28: Chapter 24 Five Seconds (4k) 28: Chapter 24 Five Seconds (4k) “Splash!”

The thick leather boots stained with blood stomped heavily on the soft, moist grassland, splattering bits of mud.

“Damn…

how could there be a professional!”

The fierce-looking man with a flat top was panting heavily, his arms swinging like pendulums as the dense bushes on both sides swiftly receded behind him.

“I damn well shouldn’t have trusted that old man’s words.

This business deal nearly cost me my life!”

“Boss, what do we do now?”

Running alongside the fierce man was a burly man whose features had a somewhat dull expression.

Yet at this moment, his face was marked by not only dullness but also a deep fear.

“What do we do?

Do you even see what we’re doing right now?”

“Run!”

“That kid has a complicated background, this River Valley Town…

no, we probably can’t stay in any town near Neum.”

Whizz—

A rapidly spinning arrow tore through the air, piercing instantly into the ground beside the man’s feet.

From the shadows of the forest not far away came a terrifying sound of something moving quickly.

The two men shivered instantly, and their already panicked steps turned even more chaotic, as if a horrifying monster was chasing them.

“Creak!”

Grass clippings and fallen leaves danced in the air.

The fierce man suddenly felt that the intrusive resistance of the annoying bushes in front of him vanished in an instant;

The sunlight that should have been blocked by the tree canopy suddenly became intense.

The view ahead opened wide.

An open space!?

“Boss, there’s an ambush!”

A frightened shout came from the dull man’s side.

Following his gaze, a sharp-featured black-haired youth came into view.

Although the fierce man vaguely felt that he looked familiar, at this moment, he couldn’t care less.

With blood surging and eyes flashing golden, the thrilling emotion at the boundary of life and death prompted him to make a decision in an instant.

“Damn it, just one, take him down!

Even if I die, I’m taking someone with me!”

…

Xia Nan heard two hurried footsteps suddenly come from the woods not far away from him.

He stood up and turned his head.

Two men, covered in broken leaves and grass clippings, had already rushed out instantly.

Time seemed to momentarily press the pause button at this moment.

The slightly pungent smell of the Firefly Garlic Vine poured into his nose with each breath, and the rustling sound of swaying branches filled his ears.

His brain raced.

[0.1 seconds]

Upon seeing the two men appear, the first thought that flashed through Xia Nan’s mind was—

Run.

The suddenly appearing clearing in the dense forest, the deliberately conspicuous and expensive plants, the search results with no anomalies, even the timing when he had just completed the Firefly Garlic Vine harvest.

All told him that these two were waiting here deliberately to ambush him.

But then he realized that if he wanted to escape, the heavy backpack loaded with Firefly Garlic Vine, valued at over thirty Gold Coins, must be discarded.

“Profit” and “risk,” like an invisible scale, were gradually weighed against each other in his mind.

[0.2 seconds]

“Is it possible to avoid the battle?”

A thought flashed through his mind.

“Convince them verbally, or offer to give up some benefits?”

No, that won’t work!

He was outnumbered, while the other side had two people.

Before demonstrating certain strength, he completely lacked the leverage to negotiate.

And by the determined posture these two showcased, they didn’t seem like they could be negotiated with either.

Therefore…

[0.3 seconds]

The feeling of the sword blade unsheathing was sluggish in his hand.

The heavy backpack, once so cherished and worth dozens of Gold Coins, was now mercilessly thrown aside.

Battle intent surged beneath the surface.

At this moment, Xia Nan had already made his decision.

[0.5 seconds]

Xia Nan stood in place, watching the two men quickly split and spread to both sides.

Were they planning to flank him and attack simultaneously?

Reality isn’t a game.

Being cut by swords wouldn’t just drop a health bar.

If a limb is severed, you’ll become crippled for life;

If stabbed in the throat, you’ll truly die.

Even with Healing Potions, they couldn’t regenerate limbs or bring the dead back to life.

At this moment, Xia Nan didn’t know what he was up against.

Driven purely by the instincts of survival, he frantically analyzed the situation for the upcoming battle.

It’s hard for two fists to take on four hands.

Throughout history, those who faced group fights, able to fend off and even counterattacks from multiple directions, were all master-level experts in Fighting Skills.

In the face of multiple attackers, even in those “fantasy” martial arts movies from the past life, the protagonists often were dividing the battlefield and tackling enemies one by one.