I become stronger by sacrificing my lifespan, becoming invincible in the world.

Before the words were even finished, the copper bell on the eaves rang out with a clear yet piercing sound! The sound carried far into the quiet night!

The bell rang, and a cacophony of voices erupted!

"Thief!"

"Over there! Behind the pile of junk!"

Two guards at the warehouse entrance shouted and charged forward, drawing their swords! Further away, the sounds of hurried footsteps and shouts drew closer, and the torchlight began to flicker!

"Go!" Lin Chen roared, showing no intention of lingering in the fight, and turned to rush back through the alleyway he had come from!

Zhou Dahe and Wang Chuan reacted quickly, following closely behind.

The three had just emerged from the shadow of the pile of debris when they ran into two members of the Fierce Tiger Gang who had rushed over after hearing the commotion!

"You're asking for death!" The first man swung his knife and slashed!

Lin Chen's eyes turned cold. He used the Wolf's Gaze Step to shift half a step, the blade grazing past him. His right hand shot out with lightning speed, not to draw his sword, but to directly grab the opponent's wrist holding the sword, activating Devour!

It instantly drained five years of one's lifespan!

The gang member felt a numbness in his arm and a wave of weakness wash over him. Before he could understand what was happening, Lin Chen's left hand, with fingers like a knife, stabbed hard into his Adam's apple!

With a soft "crack," the man's eyeballs bulged out, and he collapsed to the ground with a groan.

Another gang member was startled, but Lin Chen had already moved in like a ghost and struck him hard on the temple with his elbow! The man groaned and fell to the ground.

The whole process took only a breath, ruthless and decisive!

"This way!" Lin Chen rushed towards the wall without stopping.

Behind them, more torches and figures surged forward.

"Don't let them get away!"

"Release the arrows!"

Several arrows whizzed past my ears and embedded themselves in the wall.

Lin Chen and his two companions went at full speed, weaving left and right through the narrow alleyways, barely managing to create some distance by relying on the "Concealing Breath Technique" and the darkness.

But Zhuangzi had already been alerted; fires lit up everywhere, and shouts of blockade came from different directions.

"Split up! Follow the backup route!" Lin Chen made a decisive decision. "Meet again outside the wall!"

Zhou Dahe and Wang Chuan nodded emphatically and immediately turned into a side road.

Lin Chen continued running along the original route, and the two closest pursuers behind him were less than ten feet away.

The east wall is just ahead!

But standing beneath the wall were three burly men wielding steel knives, blocking their path. Judging by their aura, they were far more powerful than ordinary gang members.

Blockade ahead and pursuers behind!

A cold glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes. Instead of slowing down, he pushed his speed to the limit! The long sword at his waist was finally drawn!

The blade was dull, yet it traced a cold arc in the darkness.

He didn't use "Blood Prison Slash," as it would consume too much energy. Instead, he incorporated the unpredictable nature of "Wolf Gaze Step" into his most basic slashing and thrusting movements.

With the first strike, he parried the steel blade coming straight at him, then smoothly cut into the center, the tip of the blade piercing the opponent's heart.

The second strike was parried by a horizontal sweep from the left, followed by a strange twist of the body, the blade slicing across the opponent's neck.

The third person roared and chopped down with all his might, but Lin Chen neither dodged nor avoided it, and actually took the blow with his shoulder!

"Clang!" The soft armor and inner iron plates beneath the leather armor proved effective, preventing the blade from penetrating too deeply into the flesh. At the same time, Lin Chen's blade, like a venomous snake, pierced through the opponent's ribs and into his abdomen!

Three stabs, three dead!

Clean, violent, and without any hesitation!

Without stopping, Lin Chen used the momentum of his forward run to push off the wall with one foot, his body soaring into the air. He grabbed the top of the wall with one hand and flipped over!

Arrows thudded into the brick wall behind him.

Upon landing, he rolled over to dissipate the force, then got up without stopping and sprinted towards the rocky slope where they were supposed to meet.

The village was in an uproar, but it would take time for the pursuers to scale the wall, and they were temporarily left some distance behind.

In a hidden crevice deep within the rocky slope, Zhao Tiegu and Li the Cripple were already anxiously waiting. Seeing Lin Chen rushing towards them covered in blood, the two quickly went to meet him.

"Are you injured?" Zhao Tiegu asked urgently.

"It's just a superficial injury, nothing serious." Lin Chen took a breath. "Where are Dahe and Wang Chuan?"

"We're not there yet!" Li the Cripple stared nervously in the direction of the village.

A few breaths later, two slightly disheveled figures rushed into the crevice; it was Zhou Dahe and Wang Chuan. Wang Chuan had a cut on his arm, which was bleeding profusely, but he remained relatively calm.

"Everyone's here, let's go!" Zhao Tiegu shouted in a low voice.

Without further delay, the five men used the complex terrain of the rocky slope as cover and retreated towards the outermost rendezvous point of Wu Laosi and his men.

Behind them, the torchlight and clamor of Black Stone Village gradually faded into the distance, eventually swallowed up by the vast darkness and undulating mountains.

An hour later, the group safely returned to the hunter's abandoned cabin, which they had planned earlier and was located ten miles away from Blackstone Village.

Close the broken door tightly and light a small oil lamp.

Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief and checked the injuries. Lin Chen's shoulder wound was not deep and had stopped bleeding on its own. Wang Chuan's arm wound was longer, but it did not damage any tendons or bones; it was treated with Shi family's hemostatic powder and bandaged.

"How is it? What's the situation inside?" Zhao Tiegu asked impatiently.

Lin Chen quickly recounted the conversation he had overheard and his own deductions.

"Tomorrow night at midnight... Gray Wolf Tribe... Chen Hong... twenty men... ten baskets of refined ore..." Zhao Tiegu's face was ashen. "Those beasts!"

"Blackstone Village is just a transit point and temporary detention center," Lin Chen said in a deep voice. "They're probably mining that black ore in the mines, refining it into 'refined ore.' Those kidnapped people are the 'goods,' sold to the demon race along with the refined ore."

"We must stop them!" Li the Cripple gritted his teeth.

"A direct confrontation won't work," Lin Chen shook his head. "There are too many guards in the manor, including some experts. Besides, they'll be even more vigilant since the transaction is tomorrow night."

His eyes gleamed: "But we know the time, the place, and the participants. That's the opportunity."

"You mean..." Zhao Tiegu seemed to understand.

"Let's play along," Lin Chen uttered four words. "Let them make the deal, and then..."

He made a gesture of encirclement.

"Caught red-handed!"

Everyone's eyes lit up.

But then Zhao Tiegu frowned: "We don't have enough manpower. Even with Wu Laosi and the other six, we only have eleven people. The other party's transaction definitely involves both the Fierce Tiger Gang and the Demon Clan, and Chen Hong might even send people secretly as well."

"So we can't do it ourselves," Lin Chen said slowly. "We need to find someone who can mobilize more manpower and who has the reason and authority to take action."

Zhao Tiegu was taken aback, then suddenly realized: "Commander Zhang Heng?"

"Yes." Lin Chen nodded. "We'll go back now and report the intelligence to Captain Zhang. He has the troops of the patrol battalion, so it's perfectly legitimate for him to deal with these scoundrels who collude with foreign tribes. Moreover, taking down the Fierce Tiger Gang would be a great achievement for him as well."

It is not too late.

After a short rest, the group dealt with the blood-stained clothes and bandages that might have left traces, and then hurried towards Ghost Cry Pass through the night.

In the darkness, Lin Chen glanced back in the direction of Black Stone Manor.

Tomorrow night at midnight.

He wanted to turn this dirty deal into a trap that would bury the Fierce Tiger Gang and Chen Hong.

Could the "Black Bird" behind Su Qingxue also be among them?

He gripped the knife hilt tightly.

No matter who it is, he will chop off any claws that extend!