Fang Senyan’s abdomen was pierced clean through by a blade! The power of this real-world weapon was far greater than Fang Senyan had estimated. Ibufu instinctively drew his blade back with a cold sneer and a glint of triumph, only to find the edge tightly gripped by Fang Senyan’s abdominal muscles, making it agonizingly difficult to extract from the mangled flesh. A sudden dread seized him; he immediately abandoned the knife. But that momentary hesitation in pulling the blade had given Fang Senyan just enough time to move.

His right arm muscles were taut, His breathing was heavy and ragged, His adrenaline was pumping furiously at this moment... His right hand clenched into a fist in that instant, He brought it down with crushing force upon Ibufu’s leading right leg!!! The momentum of this heavy punch irresistibly brought to mind images of sledgehammers, pile drivers, and other heavy construction machinery. A distinct crack sounded on Ibufu’s right thigh—clearly, a hairline fracture had formed! The instant combat information from the Nightmare Mark scrolled before Fang Senyan’s eyes like running water: “You have executed a full-power normal attack on a Contractor in the Real World.” “Targeted Area: Leg.” “Determining... Enemy Strength is 9 points; your Strength is 20 points. Your Strength is 2.222 times the enemy's.” “Determining... Your Strength exceeds the enemy’s by more than double, meaning this attack will inflict additional Crushing Damage even if it fails to score a critical hit!!!!” “Crushing Damage equals 50% of the base damage for this attack.” “Crushing Damage will be treated as an extra attack and ignores your defense value and any damage reduction effects. This effect possesses high priority when conflicting with other effects.” “Determining...” “Calculation for Base Ability Melee Attack Bonus in progress.” “Calculation for Master of Wine Tasting Critical Hit Bonus in progress.” “This attack is theoretically calculated to inflict 25 + 26 bonus damage (Crushing Damage scored a critical hit!!).” “Enemy Defense is 6 points.” “Actual damage dealt to the enemy is calculated as: 25 * (1 - 40%) * (1 - 19%) = 12 points.” “Actual extra damage dealt to the enemy is calculated as: 26 * (1 - 19%) = 21 points.” “Total actual damage dealt to the enemy is 33 points!!”

This punch landed, and Ibufu’s face immediately turned ashen! Not from the resultant, searing pain, but from sheer terror! He had only 120 total Health Points, yet this bare-fisted Fang Senyan had stripped away nearly a quarter of it in a single blow! And this was after the protection of the 40% rule! The only possible explanation was that Fang Senyan possessed a terrifying Overwhelming advantage in raw Strength.

“Baka yarō!!! If I still had my gear, how could I be in such a wretched state?” Veins popped on Ibufu’s forehead as he roared, failing to consider that in the Space, Fang Senyan—equipped with gear and even innate Talents—was the nightmare personified for Contractors like him.

Having lost his weapon, Ibufu could only retreat; he had to retreat!

Fang Senyan completely ignored the katana still lodged in his gut. Like a wounded, enraged beast, he bared his sharp teeth and relentlessly pursued, snapping at his opponent. With one misstep, every subsequent step was a mistake; Ibufu was too harried to even manage a full turn to flee, forced only to backpedal against Fang Senyan’s rapid advance, relying solely on his Agility to widen the gap between them.

Suddenly, Fang Senyan threw a punch. Ibufu whipped his head aside to dodge it. The punch missed, slamming into a pillar in the hall. The pillar immediately spiderwebbed with icy cracks, showering dust and concrete debris, exposing the twisted rebar within. Fang Senyan didn't even pause for breath, his fists continuing to fly out in a continuous flurry like the wind. Ibufu grit his teeth and desperately tried to hold on, becoming collateral damage as the nearby furniture and screens suffered a localized catastrophe wherever the pursuit took them!

Abruptly, Fang Senyan yanked the katana from his abdomen with a reverse motion and, dripping blood, swung it at Ibufu. While Ibufu might not have been proficient with bare fists or kicks, he had immersed himself in the Way of the Sword for thirty years, not just in the Space but in the Real World; certain movements had become deeply ingrained instincts.

Upon seeing Fang Senyan’s grip, Ibufu instantly recognized him as an amateur. He roared, instinctively deploying a famous technique from swordsmanship: Kūchū Nyū Hakuto (Empty Hand Seizing the Blade), clapping his palms together to firmly clamp down on the incoming long sword! The moment he secured the blade, Ibufu felt a surge of relief and joy. For someone accustomed to the katana, losing it was akin to losing a fundamental sense of security.

However, in the instant Ibufu braced himself to seize the sword, pausing his stance, and letting his guard down slightly with his Kūchū Nyū Hakuto, Fang Senyan drew back his left elbow and drove it down, leveraging his shoulder weight. He slammed his elbow down with brutal force, seemingly losing all balance in the movement. The target was none other than the right thigh he had just severely fractured with his punch.

This strike also inflicted Crushing Damage. Although it didn't luckily crit again, it sent agonizing pain ripping through Ibufu. More critically, Fang Senyan had learned from fighting Fante that a digitized body wasn't infallible; when cumulative damage to certain functional body parts, like joints, reached one-third of a Contractor's total health, functional impairment would occur. Stated simply: severe damage to a leg would most likely reduce the enemy's movement speed!

For Ibufu, whose Health was lower than Fang Senyan’s, whose Defense was inferior, and whose Attack Power—due to the Crushing effect—could never match Fang Senyan’s, losing his greatest asset—his speed advantage—meant his fate was sealed. Ibufu, the master swordsman, let out a wild cry and slashed at Fang Senyan. His plan was for the enemy to certainly dodge, allowing him to break away and reset his offensive. But the unluckiest thing in this world is that plans rarely keep up with reality.

A flash of crimson erupted. Fang Senyan once again took the blow on his head! The sharp blade tore through his scalp but failed to penetrate the hard skull. A lock of bloody black hair, along with a palm-sized patch of scalp, was violently stripped away, leaving Fang Senyan instantly drenched in his own blood.

But seizing the opening provided by Ibufu’s committed strike, he tucked his head down, braced his shoulder, and drove a thunderous punch into Ibufu’s chest! The force of this blow was considerable. Ibufu’s vision instantly darkened, and excruciating pain spread from his sternum like a rapidly expanding web. He could no longer endure it, letting out a great cry as a mouthful of blood erupted from his lips.

This was the tragedy for agility-focused melee Contractors facing Fang Senyan. Even if they could completely dominate their opponent in terms of attack speed and movement, they invariably exposed openings when launching an offensive. When you strike an enemy, there is always a chance you will be hit! Especially against a shrewd opponent like Fang Senyan—when Ibufu failed to find an exploitable flaw in his first four rapid strikes, Fang Senyan created one for the fifth.

Of course, while Ibufu seemed brutally suppressed here, he would fare much better against an opponent like Mogansha. Conversely, if Fang Senyan encountered a powerful gunslinger like Mogansha or Das in the Real World, his only thought would be how to escape.

Having landed the punch, Fang Senyan gave no quarter, pressing his attack with relentless blows. Each move deliberately sacrificed his own defense in a trade of injuries! But with nearly 140 Health Points remaining, Ibufu dared not engage in a brute-force exchange! Yet, although panicked, the swordsman did not descend into chaos. He managed to evade several more punches, only to be driven into a corner. In a lapse of focus, he took another kick to the lower abdomen from Fang Senyan, immediately becoming dizzy and vomiting blood again.

“Baka, baka!! How could this be?” Golden spots swam before Ibufu’s eyes, shimmering vividly, blood vessels beginning to show in his pupils. He staggered, shouting wildly:

“The glory of my clan is yet to be restored? The woman I cherish is not yet mine! How can I possibly lose here?”

Suddenly, a piercing chill radiated from his body! Fang Senyan felt an overwhelming sense of menace—his Perception Warning was screaming! He instantly crossed his arms defensively before him and violently leaped sideways! He looked like a wolf fleeing the barrel of a hunting rifle. Then, Ibufu gripped the katana with both hands, his face fixed in a vacant, expressionless stare, as if he had entered a state devoid of joy or sorrow. He slowly raised the blade, as if the sharp weapon weighed a thousand pounds, before finally hoisting it high above his head, adopting the classic Kendo stance known as Ōjōdan (High Guard).

As Ibufu performed the motion of raising his sword, Fang Senyan attempted to surge forward and attack several times. Yet, each time he approached, the Perception Warning violently forced him back. At this moment, Ibufu resembled a drawn, gleaming blade, radiating light and revealing its sharp edge. It was palpable that once Ibufu settled into the Ōjōdan posture, his entire being—his Jing, Qi, Shen (Essence, Energy, Spirit)—was converging onto the blade, like a rising torrent accumulating power, ready to explode into a cataclysm of shattering stone and earth!

Suddenly, Ibufu swung the sword horizontally. A streak of light flowed outward, and a severed head flew into the air. Amidst the violent spray of blood, the head retained an expression of utter disbelief; clearly, he died without understanding how he had been killed!

The victim was the young woman who had been attending Ibufu just moments before. Her headless body, clad in a sapphire blue skirt suit, sprayed gore from the severed neck, staggered around the spot in a bewildered circle for a few paces before collapsing lifelessly. And the arc of Ibufu’s blade was now infused with a vibrant, yet tragically bleak, murderous aura, seeming ready to boil and spread!