As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 176 Under the Fury

Xu Yan astutely grasped Carlos's mentality of "wanting to win, but more importantly, winning cleanly, beautifully, and preferably without taking any damage."

He engraved the word "Rage" on Xiong Chenghu's "Bull Head Guard".

【Rage】 activates the remnant soul hidden deep within the Minotaur Iron Guard, originating from the most ferocious battle intent of the ancient beast race, turning the Spirit Master's anger into magma that erupts, temporarily greatly increasing speed and strength, and granting immunity to damage and pain.

The cost is that it often only lasts for seven or eight seconds to more than ten seconds, after which it will fall into a long cooldown period, causing the Spirit Master's speed, strength and even muscle elasticity to drop to the bottom.

It may also interfere with the normal thinking of the spirit master, making them irritable and easily provoked by their opponents.

Such entries are often used for all-or-nothing gambles.

Once activated, the outcome is often decided within ten seconds.

It wasn't the furious "Bullhead Iron Guard" that blasted the opponent into a pulp.

It means that after the Fury skill expires and the Spirit Master goes into cooldown, the opponent can take them down in one fell swoop.

As a genius of the Doka stream, "Golden Boy" Carlos is very familiar with the form of the psionic ripples when the "Rage" attribute is activated, as well as the characteristics of a Spirit Master: bloodshot eyes, constricted pupils, dilated pores, and rapid breathing.

Therefore, he chose to avoid direct confrontation and prepare to easily defeat Xiong Chenghu once he entered his cooldown period.

Unfortunately, he did not expect that the "rage" engraved by Xu Yan was a half-finished product that was all show and no substance.

Xu Yan did not actually inscribe the complete entry, but rather, like the "illusionary jellyfish," merely stimulated Xiong Chenghu's body, causing a physiological reaction of "rage."

In reality, there was no corresponding increase in strength and speed, nor did it affect Xiong Chenghu's normal thinking and logical judgment, and it did not require much physical or mental effort.

The reason is very simple.

Even if Xiong Chenghu were to enter a state of "rage," he would still be no match for Carlos.

Furthermore, engraving a complex and highly reactive combat term like "Rage" on a civilian black iron card like "Bullhead Iron Guard" would require a significant overhaul of the underlying architecture, and even for Xu Yan, it wouldn't be an easy task.

Even if he manages to successfully modify the card, Xiong Chenghu is just a novice who hasn't mastered it yet, and he won't be able to unleash 100% of the card's power.

Since that's the case, why not give Carlos a scare and make the previous runner-up think that Xiong Chenghu is going to keep pestering him?

Given Carlos's track record and his role as the ambassador for "Aurora Life" new product promotion, what if he makes a mistake and gets tackled by Xiong Chenghu?

Even if they don't get completely disoriented from the fall, as long as their disheveled appearance is captured on camera, even if they ultimately win, it's still a loss.

Therefore, Xu Yan concluded that even if Carlos realized that Xiong Chenghu's "rage" was problematic, there was no need to gamble on what state this seemingly insane little guy was in.

And indeed it is.

At the start of the match, during the first probing exchange, Xiong Chenghu activated his so-called "rage," charging at Carlos like a mad bull seeing blood.

Carlos frowned slightly, calmly dodging Xiong Chenghu's attack, and immediately retreated to a far corner, coldly watching Xiong Chenghu go berserk.

Xiong Chenghu's "rage" ended quickly. However, the bloodshot eyes, ferocious expression, muscle spasms, and loss of control of limbs that Carlos had anticipated did not materialize.

His eyes regained their clarity, and a faint smile played on his lips, as if an invisible net had been cast, waiting for the previous runner-up to step into the trap.

The unexpected performance made Carlos even more reluctant to make any rash moves.

This is the real reason for the initial stalemate between the two sides.

As for the subsequent offensive battles, what Xu Yan really adjusted was the basic performance of the "Bullhead Iron Guard".

Most "Bullhead Iron Guards" focus on increasing strength, while improving muscle strength and reducing injuries during construction work are just side effects.

Xu Yan took the opposite approach, significantly enhancing the "Bullhead Iron Guard's" muscle congestion by adjusting the core rune array, sacrificing some speed and attack power in the process.

When Xiong Chenghu activated "Bullhead Iron Guard", his muscles immediately bulged to their limit, as if he were wearing a layer of imposing steel armor.

Using this burly, steel-like body to unleash the melee skills of the no-card style with such ferocity is certainly a highly entertaining and exhilarating spectacle.

Unfortunately, they were all big but useless muscles. Because they were too slow, apart from the exciting scenes, they posed almost no real threat to "Golden Boy" Carlos.

However, because Xiong Chenghu had focused all his skill points on defense, and because of the looming threat of "Rage".

In addition, this fearless young man, who was a bit of a show-off, burned with determination when facing the previous runner-up.

Carlos didn't have it so easy either, completely penetrating his layers of defense.

The result was a happy one for everyone.

Carlos achieved an expected victory with a seemingly thrilling but actually steady and methodical approach.

It didn't consume too much energy, nor did it leave any hidden dangers of injury, so it won't affect the later matches.

Xiong Chenghu won everyone's respect with his "unparalleled ferocity".

Perhaps the moment Carlos stepped off the ring, he realized that his opponent's "Bullhead Iron Guard" was nothing but a facade, hiding an extremely calm and meticulously calculated plan beneath his seemingly furious exterior.

If he had just started the match and started bombarding Xiong Chenghu relentlessly, he could have broken through Xiong Chenghu's defense in less than half a minute and knocked his opponent off the stage cleanly.

However, Xu Yan believed that even if he had to do it all over again, Carlos would still choose a relatively conservative tactic rather than gamble on whether a fifteen-year-old boy backed by a mysterious card maker would risk his life against him.

"Three days of competition, nine consecutive matches, eight wins and one loss, and a close match with last year's runner-up."

"Such results are enough to help the Crazy Iron Club attract a large number of new members and sign new training contracts with departments such as the Security Bureau. It won't be so easy for sponsors such as Deep Blue Pharmaceuticals to terminate their cooperation with the club, right?"
"Although some sealing cards were used, the nine matches also brought out the essence of the cardless style to the fullest, especially today's three fierce battles. Even if Grandpa Xiong saw them, he should have nothing to say."

"The re-employment training program is gradually getting on track and growing in scale. Many of the heavy manual laborers who come to participate in the training are not only familiar with the internal situation of Liming Heavy Industry, but will also go deep into the streets and alleys of Liming City, helping me to form a news network that covers the capillaries and nerve endings of the city."

"Through the training course, we also gained the trust of the Security Bureau. When the Black Dream organization really infiltrates Dawn City on a large scale, there will definitely be cases of all sizes. At that time, the current layout will be effective."

(End of this chapter)