Ch 453 - The Ambush

As soon as they had finished asking, they saw a figure standing under the streetlamp. The figure twirled a throwing knife in his hand and chuckled. "Mr. Alex seems to have guessed that we are coming," he said.

"What do you want?" Alex shrugged and looked at the knife. "Do you know what you are doing with that?"

The figure trembled slightly, then stepped forward so the light could shine on his face. He was a tall young man and looked like he was in his twenties. He grinned menacingly and twirled the knife between his fingers so quickly it looked like it was flying. "Alex," he said, "the purpose of my coming today is to kill you. Do you understand?"

Alex smiled scornfully. "You seem awfully confident. Are you sure that you can do that? I know you're not alone."

The young man didn't answer, and a heavy silence surrounded all of them. Under Alex's keen hearing, he could sense the shallow breathing of at least a dozen people lurking in the grass on the roadside.

"I heard about the seven mercenaries you defeated in the Central district. It seems you're a good fighter." The young man smiled, and three men emerged from the dark roadside under the streetlamp.

"Mr. Alex, this doesn't look good. Do you need me to call the police?" Celia was on edge. She wasn't dressed to fight. She was still wearing her dress and a pair of high-heeled shoes. Her hands tightened into fists in the cold wind.

Ethan was also nervous and frowned. "Who are you?" he called to the men. "Since you know Master Alex, you know his skill and his power. Get out of the way. This is not a place for you to act rashly, or you will suffer the consequences!"

The men burst into laughter. Levi Thornton, an older man with a red scarf wrapped around his head, stepped forward and shook his head.

"Ethan," he said, "do you think we're going to challenge you without coming fully prepared? We are aware of yours and Colonel Celia's positions, and we don't care. Killing you will be easy. "

Celia's face turned white as it dawned on her that these men had set up an ambush on the road. They knew who they all were, and they were not afraid.

"Well," Alex interrupted, "The disciples of the Thornton family are here."

The Thorntons' disciples, Celia thought. No wonder they aren't afraid.

"Even Ash couldn't defeat me," Alex continued. "What makes you think you can?" He sighed. "I'll give you one more chance. Leave now, or every one of you will regret it later."

"We are not just disciples. We are Thorntons," the young man said coldly. "I'm Conrad Thornton. Ash Thornton is my grandfather. You were only able to defeat him because he is old and weak. He was injured and couldn't defend himself. I know that you're better than me if we were to fight one on one. So now, we'll all fight you together. There's no way you can escape."

"I see. So, you planned an ambush to try and destroy me. It's despicable," Alex sneered.

"Well, we may spare your life if you kneel to the Thornton family." Conrad took another step forward. "If you refuse, though, you will suffer."

"Why are you talking to him so much?" One of the men, Paulie, frowned. "Just fight him!"

He looked at Celia, a suggestive look in his eyes. "And I'll take the girl," he grinned evilly. "It's not often you get to see such a beauty as that."

The men laughed arrogantly. They believed that there was no way that Alex could escape from all of them. 

Alex suddenly snapped. "You will be punished for your disrespect! In the martial arts world, we have rules and fight honorably. Your grandfather lost the battle fair and square. I was hoping we could talk this out reasonably, but you just seem to want to fight!"

Conrad opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by Levi.

"Boy, you talk too much!" He and the others took a step closer to Alex, ready to begin their attack.

Ethan took a deep breath, then he and Celia rushed forward.

"Stay back!" Alex didn't turn to face them, focusing on the men surrounding them, but Celia could feel his anger and dissatisfaction at their intervention.

"This is my business," he shouted in a deep voice, forcing Celia and Ethan back. "I don't need your help!"

"This is not good," Celia mumbled, worried.

Conrad made the first move, throwing his knife. It whizzed like a silver lightning bolt straight at Alex's legs. They had planned to disable Alex's ability to escape first, then take turns at him until he wasn't able to fight back.

The knife flew toward Alex's leg, but to the young man's surprise it had no impact. Instead of it hurting him, it simply bounced off, landing with a loud clink on the road. He stared at his knife, his pupils shrinking as uncertainty began to creep up and down his spine.

He couldn't believe it. He was famous for his knife throwing skills, and the one he had thrown at Alex was no ordinary knife. It was made of a special metal that had a mixture of zinc, nickel, and other alloys. It could easily penetrate any material, even steel, and could cut through iron like butter. He was confident that the knife would immobilize Alex, but if he was still standing there, then Alex's strength would have to be even greater than he had imagined. 

Conrad's heart thudded in his chest, and he quietly moved back a few steps. The other men weren't deterred though.

"Let's go," Levi called. He pointed at one of the men, Jackson, who was skilled in hand-to-hand combat. He pressed forward, hoping to knock Alex over with a quick punch. 

His fist exploded through the air like a cannonball coming out of the chamber. It cut through the air so quickly that Alex could feel the force of as it pushed a little breeze forward, faintly sounding like thunder. Jackson used his legs to propel him even closer to Alex, like an arrow being shot out of a crossbow. 

Let's see if he can withstand this, he thought confidently. 

He began to smile with excitement, but it was quickly wiped off his face when his fist made impact with Alex's chest. It was like hitting an iron wall. Instead of Alex going down, Jackson crumpled in pain as the force of his punch ricocheted off Alex's chest through his hand and arm.

"How can this be!" His eyes widened in horror as he cradled his sore hand.

Before he could react, Alex retaliated. It wasn't a very forceful punch, like his had been. It looked like something any ordinary person could do but had a much stronger impact. It was too late for Jackson to dodge, and he only managed to move to the side very slightly before half of his body was swept off the ground. He gave out a shrill scream and flew back seven or eight meters before he fell to the ground. He wheezed out painfully, his muscles, ribs and chest feeling like crushed foam.

"Unbelievable!" The remaining men looked at their cousin on the ground, their former confidence no longer visible on their faces.

"Get out of the way!" Levi yelled, gesturing to a distracted Paulie.

Paulie turned to face Levi, but instead found that Alex had come to him.

Alex punched him so hard in his stomach that he felt like the fist could have gone through him. His body folded over, and his heat leaped up as if it could have jumped out his throat. His entire body shot high up into the air, flying back several meters. While he was in the air, Alex forcefully stepped on the ground.

The ground shook like an earthquake, shaking the flickering streetlamps and leaves on the surrounding trees. The cement floor cracked and crumbled, creating a huge hole where the Paulie had been standing. He dropped from the air, landing on the side and gripping the edge to stop him from falling down the hole. Cold sweat trailed down his back as he clamored and screamed. He tried to pull himself back up, but his hands kept slipping. Alex stepped forward and looked down at him, then picked him up by his collar and threw him aside. There was another shrill cry, and the man disappeared into the darkness by the road.

Levi was joined by more of the men who had been lurking in the dark. They stood at the other side of the hole, frozen in shock as they watched their cousin fall down the hole. Lost in a daze, they momentarily forgot about Alex, until he jumped over the hole and landed in front of them.