371: Chapter 371, Paragraph 2

Wei Ziqing turned his head and looked at the several ordinary people huddled together by the base of the wall—there were elderly people, and a young mother holding a child, all hiding behind trash cans and discarded furniture, their faces pale and their bodies trembling.

He raised his hand and waved it dismissively.

"Don't worry," he said, his voice coming from within that black armor, steady and calm. "I can handle this."

Before those people could respond, he had already turned back. Gripping his spear with both hands and exerting force through his feet, he charged once again toward that massive Black Bear.

This time, it wasn't a straight line.

Halfway through his charge, he suddenly thrust the Long Spear into the ground. The shaft bent as it stored energy, and he used the leverage to vault into the air—spinning mid-air, he pulled out the Long Spear and, using the momentum of the rotation, swung the spear tip down toward the Black Bear's head.

The Black Bear didn't dodge.

It raised its right arm to block head-on. The spear tip struck the thick layer of rock armor on its forearm, sending sparks flying without leaving even a deep scratch.

Simultaneously, its left paw had already swung up, swatting toward Wei Ziqing in mid-air.

Wei Ziqing did not retreat.

Releasing the spear shaft with his left hand, he grabbed the arm the Black Bear was using to block. Using that leverage to swing his body, he coiled around its forearm like a snake—spinning the Long Spear in his right hand, the tip aimed straight for the Black Bear's neck.

"Even though this armor is quite cumbersome," his voice came from above, slightly breathless but steady, "the style I follow is anything but."

The Black Bear's eyes narrowed slightly.

"The way you put it," it spoke, its voice coarse but unexpectedly carrying a hint of amusement, "makes it sound as if I'm a cumbersome fellow as well."

Before its words had finished, its entire body suddenly twisted.

Instead of dodging to the side, it fell straight backward—its massive body collapsed like a mountain, pinning Wei Ziqing, who was coiled around its arm, beneath it. The spear tip was only half an inch from its neck, yet it could no longer be pushed forward even a fraction.

Wei Ziqing was pinned to the ground, his limbs covered by that massive body, unable to move.

The Black Bear didn't stop. It rolled over, its enormous body taking Wei Ziqing with it for a full rotation. Then, it propped itself up, raised its right paw, and slammed it down fiercely once again—

Boom!

Wei Ziqing was slammed into the ground once more. The concrete beneath him shattered into pieces, and he sank half a foot deep.

That sense of shock surged up from his internal organs again. It wasn't pain, but a feeling of being violently shaken; every organ in his body was swaying, vibrating, and protesting.

Wei Ziqing propped himself up and took a breath.

Something was wrong.

He had fought those three previous Black Bears for so long, and not a single strike had produced this kind of effect. This big fellow's every blow could leave him dazed and disoriented inside his armor.

He stared at the right paw the Black Bear had just slammed down.

That paw was different.

It was also encased in a shell of mud and stone, but the texture of that shell was different—denser and more regular, as if it had been repeatedly polished. Moreover, at the center of the palm, the shell wasn't flat; it was slightly convex, as if it were covering something.

It wasn't an ordinary bear paw.

Wei Ziqing didn't have time to think. The Black Bear was already lunging at him again.

He thrust the Long Spear into the ground, gripped the shaft with both hands, and used the leverage to vault into the air. With his feet together, he kicked hard against the Black Bear's face.

The Black Bear crossed its claws to block, but the kick sent it sliding back more than two meters, plowing two deep furrows into the ground.

Wei Ziqing landed, pulled out the Long Spear, and charged again.

The two were locked in combat. The Black Bear's massive paws slammed down one after another, while Wei Ziqing's Long Spear thrust back repeatedly. His movements grew faster and faster, but the shock was also accumulating with each strike—his chest felt tight, his head was spinning, and the strength in his limbs began to falter.

This couldn't continue.

A few more hits and he would truly suffer internal injuries.

He gritted his teeth, just about to change his technique—

Suddenly, something inside his body made a soft clicking sound.

Like a lock being opened.

Wei Ziqing's eyes lit up.

Good. Now, he just needed to find an opportunity—

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

A burst of gunfire erupted from the side. Several bullets whizzed past the Black Bear's body and struck the thick Mud-stone Armor on its back, splashing up bits of debris.

It was those two Combatants.

Unnoticed, they had moved from the building to a closer position, fanning out to the left and right. Their guns were still spitting fire; although the bullets couldn't penetrate that thick armor, every shot left a shallow dent on its body, forcing it to Divided Soul to deal with them.

One of the Combatants freed a hand, pulled a silver-gray sphere from his waist, pressed the switch with his thumb, and threw it forcefully at the Black Bear's feet.

The sphere exploded.

A net woven from alloy wire covered the Black Bear's lower body, simultaneously releasing a blue-white electrical current. The electricity crackled wildly across the net, making a piercing snapping sound—but that Mud-stone Armor was too thick. The current couldn't penetrate it at all, merely swirling around the surface before dissipating.

The Black Bear glanced down at the net, raised its foot, and crushed it with a single stomp.

Then, it charged directly toward the two Combatants.

Wei Ziqing's heart tightened. With a flick of his right hand, the Long Spear flew from his grip, heading straight for the Black Bear's back—not to wound it, but to intercept it.

The Black Bear didn't even turn its head; it merely ducked slightly. The Long Spear whizzed past the back of its head and embedded itself into the ground ahead, the shaft vibrating with a hum.

But the step it had taken also halted.

At the moment it ducked, Wei Ziqing had already rushed in front of it, slamming a punch into its ribs. The Black Bear turned its head and swatted down a paw, but Wei Ziqing didn't dodge—he grabbed the descending bear paw and used the momentum to leap upward, flipping over its head.

He landed and pulled out the spear.

The two Combatants had already separated. One moved to the left, while the other rolled to the right, each finding new cover. They couldn't stand in the same place—if the Black Bear charged, at least they wouldn't both be hit. If something happened to one, the other would still have a chance.

The one on the left leaned halfway out from behind cover, held up a palm-sized Sonic Emitter, and pressed the switch. A piercing high-frequency shriek erupted from the small device. The Black Bear's ears twitched, and its eyes narrowed—it was irritated by the sound.

The one on the right took the opportunity to fire continuously, targeting its face specifically.

The Black Bear's irritation turned into rage.

It lowered its head, its two front paws gripping a millstone-sized concrete slab on the ground, and pried it up—the slab was ripped from the earth and held against its chest.

Those two humans were too annoying.

The one in armor before it couldn't be wounded even after fighting for so long. It would go smash those annoying things first.

It turned around, its back to Wei Ziqing, and exerted force with its arms, preparing to hurl the large rock toward the Combatant on the left.

Wei Ziqing saw that back.

A massive, completely exposed, and defenseless back.

He gripped the Long Spear tightly.

The feeling of that lock opening within his body became incomparably clear at this moment.

That was the moment.

He took a deep breath, and then—

Armor Burst.

Bang!

That thick layer of heavy black armor exploded from the surface of his body, countless fragments flying in all directions like a blooming black flower. The moment the fragments hit the ground, they revealed the second layer of armor within—a weave of black and white, with white as the base and black stripes covering it, the gold trim no longer visible. He appeared lighter, faster, and sharper.

The Black Bear heard the commotion behind it. It turned its head—

There was nothing.

Only an afterimage.

Then, it felt something in its chest.

It looked down.

A massive hole pierced through it from its chest to its abdomen. The edges of the hole were torn and charred, revealing broken bones and shattered organs within. Blood surged from the opening, spraying out like a waterfall.

It wanted to speak. Its mouth opened, but only bloody foam bubbled from its throat; it couldn't squeeze out a single word.

It turned its head again.

Wei Ziqing stood more than ten meters behind it, his back turned. The Long Spear was in his hand, its tip dripping with blood.

It tried to take a step, but its legs wouldn't obey. It tried to roar, but its throat wouldn't obey.

Then, its body began to tilt.

Thud.

That massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Blood spread out from beneath it, quickly soaking into the soil.

Its eyes were still open, but they no longer moved.