The Battle Begins (1)

"Hmph, you want to eat me? No chance."

Clark snorted coldly, drew the gun at his waist, and fired nonstop at the charging beasts. Before long, several had been hit in vital spots and fell dead.

But the remaining beasts kept charging at Clark, showing no sign of retreating despite the others falling dead. Just then, Clark's gun ran out of bullets.

With no other choice, he had to take cover for the moment. He hid beneath a large tree, took bullets from the pouch at his waist, reloaded, and resumed shooting at the beasts.

Meanwhile, Fanxin took out his weapon and prepared to go after Clark. But Little Fox stopped him and refused to let him go.

"Why?" Fanxin was puzzled. Clark was busy dealing with the beasts, making this the perfect opportunity for a sneak attack.

"Hmph, what good would it do if you went now? To him, you'd just be one more beast. He has plenty of bullets on him, and he won't run out anytime soon. Wait a little longer. When he runs out of bullets, it'll be your turn," Little Fox said.

Little Fox had stayed by Clark's side for a long time and knew his fighting style inside out. Clark liked using guns and was an excellent shot. He also carried a great many bullets every time because he worried he wouldn't have enough and feared his opponents would pursue him once he ran out.

So he liked to carry plenty of bullets to make sure he shot his opponents dead. Only when he saw them die could he relax.

The battle had only just begun. If Fanxin made his move now, he wouldn't gain any advantage at all.

"You want to use these beasts to wear down his ammunition, right?" Fanxin said, having understood Little Fox's battle plan.

"That's right. Once he's used up all his bullets, he'll be a homeless dog. If you make your move then, you'll have no trouble dealing with him," Little Fox said with a nod of affirmation.

"Hmm, if it's that simple, why didn't you kill him? Why let him order you around? You seem to be capable of it!" Fanxin asked, puzzled.

Since Little Fox knew how Clark fought, he could have controlled the beasts to attack him. Once Clark had used up all his ammunition, he could have controlled another group of beasts to surround and attack him. Without a weapon, Clark would have been doomed.

Yet from the conversation between Clark and Little Fox just now, Fanxin had gathered that this little fox seemed to be a pet Clark had imprisoned. Such a formidable and scheming little fox had actually been imprisoned, and no matter how Fanxin thought about it, he couldn't understand why.

"Hmph, do you think I wanted to? I had no choice," Little Fox said with a cold snort.

At first, he hadn't dared resist because he didn't know the collar's secret. He had been afraid to act rashly, worried that Clark would kill him. Later, he learned the collar's secret. But he hadn't found a treasure that could strengthen his soul. If he resisted Clark, Clark would most likely destroy him completely.

Once the collar exploded, his physical body would be destroyed. His soul would lose its vessel and drift through the air. Souls were extremely fragile and could remain in the air for only a very, very short time. If he failed to find a vessel for his soul within that brief period, his soul would scatter, and he would perish completely.

So he had preferred to endure Clark's torment rather than plot to kill him.

Even after reaching this island, he still hadn't found a vessel for his soul. But he had been forced to make a decision. All the pirate crew had run away, and with no one else on whom to vent his anger, Clark would surely take it out on him.

His body had suffered a severe injury in the past and had never fully recovered over the years. If that madman Clark tortured him again, he might be torn apart.

So he had decided to take a gamble on this island. If Clark tried to destroy him completely, he would simply find a beast's body to house his soul temporarily. Then he would make other plans.

He had held out no hope at first. But to his utter surprise, he had encountered someone with an exceptionally powerful soul on this deserted island. Others might not have sensed it, but he had attained great mastery in matters of the soul and could sense it clearly just by getting close.

This was precisely the body he needed. He had nearly fainted from excitement at the time.

With that assurance, what did he have left to fear?

So he had taken control of a great many beasts and sent them to attack Clark. Even if Clark were driven into a corner and tried to destroy him completely, he was no longer afraid.

His soul could now be transferred at any time, without any danger at all.

That was also why he was so eager to fight now. As soon as Clark died, he would be free, and no one would ever be able to imprison him again.

"Oh, it seems you had your reasons!" Fanxin didn't press for details. This was Little Fox's private business, and he wasn't in the habit of prying into others' affairs.

"Hey, what are you going to do with this guy later?" Fanxin asked. "Do you want me to kill him, or will you take care of him yourself?"

Defeating Clark was no longer a problem. Even if Fanxin couldn't beat him, Little Fox was beside him. Together, the two of them could easily defeat Clark.

"I'll deal with him. Hmph, I'll make sure this guy dies without a burial place," Little Fox said viciously.

Back when Clark had captured him, he hadn't treated him well. Instead, he had constantly tormented him, making him do hard labor and serve as an enforcer. Little Fox had done many things for him. Yet Clark still hadn't treated him as a friend, using him instead as a tool.

He hated Clark and had hated him for years. Now that he finally had a chance for revenge, he naturally wouldn't hold back.

"All right, then! You deal with him!" Fanxin nodded and didn't compete with Little Fox over him.

He also wanted to kill Clark, since he and Little Black Cat had conspired to steal many treasures from Clark's ship. Given Clark's vengeful nature, there was no longer any room for compromise between them. If Fanxin didn't kill Clark, Clark would kill him.

So he had to kill Clark no matter what.

But he could see that Little Fox seemed to bear a deep grudge against Clark. If he killed Clark, Little Fox would surely get angry with him. He didn't want to make an enemy of such a formidable little fox, or he would end up suffering a great loss.

So, after thinking it over, he decided to leave the execution to Little Fox.

"All right, you can go now. He shouldn't have much ammunition left," Little Fox suddenly said after waiting a while.