The Battle Begins (3)

"Bastard." Fanxin turned around and glared fiercely at Clark.

Clark had gone too far, blowing Little Fox to pieces without leaving a trace. Fanxin was furious, because Little Fox seemed to have helped Clark a great deal in the past. Even if there was a misunderstanding between them, did he have to go that far?

"Hmph, it got what it deserved. Kid, you're next." Clark chuckled. "Now that it's dead, these beasts won't attack me anymore. It's just you and me left."

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of you. I'll make sure you're satisfied," Clark said. A wicked smile appeared on his face as he spoke. Clearly, he meant no good.

"Hmph, I won't lose to you. I'll kill you and avenge it," Fanxin said coldly.

He slowly walked toward Clark and stopped two meters away from him. Then he threw away the gun in his hand. It was out of bullets, and carrying it would only get in the way.

"Come on!" Fanxin shouted.

What Fanxin didn't know was that, just as he focused all his attention on Clark, a little fox invisible to the naked eye darted into his body and vanished.

"Then come on!" Clark threw away his weapon too. He had long since run out of bullets.

He charged at Fanxin. When he was close, he raised his right hand and swung it at him.

Fanxin sidestepped the blow. He immediately counterattacked, lunging forward to close the distance and swinging his fist at Clark's heart.

Though Fanxin's fist was small, it carried tremendous force. He had once stunned a tiger with a single punch. If Clark were hit, he would be badly injured even if he survived.

Clark was a big man, so it was unlikely he could dodge completely. But he shifted to the side, moving his vital point out of the way. Fanxin's fist missed his heart and struck off to one side instead.

Although the punch landed, it did not seriously injure Clark. Without hesitation, Fanxin immediately retreated and put some distance between them.

"Hmph, kid, why are you running? Come and attack me!" Clark was displeased to see Fanxin retreat and shouted at him.

"Heh, looks like Little Fox underestimated you. You're not completely helpless in close combat. You're actually pretty good at it," Fanxin said.

He had just tested Clark and found that his opponent's offense and defense were well balanced. He was nothing like someone who had never fought before. Although Clark had taken a punch from him, he had not been hurt at all.

If Clark had not been good at close combat, that punch would have struck his heart. Even if it had not killed him in one blow, it would have weakened his ability to fight back. Yet Clark was now full of vigor and completely unharmed.

"Hmph, of course you can't reveal all your secrets. Otherwise, other people will have you completely at their mercy," Clark said. "Every night, when I had nothing to do, I stayed alone in a room and practiced my fighting skills. That's how I gradually grew stronger. Nobody knew, not even that stupid fox, because it hated me most of all. So I couldn't let it know."

"Hmph, kid, you dared to underestimate me. You'll die a miserable death," Clark said with a laugh. "If you beg for mercy now, I might spare your life."

"Tch, so what if you're a good fighter? Killing me won't be that easy. This is the jungle. I grew up here, and it's my home. I can move freely through it without anything holding me back." Fanxin chuckled and looked at Clark. "But you can't. You're a pirate. You might have some skills at sea, but in the forest, you'll be hampered at every turn."

"Not only do you have to watch out for me, you also have to watch out for those beasts. Do you think you can manage that?" As soon as Fanxin finished speaking, he darted into the jungle and vanished in a few quick movements.

He had no desire to fight Clark to the death, because he had a better way to kill him. Since that was the case, he naturally did not want to use the most difficult method to deal with Clark.

"Bastard, is this guy trying to wear me down to death?" Clark was smart and immediately understood Fanxin's objective. He was furious.

It was just as Fanxin had said: he was formidable at sea. But in a forest full of danger, his abilities were limited.

Now that his ship had been destroyed, he had no way to leave the island. If Fanxin kept ambushing him and had wild beasts helping him from time to time, his situation would be dire.

"No, I have to leave as soon as possible, or I'll be in trouble." After thinking for a moment, Clark immediately headed for the edge of the forest. He had no desire to stay in the forest and end up as a beast's meal.

But to Clark's dismay, as soon as he ran toward the edge, countless beasts around him gave chase, moving much faster than he did.

Their objective was clear: they were after him.

"What's going on? Why are so many beasts attacking me?"

After running for a while, Clark stopped and went no farther. The beasts were faster than him and had already gotten ahead of him. If he kept running forward, he would be delivering himself right to them.

He stood where he was and looked around, unsure what to do. The beasts had surrounded him and were slowly closing in.

If he could not think of a solution, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"There's no way the beasts would act in unison to attack me. Something must be controlling them," Clark muttered. "I have no grudge with anyone except Little Fox, and as far as I know, only Little Fox can control beasts. But I already killed Little Fox. I can't sense its presence anymore. Then what could be the reason?"

His thoughts raced as he tried to make sense of it all. Time was running short, and he had to find a solution.

"Could it be that Little Fox never died? The explosion just now completely destroyed its body, leaving only its soul. To survive, it would have to find a vessel to hold its soul as soon as possible. Only then would it have a chance of living."

Clark said in horror, "If it really didn't die, then everything makes sense. Little Fox is controlling these beasts. It ordered them to attack me."