"Duel?" asked the robust man. "You and me?"

Seeing Lin Mo’s determined look, the man shrugged, “Fine.”

The old ghost had suggested challenging the robust man as the only way to put an end to the situation. By challenging and defeating the strongest member of the group, Lin Mo could use intimidation to assert his dominance.

The robust man understood Lin Mo's intention.

“I was getting bored watching you all fight anyway.” The man reached for his weapon hilt on his back. “I might as well have some fun.”

The man pulled a large mace from his back, bigger than Lin Mo.

Thud!

The ground shook as the mace touched down, like a large boulder falling to earth.

All this while, Lin Mo hadn't seen the robust man's weapon—only the hilt had been visible. Now, seeing the weapon fully, it took him a moment to regain his composure.

"I'll begin then," said the man, smiling.

He dragged the massive mace casually across the ground and swung it toward Lin Mo.

Lin Mo seemed prepared and with Sword in hand, he rotated to create momentum.

The sword met the mace creating a resounding clang, a sharp sound of metal colliding that pierced the nearby ears.

Both stood their ground, their feet sunken into the earth.

"Oh!" the man exclaimed in surprise. "You can block my mace like that."

"You're stronger than I thought," remarked Lin Mo, lifting his feet from the caved ground.

The man's laughter echoed through the battlefield. "I guess I need to be more serious."

He vanished from his spot and reappeared behind Lin Mo, swinging his large mace.

"He's fast," Lin Mo commented, spinning again to meet the attack.

“Hmm?” This time Lin Mo seemed to lose his footing slightly.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

They continued to clash as the man landed swing after swing toward Lin Mo. Gradually, Lin Mo noticed he was getting pushed back.

“His strength is increasing?" Lin Mo wondered.

As Lin Mo blocked more and more of the robust man's swings, he found himself being pushed further and further back. It became evident that the man’s strength was increasing as time passed.

“What kind of technique is this?” thought Lin Mo.

A sudden increase in strength mid-fight would be advantageous for anyone and detrimental to one's chances of victory.

However, in Lin Mo’s case, although he found it slightly surprising, he remained confident in himself.

"Forgive me, Master," Lin Mo murmured, gripping the sword with both hands.

For a while, he had been wielding the sword with one hand, as his master had instructed. However, seeing the growing gap in their strength, he decided he couldn't hold back any longer and switched to using both hands.

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This time, Lin Mo made the move. Gripping the sword with both hands, he dashed toward the robust man.

As he neared, he swung the sword.

Seeing the sword coming, the man disarmed himself and stood still, allowing Lin Mo's swing to approach.

‘Is this some kind of trick?’ Lin Mo thought as the sword continued its path toward the robust man.

However, the man didn't even flinch after disarming himself. He didn't seem to care about the oncoming sword.

The sword stopped just before severing the man's neck.

"You! Why aren't you defending?" Lin Mo demanded, the sword touching the man's neck, ready to decide his fate at any moment.

"I knew you wouldn’t kill a mosquito," the man said, swiftly raising his foot and landing a kick to Lin Mo. "You don't have the eye of a killer."

Lin Mo staggered a few steps back.

"Look around you," the man added. "Look at your companions; they can kill without batting an eye."

Lin Mo again dashed toward the robust man, swinging the sword.

Mid-swing, he flipped the blade to its flat side.

Seeing this, the robust man used only his arm to block the oncoming sword.

"See, you can't do it," the man taunted, swinging a fist towards him. "You can't even finish an enemy before you."

Lin Mo stood up again, staring ahead, and the cycle continued.

"Brat, what are you doing? Finish him!"

The old ghost shouted from the ring, unable to watch Lin Mo get beaten any longer.

“Why are you hesitating?” asked the old ghost, his voice tinged with frustration.

“I…”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the clash continued as more and more bandits poured in, overwhelming them with sheer numbers.

The disciples appeared haggard and panting, as did the mercenaries, who were barely keeping the bandits from breaking their defensive circle.

“How long can we keep this up?” a mercenary asked Captain Du, desperation evident in his voice.

“If the kid could defeat that bastard, it would all end. But why?” muttered Captain Du.

He had been keeping an eye on the other side, noticing that Lin Mo had an advantage against the monstrous man. Yet, somehow, the kid didn’t finish his attack and stopped midway.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The battle continued as more red bandits died attempting to break the circle. Their groans of agony filled the air, and their blood dyed the ground red.

As the group maintained the circle, the purple-clad bandits suddenly threw round objects into its center.

Upon landing, plumes of smoke erupted from them, quickly spreading everywhere.

The red-clad bandits, noticing this, began to retreat from the area.“What’s happening? Why did they retreat?” a disciple wondered aloud, panic in his voice.

“What’s with the smoke?” another disciple asked confusion and fear evident.

“Huh?” A disciple collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

One after another, the defenders fell. The first to succumb was the mayor and Spark, the shabby man. They were nearest to the source of the smoke.

“These despicable bastards…” Captain Du managed to say before he too fell to the ground.

The smoke reached the area where Lin Mo and the robust man stood.

“Brat, don’t breathe in the smoke,” warned the old ghost.

“Hmm?” Lin Mo’s brows were knitted, trying to keep himself still.

The old ghost’s warning was too late. Lin Mo's vision began to blur as the robust man took on a wavering appearance.

The ground beneath him seemed to sway as if an earthquake was happening, yet he refused to collapse, still standing with his sword in hand.

“Refusing to fall even when you’re near unconscious, what kind of training did he go through?” the man seemed to praise Lin Mo, a hint of admiration in his voice.

Lin Mo stopped swaying and stood motionless, unconscious.

"Is this...?" the old ghost recalled the last instance when Lin Mo entered an unconscious state while standing, vividly remembering the clash against the tyrant. "Jade body art?"

Besides the robust man, a purple-clad bandit appeared.

"I had to use the item; these sect disciples are something," he remarked.

"I didn’t think it would get this bloody either," commented the robust man.

The purple bandit then fixed his gaze on Lin Mo, who was still standing, and gestured with his finger, "Should I?"

"No, you can't kill any of them; senior has ordered to bring them alive,"

The old ghost's conjecture appeared to be merely a false alarm; Lin Mo was truly unconscious.