37: Chapter 37 Aren't you going to get lost? Are you waiting for me to invite you for tea?
Lin Fan swept his gaze over the five of them, forming a complete assessment in his mind.
The five enemies.
Qin Hao, Level 15, Armor Spirit Level 15, Golden Flame Tiger—high attack and high defense, the core damage dealer.
Zhang Chen, Level 13, Armor Spirit Level 13, Rock Rhino—a pure tank, capable of taking hits and ramming.
Zhou Ting, Level 10, Armor Spirit Level 10, Swift Swallow—fast, responsible for harassment.
Li Hao, Level 10, Armor Spirit Level 10, Shadow Cat—assassin, looking for a sneak attack.
Wang Kai, Level 8, Armor Spirit Level 8, Iron-Armored Pig—just making up the numbers, basically can be ignored.
On his side...
He was Level 13, with 60% of his spiritual power remaining.
Liu Xiaoman was Level 14, but had only 30% of her spiritual power left; her Web-Binding Spider could shoot at most five more webs.
Chen Menger was Level 9, with 40% spiritual power.
Sun Wei was Level 9, with 30% spiritual power and some injuries, but his Iron Armor Rhino's defense could still take a few hits.
Xu Ziyan was Level 11, with 40% spiritual power; his Snow Spirit Fox's frost and Ice Armor could still be used.
The numbers were even, but they were at a disadvantage in terms of condition.
A direct confrontation offered little chance of victory.
But Lin Fan's mind was racing...
A plan began to take shape.
"Liu Xiaoman." Lin Fan lowered his voice.
Liu Xiaoman tilted her head slightly.
"When the fight starts, don't shoot your first web at Qin Hao."
Liu Xiaoman was taken aback.
"Then who should I shoot?"
"Shoot Zhang Chen."
The corners of Lin Fan's mouth curled up slightly. "Use the maximum range to cover his entire upper body."
Although confused, Liu Xiaoman nodded.
"Chen Menger, keep an eye on Li Hao. Once he uses Stealth, run towards me."
Chen Menger was also stunned.
"Run towards you? Why?"
Lin Fan didn't explain. "Just do as I say."
He turned to Sun Wei.
"Sun Wei, stand three meters to my left. Keep your arms in front of you and pose as if you're about to charge. But don't actually charge; just stand there."
Sun Wei nodded silently.
Finally, he looked at Xu Ziyan.
"Xu Ziyan, stand with me. When I tell you to spray someone, you spray them."
Xu Ziyan swallowed hard.
"U-understood."
Watching Lin Fan whispering, Qin Hao sneered impatiently.
"Are you done discussing? If you are, let's start fighting. Don't waste my time."
Lin Fan straightened up and took his hands out of his pockets.
"Fine, then let's fight."
He raised his left hand, and a green light surged forth as fine green scales instantly covered his entire hand.
Green-Scaled Snake, Armorization!
The five of them quickly took their positions.
Lin Fan and Xu Ziyan stood in the middle, Sun Wei stood three meters to Lin Fan's left, and Liu Xiaoman and Chen Menger stood on either side behind Lin Fan.
The corners of Qin Hao's mouth curled up.
"Interesting. Attack!"
He waved his left hand, and a claw shadow condensed from golden flames shot out!
Flame Claw!
The target—Lin Fan!
Lin Fan dodged sideways, and the claw shadow grazed his shoulder. A tree behind him, as thick as a bowl, snapped in two, the broken end charred black.
At the same time, Zhang Chen moved. With his arms protecting his front, he charged straight at Sun Wei!
Charge!
In his eyes, Sun Wei's positioning was practically begging to be rammed.
But just as he reached the halfway point, Liu Xiaoman raised her right hand.
A giant spider web, three meters in diameter, shot out and landed perfectly, covering Zhang Chen's entire upper body!
Caught off guard, Zhang Chen was completely ensnared. His momentum faltered, and he face-planted into the ground.
"What?!" Qin Hao's expression changed.
Zhang Chen was his tank; with him controlled, who would soak up the damage?
But he didn't have time to think, as Lin Fan was already rushing toward him.
Snake Shadow Thrust!
Lin Fan's left hand struck straight for Qin Hao's face!
Qin Hao instinctively raised his left arm, activating his Golden Flame Body Protection, and golden flames condensed into a shield in front of him.
Lin Fan's nails struck the Golden Flame shield, emitting a harsh sizzling sound, but failed to pierce through.
He withdrew his hand and retreated.
Qin Hao sneered. "Is that it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a muffled grunt came from behind him.
He turned around and was stunned.
Li Hao had somehow used Stealth to reach the spot where Lin Fan had just been standing.
But Lin Fan was no longer there. Standing in his place was Xu Ziyan.
Xu Ziyan waved his right hand, and a blast of frost sprayed onto Li Hao's face.
Li Hao, having just emerged from Stealth, was covered in ice crystals and couldn't even open his eyes.
"How did you know..."
Before he could finish, Chen Menger was already there.
A Wind Blade shot out, striking Li Hao square in the back!
Li Hao screamed and collapsed to the ground.
Qin Hao's face turned livid. He looked at Lin Fan, who was standing three meters away with a smile on his face.
"You did this on purpose?"
Lin Fan nodded. "You had Li Hao use Stealth to sneak attack me, so I just happened to lure you into a trap."
Qin Hao was speechless.
Lin Fan pointed to the ensnared Zhang Chen and the frozen Li Hao, then looked at Zhou Ting.
Zhou Ting stood there, completely at a loss. She was fast, but without support, rushing in would be suicide.
As for Wang Kai, he was still spinning in circles where he stood.
On Qin Hao's side, he was the only one left standing. On Lin Fan's side, all five were present. Although they were exhausted, their formation remained intact.
Lin Fan looked at Qin Hao, his tone lazy. "Qin Hao, your people don't seem very capable."
Qin Hao's face was livid.
"Why aren't you leaving yet?" Lin Fan raised an eyebrow, his tone laced with mockery. "Are you waiting for me to invite you for a cup of tea?"
Qin Hao's chest heaved violently. He glared fixedly at Lin Fan, his eyes practically spitting fire.
He knew that he had lost today. Not only had he failed to gain any advantage, but he had also been toyed with and humiliated by the other side.
Zhang Chen was still writhing on the ground like a worm, and Li Hao had completely lost his ability to fight.
"Fine... very fine." Qin Hao squeezed the words through his teeth. "Lin Fan, I'll remember this."
"Make sure you remember it well." Lin Fan shrugged, his Green-Scaled Snake hand hanging casually at his side. "The next time we meet, it might not be such a 'friendly' exchange."
Qin Hao didn't waste any more words and turned around abruptly. "Let's go!"
He growled at Zhou Ting and Wang Kai, who were still able to move, and headed into the depths of the forest, not even glancing at his fallen companions.
Zhou Ting hesitated for a moment, gritted her teeth, then went over to help the dazed Li Hao up.
Wang Kai scrambled to tear the spider web off Zhang Chen with brute force. The two of them hurriedly chased after Qin Hao.
Once they were far away, Xu Ziyan plopped onto the ground. "Lin Fan, you're amazing! How did you know Li Hao would use Stealth to reach your original position?"
Lin Fan put his hands back into his pockets. "I guessed."
Xu Ziyan didn't believe him.
Liu Xiaoman walked over, her gaze toward Lin Fan having completely changed. "You told me to shoot Zhang Chen because you knew he was the tank. By controlling him, Qin Hao would have no one to soak up the damage."
Lin Fan nodded.
"You had Chen Menger run toward you because you knew Li Hao would use Stealth to sneak attack, so you intentionally set a trap."
Lin Fan nodded again.
"You had Sun Wei stand in that position so Zhang Chen would think he was the target and charge over."
Lin Fan nodded once more.
"Then you timed it perfectly, having me cast the net when Zhang Chen was halfway there, so he had no chance to dodge."
Lin Fan smiled. "Something like that."
Chen Menger's eyes widened. "You thought of all this in an instant?"
Lin Fan shrugged. "What else? We couldn't win a direct confrontation, so I had to use my brain."
"Fortunately, they lacked real combat experience. If they had played it out, they could have worn us down to death."
Sun Wei nodded silently, his eyes filled with admiration.
Xu Ziyan hugged his Snow Spirit Fox, his face full of adoration. "Lin Fan, you are my god!"
In the distance, Teacher Zhou leaned against a tree, having watched the entire scene from beginning to end.
"This kid... not only can he fight, but he can also strategize. From positioning to baiting to timing, he calculated every single step perfectly. That kid Qin Hao didn't lose unjustly."