Chapter Forty-Nine: Not Much Choice

"That bastard, who the hell is he?!"

Shen Tian leaned against the icy wall, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the burning corpse nearby, grinding his teeth so hard they might shatter.

He knew very well that the only reason he was still alive now was—

Sheer luck!

Because the target of the second shot had been someone else, not him.

That was all!

Otherwise, he would be the one lying dead on the ground.

For perhaps the first time, Shen Tian felt an icy chill run down his spine, his back drenched in cold sweat, consumed by a powerful aftershock of fear.

And as he watched his companion’s face become unrecognizable in the flames, his own expression contorted further into a snarl.

"No matter who you are, I swear I’ll drag you out of whatever hole you’re hiding in and make you regret ever coming into this world!"

His fists clenched so hard they creaked. Only after a long time did he finally squeeze his eyes shut and force himself to take several deep breaths, suppressing the terror and fury that raged in his chest.

Because he knew full well—rage would not solve his problem.

He had to stay calm!

At first, he had judged that the shooter wasn’t from the Celestial Palace, but rather, some trouble Changle had drawn upon himself. When the shooter fired at Lin Chuyin, seemingly to alert the Celestial Palace, it had seemed to confirm that.

But now, it was clear—his judgment had been wrong!

Could the attacker really be with the Celestial Palace? But that made no sense. Was his way of warning his own people to shoot them directly? Who would do such a thing? Was it because Celestial Palace’s people were out hunting the golden beast and a call would disrupt their operation, so he used a simpler, more direct method to alert them?

Shen Tian considered this, but quickly shook his head.

It still didn’t add up!

He’d seen clearly that there were many wounded on the Celestial Palace’s side, not involved in the fight, simply watching from afar and resting. If the shooter truly belonged to the Celestial Palace and couldn’t contact the higher ranks, surely he could have reached one of the many wounded?

It made no sense.

And more importantly—

If he really was from the Celestial Palace, why was he acting alone?

The fact that he dared to shoot Changle directly meant he’d been observing them for a long time! In that case, if he was truly with the Celestial Palace, he would have already tried to contact his comrades. There’s no way he would just watch their captain approach and do nothing.

So…

He couldn’t possibly be from the Celestial Palace!

But if not, then why was he so determined to fight to the death with them?

Shen Tian still couldn’t understand.

It made no sense at all.

If he was from the Celestial Palace, he shouldn’t have waited until the captain was so close to alert them. If not, why take such a risk to assassinate them?

But soon, Shen Tian shook his head hard.

What was he doing, dwelling on this? Did it even matter anymore whether the shooter was with the Celestial Palace, or what his motive was? What mattered now was that the enemy clearly intended to see this through to the bitter end! Who he was or what his background might be—did that even matter now?

At this thought, Shen Tian realized his focus had strayed. He took a deep breath, forced down his questions about the assailant’s identity, and began to consider the situation he was actually facing.

He inhaled deeply, his mind spinning rapidly.

"Four men; he’s taken out three. Now it’s just me. Judging by his methods, he’s cunning, and will surely guess that I’ll be watching for his next move. So, what will he do next?"

Shen Tian tried to put himself in the attacker’s position, to predict what he would do.

"In terms of evolution, he’s no match for me. From the frequency of his shots and the power of his fire, it’s clear—he’s only at the Black Iron tier. Otherwise, the moment I aimed at him, he’d have fired a third shot. But he only fired twice, which means his reaction time is slower, and the gun’s recoil is still a major problem for him."

With this, Shen Tian felt a slight relief.

The enemy was strong, but in terms of raw ability, there was a clear gap. That was reassuring.

And it was easy to tell. Evolutionary tiers don’t lie… You either react, or you don’t. Sometimes it’s only a matter of microseconds—but that can spell the difference between life and death.

He still felt regret—he’d truly lost his nerve for just an instant, hesitated when he shouldn’t have.

If he hadn’t hesitated, the shooter wouldn’t have gotten a second shot—he would have been killed on the spot.

Even if it meant wasting one of the gene rounds, Changle’s gun still had another. It wouldn’t have affected his actions afterward.

But because of that split-second delay, he was now at a severe disadvantage.

He exhaled sharply and forced himself not to dwell on things that couldn’t be changed, focusing instead on his analysis.

"Given his lack of raw power, his options are limited. There’s really only one path left: Ambush."

Shen Tian gritted his teeth.

Where he was now was an excellent vantage point. But he had been so absorbed in the battlefield, and had judged that the attacker had already left… Otherwise, would it have been so easy for him to come down from that little hill or take the first shot?

With the reaction speeds of the three gunslingers, even if the attacker had the element of surprise, as soon as he showed himself, they would have been able to fight back the moment he fired.

In the end, it was carelessness!

"But this time, I won’t make the same mistake… He must know that, too! So the likelihood that he’ll try to find a shooting angle from the front is almost nonexistent. What will he do next?"

Shen Tian now regarded his opponent as an equal, weighing his next move as carefully as his own.

After a moment’s thought, he suddenly shuddered and instinctively turned to look at the glacier crevice behind him.

"Will he try to flank around and ambush me from behind?"

Shen Tian’s eyes flickered as he considered the possibility.

From the attacker’s prior position, it would take at least half an hour to circle around behind him.

But that time frame…

"No, he won’t waste that long. Half an hour is enough for massive changes to occur on the battlefield. If he’s already made his move, then let’s assume he is somehow connected to the Celestial Palace. His reason for killing us is to cover for them… If that’s the case, would he really take such a risk? Or would he just find a sniping position up front?"

Shen Tian thought the attacker might try to flank him, but it wasn’t likely. More likely, the shooter would, as before, find a good angle for an ambush.

Shen Tian’s gaze sharpened, but after a moment, he exhaled lightly.

Fine, no matter how much he thought about it, it wouldn’t help.

His enemy had few choices—

And so did he.

The battlefield changed by the second, and now, only he remained among the shooters.

He had to complete his mission; he couldn’t afford to change positions now.

His tactics were necessarily limited.

"If not for the mission… a mere Black Iron-tier, I could flush you out in minutes and put you down!"

Shen Tian fumed inwardly.

This had become a sniper duel of sorts, and as the defender, he was at a marked disadvantage.

Fortunately, his raw power still crushed the opponent.

And with his gene rounds…

At that thought, he took a deep breath, drew his gun, found an even more concealed spot, and lay prone, aiming forward.

"There are only…"

He began to scan for possible sniping locations at a distance.

The attacker had been to the north earlier, so most likely he’d choose a northern position again. The south required either a long detour or crossing Shen Tian’s field of fire—an unlikely choice.

"Even if he does try to flank, it’ll take him at least half an hour. If he hasn’t shown up after that, I can check the rear then."

That was Shen Tian’s final calculation.

He kept his eyes on all possible sniping points and watched the battlefield.

He still had a mission.

He had to make sure that, when the Heavyblade woman and her team tried to escape, he would fire a shot deadly enough to take them out.

Shen Tian’s mind was taut as a drawn bow.

He was confident—at the slightest sign, he’d react instantly.

…

…

And as Shen Tian calculated firing points, Fang Mu had already returned to the base of the original hill.

He gazed from the side at the tranquil glacier crevice, squinting as his mind whirred rapidly…