Chapter 37 Beating You Until You're Naked

Just as the adjutant was wondering how to respond, explosions rang out continuously from the outside. Baturu revealed a mouthful of white teeth and said, "I smell the scent of a master." With that, Baturu stood up, casually tore off his cumbersome military uniform, and walked outside.

"Kill them!" A roar burst from Vickrus's lips. The warriors behind him drew their long sabers and charged toward the front turrets. The Jewel Knights behind them radiated a pure white holy light, riding unicorns and waving their lances, their spiral air currents whistling sharply as they tore charging mech-suited warriors into pieces.

The base's main troops had already deployed for an offensive, leaving only these defensive fortifications to hold the line. How could they possibly withstand the onslaught of so many powerful martial artists?

Warriors pressed forward against the barrage of laser fire, their protective battle qi instantly blocking the beams that struck them. Vickrus swung his long saber, each slash unleashing a dense wave of blade qi that minced the approaching enemies into pulp, making even self-detonation impossible.

"Meteor Flame!"

Not far away, a young man in blue magic robes let out a sharp cry. The sky suddenly turned crimson, resembling burning clouds, as massive fireballs plummeted from the heavens, crashing against the energy shield outside the base.

"Hmph!"

Just as everyone was about to breach the base's defenses, a wolf's howl echoed through the air. Sturdy men rushed out from the base, their muscles suddenly swelling as thick fur sprouted over their bodies, transforming their heads into those of wolves.

"You pathetic creatures, feel the wrath of our werewolves!" Baturu roared fiercely, his figure flashing as he instantly appeared beside a warrior, his long nails tearing the man into a pile of minced meat in an instant.

"Saber-Blood Battle Qi!" Vickrus erupted with battle qi as crimson as fresh blood. With a single slash of his long saber, a blood-red blade image swept toward Baturu like a scarlet battle banner.

A ferocious grin twisted Baturu's wolf-like face as he lashed out with his tough claws. With a crisp *crack*, the long saber in Vickrus's hand snapped instantly, and Vickrus was sent flying to the side. Seeing this, Paulina's brow furrowed tightly. She let out a sharp cry, drew her long sword, and shouted, "Holy Light!"

As the Saintess of the Church of Light, her strength was naturally far superior to that of Vickrus. A pillar of holy light pierced down from the heavens, tearing open the base's defense shield and striking toward Baturu with a potent aura of purity.

Witnessing this, Baturu clawed at the sky and roared, "Soul-Loss Strike!" The holy light in the sky suddenly distorted, as if grasped by an invisible giant hand, and exploded into fragments with a deafening boom.

Not far outside the base, Zhang Xiao wielded the Heavenly Sun Sword, his body covered in layers of scales. A sweep of the golden wings on his back pushed his Heavenly Demon Phantom movement technique to its absolute limit. Wherever a flash of silver passed, surrounding mecho-warriors were sliced cleanly in half. A streak of blue light silently shot toward him from the sky; Zhang Xiao spun around, holding his sword horizontally to block the beam. Yet in that brief moment, a purple beam erupted from the ground, soaring straight into the clouds. With a thunderous explosion in the sky, accompanied by sparks and electric arcs, a colossal spaceship plunged downward, a massive breach already blown through its hull—the direct result of the Arrow of Annihilation fired by Zhou Fang.

Zhang Xiao turned back and gave a thumbs-up to Zhou Fang on the ground, expressing his admiration for the Arrow of Annihilation. This was already the eighth wave of returning legions, but under the joint efforts of Zhang Xiao and Zhou Fang, they were annihilated without a single survivor, left without even the capacity to counterattack.

Just as Zhang Xiao was about to speak, a towering surge of blood qi suddenly emanated from the base behind him, startling him. Without another word, he immediately unleashed the Heavenly Demon Phantom technique and rushed toward the base.

"Hmph, is that all the strength you have? Then you can go die," Baturu bellowed, his entire aura violently surging. A thick crimson glow erupted from his body, and a formidable pressure instantly suppressed everyone present. At that very moment, a streak of silver light crashed down from the sky.

Baturu swiftly sidestepped, but his shoulder was still grazed by the silver light. A muffled thud echoed out, and Baturu was instantly sent flying. However, after executing a mid-air flip, he landed steadily on the ground and stared at the sky with his beastly pupils.

Zhang Xiao's figure materialized not far away. Seeing that Baturu remained completely unscathed, a shock ran through Zhang Xiao's heart, and he thought to himself, *What a tough physical body.* Zhang Xiao had no idea that Baturu was an ultimate war machine manufactured by Atlantis. The materials consumed to create Baturu were astonishingly precious. Although Baturu could not use any magic, his exceptionally resilient body and razor-sharp claws meant that even a Soul Integration stage cultivator, lacking a powerful magical treasure for protection, would be no match for Baturu.

Upon seeing Zhang Xiao, a fierce and fanatical gleam flashed in Baturu's eyes. Licking his rough lips with his tongue, he sneered, "You're strong. That last hit really hurt. Come on, let me see what you're truly capable of."

Baturu shifted and vanished from the spot instantly. Zhang Xiao's pupils contracted, caught off guard by the opponent's terrifying speed. He opened his mouth and spat out the Five-Color Cloud Banner, which transformed into a colorful cloud barrier to protect his entire body.

With a muffled *bang*, Baturu's claws actually tore a massive opening through the five-color cloud barrier. Zhang Xiao's expression shifted; even Soul Integration stage masters lacked such overwhelming force as to pierce the defense of the Five-Color Cloud Banner.

Astonishment aside, Zhang Xiao felt not a hint of fear. Wielding the Heavenly Sun Sword, he unleashed a slash that sent forth a blade wave tens of meters wide. The might of that single sword defied the laws of heaven and severed all mortal emotion, piercing forward like lightning until it reached Baturu's chest.

Baturu thrust out both hands, crossing them before his chest, and swept his claws outward with a thunderous roar: "Sky-Ripping Claws!" His crisscrossing claws tore through the air, creating a series of dark shadows. The surrounding space seemed to be ripped open by a giant gash, tearing apart the firmament itself as wave after wave of claw images collided with Zhang Xiao's sword light.

With a deafening explosion, the space directly between Zhang Xiao and Baturu shattered into a vacuum, and both figures were inevitably forced back by the shockwave.

Meanwhile, the situation for Vickrus and the others on the ground was far from favorable. Werewolves clad in metallic armor had surged forward; laser blades popped out from their armor alongside various laser firearms. Combined with the phantom-like agility of these werewolves, Vickrus and his companions found it extremely difficult to hold their ground with brute defense alone. Seeing this, Zhang Xiao reached into his robe, grabbed the fast-asleep Heizi, tossed him toward the ground, and shouted, "Heizi, time to eat!"

Hearing his master's call for dinner, Heizi snapped instantly out of his slumber. Feasting on those Shaolin monks previously had boosted his cultivation by a massive margin, pushing him to the late Spirit Refining stage. Now, the mere mention of food caused Heizi's eyes to glow with a green light.

However, no sooner had Heizi manifested his form than he was sent tumbling by a barrage of laser fire and artillery. Looking up, Heizi saw werewolves gripping strange devices that actually managed to inflict stinging pain upon him. Enraged by this, Heizi instantly grew a layer of spike-covered armor, and a pair of massive scorpion pincers transformed into two giant sabers. Rolling like a tank, he charged and crushed the oncoming werewolves beneath him.

Even with the aid of high-tech weaponry, these advanced werewolves possessed strength that at best threatened the Nascent Soul stage. Against a fully armed Heizi, they were nothing more than sitting ducks. With Heizi's entry into the fray, the battlefield shifted instantly. Whether facing laser emplacements or werewolves, Heizi swept across the field with a jet of black mist spewing from his tail, dissolving the machinery into piles of scrap iron within moments.

Witnessing this, Baturu's eyes widened in fury as he swung his claws toward Heizi. But how could Zhang Xiao allow him to have his way? Utilizing the Heavenly Demon Phantom, Zhang Xiao left behind a trail of afterimages and instantly appeared behind Baturu's head. The Heavenly Sun Sword in his hand ignited with a layer of golden flames as he slashed toward Baturu.

Feeling the chilling intent of the blow from behind, Baturu had no choice but to turn and block. However, Zhang Xiao's sword was also imbued with the divine flames of the mythical Bi Fang. The inexhaustible flames instantly ignited Baturu's fur, transforming him into a human torch.

Yet, despite its unstoppable reputation, the Bi Fang Divine Flame failed to incinerate Baturu. With a violent shudder of his body, Baturu shook off every trace of the clinging flames.

Even so, Baturu's fur, clothes, and trousers had been completely incinerated, exposing his smooth, jade-white skin and a colossal lower anatomy large enough to rival a horse.

This sight caused the face of Paulina, who was still fighting below, to flush scarlet. Ignoring the laser beam fired by a werewolf before her, she let out a startled shriek and covered her eyes with her hands. If Vickrus had not bravely thrown his body in front of Paulina at the critical moment, the Saintess of the Church of Light might well have perished on the spot simply due to Baturu's accidental streaking.

"You... I'm going to kill you!" Baturu's face turned beet red. It was the first time in his life he had been reduced to fighting in the nude. Zhang Xiao narrowed his eyes and sneered, "I fought you precisely to make you streak!" Drawing back the Heavenly Sun Sword, Zhang Xiao's form abruptly shifted.

"Roar!"

A resounding dragon's roar shook the air as the sky abruptly darkened. Everyone looked up to see a massive creature with the head of a dragon and the body of a tortoise manifest in mid-air. Five-colored ancient runes flickered across its tortoise shell, causing the spiritual energy in the surrounding air to violently churn.

"Hahaha, mangy dog, you're done for!" Heizi raised his massive pincers high and laughed loudly at Baturu. Aside from Ziyan, no one understood better than Heizi just how terrifying Zhang Xiao's Xuanwu transformation truly was.

True to Heizi's words, a thunderous crash rang out. Baturu, who had charged forward, was struck by Zhang Xiao like a volleyball, sent plummeting downward like a shooting star to smash into the ground, leaving behind a massive, human-shaped crater.