Fierce Battle (Seeking Recommendations and Collections)

It was not merely his towering stature.

This Reincarnator, nicknamed "Butcher," wore heavy Western medieval plate armor and wielded a greatsword larger than Nightingale's entire body.

The materials used for that armor and blade were not simple metals; they seemed to have been forged from congealed blood.

From the curved, hideous horns on his helmet to the mottled patterns on the greatsword, every part of him exuded a bloody stench, as if wraiths were coiled around him, serving as the very nutrients he relied upon to survive.

Surprisingly, however, Butcher's armor was damaged; a large hole in the chest revealed a layer of gray, translucent skin, within which one could see gears turning and a mechanical heart pulsing.

Xu Feng swallowed hard and transmitted his voice through the Star Mark: "Sis, is this the Butcher who dropped down from a three-star rating?"

He knew very well that when Xu Yue was at the Main God Temple, aside from her daily training, she loved to gather intelligence on other high-star powerhouses.

She didn't need detailed dossiers; as long as she had a nickname and a general idea of their enhancement path, she would firmly commit it to memory and keep a backup.

As for this Butcher, there was no need to collect information—he was simply too famous.

He had originally been a three-star Reincarnator before falling to one-star.

Bad news travels fast, and such a demotion immediately attracted countless eyes, all eager to gossip about the reason.

Yet, among the one-stars, few dared to provoke this guy.

After all, he had once been a three-star powerhouse; a starving camel is still bigger than a horse, and who could be certain what methods he might have if pushed to his limit?

Now, they had to face that very unknown.

And Butcher was not their only enemy.

His massive frame was so conspicuous that the presence of the two Reincarnators behind him was greatly diminished.

But they could not be ignored.

To Butcher's left stood a lean man with plain, unremarkable features, dressed in a Taoist robe and straw sandals.

Seeing Xu Yue look over, he performed a Taoist salute and uttered two words: "Taoist."

Xu Yue had never heard of this person's reputation, but she guessed that the talismans in the hidden passage had been placed by him, and her vigilance deepened.

Because this nickname was far too ordinary.

Most Reincarnators were arrogant; they wanted their nicknames to sound dashing and imposing.

Yet this man chose the simple title of "Taoist," which truly possessed a bit of the Taoist temperament—the highest good being like water, dwelling in low places without contention.

Behind Butcher to the right was a woman standing far back, seemingly disgusted by the bloody stench clinging to him.

She made no attempt to blend into the ancient setting, sporting a trendy, wavy perm. Relying on her Reincarnator physique, she wore a tank top and hot pants in the middle of winter, revealing long, slender legs. As she walked, the burden on her chest heaved noticeably, causing Nightingale to curl his lip in silent disdain.

Seeing the Taoist introduce himself, she waved her hand with a smile: "I'm Xia Hui, hello everyone!"

This was less of a nickname and more like the last two characters of a name, providing just as little information.

To a certain extent, nicknames often exposed a Reincarnator's path of enhancement.

Thus, some were kept vague, while others were intentionally misleading.

In terms of numbers, the opposition was one person short, but Butcher's overwhelming aura left Xu Yue and her team unable to relax for even a second.

Clearly, Butcher had grown impatient with these pleasantries; he stomped forward, his greatsword slashing directly toward Xu Feng, who stood at the front.

"Well come!"

Battle intent flared in Xu Feng's eyes. His lithe body sprang up, and he threw a punch straight out, showing not a shred of fear despite the opponent's overwhelming physical advantage.

He certainly had the capital for it; at this moment, his bones and muscles hummed in unison, the sound like muffled thunder and a tiger's roar. After his punch tore through the air, he followed up with a sweeping kick, fast as lightning and swift as a thunderbolt.

However, even though Xu Feng's fist force was sharp as a blade and struck the armor with a rhythmic clatter, Butcher maintained his forward momentum. The greatsword slashed through the fist force, then through the sweeping kick, before transitioning into a cleave that struck straight down.

In the blink of an eye, Xu Feng crossed his fists to block, but upon the clash of arms, he was sent flying, slamming into the wall.

Yet, he sprang back like a tiger leaping through a mountain ravine, his fists and feet lashing out once more.

This pounce carried the most primitive and pure essence of predatory competition, and with a bang, it landed solidly against Butcher's ribs.

Butcher's three-meter-tall frame swayed, unable to fully withstand the impact, but the greatsword in his hand whistled as he forcibly adjusted his center of gravity mid-attack, slashing down toward Xu Feng.

Xu Feng had no choice but to dodge; when he could dodge no further, he blocked again, only to be shaken back.

As he retreated, Xu Yue and the others fell back, and Butcher immediately pressed the advantage with long strides.

"Damn, this guy is strong!"

Ever since he began walking the path of the [Yang God] martial arts, this was the first time Xu Feng had been suppressed so miserably in a head-on confrontation.

It wasn't just the armor and weapon; it was a total, comprehensive suppression.

Butcher was already oppressive just standing there, but when he actually moved, the speed of his attacks exceeded everyone's expectations.

Xu Feng possessed great combat intelligence; weighing the enemy against himself, he immediately made a judgment: "This guy's strength definitely hasn't dropped to one-star; he's at least at the two-star level!"

The three basic attributes for Eastern Reincarnators were Essence, Qi, and Spirit, while for Western Reincarnators, they were Strength, Constitution, and Intelligence—the correspondences were the same, just translated differently.

Among them, Essence and Strength were the most important standards for measuring melee ability.

Xu Feng practiced the Ox Demon Great Strength Fist and the Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist; once mastered, he would possess the strength of nine oxen and two tigers. Not only would he be infinitely strong, but his movements would be subtle and precise, capable of being retracted or released at will, allowing him to reach the Innate Realm of the [Yang God].

This inheritance was enough to make most one-star Reincarnators green with envy, granting an absolute advantage in close-quarters combat.

Yet now, in just a single exchange, Butcher's basic attacks, combos, and cleaves had completely crushed Xu Feng!

Fortunately, he was not fighting alone.

Seeing Butcher press forward with long strides, Xu Yue and Nightingale struck simultaneously; the two women, who had previously been at odds, displayed remarkable synergy in this moment.

The former raised her hands, swirling ice and snow climbing up Butcher's left leg;

The latter pointed her magic wand, and shadows whistled, rapidly coiling around Butcher's right leg.

However, behind Butcher, the Taoist pressed two fingers together and flicked them, sending two yellow talismans marked with cinnabar flying to stick onto Butcher's legs.

Sizzle!

The two women's magical restraints were ignited as if they were physical objects, dissipating into smoke.

Their gazes sharpened, and just as they prepared to increase their output, the Taoist flicked two slender, pitch-black nails from his hand, aiming them at the space between the women's brows.

These were not the hidden weapons of martial artists, but rather magical artifacts; the heads of the nails were engraved with the character for "Slaughter," carrying a bone-chilling cold.

The nails tore through the air, and although the ambient temperature did not drop, Xu Yue and Nightingale felt a sensation of their souls freezing spread through their bodies.

Xu Yue was an expert in ice manipulation, yet she couldn't help but shiver, forced to put her full effort into erecting an ice barrier to wear down the nails' momentum inch by inch, while simultaneously identifying the enemy's foundation: "The Taoist is likely using an inheritance from the [Mr. Vampire] world, Wu Que!"

Wu Que had been prepared; his figure flickered as he charged toward Butcher.

While Butcher attacked the newly lunging Xu Feng, he still had the energy to slash a sword toward Wu Que.

However, Wu Que's body was like a phantom, swift as a white horse passing a crevice; with extremely agile footwork, he dodged the greatsword and suddenly closed in on the Taoist, striking down with his fan.

The Taoist pulled a talisman sword—two fingers wide and three and a half feet long—from behind his back, meeting Wu Que's folding fan.

With a bang, the Taoist's body shuddered, his face turned pale, and he retreated.

When it came to close-quarters combat, the Taoist was naturally no match for Wu Que, but at this moment, Xia Hui made her move.

This urbanite had been flickering her gaze, observing something unknown, and only now did she press her hands to her waist.

In an instant, a pair of gorgeously styled dual pistols appeared, aiming at Wu Que, and she fired two shots in rapid succession.

Wu Que had been on guard, shifting his position a step early to continue his fierce assault on the Taoist.

His body was like a ghost, and the bullets missed repeatedly, posing no threat at all.

But soon, Wu Que's brows furrowed.

Because the bullets that missed hit the ground and walls, ricocheting to form stray shots that were actually capable of launching accurate secondary attacks against him, increasing the difficulty of dodging more than twofold.

What made Wu Que even more uncomfortable was that the trajectories of those stray shots were becoming increasingly bizarre, sometimes appearing as if they knew his pathing, raining down upon him.

In just a few breaths, he went from threatening the Taoist to dodging repeatedly, struggling just to protect himself.

This woman's marksmanship was actually this formidable!

The battle fell into a stalemate; Nightingale tapped her wand repeatedly, using various spells to restrict Butcher's movements, while Xu Feng, with her assistance, barely managed to parry the storm-like onslaught. Meanwhile, Xu Yue blocked the Soul-Slaughtering Nails, her eyes scanning the surroundings, a strange light flickering in her pupils.

She was wearing contact lenses that served to observe energy, and now, targeting Xia Hui, she suddenly shouted: "That's not marksmanship, it's a superpower—the luck-based ability from [Deadpool]. You can't dodge the bullets because her luck is too good! Nightingale, use the Portkey for a random teleportation; I want to see just how far her good luck can protect her!"

(Reincarnator [Taoist] provided by book friend "Baifei Shusheng 9527".)

(Reincarnator [Xia Hui] provided by book friend "Xin Nimei".)