I worked myself to the bone to become a saint, and survived on a deserted island with a stunning pri

Chu Nan carried the bluestone slabs on his back and led the way.

[Strength: Beginner]

Experience Points: 2/100

……

[Strength: Beginner]

Experience Points: 3/100

……

His strength experience points increase every time he runs for a while.

Even so, Chu Nan remained in the lead, and even deliberately slowed down, sometimes waiting for the bandits behind him.

By noon, Chu Nan had returned to the mountain stronghold.

The other bandits were panting heavily, exhausted to the point of being almost bald, gasping for breath in the square.

Since the time difference wasn't significant, Chu Nan didn't make things difficult for them and let everyone eat their fill. However, after such a long period of exercise, the group couldn't eat much. They ate a few meals hastily and then lay down on the ground, fast asleep.

About half an hour later, Chu Nan pulled everyone up again and started training.

Time flies, and seven days have passed quickly.

The bandits' physical condition had improved significantly compared to before. At least when running with heavy loads, they no longer struggled as much, and they were able to return to the stronghold before noon. Their physical fitness was much better than before.

The bandits were excited to notice the changes in themselves.

……

Dongshan City.

Ji Menghan and Ling Hanxue had painted their faces rather ugly, and even filled their bodies with coarse cloth, so they no longer looked as slender as before, but rather somewhat bloated, just like ordinary farm women.

The two sat in a slightly dilapidated farmhouse courtyard.

This is a place they've found to stay, a place where they can be safe.

Because their makeup was so ugly, no one bothered them. Plus, their clothes were so shabby that nobody bothered them.

"Chu Nan escaped!" Ji Menghan excitedly told Ling Hanxue.

Ling Hanxue nodded, a smile appearing on her face. They knew Chu Nan's capabilities. If he could escape, he wouldn't have to worry about surviving.

"Sister, they said Chu Nan went north, let's go there too."

"We might run into Chu Nan," Ling Hanxue said.

Ji Menghan nodded: "That's what I was thinking too. We'll make plans after we get out."

After finalizing their plans, the two tidied themselves up again, carrying baskets filled with handmade crafts and a basket of eggs, looking like they were going to sell things.

When passing through the city gate, the guards checked my documents and then let me through.

After leaving the house, the two women walked for nearly 30 miles before stopping.

"Sister, given Chu Nan's personality, which way do you think he'll go? North, that's the direction to the Northern Frontier."

Ji Menghan looked around and then gazed westward.

"Chu Nan must have gone back to find us. As long as we keep asking around, we'll eventually find out where he is."

Ling Hanxue thought about it for a while and also felt that this idea was correct.

After resting for a while, the two women headed west.

Because horses were too conspicuous, the two women searched for a long time before finding a donkey cart at a farmhouse. They bought it for some money; it was loaded with straw. The two women then drove the donkey cart on their way.

After walking for another half a day, the two women approached a sparsely populated village.

They traveled on, their stomachs growling with hunger, and their food supplies dwindling. While hunting was an option, finding a place to eat would be even better.

Driving the donkey cart into the village, they saw a house with smoke rising from it. Ling Hanxue gripped her sword. She went up and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" An elderly woman with white hair came out of the room and rubbed her eyes.

"Grandma, I'm on my way. Do you have any food here? Could you sell me some?" Ling Hanxue asked.

The old woman nodded, turned and went back into the room, then came out carrying a basket with a few cornbread buns and some pickled vegetables on it.

"That's all..." the old woman said.

"Thank you, Grandma." Ling Hanxue took the cornbread and pickled vegetables from inside, took out three copper coins from her bosom, and placed them in the old woman's hand.

The old woman's face lit up with joy; these cornbreads and pickled vegetables weren't worth three copper coins, at most one.

She actually made a profit.

Ling Hanxue returned to the donkey cart with the cornbread and pickled vegetables, and shared them with Ji Menghan. After wandering around the village for a while, she realized it was a sparsely populated village and didn't dare to stay any longer. So she drove the donkey cart out of the village, found a relatively secluded spot in the nearby mountains, took out the tent she had prepared beforehand, and spent the night in the mountains.

They were already used to camping in the wild, and now they even had tents, which made life much better than when they were on a deserted island.

The next morning, the two women continued their journey.

Several days later, the two women arrived at a gap in the mountain range, which was the closest route to the capital.

"Chu Nan must have walked this way." The two women exchanged a glance and said in unison.

The two women continued walking along this road.

……

Chu Nan's training has already yielded some results.

The bandits were no longer the scattered and disorganized soldiers they once were; they had all become much stronger, and even their eyes had a sharp edge.

However, they had not experienced battles and lacked that fierce, bloodthirsty quality.

At this time, the spears and swords that Chu Nan had sent people to buy also arrived at the mountain stronghold.

With weapons in hand, training became more frequent than ever before.

In the past, training mostly focused on strength and endurance, but now it has turned into the use of weapons, and even pairing up to fight.

Chu Nan even gave an order: as long as no one dies, you can fight as you please.

Under such rigorous training, the bandits' combat effectiveness increased layer by layer.

However, there was one problem that really bothered Chu Nan: the production of the armor.

Armor is the standard equipment for an army. With armor protecting them, the chance of dying on the battlefield will be greatly reduced.

In any feudal era, possessing weapons privately was not necessarily a crime, but possessing armor privately was a capital offense, and in some cases, one's relatives and friends would also be implicated.

Although the mountain stronghold had a lot of money, it wasn't enough to make a suit of armor for each person. At this time, Chu Nan also set his sights on the Fierce Tiger Stronghold with more than 170 people and the Fire Cloud Stronghold with more than 300 people.

"Boss, with our strength, we can definitely wipe out Tiger Stronghold." Wang San was eager to try.

Chu Nan waved his hand: "We can take them down, but we'll also suffer losses."

"I can't joke around with my brothers' lives."

"Then we can use hand grenades," Wang San asked.

Chu Nan had previously made 1000 hand grenades, and used nearly half of them during the attack on Qinglong Village, leaving about 500 left.

Wang San believed that if he used 500 hand grenades, he would definitely be able to take down Meng Hu Village.

"When we take down Tiger Stronghold, Fire Cloud Stronghold won't stand idly by either. They'll either take the opportunity to annex us or come and try to get a share of the spoils. We must be fully prepared before we make a move," Chu Nan said in a deep voice.

"Then, boss, aren't we going to make a move?" Wang San asked.

Chu Nan shook his head.

The destruction of Qinglong Village will surely be reported to Menghu Village, at the very least prompting them to strengthen their defenses. If someone is particularly ruthless, they might even take some provocative actions.

They might even join forces with Fire Cloud Stronghold to launch an attack against us. First of all, we can't make a move; if we do, it will be a losing proposition and the enemy will exploit our weaknesses.

"Let's find a way to get the armor first. Once we have the armor, taking down those two will be a piece of cake," Chu Nan said confidently.

………………