At this moment, the knight's skin gleamed with an eerie metallic sheen in berserk mode, making him appear like a moving bronze statue under the moonlight. Han Feng's nano-vibranium blade once again slashed across the knight's neck, leaving only a fleeting white mark, failing to even break the skin.
With a crisp "ding," a few sparks flew from the point where the blade touched the skin.
"I told you, it's a waste of time." The knight's voice became low and hoarse, like two rusty pieces of iron rubbing against each other. He blocked Han Feng's attack with his right arm, and his left claw grabbed at Han Feng's shoulder at an incredible angle, the nails of his five fingers had grown into sharp black bone spurs.
Han Feng's abdominal muscles tensed instantly, his body contorting in mid-air in a manner defying human biomechanics. Bone spurs grazed his combat uniform, whipping up a few tattered pieces of clothing. However, before he could adjust his posture, the knight's right leg swept down like a steel whip, slamming heavily into his back.
\"Bang!\"
Han Feng felt as if he had been hit by a speeding truck, his entire body flying sideways, crashing into a concrete pillar on the construction site. Shattered concrete fragments rained down, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, tracing a gruesome arc through the dusty air.
"Cough cough..." Han Feng knelt on one knee, using the broken half of his sword to support his body as he slowly stood up. His vision was blurred with pain, but the killing intent in his eyes grew even more intense. His spine felt as if it had been branded by a red-hot iron rod, and every breath was accompanied by sharp, stabbing pain between his ribs.
The knight stood still, not giving chase, his eyes narrowed slightly beneath his helmet. He had expected that kick to break Han Feng's spine into three pieces, but he hadn't expected the other man to be able to stand up. This human's physical strength had exceeded the normal range.
"That's interesting." The knight cracked his neck, making a "crackling" sound. "Looks like you'll let me play a little longer."
Han Feng spat out the blood and foam in his mouth, his brain racing. His "Weakness Analysis" skill had scanned the knight seventeen times, each time returning a blurry image, as if something was shielding all the fatal flaws in this berserk form. The "Analysis Failed" message flashing on the system interface seemed to mock his powerlessness.
"I should have leveled that damn skill to the maximum level..." Han Feng cursed inwardly.
The knight charged again, so fast that he left a blur on the retina. Han Feng barely managed to sidestep, his broken sword blocking, but he was struck on the blade by a punch. The remaining half of the nano-vibranium sword finally succumbed to the pressure, shattering completely with a mournful cry, its fragments scattering everywhere.
A sharp shard grazed Han Feng's cheek, drawing a line of blood. He didn't have time to wipe it away; he rolled to avoid the knight's follow-up knee strike. The ground where he had been standing was slammed open by the knight's knee, creating a crater half a meter in diameter, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading outwards.
Han Feng's temples throbbed; the mental exhaustion caused by overuse of his skills was beginning to show. His movements were at least twice as slow as they had been initially, while the knight was like a perpetual motion machine, his attack rhythm becoming faster and faster, his power increasing.
"Zero! Are you fucking dead?! If you don't show up soon, I'm really going to die here!" Han Feng roared from the depths of his consciousness.
"Ding! Host's vital signs have dropped to the warning level." The system's voice finally sounded. "It is recommended that you check your system space inventory. Don't tell me you never remembered you had system space."
"Uh...it seems there really is such a thing." Han Feng felt a little embarrassed. "Zero, how do you open this system space?"
"You can shout 'Open Sesame,' it's not using your mind anyway."
Han Feng, perhaps surprised by his own stupidity, quickly dodged the knight's sweeping attack with a backflip and used the opportunity to scan the system space with his consciousness. Two vials of potions in the corner immediately caught his attention: one glowed with an emerald-green light, while the other was a deep blood red.
"Life Potion: Removes any endangered state from any organism, gradually restoring its vitality."
"Constitution Enhancement Potion: Permanently improves the host's physical fitness level, with no side effects."
"What's the use of this?! What I need right now is something that can kill this guy!" Han Feng roared inwardly, while ducking to dodge the knight's claw attack, but his left arm was still slashed with three deep, bone-revealing wounds. "Could you provide weapons or something?"
"Foolish!" Zero suddenly switched to a tone of exasperation. "Didn't I tell you before? Physical fitness and combat skills are multiplicative! Your fighting skills have reached level 6, but your physical fitness is only level 4. That's the fundamental reason why you can't beat him!"
The knight's fist grazed Han Feng's temple, the resulting air pressure causing a sharp pain in his eardrums. Han Feng suddenly remembered that the system had indeed mentioned this setting before: when skills and physique improve simultaneously, combat power increases exponentially rather than simply by adding them together.
"So if I drink the constitution-enhancing potion..."
"Your actual combat strength can at least triple!" the system interrupted his thoughts. "Stop dawdling, or you won't even have a chance to take your medicine!"
Han Feng gritted his teeth, and after another clumsy roll to dodge, he swiftly pulled out the bottle of red physique potion from his spatial storage. The blood-red potion instantly appeared in his palm. He pushed open the stopper with his thumb, about to tilt his head back and gulp it down.
"Han Feng, watch out!"
Liu Mengran's voice came from not far away, filled with unprecedented terror.
The knight's attack suddenly shifted. The claws that were initially aimed at Han Feng changed direction mid-attack, and five bone spikes detached from his fingers, shooting like bullets towards the source of the sound. Han Feng's pupils contracted sharply. In a fraction of a second, he made his choice: he forwent the opportunity to take the potion, and with all his remaining strength, he lunged towards Liu Mengran.
"Puff puff puff—"
The sound of three bone spurs piercing Han Feng's back was dull and cruel. He spread his arms to shield Liu Mengran, like a last human shield. Blood gushed from the three penetrating wounds, quickly soaking through his combat uniform.
"Han Feng!" Liu Mengran's scream echoed in the night sky.
The knight approached slowly, his metal boots screeching painfully on the gravel. "A foolish choice," he said, looking down at Han Feng, who was kneeling on the ground. "Giving up your last chance for a woman?"
Han Feng's vision began to darken, but a strange smile curled at the corner of his mouth. His blood-stained right hand had somehow crushed the bottle of physique potion, glass shards deeply embedded in his palm, the potion mixed with blood seeping into the wound.
"No..." Han Feng struggled to lift his head, the light in his eyes not only not dimming, but growing even brighter, "This is the best... opportunity..."
The knight suddenly felt a strange pang of fear and instinctively took a half-step back. He saw that Han Feng's wounds were healing at a visible speed, the muscle fibers writhing and connecting like living things. Even more terrifying, a faint mist of blood began to rise around the dying human.
\"roar--!\"
Han Feng threw his head back and let out a roar that was unlike anything in human form, the sound shattering all the glass around him. When he lowered his head again, his eyes had turned pure gold, his vertical pupils contracting like those of a cold-blooded animal.
For the first time, the knight felt fear.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com