One Slash, Two Halves! Sorry, I Couldn't Hold Back

The Wild Wolf Gang had risen to prominence in the Outer City over the past few years. With the Zhu Family Martial Arts School backing them, they had expanded at an astonishing pace and swallowed up many smaller gangs.

Recently, they had even absorbed the Green Gang, one of the Outer City's four major gangs. Their strength had surged, and they had leapt to become the second-strongest gang in the Outer City after the Tiger Roar Gang.

They had over three hundred members, more than a dozen of whom had reached the Martial Artist Realm. Though most were merely Strength Refining Realm martial artists, with only their gang leader Sun Shan and deputy gang leader Yu Ming at the Inner Strength Realm, the Wild Wolf Gang was already no minor force in Hequ County's Outer City.

Not to mention that the Zhu Family Martial Arts School stood behind them, adding another Inner Strength Realm martial artist and five Strength Refining Realm martial artists to their side.

Faced with such a powerful enemy, with the overall strength of both sides so unequal, Zhao Hu's strategy was simple: work with their mole inside the Wild Wolf Gang and seize the bandits by first capturing their king.

As long as they could kill the Wild Wolf Gang's gang leader and deputy gang leader, the gang would fall into chaos. Those members who had joined only because they feared the Wild Wolf Gang's threats would likely defect at once or surrender without resistance.

As an Inner Strength Realm martial artist, Chen Mo's task was simple. He was to work with Zhao Long to find and gang up on the Wild Wolf Gang's leader, Sun Shan, at the first opportunity. As long as they could kill him before his deputy arrived to reinforce him, victory would basically be secured.

Once the destruction of the Wild Wolf Gang became an established fact, even the Zhu Family Martial Arts School would not dare come over to reproach them or interfere.

The plan seemed somewhat feasible, but upon closer thought, it was riddled with holes and far from reliable.

If he had not been confident that even if the mission failed, he alone could still turn the tide, Chen Mo would never have agreed to come. With the Wild Wolf Gang's bunch, they probably could not even break through his defenses.

He just wondered how much he could gain from this trip.

And whether Zhao Long would keep his promise.

In truth, Chen Mo hoped that Zhao Long would not keep his promise. Then he would not need to hold back so much.

"Don't worry. We received accurate information. Most of the Wild Wolf Gang's members are elsewhere consolidating and managing their territory. Only around fifty people remain at their headquarters, and Sun Shan is the only Inner Strength Realm martial artist there. Our chances are high," Zhao Long explained.

His eyes flickered with hatred. The Wild Wolf Gang's seizure of the foundation he had built left him seething with resentment.

His expression unchanged, his face covered by black cloth, Chen Mo merely nodded slightly to show that he understood. Yet he felt that something seemed off. He could not think of what the problem was for the moment, so he did not waste brainpower dwelling on it.

Forget it. No matter what goes wrong, the strongest person there will only be at the Inner Strength Realm. They won't pose a threat to me.

With that thought, Chen Mo felt much more at ease.

The operation began quickly. With the mole's help, their group entered the Wild Wolf Gang headquarters through the back door and headed straight for where Sun Shan was located, encountering no obstacles along the way.

They were just about to reach their destination...

"Isn't this going a little too smoothly?" Chen Mo warned them, having basically reached a conclusion in his heart.

Not only had they failed to encounter any Wild Wolf Gang members along the way, the surroundings were also unnaturally quiet. There was not a single sound.

Something was wrong.

"Too smoothly..."

Zhao Long, beside him, halted and looked toward the mole leading the way—one of the former Green Gang's minor leaders. Doubt filled his heart as well. He had already sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere, and after Chen Mo pointed it out, his heart began to pound.

"Wei Liu, can I fucking trust you?"

"..."

The young man named Wei Liu stopped and turned around. His eyes were vicious as he shouted loudly.

"Zhao Long, this day next year will be your death anniversary! I'll burn plenty of paper offerings for you!"

As he shouted, a succession of footsteps rang out, shattering the silence.

Wild Wolf Gang members wielding all sorts of Sharp Weapons appeared from every direction, closing in around them. Leading them were the Wild Wolf Gang's leader Sun Shan, deputy leader Yu Ming, and the head of the Zhu Family Martial Arts School, Zhu Tong!

Three Inner Strength Realm martial artists had gathered together, while more than a hundred gang members surrounded them. Torches were lit, illuminating the area brightly.

"Sun Shan!"

Zhao Long tore the black cloth from his face and stared directly at him.

"You're still as despicable as ever!"

"Hahaha, Zhao Long. If you had kept hiding, I really wouldn't have had much of a way to deal with you. But you actually dared to deliver yourself to my door, and even brought this last little bit of your foundation with you. You really are incredibly stupid," Sun Shan laughed.

The way he looked at Zhao Long was as though he were looking at a dead man, utterly indifferent.

"You...!"

Zhao Long was furious, but he forcibly suppressed his rage and gritted his teeth as he asked.

"Must you really kill us all?!"

"Fool!" Sun Shan clearly had no intention of letting them go.

Seeing that Zhao Long was about to continue talking, Chen Mo clearly had no desire to listen to the two of them prattle on. When it was time to strike, he struck. Without saying a word, he suddenly exerted force with his feet. The Flying Swallow Steps surged to their limit, and his entire body vanished from the spot at once, moving with extreme speed.

Chen Mo's sudden attack caught the Wild Wolf Gang completely off guard.

With one punch, he sent Wei Liu—the man who had led them into the encirclement—flying. Wei Liu slammed heavily into the crowd, knocking down several Wild Wolf Gang members. It was clear that he had stopped breathing.

Without pausing in the slightest, Chen Mo seized the bandits by first capturing their king. One hand gripping the hilt of his blade, he charged straight toward Sun Shan.

"Bold!"

Sun Shan's expression darkened as he prepared to meet the attack, but his face immediately changed drastically.

"So fast!"

In the blink of an eye, Chen Mo had reached him. He drew his blade and slashed directly at him, its edge gleaming with a chilling light as it howled through the air.

He couldn't block it!

Despair rose in Sun Shan's heart. Before he could even raise his weapon to defend himself, Chen Mo's blade had already fallen upon his shoulder.

Slaash!

The blade cut in through his shoulder and emerged from the other side of his abdomen. Sun Shan was cleaved directly into two halves, his face twisted with terror and despair.

"Too weak."

Feeling slightly nauseated, Chen Mo still did not stop. He immediately changed direction and charged at Zhu Tong and Yu Ming.

As long as he could deal with these two Inner Strength Realm martial artists as well, the danger would naturally be resolved.

Everything had happened too fast. Whether it was the Wild Wolf Gang members or Zhao Long's group, who had already steeled themselves for death, all of them were momentarily stunned.

The Wild Wolf Gang's leader, a renowned Inner Strength Realm martial artist of the Outer City, had died just like that...?

He couldn't even withstand a single slash?!

As Chen Mo came at them in an instant, Zhu Tong and Yu Ming both revealed fearful expressions. Sun Shan had been cut into two with a single slash; how could either of them still have any desire to fight?

Seeing Chen Mo's ghostlike speed, they could not escape. Fighting was even less possible. That left them with only one path.

"Hero, I surrender!" Zhu Tong and Yu Ming shouted almost at the same time.

Yet the latter was still cut into two halves with a single slash. The blade in Chen Mo's hand had already chipped, and he casually tossed it aside. Looking at Zhu Tong, who was on the verge of collapse, Chen Mo grinned.

"Sorry, I couldn't hold back my strength. You said you wanted to surrender just now, right?"

Zhu Tong's legs trembled, and he dropped straight to his knees, banging his head against the ground.

"Hero, spare my life! I surrender!"

"Fine."

Chen Mo shifted his gaze to the stunned gang members around them, his eyes calm.

"And you?"

With a clatter, the vast majority of them dropped their weapons and chose to surrender. Only a dozen or so of Sun Shan's and the others' diehard loyalists refused.

Seeing this, Chen Mo had no intention of acting himself. He simply ordered them.

"I'll leave these people to you."

"Understood!" Zhu Tong rose to his feet and was the first to attack those diehards, without the slightest hesitation.

The several Martial Arts School members who had risen also followed him.

Zhao Long's group reacted a beat slower, but once they came to their senses, they immediately charged in as well. After hesitating briefly, many of the surrounding gang members who had surrendered picked up their weapons again and joined the fight.

At a time like this, who cared about gang loyalty? Staying alive was what mattered most.

Two blades, two Inner Strength Realm martial artists—both killed instantly. Before Chen Mo, they truly could not muster even the slightest thought of resistance.

Having witnessed everything and seen the reverent, fearful looks everyone gave him, Chen Mo, who had originally only come to make a quick profit, suddenly had a brand-new idea.

Having a force under his command might not be so bad after all...