"None of you are human?" Chen Jinzhao suddenly asked.
The woman laughed heartily and then said, "We have human bodies, our habits are no different from humans, and we speak the human language. Why do you say we are not human?"
Chen Jinzhao became even more convinced that these people were not human.
"I can see you are more cruel than normal humans, perhaps you are cold-blooded animals."
The smile on the woman's face did not diminish. "Thinking about fighting the rumored Candle Dragon, I am indeed a little excited. Are you ready?"
As her words fell.
The men standing on either side of her suddenly roared, their muscles swelling visibly. Chen Jinzhao's eyelids twitched, and he clearly saw tiny scales growing on the surface of their skin. The answer was now obvious.
These three creatures were not human.
"Kill him!" the woman ordered.
Numbers Thirty-Four and Thirty-Five, holding sharp knives, attacked Chen Jinzhao.
Chen Jinzhao rapidly retreated beyond the courtyard. After stabilizing his footing, he engaged the two men. Seeing Thirty-Four's sharp knife about to descend, Chen Jinzhao snorted coldly and raised his hand to block with the Tai Sui. Sparks flew in an instant, followed by the sound of metal breaking.
Thirty-Four's sharp knife was cleaved in two.
Thirty-Five suddenly attacked from the side, his blade aimed directly at the back of Chen Jinzhao's neck.
Chen Jinzhao kicked Number Thirty-Four in the chest, sending him staggering back several steps. Then, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, Chen Jinzhao backhanded and grabbed Thirty-Five's wrist. Thirty-Five's expression changed slightly. Before he could react, he felt a immense force surge, as Chen Jinzhao attempted to break his wrist.
To Chen Jinzhao's surprise, he couldn't break Thirty-Five's wrist immediately. These humanoid creatures had very strong bones.
As Chen Jinzhao tried to exert more force, Thirty-Five twisted his wrist. The tiny scales on his skin scraped Chen Jinzhao's palm, forcing him to let go.
However, he gained something: he snatched the sharp knife from Thirty-Five.
After the initial exchange, Chen Jinzhao had reaped substantial rewards, disabling both their weapons. The two men merely grunted and charged forward again.
They seemed to be fearless of pain and death.
What surprised Chen Jinzhao even more was their extreme speed and strength, clearly exceeding the A-class range, though still a considerable distance from S-class.
"Die!"
Number Thirty-Four roared and threw a punch.
Chen Jinzhao dodged with ease. That punch from Thirty-Four directly broke a stone pillar, while Thirty-Five suddenly appeared, clearly intending to finish Chen Jinzhao. Thirty-Five's punches were incredibly fast, and combined with his agile movements, he made Chen Jinzhao feel somewhat troubled.
"You want to kill me? You're not good enough." Chen Jinzhao whispered.
Number Thirty-Five threw another punch.
This time, Chen Jinzhao did not dodge. He raised his left hand and grabbed Thirty-Five's fist. With his other hand, he used the Tai Sui to slash Thirty-Five's right arm several times, stripping off many scales and causing Thirty-Five to emit a pained cry.
"You're courting death! Let go!" Number Thirty-Four rushed over at the sound.
Ultimately, the two were no match for Chen Jinzhao.
Before long, Chen Jinzhao had scraped all the scales off their bodies. Chen Jinzhao chuckled, "If this is all the strength you have, then you might as well go to bed."
The strength of these two men was nothing special.
Of course.
That was only relative to Chen Jinzhao.
Otherwise, their strength was still formidable, and based on Chen Jinzhao's observation, these two had extremely tenacious vitality. Wounds that he had inflicted with severe damage healed surprisingly quickly. This scene made Chen Jinzhao recall something. Perhaps this was why they wanted to take him away?
Chen Jinzhao was only momentarily distracted, and almost fell victim to the two men.
After snapping back to reality, their attacks appeared to him as mere fancy footwork, not even worth mentioning as being easily defeated.
The woman, designated Thirty-Six, knew the situation was dire and drew her gun, aiming at Chen Jinzhao.
Her handgun did not fire bullets, but a highly concentrated anesthetic mixed with a small dose of neurotoxin, capable of paralyzing the target's entire body within seconds of being hit, rendering them unable to continue fighting. It was the best weapon for apprehending Chen Jinzhao.
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Chen Jinzhao, at the exact moment Thirty-Six fired, grabbed Thirty-Four by the neck and used him as a shield.
Bang!
Number Thirty-Four was shot in the back, letting out a cry of pain.
Chen Jinzhao had originally intended to break his neck, but now it seemed he should first observe Thirty-Four's subsequent symptoms.
Thirty-Six, realizing the situation was not going well, immediately changed her position and fired again. Chen Jinzhao again used Thirty-Four as a shield. Within a mere ten seconds, Thirty-Four had been shot four or five times, his body began to convulse and twitch, and within less than ten seconds, he lost the ability to move.
"Such a venomous bullet," Chen Jinzhao snorted.
Thirty-Six's face turned slightly pale. Her proud marksmanship had been dodged by Chen Jinzhao.
She had two more bullets left in her gun, the last two.
Chen Jinzhao exerted force with his palm and snapped Thirty-Four's neck, instantly ending his life. He then tossed him aside like garbage. The remaining Thirty-Five and Thirty-Six, no matter how much they feared death, felt a sliver of terror.
The next moment.
Chen Jinzhao looked at Thirty-Five, whose heart trembled. She dared not meet Chen Jinzhao's gaze anymore.
She had witnessed the might of the Candle Dragon.
Even if the three of them attacked together, it would not change the outcome. They were no match for Chen Jinzhao.
Thinking this, Thirty-Five's mind became chaotic.
Chen Jinzhao asked indifferently, "Aren't you supposed to take me back for investigation? Why aren't you acting? I'm waiting for you."
Number Thirty-Five watched as Thirty-Four died before his eyes, instantly igniting his rage. He roared at Chen Jinzhao, "Bastard, why did you kill Thirty-Four? I'll fight you to the death! Thirty-Six, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and act!"
Under Chen Jinzhao's surprised gaze, Thirty-Five's muscles bulged again, and new scales subtly began to emerge from beneath the skin's surface.
Veins bulged like chains binding Thirty-Five's body. If nothing unexpected happened, his strength had reached its peak, intending to fight Chen Jinzhao to the death with this trump card. Chen Jinzhao decided not to hold back any longer. Once Thirty-Five made his move, he would crush him on the spot.
Thirty-Five let out a roar and attacked with agile steps.
Just as Chen Jinzhao was preparing to crush him, a gunshot echoed simultaneously. Thirty-Five's advancing steps suddenly stopped. He looked at Thirty-Six in the distance with extreme shock. Chen Jinzhao was also surprised, because the shot had hit Thirty-Five.
Number Thirty-Five glared at Thirty-Six, letting out a cry of unwillingness.
"Thirty-Six, why would you do this?!"