Tactics

"Everyone, let's just mind our own business. Why are you trying to make things difficult for the two of us, who are just a pitiable couple?"

Zhao Baolong's face was clouded as he spelled out the words one by one. Coupled with his two-meter tall figure, he appeared fierce and sinister.

The aura surrounding him was honed by his many years of fighting. Chen Shaojie and He Chunping felt their hair stand on end even though they were separated by ten meters.

"Then who will pity the family you killed?" Chen Yiming refuted, seemingly unaffected by Zhao Baolong's aura.

His calm demeanor made Zhao Baolong and Dong Fen hesitate. They couldn't tell if Chen Yiming was actually confident or just pretending to be calm.

"What a sharp-tongued young man. Let's see if you'll still be stubborn in a while."

Dong Fen shifted her attention from Chen Shaojie and He Chunping to Chen Yiming. She didn't take any rash actions and merely used her words to taunt him.

Chen Yiming turned around to face Zhao Baolong.

"The two of you are talking too much. If you don't act now, you may not have another chance."

He deliberately left his back to Dong Fen to see if he could lure the woman into launching a sneak attack.

Chen Yiming was confident that he would be able to counterattack in time. Once he defeated Dong Fen, Zhao Baolong wouldn't even have a chance to escape.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. The longer this dragged on, the worse the situation would be for Zhao Baolong and Dong Fengyue. They did not know if Chen Yiming was working with anyone else.

"Little brother, it seems like you are very confident in your own strength."

Zhao Baolong had been living in the wilderness for a long time. After failing to sound him out, he quickly changed his mind and continued to speak aggressively.

As he spoke, he moved forward slowly, secretly gathering his strength. His gaze was fixed on Chen Yiming's eyes as he used his aura to probe his opponent's strength.

Suddenly, a change occurred.

"Bang!"

Chen Shaojie's legs went weak and he fell to the ground.

He had been afraid when Zhao Baolong was still separated from them by ten meters. With Chen Yiming by his side, he had barely been able to hold on.

However, as Zhao Baolong moved closer, he couldn't hide the fear in his heart. He was afraid that he would be treated as a weakling and killed off first, with Chen Yiming unable to protect him in time.

"Consultant Chen."

He Chunping subconsciously grabbed the corner of Chen Yiming's shirt.

If not for the fact that she still had a shred of rationality, she would have hugged him tightly like a drowning person clutching onto a piece of wood.

"Don't be afraid."

Chen Yiming grabbed He Chunping's hand and held it in his as he comforted her.

He was not trying to make use of the dangerous situation to take advantage of her. Instead, he was afraid that Zhao Baolong would suddenly attack him. If that happened, he would need to react quickly.

He Chunping's weight, which was about 90 kilograms, didn't pose any resistance to Chen Yiming. On the contrary, the impact from a sudden explosive power of his counterattack may injure her.

Just as everyone's attention was on Zhao Baolong, Dong Fen, who was guarding the rear, suddenly launched a sneak attack from the back.

She instantly kicked hard at the ground with the soles of her feet.

"Ping!"

The sound of stones breaking sounded from the ground where her shoes had been. Using the force to push herself up, her entire body quickly rose into the air like an arrow. With a dagger in hand, she moved to stab Chen Yiming's heart from behind.

The setting of the streets in the village was very advantageous for Zhao Baolong and Dong Fen. Chen Yiming's side had three people, but only one of them could be considered their opponent.

Whether it was Zhao Baolong or Dong Fen who made a move, Chen Yiming could only deal with their attacks from one direction.

Therefore, from the moment Zhao Baolong and Dong Fen revealed themselves, they had not intended to let the other three go. Their previous attempts to feel them out were made merely to weaken their resistance and to reduce the risk of injury to themselves.

They would never have thought that they would be so unlucky as to encounter an expert who had undergone three transformations, but was disguising himself as someone who was only at the level of the first transformation. This was because in normal situations, it was impossible for an expert who had undergone three transformations to be interested in the reward from a job at the level of verifying the household register.

The distance of less than ten meters was covered in the blink of an eye.

The dagger in Dong Fen's hand was surrounded by streams of air. These were the manifestations of the spiral force which was affecting the flow of air.

This was a common dagger-based technique. The spiral force could greatly increase the penetrative power of the dagger, and those at the same level would find it almost impossible to defend against.

At the moment that Dong Fen made her move, Chen Yiming immediately reacted and gently pushed He Chunping away. He then turned to face Dong Fen and prepared to knock her down with a punch.

The reason he planned to use his fist wasn't because he didn't have time to draw his sword.

Sword techniques were known for their lethality, and it was difficult to control one's strength. He was afraid that if he did not control it well, he would kill or severely injure his opponent, and the value of his captive would be greatly reduced.

The moment Chen Yiming turned around, Zhao Baolong smirked. He sped up his movements and leaped into the air, aiming his fist at Chen Yiming to corner him in a pincer attack together with Dong Fen.

This was a tactic that Zhao Baolong and Dong Fen often used. By relying on their tacit cooperation, it was impossible for others to determine which of the two would really attack and which would be a feint, which could be used to mislead the opponent.

Zhao Baolong and Dong Fen had already sentenced Chen Yiming to death in their hearts. Everything was going according to their plan.

"Bang!"

A powerful explosive force landed mercilessly on Zhao Baolong's abdomen, accompanied by a loud bang.

Both of them were fighting with their bare fists. At the last moment, Zhao Baolong saw Chen Yiming turn back after he correctly deduced that Zhao Baolong was the one who would actually attack.

At that time, his body could no longer make any changes to his attack. He could only brace himself to see whose fist would land first, but his fist had completely missed the mark.

A figure flew out and crashed heavily into the wall, creating a hole half the size of the wall.

Zhao Baolong struggled a few times on the spot, but he could not get up. Not only did he feel a sharp pain from his abdomen, but he was also feeling dizzy.

"Baolong!"

Dong Fen let out a heart-wrenching cry.

As the one making a feint attack, when she was still one meter away, she kicked off from the ground again and nimbly changed the direction she was charging in to prevent any accidental injuries from occurring when both of them attacked at the same time.

The mutual trust between the pair, combined with their flexible tactics, had never failed them.

At most, their opponent would be lucky and correctly judge which was the actual attack. Even then, Zhao Baolong would be able to use his punches to engage their opponent, and she could turn back to deliver a fatal blow at the right time.

"An expert who had undergone three transformations!"

Dong Fen instantly realized the reason for their failure.

Only by having the enhancement from the third transformation would he be able to quickly counterattack during the gap between their combined attacks.

The couple was extremely unlucky to have met someone who was pretending to be weaker than he actually was.

Dong Fen stood rooted to the ground in a daze. She did not try to fight Chen Yiming or to flee.

As a former member of the bandit gang living in the wilderness, she knew very well how strong the leader who had undergone the third transformation was.

Only by splitting up at the start and making use of the densely packed houses in the village would one of them have even a small chance of escaping with their lives. Now, there was no chance of escape.

She could already foresee the tragic life that awaited her.

Rather than betting on an impossible escape right now, she might as well surrender and preserve her strength so that she could find a chance to escape in the future.