Chapter 00108: Striking Early
# Striking Early
Chapter 108
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 108: Striking Early
Everyone was stunned.
The speed was too fast; no one could clearly see who that person was.
A few villagers who had been leisurely watching the commotion straightened up and whispered to each other, "Could it be Boss Lu?"
The surface of the water quickly returned to calm.
He Yue couldn't help but ask the villagers, "Is this normal?"
"It's fine," a villager replied.
"Boss Lu is an excellent swimmer. He'll be up in a moment."
He Yue grasped the key point.
The lake was strange, and anyone would be surprised, but the villagers only mentioned Boss Lu's swimming skills.
This meant they didn't think the anomaly in the lake posed a threat to Boss Lu.
Thinking this, he turned to Zeng Feixiong and whispered, "Get ready to act!"
Zeng Feixiong was startled.
"Now?"
"Better to strike at the right moment than wait for the perfect time!" the young man said with unusual determination.
"He didn't bring his long blade when he went into the water, and we have all our people here. There are only four or five bandits. This is the perfect opportunity to capture him!"
Zeng Feixiong quickly scanned the area and realized the situation was exactly as He Yue had described.
Normally, Boss Lu was surrounded by a dozen followers, and the village had become his territory, allowing him to come and go as he pleased.
Even if the soldiers were fully prepared to surround him, they might not know where he was.
But now, he was in the water, unarmed, and his followers on the shore didn't look like much of a threat.
This was a rare opportunity that could slip away in an instant.
Zeng Feixiong nodded.
At that moment, the soldiers who had just gone into the water climbed back up to put on their clothes.
Some were still trying to slack off, but Zeng Feixiong scolded them, "Stand properly! What kind of behavior is this?" As he spoke, he made a hand signal.
Mao Tao was momentarily stunned.
This was the signal commonly used by desert bandits to prepare for action.
Zeng Feixiong, who had traveled the Red Cliff trade route for years and fought countless bandits, was well-versed in their signals.
Naturally, he had taught this to his soldiers as well.
So when the soldiers saw the signal, they were initially shocked but quickly stopped fooling around and silently tightened their belts.
Their weapons were strapped to their waists.
With a splash, a person and a large fish surfaced simultaneously.
The person was, of course, Boss Lu.
He was holding onto a massive fish and called out to the shore, "Hey, come down and help!"
The fish was an astonishing nine feet (three meters) long, dark green, with a body as thick as a door panel and long whiskers by its mouth.
Despite its enormous size, it lay motionless in the water, pushed along by Boss Lu.
He Yue didn't see any injuries on the fish.
Zeng Feixiong gave a meaningful look, and the soldiers jumped into the water with him, shouting, "Coming, coming!"
The villagers also hurried into the water, and a dozen people surrounded the fish, trying to lift it ashore.
The bigger the fish, the better it tasted, and a fish this size would be a delicacy no matter how it was cooked.
Zeng Feixiong quickly secured a good position next to Boss Lu.
He tried to shoulder the fish but slipped.
"Ouch, these scales are sharp!"
The nine-foot-long fish had thick, hard scales with sharp, thin edges that could be used as scrapers.
Zeng Feixiong was now directly facing Boss Lu.
As he pretended to return to his original position, he pulled out a short dagger from behind his back and thrust it toward Boss Lu's ribs!
At that moment, everyone was using both hands to hold the fish, including Boss Lu, leaving his ribs exposed.
The dagger was only a foot and three inches long, but if it struck deep, it could pierce Boss Lu's spleen and even puncture his lung.
A ruptured spleen would cause internal bleeding and unconsciousness, while a punctured lung would leave him unable to exert any strength.
Zeng Feixiong's move was vicious.
Just as the tip of the dagger was about to reach its target, Boss Lu's left hand suddenly dropped, grabbing Zeng Feixiong's wrist, and then he punched Zeng Feixiong in the face.
This guy's reaction was incredibly fast!
Zeng Feixiong blocked Boss Lu's punch.
Both men were strong, and they struggled for a few moments.
Their subordinates, realizing something was wrong, grabbed their weapons and started fighting.
The scene quickly descended into chaos.
On the shore, He Yue watched silently, then jumped into the water, pulling out a short dagger from his boot and aiming for Boss Lu's back.
A bandit rushed to stop him.
He Yue dodged the first attack but was grabbed by the collar and pulled back, receiving a punch to the eye that sent a sharp pain through his head.
Mao Tao, risking being chopped from behind, pulled him back.
"Second Young Master, get back to shore!" His presence here would only distract everyone.
At that moment, He Chunhua and his wife arrived, having heard the commotion, and the guards rushed in from all directions.
Similarly, the bandits disguised as villagers shed their disguises, pulling out hidden weapons from various corners and charging forward.
The battle raged both in the water and on land.
Boss Lu was now fighting Zeng Feixiong, bare-handed against a long blade.
Despite being in the water, he grew more ferocious.
His fists, as large as sand bowls, suddenly hardened like granite.
When Zeng Feixiong's blade struck them, sparks flew.
Zeng Feixiong looked closely and saw that Boss Lu's skin had turned scaly, even gleaming with a metallic sheen.
In just two breaths, this transformation covered both of Boss Lu's forearms.
Bare-handed, he had turned his body into a weapon.
Boss Lu roared, and a faint black light enveloped his body.
He delivered several heavy punches in quick succession.
Zeng Feixiong knew he couldn't match this strength head-on and could only block with his blade.
He felt like he was facing a humanoid bear.
By the fourth punch, there was a loud clang, and his blade snapped.
Fortunately, two guards rushed forward and took the brunt of Boss Lu's final strike.
One was knocked to the bottom of the pool, while the other was sent flying out of the pool and into the lake.
"Stop!" Boss Lu bellowed.
"Everyone, stop! We don't want to fight!"
He Chunhua had already taken out the Sheji Token and was about to use it when he paused.
"Can we trust the words of a bandit?"
"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already. Why would I spend the night treating you to good food and drink?" Boss Lu said quickly.
"You're just passing through, and we're heading south. Why don't we coexist peacefully for the night and go our separate ways tomorrow morning?"
He Chunhua didn't want to fight either and saw this as a chance to de-escalate.
He quickly assessed the situation and nodded.
"Fine, let's call a truce! Everyone, put away your weapons!"
He Yue retreated to his father's side, silent and grim-faced.
Both father and son understood that while they had the advantage in numbers and the Sheji Token, they didn't have an overwhelming advantage against these bandits.
Boss Lu's ferocity was beyond their expectations.
Even if the soldiers could win in the end, the losses would be heavy.
This guard unit was He Chunhua's foundation for his northern endeavors.
Losing even one man would be painful.
They couldn't afford to waste them here.
The sneak attack had failed.
Since both sides had reasons not to fight to the death, it was best to end it quickly.
With both leaders calling for a truce, their subordinates stopped fighting, spat at each other, and returned to their respective sides to tend to their wounds.
(End of Chapter)