All eyes were on him.
This felt so fucking good.
Showing off right before he was about to run away felt pretty damn good.
Lin Fan stepped onto the platform and declared solemnly, "Senior Brother Lu, I'm willing to intercept those bastards from the Sunshine Sect."
"Good." Lu Daosheng patted Lin Fan's shoulder, thoroughly pleased, then looked down at the crowd. "Who else is willing?"
The disciples below wrestled fiercely with themselves. They wanted to go, but they couldn't resign themselves to it. They wanted to fight on the battlefield, not be chopped up like vegetables by those Sunshine Sect scum.
Senior Brother Lu had made it perfectly clear: their chances of survival were one in ten. It would be an unfair battle, and they might fall there without killing a single enemy.
At the same time, some disciples feared death and only wanted to live.
Senior Brother Lu was a little disappointed. Had he really not expected that no one would volunteer?
"I'm willing."
"So am I."
Just then, Lü Qiming, Yin Xiaotian, Gao Dazhuang, and Zhang Long raised their hands high, then stepped onto the platform.
A smile appeared on Lu Daosheng's face. These were true disciples of the Flame Magnificence Sect.
Seeing them come up, Lin Fan suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
"Why are you going too?" Lin Fan asked helplessly. He knew this would be dangerous, but he had an undying body. He also planned to play dead after being killed, then run away as soon as the enemies had passed.
But Senior Brother Lü and the others had no undying bodies. If they died, they would really be dead.
Besides, he could tell that Senior Brother Lü and the others hadn't wanted to go at all. Had they raised their hands just because he had raised his?
Lü Qiming said, "If Junior Brother Lin isn't afraid, what do we have to fear? Besides, I'd worry about you. I owe you my life. If we die, we'll die together."
Lin Fan was on the verge of bursting into tears. Are you fucking idiots?
I'm going there to run away! If you come along, how am I supposed to run? Are you bastards trying to make me feel guilty for the rest of my life?
What a fucking screwjob.
Gao Dazhuang grinned foolishly. "I, Dazhuang, have to fight shoulder to shoulder with my friends."
Yin Xiaotian shrugged. "I'm following Dazhuang."
Zhang Long said, "I admire you and want to be your friend."
Lin Fan was speechless. What the fuck is all this? What kind of world is this, anyway? Can't there be a little scheming and backstabbing so I can roam freely all my life without any attachments?
You're so damn warmhearted that I'm going to be touched, you know that?
Lu Daosheng stared down at the crowd. "Anyone else?"
Lin Fan sighed. What could he do now? If no one else volunteered, were they really going to send just these few people? He then stepped forward, drew a deep breath, and looked at the disciples below, his gaze seeming to burn with flames.
"Senior brothers and junior sisters, although our chances of survival are one in ten, we have no complaints. The people in Heavenly Peak City are our compatriots. Our relatives and families are among them. If those bastards break in, what will happen? Can you imagine?"
"Surely you know what those Sunshine Sect bastards are like! Are you willing to see your wives fucked by someone else? Are you willing to see your loved ones hacked into seventeen or eighteen pieces, stroke by stroke? I'm not, so I stepped forward!"
Lin Fan roared, then looked at the disciples. Go wild! Join the fight!
Lu Daosheng looked at Lin Fan. He hadn't expected this disciple to have such a strong sense of duty. As long as he survived and returned to the sect, he would definitely recommend him to the higher-ups.
With a mindset like that, he would surely become a top expert someday.
But just then, something happened that left Lin Fan embarrassed.
"My family isn't in Heavenly Peak City."
He had no idea which motherfucker below the platform had said that. It left Lin Fan feeling helpless.
Lu Daosheng grew somewhat angry. At a time like this, not a single person would step forward. Would he really have to select people at random?
Lin Fan coughed. "I don't know who just said that, but I can tell you this: if Heavenly Peak City falls, those Sunshine Sect bastards will march straight in, and the surrounding areas will definitely be affected. When that happens, who can guarantee that the next place they plunder won't be your hometown?"
"When that happens, your wives will be rubbed raw by a whole gang of them, and your fathers and mothers will be hacked to death. If you're unlucky, your wives will even get pregnant with their children. Can you stomach that? If you can stomach even that, I have nothing more to say."
Sure enough, after he had spent all that spit, the results appeared.
"I can't stomach it! I'm joining!"
"I'm joining too!"
One after another, quite a few disciples raised their hands.
When had they ever heard such vulgar language? What did he mean by their wives being rubbed raw by a whole gang, or their families being hacked to death?
Their hatred for the Sunshine Sect hadn't begun just a day or two ago. Of all the sects, the one they hated most was the Sunshine Sect.
Back when Great Emperor Yanhua overthrew the tyrannical regime, the Sunshine Sect had tried to take advantage of the situation to invade this land, massacring numerous cities. That hatred had accumulated for over a hundred years.
Even now, they could not forget it.
Lu Daosheng looked at Lin Fan and nodded in satisfaction. His words might have been crude, but his reasoning was sound.
Lin Fan watched all this with great satisfaction.
A thousand people had assembled.
Every disciple who had come onto the platform felt no regret, only anger.
Although they already knew they would surely die, they were no longer afraid.
"Lin Fan," Lu Daosheng said.
"Senior Brother, I'm here." Lin Fan stepped forward.
"You will have full command of this operation. All disciples must obey Junior Brother Lin's orders. Anyone who disobeys will have their cultivation crippled and be expelled from the sect," Lu Daosheng said.
"Yes!"
Everything was ready.
Lin Fan looked at everyone and muttered inwardly, If I'm leading the team this time, how am I supposed to run away?
That made things a little complicated.
But now wasn't the time to think about that. He swept his hand forward.
"Move out!"
The group marched off into the distance in a great procession.
Lu Daosheng watched Lin Fan and the others, worry showing on his face. But he couldn't concern himself with so much now. The truly fierce battle had only just begun.
"Junior Brother Lin, what you said just now was excellent," Lü Qiming said.
Lin Fan waved a hand calmly. "It was all right. I was just saying whatever came to mind."
When the blazing sun stood high overhead.
Lin Fan and the others stopped on a main road, then took out a map.
Lü Qiming said, "Junior Brother Lin, according to our intelligence, the Sunshine Sect disciples will pass along this road."
"Mm." Lin Fan nodded, then looked to either side. Both sides were thick with trees, enough to hide them. He then said, "Senior Brother Lü, have the disciples hide on both sides. When the Sunshine Sect disciples pass through, we'll rush them all at once."
Lü Qiming's eyes lit up. "Junior Brother, that's a great plan."
Lin Fan smiled awkwardly. Even this counts as a fucking great plan? Do they not even know how to fight from hiding? Were they going to stand right in the middle of the road and fight them head-on?
"What about you, Junior Brother Lin?" Lü Qiming asked.
Lin Fan immediately clutched his stomach. "My stomach hurts. I need to take care of it."
If he didn't escape with such a good opportunity before him, he would really be missing out.
"Junior Brother, stay safe. If anything happens, shout immediately," Lü Qiming said.
"Don't worry." Lin Fan nodded. Without bothering with anything else, he left straightaway.
"Heh heh, I've already checked everything out. There's another little path nearby. I can get away safely along that path."
The Sunshine Sect's raiding party.
"Senior Brother, there are bound to be Flame Magnificence Sect disciples intercepting us on this main road. We can take this little path straight to Heavenly Peak City. Although we'd love to slaughter those bastards, our mission this time is to plunder Heavenly Peak City and seize a batch of resources."
"Mm, that makes sense. Order all disciples to take the little path."
"Yes."
As Lin Fan walked along the little path, he couldn't help stopping, his expression worried and hesitant.
"Fuck, I've only been in this world a few days. How did I end up meeting these single-minded people? Why do they have to treat me so well? If they hadn't joined this suicide squad, everything would have been fine. If they really run into those Sunshine Sect bastards later, how could they possibly survive?"
Although he was quick-thinking, intelligent, righteous at heart, and one of the world's fine men, abandoning these senior brothers who had treated him kindly like this weighed on his conscience.
"Fuck, motherfucker." Lin Fan tossed his head. After a moment of silence, he decided to go back. Whatever the final outcome, he couldn't get his senior brothers killed.
But just then, a discordant voice rang out.
"There's a Flame Magnificence Sect disciple here."
Lin Fan turned around and looked ahead.
What he saw left him dumbfounded.
A huge crowd of Sunshine Sect disciples had appeared before him.
Fuck!
Why were these Sunshine Sect bastards on the little path?
Weren't you fuckers supposed to take the main road?
"Kill him!" the Sunshine Sect disciples roared, charging at Lin Fan with their weapons swinging. They weren't giving him any chance to speak.
Lin Fan shouted, "Wait, I have something to say!"