This woman truly is an expert. Even faced with John Brown’s surprise attack, she quickly reacted, planting her feet and propelling herself backward.
The last thing John Brown wanted was for her to widen the distance between them, so in that moment, he absolutely couldn’t allow that to happen. He forcefully pushed off with his feet, his explosive power further increasing his speed.
While John Brown launched his attack with full preparation, the woman had to change her tactics hurriedly. It’s like running a hundred meters; the sprint is definitively faster than just starting out, especially since John was moving forward towards her while she was retreating backward. The difference in speed was incomparable.
But the woman also knew that retreating could never match John Brown’s speed. Her goal was to first evade his punches and look for a chance to throw her knife again. At this distance, she was confident in her ability to kill John Brown.
Her thinking wasn’t wrong, and her choice was not incorrect either. Unfortunately, she was up against John Brown, the top expert of the Hawk Squad. In all of SSUP Country, it was hard to say if anyone could match him. Putting aside her throwing knives, when it came to sheer skill, she had some discrepancies compared to John Brown.
Watching as the distance between them shortened instead of widening, John Brown’s fist drew ever closer, and as the room wasn’t big, her rapid retreat brought her back up to the wall quickly, meaning she had nowhere left to retreat.
A fierce glint flashed across the woman’s eyes. She let out a sharp yell, and her body suddenly leaned back forcefully, combining her movements with her backstep, dodging John Brown’s fist that was about to strike her chest. At the same time, she kicked upwards with one of her legs right at the space between John Brown’s legs.
John Brown noticed the cold glint flashing from the tip of her shoe—there was a sharp weapon there too. He couldn’t afford to be careless. His attacking right fist immediately swung downward. If she continued to kick, his punch would land on her abdomen before her leg could reach him, possibly leaving her without the strength to lift her leg.
"Ding..." A very faint sound, like a mosquito’s buzz, suddenly rang out. Despite his intense concentration, John Brown heard it, and a sense of crisis surged from her foot.
John Brown reacted swiftly, twisting his body strangely backward, alternating his left and right feet on the ground, spinning twice like a gyro in a circus performance, narrowly avoiding a cold glint. That cold glint came from her shoe tip.
"Shit!" John Brown couldn’t help but curse. This woman was akin to a porcupine, not only capable of throwing knives with her hands but also with her feet. She was truly a formidable foe.
Now he was even more cautious about staying close to this woman. Keeping a distance felt like being targeted by a sniper with a high-precision rifle, with his life constantly at her mercy. That was something John Brown absolutely couldn’t allow.
While dodging the unpredictable throwing knife from her foot, John Brown didn’t stop attacking. His arms, in their rotations, repeatedly struck at the woman’s waist and abdomen.
The throwing knife from her foot achieved nothing once again, startling her greatly. She wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to draw more knives, but John Brown’s fierce assault left her unable to free her hands, forcing her to rely on genuine Martial Arts Skills to withstand his attacks.
Precision was key to accurately deploying throwing knives, but to train them to such proficiency required more than just accuracy; the key was also strength. Only with enough strength could throwing knives be wielded like firearms, showing how strong she was.
Yet, although her strength was strong, it was slightly lesser than John Brown’s. His continuous punches landed on her arms, and although they caused no real injury, they induced immense pain, as if her bones were about to shatter, even causing internal organ tremors.
"This is a monster!" She exclaimed, assessing a man for the first time. To her, men were creatures she could kill at will, weak as an ant. But now she realized she had met a true master.
Just as this thought emerged, another wave of attacks came from John Brown. She was forced into passive defense, finding the chance to attack impossible.
John Brown was also surprised. Under such overwhelming aggression, she still stood her ground. Since achieving Great Accomplishment in Martial Arts Skills, he hadn’t encountered many like her, her skills almost comparable to Martin Miller’s.
The more impressive she was, the more John Brown realized she needed to be killed. Otherwise, her presence would certainly restrict him and Martin Miller, making it extremely difficult to rescue those on the ferry.
"Hi!" John Brown suddenly roared explosively, his body seemingly swelling with power, his attack becoming even more forceful.
The woman struggled even more, cornered by John Brown. In less than half a minute, she would certainly fall at his hand if this continued.
"Stop, don’t move!" yelled a voice from the doorway, and two people raised their guns toward John Brown and the woman.
John Brown cursed silently, now having to cease his attack. If he continued, and they fired, dodging bullets would be impossible.
"Who are you?" The ones who entered were two security guards, drawn by the commotion. On arrival, they saw John Brown fighting with the woman and instinctively raised their guns to stop them, not knowing the full situation.
John Brown raised his hands, taking two slow steps back, though his eyes remained on the woman, wary of any sudden moves. "This woman is a robber."
The two security guards were startled, turning to look at the woman, but she suddenly crouched and flung two throwing knives at John Brown.
Prepared, John Brown swiftly dodged. Meanwhile, the woman dashed to the side, and before the guards realized what was happening, she had already darted past them.
John Brown was about to pursue when one of the guards cried out in pain, stumbling into his path and halting his chase.