Chapter 23: No Rest Until Victory

“Crossing the line? Heh, that’s new to me! Death Scythe Squad—do I really dislike you that much? What if I bullied your brothers? Brado, I’m going to settle our scores today. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten!” Suddenly, a man with an extremely vile appearance stepped forward, approached Carter, and stared arrogantly at Rod’s group before speaking arrogantly.
“Since you’ve come here these past few days, I don’t care who you are—hmph, not a single one of you will get out!” he roared fiercely.
“Let’s see if you’ve got the guts. You can bully me, but bullying my brothers? I, Brado, am not someone to be trifled with. I’ll take whatever comes my way!” Rod, also enraged by the man’s words, tightened his grip on Dark Dragon and spoke coldly. Seeing this suddenly appearing man, a cold smirk appeared on Rod’s lips, a killing intent flashing in his eyes. With a dark expression and sneer, he said, “Heh, it’s you. I didn’t expect to see you here too. Perfect—today, I’ll take you down!”
The man who appeared suddenly was none other than the one who had troubled Shirley and Annie twice. He had managed to escape Rod’s grasp time and again, and Rod had been worried about not having a chance to find him. To think he would show up right in front of him now was truly surprising. It seemed he must be part of this group!
At this thought, Rod’s expression grew even colder. Birds of a feather flock together. Just by looking at him, it was clear that the people around him weren’t good people either! Since that was the case, it would be perfect to settle things here today! Gradually, his cold smirk turned into a bright, genuine smile.
“Just smile away. I’m curious to see how you cry!” Seeing Rod’s smile, the man instinctively took a step back, feeling inexplicably panicked. But that feeling quickly disappeared, and he mustered up courage to mock him, then turned to Carter behind him and said, “Brother, I’m talking about him! Hmph, this damned guy ruined my plans twice and caused my brothers to die! We can’t let him go today!”
“Oh? Is that so? So he’s the person you’re talking about! Heh, what a coincidence. Brado, it seems I can’t let you go today either!” Carter, surprised by Rod’s group, suddenly wore a smirk and snapped in a cold voice.

“Watch my move, get ready to charge!” Rod frowned slightly and turned to look at the people around him, speaking in a very soft voice. He hadn’t expected this guy to appear suddenly. Now that he was here, Rod knew this matter wouldn’t be easy to resolve—there must be a bitter rivalry between him and that man! The grudges between them couldn’t be explained in just a few words!

“Go!” With a loud shout, taking advantage of the opponent’s distracted attention, Rod charged ahead first.

Following closely behind, Jim and the others also pressed forward despite their injuries, choosing the weakest point in the encirclement—the east side—based on their observations. Moreover, the east side led to their own camp, so attacking from that direction was the most advantageous for them.

“Damn it, still so arrogant! Eliminate them!” It seemed they hadn’t expected Rod and the others to counterattack so quickly and suddenly. They thought they would wait for reinforcements, not that they would act so rashly.

Hearing the screams of his comrades under their assault, Carter also became enraged. He threw down his sword scabbard and rushed forward.

The onlookers had already fled far away—they didn’t want to get involved in such a scene. They knew the saying “when one’s house burns, others suffer too.” Although they had a good impression of the Death Scythe Squad and a poor one, even hatred, toward Carter and the others, they dared say nothing in the face of the large number of opponents.

“I’ll ruin you today! Remember, I’m Vente—let you die knowing who did it!” With a roar, that man also charged straight at Rod.

Alone, he wouldn’t dare confront them; even facing Rod, he would run away. But now it was different—there were more people on his side. Taking advantage of the situation, he wouldn’t miss this chance!

“Damn it! I’ll fight you to the end!” The enemy force was far stronger than Rod and the others had expected, especially the attacking power of the holy-level warrior Carter, who quickly restrained Rod and put him at a severe disadvantage. With Vente taking advantage of the chaos, they were in grave danger. Jim and the others also seemed extremely weak in such a situation, unable to resist the attacks of the rest.

In less than a moment, they began to retreat in disarray. More wounds appeared on their bodies, blood flowed everywhere, and the pain kept tormenting them. Seeing Rod get injured as well, Jim finally couldn’t hold back.

At that moment, Rod had several wounds on his body. Under the combined attack of the two men, he was in a desperate situation, facing death every second amidst their fierce fight! As Jim roared, Rod was kicked by that guy named Vente, sending him flying backward as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Damn it, you bastard! Come at me if you’ve got the guts!” Jim shouted loudly as he charged over. In his eyes, Rod was only in such a predicament because of them! He wouldn’t allow this to happen; even death was acceptable to him.
He rushed straight toward where Rod was. By now, Jim was almost insane, his eyes red. It seemed like only Rod and the two men attacking him existed in his vision; he paid no attention to the others attacking him, treating them as if they weren’t there at all!
If it weren’t for Sambik and Kambi desperately blocking a few of his attacks, Jim would have died long ago!
“No!” Rod shouted loudly, catching a glimpse of Jim’s reckless behavior. His pupils widened as another man from the enemy side swung a sword at Jim’s back of the head. It seemed Jim was only focused on what was happening around him and hadn’t realized death was approaching!
With a dull thud, Rod felt the world spin. One moment of distraction gave the enemy another chance, and he was kicked away by Vente once again.
“Jim… behind you!” Despite the pain, Rod shouted loudly. The urgency and despair in his voice were heart-wrenching.
“Ding…” With wide eyes, he saw not the outcome he expected. It was Sambik again—once more, he saved Jim from the attack. But the enemy’s strength was clearly greater than Sambik’s. Sambik, who had blocked the attack, was badly shaken and collapsed to his knees, coughing up blood.
“Damn you, you brats! I’ll tear you apart!” With bloodshot eyes, Rod watched his comrades and brothers face certain death. Their precarious situation drove him mad.
With a roar, he wiped the blood from his mouth and charged forward with his Dark Dragon sword, ignoring Vente and Carter who were still attacking him. He headed straight for Jim.
With a whoosh, Rod, having channeled his combat energy to its peak, swung his sword at the man blocking his path.

The speed was so fast it was hard to see clearly; all that could be sensed was a flash of dark light, followed by a dull, penetrating sound. Rod bypassed the man and continued rushing forward.
Boom… Just as he passed by the man, his long sword shattered into two pieces and scattered on the ground. A wound appeared on the man’s throat at some point, and blood gushed out like a fountain. In less than a moment, he collapsed vertically and hit the ground heavily.
“Damn it, Brado! You won’t survive today!” Seeing his brother killed by Rod, Carter became furious. Shouting loudly, he immediately chased after him, with Vente following closely behind.
“Get lost!” Ignoring the fierce pressure behind him, Rod struck another warrior with his sword and rushed to Jem’s side. Taking three steps as if it were two, he quickly rejoined Sambik and the others, forming a small circle.
“Hmph, Brado! You must die today! The Scythe of Death Squad must also be disbanded!” Reaching Rod, Carter led his men to surround them again and snarled coldly. Then he swung his sword at Rod! With full cultivation energy poured into it, the sword emitted a massive purple aura, reaching the length of a person. Perhaps unable to withstand such power, the long sword even began to groan and tremble in the air, emitting a buzzing sound! The pressure was truly terrifying! Carter had used all his power in this simplest of moves, unleashing his most fearsome strength. He wasn’t afraid that Rod would dodge, because there were others behind him. If Rod dodged, the others couldn’t, and he believed the opponent would have no choice but to endure it! With a cold smile on his face, Carter could already imagine the blood splashing.
“Damn!” Seeing the sword, Rod frowned tightly. He could sense the pressure and power within it—it was beyond his current capacity to withstand! If he didn’t dodge and took the strike head-on, there were only two outcomes: death or severe injury. But if he dodged, he might survive. After all, though the strike was powerful and heavy, it was simple, with many weaknesses. He was 90% confident he could dodge. But if he did that, Kambi and Sambik behind him wouldn’t be able to dodge, and one of them would die! In the blink of an eye, Rod quickly analyzed the possible outcomes in his mind!

Faced with this situation, he frowned tightly; he didn’t even have time to curse. The blade had already reached him, carrying a fierce momentum! The blade energy emitted made his cheeks ache slightly!
“Damn it, Carter, we’ll never let each other go!” Whether it was too late or not, at the moment the long blade was about to strike, Rod’s brows twitched, his gaze suddenly becoming resolute—unprecedentedly so. With a loud roar, he raised his Dark Dragon to block it head-on. After a brief moment of thought, he decided to take the hit himself! He could get hurt, but his brothers couldn’t! At least he couldn’t allow that to happen.