Chapter 203: To the Death
Staring at the sword point right before his eyes, Liang He knew his only option was to fight to the death. He said no more, hastily raising his saber and holding it horizontally before him. He aimed the flat of the blade at Zhou Fan, at the incoming sword tip, and pushed forward with all his might!
CLANG!
The next moment, the tip of the sword struck the flat of the saber. The immense recoil sent Liang He stumbling back several steps until his back slammed into a pillar, bringing him to a stop.
PFFT! Liang He spat out a mouthful of blood, both of his arms trembling. His eyes filled with utter disbelief as he stared at the saber in his hands.
A deep indentation from the sword had appeared on the flat of the blade. Though it hadn't been pierced, cracks were radiating outward from the mark, as if the saber had reached the end of its life and could no longer withstand another blow.
Others might not have known, but as the saber's owner, Liang He knew its origins and strength better than anyone. It had always been invincible, never failing against another weapon. It could even block a sniper's bullet. Yet now, a single strike from Zhou Fan's sword had nearly shattered it!
Zhou Fan frowned slightly as well. Given his current power, the innate strength of the Li Hen Sword, the portion of power he had absorbed from the withered branch, and the sliver of Inner Strength he had used in that strike, he couldn't understand how Liang He's saber wasn't pierced straight through.
'Damn, is this saber some kind of treasure?'
'What a shame!'
But a shame was just a shame; Zhou Fan didn't hesitate in the slightest. In the next instant, he closed the distance in a few quick steps, giving Liang He no chance. With a swift motion, his sword rose and fell.
When Zhou Fan's sword tip was once again pointing at the ground, a head flew into the air amidst a spray of blood.
ROLL... ROLL...
As the head hit the floor and rolled to the side, the fewer than ten thugs remaining in the bar, along with the handful of experts who had jumped down with Liang He, all froze where they stood.
The sight of the ghastly, scarlet trail of blood left by the rolling head made their blood run cold. They stood dumbstruck, as if they had been struck by lightning.
'Liang He... the strongest fighter among them, a man deeply trusted and valued by Elder Witch... was just beheaded by Zhou Fan with a single sword strike?'
'This... How were they supposed to fight this?'
'Risk their lives to fight Zhou Fan?'
"We surrender!"
Suddenly, one of the men threw down his weapon and shouted.
Following his lead, the others exchanged glances, then readily tossed their own weapons aside, shouting their surrender.
Fan and Chu Wen were taken aback by this scene. 'There's a code of honor about not killing those who surrender,' they thought. 'Now that these men have even thrown down their weapons, they should be spared, right?'
In an instant, all eyes fell upon Zhou Fan, including those of the three women.
"Pick up your weapons and continue to fight. I will grant you an honorable death," Zhou Fan said as he slowly turned around. His gaze was glacial as it swept across the men.
"We've already surrendered! What more do you want? Even if you won't let us go, the most you can do is hand us over to the Third Squad!" the man who had been the first to surrender protested, stepping forward.
Seeing this, Fan instinctively started forward to reason with Zhou Fan, because the man was right. However, Zheng Sisi stopped him from behind. She shook her head, signaling him not to interfere. "Don't forget," she whispered, "you're not with Wolf Fang anymore."
Hearing Zheng Sisi's words, Fan froze for a moment, then said nothing more.
"Surrender?" Zhou Fan scoffed, his eyes mocking them. "Well, that's too bad. I have one principle when I do things."
After a pause, Zhou Fan continued, "Any enemy of mine—especially a mortal one—will find that our conflict only ends when one of us is dead."
As his words fell, the temperature in the bar seemed to plummet several degrees, as if someone had cranked up the air conditioning. Then, Zhou Fan's figure blurred into motion, weaving between the men like a phantom.
Ten seconds. In just ten seconds, it was over. Zhou Fan stopped and casually walked back to Chen Yao's side, wrapping an arm around her waist once more. He turned and headed for the bar's main entrance.
"If you choose to be my enemy, then you should be prepared to be killed by me."
The bar door swung open and shut. Zhou Fan was already outside with Chen Yao, leaving Fan and Chu Wen behind with Zheng Sisi and Xiaolu.
"I think my brother-in-law was right," Chu Wen said after snapping out of his daze. The scene made him want to gag, but he forced it down. He looked at Fan and spoke, enunciating every word.
"But they'd really surrendered," Fan muttered as he watched Chu Wen leave with Xiaolu. He stared at the bodies of those brutally killed by Zhou Fan's sword, still unable to comprehend it.
"Do you know why I want to be close to you, yet I'm afraid of getting too close?" Zheng Sisi didn't answer Fan's question, asking one of her own in a soft voice.