370: Chapter 37 What incredible strength!

"Interesting, but still not enough."

Before Wei Ziqing's voice even faded, his entire being had already charged forward.

The black heavy armor glinted with a heavy luster under the sunlight. Each step he took on the ground smashed out a shallow pit, yet his speed was not as slow as it appeared—dragging that armor, he still moved like a starting chariot, crashing straight toward those three Black Bears.

The three Black Bears retreated half a step simultaneously.

They could see it. This thing's defense couldn't be breached. When their claws struck it, that layer of black shell didn't even leave a mark, and the rebounding force made their own claws ache. A head-on clash was not the way.

But they had brains.

The first Black Bear met him head-on, swinging both paws down toward Wei Ziqing. Wei Ziqing blocked with his spear horizontally. The moment the spear shaft held up those giant paws, the second Black Bear pounced from the side and bit down on his right arm—not trying to bite through, but to latch on, locking it tight. That massive bite force transmitted through the armor, causing Wei Ziqing's right-hand movements to slow by half a beat.

In that half-beat, the third Black Bear moved.

It didn't pounce. It turned and grabbed a discarded lamppost by the roadside with its forepaws—the pole was as thick as a bowl and three to four meters long, having stood tilted in the green belt for years, covered in rust. A dull, low growl rumbled in the Black Bear's throat as it exerted force with its arms, pulling the entire lamppost out of the soil.

Then it swung the lamppost, sweeping it horizontally toward Wei Ziqing.

Wei Ziqing caught it in his peripheral vision and instinctively leaned his body back.

The lamppost swept past his breastplate, the resulting wind stinging his face. Before he could steady himself, the second strike came—this time smashing down from above. He rolled to the side, and the lamppost slammed into where he had just been standing, gouging a shallow pit in the ground and sending concrete fragments flying.

The three Black Bears seized this opportunity and pounced simultaneously.

One crashed from the front. One tore and bit from the side. The one swinging the lamppost dropped the pole and flanked him from behind.

Wei Ziqing was surrounded in the middle.

Dragging the heavy armor, his movements were far slower than usual. Attacks he could have instinctively dodged with ease now had to be blocked with his spear shaft or endured with his body. But his eyes remained bright—a Martial Artist's instinct kept him searching for opportunities, judging the trajectory of every attack, and calculating every moment he could counterattack.

The Long Spear began to brandish in his hands.

The spear shaft swept horizontally, forcing back the Black Bear in front. The butt of the spear thrust backward, knocking away the sneak attack from behind. The spear tip lunged, forcing the one on the side to release its bite on his arm. His movements weren't fast, but every spear strike was in the correct position, and every block snapped into place the moment an attack landed.

The three Black Bears found the fight increasingly difficult.

Their claws struck him; he flew out, hit the ground, climbed back up, and continued fighting. Their teeth bit him; he responded with a backhand strike of the spear shaft to the face. Their lamppost smashed down; he stepped aside and thrust back with a spear strike.

And when those attacks landed on him—

It was they who felt the pain.

That layer of black heavy armor was too hard. Those arched domes, honeycomb supports, and corrugated reinforcement structures dispersed, absorbed, and reflected the force of every impact. When claws struck, the vibration made their own bones ache. When teeth bit down, they nearly shattered their own teeth. When the lamppost smashed against it, the shock numbed their paws, making them nearly lose their grip on the pole.

Yet the man wearing the armor didn't have a single wound from beginning to end.

The three Black Bears' breathing grew heavier. New wounds began to appear on their bodies—some sliced by the spear tip, others bruised by the spear shaft. Those wounds weren't deep, but their number was increasing, and the blood flow was accelerating. Their footwork began to falter, and their coordination started to break apart.

Wei Ziqing stood among them, holding his spear, as steady as a reef.

The spear tip slowly rose, pointing at the largest Black Bear.

It took a step back.

The other two followed suit, retreating a step.

The three Black Bears surrounded him, panting heavily, blood still seeping from their wounds. Their eyes were still fixed on him, but the look in them had changed—from the previous calmness to anger, and now—

It turned into hesitation.

The three Black Bears simultaneously let out a low growl and then began to retreat.

It wasn't a panicked rout, but a neat, organized retreat—as they withdrew, they kept their eyes on Wei Ziqing, the wariness in their gaze growing thicker.

Wei Ziqing took a step forward.

He didn't want to let them escape. These things had intelligence and organization; letting them go would only lead to greater trouble.

Upstairs, the two combatants had already set up their rifles, the crosshairs of their scopes tightly locked onto the heads of the three Black Bears. They were waiting for Wei Ziqing's signal.

Just then, a response came from the direction where the three Black Bears were growling.

That sound was heavier and deeper than the three of them combined, like muffled thunder grinding up from deep underground. The entire residential area vibrated slightly in that roar, and the glass windows upstairs hummed.

Wei Ziqing stopped and looked toward the entrance of the residential area.

A massive figure was walking in from there.

It was far larger than those three Black Bears—its shoulder height was nearly three meters, its entire body like a moving hill. That layer of Mud-Stone Composite Armor was no longer a simple coating on it, but true armor: layers of boulders and thick tree trunks were firmly bonded by some secretion, forming plate-like structures covering vital areas like the shoulders, back, and chest. Deep gray skin could be seen in the gaps, but that skin was as thick as stacked rubber tires, covered in crisscrossing old scars—some were claw marks, others were deeper gashes left by unknown things.

Its head was also much larger than the other three. It wasn't bloated, but a massive construct of true muscle and bone. Its eyes were smaller than theirs, embedded beneath heavy brow bones, narrowed almost into slits. But from those two slits, something entirely different shone through—

Not bestiality, but scrutiny.

It saw the three Black Bears running toward it, and then it raised its right paw.

Before those three Black Bears could react, the first slap had already fallen.

Smack.

The head of the one in the very front exploded on the spot, brain matter and blood splashing everywhere. The corpse lurched forward two steps before collapsing.

The other two were stunned. They stopped and turned their heads, wanting to see what had happened—the second and third slaps had already fallen one after another.

Smack. Smack.

Three corpses lay at its feet, none having even had time to let out a scream.

Wei Ziqing held his Long Spear, standing in place, watching this scene.

"...You kill your own kind?"

The massive Black Bear lowered its paw and looked down at him.

"Three useless failures," it spoke, its voice like sandpaper grinding over stone—coarse and low, but every word was crystal clear. "They couldn't even deal with you."

Wei Ziqing's eyes narrowed slightly.

"So you're very strong then?" He spun his spear, pointing the tip diagonally at the ground. "Tsk, to think you'd even kill your own partners."

The massive Black Bear didn't answer. It just looked at him, something shifting within those slit-like eyes.

"Furthermore..." Wei Ziqing said, "being able to speak, you must be from the New Federation."

The massive Black Bear nodded.

With that single nod, its entire upper body swayed with it.

"Correct," it said.

It raised its head and scanned the surroundings—the windows of the buildings, the shadows of people hiding behind curtains, the rifle muzzles set up in the distance.

"I originally heard that a new intelligent partner had been added here," it said, "and I wanted to come find them. I didn't expect to run into you."

It withdrew its gaze and fixed it back on Wei Ziqing.

"Just as well. Eliminating a human powerhouse will weaken your combat strength."

Wei Ziqing gave a small smile.

"Quite confident, aren't you?"

He said no more. Gripping the spear with both hands, he exerted force with his feet and charged straight at the massive Black Bear—his black heavy armor trailed an afterimage in the sunlight, the spear tip pointing directly at the opponent's chest.

The Black Bear didn't dodge.

It raised its right paw, swung it in a wide arc, and slapped toward him.

The speed of that slap wasn't fast, but the power it carried made the surrounding air let out a dull boom. Before Wei Ziqing's spear tip could touch its body, that slap arrived first.

Boom!

Wei Ziqing was sent flying horizontally like a cannonball by that slap, crashing straight through a brick wall behind him, sending bricks and dust exploding everywhere. His body continued to fly backward, crashing through a second wall before finally stopping.

The Long Spear plunged deep into the ground, dragging a gully over two meters long, which finally stabilized him.

Wei Ziqing knelt on one knee, head lowered, catching his breath.

The armor on his body—perfectly intact. Those arched domes, honeycomb supports, and corrugated reinforcement structures had dispersed, absorbed, and neutralized the force of that slap. His defense hadn't been breached, and there were no wounds.

But his internal organs were all vibrating.

That vibration wasn't pain, but a feeling of being violently shaken from the inside out. It was like being put in a canister and then having someone swing a sledgehammer against it. The canister didn't break, but the person inside was dazed.

He raised his head, looked at the massive figure walking toward him in the distance, and slowly stood up.

The spear tip was pulled from the ground, bringing up a clump of broken soil.