His opponent had only thrown one punch, but Bulat was already screaming 'not good' in his head.
This single blow contained far too much information.
Previously, after adapting to his opponent's rhythm, he had been able to seize opportunities to counter even while being suppressed in speed.
But now, after that black-haired young man had transformed into a state resembling a Danger Beast, he couldn't even manage to defend against the attack.
His speed had become too fast.
And his attack power had clearly increased significantly as well.
Bulat normally wore a suit of armor under Incursio.
In the previous fight, although his opponent's punches were strong, at most they just made Bulat feel a violent impact.
But with just this one blow, he already felt not only intense pain, but this strike had also shattered the armor he was wearing underneath.
Even more terrifying, after this punch hit Bulat, he felt a power from the opponent's fist that he hadn't possessed before.
A [Freezing] power.
At the same time this blow struck Bulat, he actually felt as if a cold energy had invaded his entire body, causing his movements to become even more sluggish.
This is bad.
This guy's strength has increased, and not only am I being suppressed, but every time I get hit, this freezing ability will cause my body to slow down.
And because my body is slowing down, my reaction speed will drop accordingly—if this goes on, it will be even harder for me to dodge his attacks and counter-attack.
Dammit. This guy said he'd finish me in ten seconds... he wasn't joking?
In the end, in Bulat's eyes, Aaron's current state was a massive boost to his speed and strength, with his attacks also carrying a freezing effect.
But the enhancement to these two attributes was too great. Compounded by Bulat being weakened, just three seconds into the fight, Bulat was already being beaten senseless.
Incursio *does* have the ability to evolve its armor based on the situation, but the problem was Bulat's compatibility with Incursio wasn't high enough to let him evolve stronger attributes and resistance to the cold in just a few seconds.
Bulat, unable to use any of his martial arts, could only make a very un-hot-blooded choice.
Stall for time.
After all, his opponent had suddenly burst forth with this power. Even an idiot could tell this kind of short-term burst had a time limit.
Although Bulat was being forced to take a beating, by relying on the combat experience he'd forged on the battlefield, he was still barely managing to protect his vital points.
Incursio's transformation would be canceled after the wearer took a certain amount of damage, but the problem was, with Bulat focusing entirely on defense, Aaron couldn't heavily injure him in a short time.
Blocking his opponent's attacks one after another, Bulat felt himself growing calmer and calmer.
Thinking about it carefully, although this young man had impressive combat power, it was basically all reliant on this short-term burst of physical stats to clash head-on.
Not enough experience, not enough skill. He had all this power, but could he even use fifty percent of it?
Although he was being suppressed now, Bulat knew very well that his opponent would enter a weakened state soon.
And after his opponent entered that weakened state, Bulat could even knock him out without a fight, then team up with Lubbock to take care of that white-haired girl and 'invite' them both back to the Night Raid base.
After all, in his eyes, these two were definitely talents worth shaping.
And from Aaron's words earlier, he sensed that his heart was full of integrity.
This young man was by no means an evil person, so...
"Hah... hah... hah... hah..."
After wildly attacking his opponent for nine seconds, Aaron felt that he didn't have much stamina left.
This half-Honkai Beast state... setting aside whether he had the stamina to maintain it, even if he did, he didn't want to use this state often.
If he used this state multiple times, he would definitely, gradually, turn from a human into a Honkai Beast dominated by the Honkai.
At that point, even if he was alive, having lost his own consciousness and thoughts, that kind of 'living' was no different from being dead to him.
So, it's about time to end this.
After all this setup, it's time to bring the curtain down on this farce.
"Bulat, you're trying to stall until I run out of stamina, right? I have to say, you've succeeded."
Hearing his opponent's words, the sense of alarm in Bulat's heart suddenly spiked.
Something's wrong. His stamina should be heavily depleted.
But this tone...
"You win after you take this last punch of mine. But... can you take it?"
Appearing in front of Bulat in an instant, Aaron, at a speed his opponent absolutely could not defend against, blasted his strongest punch straight at Bulat's chest.
"Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist!"
.............................