Arrested

As Chen Cheng returned to the village entrance, the sun had already set. The entire village was illuminated by the afterglow of the sunset and the flickering flames.

Amidst this sunset, a dark cloud was approaching from the horizon. It was unclear whether the impending rain was to mourn these pitiful savages or to extinguish the great fire that was about to sweep through the entire forest.

The screams of women, the cries of children, and the curses and pleas of the elderly mingled with the sounds of the slave-hunting team's slaughter in Chen Cheng's ears.

He hadn't expected that this so-called disaster would be someone coming to slaughter the village.

Chen Cheng hid behind a large tree outside the village, his fists clenched tightly with nervousness and fear. This was the first time he had encountered danger alone after leaving Samlet.

But when he saw a child not yet three years old being dragged out and beheaded from behind the tree, watching the spurting bright red blood, the innocent, tender face still bearing tear tracks and lingering terror as it rolled on the ground, and hearing the executioner's unrestrained laughter, his fear was replaced by rage.

In his previous life, one of the reasons he worked hard to research controlled nuclear fusion was to solve humanity's energy crisis, to prevent humans from engaging in wars like the Iraq War over energy. Especially after seeing refugees, particularly children, from countries like Iraq on the internet, he considered himself a pacifist who cherished life.

This was the first time he had faced such a bloody scene so realistically. The wails that occasionally reached his ears constantly provoked his nerves.

He looked at the man holding the child's head, laughing wildly as if to show off his achievement.

Chen Cheng loaded his firearm and chambered a round. At this moment, he no longer saw these executioners as ordinary people; they were now a group of thugs in his eyes. He aimed directly at the one who had beheaded the child and fired.

The sound of gunpowder igniting in the barrel was deafening, and the man's death was gruesome, his entire head reduced to a sieve by the shot.

When the men slaughtering inside the village heard the gunshot, they all rushed out and saw the executioner Bob, whose corpse was in a terrible state at the village entrance.

Seeing Bob dead, the others went berserk, brandishing their weapons and shouting as they charged out of the village.

"Damn savages, they killed Bob."

"Where are the savages? I'm going to catch him and avenge Bob."

Chen Cheng showed no mercy, aiming at the foremost few and firing two more shots. Two more men met their maker.

"Damn it, what kind of weapon is that? It's not a bow and arrow at all."

"West and the others have fallen too. Hurry up and surround him, capture him."

With the deaths of the two, Chen Cheng's position was exposed. The members of the slave-hunting team charged towards his hiding spot, and at the same time, William, the only mage in their team, began chanting a Fire Elemental Spell and hurled a fireball at him.

Although Chen Cheng, who had spent years fighting and training against fierce beasts, hadn't cultivated battle qi, he was quite adept at dealing with simple magical attacks.

Chen Cheng rolled and dodged the fireball behind the large tree, then began employing his guerrilla tactics, leading the pursuers through the forest.

With a few more shots, several more men were taken down by Chen Cheng.

Seeing several of their companions already dead, the members of the slave-hunting team began to feel timid. However, Scorpio, the captain of the slave-hunting team, pointed at Chen Cheng, who was running ahead, with a look of excitement:

"Look, what a healthy and agile savage! None of the slaves we've captured over the years are as strong as him. If we capture him, I estimate his price won't be lower than that of an orc. We'll make a fortune this time."

Upon hearing Scorpio's words, the members of the slave-hunting team also became excited. They were a very low-level slave-hunting team, with only one mage and their strongest member being their captain, Scorpio, who had only recently advanced to Silver Warrior.

If they could capture a slave comparable in value to an orc this time, it would bring them not only money but also honor within the slave-hunting community.

At this point, the men began to divide their tasks clearly and started treating Chen Cheng as a formidable enemy.

After Chen Cheng dealt with two more, his gunpowder was running low. Seeing the encirclement that had formed, he knew he couldn't escape this time.

Looking at the increasingly gloomy sky, Chen Cheng gripped the sword at his waist, about to draw it. However, a wry smile appeared on his tense face:

"Chen Cheng, Chen Cheng, it's a bit late to start learning martial skills now."

Then, Chen Cheng cast aside the negative emotions in his mind, loaded the last shot of buckshot, and his eyes fell on the only mage in the slave-hunting team.

Having followed the legendary warrior Samlet for years, Chen Cheng's understanding of the warrior system could be said to have surpassed ninety-five percent of the warrior practitioners on the entire continent.

He had also observed that most of the team consisted of ordinary people with slightly stronger bodies or low-level warriors who had just entered the Bronze Tier. Only the captain, who was giving orders from the rear, seemed to possess Silver Tier combat power.

However, with his years of living experience in these mountains, Chen Cheng could still take a gamble. Even if he couldn't defeat the captain in the end, he still had a chance to escape.

But all of this was predicated on the absence of the mage.

He wondered if this guy knew tracking magic, as he had experienced the trouble of this magic since birth.

If this mage knew tracking magic, he wouldn't be able to escape their pursuit.

The darkness was Chen Cheng's best cover. When the gunshots in the forest ceased, everything seemed peaceful. But beneath this peace lay Chen Cheng's agile and bloodthirsty eyes.

"Captain, I can't see that damn savage monkey anymore."

"Captain, we can't either. I really don't know how that savage monkey is so good at hiding."

When the gunshots stopped, Scorpio vaguely sensed that something was wrong. He then began to call out in the language of the mountain savages, and his subordinates even went back to the village to grab women and push them to the front, slaughtering them in front of him.

"Savage monkey, come out quickly. These are all your people. If you don't come out, we'll kill them."

Chen Cheng knew that this guy mistook him for one of the villagers. Chen Cheng now only wanted to survive and kill these damned scoundrels.

Because he knew he couldn't save these pitiful savages, he didn't intend to expose himself. His gaze towards the mage was exceptionally cold; he had already marked him for death.

Thus, Chen Cheng lurked in the forest, cautiously approaching the mage.

Just as Chen Cheng was less than ten meters away from the mage, a sudden explosion rang in his ears. He knew that he had somehow triggered a trap set by the mage, and he was exposed.

At this moment, Chen Cheng no longer hid. Enduring the dizziness caused by the explosive sound bombarding his eardrums, he fired a shot at the chanting mage.

With a bang, the gunpowder loaded in this shot was much more than before. Even though the mage was cautious and had released a magic barrier in front of himself beforehand, he still turned into a soul under this shot.

After firing, Chen Cheng didn't care about anything else. His gun was ruined, so he dropped it and ran.

When the members of the slave-hunting team saw their only mage killed on the spot, they were all enraged by Chen Cheng. They no longer used their usual hit-and-run tactics for capturing slaves, but instead unleashed their battle qi and charged towards Chen Cheng.

"Kill him! He actually killed the magician William. We've suffered a huge loss this time."

These people were utterly devoid of humanity. William's death was merely a financial loss to them, and not a single one felt any sorrow for his demise.

Previously, Chen Cheng might have been able to threaten these guys with his firearm, making them hesitate and allowing him to pick them off one by one. However, after seeing Chen Cheng discard his iron spear to lighten his load, these guys no longer feared him and charged forward.

The strongest among them were only late-stage Bronze Tier warriors at level three. Chen Cheng could still use the advantageous terrain of the forest to keep them at bay and find opportunities to eliminate a few.

But when Scorpio saw his magician killed and became enraged, Chen Cheng truly had nowhere left to run.

As a level five Silver Warrior, Scorpio could easily shatter the giant trees in his path with his battle qi, and his agility was also far beyond that of ordinary people.

Moreover, someone like him, whose livelihood depended on capturing slaves, was naturally very familiar with dense forests. So, just as Chen Cheng thought his plan was foolproof, Scorpio gave him a surprise.

When Chen Cheng intended to use a large tree to evade the attacks of the grunts and continue his escape, Scorpio had already predicted his movement and leaped forward, smashing his fist towards the trunk of the tree Chen Cheng was about to pass.

The tree trunk, with a diameter of twenty to thirty centimeters, was pierced through like a flimsy board by his punch. Then, to Chen Cheng's terrified gaze, Scorpio grabbed him by his beast-hide armor.

Chen Cheng didn't even have time to react. He was yanked along and tumbled to the ground like a rolling gourd.

As he tried to quickly get up and flee, Scorpio and the members of the slave-hunting team had already captured him.

"What a strong savage! Tie him up. William and the others' compensation, and our future lives, all depend on him."

Just as Chen Cheng thought he would be executed, Scorpio began discussing with the other slave hunters how to sell him for a high price.

In reality, Chen Cheng didn't know that these slave hunters didn't care much about the lives of their companions. If a companion died, they could still get their share from the money earned by selling the captured slaves.

Not to mention Chen Cheng, a high-quality slave who caused the death of several slave hunters and a magician.

Taking him back to a big city and then exaggerating the day's events would allow him to be sold for a hundred times the price of an ordinary slave. This money would be an astronomical sum for them.

Especially since Scorpio had his men retrieve Chen Cheng's firearm, this was strong evidence that this slave could also manufacture slightly more advanced weapons. Such slaves were the favorites of nobles.

At that moment, the gloomy sky let out its roar, and heavy rain began to fall, as if the gods in heaven were also mourning the tragically dead villagers.

Chen Cheng, tightly bound, was treated as their most valuable treasure by these slave hunters, who prepared to escort him out of the mountains.

The next morning, after the rain stopped, these guys no longer searched the forest for new savage villages to capture slaves.

To be safe, they directly took Chen Cheng out of the mountains. This time, they were counting on Chen Cheng to make a fortune.

Confined within a cage covered by beast hides, Chen Cheng felt himself growing heavier, as if he were falling into an endless abyss.

After days of bumpy and muddy mountain roads, they finally emerged from the Nanmu Forest.

Just as Scorpio had someone routinely check Chen Cheng's condition, the person doing the checking hurried back to Scorpio.

"Captain, bad news! This kid has a fever."

Scorpio, who had been envisioning his bright future, was startled by this news. He then grabbed the man's hand and said:

"If you dare to lie to me, I will kill you."