Noah glanced over, wiping away a drop of blood that had seeped onto his cheek.
Five hundred meters behind him, a young man with a grim expression and a hairstyle reminiscent of KOF's Kyo Kusanagi was swiftly chasing them. Between the young man's fingers, several short daggers gleamed ominously.
Seeing Noah turn his head, a cold smile appeared on the young man's face as he hurled another dagger toward Noah.
The young man's aim was precise, targeting the back of Noah's neck, forcing him to dodge.
Choosing to evade attacks from behind while sprinting would undoubtedly slow him down. After avoiding this attack, the young man was now less than three hundred meters behind him.
Damn, I'll be caught at this rate, and I'm the second target. The guy behind me just needs to attack me, and the first one won't have any burden.
Thinking this, Noah looked ahead at the tall, skinny man running in front of him and sighed inwardly.
Swish!
Another sound of something slicing through the air.
Noah decided not to worry about it. Continuing like this, he'd either be killed or caught. He gritted his teeth and suddenly leaped sideways into a dense thicket of trees like an agile monkey.
The young man behind him was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected Noah to choose the forest as his escape route.
This could indeed effectively evade my attacks, but the forest is filled with obstacles. Your speed will definitely decrease. My goal will still be achieved.
With this in mind, the young man smirked and the remaining daggers in his fingertips danced like butterflies. One of them suddenly shot out towards the tall, skinny man in the lead.
You go to the back too!
Having learned from Noah's example, the young man didn't want to stay in the second position, which was bound to be attacked by those behind. While the others hadn't caught up yet, taking the lead was the wise choice.
It seemed that the skinny man in front hadn't expected the young man to target him either. Caught off guard by the sudden attack, he had to roll aside to avoid the dagger that was about to pierce his neck.
"Go ahead."
As the skinny man stopped in his tracks to evade, the young man's figure flashed by him like lightning.
With a grim expression, the skinny man thrust his arm forward, clamping down on the young man's right elbow like a vice and forcefully pulling him back. At the same time, he threw a punch at the young man.
Hoft was not a mild-mannered person, and anyone who came from Meteor City would not be described as mild-mannered either. He had initially intended to avoid conflicts as much as possible and complete the test. However, when someone dared to attack him, Hoft, who believed in an eye for an eye, naturally wouldn't swallow this insult. He intended to give this young man who had attacked him a profound lesson.
The residents of Meteor City believed in strength and independence. As an officially uninhabited zone, the residents there didn't receive conventional education. It was a place where the law of the jungle prevailed, and the phrase "survival of the fittest" was most apt for the situation in Meteor City.
Only with a certain level of strength could one survive in Meteor City.
When Ashu was in Meteor City, he was an expert in knife play. He carried several sharp knives on him at all times, hidden in various parts of his body. For Ashu, knives were an extension of his body, and he could use them with incredible flexibility. Anyone who dared to provoke Ashu would inevitably pay a painful price.
Although he was only twenty years old, Ashu had already taken more lives than he could count.
To Ashu, killing was just an ordinary thing, so he didn't think too much about it. Attacking Noah and Hoft, in Ashu's eyes, was as ordinary as it could be. Someone blocked his way, he attacked them to make them step aside. If they died, so be it. It didn't matter.
That was Ashu's mindset.
As he felt a sudden burst of strength in his right elbow, Ashu reacted instantly. His left hand, which was not under control, grabbed a dagger and swiped it without looking, cutting through the air.
Splat!
Blood spurted from Hoft's arm as he quickly retreated two steps.
"Not bad reaction. I was planning to cut off your hand," Ashu turned around, his face dark as he looked at Hoft.
When Ashu's dagger was about to slice Hoft's wrist, Hoft immediately let go of Ashu's hand and stepped back, but even so, there was still a gash on Hoft's hand.
Although there was a wound in Hoft's hand, Ashu was not without injury. His right elbow had turned blue and purple, and Hoft's grip had directly injured Ashu's elbow joint.
His right arm was no longer usable.
Feeling the pain in his right arm, Ashu made an assessment of his situation.
As an expert in wielding knives, the inability to use his right arm would undoubtedly severely hamper his strength.
"Next, it's your left arm," Hoft casually wiped away the bloodstains on his arm and looked at Ashu.
"Then let's give it a try." The issue with his right arm did not deter Ashu, and he responded to Hoft's declaration with a cold smile.
Just as the two were locked in a standoff, there was a sudden rustling sound a few meters ahead in the thickets.
Swoosh!
Then, a figure burst out from the bushes and swiftly darted forward.
Judging by that figure, it was Noah, the one Ashu had forced into the woods earlier.
As Ashu had surmised, after entering the forest, Noah's speed had inevitably been affected by the dense undergrowth. However, Noah still closely trailed behind the two.
The moment he saw Hoft make a move against Ashu, Noah realized that his opportunity had come. He agilely leaped onto a tree, used the elasticity of the trunk to spring out, and rejoined the path, overtaking both Ashu and Hoft.
After sprinting forward for several seconds, Noah saw the finish line.
A low wall stood there with a small iron gate, and beside the gate, Gatoh had already been waiting.
"First one, Pass," Gatoh's voice, without a hint of emotion, sounded as Noah passed through the iron gate.
A dozen seconds after Noah passed through, Ashu's figure appeared in the view of Noah and Gatoh. At this moment, Ashu was covered in blood, his entire right arm twisted into an irregular shape, and the wrist of his left arm also displayed shades of blue and purple, looking rather miserable.
Ashu slowly approached the iron gate, and Gatoh's voice rang out again.
"Second one, Pass."