The battle between Shi Xiaolei and the Hulk didn't last very long.
After all, only the Hulk had completely abandoned thinking; Shi Xiaolei hadn't thrown away his brain like him.
He didn't yet know the full story, but seeing so many soldiers and armored vehicles deployed by the military, he could guess that the Hulk appearance was definitely connected to them.
Being of Chinese descent, he already viewed the American military unfavorably.
Moreover, having guessed that the Hulk was actually quite innocent in today incident, whether for public or personal reasons, Shi Xiaolei couldn't possibly go all out and fight the Hulk to the death.
Besides, this battle was taking place in a busy downtown area—the longer it dragged on, the more damage would be caused to the surroundings.
What if innocent bystanders were injured or even killed because he was too caught up in the fight? Wanting to live a peaceful life, Shi Xiaolei didn't want to see such an outcome.
After fighting noisily for about ten minutes, taking advantage of the Hulk slightly weakened state due to excessive blood loss, Shi Xiaolei deliberately created an opening, pretending to make a mistake, and intentionally took a punch from the Hulk.
Once again, he flew a long distance of seventy to eighty meters.
The difference was that this time after getting up, Shi Xiaolei didn't charge back like before, but stood his ground, striking his dual swords against each other while letting out a loud roar at the Hulk.
[Taunt]
Effect: Enrages an enemy, putting them in a state of blind attack.
Finding weaknesses in enemies isn't the only talent of barbarian warriors; they can often control their enemies emotions, causing them to lose judgment and blindly engage in combat.
Then, the barbarian can take advantage of mistakes made in anger, gaining the upper hand in battle. It's also because of this ability that barbarians don't have a great reputation in taverns.
In the game, this skill could only be used on monsters, not in PVP.
Strictly speaking, it shouldn't have a forced effect on the Hulk, who was transformed from Bruce Banner.
But when Shi Xiaolei used it.
The newly born Hulk had intelligence comparable to monsters in the game.
Well, mainly it was because the pose Shi Xiaolei struck was so infuriating, and the taunting effect inherent in the action itself wasn't limited or weakened like the skill would be.
"ROAR!"
Seeing the Hulk roar and lunge toward Shi Xiaolei, it was clear how effective this taunt had been.
"Come on then."
Muttering under his breath, Shi Xiaolei shook both hands, switching to another set of weapons.
The two-handed sword in his right hand was replaced with a blunt-focused mace, while the Roman short sword in his left was exchanged for a tower shield—the wounds inflicted on the Hulk were already sufficient; continuing to worsen them might actually cause him to lose his fighting ability and revert back to Bruce Banner.
Not wanting him to fall into military hands, yet unable to hold back too obviously, Shi Xiaolei prudently put away the more lethal dual swords and switched to the mace and tower shield, which were better suited for control tactics.
Speaking of control, how to control?
The mace in his left hand carried "knockback" and "blind target on hit" effects, while the tower shield in his right hand had the attribute "attacker takes 37 damage."
Combined with the barbarian's Battle Cry skill (causing minor damage and stunning enemies).
The damage reflection effect could make enemies voluntarily stop attacking once weakened to a certain extent.
Together with three layers of negative buffs, the control effect would certainly be substantial.
First, a roar that stunned the Hulk.
Then a strike with the mace that drove him back several meters.
The Hulk shook his head vigorously, completely unaware that his wounds were slowly healing (since Shi Xiaolei had switched weapons and lost the "prevent monster self-healing" attribute, the Hulk regenerative abilities far superior to normal humans gradually became unleashed).
When he finally regained consciousness, the Hulk threw several punches at Shi Xiaolei in retaliation.
However, since they were all blocked by the shield, not only did Shi Xiaolei remain unharmed, but the Hulk also took a wave of reflected damage.
"Clang~."
"Roar~!"
"Bang! Clunk~!"
A series of sounds like metalworking—the Hulk grew increasingly frustrated, and his fighting spirit gradually subsided.
At the frontline of the battle, clearly perceiving the decrease in combat intensity, Shi Xiaolei thought to himself, 'This is working!'
Fighting while retreating, occasionally taunting again.
In this way, under Shi Xiaolei deliberate guidance, the two gradually made their way to the edge of the Hudson River.
Finally, taking advantage of another attack from the Hulk, Shi Xiaolei circled behind him, raised his foot...
With a 'splash' the Hulk was kicked into the river.
Immediately after, Shi Xiaolei also jumped in.
Whether it was Stark pursuing from the air or the American soldiers approaching by land, they all thought Shi Xiaolei was chasing the Hulk to continue the battle underwater.
They never imagined that within just a few seconds, the two hidden beneath the surface had completely vanished—seizing the moment of panic when the Hulk first fell into the water, Shi Xiaolei increased his attack frequency, landing several consecutive strikes with his mace.
Before the Hulk could recover from his "blinded" state, Shi Xiaolei had already swum behind him, put away his weapons to free his hands, grabbed the Hulk arms, and teleported them both to the Ark hidden in the dimensional fold.
With the battlefield changed to his home turf, the subsequent fight became increasingly simple for Shi Xiaolei.
Within just a few minutes, he seized an opportunity and coordinated with the Argentine Giant Eagle that had rushed over to help after sensing the commotion—first applying a set of debuffs to the Hulk, then whistling for the Giant Eagle to grab the still-stunned Hulk and fly him high into the air.
Following a free fall—well, mainly because during the descent the Hulk finally noticed the change in environment and confirmed the absence of the American military—his vigilance relaxed.
Soon, the Hulk completely lost his will to fight, his anger gradually subsided, and he reverted back to Bruce Banner, collapsing softly onto the beach.
"Finally done."
Standing dripping wet on a reef, looking at Bruce Banner lying in a sand pit not far away, Shi Xiaolei put away his equipment and raised his hand to pet the Giant Eagle who was poking out its head seeking recognition.
"Good job, you did well."
"Screech~~!"
Flapping its wings, the Giant Eagle called out happily.
"Go play now, I'll give you extra food later."
Patting the Giant Eagle chest, Shi Xiaolei jumped down from the reef and walked toward Bruce Banner.
After returning to human form, Bruce Banner physique wasn't nearly as robust as the Hulk.
The water in the sand pit was slowly rising, and leaving him there unattended, even if he didn't drown, he'd certainly catch a cold.
Approaching him, Shi Xiaolei first tapped Bruce Banner cheeks, but found him completely unresponsive, as if he'd taken sleeping pills.
Shi Xiaolei couldn't help but sigh.
"I knew it would be like this."
What else could he do? With a wry smile, Shi Xiaolei grabbed one of Bruce Banner arms and hoisted him onto his shoulder like a sack of flour, then strode toward the 'base.'
(T/N: Like the story fellow daoist?you can read 20 chapters ahead on my P@treon [[email protected]/DaoistRongyi] Thanks for your support! 😊)