearing this, Izayoi’s face was full of anger, but his heart was also filled with worry. He feared that he was no match for the mage before him.

But he had no intention of giving up. He waved the sword in his hand and continued forward, only for the mage to summon a powerful defensive formation.

The defensive formation emitted a brilliant white light. Izayoi felt as if he had fallen into a swamp, and moving became extraordinarily difficult. He wanted to continue attacking, but no matter how he used his magic, he could not hit the mage.

Seeing that his attacks had not harmed the mage in the slightest, anxiety appeared on Izayoi’s face.

"Damn it!"

Izayoi cursed under his breath and stopped his attack.

When Izayoi stopped attacking, the mage did not press his advantage. He sneered. "What’s wrong? Are you convinced now?"

"If I were you, I’d obediently submit at my feet. After all, beneath the feet of the strong, ants are merely ants, not worth mentioning at all!"

The mage’s words made Izayoi furious. No matter what, he was a man. How could he submit before a mage? Absolutely not!