Chapter 289: Chapter 285: Sword Holder (2)

After a brief pause, he charged straight at Hu Qi.

His footsteps splashed through the puddles on the ground, making heavy THUD, THUD, THUD sounds.

Like a furious bull, he trampled the ground wantonly, his charge full of menacing momentum.

However, he had only taken a few steps when a strange change occurred in the reflective puddles formed by the rain.

Pitch-black arms emerged from the water, grabbing the Raincoat Butcher’s ankles.

Ripples spread across the puddles on the ground, as if the surface had suddenly turned soft.

The hands continued to climb, soon covering his legs completely. They tugged hard, as if trying to drag him into the Mirror World.

The pulling force was immense, and the Raincoat Butcher’s body began to sink little by little.

Rainwater is reflective, so naturally, the power of the ’Mirror Person’ Dream Eye could be used.

But faced with this situation, the Raincoat Butcher made no extra moves.

He just abruptly raised the giant iron hammer in his hand and smashed it fiercely onto the ground.

BOOM! With a deafening noise, the rooftop ground shook violently.

An invisible and bizarre ripple spread out in an instant, centered on where the giant hammer had struck.

The moment the falling raindrops and the black arms trying to pull him down came into contact with this ripple, they dissipated like evaporated gas, vanishing without a trace.

After doing this, the Raincoat Butcher looked up at Hu Qi, who stood perfectly still, the red glow in his eyes intensifying.

Then, he bent his knees, lifted his leg, and forcefully pulled his foot free from where it had sunk slightly into the ground, sending a spray of shattered rock into the air.

He then moved his legs quickly, swinging the giant hammer in his hand, which whistled as it cut through the air.

At the same time, a strange power quietly enveloped the surroundings.

’Interesting. Just as I thought!’

Watching this unfold, Hu Qi still didn’t move. Instead, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

He knew in his heart that this guy—or more accurately, the giant hammer in his hand—possessed the strange Ability to suppress Dream Eyes.

Just now, he had used his ’Mirror Person’ Dream Eye to test him.

Now, the Nightmare Power within him corresponding to ’Mirror Person’ had completely frozen, making it impossible to use.

’This thing is practically a hard counter to ordinary Dream Eyes.’

’No wonder Wei Fan wanted to get his hands on it!’

As these thoughts flashed through Hu Qi’s mind, the Raincoat Butcher appeared before him like a phantom, emanating a chilling, sinister aura.

His usually bloated figure now displayed an entirely different kind of agility, his movements unbelievably fast.

He raised the giant hammer high, which tore through the rain with a sharp whistle. Like the Scythe of Death, it plummeted viciously toward Hu Qi’s head with truly terrifying force.

But just in the nick of time, Hu Qi’s figure suddenly blurred and then vanished from his spot.

This sudden change caused the Raincoat Butcher’s powerful strike to miss completely. His momentum carried him forward two steps, and he only barely managed to steady himself at the edge of the rooftop.

"Too slow!"

A voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

Immediately after, a faint red arc of light sliced through the air.

Hu Qi’s figure had somehow appeared behind the Raincoat Butcher, his expression calm.

After speaking these words softly, he slowly retracted his hand.

The faint red glow at his joined fingertips gradually faded.

The Raincoat Butcher now stood frozen in place, his back to Hu Qi.

One hand gripped the iron hammer, while the other subconsciously clutched his neck.

But then, a thin red line appeared out of thin air, severing his neck.

PSHH!

A spray of foul-smelling blood gushed out. As if struck by a giant axe, his entire head, including the raincoat’s hood, was instantly detached.

At the stump of his neck, shadowy black threads seemed to squirm, trying to reconnect the severed head.

However, a crimson flame seemed to ignite at the wound. The moment the emerging shadow threads touched the fire, they instantly turned to Ashes.

Then, the massive head rolled off his neck and fell straight down the side of the rooftop.

WHOOSH!

But just then, the headless body of the Raincoat Butcher suddenly spun around, swinging the hammer in its hand toward Hu Qi’s face.

However, the arm it had just raised abruptly fell off and clattered to the ground.

This sudden development seemed to be unexpected even for the headless Raincoat Butcher.

His limbs then broke off just like his head.

He collapsed to the ground, reduced to a limbless torso.

Even so, he was still not completely dead.

Hu Qi paid him no mind.

He stepped on the creature’s severed arm, bent down, and took the black giant hammer from its hand.

He gave it a simple swing. It weighed about thirty to forty pounds.

A person with average physical fitness and no strength training would find it difficult to lift, as its weight exceeded what an ordinary person’s arm strength could easily handle.

Only fitness enthusiasts who regularly train for strength and have well-developed muscles, or those in physically demanding jobs like movers or blacksmiths, could possibly lift it, thanks to their superior upper body strength and overall conditioning from daily exertion.

But using it effortlessly for an extended period would still be quite difficult.

To Hu Qi, however, this thing was no different from a feather.

He examined it.

He gripped the surface of the hammer directly.

His five fingers suddenly tightened.

CRACK, CRACK, CRACK...

A hair-raising sound of metal shattering suddenly rang out.

Under Hu Qi’s forceful grip, large cracks appeared all over the hammer. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Immediately after, a blazing Yang Fire erupted.

The limbless torso of the headless Raincoat Butcher, lying on the ground, began to tremble uncontrollably as if electrocuted.

A moment later, its body gradually became transparent and finally vanished, leaving only the shattered hammer held firmly in Hu Qi’s hand.

Then, the hammer dissolved into a black mist that slowly dissipated, before being drawn by some invisible force entirely into Hu Qi’s mouth and nose.

Hu Qi closed his eyes.

His Spirit Devouring Talent activated.

’Compared to ’Mirror Person’, this Dream Eye seems a bit more powerful.’

After a few seconds, Hu Qi opened his eyes and looked at the panel before him.

————

[Dream Eye: Mirror Person, Bone Shattering Hammer]

In the Dream Eye column, in addition to the original ’Mirror Person’, a new Dream Eye named ’Bone Shattering Hammer’ had appeared.

After absorbing this Dream Eye, Hu Qi naturally came to understand its function.

Its effect was quite bizarre. Just as he had guessed, not only could it temporarily freeze another person’s Nightmare Power, but it could also shatter any object it came into contact with.

Coupled with the superhuman physique of a manifested monster like the Raincoat Butcher, even someone in a tank probably couldn’t withstand a single blow from his hammer.

Furthermore, this thing could also influence the weather to some extent.

In rainy weather, the power it could unleash would be even greater.

’But it still has its weaknesses.’

A glint flashed in Hu Qi’s eyes.

The Raincoat Butcher monster was very strong, but strangely, it could be harmed by physical attacks. As long as one was well-prepared and avoided being hit by the giant hammer, even an ordinary person had a chance to defeat it.

’Mirror Person’ had a similar weakness. As long as you concealed your body shape and appearance so that a mirror couldn’t reflect your image, you were safe and wouldn’t be attacked.

Suddenly, he looked to the side, where the sound of rapid footsteps was quickly approaching.

Seeing this, Hu Qi thought for a moment. The Twisted Light around him flashed, and he vanished on the spot.

From the moment Hu Qi engaged the Raincoat Butcher to the end of the fight, less than half a minute had actually passed.

Wei Fan rushed up the stairs, his eyes anxiously scanning the surroundings.

However, all he could see was an empty rooftop, without a single person in sight.

At this sight, his expression immediately turned extremely ugly.

"Dammit! The Rain Butcher and Mirror Person Nightmares are both gone! Who the hell did this?"

It had only been a short time since he used the power of the Dream Eye in his right eye to suppress the upside-down woman in the red dress and seize her Dream Eye. But in that brief window, he sensed that the two Nightmare Powers that originally enveloped this area had vanished completely.

Wei Fan knew exactly what this meant.

The Dream Eyes, which represented the Nightmares themselves, had either been unsealed or had been claimed by someone else.

As for the possibility of the Nightmares dissipating on their own, Wei Fan knew it was simply impossible.

After all, the Nightmare’s power had already enveloped Building 18. The only way it would dissipate is if everyone inside died, and even that was just a slim possibility.

At this thought, the veins on Wei Fan’s face throbbed.

"You dare steal my prize... Don’t let me find out who you are, or else..."

THWACK!

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. He staggered a few steps and reached up to touch the spot.

His hand came away covered in blood. A strong wave of dizziness washed over him, and before he could even wonder what had happened, his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

SMACK!

Another rock smashed into Wei Fan’s face, which immediately swelled up.

But Wei Fan remained motionless on the ground.

Only then did Hu Qi’s figure reappear, about ten meters away from him.

He glanced at the unconscious Wei Fan.

Compared to before, the guy now had a few silver strands in his black hair. His face had also matured, losing some of its former youthfulness.

This was new, and perhaps the price for using that Dream Eye.