No scream.
Not even a muffled groan.
The short, skinny team member still had his blade raised threateningly when his entire body went from three dimensions to two.
"Th-Third Brother?!"
The burly, bald man wiped the blood from his face. His triumphant grin froze in an instant.
His eyes bulged with sheer terror, almost popping out of their sockets.
He couldn't begin to understand what he'd just seen. His mind had completely shut down.
A second ago, that high schooler had been meek and harmless-looking...
How could he possibly conjure such a terrifying giant scythe out of thin air?
It had crushed a man into a mound of meat paste!
How much did that thing weigh?!
"A Spiritual Force user... You're a Spiritual Force user!!"
The bald man was a seasoned veteran who'd roamed the wilderness for years. After a brief moment of shock, a terrifying term exploded in his mind.
Only the legendary Spiritual Force users could control objects from a distance!
"Run!! Run, now!!"
He let out a piercing shriek, with no thought of fighting back.
You've got to be kidding!
A Spiritual Force user could kill a martial artist of the same rank as easily as a chicken. And this kid had just wielded a massive weapon weighing several tons!
This had to be a War General Level powerhouse pretending to be weak!
The bald man reacted first. He didn't even bother keeping the heavy machine gun. He tossed it to the ground to lighten his load, then turned and sprinted toward the off-road vehicle.
If he could just get in, the vehicle's bulletproof armor and horsepower might give him a slim chance of survival...
The other two team members snapped out of their shock at the scream. Terrified out of their wits, they scrambled to flee.
"Running now?"
Lin Fan stood perfectly still.
His gaze remained as calm as a stagnant pool, though a faint silver glimmer turned deep in his pupils.
"Too late."
"Since you've delivered yourselves to me, none of you are getting away."
Lin Fan didn't bother pulling the scythe from the corpse it had crushed.
He merely raised a finger and gave a slight hook toward the backs of the two fleeing men.
"Rise."
Buzz!
The War Blades clutched in the two men's hands suddenly seemed to come alive, wrenching themselves free from their owners' grasp.
"My blade?!"
One of them cried out in terror as an irresistible force struck his hand, splitting his palm open.
The next second, the two Alloy Battle Blades traced strange arcs through the air, spun around, and pointed their tips at their former owners.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The blades tore through the air with a shrill whistle.
Boosted by Spiritual Force, the ordinary blades shot through the air faster than bullets.
Thud! Thud!
Two blooms of blood appeared precisely between the men's shoulder blades.
The blades pierced straight through their chests. Their immense momentum carried the men forward, and they crashed heavily into a pile of rubble. After twitching twice, they lay still.
"One left."
Lin Fan's gaze passed over the bodies and locked onto the bald man, who had reached the off-road vehicle and was fumbling to open its door.
"D-Don't kill me!!"
Hearing the men fall behind him, the bald man looked back and was terrified out of his wits.
As he frantically yanked at the door handle, he begged hysterically:
"Sir! I have money! You can have all of it! Take the vehicle too! Just don't kill me!!"
Click.
The door finally opened.
A glimmer of hope appeared in the bald man's eyes, and one foot had already stepped onto the running board.
But just then, a clear, youthful voice came from behind him, utterly devoid of warmth.
"Come back."
Those words weren't directed at him.
They were for the black scythe still lying atop the mound of meat.
The innate divine weapon trait—[Span Recall].
No matter how far away it was, the weapon would ignore all obstacles and force its way back into its master's hand along the fastest straight-line path.
That was the power of the system.
And there happened to be a straight path between Lin Fan and the scythe.
In its way stood not only the bald man, but also the off-road vehicle.
Boom!!!
The ground shook violently.
The three-thousand-kilogram scythe buried deep in the ground ripped free in an instant!
With a terrifying whistle, it shot through the air like a black boomerang, leaving a blur in its wake as it flew straight toward Lin Fan.
As for whatever stood in its way?
Was that an obstacle?
No. That was just air.
Thud!
The bald man hadn't even managed to climb into the vehicle when he felt a chill at his waist.
He looked down.
His lower half was still on the running board, while his upper half had flown away with the black blur.
Then—
Crash!
With a deafening impact, the scythe continued onward and slammed into the off-road vehicle's B-pillar.
The reinforced steel beam crumpled and twisted like a biscuit under the impact of three thousand kilograms.
The entire vehicle was shoved two meters sideways, and glass shattered across the ground.
Only then did the scythe trace a graceful arc through the air and land securely in Lin Fan's outstretched right hand.
Thump.
The handle settled into his grip, its weight returning.
Lin Fan's arm dipped slightly, then steadied as he held it firm.
"A bit of a shame."
Lin Fan looked at the off-road vehicle, its side door caved in, and frowned slightly. There was a hint of regret in his voice.
"I didn't control the force well. I ruined a good steel panel."
As for the bald man who'd been cut in half?
Lin Fan didn't even spare him a glance.
The gas station fell silent once more.
Only the wind howled through the ruins, mingling with the heavy stench of blood in the air.
"Ugh..."
Lin Fan swayed slightly, his face paling.
He had to put the scythe back into the Space Ring, then brace his hands on his knees and pant heavily.
A powerful wave of dizziness surged over him like a tsunami, darkening his vision.
"Controlling a three-thousand-kilogram weight for precise strikes, then simultaneously controlling two flying blades... That took too much Spiritual Force."
He rubbed his temples hard, trying to ease the needle-like pain.
If he were simply lifting heavy objects with his Spiritual Force, he could keep going for a long time.
But controlling sudden bursts of acceleration was like pushing an engine's revs straight into the redline. It put an enormous strain on his mind.
"Still, the payoff is huge."
Lin Fan took a deep breath, pulled a bottle of water from his backpack, and took a long swig.
The cool liquid slid down his throat, easing the burning sensation in his head a little.
He straightened up, walked over to the off-road vehicle, and ran a hand over the dented door.
"An off-road vehicle, weighing around 4.5 tons. Reinforced throughout with plenty of B-grade alloy..."
"Four War Blades. Nothing exceptional, but they contain a trace of Kro Alloy..."
"And that heavy machine gun..."
Lin Fan's mind stirred.
Whoosh!
The four bodies on the ground, the scattered weapons, the half-wrecked off-road vehicle, even the blood on the ground and the pile of meat...
All vanished into thin air in an instant.
He'd stuffed everything into the Space Ring.
Destroying the evidence—and packing it all up while he was at it.
When he'd finished, Lin Fan looked around the now-empty gas station and nodded with satisfaction.
This was the kind of fighting he wanted.
Not wasting a single bullet, and never turning down any spoils of war.
"But all the noise here will attract monsters soon."
"Time to find somewhere else."
Lin Fan lowered the brim of his cap and, as if nothing had happened, turned and disappeared into the shadows deeper in the county town.
Before you continue