305 Fierce Battle (2/2)

Xiao Luo was taken by surprise, and he immediately knew he had underestimated the burly man. He was about to deliver a mortal blow, but the Cobra mercenary reacted instantly and fired his submachine gun. He was barely able to dodge the incoming rounds, and had he been a split second too slow, he would have taken more than a dozen bullets in his chest.

”B*stard, I'll kill you!!!”

The burly man gritted his teeth and yelled, firing controlled bursts at the quick moving target, as Xiao Luo darted about like a phantom.

When he depleted the clip, the burly man immediately switched magazines, but while as he was loading the clip, he heard a loud snap followed a creaking sound. Xiao Luo had just smashed the trunk of a pine tree with a hefty kick.

CRACK!

The pine tree snapped into two and came crashing down, rustling through the foliage as it fell toward the burly man.

And as he tried to avoid the crashing tree, he found his head caught in a vice-like grip. The strong hand that held his chin snapped the head sideways, breaking his neck. The man lost all control of his body, and as he slumped to the ground, all he saw was a young man attired in dark combat gear staring at him—Xiao Luo.

”Since you have come here, then stay forever!”

Xiao Luo stood there to watch the burly man die. Blood was flowing out of his nose and mouth as his life force slowly slipped away.

BANG!

A high-velocity round whistled through the trees and almost hit him. It grazed his face and cut him like a sharp dagger, leaving a scar on his cheek.

Following the shot, an intense barrage of bullets flew in his direction.

Evidently, the remaining five of the Cobra mercenaries had arrived, and they were well-armed, with every man equipped with night vision equipment.

Xiao Luo could not stay in one place for too long to avoid being hit. As he constantly changed his position, he slowly led the mercenaries further into the Mount Luo forest.

As a child, he had spent a lot of time running all over Mount Luo, and he was thoroughly familiar with the trails and terrain of the mountain. As he kept leading them in circles, the Cobra Mercenaries began to feel the strain of keeping up.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Several rocket-propelled grenades streaked through the air and blasted into the ground close to where Xiao Luo was last seen. The entire mountainside shook, and the air reeked of explosives.

Unaware that Xiao Luo had already circled behind them, they stood looking at the direction of the blasts, trying to assess the situation. Suddenly, in a single attack, three of the mercenaries howled in pain and fell immediately, forming a pool of blood around them.

Before the remaining two men could react, Xiao Luo vanished from sight again.

”Come out! If you are truly capable, come out, and we'll have a duel!”

The two men dropped their firearms and drew out their combat knives, as they yelled into the darkness.

Their firearms were useless against their swift and silent adversary, and they chose to take a more direct approach—a duel.

”Very well, I accept!”

A voice echoed eerily around the forest, then, moving silently about like a phantom, Xiao Luo pounced from behind a large tree and attacked the men.

He instantly pushed them back with his extreme speed and overwhelming power.

He saw an opening and delivered a stinging blow with his right palm through the defense of one man, thumping him directly on his chest. The force of the blow surged through the man's body, and the man went limp instantly as his chest collapsed.

Crack!

Xiao Luo's palm broke his ribs, and the palm went through his chest cavity, fully exposing the ruptured heart.

Footnote:

[1] The Golden Crow: a tripedal creature in Chinese mythology, usually depicted as a three-legged crow. Legend has it that ten of them lived in the Sun, and during a calamitous period when all ten descended on Earth, the famed Celestial Archer, Houyi, shot all but one, thus saving the world.

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