The Ultimate Devil's Magnificent CEO

"You have the gall to say I ambushed you? You'd better hope you get killed today. Otherwise, if you fall into my hands, I'll teach you the true meaning of cruelty!" Vermilion Bird's brows knit in fury. The guy who had ambushed her from the very start actually had the nerve to accuse *her* of the same thing. His shamelessness knew no bounds!

"Zhou Fan, what's taking you so long? It's just one Old Witch, and you can't even handle her?" Fan was in a wretched state, so battered by his opponent that he could barely stand. He was reduced to rolling on the ground, but that didn't stop him from hurling taunts and stirring the pot.

"What's taking so long? Don't you talk trash from the sidelines! You just wait. Watch how I'll make that Old Witch cry with a single slap. I'll have her hugging my leg, begging for mercy!" Zhou Fan thrust his sword out, cutting down another opponent. But in that same moment, someone slashed him across the back. He spun around in a hurry, swinging his sword.

Gradually, Fan and He Yi were completely surrounded. They found it impossible to even dodge and were forced onto the defensive. Their defeat was only a matter of time.

As for Zhou Fan, although he had already killed about ten of his opponents, another ten remained. He had taken several injuries, and his condition was clearly deteriorating.

Seeing her chance, Vermilion Bird took a step, covering a dozen meters in a single stride. In just two or three more steps, she was before Zhou Fan, the cold light of her longsword glinting as it stabbed toward his chest.

But Zhou Fan didn't dodge. A bloodthirsty smirk played on his lips. 'Old Witch, so you finally couldn't resist making a move yourself?'

'This is the exact moment I've been waiting for!'

Zhou Fan neither retreated nor dodged. Gripping the Li Hen Sword with both hands, he raised it high. He summoned all his strength, even mustering what little Inner Strength he had left, and swung the blade down toward Vermilion Bird's left arm.

"Trying to trade your life for mine again? Do you really think the same trick will work on me twice?" Vermilion Bird sneered. She had been prepared for this exact move. With a stomp, she was about to launch herself up, twisting her longsword to change its trajectory from a thrust at Zhou Fan's chest to a horizontal slash at his neck.

But just as Vermilion Bird was about to leap into the air, two hands shot out from the ground beneath her feet and clamped down hard on her ankles.

"Get down here!"

In the next instant, a woman's sharp cry came from underground. A powerful force yanked downward, and Vermilion Bird found herself unable to leap into the air.

For once, Vermilion Bird panicked. Her heart lurched, especially seeing Zhou Fan closing in. She instinctively tried to wrench her feet free, but they wouldn't budge. Even if she could break free, it was already too late.

In her desperation, Vermilion Bird put everything on the line. Ignoring Zhou Fan's descending sword, she thrust the tip of her own blade straight for his throat.

It was the best strategy she could come up with in that instant: trade an injury to secure a kill.

Since Zhou Fan was willing to pay such a steep price for a life-or-death gamble, she would answer in kind.

But just as Vermilion Bird's sword—moving later but arriving first—was about to pierce his throat, she saw a sly smirk play across Zhou Fan's lips. A terrible premonition instantly washed over her.

Zhou Fan's speed suddenly accelerated. He tilted his head just enough to dodge the fatal strike while his left hand shot out to grab Vermilion Bird's wrist. At the same time, the Li Hen Sword in his right hand slammed down on her left shoulder.

CRACK!

Her left arm fell to the ground.

Blood sprayed everywhere from the severed limb.

Vermilion Bird's face contorted in a savage snarl. With a furious roar and a burst of incredible strength, her feet finally broke free. She kicked Zhou Fan square in the chest, sending him flying, and in that same instant, thrust her sword viciously after him.

But Zhou Fan seemed to have anticipated it all. He quickly swallowed a Recovery Pill. While still in mid-air, he swung his sword to meet the charging Vermilion Bird's attack.

At the same time, Li Xing and Li Yue, whose hold Vermilion Bird had just broken, burst from the ground. Daggers in hand, they charged toward Vermilion Bird right behind Zhou Fan.

The two sisters had been lying in wait underground for that exact moment. Though their coordination with Zhou Fan had cost Vermilion Bird an arm, they knew it was no time to celebrate. Never mind the nearly twenty experts still surrounding them; Vermilion Bird alone remained a massive threat, and Zhou Fan himself was now in grave danger.

"Old Witch, you really can't get enough of me, can you? Why else would you be chasing me so relentlessly? I don't mind that you're in your thirties, but you really should know your limits. You haven't aged as well as my Xiao Qianqian, you're not as beautiful as my Xiao Qianqian, and your figure doesn't even come close. What makes you think you even have a chance?"

After their swords clashed and he was knocked to the ground by Vermilion Bird, Zhou Fan ignored the turmoil of his internal injuries. He scrambled to his feet, dodged aside, and relentlessly attacked Vermilion Bird's wounded left shoulder.

What do you call that?

That's what you call kicking the lame man's crippled leg.