Chapter 27: Are You Faster with Your Strikes, or Am I Quicker with My Counters!?
After advancing his life equipment, Zhou Yan felt a surge of power within him and smiled.
“Now, I fear I no longer need to rely on a home run to easily slay those Ice Blade fiends…”
He gripped his bat tightly and passed once more through the small square with the Stone of Caution, lifting his gaze toward the public hall.
Remaining vigilant, Zhou Yan stepped inside, one cautious stride after another.
The spacious and well-lit hall was scattered with overturned chairs. Signs reading “Avoid” and “Silence” stood on either side. At its center sat a grand wooden table and chair; the rear wall was adorned with an image of the sea and sunrise, above which hung a plaque: “The Mirror Hangs High.”
It bore a striking resemblance to the ancient magistrate halls Zhou Yan had visited on Earth—eight or nine parts identical.
Yet now, the hall was empty.
It seemed the three Ice Blade fiends who had attacked him earlier were the “guardians” stationed here—drawn out by the commotion he caused outside, lured ahead of time.
With this realization, Zhou Yan wasted no further time, quickening his steps toward the rear of the hall.
He soon passed through a back door and entered a new small courtyard.
He halted.
Standing in place, his left eye calmly fixed forward.
In his field of vision, a figure stood with its back to Zhou Yan, hands clasped behind, seemingly unaffected by the earlier sounds of fierce battle outside.
Snow fell wildly from the heavens, casting a heavy silence over the scene.
“Sigh…”
The figure did not turn, but let out a long sigh.
“It shouldn’t be like this… There must be something… wrong…”
His voice was hoarse, as if he spoke while holding back a mouthful of thick phlegm.
“Wrong… It must be wrong…”
“‘Lotus’… has already bloomed!”
“My Spring City… my grand ambitions…”
His voice grew increasingly deranged.
Suddenly, the man spun around and charged at Zhou Yan with astonishing speed.
Zhou Yan was able to see him clearly.
His skin was deathly pale, beard and hair bristling, eyes bleeding, face twisted and fanged, bearing the furious visage of a demon monkey.
As he charged, his official robe flared open, revealing the body beneath.
From behind, it had seemed ordinary, but from the front, its form was fully revealed.
The muscular physique was covered by a layer of blue-white translucent crystals, emanating a chill.
It was an ice armor!
In a blink, the ice-clad city lord was upon Zhou Yan, his enormous, ice-encrusted fists raised like mighty hammers, crashing down.
Zhou Yan sprang aside, barely dodging the heavy blow.
Almost simultaneously, he raised his metal bat and brought it down with brutal force.
“Clang!”
A piercing sound rang out as the bat struck the demon’s arm. The blow carried superhuman strength—any ordinary demon, even the Ice Blade fiends, would have been crippled.
But this demon merely roared.
“Wrong!”
He suddenly heaved his battered right arm upward.
A surge of monstrous force sent Zhou Yan, who weighed over a hundred pounds, flying to the side.
Indeed, though Zhou Yan’s strength was formidable after his transformation, his weight hadn’t increased much; a blow or lift from such brute force could still send him soaring.
He twisted in midair, attempting to adjust his posture.
The demon advanced again: “Where did this wretch come from… for me…”
As it roared, it leapt high, both hands raised, intent on smashing Zhou Yan, who had yet to land.
“Kneel!”
With no time to dodge, Zhou Yan’s bat erupted in fierce scarlet light.
Almost horizontal in midair, he swung upward with all his might.
Ultimate Home Run!
“Boom!!”
The demon’s icy fists collided with the blazing bat.
“Crack!”
With a violent crash, Zhou Yan plummeted to the ground. The force shattered the stone beneath him into a spiderweb of cracks.
Blood sprayed from his mouth; pain twisted his features.
Yet the terrifying demon fared even worse!
The ice armor covering its fists, after all, was merely “ice,” not “crystal” or “diamond.” Under Zhou Yan’s strongest attack, the ice shattered and sprayed apart, unable to fully absorb the force; the shock was transmitted deeper.
Its pale fists were crushed and bleeding, lifted high.
The demon howled in agony, blood tears streaming from its eyes.
But it only grew more frenzied, smashing its ruined fists down again!
“Boom!”
Its fists blasted the stone floor, sending debris flying, but Zhou Yan’s form was absent.
The demon looked up and saw Zhou Yan climbing to his feet several meters away.
Zhou Yan had seized the moment his hands were struck, using both legs and the “Owl Stance” technique, combined with his powerful physique, to slide out of range.
Man and demon faced off.
Zhou Yan’s gaze was fierce, pain mixed with a hint of savagery.
He stared at the demon’s blood-soaked fists.
He quickly noticed that the ice armor, previously shattered, was already regenerating.
He glanced at his life equipment’s durability.
[Durability: 144/250]
Good grief, so much lost!
He had only used one Home Run, costing “50 durability.” That meant nearly sixty more durability had been lost in this brief exchange, all from the enemy’s attacks.
High offense, high defense, with impressive speed!
This supposed city lord demon was likely stronger than the tier-two “Soldier Demon” he encountered in the last world.
Zhou Yan felt no fear; instead, his lips curled into a wild grin.
Isn’t this the perfect material for my talent?
“Your body—I’ll take it!”
He laughed aloud, uttering a declaration whose meaning was unclear.
The demon answered with a furious roar.
In the next instant, the two collided again!
Fist and bat!
“Bang!”
The scarlet-blazing bat exploded the demon’s right fist entirely.
Blood spurted.
Both were sent flying.
“Ahhhh!”
The demon howled at the sky, clutching its ruined arm.
Zhou Yan, landing hard, sprang to his feet.
The snowstorm from above grew ever more violent.
Zhou Yan lifted his bat and pointed it at the demon.
His left eye burned bright, like a blazing fire.
“Come! Let’s see whether your ice armor lasts longer, or my life equipment recovers faster!”
Spirit, with no limit—repair my life equipment!
On his body, the battered life equipment rapidly restored itself under the overlapping effects of Spirit, Path, and rune circuits, returning to pristine condition.
In the blizzard so thick they could barely see each other,
Zhou Yan advanced toward the demon, step by step.
***