"It's the Fang Guild..."
Ning Fan furrowed his brow as he looked at the corpse in the tree. He had originally thought that this was a contingency plan prepared by the remnants of the Yun Ci Guild, but to his surprise, it turned out to be from the Fang Guild—they had also intervened.
Within the Blood Wolf Mercenaries, a lieutenant approached. He looked at Ning Fan indifferently and said, "Lord Asura, leave this place to us, the battle is not over yet!"
The lieutenant's eyes glinted coldly as he looked outside the factory. Taking advantage of the intense light inside the factory, more and more silhouettes slowly emerged.
Ning Fan also noticed this. He nodded to the lieutenant of the Blood Wolf Mercenaries and then led the four people of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning to retreat first.
"Be alert to the surroundings, there might still be ambushes..."
Although the Blood Wolf Mercenaries were covering their retreat, Ning Fan still did not let his guard down. The fact that they had encountered one ambush on the way did not mean there would not be more.
Having trekked merely a kilometer, a loud explosion tore through the stillness of the dark, and a sharp crossbow arrow shot towards Ning Fan's head.
Ning Fan's pupils constricted, and he instinctively raised his hand to catch the high-speed crossbow arrow, the sharp arrowhead stopping mere centimeters from his forehead. He lifted his long sword and swung it through the air.
A figure was cleaved in half at the waist by Ning Fan. He roared, "Ambush!"
As expected, there was another ambush—they had been tricked!
The Fang Guild had completely grasped their whereabouts; the remnants of the Yun Ci Guild were bait, and the Fang Guild had laid an ambush along their retreat path.
As Ning Fan's voice fell, countless shadows flickered out from between the trees, every one of them a warrior of the Fang Guild and all of them skilled fighters, some even being ancient martial artists!
Ning Fan, holding his long sword at the forefront, had a heavy expression, and his face was even somewhat grim.
"Follow me!" Ning Fan said in a deep voice, as he was determined to carve a path of blood through!
The battle was on the verge of erupting. Ning Fan, at the head of the group, charged with unstoppable momentum as countless crossbow arrows flew at them from all directions, and experts of the Fang Guild attacked from all sides.
A Lei and A Feng, each holding a war saber, acted as Ning Fan's left and right wings, clearing the way in a spearhead formation, while A Yu and A Dian covered the rear, each armed with dual guns and a submachine gun respectively.
An ancient martial artist leaped from the tree, aiming for A Lei.
With a thud, A Lei was kicked to the ground as the ancient martial artist, wielding a curved saber, aimed for A Lei's neck.
With a swish, a long sword flew past, forcing the ancient martial artist targeting A Lei to furrow his brows. He had no choice but to let go of finishing off A Lei and instead struck down the incoming long sword.
Ning Fan pulled A Lei back up, and with a flick of his hand, several Silver Needles flew out, and several figures fell from the sky.
The brutal melee continued in the woods, the Fang Guild's experts emerged endlessly from the darkness, and Ning Fan and his companions quickly found themselves in a fierce struggle.
Suddenly, a scream rang out. The familiar sound made the expressions of Ning Fan and the others change.
A Dian's calf was pierced by a blood-drenched crossbow bolt, and he collapsed to the ground.
A Feng moved swiftly, immediately dashing over to help A Dian up.
"I'm okay!" A Dian insisted through clenched teeth. His face hardened, he pulled the crossbow bolt out of his calf himself, and blood gushed from the wound instantly.
Because of the injury to his calf, A Dian's movements became hampered. This also changed the formation of the group, with A Feng falling back to cover for him. In the end, he too sustained significant injuries.
"We can't keep going ; I'll stay behind to cover our retreat. You go first!" Ah Dian suddenly shouted.
Everyone involuntarily looked over. Ning Fan furrowed his brows, and Ah Lei even bellowed, "Impossible!"
How could they abandon Ah Dian?!
The group halted. With a grim expression, Ning Fan eyed the heavily injured Ah Dian and Ah Feng, whose spirits were visibly flagging, and immediately made a decision.
"You go ahead. I'll cover the rear. I'll create an opportunity for you soon!"
"No way!" Ah Yu was the first to object, and the others clearly disagreed as well.
Ning Fan took a deep breath, his expression resolute and unquestionable. He asserted his authority over the Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning quartet: "This is an order. Chen Fengnan placed you under my command. You must follow my orders, and it's my responsibility to ensure you survive!"
At the same time, the Fang Guild's assault came again. Ning Fan's expression changed, and he roared, "If we don't leave now, there won't be another chance!"
Ning Fan picked up a war saber from the ground and faced the oncoming Fang Guild members, seemingly prepared to hold them off by himself.
"Let's go!" Ah Lei stepped forward.
The three others stared at Ah Lei in shock, momentarily motionless.
"I'm telling you to get moving! Ning Fan and I can handle things here!"
As he spoke, Ah Lei flashed a bloodthirsty smile, pushed the supporting Ah Feng aside, and turned, brandishing his war saber, to join Ning Fan.
Ah Yu bit her lip and addressed Ah Feng and Ah Dian.
Reluctantly, the trio began to retreat.
Once Ning Fan sensed that the three had taken another path to leave, he couldn't help but smirk at Ah Lei, who was fighting at his side, "What are you doing staying behind? I don't have the luxury to protect you!"
The war saber traced a cross in mid-air, and Ning Fan's blade cut down an assassin attempting to ambush Ah Lei.
Ah Lei didn't reply to Ning Fan, instead, he gave back a defiant smile.
Ning Fan chuckled softly but then his expression turned serious, "Don't die."
"That's what I was going to say to you!" Ah Lei retorted, his war saber moving through the fray with destructive force.
Bodies in various states of ruin lay scattered on the ground, oozing blood, and the stench of blood became heavier in the air.
Ning Fan could no longer look after Ah Lei; several martial artists had surrounded him, and he was beginning to struggle too.
Ah Lei's body was soaked in red, his shoulder bore several fierce wounds that were bleeding out, and his palms were crimson—unclear whether it was his own blood or his enemies'.
Ah Lei's eyes turned bloodshot as he swung his saber instinctively, his movements growing slower.
A sharp knife plunged an inch into Ah Lei's back, but he showed no response; preoccupied with enemies in front of him, he couldn't even retaliate.
After being stabbed multiple times, Ah Lei finally exhausted his last bit of strength.
Thud—a body heavily fell to the ground. Ning Fan's gaze involuntarily shot over. Seeing Ah Lei on the ground, unmoving, his eyes nearly burst with rage, turning a blood red.
An enraged Ning Fan unleashed his ferocity. His war saber broke from his powerful swings, so he switched to his fists, exploding one enemy with a single punch!