121: Chapter 121 One Against Three

The cold man's undisguised Killing Intent and words of extermination were like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing the last shred of hope in the hearts of the Third Squad.

Emotions of despair, anger, and unwillingness intertwined in everyone's eyes.

Elder Han's facial muscles twitched. He laughed in extreme anger, saying "Good" three times. His giant blade hit the ground with a "clang," kicking up dust: "Good, good, good! Your Black Tiger Gang is ruthless! We admit defeat! Take all this cargo! We're leaving, that's enough, right?!"

He gritted his teeth, squeezing these words from his throat, having made the greatest concession—giving up all the cargo, just to escape with their lives.

In his decades of life licking blood from the blade's edge, he had never seen such a greedy, domineering, and uncompromising bandit gang.

However, the cold man just glanced at him with the eyes of a dead man, his sneer becoming more cruel: "Old thing, are your ears deaf, or is your brain broken? I said it, we want the goods. And the people must stay too!"

"You—!" Elder Han was so angry his beard and hair stood on end, his chest heaving violently, his eyes almost spitting fire. "You go too far! Do you really think I'm made of mud? Even a rabbit bites when cornered! If you push me, I'll risk my life to drag a few of you down with me! You won't have it easy either!"

"Old thing, just you?" Beside the cold man, another Fourth-Rank Warrior bandit leader sneered contemptuously, a pair of water-splitting daggers in his hand flashing with a ghostly blue cold light. "If you're smart, surrender obediently, and you might suffer a little less!"

Both sides were on the verge of conflict, Killing Intent permeated the air, ready to trigger. The guards were pale, their hands holding weapons shaking slightly. The absolute gap in strength left no room for hope.

At this suffocating moment of stalemate, Lin Tian, who had been observing in silence, suddenly spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears: "Refusing to let us go is likely not just because you covet this cargo."

He looked calmly at the cold man, "It's because there is something in this cargo that is too important, so important that... you absolutely cannot let any witness leave alive, even if they are only potential witnesses. If you let us go, you cannot afford the risk of the news leaking, right?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was stunned.

Elder Han's pupils shrank, instantly realizing the crux of the matter.

Yes, although the Black Tiger Gang was fierce, they usually only sought wealth and rarely did such things as killing everyone to silence them, leaving no room for negotiation, and easily drawing crazy revenge from all sides.

Unless... the profit was large enough to make them take the risk, and they had to ensure the news was kept absolutely secret!

The cold man looked at Lin Tian with slight surprise, seemingly not expecting that this youngest-looking Fourth-Rank Warrior had such a sharp mind.

He no longer concealed it and gave a cold, sinister smile: "Kid, your brain turns fast. That's right, at this point, I'm not afraid to tell you group of dead people. Hidden in this cargo of yours is a 'qingluo fruit'!"

"qingluo fruit?!"

"What?! qingluo fruit?!"

"Is that the precious Spirit Medicine qingluo fruit that can cleanse the marrow, greatly enhance potential, and is even effective for breaking through to Dark Energy?!"

"My god! How could such a treasure..."

The three words "qingluo fruit" exploded in the guard team like a thunderclap! Elder Han exclaimed, the color draining from his face.

The other guards were even more horrified and incredulous, which then turned into deep anger and a sense of betrayal and sorrow.

"qingluo fruit... No wonder! No wonder the Black Tiger Gang made such a big Move, sending out their top experts just to intercept and kill us!" Elder Han's voice was bitter, his eyes filled with regret and helplessness.

Escorting a priceless treasure was an honor, but if the employer concealed it beforehand, placing the guards in a deadly situation without informing them, this was tantamount to murder!

"The Liu family! The Liu family is so cruel! They didn't tell us about such a top-secret matter! They are gambling with our lives!" A guard roared in grief and anger.

"We were tricked by the Liu family! We became sacrificial victims for this qingluo fruit!"

"What's the use of saying this now? Think about how to survive first!"

Despair and anger spread through the team.

Originally holding a shred of hope, thinking it was just a normal robbery, now that they knew they were escorting a "qingluo fruit" that would make any force green with envy, everyone understood that the Black Tiger Gang would never let any witness go.

Lin Tian was also shocked.

qingluo fruit!

He had followed Elder Qian to learn about medicinal materials, so he naturally knew of this item.

This was a true Heaven And Earth Treasure; for a Fourth-Rank Warrior with Dark Energy, its value was immeasurable and enough to trigger a small-scale bloodbath.

The Liu family actually managed to get one and mixed it in with common Spirit Medicine to transport it; they had big plans.

And the fact that the Black Tiger Gang's information was so well-informed made it even more suspicious.

He swept his gaze over Elder Han and the other guards, seeing them all in shock and confusion, clearly unaware beforehand.

The Liu family concealing this might have been for secrecy, but it had indeed placed them in a desperate situation.

"Everyone, calm down." Lin Tian spoke again, his voice still steady, carrying a strange soothing power. "It's meaningless to blame the Liu family now. The priority is to fight our way out. Although the Black Tiger Gang is strong, it won't be that easy for them to keep all of us here!"

He paused, his gaze fixed on the cold man, and asked another key question: "None of us knew there was a qingluo fruit in the cargo, so how did your Black Tiger Gang know? Could it be... does the Liu family have an inside man for you?"

This was also the biggest doubt in everyone's hearts.

With such a top secret, how did the Black Tiger Gang accurately lock onto their team and mobilize such powerful forces?

The cold man's eyes flashed, seemingly a bit surprised by Lin Tian's sharpness, but he didn't answer, just sneered: "Why do dead people need to know so much? Do it! Leave no one alive!"

Lin Tian's thoughts raced, instantly recalling the majestic black eagle that had been circling overhead and given him a warning sign earlier.

At the time, he just felt the eagle was extraordinary, but didn't think deeply about it.

Now it seemed, that eagle was very likely a spirit bird raised by the Black Tiger Gang, specifically used for reconnaissance and tracking!

That was it, only this kind of method beyond ordinary imagination could accurately lock onto the location of the qingluo fruit!

He did not voice this guess; there was no need to right now.

"Everyone!" Elder Han was an old Jianghu hand after all. Reminded by Lin Tian, he knew there was no way out, only fighting to the death to survive.

He forced himself to lift his spirits and roared: "We're dead either way! Fight them! Killing one is breaking even, killing two is a profit! Follow me and break out!"

"Kill!!" In this desperate situation, the guards were also stirred to ferocity. They roared in unison, weapons pointed forward, gathering a tragic and fierce Aura, preparing to launch a death-defying charge towards a seemingly weak position!

"Stubborn! Kill them all!" The cold man ordered sternly.

"Roar—!" The Black Tiger Gang bandits responded in unison, like Vicious Beasts out of their cages, brandishing their weapons and charging forward!

The five Fourth-Rank Warrior bandit leaders moved like lightning, instantly crossing over the ordinary bandits and rushing straight to the core!

Two of them went straight for Elder Han, while the other three, in a triangle formation, locked onto Lin Tian, who was standing with his sword, with icy Killing Intent!

Clearly, in their eyes, this youngest Fourth-Rank Warrior was perhaps a Breakthrough point, or perhaps the primary threat to eliminate.

"Uncle Han!" A cold light flashed in Lin Tian's eyes, and he said quickly to Elder Han, who was about to face the two bandit leaders, "You hold those two off! Leave the remaining three to me!"

"What?!" Hearing this, Elder Han almost thought he had misheard.

He could try his best and perhaps hold off two peers briefly, but Lin Tian wanted to face three alone? This was simply courting death!

The opponents were not just any cats and dogs, but three solid Fourth-Rank Warrior bandit leaders!

The cold man among them had an even more powerful Aura, approaching Middle Stage Fourth-Rank Warrior!

"Young Master Lin, don't be reckless! We should..." Elder Han urged anxiously.

However, before he finished speaking, Lin Tian had already moved!

"Cloud Shadow Step—Floating Cloud Indeterminate!"

Stepping out with mysterious footwork, Lin Tian's figure suddenly became elusive, like floating clouds merging into the mountain wind, carrying streaks of afterimages that were hard to distinguish between real and fake. Instead of retreating, he advanced, actually taking the initiative to meet those three charging Fourth-Rank Warrior bandit leaders!

The "autumn water sword" in his hand gave a clear, melodious tremor, the sword body shimmering with water light, instantly bursting out several brilliant rays of light.

It did not attack one person, but split apart like flowers scattered by a goddess, pointing towards the faces, throats, and hearts of the three people!

This was the exquisite Move from the "Xiaguang Sword Technique", "Xiaguang Shadow Split", aimed at disturbing the enemy, blocking the enemy, and dividing and conquering them!

"Arrogant brat!"

"Courting death!"

"Kill him first!"

The three bandit leaders were both shocked and angry, not expecting this young boy to be so arrogant as to dare to take the initiative to attack the three of them!