Chapter 130: Sneak Attack
"Even before Chu Yifeng attacked the Chu Family, and before Mr. Zhou made the decision to spare Chu Peiyu, he had already guessed Chu Yifeng would have a backup plan. He had me find a few people and secretly plant them in his team!"
It wasn't Zhou Fan who answered Van, but Zhang Lei, who stood beside them looking incredibly proud.
"Those four in the middle... if I'm not mistaken, they must be your Deadpools, Ying Yi, right?" Van shot a look at Zhang Lei. 'No wonder this guy has so much faith in Zhou Fan. He was in on it from the start.' Then, he turned to Zhou Fan. After seeing Zhou Fan nod, Van's gaze shifted to the figures fighting their way in from the outer perimeter.
"But who are they? Their skills are a far cry from Ying Yi's, but they're still masters in their own right!"
"Take a closer look. See anyone you recognize?" Zhou Fan said with a faint smile. He handed Chu Qianqian over to Zhang Lei for protection, then charged out with the Li Hen Sword in hand.
'Someone I recognize?'
Van's eyes narrowed as he carefully scanned each person on the outer perimeter. Suddenly, he did indeed spot a familiar figure—it was one of the people Zhou Fan had "borrowed" from him!
'In just a month or so, he's changed so much? His strength has skyrocketed. Forget the training camp—even the official members of my Wolf Fang squad might not be his match. Among our members in Nanjiang City, probably only Xiaojiu and Lao San could hold their own against him!'
At that moment, for reasons he couldn't explain, Van watched Zhou Fan charge into the fray and felt a sliver of fear rise in his heart—a fear that seemed to emanate from the very depths of his soul.
'Setting aside his ability to train masters, the few people he's chosen to show me are already this powerful. What about the ones he's keeping hidden?'
'From what I know, Zhou Fan's Ying Yi isn't just these four. There should be around ten of them. Any single one of them would be considered a top-tier international expert, maybe not even weaker than I am right now!'
'A force like that alone could probably run roughshod over most places!'
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Van also leaped into the fray.
Although they were still completely outnumbered, Zhou Fan's side was filled with fighters whose individual combat strength was simply too overwhelming. Furthermore, several of the enemy leaders had been quietly assassinated, leading many to consider retreat.
"Stop this pointless resistance! Killing all of you is just a matter of time. If you leave now, I can promise on behalf of Wolf Fang that we won't pursue the matter!" Van knew that if the fight dragged on, they would win, but it would be a pyrrhic victory—not the outcome they wanted.
"Retreat!"
Someone in the crowd shouted the order, and the group began to slowly converge before making an orderly retreat out of the residential complex.
Zhou Fan and his allies took a deep breath. He waved to the members of the Traceless Squad, signaling that they could leave. As for the four from Ying Yi, they had vanished the instant the enemy began their retreat.
"Sigh, I'd better make a call and get a cleanup crew here, or this is going to be a problem." Gazing at the corpses strewn across the ground, Van sighed. This kind of aftermath was always his responsibility.
Chu Qianqian came over to support a somewhat weary Zhou Fan, and they began walking out of the complex.
But in that instant, a figure suddenly appeared. With a long saber in hand, they brought it down in a devastating overhead strike aimed right at Zhou Fan.
With no time to think, Zhou Fan shoved Qianqian aside while simultaneously raising the Li Hen Sword to block.
CLANG!
The clash of metal rang out. Zhou Fan felt a tremendous force travel up the blade, surge through his arm, and course through his entire body. He staggered back several steps before managing to regain his footing, the Li Hen Sword nearly flying from his grasp.
But before Zhou Fan could steady himself, his opponent lunged again, thrusting the saber straight at his heart.
'If that blade hits,' Zhou Fan knew, 'I'm dead. Not even a Daluo Golden Immortal could save me.'
In a desperate move, he used his momentum to roll across the ground, preparing to raise his sword for a counter-attack.
To Zhou Fan's utter shock, his opponent seemed to have anticipated his move, pressing the attack with their saber without a shred of hesitation.
An unprecedented gravity filled Zhou Fan's eyes. He raised his right hand and thrust the Li Hen Sword toward his opponent's heart.
'You want my life, do you?'
'Fine!'
'My life may not be worth much, but if you want to take it, you'll have to pay with your own!'
In that instant, Zhou Fan decisively committed to a life-for-a-life exchange, his eyes filled with a crazed light.
"Hm?"
His opponent clearly hadn't expected such a move. They let out a soft sound of surprise, then did something that defied the laws of physics—a move even Zhou Fan hadn't anticipated. While still in mid-air, their body shifted several centimeters to the right, dodging his sword. At the same time, their own saber continued its deadly trajectory.