Chapter 243: Strike Down One by One

Lin Yifan's complexion was extremely grim; he had originally planned a preemptive ambush that could have taken care of these hunters.

But now it seemed these guys were not only brutal, their methods were also exceedingly ruthless; to lure him out, they even dared to use a companion's life as bait.

Nevertheless, in any case, he couldn't linger here any longer; he had to break out of the fight quickly.

Then, at that moment, the leading man in the black robe shouted loudly:

"Li Er, this kid wants to run; stop him!"

Lin Yifan turned at the words and instantly saw a fully armed hunter appear behind him.

This hunter named Li Er exuded an aura that was surprisingly neither weaker nor stronger than the one here.

Clearly, this person is the ace of this hunter squad!

After a mental comparison, Lin Yifan instantly realized that breaking through this guy's grip would not be easy at all.

So he immediately decided to break out from another direction!

However, at that moment, the hunter leader, already with the remaining two subordinates, swiftly flanked them; the four stood at the four corners, blocking every possible escape route.

Lin Yifan's eyes turned cold, his mind instantly sensed trouble, yet there was no need to panic.

His foundation hadn't been fully established yet, so there was still a chance to break out.

But these guys didn't strike at him immediately, suggesting they might have another purpose.

Lin Yifan had always been curious: could a mere Lei En really cause the Night Temple to send its strongest elite to hunt him down?

Perhaps he could use this chance to investigate the matter!

With an idea in mind, Lin Yifan, standing beside Lin Yi, showed no attacking stance; instead, he set his knife down and gave a wry smile:

"Fine! I concede! But I'm really curious—I'm only a survivor who arrived in this world half a month ago, my Life Tier is merely Transcendent. Why does your Night Temple chase me so relentlessly?"

The leading hunter reached up, pulled down the veil on his face, revealing an ordinary yet sharp visage; he stared coldly at Lin Yifan and said lightly:

"You offended the esteemed Mr. Lei En, so you deserve death! We should have torn your body to pieces, but out of respect for your prudence, we'll leave you a Full Corpse."

"Just because of him?" Lin Yifan pretended to be unwilling, shook his head, and said stubbornly:

"I don't believe it! He's just a Human, how could your Night Temple give him such high treatment? Is it because of his talent?"

"But I think my talent isn't bad either; if you were willing to accept me, I'd be glad to submit to the Night Temple. Why won't you even ask me?"

"You? Worthy of being compared to Mr. Lei En?" the hunter named Li Er said mockingly.

"Mr. Lei En is the holder of the Night Vein; in the future, he has the potential to become the Night Sovereign. He is the Night Temple's most precious person. Honestly, can someone like you even compare?"

"If you truly are prudent, end yourself now; if I act, I'll make it impossible for you to survive or die..."

"Li Er, shut up!" the hunter leader snapped at Li Er with a hum, frowning as he said:

"Mr. Lei En's secret is top‑grade; how can you disclose it so casually?"

"Anyway he's going to die; what's the harm in letting him know?" Li Er said indifferently.

Hearing this, the hunter leader's complexion improved slightly; he turned and said to Lin Yifan:

"Start now! Don't waste our time; we have many more targets to hunt."

Lin Yifan laughed, a hint of amusement flashing across his face, and said mockingly:

"Prudent? Why should I be prudent? My life is precious; how could I waste it here?"

"Anyway, thanks for clearing things up; so that traitor Lei En actually possessed the Night Vein, no wonder he rebelled against the Human race and fled to your Night Temple."

"But he dreams of becoming a god—dream on! The Human race will never settle peacefully..."

Before his words finished, he suddenly activated the Ice Domain, and bone‑chilling cold radiated outward from him!

"Crack—crack—"

The ground instantly formed a thick layer of frost, freezing the feet of all four hunters in place.

"Bad! This kid actually has a domain," the hunter leader's face changed dramatically, and he roared at the others:

"All together, finish this kid quickly!"

However, Lin Yifan's ice was more than just ice; it lay within his domain.

Within this domain, his power rises by thirty percent, he can use Rapid Ice Flash ten times, and even Extreme Ice Thrust is doubled inside the domain.

If not for the limited area of the Eternal Freeze Domain, and if the enemies were spread out, he couldn't pull everyone into the domain; he had previously used this move directly.

But now, he finally seized the opportunity!

Outside the domain he's no match for these hunters, but within it, who will win is uncertain!

Lin Yifan seized the chance, instantly triggered Rapid Ice Flash, and a dagger silently appeared in his hand—the Shadow Dagger he had obtained from a Treasure Chest earlier.

This dagger can merge into shadows, making it impossible to defend against.

Wielding the Shadow Dagger, Lin Yifan struck one hunter's throat like a venomous snake!

"Pfft!"

The Na Mi hunter didn't even have time to react; blood spurted instantly, eyes widened, he clutched his throat in disbelief and collapsed.

"Damned!" the leading man in the black robe roared, raising his hand as a ghost‑green flame shot out!

Lin Yifan rolled to dodge, and the ground he had stood on was corroded into a charred deep pit.

He had originally intended to finish off the remaining three, but then suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his brain.

It's a symptom of overusing intellect; it seemed that using Eternal Freeze Domain, Rapid Ice Flash, and Extreme Ice Thrust simultaneously had drained too much mental energy.

By his estimate, the Eternal Freeze Domain could last at most another minute; he had to run quickly!

Though somewhat regretful, faced with life and death, Lin Yifan showed no hesitation and turned to flee deeper into the ruins.

"Chase! We must not let him get away!" the three hunters snarled, teeth clenched, pursuing him relentlessly.

Lin Yifan darted agilely among the broken walls, his mind racing:

"There are still three opponents; the leader is at least B‑rank strength, so a frontal fight has too low a chance..."

He still hadn't given up the idea of counter‑killing these hunters; the scramble for resources was already perilous, and he couldn't let those guys keep being a nuisance here.

Otherwise, whether he or the other Survivors, they would face endless peril.

So these guys must die!

Lin Yifan fled forward while quickly scanning the surroundings, trying to find a chance that would let him strike back.

After fleeing for about ten minutes, Lin Yifan caught sight of a half‑collapsed mall ahead and immediately changed direction, charging inside.

Inside, the mall was dim and chaotic, shelves toppled, various goods scattered on the floor.

He gave the goods a cursory glance and found them already rotted beyond use; evidently, modern civilization here had long since faded.

He didn't know why it appeared in the battlefield Instance, and from the surface the mall's and city's architectural style resembled the French Kingdom's style on Earth Star, nor whether there was any connection.

But now was not the time for such thoughts; after scanning the goods, Lin Yifan quickly hid behind a cosmetics counter, holding his breath and focusing, trying to conceal his presence.

Soon, noisy footsteps came from the entrance!

"Split up and search!" the leading black‑robed man ordered from the mall entrance, his gaze fierce. "He can't get far! We must eliminate him, or Mr. Lei En's secret will leak, and none of us will survive!"

Then the footsteps grew nearer, and the listening group gradually spread out.

He actually dared to fan, it seems his chance has arrived!

A cold smile curled at Lin Yifan's mouth.

He retrieved two incendiary grenades from the void and gently pulled the safety pins.

"Bang!"

A deafening blast shook the entire mall; ceiling debris rained down.

"What's happening?!" the black‑robed people shouted in panic, looking around.

"He's over there!" a black‑robed man shouted, pointing to the second floor.

Seizing the distraction, Lin Yifan suddenly lunged out, hurling the incendiary grenades in two different directions!

"Boom! Boom!"

The scorching flames instantly engulfed most of the first floor, thick smoke billowed, blinding everyone's eyes.

Moreover, because the place had been idle for a long time, many items had begun to decompose, and the fire's spark instantly turned them into accelerants!

It directly triggered an explosion!

Although the blast wasn't enough to collapse the whole building, it left the entire first floor in ruins.

The black‑robed man that Lin Yifan had targeted was caught off guard, drenched in oil, and the raging flames instantly engulfed him; he let out a harrowing scream and then fell silent.

"Bastard! Lin Yifan, I will make you suffer beyond measure!" the leading black‑robed man roared from a distance, charging through the flames, only to see Lin Yifan already bursting out of a window.

"You can't escape!" he shouted, wildly spurring his internal energy, speed surging, and in an instant he was ten meters behind Lin Yifan.

Sensing the murderous intent behind him, Lin Yifan abruptly halted, turned, and a fine‑grade longbow had suddenly appeared in his hand!

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"

Three sharp arrows flew in a V formation toward the black‑robed man!

"Petty trick!" the leading hunter scoffed, waving his hand as a shadow barrier rose before him.

But just as the arrows were about to be blocked, Lin Yifan whispered, "The climax is behind you!"

"Bang—!"

Two glass bottles filled with pale yellow liquid suddenly materialized before the leading hunter; the bottles shattered on impact, dousing him in the liquid.

At the same time, a flaming match floated and landed before the leading hunter!

When the flame touched the liquid, it instantly ignited, and the clothing on the hunter leader's body caught fire.

"Ah!" The burning pain made the black‑clad man scream, then utter a venomous curse:

"Lin Yifan, you dare hurt me! I won't let you go, I'll make you die in the most painful way, make you regret what you did to me…"

Lin Yifan curled his lip, tossed the match, and without a half‑second pause, turned and sprinted in the opposite direction.

The earlier flame could never have killed the hunter leader, because the black robe of the leading black‑robed man had already been torn apart by the explosion, revealing steel armor underneath.

Lin Yifan stared at the armor and couldn't help feeling envy.

It was a Silver Grade armor set! And not just a single piece, but a complete set!

If he had such armor, he'd be virtually invincible in the Initial Domain!

Even with that armor, the flame could only cause minor trouble for the hunter leader, at most a wound, never enough to force him to fight desperately.

In fact, Lin Yifan had anticipated this, yet he still did it!

The reason was simple: he wanted to distract the hunter leader to buy time to deal with another.

Namely Li Er!

Both Li Er and the hunter leader were strong, but when forced to choose one, the other side still went for Li Er!

Because his black robe had long been torn, there was no armor beneath, making him much easier to kill!

However, as he rushed toward Li Er's location, before he could strike, a sudden sound rang in his ears.

"Whoosh!"

Lin Yifan suddenly saw a flash of silver streak from the side, striking Li Er's knee with pinpoint accuracy!

"Ah!" Li Er cried out, immediately losing balance and collapsing onto one knee.

Who shot the arrow?

Lin Yifan was bewildered, and when he turned his head, he saw on the nearby ruins an unmistakably familiar silhouette, poised to shoot, and another figure stood beside her!

The two were Ruan Qingtan and Hong Shaoqiang!

"Captain! We're here!" Ruan Qingtan shouted excitedly as soon as she saw Lin Yifan.

Beside her, Hong Shaoqiang's face showed excitement; after nodding toward Lin Yifan, he brandished a massive axe and charged:

"Damn Night Temple, daring to assault my Captain! You're a cowardly dog, go to hell!!"

Injured in the knee, Li Er's face changed instantly, and he roared in anger:

"Lin Yifan, do you still have any shame? If you have the skill, duel me! What's this about sending people to ambush?"

While speaking, he hurriedly tried to stand up and dodge to the side.

However, Hong Shaoqiang wasn't a pushover, so how could he let an injured person get away?

"Pfft!"

The sharp blade instantly slashed Li Er's shoulder.

"Ah!" The intense pain made Li Er unable to hold back a painful scream!

But Lin Yifan wouldn't miss the chance; he instantly activated Shadow Stealth, closed in, and thrust his dagger straight at the opponent's throat!