Chapter 448: Counterattack (Part 1)
Lin Tian, through the body of the off-road vehicle, had already spotted the eighteen agile adversaries closing in on his position.
He was searching for a chance to counterattack. With the combination of his perception and Spiritual Qi, dealing with these eighteen people was challenging but far from impossible.
But at this moment, he heard Mei Ruyan’s voice: "Lin Tian, be careful!"
Although Lin Tian didn’t know what Mei Ruyan was warning him about, out of trust, he chose to risk it and dashed into the roadside weeds.
Just as his legs filled with Spiritual Qi, a loud bang echoed in his ears.
Boom~
The explosion caused Lin Tian to instantly wrap his entire body in Spiritual Qi. This was his instinctive reaction at that moment.
The loud noise was, of course, orchestrated by the opposition.
It was unclear how they managed it, but a perfectly good vehicle was flipped by the blast’s shockwave.
Clang, a bullet precisely hit the overturned vehicle.
This time, it directly struck the vehicle’s center, hitting the fuel tank and causing an explosion.
The fuel tank explosion ignited a fierce fire engulfing the entire vehicle body.
The consecutive enormous explosions produced a massive shockwave that sent Lin Tian’s body flying backward.
Even though Lin Tian had Spiritual Qi protecting him, being so close to the explosion source caused him to be flung several meters, with all his bones and internal organs feeling dislocated and in severe pain.
Unable to hold it, he spat out a mouthful of blood, a type of indescribable pain, genuine agony.
The pain made Lin Tian’s face contort, veins bulging, as if a knife was stuck in his throat, making it painful to even let out a scream, and even breathing felt like swallowing blades.
Being engulfed by the blast wave was an unbearable experience. The fact that Lin Tian was still alive and conscious was a miracle, of course, partly due to luck.
Lin Tian was in terrible physical condition as if unable to catch a breath, he would report to King Yama.
Such a precarious state made Lin Tian’s Spiritual Qi start circulating automatically. Even the Golden Core inside him began to rotate swiftly, releasing abundant Spiritual Qi.
This Golden Core, its origins unknown, emitted Spiritual Qi many times more robust than what Lin Tian refined himself, instantly filling his organs and tissues.
The sensation was akin to jumping into a bubbling hot spring on a freezing winter day.
The comfort reduced much of Lin Tian’s pain, even easing the sharpness in his throat.
After recovering slightly, the first thing Lin Tian did was desperately roll to the roadside. Rolling several times left him dizzy, his vision flashing as if stars were streaking by.
The eighteen gun-toting enemies assumed Lin Tian must have perished in the explosion.
Unexpectedly, he still had the strength to act, startling the eighteen men momentarily.
"Quick, go and finish him off. The boss said our main task is to kill this guy," said a tall, husky-voiced man.
Not far from him was a haystack, precisely where Xiao Yi was hiding. Hearing his words, Xiao Yi’s heart pounded; the primary target was Lin Tian? Clearly, this was a premeditated ambush.
Among the six, Xiao Yi was the least injured. Clutching a gun, he lay quietly in the haystack, his eyes sharp like a hawk’s.
When all eighteen were a bit distanced and had their backs to him.
Xiao Yi suddenly dashed behind a tree, making only a slight noise, and then he gripped his gun with both hands, continually pulling the trigger.
Bang bang bang...
A series of gunshots, and in an instant, five of the eighteen fell, each one killed with a single shot, and another’s left hand was injured.
After five of their comrades fell, the thirteen immediately reacted, finding cover and returning fire.
By then, Xiao Yi had anticipated the counterattack, hiding behind the tree trunk. After a round of firing, he was unscathed.
"Be careful, don’t be careless like before. Focus on the main task: kill Lin Tian," said a person hiding behind a tree.
The others slowly nodded, no longer daring to act rashly as before on the road, afraid of another careless mistake leading to more casualties.
These people moved quickly; even the man with a wounded left hand seemed unaffected much.
Bang!
Suddenly, there was another gunshot, and the familiar sound told Lin Tian it was a sniper rifle’s bullet.
This bullet wasn’t aimed at Lin Tian, but at those hiding near the roadside.
However, the shooter, unaware of Mei Ruyan and the others’ exact positions, fired a random shot, relying on the noise to intimidate.
This bullet didn’t hit anyone, but struck a dry haystack, and the heat of the bullet instantly ignited a flame over two meters high, spreading heat waves around.
It was summertime, the vegetation seemed soaked in gasoline, catching fire easily, and with the strong wind, the blaze rapidly spread.
The bullet’s purpose wasn’t to kill but to flush them out of hiding.
The shooter was exceedingly cunning, sporadically firing and then hiding behind a tree trunk after each shot.
This enraged Xiao Yi, who retrieved a gun from the unconscious Xiao Liu and fired at the tree trunk until the magazine was empty.
There were seven bullets, not many, but Xiao Yi’s marksmanship was exceptionally precise, all hitting the same spot on the tree trunk.
The roadside trees weren’t very old, the thickest with only about a twenty-centimeter diameter.
The seven bullets that hit the same spot soon penetrated the tree trunk.
The embedded bullets all suddenly flew out, with all seven bullets piercing through the person hiding behind the tree, hitting his head.
Instantly, a mist of blood erupted, and the person behind the tree toppled with a sniper rifle.
The sinister marksman was dead, but Mei Ruyan and Xiao Yi still dared not relax as the fire was approaching.
Their escape was challenging because with two heavily injured, unconscious brothers, they couldn’t just abandon them, slowing everyone’s pace significantly.
Facing the raging inferno, if they fled further into the roadside, it would likely mean death. But the road still had thirteen enemies, and exposing themselves was dangerous.