Chapter 32: Victory

"Main Battle Tank" Paulus arrived at the battlefield alongside "Rainstorm Blade" Lonconi.

Although Jing Bao-Kui had managed to halt the abnormal operation of Lonconi’s chip, it would still take some time for the chip to cool down and reboot. Furthermore, during the few seconds it took for Lonconi to regain consciousness, Jing Bao-Kui took the opportunity to inject a Trojan horse virus into both martial artists.

For a master of internal energy, this was practically second nature. To them, a port that had been breached once was as good as defenseless.

By the time Paulus noticed the commotion and dragged Lonconi along to the scene, the battle had already been raging for several minutes.

Seeing Xiang Shan fighting Laif to a standstill, Paulus was struck with immense shock—especially when he recognized the techniques Xiang Shan was using as "Bionic Fist."

Only those who had experienced it personally knew just how terrifying that "artless yet ingenious" staff technique truly was.

This martial artist... he had lost everything... he was nothing but a failure in the martial arts world... so why? Why was he this strong?

How could he possibly be this strong?

At that moment, a line of information appeared in his field of vision.

[Pincer him!]

This was followed by a series of movement diagrams.

When Paulus reached the edge of the battlefield, Laif also noticed him. Unlike the townspeople, Laif, though weak, was indeed a martial artist. If he saw Laif collapse, there was a small chance he might pursue him. If that happened, the secret that Laif and Jing Bao-Kui’s driver chips were about to self-destruct would be exposed.

No, if they simply fled, they might not be able to escape Xiang Shan’s tracking either.

Therefore, Laif made a split-second decision. He squeezed a sliver of processing power from his remaining resources to draft a very rudimentary tactical plan. He would force Xiang Shan into a corner, and then Paulus would appear to execute a pincer attack.

He provided no explanation. He had to appear composed. In the best-case scenario, Paulus would assume this was a "pledge of loyalty," or he might think that Laif had simply reached a stalemate and needed his help to break it.

This martial artist did not understand internal energy and could not discern the underlying truth.

If Paulus truly attacked, Laif would wait for the exact moment of his strike to launch his own—a "pincer." If that attack failed, he would turn and flee, leaving Paulus and Lonconi to hold Xiang Shan off.

Xiang Shan’s lightweight prosthetic body lacked heavy-duty offensive power; perhaps his martial arts could crush those two martial artists from the city, but he might not be able to deliver a lethal blow in such a short amount of time.

As long as he could create distance... there might be a glimmer of hope for survival!

Paulus did indeed fall into a moment of hesitation. He had only seen the battle between Laif and Xiang Shan involving external martial arts and did not understand the subtleties. More importantly, Xiang Shan had indeed lost an artificial arm and appeared to be wounded.

He hesitated.

*—At this moment, there is still a chance... a chance to return to the city... but if I strike that martial artist with a lethal blow...*

*—What if I join forces with that martial artist instead...*

As this thought crossed his mind, the phantom of Laif’s long staff appeared in Paulus’s consciousness. The shadows of the staff coming from every direction... the feeling of moving one’s limbs deep underwater...

*—It’s impossible. There is no way to defeat that brute.*

*—Besides, I must learn internal energy... and then wash away today’s humiliation!*

With that thought, he sprinted toward the designated position.

At the same time, Laif slid his hands to the center of his long staff, shaking both ends to create two symmetrical flourishes that surged toward Xiang Shan like a tidal wave.

This was his prized staff technique, "Rolling Heavenly Thunder." The vibrating staff tips shattered the sound barrier, the shockwaves carrying powerful kinetic energy pressing in from all sides. Xiang Shan’s lightweight prosthetic movements were slightly hindered, and Paulus, an augmented human who still possessed original skin, even felt blood lines rupture across his body.

This was a finishing move designed to counter being surrounded by lightweight prosthetics. The powerful shockwaves did not interfere much with heavy-duty prosthetics, but they were a massive nuisance for lighter ones. However, maintaining this move was not easy. Laif could only keep the steel staff vibrating like this for three seconds. After three seconds, his arm’s power unit would crash from overheating.

This move was originally designed for dealing with multiple opponents; it was slightly less effective against a single enemy, but Laif had been pushed into a dead end and clearly could not worry about such things anymore. The raging staff style, like a massive boulder falling from a mountain peak, bore down on Xiang Shan!

Xiang Shan lowered his body, striving to minimize his contact area with the gale. Without knowing the opponent's specific staff patterns, aerodynamic simulation was out of the question, and the turbulent airflow was currently impossible to utilize. If he were careless and his stance was blown off-balance, it would surely lead to a perilous situation. Having lost one arm, he could not fully unleash the mysteries of the Bionic Fist. This set of algorithms had not yet fully absorbed Xiang Shan’s vast martial wisdom. With his two legs and one arm shifting, Xiang Shan’s face even had to scrape against the ground to move.

Three clouds of dust exploded from the ground, as if small explosives had been buried there in advance. Mid-way through his staff technique, Laif forcefully changed his move, sliding his hands to the end of the staff and slamming it into the ground with a spear technique called "Phoenix Nods Three Times."

Xiang Shan only managed to brace himself with his arm, raising his body slightly to avoid the lethal strike.

At that moment, Paulus stepped forward and threw a punch.

It was the "See Heaven and Earth" move of the Mecha Steel Fist!

He had practiced this punch for over ten years; its angle, force, and timing were all handled with extreme precision. Laif inwardly marveled.

Xiang Shan had not known Paulus before and did not know he was hired by the town mayor; he merely assumed this guy was also an enemy reinforcement and had been on guard from the start. His left leg flicked out and retracted with lightning speed, tapping against the ground to pivot his entire body ninety degrees in mid-air. Then, his right leg hooked onto the side of the steel fist.

For some reason, he felt that this style of fist-fighting... was extremely familiar to him, even more so than the Bionic Fist, staff techniques, spear techniques, or sword techniques...

*—The next move must be...*

The left arm that had been guarding his head and face suddenly shot out. A double punch.

It was "See All Living Things!"

At the same time, Laif delivered a powerful spear strike from the other side, the "S31-Bent Spear." The arc created by the vibrating steel staff was like a poisonous snake leaping from the ground to bite Xiang Shan.

It was a life-or-death moment.

But Xiang Shan seemed very accustomed to such situations. His right leg hooked Paulus’s fist, and his remaining arm brushed against Paulus’s left fist. The one-ton punch scraped his arm down fiercely. However, Xiang Shan used that force to swing slightly in the air while his re-energized left leg kicked out at the base of the long spear.

Paulus felt his right hand sink, his whole body tipping forward.

Laif’s staff veered off by half a fraction, ultimately grazing Xiang Shan’s chest and tearing away a piece of metal.

Xiang Shan performed a final twist with his right leg, changing the hook into a kick, breaking free from Paulus, and landing back on the ground.

Paulus stepped forward with his left foot, barely managing to steady himself. He knew he had missed his chance, and without any sense of false hope, he threw his fists according to the original sequence.

But the fists met empty air.

Xiang Shan did not stand up as quickly as he expected, nor did he remain prone. He rested on his back, one leg joint folded behind him and the other folded in front.

If a natural human were to perform such a movement, at least one knee would be shattered. But the "knee joint," a design filled with evolutionary flaws, did not exist on a cyborg.

While using the force of Laif’s staff to press down on Paulus’s punch, Xiang Shan had already judged that Paulus’s center of gravity was too high and too far outward. His torso was light, meaning either his level of modification was low, or he was still using original parts.

His next move, with his fists hunting for Xiang Shan’s figure, would inevitably pull his center of gravity forward.

In that instant, the gap between Paulus’s neck and fists and Xiang Shan’s leg formed a straight line.

Xiang Shan released power from both legs in two different directions. The two forces eventually merged into one, and along that invisible straight line, the singular force erupted.

Fluid sprayed. A metal skull, its contents already spilled, flew high into the air.

Flying up with the skull was a drive shaft. Laif had discarded his famous weapon. He didn't even have time to retract the energy of his spear strike. With that, he took the longest strides he could, turning to flee the scene.

Xiang Shan hooked his leg, and his body vaulted onto Paulus’s shoulder. Laif was running too fast; he might...

*Boom!* Another house collapsed. A heavy truck barreled toward them.

It was Yulia. She didn't have much affection for Xiang Shan, but she understood that this brute had once shown malice toward Youji. If this guy were allowed to escape, he might threaten the safety of her son.

She had already lost one wheel. Running it forcibly made it unstable. Fortunately, Laif, in his haste to get away from Xiang Shan, was running in a straight line—he knew Xiang Shan wasn't equipped with thermal weapons.

Industrial prosthetics were not inferior to martial arts prosthetics in terms of power; rather, industrial prosthetics were not designed with considerations for agility, center of gravity, or precision. In terms of pure output, industrial prosthetics even surpassed martial arts prosthetics of the same price point.

As for judging the "straight line," that was something one could do purely by instinct.

Yulia lost control the moment she started. She crashed sideways, slamming into Laif with the truck's body. The truck and the martial artist spun wildly, eventually leveling three houses.

Yulia fainted once more. Laif swung his fist in a rage, knocking the truck off his body. With one grab, he ripped the truck's chassis apart. Yulia’s biological brain was only an arm’s length away.

But the next second, a shadow descended from the sky, a foot kicking through his face. Laif was not yet dead. He straightened his body and swung his hand to grab, wanting to catch this enemy and perish together. But when he exerted force, Xiang Shan had already slid to the side of his body, giving him a push along that momentum.

Laif’s balance system automatically steadied his feet.

Then, Xiang Shan gave a second push.

"Ahhhhh!" Laif let out the final scream of his life. His CPU was already near the point of burning out. At this moment, his hands could no longer follow any form. But in that instant, Xiang Shan suddenly jumped onto his hand, stomped with all his might, and leaped high into the air.

Laif lost his balance and crashed to the ground. Xiang Shan did not land on the spot.

Following this was a roar.

Jing Bao-Kui let out a scream.