Chapter 58: You're Out of Chances
BAM!
BAM!
Two heavy punches landed one after the other, smashing viciously into Zhou Fan's right shoulder. In an instant, his shoulder visibly caved in as if the bone had shattered. Zhou Fan was sent flying backward, completely out of control.
Seeing this, the two men were ecstatic. They roared and charged forward to press their attack. "The Nether King? So this is all you are!"
On the other side, Luofu's Third Son and the Sixth Son, who were besieging Fan, also noticed the situation and were overjoyed. They had originally planned to finish their own fight and then provide support, but they never expected the Nether King—a man of international renown whose fame was on par with their own boss—to be so laughably weak.
"Fan, give up! The Nether King is a dead man, and you won't be leaving this place alive either!" the Third Son sneered, swinging his steel blade in a wide arc. Even though Fan dodged quickly, the blade still sliced open his abdomen.
Fan didn't say a word. He didn't know what had happened to Zhou Fan or why he had suddenly been defeated, but he knew what he had to do. 'Even if I die here,' he resolved, 'I have to leave my mark on the enemy. Only then can the other members who come later have a better chance at revenge!'
BOOM!
But just as Fan steeled himself for a final, desperate struggle, a massive crash echoed out. The three of them glanced over almost simultaneously and were instantly horrified by what they saw.
Qi Zi's body was suspended in mid-air, his eyes vacant and pupils dilated, before he plummeted straight toward the ground.
Meanwhile, Jiu Zi was trapped in a chokehold, his neck caught in the crook of Zhou Fan's arm. He desperately hammered his fists against Zhou Fan's stomach and arm, trying to break free, but Zhou Fan remained completely unmoved. His arms were like a pair of iron tongs, clamped shut.
It was obvious that the massive crash from a moment ago was the sound of Zhou Fan kicking Qi Zi.
SPLAT!
Qi Zi hit the ground and didn't move. A torrent of blood, flowing as if it were free, gushed from his head. He was dead.
"Fuck!"
The Third Son roared, about to abandon Fan and turn to help his comrades. But Fan seemed to have anticipated his move. Ignoring the Sixth Son's attack, he threw himself forward to stop him at all costs.
Fan knew with absolute clarity that their victory in this battle depended entirely on when Zhou Fan finished his fight. 'That's why,' he thought, 'I have to stop the Third Son, even if it means suffering grievous injuries!'
"You're asking to die!"
Enraged, the Third Son swung his blade, hacking toward Fan's chest.
But facing the incoming blade, Fan neither retreated nor dodged. He bit down on the small pill he held in his mouth, then shot out his left hand to grab the man's steel blade. With his right hand, he thrust his own dagger toward the Third Son's chest.
PFFT!
The dagger plunged viciously into the man's chest. At the same time, the steel blade nearly severed Fan's arm. Thankfully, at that critical moment, the effects of the small green pill kicked in.
"Grab that woman!"
The Third Son endured the excruciating pain in his chest, kicked Fan away, and shouted the order to the Sixth Son.
'I'm injured now,' he thought. 'My only way out is to use Chu Qianqian to threaten Zhou Fan!'
"Good thinking. Too bad... you won't get the chance!"
Just as the Sixth Son turned and ran toward the terrified Chu Qianqian, a voice—so cold it seemed devoid of all emotion and made one's hair stand on end—echoed in the Third Son's ear.
CRACK!
In the next instant, a hand snapped the Third Son's neck. His eyes rolled back into his head, and his stiff body fell forward, devoid of life.
"The last one is all yours!"
Staring at the terrifying figure of Zhou Fan, who had suddenly appeared before him covered in blood, his face deathly pale, Fan used the last of his strength to offer a grim smile and speak those words before fainting.
"Zhou Fan, save me!"
Chu Qianqian cried out in desperation to Zhou Fan, who stood not far away like a man made of blood, barely able to even stand. The Sixth Son was already closing in on her.
"Go to hell!"
Panicked, the Sixth Son didn't have time to think. He grabbed Chu Qianqian by her long hair and violently threw her down the mountainside.
The cliff wasn't exceptionally high, but it was still a hundred meters deep. A fall from that height was certain death.
But just as the Sixth Son threw Chu Qianqian off the cliff, before he even had a chance to turn around, a powerful force slammed into his back. Caught completely off guard, he too was sent tumbling over the edge.
PFFT!
PFFT! PFFT!
As the Sixth Son fell, he managed a difficult glance back, only to see Zhou Fan clinging to his clothes, stabbing a dagger into his body again and again.
Perhaps it was the combined weight of the two men, or perhaps Zhou Fan's frantic stabbing of the Sixth Son accelerated their descent. In any case, just an instant before they would have hit the ground, Zhou Fan actually caught up to Chu Qianqian.
In the heat of the moment, with no time to think, Zhou Fan relied on his last shred of clarity to bite down on the green pill hidden under his tongue. Instantly, a cool surge of power coursed through his body.
He shot out his left hand, grabbed Chu Qianqian by her slender waist, and with a great leap, rolled away.
Only after rolling for more than ten meters did he finally manage to disperse some of the force from the fall. As his consciousness faded, he looked at Chu Qianqian, who had fainted on top of him, and could no longer hold on. He turned his head and passed out.