"Black Feather Woodford Tanner, your opponent is me!"
General Old Horse, carrying a firm resolve, strode forward.
In his mind, the young man Eddie was not to be lost.
Whether in this dire situation needing strong support, or in diplomatic terms with other nations, it was crucial to protect such a young powerhouse.
General Old Horse knew well who Black Feather Woodford Tanner was: the Black Feather Demon from the Demonic Temple, ranked 108th on Lokesh Mountain.
Though not yet in the top 100, his strength was not lacking, only his experience was still growing.
His rise from a rank beyond 3000 to defeating hundreds of strong foes and climbing to the 108th position showed his formidable prowess.
General Old Horse estimated that Black Feather Woodford Tanner's strength would rank him within the top 100, even possibly in the top 50, of the Demonic Temple.
General Old Horse was very familiar with Black Feather Woodford Tanner. He was a traitorous general who had defected to the Demonic Temple.
Before fleeing to Lokesh Mountain, he had audaciously disguised himself as a bandit to rob the Daxia Princess en route to a marriage alliance with Tianluo Nation.
After the failed robbery, he was pursued by strong warriors from both Daxia and Tianluo Nations. Severely wounded and nearly dead, he managed to narrowly escape until one of Tianluo's five Elders, Sandstorm, captured him.
However, on the day of his execution, Demonic Temple's top-ranking demons, Tian Zhu, Tian Fa, and Tian Qian, rescued him with a diversionary tactic.
Black Feather Woodford Tanner was the only criminal for whom the Demonic Temple had deployed three top demons, highlighting their high regard for him.
After recovering from his near-fatal injuries, Woodford Tanner's strength not only returned but also improved.
In a few years, he rose from being ranked beyond 3000 to defeating hundreds of demons, reaching the 108th position, and ultimately becoming one of the top three kinds of demons in the Demonic Temple.
His rise was almost a record in Lokesh Mountain's criminal ranking, second only to Tian Zai, who climbed from beyond 5000 to the top ten in two years.
Although General Old Horse had never fought Black Feather Woodford Tanner, he knew that this deeply wicked and murderous traitor was not inferior to himself.
He worried that Eddie, being young and less experienced, might be defeated by Woodford Tanner's schemes.
Thus, he decided to confront the traitorous Black Feather Woodford Tanner himself.
"Ma Xingkong, I don't want to fight you; you're old!" Woodford Tanner didn't take General Old Horse seriously.
In fact, General Old Ma wasn't old at all. His stern expression and frequently furrowed thick eyebrows, along with his serious and responsible demeanor and love for his soldiers, earned him the title of 'Old Horse General.'
"Angering me is useless," General Old Ma remained unaffected, striding forward while summoning his enhanced explosive giant bear to boost his body, undergoing bear transformation.
"You're still as foolish as ever," Woodford Tanner suddenly pulled out a crystal, summoning a strange brown mist.
The wind blew, scattering the colored mist.
Everyone smelled a rich and extremely sweet scent, but no one felt discomfort; instead, saliva started to form in their mouths, especially Hessian, who was almost drooling like a waterfall.
Suddenly, General Old Horse, who had been making solid steps, swung his steel knife in agony, striking heavily on the ground.
First standing firm with his sword, General Old Horse's immense strength bent the strong iron hilt. Under the watchful eyes of all, he plunged his bear-transformed fists deep into the rocks.
His face remained mostly unchanged, only his thick brows deeply furrowed, but the observant soldiers could see his back drenched in sweat and his fists and legs trembling uncontrollably.
Clearly, he had fallen into Black Feather Woodford Tanner's trap and was in extreme pain.
Yet, General Old Horse's will was as strong as steel, enduring the agony.
Black Feather Woodford Tanner appeared before General Old Horse.
With a heavy kick, he sent the general reeling and then, with a look of disdain, stepped on the bloodied face of General Old Horse, taunting, "Old Ma, one of the top ten generals of Tianluo. Aren't you strong? Stand up and fight me! I'm stepping on you, does it not anger you? Come on, get angry, rage, and strike me down with your bear paw!"
"I will not get angry; never think you can provoke me," General Old Horse's eyes were sharp and cold, despite his swollen face.
"Insolent fiend, how dare you humiliate our general! Pay with your life!" Two master-level deputy generals, seeing General Old Horse humiliated under Woodford Tanner's foot, bravely lunged forward despite being outmatched.
"Annoying trash, get lost!" Woodford Tanner waved his hand, sending a gust of wind that blew the deputy generals back several meters, vomiting blood continuously.
"Everyone, stand back. I can defeat this traitor," General Old Horse roared, his eyes turning red and his body starting to transform into a bear but quickly suppressed his anger and resumed his human form, ordering the soldiers to retreat.
"Trying to provoke me with childish tricks?" Eddie, with his third-level discerning eye, saw through Woodford Tanner's scheme.
Woodford Tanner had summoned a rare special-class battle beast, the "Frenzy Mist Bee," whose mist was its pollen powder.
Harmless to most battle beasts, but specifically, bear beasts would lose control and go berserk upon smelling it. Woodford Tanner aimed to provoke General Old Horse into a rage, turning into a rampaging killer like the mercenaries, creating chaos in the town.
General Old Horse, preferring to endure the beating than to get angry, bit back his pain, waiting for the Frenzy Mist Bee's scent to completely dissipate.
His enhanced battle beast, the Explosive Giant Bear, had immense defense and strength, unafraid of Woodford Tanner's kicks. It was the verbal humiliation that pushed him to the brink.
"Ma Xingkong, look at you. Are you still one of the top ten generals?
You should rename yourself to 'Pitiful Worm'!" Woodford Tanner raised his foot, stomping on General Old Horse's face, constantly taunting and provoking him to lose control and become a berserk killer bear.
"I think 'Pitiful Worm' suits you better!" Eddie, appearing out of nowhere, interrupted.
"What?" Woodford Tanner was shocked, not realizing someone had sneaked up behind him.
"Let me show you how to really stomp a 'Pitiful Worm'!" Eddie, shamelessly, didn't warn before acting. He kicked Woodford Tanner's backside, sending him flying, then casually spoke.
Enraged, Woodford Tanner twisted in mid-air, preparing to dive back and retaliate against Eddie.
Suddenly, Eddie appeared behind him again.
Fists clenched, he heavily slammed into Woodford Tanner's back. As his opponent plummeted like a meteor, Eddie even managed to spin and add another fierce kick to the same spot on Woodford Tanner's back.
"Cursed!" Black Feather Woodford Tanner crashed to the ground, his hands supporting him but still pressed deep into the earth by the immense force.
Before he could struggle up, Eddie slowly descended in front of him, leaving Woodford Tanner in shock.
How could this young man be so fast? He had just fallen, while Eddie had the leisure to gracefully land. What kind of summoning beast did this kid have to be faster than him?
But worse was yet to come.
Eddie's lips curled into a chilling smile, and he coldly lifted his foot, delivering a powerful kick to Woodford Tanner's chin, sending him flying like a ball.
Woodford Tanner crashed ten meters away, but he immediately rebounded, roaring thunderously, striking back at Eddie with speed faster than the wind.
Boom!
A punch missed its target, as Eddie's afterimage vanished.
Eddie, silently appearing behind Woodford Tanner, grabbed his head and smashed him into the ground.
With a forceful push, he dragged Woodford Tanner's face along the hard surface, creating a long trench until hitting a wall.
As Woodford Tanner struggled, Eddie switched his grip to his left leg, yanking him from the ground and brutally smashing him against the wall.
With a thunderous crash, the wall shattered, burying Woodford Tanner within its debris.
The previously arrogant Black Feather Woodford Tanner was thoroughly beaten by Eddie, eliciting cheers from the soldiers.
Their morale, which had been declining, soared a hundredfold.
"Ah, that's so satisfying! Beat him good!" Hessian, thrilled, flushed with excitement.
Upon noticing Inan and Sophia looking over, he quickly defended himself, "Actually, I'm a gentleman. That was just something Yehken would say. You know how refined and polite I am from my usual speech. I'm kind-hearted, and I do charity work. It's not like I would tell you about the time when I was six and donated my pocket money to people in disaster areas... Ow, why hit me?"
Before he could finish, Yehken and the Ly brothers gave him another round of punches and kicks.
In the darkness, a sharp, needle-like voice coldly rang out, "Foolish. He has seen through your weakness. I told you, never summon the Frenzy Mist Bee in front of a strong opponent; it greatly reduces your combat power!"
"Just give me some time, and I'll kill him myself!" Woodford Tanner, battered and humiliated, rose from the rubble, suppressing his rage and glaring at Eddie.
"Don't make me wait too long," the sharp voice hummed lightly before fading away.
"That scared me... Mysterious expert, don't be too arrogant; arrogance gets struck by lightning!" Eddie taunted, summoning his Moon Blade and, alongside Grey Wolf, menacingly advancing towards Black Feather Woodford Tanner with an expression that said, 'I'm getting serious now.'
Startled, Black Feather Woodford Tanner quickly summoned his black steel-feathered griffon from the sky, merging with it. His body became more robust, muscles bulging.
Steel feathers sprouted from his back, forming wings, and his fingernails turned into fearsome claws capable of splitting metal. In an instant, his combat power skyrocketed tenfold.
Now, in this strongest state, he was truly Black Feather Woodford Tanner, the Black Feather Demon.
Just as he confidently took flight, preparing to shred Eddie to pieces, the sharp voice suddenly cried out in panic, "Quick, cancel the summon, undo the enhancement! Foolish, you've fallen into his trap, he's put something on you..."
"Planted some babies," Eddie added with a beaming smile.
As everyone looked on in confusion, Black Feather Woodford Tanner, who had been flapping his wings in the sky, suddenly plummeted to the ground like a wooden puppet.