Block his attack, and Mero's sword would naturally pierce through him from behind.

This was the scene Pat had envisioned, and indeed this was exactly what he did—raising his short blade to clash head-on with his opponent.

At the same moment, Mero from behind had already closed in, launching a "Thrust" toward Lin Mo.

At this critical juncture, Lin Mo's expression turned grim, terrifyingly calm.

The instant their blades met, his wrist twisted, using the opponent's knife as a pivot to exert force, suddenly executing a 180-degree turn. Simultaneously, his left hand drew the sword from its sheath, gripping it in a reverse hold, delivering a swift and fierce "Slash" toward Mero, who was completely caught off guard.

"Damn it!"

With Lin Mo's sudden and bizarre body movement, Pat watched as Mero's blade came thrusting toward himself and could only choose to disengage and dodge.

The next moment, Mero's thrust struck empty air, the air around the blade vibrating, causing a leaf drifting down with the wind to veer off course...

What followed closely in altering its trajectory was his wide-eyed head.

Success!

Lin Mo felt a surge of joy internally but didn't dare relax or be negligent in the slightest. The moment his heel touched the ground, he quickly exerted force, positioning his long sword horizontally in front of him.

However, it turned out he seemed to have overestimated his opponent.

Pat was completely stunned by Lin Mo's previous maneuver, taking a moment to regain his composure, and actually forgot to attack.

It wasn't until he saw Mero's head hit the ground that he hurried forward, but by then he had already missed the best opportunity.

Excellent.

Honestly, the previous move was somewhat risky—completely exposing his back to a dangerous assassin in an instant. Lin Mo had already prepared to trade potential serious injury for a kill.

Fortunately, that rapier warrior had not anticipated this at all; that thrust was straightforward, and with Lin Mo's unexpected maneuver, it ended up aimed directly at his companion. Coupled with Pat's subsequent brief daze, it actually allowed Lin Mo to achieve a desperate reversal without any cost.

As for Pat's following attack, Lin Mo, now adjusted and in good form, naturally had no fear at all.

Wielding a sword in one hand and a short blade in the other, covering both long and short ranges, effective at any distance, Pat found himself helpless against Lin Mo in close combat. Once pulled to a certain distance, he would only be beaten more miserably.

Meanwhile, Evan and Miriam finally managed to take down their opponent at the cost of Evan suffering two sword wounds.

With Miriam now free, she began harassing the captain, helping Bern, who was barely holding on, to barely stabilize the situation.

The situation had deteriorated to the worst possible point for the Bloodsea Gang members.

Originally a six-person team, now only two remained, while the other side hadn't suffered a single casualty...

Everything, everything was because of this black-haired youth.

Of the four, three had died by his hand!

Pat watched the increasingly confident smile on the opponent's face and gradually fell into self-doubt.

From never having taken the opponent seriously, swearing to avenge his teacher, to now being nearly driven into a corner—such a huge gap made it impossible for him to maintain his composure, and his movements gradually began to deteriorate.

Immediately following was a short blade flying toward his face; Pat barely dodged it dangerously, but Lin Mo's left-hand long sword followed right after, letting him experience the sensation of his vision soaring upward.

The captain, seeing his last subordinate killed, completely lost his temper, constantly roaring furiously, attacking like a madman.

Bern, with a grim expression, stood before him like a city wall, the wound on his back continuously bleeding with each exertion of force, his strength almost exhausted, yet he still clenched his teeth, blocking wave after wave of attacks.

The pressure on the captain grew heavier; his attention had to be divided among the other several people. The moment he showed any slack, Miriam's arrows would mercilessly shoot toward him.

Although injured, Evan stood more than ten meters behind Bern, adjusting his breathing to recover strength while keeping an eye on him, ready to seize any opportunity to step forward and deliver a fatal blow.

Even more troublesome was that last guy...

The moment the captain became slightly distracted, Lin Mo's figure disappeared from his sight. He looked around but couldn't find him anywhere, growing increasingly anxious and fearful.

The assassin hiding in the shadows was like the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, making him worry constantly about the danger of a sudden ambush, forcing him to slow his offensive rhythm, even making him consider turning to flee more than once.

Fortunately, he barely managed to maintain his rationality. He clearly understood that the moment he exposed his back to them even for an instant, the four before him would immediately use every means possible to take his life!

The intangible pressure grew increasingly heavy; Lin Mo even frequently feigned attacks, stopping at a safe distance before hiding back in the complex bushes.

Lin Mo knew his own condition wasn't great; rushing forward recklessly might not work and could instead get him instantly killed by the quasi-professional warrior before him. He couldn't take such a risk, so it was better to continuously intimidate.

Moreover, Bern always managed to seize these opportunities he created, laboriously swinging his sword to land a couple of hits on the opponent.

He knew he was undoubtedly doomed, but before that, he had to take at least one down!

He definitely couldn't kill Bern; Lin Mo's whereabouts were unknown; Evan, after all, was young and strong, likely able to withstand one of his blows, not a good choice either. The best target naturally was that ranger.

Miriam was as pure a novice as could be, having only been on a few missions total, and without professional skills, her speed no faster than an ordinary person's—essentially just an average person who could shoot arrows.

Watching the burly man charging toward her, her brain momentarily froze. By the time she thought to retreat, the distance of several tens of meters had already been halved.

"Danger!"

Bern, having stabilized his posture, cried out in alarm. Lin Mo, frowning, quickly moved forward, but being too far away, he was somewhat too late.

Just as the captain was about to catch up to Miriam, a figure suddenly burst out from the flank, blocking in front of her.

It was Evan!

The moment the Bloodsea Gang captain moved, he had quickly reacted and rushed over here.

With Miriam behind him, he couldn't retreat!

Evan's eyes turned bloodshot, let out a loud roar, and heavily swung his two-handed sword toward the opponent.

"Seeking death!"

The captain similarly shouted angrily, slashing with his sword.

Under the huge difference in strength, Evan was immediately forced to his knees, his face flushing red, vomiting a mouthful of blood with a retch.

The wounds on his body also split open, worsening further.

"Die for me!"

The pressure on the other end of the blade continued to increase; in his daze, faint cracking sounds gradually arose...

"Crack—"

Cracks quickly spread across the blade, from breaking to shattering in just an instant. The captain's sword, now unobstructed, slashed toward Evan's face.

The sharp blade rapidly enlarged in his vision; a flash of despair crossed Evan's bewildered eyes.

Until that white bow abruptly appeared within his sight.

Even sturdy white oak ultimately couldn't withstand a sharp blade; the bow was almost inevitably split in two, yet it had fulfilled its mission.

Using that brief moment, Miriam seized the momentum and threw herself over him, the remaining force of the sword strike landing on her left shoulder.

The instant the short blade pierced through the throat, the long sword followed right after, delivering a fierce horizontal slash that sent the short blade flying away along with it.