The trigger of the heavy brass crossbow groaned beneath the bandit’s scarred thumb.
Within Kaelen Vance’s dantian, the spiritual counter rolled forward with a smooth, silent click.
[Track 1 (Cultivation Vessel): 705h 00m / 720h (706x Multiplier Active)] [Track 2 (Martial Combat): 705h 00m / 720h (706x Multiplier Active)] [Track 3 (Alchemy & Comprehension): 705h 00m / 720h (706x Multiplier Active)]
Fifteen hours stood between the camp and the seven-thousand-fold surge.
If that bone whistle shrieked into the alpine air, those fifteen hours would vanish into smoke. Three thousand mountain killers would pour down the gorge before the porridge could cool.
The three mounted outriders grinned with cruel certainty.
“Look at him crawl!” the second bandit laughed in a harsh rasp, spurring his shaggy mountain pony through the thorns. “He thought he could outrun the Vulture’s hounds all the way from the capital!”
“Shoot him before he reaches the rocks!” the third bandit snarled, raising his own crossbow.
