Lin Xiao let out a low shout. Without caring whether his weapon would break, he raised his saber and swept it across. With a resonant clang, sparks flew in all directions where saber and anchor met, and both men were forced back a step.
The burly man wielding the anchor had greater strength and a heavier weapon, while Lin Xiao had deeper internal power, surpassing that of the big man. Their strengths canceled each other out, leaving them evenly matched.
Unfortunately, the power within his body consisted of Yang Sha internal power and Yin Sha internal power—two different types that could not fully merge. When driven simultaneously, their might was reduced. If he could cultivate both techniques to perfection, then use the secret method in the Yang Sha Technique to refine the Yin Sha internal power and fuse the yin and yang energies into one, his cultivation would instantly soar to an unimaginable level. He might even step straight into the peak of the second tier.
Being besieged by two experts was already troublesome, especially with the archer on the Iron Boat Gang's ship watching him like a tiger stalking its prey, ready to loose an arrow at any moment. The threat to Lin Xiao was immense, forcing him to hold back constantly. Whenever he relied on his deeper power and nimble footwork to gain even a little advantage, one or two sudden arrows would break his rhythm, leaving him extremely frustrated.
Later, he learned his lesson. He simply stopped thinking about killing his opponents and focused on dragging things out until the battle ended.
Although he really wanted the Potential Points, the prerequisite was that he survive. If things became too dangerous, he would forget it.
Once he did that, the two men grew anxious instead. The anchor-wielding man launched one fierce attack after another, wildly sweeping the massive iron ship anchor and smashing everything on the deck to pieces. Even the thick deck was pounded through with several holes, yet he could not touch a single hair on Lin Xiao, who was focused entirely on defense.
"Kid, are you a rat or something? How are you so good at hiding?"
Lin Xiao did not answer at all. He merely knocked aside the iron anchor as it swept toward him, then slipped his foot and dipped his body low. An arrow flew over his head.
While the battle raged on here, Shi Zhongyu knocked his opponent back with one palm. His gaze flicked over, and his brow furrowed.
"So powerful?"
He knew these two men: another guardian of the Iron Boat Gang and another expert from the main headquarters. Even he would have struggled to match them working together, yet this kid was fighting the two of them alone and still appeared completely at ease. A deep sense of danger immediately rose within him.
"This kid must die!"
He raised both palms and struck forward, meeting his opponent's palms. Then he suddenly lowered his voice and warned the other man, lifting his brows toward the ongoing battle. The other man immediately understood, and the two began shifting the battlefield as they fought.
Both were experts, and walking across the water was nothing difficult for them. Before they knew it, the battlefield had moved nearby. The two men leaped into the air at the same time and met palms. With a thunderous slap, both were sent flying backward. Young Master Peng, Shi Zhongyu, happened to retreat onto the ship where Lin Xiao stood. In midair, he twisted his body and struck the anchor-wielding man with a backhanded palm.
But an arrow that split the air came from the other ship, forcing him to turn and save himself. He spun around and landed on the ship.
His opponent also leaped back onto the archer's ship, leaving the three men surrounding the two of them.
The main battlefield had suddenly shifted here. Lin Xiao felt that something was strange, but for the moment he could not see what the problem was.
The three men gave him little time to think. The anchor-wielding man roared and brought his anchor crashing down, while the other expert leaped onto the ship and engaged Shi Zhongyu again. Lin Xiao had no time to consider anything else and swung his saber up to meet the attack without backing down.
Ever since he stopped worrying about damaging his weapon, the threat posed by the anchor-wielding man had plummeted. The price was that the edge of his Hundred-Forged Fine Steel Saber had already chipped in dozens of places. It now looked like a saw and would certainly need to be reforged after the battle.
Of course, the opponent's anchor was in no better condition, covered in cuts. But the anchor was so thick and was a blunt weapon, so the chips did not affect its power.
The battle that followed was no different from the earlier one. With neither side seeking merit so much as avoiding fault, the two Iron Boat Gang experts could do nothing to him. Their fight was even less intense than the one next door.
At the same time, reinforcements from the Water Fortress at the outpost had arrived, and a signal had also come from the direction of Song'an Water Fortress. Reinforcements would arrive immediately.
Under these circumstances, so long as the Iron Boat Gang and the Salt Gang did not want an all-out battle, things would basically end in a hasty retreat.
Lin Xiao thought the same. But unexpectedly, after he had smoothly dodged the iron anchor's blows for who knew how many times and avoided another hidden arrow, the other Iron Boat Gang expert who was fighting Shi Zhongyu suddenly retreated several steps, turned around, and struck his palm toward Lin Xiao, who had just evaded both the anchor and the arrow.
The sudden sneak attack shocked him. His previous strength had just run out, while his new strength had yet to rise, leaving him no way to dodge. He could only hurriedly circulate his energy and strike out with his left palm.
"Smack!"
With only twenty percent of his internal power raised, how could it compare to a fully charged blow? Lin Xiao felt a vast force surging toward him. Unable to maintain his balance, he staggered back several steps in one breath, and a flush rose across his face.
But it was not over yet. Having gained the upper hand, the man showed no mercy. He sprang forward and struck out several palms in succession, every blow landing on Lin Xiao's chest with a series of thuds. Lin Xiao was battered backward, staggering, until he could no longer keep hold of the saber in his hand and dropped it.
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of blood surged from Lin Xiao's throat. An idea flashed through his mind, and he used what little internal power remained to propel the blood outward. However, the unknown Iron Boat Gang expert was both ruthless and highly experienced. He did not dodge at all and allowed the blood to spray across him. What he had not expected was that Lin Xiao's blood contained internal power. The droplets shot out like arrows, striking his face and eyes. He immediately let out a shriek, covered his eyes, and wildly swung his palms while retreating again and again.
Lin Xiao instinctively gathered his internal power and punched out. A faint blur flashed at the corner of his eye, and his heart jolted. He swiftly leaned backward, and an arrow skimmed past his upper body with a sharp hiss.
At that moment, the anchor-wielding man also charged forward and brought the anchor crashing down at him, intent on killing him.
Lin Xiao gritted his teeth and slapped the deck behind him with one palm, borrowing the force to propel his body backward along the deck. By now, he had realized that this was a premeditated ambush against him. The three men had surrounded him, while Shi Zhongyu merely stood by and watched without helping. Not to mention, the third expert had been lured here by him.
Besides, Shi Zhongyu was one of the Great River Three Heroes, yet he had only one Iron Boat Gang expert dealing with him. As soon as Lin Xiao arrived as reinforcements, two experts—one near and one far—had immediately been assigned to surround him. Anyone who said this was not premeditated was out of their mind.
A gentleman did not stand beneath a dangerous wall. Now that he had figured out the problem, staying here to await death would simply be foolish.
He slid two meters along the deck. With a boom, the anchor smashed a crater into the boards. But this time, the big man moved contrary to his earlier sluggishness, instantly hauling the anchor back up and swinging it in reverse toward Lin Xiao's waist.
Lin Xiao let out a cold laugh. He slapped both palms against the deck beneath him, borrowing the force to leap backward. Behind him was the ship's side, and beyond it lay the river. Once he entered the water, escape would be easy.
But just as he dodged the blow and rose into the air, he suddenly felt a sharp pain at his waist. His breath scattered, his body tilted violently, and he fell. Immediately afterward, a dark glimmer flashed before his eyes, followed by pain in his chest. An arrow had pierced his chest.
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