C20 Whirlwind Raiders

In a dense forest located twenty miles east of Oakenbreak, five hundred burly men clad in black combat suits and wielding stainless steel weapons intently stared at a man dressed in green. These formidable men, radiating a fierce aura, were the most powerful and savage members of the Whirlwind Raiders, a bandit group renowned for their strength within a thousand-mile radius of Duskmond and Brittlecoast.

The man in green leading them was Wang Shuo, the formidable chief of the Whirlwind Raiders. An Innate warrior of immense power, he also served as a covert operative for the Wang family in Duskmond. Wang Shuo had brought more than half of his elite raiders into the forest on orders from the Young Lord of Duskmond: to raze Oakenbreak to the ground and assassinate Yang Rui, the head of the Yang family.

"Brothers, our mission today is straightforward: flatten Oakenbreak and kill Yang Rui, the patriarch of the Yang family!" Wang Shuo declared to the five hundred elite warriors before him, his voice heavy with lethal intent.

"Flatten Oakenbreak and kill Yang Rui, patriarch of the Yang family!" they echoed in response, their shouts filling the air as excitement and anticipation lit up their faces, their eyes gleaming with savagery and a thirst for blood.

"Mount up and move out!" With a commanding wave, Wang Shuo was the first to mount his horse, charging toward Oakenbreak, which lay twenty miles away.

"Kill!" The warriors of the Whirlwind Raiders, spurred on by Wang Shuo's lead, let out a thunderous roar, hoisting the bandit group's flag high. They surged forward in a relentless tide, racing toward Oakenbreak with unbridled ferocity.

For the Whirlwind Raiders, small towns like Oakenbreak were all too familiar targets, easily overrun without a second thought. They paid no mind to whether their approach was detected, unconcerned with any defenses the townsfolk might muster.

To the five hundred elite warriors of the Whirlwind Raiders, Oakenbreak was just another small town, likely defended by only a handful of warriors at best, with the strongest among them merely a second-rate fighter. Against their overwhelming force, any preparations by Oakenbreak would be futile, unable to make even the slightest ripple against their tide.

As the warhorses thundered forward, the Whirlwind Raiders emerged from the dense forest onto the expansive main road. Scattered pedestrians and carriages came into view, drawing the attention of the Raiders.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

...

The Raiders, upon spotting the travelers on the road, erupted into a chorus of excited cries. The elite warriors at the forefront spurred their mounts with forceful kicks, accelerating towards the unsuspecting pedestrians and carriages.

"Whirlwind Raiders!"

"Oh no! It's the Whirlwind Raiders!"

"Run for your lives!"

"Help!"

"..."

Confronted with the charge of the Whirlwind Raiders' elite warriors, the faces of the pedestrians and carriage occupants paled in terror. They screamed in alarm, scrambling to flee to the roadside.

But the elite warriors were swift. The fleeing victims had barely covered ten meters before being overtaken and mercilessly slain by the stainless steel weapons wielded by the Whirlwind Raiders, leaving behind a trail of mangled corpses.

"Forget the loot here. Follow me to Oakenbreak immediately—the riches there are worth thousands of times more!" Wang Shuo, noticing his warriors beginning to loot the fallen, furrowed his brow and commanded them to cease.

At Wang Shuo's command, the elite warriors who were collecting spoils halted their plundering and, following the main force, charged towards Oakenbreak at a breakneck pace.

As they made their way to Oakenbreak, the Whirlwind Raiders ruthlessly cut down most of the obstructing travelers and merchants, leaving a wake of destruction. Only a handful of astute individuals managed to narrowly evade death.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

When the Whirlwind Raiders were mere miles from Oakenbreak, the town's watchtower guards spotted them and sounded the highest alarm.

Instantly, the Yang family guards tasked with protecting the town's gate sprang into action, ushering civilians away from the entrance and sealing the gates of Oakenbreak. They then ascended the walls, taking up defensive positions in preparation for the impending assault.

The Yang family guards dispersed throughout Oakenbreak sprang into action simultaneously, brandishing stainless steel weapons as they swiftly converged on the city walls.

The three hundred elite guards within the Yang estate were quick to mobilize. Led by Yang Ann, they headed to the armory to arm themselves with Shattering Bolts and other weapons before rushing to bolster the city's defenses.

Meanwhile, the Yang family's butler, Yang Hai, raced to Yang Rui with a look of urgency and exclaimed, "Master, enemies are attacking Oakenbreak. We need your leadership!"

Yang Rui, observing Yang Hai's anxious demeanor, responded with a composed tone, "Hai Bo, we'll meet force with force and counter their moves. There's no reason for alarm; we'll simply crush the invaders."

With that, Yang Rui instructed Yang Hai to hold down the fort at the Yang estate while he himself, wielding the Celestial Pike, dashed toward the city walls to confront the assailants.

In no time, the Whirlwind Raiders, a force of five hundred elite warriors, had covered the distance to Oakenbreak. They sneered at the prepared Yang family guards and, brandishing their stainless steel weapons, charged forward while bellowing, "Raze Oakenbreak, slay the Yang family patriarch, Yang Rui!"

"Release the arrows!" commanded Zhao Wei, the captain of the Yang family guard, as he spotted the Whirlwind Raiders a kilometer away. His eyes gleamed with ferocity.

At his command, more than ten crossbows, manned by over twenty Yang family guards, were aimed at the advancing bandits. Giant bolts, each three meters long, soared toward the Whirlwind Raiders.

These formidable crossbows, a request from Yang Rui to enhance the defenses of Oakenbreak, were powerful weapons capable of piercing the vital force shields of Innate warriors. They had been procured from Qin Ming, the mayor of Brittlecoast and Yang Rui's father-in-law.

Even if Yang Rui were to offer a substantial sum of money, Qin Ming would not sell him even one if Yang Rui were not his son-in-law.