Chapter 158: Going All Out

"When you feel like you're about to fail, you're truly done for. Stop struggling..."

The old man gripped a baseball bat and brought it down heavily on Li Changluo's head.

With a dull thud...

Li Changluo clutched his head and collapsed to the ground in agony, rolling back and forth, in too much pain to utter even a single sound from his mouth...

This was probably the exact manifestation of pain reaching its absolute limit...

Pain so intense it is silent.

However, after Li Changluo had been silently rolling around on the ground clutching his head for quite a while, he suddenly heard the monsters in the tavern whispering among themselves...

"Where on earth do these foreign demons get so many baseball bats..."

"Shh, don't let him hear you, or he'll come over and whack you with one later..."

"Is his bat enchanted or something? Just like in games, it even comes with splash damage..."

"Yeah, clearly he hit the old man, so why is that guy rolling around on the ground in agony?"

"Young people these days really can't endure any hardship. Look, the old man just took another blow, and the dear senior is standing there without a sound, acting like nothing even happened."

"Bah, what a shameless little demon, putting on an act like that. Is he just trying to grab attention?"

Li Changluo was rolling on the floor, and he heard the monsters' murmurs crystal clear...

Synthesizing the conversation, it boiled down to this: he, who hadn't been hit, was rolling on the floor putting on a show, while the old man who had actually taken the hit was standing unscathed in his original spot.

"Li, stop being so shameless. You didn't even get hit, what are you rolling around for? Has your head been rolled into a pulp?"

At that moment, Li Changluo heard Blackie calling out to him.

He hurriedly got up and touched his head; it wasn't broken, nor was there any blood...

Instead, the old man who had just raised his bat to strike him was now bleeding profusely all over his head...

That amicable, kind-hearted face was now truly bathed in blood...

"You tell me if this isn't infuriating. You went and carelessly bumped into the bat again. The old man is getting up in years, so when you're out and about, you need to learn to protect yourself. An old man can't afford to fall or bump into things, look at the state you've battered yourself into!"

Li Changluo cheerfully comforted the blood-stained old man standing blankly in place, echoing the exact way the old man had comforted him just moments earlier...

Presumably, Blackie's swing was just too vicious; the old man had been beaten into a daze and still hadn't snapped back to reality. He turned around and glared fiercely at Blackie behind him...

"Elder, I really don't have any more bats. You won't go bumping into bats for no reason anymore. You'll never again hold your head and weep bitterly, torn between tears and laughter, just muddling through—Guo'er, I am your aunt..."

Blackie used a string of clumsy idioms to explain his actions, and what surprised Li Changluo was that Blackie was actually playing idiom solitaire now...

Only, what the hell was an "aunt"?

However, the moment Blackie finished speaking, he saw a sudden surge of fiery rage erupt from the old man—a literal flame burst forth from the old man's body...

It scared the chubby Blackie so badly that he took to his heels, and before he knew what he was doing, he had hidden right behind Li Changluo...

The furious old man was left dumbfounded. However, it wasn't because he was shocked that a fat black guy like Blackie could run with such nimble footwork, but rather because...

Blackie was running so fast that a chaotic clanging noise came from the backpack on his back...

Seven or eight baseball bats spilled out onto the ground...

The old man, who had just been conversing with effortless ease, imagining himself wielding a feather fan and silk kerchief while laughing as enemy ships were reduced to ashes, believing everything was under control, suddenly snapped with anger and annoyance...

No matter what, he was still a figure of some stature; today, he had actually been humiliated by these two obscure little demons...

Utterly wretched, thoroughly wretched...

He could no longer afford to maintain the dignified composure of an elder. With a strange cry, he mustered all his strength and whipped the flames in his hands toward Li Changluo and Blackie...

The fire roared toward Li Changluo like a blazing dragon...

Sparks flew in all directions, instantly illuminating the entire tavern as bright as day...

Yet...

This flame, which looked like a fiery dragon, seemed to lose all its momentum the moment it touched Li Changluo, turning as limp as a deflated earthworm...

It was entirely absorbed by the flames erupting from Li Changluo's own body...

Li Changluo stood blankly in place, unable to resist pulling a cigarette out of his pack...

Silently lighting it with the flames blazing on his own body...

He took a deep drag, only then feeling much more at ease in his heart...

And he came to terms with it...

Fine, if they won't let me use cheats, so be it...

What's the deal with constantly absorbing the opponent's flames like this?

Perhaps this was a test from the heavens?

True gold fears no fire?

The more you burn, the healthier you get?

Thinking of this, Li Changluo let go of his grievances, because after all...

What else could he do if he didn't let it go?

Seeing that Li Changluo was still arrogant enough to light a cigarette right in front of him, the old man became even more furious beyond endurance. He exerted all his primordial strength, and the fire in his hands blazed even more fiercely, making the tavern feel like a scorching furnace as wave after wave of heat swept through...

Even a squid monster was being roasted to the point of emitting a savory aroma...

"Li, I don't think I'm doing very well..."

Blackie poked his head out from behind Li Changluo...

His afro was slowly smoking at this point, and his face was a mix of black and red...

He had originally just wanted to hide behind Li Changluo to escape the heat, but by now he couldn't handle being baked by the flames radiating from Li Changluo's body anymore.

Even his mouth was puffing out smoke.

"You think you're not doing well? Look at me, I'm roasted like this, did I even utter half a groan?"

Li Changluo weakly smoked with lifeless eyes, blankly staring at the old man who kept hurling flames at him.

The old man was already panting and hunched over from exhaustion, yet he remained dedicated and tireless as he relentlessly swung his fire at Li Changluo.

However, he noticed that the flames erupting from Li Changluo's body occasionally flashed with black fire, but as they absorbed his own flames, they gradually turned red—a pure, unadulterated red flame...

"So that's how it is. The campfire skill... Heh, I really am getting old. My eyes are failing me, I misjudged and failed to see it. For a little demon like this to know campfire... I should have realized it sooner..."

At this sight, seeing the red flames blazing on Li Changluo, the old man felt a mixture of astonishment and helplessness...

Only then did he understand why his flames had been absorbed by Li Changluo...

His opponent was a literal furnace, and his own meager bit of fire was nothing more than a tiny pine-wood torch in front of that furnace...

His brainless outputting was nothing more than adding fuel to the fire for his opponent...

He abruptly reined in the flames in his hands, gasping for breath, as if he needed a long moment to recover his strength...

"Do you know who I am? Even your proprietor has to show me a modicum of respect, yet you dare to be this audacious?"

The old man tried his best to appear calm and amiable, but his tone was laced with lingering grievance...

"If you don't even know who you are, how should I know?"

Li Changluo flicked the cigarette from his mouth to the ground and stamped it out with his foot.

"It seems today I have to make you suffer a bit of hardship before you can recognize who I am."

The old man's demonic power value wasn't very high to begin with; if it were high, he wouldn't have had to resort to illusions to confuse those deeply formidable staff members in the tavern...

Relying purely on his seniority, the old man had always gotten by effortlessly in this monster world, yet today he had run into this absolute blockhead...