"ROAR!" A hideous wound tore open on the Mad Beastman's recoiling palm, spraying greenish-blue blood.
Feng Yin was knocked back two steps with his sword in hand. He glanced at his Armor's Durability.
[Durability: 11/15]
"It only dropped by one point. That's acceptable!" he thought. A probing clash had only cost his Armor one point of Durability, which actually settled his nerves.
In the game's setting, when a player's attack collided with an enemy's, it would negate the damage and trigger a Judgment based on their respective Strength to determine the knockback distance and stagger duration. This was the so-called "blade locking and iron striking" mechanic. However, naturally, things had changed after its Materialization into the real world.
He was indeed knocked back by the opponent's robust power, and his Armor suffered impact damage. But by the same token, how could this Mad Beastman's body of flesh and blood contend with the edge of his blade?
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Feng Yin lunged forward and delivered a heavy strike at the Mad Beastman. "Face your death!" he thought.
Having its palm slashed in the previous clash, the Mad Beastman was wary of Feng Yin's incoming Sharp Blade. Yet, even if it wanted to dodge, the 1.2-meter-long blade of the Canfeng Sword combined with Feng Yin's arm length created an attack range of nearly two meters. How could it possibly evade so easily?
The blade sliced through the air. The Mad Beastman, having miscalculated its strategy, had no choice but to raise its arm again to parry and block from the side.
SHING!
A large patch of red fur scattered into the air, accompanied by green blood.
"ROAR!" The Mad Beastman retreated frantically, howling as it clutched its forearm, from which a chunk of flesh had been sliced off.
Feng Yin pressed his advantage step by step. Tilting the tip of the descending Canfeng Sword, he followed the momentum and thrust it forward.
This time, the Mad Beastman knew full well that its physical body couldn't withstand Feng Yin's sword blade. It let out a muffled roar, suddenly leaning forward and lowering its head in a twisting motion.
CLACK!
Its massive horns, resembling thick tree branches, instantly deflected Feng Yin's thrust. Then, it planted both claws on the ground, maintaining this bent-over posture and fully transitioning from a humanoid form into a beastly stance. The giant, coiled horns spread out in front of its head, practically shielding its entire body behind them. Clearly, it possessed a certain level of intelligence, having quickly realized from their initial clash that its horns could withstand Feng Yin's weapon.
"This is trouble!" Feng Yin thought. Startled, he immediately abandoned his pursuit.
"ROAR!"
In the next fraction of a second, the Mad Beastman kicked off with all four limbs, throwing up a large cloud of dust as it barreled toward Feng Yin like a speeding pickup truck.
"I can't take this head-on," Feng Yin thought. He watched with absolute concentration, and just as his opponent was about to crash into him, he abruptly activated Stealing Step.
His steps crossed at high speed, his figure moving like a fleeting shadow. In an instant, he dashed five meters to the side. This bizarre, extreme change in direction completely caught the Mad Beastman off guard. It hurriedly tried to stop and turn around, but under the immense momentum, its feet slipped, sending it skidding into a drifting fishtail spin.
Just as it stumbled, struggling to regain its balance, Feng Yin explosively closed the distance. In the blink of an eye, the tip of the Canfeng Sword pierced into the Mad Beastman's ribs from the side!
SHLK!
With the crisp sound of a Sharp Blade piercing flesh, Feng Yin finally dealt his first effective instance of damage. He didn't pause in the slightest, violently yanking his sword out and retreating.
SPLASH!
A massive amount of green blood gushed from the Mad Beastman's wound as the sword was withdrawn.
In the very next moment, as he backed away, Feng Yin watched the maddened Beastman's counter-claw strike swipe mere inches past his chest. If he had retreated even a fraction of a second slower, he definitely would have been hit. The Mad Beastman possessed boundless strength and astonishing attack power. If it landed a solid blow, it would likely knock off over five points from his Armor's Blood Volume in a single hit. Right now, his Armor's Blood Volume was only at eleven points.
Most importantly, if he actually took a hit, the tremendous force would likely send him flying. His stance would be broken, leaving him extremely vulnerable to a follow-up attack.
But the Mad Beastman's attack had missed. At the same time, having been pierced by the sword, it was evidently severely injured. After its missed swing, it stumbled. Meanwhile, Feng Yin had already raised the Canfeng Sword high, assuming the upper stance of the Heaven, Earth, and Man stances.
He stepped forward and slashed down! The sword Light cascaded like a falling waterfall.
SHING!
Amidst the flying red fur, the Canfeng Sword cut deeply into the Mad Beastman's upper arm. Just as Feng Yin was about to pull his sword back, the Mad Beastman howled.
Driven to madness, it suddenly reached out with its other claw and grabbed the unsharpened back edge of the Canfeng Sword! Roaring, it forcefully yanked the blade upward, trying to compel Feng Yin to let go and abandon his weapon.
"Oh no..." Feng Yin thought.
Even though his heart skipped a beat, it didn't hinder his ability to respond calmly. Engaging in a contest of strength was out of the question, and abandoning his weapon would be tantamount to suicide.
"In that case—"
A sudden idea struck Feng Yin, and he executed it immediately. He leaped into the air, following the opponent's pulling force, and was promptly slung upward by the Mad Beastman, flipping upside down. The Mad Beastman gripped the front section of the blade with its left claw, while Feng Yin held the hilt with both hands.
In the next instant, suspended in mid-air, Feng Yin gripped the Canfeng Sword tightly and violently twisted and pulled. An arm cannot out-twist a thigh, and fingers cannot out-twist an arm! No matter how great the Mad Beastman's strength was, it wasn't vastly superior to the power of Feng Yin's Armor, nor could it possibly pit its grip strength against the arm strength provided by the Armor!
It was forced to release its grip.
Now was the time!
Hanging upside down in the air, Feng Yin used his momentum to gracefully flip his body over. He assumed a posture with the Canfeng Sword raised high in mid-air, the frayed cloak behind him fluttering wildly in the wind.
"This move looks a bit like the Dragon Ascending Sword..." A strange thought flashed through his mind in that split second.
The following second, as gravity pulled him down, he used the momentum to deliver a downward slash! The gray sword Light fell like a descending galaxy.
SHING!
This Slashing strike landed solidly! Feng Yin landed in a half-crouch to absorb the impact. Falling right alongside him was a thick, red-furred beastly arm!
"ROAR!"
The Mad Beastman let out its fourth howl since the battle began. The pain drove it completely insane. It immediately spun around and rampaged toward Feng Yin. However, Feng Yin calmly and rapidly shifted sideways using Stealing Step.
From the moment he used his first Stealing Step at the start of the engagement to now, three seconds had already passed. This was merely the first use under a new round of Cooling!
This was the importance of a movement skill!
Feng Yin rejoiced at his wise choice earlier, then immediately turned to pursue the Mad Beastman, which had overshot its charge.
At this moment, the Mad Beastman's right upper arm was slashed, its left arm was severed entirely, and the Canfeng Sword had pierced its ribs, injuring its internal organs. It had already completely descended into a frenzied state of a desperate death struggle. Having missed its charge, it turned back to see Feng Yin pursuing it with a Slashing strike. It immediately threw its head back in a berserk posture, slamming its massive horns heavily against Feng Yin's Canfeng Sword.
Feng Yin's reaction was incredibly fast. Before his slash could fully connect, he used a Stealing Step to retreat. He didn't plan on matching strength with the Mad Beastman, especially since the creature was now fighting desperately for its life. Furthermore, the Mad Beastman still had a burst skill it hadn't used...
Just as this thought crossed his mind, he saw the Mad Beastman suddenly throw its head back and let out a long howl, continuously pounding its chest with its fist. A bizarre, blood-red Light, flickering like flames, surfaced across its body.
Two or three seconds later, the Mad Beastman finished charging its power. It abruptly lowered its head, its eyes spewing a scarlet, misty Light. It locked its gaze on Feng Yin, assuming a sideways preparatory stance for a sprint.
"Here it comes!" Feng Yin thought. He took a few steps back and waited with absolute concentration.
It was the Mad Beastman's final burst!