"Iron Head Kid! Quickly! Use 'Seven Character Slash' to sever the trees around you!"
Lu Fei made a decisive call, adopting the same strategy as in the afternoon's counter-attack.
"Wei!"
Iron Head Kid shouted, leaping high, swinging its short sword with force towards the nearby trees.
With thudding sounds, one by one, severed trees plunged into the ground, forming natural barriers.
Lu Fei watched the changes on the field with intense focus, his mind racing, ready to deal with any sudden developments.
*Crack! Crack! Crack!*
The unknown objects, strengthened by the three contracted beasts, struck the tree trunks. Initially, there were only a few muffled sounds.
But soon, Lu Fei sensed something was wrong.
"This is bad!" Lu Fei's expression changed drastically.
The tree trunks were about to be pierced!
The next moment, chunks of the unknown objects pierced through the tree trunks and flew towards Lu Fei and Iron Head Kid!
The drunkard took a sip of wine, smacked his lips, and watched Lu Fei's direction with a playful expression. This was the trap he had set beforehand: the three contracted beasts combined, one strengthening the speed of the attack, the other strengthening its power. He wondered how Lu Fei would cope.
"The hardness of the tree trunks cannot withstand the destructive power caused by these impacts. Now, we can only try to use more solid objects to block!" Lu Fei's peripheral vision swept around, desperately searching for new obstacles.
"Rocks!"
His gaze settled on several large boulders.
"I wonder if Iron Head Kid's strength can sever these stones."
However, the situation did not allow Lu Fei to consider further. The training rules stipulated that he could not leave his original spot, so he could not dodge behind the rocks. His only hope was for Iron Head Kid to use these rocks to block the ferocious incoming attacks!
"Iron Head Kid! Use those rocks to block their attack!"
Iron Head Kid's expression tensed. Hesitation flashed in its eyes. It slightly adjusted its finger joints, switching to a two-handed grip on its sword!
"Iron Head Kid, use 'Blade Edge'!"
Gripping the sword with both hands, Iron Head Kid swung down violently towards the boulders!
"Clang!"
A crisp metallic impact echoed.
However, the boulder did not split in half as Lu Fei had imagined. Only a small amount of stone chips flew out.
The immense impact force made Iron Head Kid's hands tremble, and it almost lost its grip on the short sword.
"Is this, as expected, still too much of a strain?"
Lu Fei's face was grim.
Looking at the unmoving boulder, Iron Head Kid's eyes burned with intensity, as if regarding a formidable enemy. Its stubborn nature surged again. Before Lu Fei could give another command, it gripped the sword with both hands and began to hack at the boulder repeatedly.
After several consecutive attacks, the boulder still showed no significant damage.
At this moment, the skin on Iron Head Kid's hands, around the tiger's mouth, was cracked and already covered in blood!
With its back to the oncoming attacks, Iron Head Kid's hands trembled as it weakly held the short sword, but it had already lost the ability to attack again.
"Iron Head Kid!"
Lu Fei cried out and lunged towards Iron Head Kid, pushing it and shielding its back.
He intended to block these flying unknown objects for Iron Head Kid!
Iron Head Kid stumbled and was knocked to the ground by Lu Fei's charge.
As the unknown objects were mere inches away.
Just then, a lazy voice sounded.
"'Blade Mantis', use 'Blade Edge'."
As the words fell, a green figure darted out from somewhere!
Its arms were like two sharp blades, and even more strangely, its arms now emitted a dark metallic sheen.
The twin blades swung rapidly, and the originally sharp, flying unknown objects fell like leaves.
In an instant, all attacks vanished without a trace!
The green figure performed several consecutive aerial flips before landing steadily. It crossed its arms in front of its chest, its eyes looking cool and its posture heroic!
After a moment of silence, Lu Fei and Iron Head Kid recovered from their shock.
"Iron Head Kid, are you alright?"
"Wei."
Iron Head Kid replied softly. It knew Lu Fei had protected it, but its eyes remained downcast.
"It's okay, it's normal that such a large rock couldn't be split."
Before Lu Fei could finish speaking.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!* 'Blade Mantis' swung its twin blades again. The incredibly hard boulder was then casually chopped into numerous pieces...
'Blade Mantis' curled its lips and cast a provocative glance at Iron Head Kid.
Iron Head Kid's eyes were glazed over, its usual sharpness gone.
'Damn it... you've had enough, don't hurt the child's young heart...' Lu Fei grumbled inwardly.
"Hehehe... it's just at a higher level, let's ignore it," Lu Fei tried to comfort.
"This 'Blade Mantis' is not at a high level; it's about the same as this 'Sword Guard'."
The drunkard slowly walked towards Lu Fei. Even with wine in his mouth, he couldn't resist adding a final blow.
Lu Fei's face was awkward. He secretly glanced at Iron Head Kid, who showed no exaggerated reaction.
"Do you know why their combat power is similar, yet 'Blade Mantis' can easily cleave stones while 'Sword Guard' cannot?" the drunkard asked.
This was also Lu Fei's doubt. He had initially thought it was because 'Blade Mantis' had much higher attack power than Iron Head Kid, but the drunkard claimed their combat power was similar, which made Lu Fei even more puzzled.
"Sir, you know a lot, please teach me."
The drunkard didn't play coy.
"That's because your Sword Guard has not learned the skill 'Harden'."
"'Harden'?" After a moment of thought, Lu Fei frowned. "But isn't this skill possessed by some Metal-attribute contracted beasts?"
In his memory, this was a Metal-attribute skill that strengthened a certain part of the body, greatly improving both attack and defense.
The drunkard sighed, too lazy to criticize Lu Fei.
"As long as the compatibility isn't too low, contracted beasts have a chance to learn any skill." He paused and added, "Didn't you notice the cracks on this Sword Guard's tiger mouth?"
"With its body's strength, it simply cannot withstand the impact force of the blade edge collision. It can't even hold the sword steady, how can it attack others?"
Lu Fei mused thoughtfully.
"So, you mean by using 'Harden' to strengthen Iron Head Kid's hands, it can maximize its attack?"
The drunkard nodded with satisfaction.
"For contracted beasts like 'Sword Guard' that rely on physical collisions, 'Harden' is the most basic and essential skill. When contracted beasts clash, it's about whether their attacks can break through the opponent's defense, and whether their own defense can withstand the opponent's attacks. The outcome of the confrontation is decided in these exchanges."
"I understand!" Lu Fei's face lit up with surprise and excitement. "Then how do we practice 'Harden'?"
"For the next few days, I will have this 'Blade Mantis' give your 'Sword Guard' special training. How much it masters will depend on you."
"It's getting late, I'm going back." The drunkard turned to leave.
Suddenly, he turned back.
"Oh, right, when you're about to leave Forget Worry Grassland, have your 'Sword Guard' fight 'Blade Mantis'."