Fierce Battle (Please Recommend and Bookmark)

Not only was he tall.

This Reincarnator, nicknamed Butcher, wore Western medieval plate armor and carried a greatsword larger than Nightingale herself.

The armor and greatsword weren't made of ordinary metal. They looked as if they'd been forged from blood.

From the twisted, wicked horns of his helmet to the mottled patterns on his blade, every part of him exuded a bloody aura, as if haunted by vengeful spirits—or drawing sustenance from them.

What was surprising, though, was that Butcher's armor was damaged. A gaping hole had been torn in his chest, revealing a layer of grayish-white, translucent skin. Inside, gears turned around a throbbing mechanical heart.

Xu Feng swallowed and sent a message through the Star Mark. "Sis, is that Butcher—the one who dropped from three-star rank?"

He knew that back at the Main God Temple, aside from her daily training, Xu Yue loved asking around about the other high-ranking Reincarnators.

She didn't need detailed intelligence. Just their nicknames and general power paths were enough for her to memorize, organize, and keep on file.

There was no need to look up Butcher. He was simply too famous.

He'd once been a three-star Reincarnator, but had later fallen to one-star.

Good news didn't travel far, but bad news spread a thousand miles. A demotion like that immediately drew countless eyes, all eager to gossip about the reason.

Even so, few among the one-stars dared to provoke him.

After all, he'd once been a three-star powerhouse. A camel, even dead, was bigger than a horse. Who could say what tricks he had up his sleeve if pushed to the limit?

Now they had to face that unknown.

And Butcher wasn't their only enemy.

His enormous frame was so conspicuous that it made the other two Reincarnators behind him fade into the background.

But they couldn't be ignored.

To Butcher's left stood a thin man with an unremarkable face, dressed in a Taoist robe and straw sandals.

When he saw Xu Yue looking over, he cupped his hands in greeting and said two words: "Taoist."

Xu Yue had never heard of him, but guessed that he'd been the one to lay the talismans in the hidden passage earlier. Her wariness grew.

The nickname was far too ordinary.

Most Reincarnators were proud and wanted nicknames that sounded bold and impressive.

Yet this man had chosen the simple name Taoist. He seemed to have the Taoist virtues of water—benefiting all things while contending with none.

Behind Butcher's right hand stood a woman, keeping her distance as if she couldn't stand the stench of blood coming off him.

She made no effort to fit in with the ancient setting. Her hair was styled in big, tousled waves, and thanks to her Reincarnator physique, she wore a tank top and hot pants in the middle of winter. Her long legs were on full display, while the weight on her chest bounced conspicuously as she walked. Nightingale watched her and curled her lip.

After the Taoist introduced himself, the woman smiled and waved too. "My name's Xia Hui. Nice to meet you!"

It sounded less like a nickname and more like the last two characters of her real name. It revealed just as little.

A nickname, to some extent, exposed a Reincarnator's path of enhancement.

That was why some chose vague ones, while others deliberately used misleading names.

The enemy had one fewer person, but Butcher's overwhelming presence kept Xu Yue and the others from relaxing for even a moment.

Clearly, Butcher had already grown impatient with the pleasantries. He took a sudden step forward and swung his greatsword at Xu Feng, who stood at the front.

"Bring it on!"

Fighting spirit flashed in Xu Feng's eyes. His lithe body sprang up, and he drove a fist straight at Butcher, utterly undaunted by his opponent's overwhelming physique.

He had good reason to be confident. The bones and sinews throughout his body rang out like muffled thunder and roaring tigers. His fist tore through the air, followed by a sweeping kick, fast as lightning and fierce as thunder.

Xu Feng's punches could cut like blades across the face, and they hammered against the armor from a distance with sharp cracks. But Butcher didn't break his stride. His greatsword cleaved through the force of the punch, then the sweeping kick, before coming down in a mighty slash.

In the blink of an eye, Xu Feng crossed both arms to block at close range. The impact sent him flying into the wall.

But he bounced back at once, pouncing like a tiger leaping through a mountain ravine, fists and feet striking again.

His attack carried the most primal, purest instinct of the hunt. With a bang, he landed a solid blow beneath Butcher's ribs.

Butcher's three-meter-tall bulk swayed. Even he couldn't withstand the force of the impact. Yet his greatsword howled as he forcibly shifted his weight without dropping his offensive stance, bringing it down on Xu Feng.

Xu Feng could only dodge. When there was nowhere left to go, he blocked again and was sent flying once more.

As he fell back, Xu Yue and the other two retreated. Butcher immediately pressed forward with long strides.

"Damn, this guy's strong!"

Ever since he'd started down the martial path of the Yang God world, Xu Feng had never been so thoroughly suppressed in a face-to-face fight.

It wasn't just his armor and weapon. Butcher overwhelmed him in every way.

Just standing there, Butcher was oppressive enough. But once he truly moved, the speed of his attacks surpassed everyone's expectations.

Xu Feng had excellent combat instincts. He quickly assessed their strengths and weaknesses and made a judgment. "There's no way his strength dropped to one-star. He's at least two-star level!"

The three basic attributes for Eastern Reincarnators were essence, energy, and spirit, while for Western Reincarnators they were strength, constitution, and intelligence. The terms differed, but the attributes matched.

Of these, essence and strength were the most important measures of close-combat ability.

After mastering the Ox Demon Great Strength Fist and Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist, Xu Feng would possess the strength of nine oxen and two tigers. He would have not only boundless strength, but also fine control and perfect command over every movement—enough to reach the innate realm in the Yang God world.

That inheritance was enough to make most one-star Reincarnators green with envy, and it gave him an absolute advantage in close combat.

Yet in just a few exchanges, Butcher had crushed him with a series of level slashes and a mighty follow-up strike!

Fortunately, Xu Feng wasn't fighting alone.

As Butcher pressed forward, Xu Yue and Nightingale attacked at the same time. The two women, who had been at odds earlier, coordinated with remarkable precision.

Xu Yue raised both hands, and swirling ice climbed up Butcher's left leg.

Nightingale pointed her magic staff. Shadows howled as they rapidly coiled around Butcher's right leg.

But behind Butcher, the Taoist brought two fingers together and twisted his hand. Two yellow talisman papers marked with cinnabar flew out and stuck to Butcher's legs.

With a sharp hiss, the women's magical restraints, as solid as real objects, caught fire and dissolved into smoke.

Their eyes sharpened. They were just about to increase their efforts when the Taoist sent two slender black nails flying toward their foreheads.

They weren't hidden weapons used by martial artists, but magical artifacts. The character "slaughter" was engraved on each nail's head, and they carried a bone-chilling cold.

The nails tore through the air. The temperature around them hadn't dropped, yet Xu Yue and Nightingale, their targets, felt a chill spreading through their bodies, as if their souls were freezing.

Xu Yue was an expert in ice, but even she shivered. She had to summon an Ice Block with all her strength, gradually wearing down the nails' momentum. At the same time, she identified their enemy's origins. "The Taoist may have inherited his powers from the Mr. Vampire world. Wu Que!"

Wu Que had been ready. His figure blurred, and he rushed toward Butcher.

Butcher attacked the charging Xu Feng while still having enough strength to swing his sword at Wu Que.

But Wu Que moved like a phantom, swift as a white colt flashing past a gap in the wall. With astonishing agility, he dodged the greatsword and suddenly closed in on the Taoist, striking with his fan.

The Taoist reached behind his back and drew a talisman sword, its blade two fingers wide and three and a half feet long. He raised it to meet Wu Que's folding fan.

With a bang, the Taoist's body shuddered. His face paled as he retreated.

The Taoist was no match for Wu Que in close combat, but just then, Xia Hui made her move.

The city girl's eyes had been shifting as if she were watching something. Now, at last, she pressed both hands to her waist.

In an instant, a pair of ornate pistols appeared. She aimed at Wu Que and fired twice in quick succession.

Wu Que had been on guard. He shifted positions a moment earlier and continued pressing his attack on the Taoist.

He moved like a ghost, and the bullets repeatedly missed, posing no threat at all.

But soon, Wu Que's brow furrowed.

The bullets that missed him ricocheted off the ground and walls. Those stray rounds still managed to target him accurately for a second attack, making it several times harder to dodge.

Even worse, their trajectories grew stranger and stranger. Sometimes they seemed to know exactly where he was going to move, raining down on him from every direction.

In just a few breaths, he'd gone from threatening the Taoist to dodging again and again, barely able to protect himself.

This woman's marksmanship was incredible!

The battle reached a stalemate. Nightingale tapped her magic staff, casting all manner of spells to restrict Butcher's movements. With her help, Xu Feng could just barely hold off his opponent's storm of attacks, while Xu Yue blocked the Soul-Slaughtering Nails and kept watch on everything around her, a strange glint flickering in her pupils.

She wore contact lenses that let her observe energy. Now, as she studied Xia Hui, she suddenly shouted, "That's not marksmanship. It's an ability from Deadpool—the luck ability! You can't dodge the bullets because she's too lucky! Nightingale, use the key to the door and teleport us somewhere at random. I want to see just how far her luck can protect her!"

(The Reincarnator [Taoist] was provided by reader "Bai Fei Shu Sheng 9527.")

(The Reincarnator [Xia Hui] was provided by reader "Xin Ni Mei.")