The Counterattacking Extra: Assassin Brothers Bond

The Counterattacking Extra: Assassin Brothers

Tortured by guilt, Li Xiaoxiao felt unworthy of Zhang Guangmu's admiration and completely undeserving of such praise.

So he subconsciously shook his head. "No. Compared to you, I'm still far behind in every respect."

Zhang Guangmu did not respond. He simply smiled and extended an olive branch. "Come help me!"

"By my side, you won't gain wealth enough to rival a nation's treasury, nor will you easily obtain a status above others, but..."

"If we join forces, perhaps we can restore peace to this Chaotic World, allowing everyone in the world to live and work in peace without suffering the hardships of war."

Li Xiaoxiao agreed almost without thinking. Only after the sonorous "Good" escaped his lips did he come back to his senses and gradually realize what kind of promise he had made.

Young Fortress Lord Lin Xuan had sent him to assassinate Zhang Guangmu, but after being defeated, he had immediately switched sides and pledged allegiance—the entire process of their exchange, with the details omitted, could be summed up in one sentence.

That was the truth. Those who did not know the inside story might curse him as a fence-sitter after hearing about his deeds.

But so what?

Li Xiaoxiao had drifted aimlessly for more than a decade, and now he had finally found a goal and pursuit worth striving for all his life!

Pacifying this Chaotic World!

What a great and noble ideal!

What?

Following Zhang Guangmu meant having neither money nor power?

Vulgar!

Far too vulgar!

As a Wolf Rider, he had never cared about money or power!

"Vice Fortress Lord Tian Guang."

Li Xiaoxiao knelt on one knee. "My name is 'Blood Thorn.' From now on, your will shall be the sole rule guiding my actions!"

Anyone could tell at a glance that he was a veteran of adolescent delusions.

Otherwise, he and Zhang Guangmu would not have had so many shared topics.

Zhang Guangmu widened the corners of his mouth, his face full of smiles.

With his powerful personal charisma and his unstoppable gift of persuasion, he had indeed easily overcome a formidable enemy and successfully convinced a fierce warrior to join him!

Although Li Xiaoxiao's situation was hardly any better than his own—he was also a minor character temporarily added to the "Wolf Fortress" cast—he at least had a name in the plot, and his combat power was fairly decent. He had even been pressed into service and become the "second inventor" of the Flame Artifact.

Li Xiaoxiao's pledge of allegiance strengthened the Vice Fortress Lord's faction, which also meant an equivalent weakening of the Protagonist Group's combat power.

As one side waned and the other waxed, the advantage was mine!

"Excellent!"

Zhang Guangmu was brimming with satisfaction, his smile gradually turning arrogant.

Tian Guang plus Blood Thorn.

The Counterattacking Extra: Assassin Brothers bond was complete!

Effect activated: There are no enemies before us!

Plot Protagonist Lin Xuan?

What kind of useless nobody was that?

Li Xiaoxiao, who had just joined Zhang Guangmu's command, saw his slightly bizarre grin and vaguely felt that something was wrong.

"I'm hungry."

Zhang Guangmu, whose handsomeness had lasted less than a minute, revealed his true nature the moment he opened his mouth. "Sure enough, honesty, humor, gentleness, kindness, justice, wisdom, and all that can't fill your stomach."

Li Xiaoxiao's head buzzed when he heard this.

He opened his mouth, but his mind was completely blank, and he had no idea what to say.

"Brother Blood Thorn, keep up!"

Zhang Guangmu's voice pulled him out of his daze. "Let's eat a proper meal first, then go find Lin Xuan and fight him to the death."

The two of us?

Seriously?

Li Xiaoxiao lowered his head and discovered that Zhang Guangmu had actually returned his Flame Artifact to him.

Perhaps this was what they meant by trusting those one employed and not employing those one distrusted.

He suddenly let out a quiet laugh and hurried after him.

He had never had the slightest favorable impression of Young Fortress Lord Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan might have thought he had hidden it well, but Li Xiaoxiao had always been good at reading people.

He had long known that although Lin Xuan appeared courteous to the worthy and treated every Wolf Rider around him rather well, looking every bit like a virtuous ruler and Wise Ruler, he was, at heart, a man with an intensely burning desire for power.

Li Xiaoxiao believed that Lin Xuan was the sort of terrifying man who could abandon everything for his personal power.

What annoyed him most was that although Lin Xuan always called him "little brother Blood Thorn," the things in his eyes could not be concealed.

Lin Xuan believed that he had always been disguising himself as a man. Recently, he had even been making all sorts of overt and subtle hints, hoping to use his status as Young Fortress Lord to make him throw himself into his arms...

Disgusting!

He was nothing more than another blind fool who could not see past appearances!

As for the Vice Fortress Lord Tian Guang before him...

Although the other man's smile just now had been a little comical and made him seem somewhat unreliable, he...

Li Xiaoxiao keenly sensed that this abruptly appearing Vice Fortress Lord truly regarded him as a man!

What did it mean to be a Wise Man with penetrating insight?

This was it!

Through that thick, reality-distorting filter, Li Xiaoxiao stubbornly believed that Zhang Guangmu's unreliable remarks earlier might also have been an expression of great wisdom concealed beneath foolishness.

A person like that was genuine enough!

At least he was nothing like Lin Xuan, who had actually wanted to take him as a concubine.

Bah!

He should take a look at what he was first!

"Awoo~~"

"Awoo~~"

Two wolf howls suddenly came from the entrance of the main hall.

Li Xiaoxiao's gaze sharpened, and he immediately rushed in front of Zhang Guangmu, taking a stance ready to enter battle at any moment.

Three men in black wearing Wolf Bone Masks stood before the main hall.

As everyone knew, Wolf Bone Masks could not fulfill the concealment function a mask was supposed to have. They could only be used to look cool.

Li Xiaoxiao recognized the identities of the three Wolf Bone Mask wearers at a glance!

They were all Lin Xuan's confidants and often helped him with matters that could not be brought into the light!

"Fort Master? Fort Master is dead! Damn you! Lord Lin Yan was actually killed by Tian Guang and Blood Thorn working together!"

"As the Young Fortress Lord's Cub Wolf Guards, we will kill these two damned assassins today and avenge the Fort Master!"

"Poor Lord Lin Yan devoted himself heart and soul to Wolf Fortress, only to fall into the hands of these two villains instead of dying at the hands of outsiders! This grudge must be washed away with blood!"

The three masked men made exaggerated movements and spoke stiffly, as though they were reciting from a textbook.

They had clearly noticed what was happening here long ago and had merely come over to put on an act and smear the blame on them.

Such despicable and filthy tactics were so obviously fake that they made Li Xiaoxiao feel sick all over.

However...

Fort Master Lin Yan was dead?

When had that happened?

Li Xiaoxiao lowered his head, his gaze falling on the charred corpse at the entrance of the main hall.

The dead man's build and clothing did indeed resemble Fort Master Lin Yan's, but...

The possibility that it was a substitute could not be ruled out!

"Stop staring. That really is Lin Yan."

Zhang Guangmu had no idea when he had come up beside Li Xiaoxiao. He suddenly said, "So although these three fellows are putting on an act, and a terrible, completely unconvincing one at that, they really aren't falsely accusing you."

Ah, this...

That was awkward.

Li Xiaoxiao's face grew hot. He felt that he had once again made a fool of himself, but his movements did not slow in the slightest.

He quickly put on his Flame Artifact and felt a little more at ease.

These three fellows calling themselves Cub Wolf Guards had clearly come with a mission.

If his guess was correct, their task was to "deal with the aftermath."

In this main hall, no matter who won or lost, these people would join forces to kill them!

Thinking back carefully, Li Xiaoxiao gradually realized that after he had clearly rejected Lin Xuan, Lin Xuan had felt that his prestige had been damaged. He had then begun playing schemes and tricking him into coming here to assassinate Vice Fortress Lord Tian Guang.

Even if he succeeded, he would still be dealt with afterward!

"I was used!"

Perhaps, in Lin Xuan's view, Mutual Destruction was the best possible outcome. Mutual injury on both sides would also have been acceptable.

As for Fort Master Lin Yan...

Even if he had not accidentally died at Li Xiaoxiao's hands, he would have "unfortunately" died in some other accident.

Perhaps by then, the public announcement would have been, "Overcome by excessive longing for the Golden-Necked Flame Wolf King, he stabbed himself eighteen times in the back and died by suicide."

At that moment, the two Flame Wolves that had been fighting each other outside the main hall saw their respective masters turn enemies into allies. With remarkable intelligence, they readjusted their positions and joined the same side.

Perhaps because they were thick-skinned, or perhaps because Zhang Guangmu and Li Xiaoxiao's duel had ended too quickly, they had suffered only superficial injuries, which did not affect the battle to come in the slightest.

"Gentlemen."

Zhang Guangmu held one hand behind his back while gently stroking Flame Wolf Bai Yue's back with the other. His tone was calm. "Would you like to Abandon Darkness and Turn to Light?"

"My enterprise has only just begun, and I am in urgent need of outstanding talents like you."

"If the three of you are willing to pledge allegiance to me, your past actions will be forgiven and forgotten."

The three Cub Wolf Guards could not hold it in when they heard this, bursting into laughter on the spot.

Even the three Flame Wolves behind them successively let out strange, eerie laughs.

"Hahaha! This little fellow is interesting! He can't seriously think that because he has taken control of a useless Fort Master who has lost the Flame Wolf King, he can truly secure the position of Vice Fortress Lord, can he?"

"I love watching powerless people put on airs. When they get trampled underfoot, their comical expressions always make me happy!"

"Brat! And you, little girl disguised as a man! You can both go to your deaths without worry! Young Fortress Lord has already obtained the Flame Artifact Blueprint! Wolf Fortress no longer needs you!"