Chapter Forty-Four: Victory Is Everything

Terrifying speed, terrifying strength!

At that moment, Snake's attack speed had reached an unprecedented peak—the speed of sound!

With his final trump card revealed, Snake was this strong—strong enough to match the Tian Dao Snake had encountered on the world battlefield ten years ago!

Faced with such a terrifying monster, the morale of the surviving fighters crumbled like snowflakes in an instant. Even Liu Zhengde's face turned ashen, and the hand with which he was rapidly loading and reloading to trade fire was affected, slowing for a moment.

Damn it!

A thought flashed through his mind. Before Liu Zhengde could decide what to do next, a gunshot rang out. He failed to block an attack in time, and in an instant, a bloody hole appeared in each of his hands. Even the gun in his hand was knocked away.

"Ahahaha!!! Ahahaha!!! You lost, you bastard!!! You lost!" Having scored a decisive hit and secured victory, Edward didn't even bother reloading his custom-made favorite gun. Instead, he laughed like a madman. "I told you I'd make you pay, make you pay for your arrogance!"

"Edward..."

As a fighter, Liu Zhengde could control his wrists to stop the bleeding, and even maintain enough fighting strength despite his injuries.

But what good would that do?

An injury was an injury. Liu Zhengde had only been evenly matched with Edward when he was uninjured. How could he hold his own against Edward now?

There was no doubt about it: Liu Zhengde had lost!

And how could the remaining fighters possibly hold off Snake, who looked like a monster, or Tiger and Ox, who had remained calm throughout?

"Look at that expression on your face! That exact expression!" Ever since his crushing defeat ten years ago, Edward had presented himself as a cold and ruthless man. Now, that image had completely shattered. He laughed maniacally, so hard that tears shot from his eyes. "This feels a hundred times better than blowing my load!"

"The people over there should be captured too. What are you going to do next? Get on your knees and beg me? Crawl over and lick my shoes? Maybe I'll even let some of your family live."

"You lunatic!" The smell of blood in the air reached Liu Zhengde's nostrils. He brushed a hand over his pocket and felt the last measure of protection there. His mind settled.

Liu Zhengde hadn't expected things to reach this point, but his many years of military service had taught him to always leave himself one last way out.

A way called mutual annihilation!

As a battle-hardened veteran, Liu Zhengde had never believed that begging or warnings could make an enemy spare him.

The only thing that could protect his dignity was a threat to match theirs!

But a question interrupted his next move—

"What are you laughing at, clown?"

A sharp flash of cold light, and head and neck were severed in an instant.

Just as Edward had let his guard down completely, Liu Tian arrived on the battlefield.

"Does your own death make you this happy, stranger?"

Just as Liu Zhengde's momentary distraction had cost him the fight, Edward's momentary distraction had cost him too. But unlike Edward, who had deliberately spared Liu Zhengde, Liu Tian had no patience for someone he didn't even know.

"Wh..." A sound came from his throat. The head floating in midair seemed to summon the last of its strength to say something, but how could it speak after its windpipe had been severed?

Edward died without ever managing to speak his final words...

"Uncle, what are you doing here?" Liu Zhengde asked. "How are things over there? Are they all right?"

"I killed all the enemies, so I came to check on you."

Using Illusionary Body over and over to change his position and keep Snake from locking onto him, Liu Tian replied, "I didn't expect to arrive just in time for such a delightful surprise. Who knew there were fighters in this world who let their guard down before a fight was over?"

"And you? The guy who calls himself Snake—are you human or a ghost?"

He changed positions several times in the blink of an eye but still couldn't find a good opening. No matter where he attacked from, he felt an underlying threat.

Liu Tian had little interest in a fight with evenly matched opponents—especially one where he was at a disadvantage and under so many restrictions—so he tentatively asked, "What do you guys say? Look, your boss is dead, and you don't seem especially loyal to him. Why don't we just call it a day?"

"I reckon the army will be here soon. There's no way you can win a direct fight against rocket-propelled grenades and artillery shells tearing up the ground, right?"

"Who'd have thought Edward's meticulous planning would end with him dying here? Life really is unpredictable. What do you think? Should we keep fighting? That group of cannon fodder definitely can't hold them back. We've probably got less than twenty minutes to get out."

"Do you know where Edward kept his money? He still owed us the rest of our pay. Forget it. Now that he's dead, there's no chance we'll get the rest of the fee. Let's go."

Tiger and Ox had never seemed all that eager to fight and had spent the whole time slacking off. While they talked, they decided what to do next. Before everyone could even process the news, the two of them backed away and left through the gate.

"They... They really left?"

They were decisive, to say the least. Once they decided to leave, they stopped hiding their movements and sped off. Before long, they were outside Liu Tian's range of perception.

Liu Tian was a little bewildered that his offhand remark had actually worked. "Then that just leaves you, you pervert called Snake. How about killing yourself?"

"Heh, why won't you let me leave too, sweetheart?" Though Tiger and Ox had left, Snake showed no sign of following them. Instead, he chuckled. "Do you want to spend a pleasant night with me?"

"I just can't let a pervert who's been leering at me live in peace."

Although Liu Tian couldn't be sure Tiger and Ox had really left for good, time was on his side. And since they were already outside his range of perception, it was obvious at a glance that the two of them hadn't trained in any concealment techniques, making it difficult for them to launch a sneak attack. Liu Tian relaxed a little.

So, faced with Snake's question, Liu Tian answered with confidence.

"Looks like you've already decided you've got me beat?" Snake tilted his head a full three hundred and sixty degrees as Liu Tian changed position, as if he had no spine at all. "You think you're sure to win?"

"Of course. How could I possibly lose?" Liu Tian suddenly shouted, "Second Uncle, fire!"

At Liu Tian's cry, Liu Zhengde, who had been ready throughout the standoff between Liu Tian and Snake, emptied his magazine in 0.1 seconds.

Snake was constantly moving, so the shots didn't hit the same spot and couldn't break through his defenses. But they did create an opening for Liu Tian.

Monkey Sword, stacked with Heavenly Martial Killing Dao and Heart Severing Path!

Heart Severing Path was a secret technique that focused on seizing an opening and killing with a single strike. Using the sharp blade generously gifted to him by an unknown well-wisher, Liu Tian left ten deep gashes in Snake's body in an instant.

It was obvious that with Liu Zhengde's help—since he was able to interfere in the fight—and by keeping his cool, Liu Tian could easily win. Without Tiger and Ox's help, the previously arrogant Snake had no chance of victory.

"You... You... You! You only won because you ganged up on me! That's no fair!" Snake screamed. "Tiger, Ox, I hate you! Edward, why did you have to die so carelessly?"

"Idiot!" Liu Tian said, with no awareness at all that he'd ganged up on his opponent. "In this world, victory is everything!"

"And fighting is about bullying the weak with the strong!"

"Snake, now die!"