"Stupid woman," Lee taunted Belinda. "I'm not the one who is about to die." He wasn't even slightly worried. After all, he had already killed Brody Kent. What could Belinda possibly do?
Lee exploded into action, bursting out of the lake and rushing at Belinda.
The Iron Fist sword technique stressed the combination of striking hard and moving swiftly, and Belinda had perfected the fighting style over several decades. She used it now to attack Lee, managing to wound him.
Lee bellowed in pain.
"You think you're so skilled," Lee said, scowling at her. "But you're only making a fool of yourself." He kicked out hard, hitting Belinda's sword, knocking it backward. The tip of the sword almost hit her face, but she managed to control it, just in the nick of time.
Lee took advantage of the distraction to attack, and Belinda couldn't react quickly enough. A couple of brutal kicks broke her leg and cracked several of her ribs. She stumbled and fell into the lake, sending water splashing everywhere.
The other martial artists were worried that Belinda might die. They couldn't look away, desperately willing her to get back up.
Lee strode into the lake, moving effortlessly.
Belinda stabbed out at him, trying to save herself, but she was seriously injured and had little strength. She was really struggling to continue.
"And you thought you were good enough to kill me," Lee taunted her, grabbing her sword. He pulled hard, dragging Belinda through the water, and raising her to her feet.
"Now you can join the others in death," Lee said, lifting his sword to behead her.
"No!" came a sharp cry from the shore. A young woman rushed at Lee.
The woman was a disciple in the Iron Fist Sect. She held her sword in her hand, anxious to save Belinda, who had been like a mother to her. She couldn't let Belinda die.
"No, go back!" Belinda cried, knowing that Lee would simply kill them both. She knew she couldn't be saved, and there was no point in them both dying.
"Stay there!" the woman yelled. Then she ran at Lee, thrusting her sword at him with all her strength.
"Idiotic girl," Lee said, laughing at her. "Do you want to die too?" He turned toward her and lashed out. He would deal with this problem first and then kill Belinda.
Lee easily disarmed the woman. It was obvious she was just a rookie, and she didn't have much skill. She had probably only been practicing for a few months.
It made no difference to Lee. He still intended to remove her head.
The woman froze, knowing she was doomed.
But, just as the sword was about to slice through her neck, something hit the blade, sending vibrations up Lee's arm, and preventing the fatal blow.
Shocked, Lee realized that someone had thrown a knife. It was closely followed by another. And then another. If Lee didn't deal with this new attacker soon, then it would only be a matter of time before he got seriously injured.
A figure flashed by and grabbed the woman's shoulder. Lee reached out and grasped her arm. For a moment, the woman got tugged back and forward between them, before finally being pulled away.
The woman felt a little dizzy, and her arms hurt from being pulled in two directions at once. But she knew if Lee had won, then she would be dead, so she was grateful that her rescuer had proved to be stronger.
She followed the man who had saved her, placing more distance between herself and Lee.
She felt safe with her hero, but she felt that he seemed familiar somehow.
"Are you all right?" Alex asked her. As soon as he had reached the lake, he had seen that Lee was about to kill the woman, so he had thrown a blade in an attempt to save her.
Alex turned around to look at her, but when they saw each other's faces, they were both stunned.
They stood there, motionless, gaping at each other.
Alex recognized the woman as Cathy, who had been his girlfriend when he had been at Preston University.
Back in New York, Alex and Cathy had fought, and then Cathy had dropped out of Preston University and disappeared.
It wasn't until Minnie had given Alex the farewell letter Cathy had left him that Alex realized Cathy had turned over a new leaf. In the letter, she had said she was going away and would learn to forget him. He had never expected to see her again, especially not under the current circumstances.
Cathy now looked completely different from when she had been at Preston University. She was wearing a beautiful pink dress, and her hair was neatly pulled back in a ponytail. Her face was devoid of makeup, making her look a little younger.
"It's you!" Alex said, his brain turning to mush.
"Thank you for saving me," Cathy said shyly. She hadn't realized Alex had been the one to rescue her.
Seeing Alex again for the first time in ages, Cathy's heart beat faster.
"You can let me go now," she murmured.
Alex noticed he still had an arm around her waist and quickly dropped it, stepping back.
They stared at each other, feeling awkward, and then the other martial artists began to applaud Alex for saving Cathy from Lee.
"Bravo!"
"Well done!"
Many of the martial artists looked at Alex in astonishment. They had been involved in the martial arts community for a long time, but they couldn't recognize which school this young man had come from. They wondered who he was.
Some of the martial artists thought about the fighting that had taken place in Baltimore more than a month ago. Had this young man been involved?
"You're very skillful," Lee called, watching Alex from the lake. "Before I kill you, why don't you tell me your name?" He had always admired skilled martial artists, even when they were his enemy. It was a shame this young man wasn't on his side. Still, Lee would kill him quickly, as a sign of respect.
Alex spotted the blood-stained robes that had belonged to Zachariah and the other leaders, and he saw the fallen bodies, including that of Brody Kent. Anger rose within him. "Listen up," he called. "I'm Alex, the lord of the Moon Palace, and I stand with the martial arts community. Today, you have killed my colleagues, and now you will pay with your own life."