Caesar Carl paused slightly, realizing the contractor before him was the auxiliary specialist from the Reef team. He let out a cold sneer, "You're quite loyal, aren't you?"

Fang Senyan’s face was like still water, his eyes slightly downcast, refusing to meet Caesar Carl’s gaze. Yet, his body stood firm like an unmoving mountain, shielding Mogansha behind him. In their initial contact, Fang Senyan had already administered a sustained healing potion to Mogansha. For Fang Senyan, the only requirement was that Mogansha not become his weakness.

And at that moment, under the glaring sun! Caesar Carl was already dragging his greatsword, charging forward with overwhelming momentum!

The man came first, the blade trailing behind, and the longsword scraped against the rocks, spitting sparks like scattered stars, as if the blade’s edge were intended to cleave the entire world in two. The sheer force of it was unparalleled!

But Fang Senyan’s pupils contracted strangely. He abruptly shifted half a step sideways, raising both hands to guard his head and face. Instantly, seven or eight eerily sharp, icy vertical lines flashed in the air, accompanied by sharp metallic clangs.

In a single instant, Fang Senyan’s elbows were immediately bleeding profusely, crisscrossed with wounds, and even congealed, bright red shards of ice clinked as they fell. He let out a pained groan, stumbling back three or four steps consecutively.

At this point, the "Caesar Carl" that had rushed toward Fang Senyan faded in the air, and the real Caesar Carl, holding the greatsword, slowly materialized before Fang Senyan, his face showing a flicker of surprise. "You actually saw through my move?"

Fang Senyan endured the pain and spoke, his voice trembling slightly, "Under these circumstances, you must strike first! Since I know your true intention, no matter how the process shifts or disguises itself to blind my eyes, it cannot obscure the truth!"

"Is that so?" Caesar Carl drew out the word "so" into a long, drawn-out sound, heavy with intense mockery and derision.

In this instant, two Caesar Carls startlingly appeared before Fang Senyan! One leaped high, diving toward Mogansha like a vicious hawk hunting prey, while the other thrust his longsword straight at Fang Senyan!

Fang Senyan still didn't hesitate, smashing his fist toward the enemy in the air, but where his punch landed, there was only empty space. Meanwhile, the Caesar Carl before him swung his longsword, leaving a ghastly, bone-deep gash across Fang Senyan's leg. Blood immediately erupted; the wound was terribly deep, and the accompanying pain was intense, distorting Fang Senyan’s facial muscles.

"There is only one truth," Caesar Carl watched Fang Senyan’s pain and panic, laughing with unrestrained delight. "And that... is held within my hands!!"

His laughter still echoed through the woods as two Caesar Carls reappeared. One continued to dive straight for Mogansha from above, while the other still dragged his longsword directly toward Fang Senyan. Fang Senyan, however, unhesitatingly lunged toward the "Caesar Carl" in the air, his fingers once again making contact with an illusion.

And the real Caesar Carl followed up with a long, triumphant laugh, raising and swinging his blade. That sensation—a blend of icy coldness and searing heat mixed with pain—descended upon Fang Senyan's chest and abdomen once more!

But this time, Fang Senyan did not cry out. The moment he was struck, his entire body suddenly froze in place. Even space and time seemed to momentarily congeal, deep and peaceful like a tranquil ocean, contracting intensely!

His head was bowed, most of his face obscured by shadow beneath his hair, but his entire being resembled a volcano surging with hidden power. In that instant, he didn't just erupt—he exploded outward!

That incredibly defiant deep-blue greatsword suddenly appeared in Fang Senyan’s hand. Scattered specks of faint blue light drifted down through the air, and in the next second, this blue greatsword was ruthlessly brought down toward Caesar Carl's head without regard for consequence. As this longsword rose, it manifested a piercing sharpness amidst its apparent plainness, like a massive waterfall crashing down from the highest heavens.

It roared down in a cascading torrent!

A sharp cry, like that of a swift beast, echoed through the air!

"You!!" Caesar Carl's voice now carried a note of shock and anger. Because he had committed to his lunge to strike Fang Senyan, his center of gravity was shifted forward. If he were to evade this counter-attack, he would have to drop his weapon and retreat with extreme speed immediately!

But for the proud Caesar Carl, this was utterly unacceptable. He preferred to exert his strength and unleash another strike, trading injury for injury, and then decide whether to evade or fight. As a Raider, he possessed his own hubris.

He absolutely, absolutely, absolutely refused to believe that anyone could draw their blade faster and with greater power than he!

His eyes hardened, and he immediately drew his own blade, slicing back in retaliation!

In that instant, blood sprayed out simultaneously, mixed with the sickening sound of sharp steel blades cutting deep into muscle and bone.

The moment he was struck, Caesar Carl's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks! Not due to pain, but because of the sheer, overwhelming terror that flooded his core in that instant! How is this possible? How can the power of this guy's first strike be this immense?! Did he trigger some rare effect? Was he ambushed by someone nearby? Could it be—

A million thoughts flashed through his mind, but Caesar Carl instinctively condensed them into one word: "Evade!!!"

Even if the power of his strike is greater than mine, my speed must surely be faster.

But the second strike!!

...That menacing, ferocious second strike returned with insane speed!

Caesar Carl had barely pulled back when he saw the specks of deep-blue blade light rushing toward him, like colossal waves splashing against a reef, overwhelming and threatening to drown his entire world in the blink of an eye!

"Ah!!!!" Fang Senyan’s second strike sent one of Caesar Carl's arms flying skyward, spurting blood. The intense pain immediately crushed his fighting spirit, yet solidified his will to survive. Amidst the blinding chaos, Caesar Carl, grinding his teeth so hard his gums nearly bled, still made a calculated and precise assessment.

This sailor's second strike, though fast, looks like it only has about sixty Agility, roughly comparable to mine. If I just play this guy for a fool—I can still escape!

But Fang Senyan's third strike transformed into lightning and thunder; it was completely imperceptible to the naked eye. A streak of agonizingly sharp blue light pierced the back of Caesar Carl, who had already retreated two meters, slicing straight down like cleaving bamboo. The blue light retracted before the blood even had a chance to spray out.

Caesar Carl’s forward momentum instantly stalled. Disbelief flashed across his face. He struggled desperately to turn his head toward Fang Senyan, a gurgling sound catching in his throat, his eyes filled with unwillingness and despair. His appearance clearly showed he had entered a critical state and had no life-saving medicine left.

Seeing this, Fang Senyan gave him no chance to speak. He immediately switched hands, drawing out Ambition, and the scorching lead bullet instantly punched through his forehead!

That burst of three thunderous, lightning-fast strikes, that fierce gun that carried the strong scent of sea wind!

"You have killed Reserve Raider, 01-98-456!"

"Milestone Reached: Suspect X3"

Looking at Caesar Carl's corpse, Fang Senyan retrieved the Blood Key he had dropped, his body shaking as he let out a muffled groan through the pain. He tilted his head back and took a long swig of the endless vodka, letting the burning sensation flow down his throat and into every limb and bone. Then, he tossed the flask to Mogansha, who had just pulled clear of the critical state.

Seeing Mogansha’s body covered in dense, horrific wounds, Fang Senyan reached out and hauled him up from the ground. "Can you still move? The Reef team is still waiting for us to save them."

Mogansha gulped down two mouthfuls of liquor, wiped the blood from his lips, and flashed a dazzling, sunny smile, showing all his white teeth. "Raiders are nothing special. They just handed us two Blood Keys for nothing."

Fang Senyan sighed softly. "This time, my planning was flawed; I didn't consider the time these Raiders would stay. I put you all at great risk."

The dark-skinned man used his teeth to help tightly bind the bandage around the wound on his arm. He mumbled indistinctly, "Boss, you’re already monstrously strong. Even the strongest people make mistakes sometimes. We haven't heard from the Reef team in a long time. Their team channel must be jammed by high-Spirit Raiders. We need to hurry and save them. Let's go."

Fang Senyan shook his head. "No rush. The reason I came to you first was to guard against you having any accidents. The Reef team won't die immediately. Those Raiders have limited manpower; they certainly won't clash head-on with our group. They’ll have to find a strategically advantageous spot to strike us from the flank. This means they must keep most of their forces closely shadowing them, using only a small contingent to specifically intercept returning members."

"Otherwise, if anyone is killed and the news spreads, all the contractors will immediately regroup. At best, they could only kill two or three returnees, which would only serve to alert the rest—rendering their entire objective void!"

Mogansha nodded thoughtfully. Fang Senyan continued.

"So, they chose two Raiders with high attack power and speed to deal with you, the gunman who is the easiest to escape. Therefore, the Raiders targeting the Reef team must be the long-range, Annihilation types who excel at slowing and hindering!"

"Theoretically, this type of Raider is the only one capable of taking down the Reef team without sustaining damage. However, this has a drawback: their attack power usually isn't that high. So, if the Reef team focuses solely on defense, they can hold out for a very long time."

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