The man before him was dressed in desert camouflage, with a brown turban wrapped around his head, blending into the colors of the surrounding rocks. The only striking feature was his large, dust-covered red beard. His face looked thin, but his body was as strong as an ox. However, he was currently being controlled by Qingmu and unable to move.
Actually, controlling this person is not easy. His Mental Power is not weak. Qingmu estimated that he was about the same as Hou Biao after mental development training. Such people are inherently quick-witted and have strong combat power. With a little training, their Mental Power can be very formidable.
"You're Petru?" Qingmu asked in English.
Petru neither admitted nor denied it, which could be considered a tacit admission. The look in his eyes when he looked at Qingmu was not one of fear, but of resentment and anger. Qingmu did not know what he was angry about, when he was the one who set the trap and committed the crime.
He was holding a very long sniper rifle, the model of which Qingmu didn't recognize. The front of the rifle was resting on a rock, and the buttstock was braced against Petru's right shoulder.
Qingmu took the gun from his hand and skillfully disassembled it; the chamber was empty.
He glanced at the ground beside him, where there was a gun box containing a scope and some other unusual parts, but no magazine or bullets.
At this moment, Qingmu had withdrawn his Mental Power and stopped suppressing Petru.
Petru suddenly regained his freedom and leaped up like a startled rabbit. It was an instinctive reaction, but beyond that, he was a desperate man. He had faced death countless times, but ultimately escaped the clutches of death thanks to his incredibly calm and ruthless nature and superb combat skills.
His Mental Power wasn't weak, but it wasn't his forte. He knew he couldn't contend with a true master of mental strength, which is why he used Tapu as a natural mental barrier to evade pursuit, and also set up so many traps on the outside. His real strengths were shooting and hand-to-hand combat, skills that anyone who had ever been a mercenary was adept at.
Petru didn't know why the guy opposite him had suddenly relaxed his Mental Power, but he didn't intend to let this opportunity slip by. When he instinctively jumped up, he immediately twisted his waist and kicked out, his thick military boots kicking towards Qingmu's groin. At the same time, he drew his Nepalese scimitar with his right hand, gripped the hilt in reverse, concealed the blade behind his arm, and slashed his elbow horizontally towards Qingmu's neck.
Qingmu discovered that this Petru not only had similar Mental Power to _Tu_Shu and Hou Biao, but also had similar fighting style and abilities, and couldn't help but smile slightly.
He held up the gun barrel he had just disassembled, pointing it in front of his chest to block Petru's horizontal slash. He then raised his right leg and exchanged a kick with Petru's.
"Clang!" "Thud!" The pleasant metallic clinking sound and the dull thud of shoes hitting each other rang out simultaneously.
Petru's jump was an instinctive reaction, and his attack was a temporary adjustment based on that. He relied on his strong physique, excellent fighting skills, and keen adaptability. However, since his body was in mid-air, he was at a disadvantage in terms of balance. With a thud, Kuton knelt down.
But he sensed things very quickly. He immediately rolled away from the area where he might be attacked, got up, knelt on one knee, braced himself on a nearby rock, hunched over, and hid his other hand, which was holding the knife, behind his back, ready to attack at any moment.
Qingmu didn't gain any advantage either, since he was on the defensive due to the sudden attack. Of course, if it really came down to a fight, he could have taken advantage of the opponent's fall to turn the tables and launched a relentless attack, leaving the opponent with no choice but to defend in a sorry state, relying on his familiarity with the terrain. But he didn't do that, not because he had any intention of bribing Hou Biao, but because he simply didn't care.
Compared to Petru, Qingmu was more concerned about the seemingly chaotic stones of varying sizes around him, which resembled some kind of legendary formation and seemed to follow a certain pattern.
Petru stopped attacking and remained motionless in that position. From that last strike, he knew that the person before him not only possessed great Mental Power but was also no less skilled than himself. He didn't seem to have much of a chance, and his opponent had reinforcements on the outside. The woman had already come up and didn't look like someone to be trifled with either.
Most importantly, the strange guy in the trench coat on such a hot day didn't seem like he was about to kill him, which meant he had other motives.
Petru probably still thinks it's related to the ship he stole two years ago. Maybe they think they've gotten their hands on some treasure on board, and if so, they could lure them out of the canyon to sea.
The sea was his last resort; once he was in the sea, he would have a greater chance of escaping. After all, he was the most famous pirate of his time; the nickname " Redbeard II " was not given lightly.
Petru pondered and considered how to escape.
Qingmu carefully examined the rocks and found that they were all deeply embedded in the ground, appearing to be naturally formed and not man-made. The surfaces of the rocks had weathered, just like the reefs commonly found on the coast.
Su Huilan came up at this moment, frowning as she said, "This place is too strange. How can such a strong hollow magnetic field be formed here?"
"Magnetic field?" Qingmu asked in surprise.
"You can certainly think of it as Mental Power Field, but calling it a magnetic field is more scientifically accurate, although the two are not entirely the same," Su Huilan said.
Aoki suddenly nodded, and felt that the magnetic field made more sense. Because there was no conscious body here, it was completely created between heaven and earth. The natural magnetic field was more convincing. But he always felt that this place was not naturally formed, but was artificially arranged.
Petru, who was not far away, suddenly felt uneasy.
He had just fired a few shots at the man in front of him, and then they exchanged a couple of blows. The woman had almost fallen into his trap as well. Now they were chatting away right in front of him, completely ignoring him.
Aren't you guys being a bit too disrespectful?
But Petru dared not make a move. One man was already difficult to deal with, and now there was another woman who seemed equally troublesome. He had just caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye as she passed through the thick mental barrier surrounding Tapu, so easily, as if nothing existed. Was this woman some ordinary person, mentally dull and slow to react?
"Impossible! "Petru immediately dismissed the idea.
Besides these two people, there was also a menacing-looking bird in the sky.
The bird suddenly let out a long, harsh cackle.
The noise made Petru extremely upset and uncomfortable.
Then he saw Crow spread its wings, glide diagonally downwards, and land on the strange man's head.
This looks extremely eerie--
On a sweltering day, a man wearing a trench coat and slippers stood with a perfectly black bird perched atop his head.
And surprisingly, the bird spoke, and it spoke perfect English:
"Fuck! You shot me!"