326 Making a Clean Sweep ?

A few minutes ago, the masked man had not been part of the crowd.

Previously, the contestants had been closing in on Zhao Yao, hoping to attack. At that point in time,the man had snuck away from the flat clearing.

"This should be it?" he thought, stopping by a tree with a large hollow in its trunk.

He then shouted, "Hello! Is anyone here?"

As his voice echoed through the woods, a shadow wormed out of the tree hollow and landed behind him gracefully.

The masked man spun around and found himself face-to-face with an alarmingly muscular man.

It was the Butcher.

"Is it my turn to shine?" he asked, smiling sweetly.

After being defeated by the Headless Horseman, the Muscle Society had fallen into Inspector Ho's control.

He could have thrown them in jail, but that would be a waste. These apostles were remarkably strong and could be put to better use.

So, Inspector Ho handed them to the Cat King of the West.

Each of the four Cat Kings were masters in their own element.

The King of the South could control the seas and oceans. He could easily manipulate that to create natural disasters.

The King of the North enjoyed integrating himself seamlessly into human society. He observed people, acted like them, and could create all kinds of amazing things from thin air for them.

As for the King of the West, his power lay in reformation.

Under his wing, the Butcher's alliance and agenda became aligned to the government. He was now assisting Inspector Ho with the competition as a secret weapon.

The masked man removed his mask and handed his jacket to the Butcher, whom put them on briskly.

He cracked his neck, then spoke into his earpiece.

"Hello? What should I do now?"

Inspector Ho's voice was heard. It said, "Help Yue Shan secure the sapphires. How you do it is entirely up to you."

"Got it," Butcher grinned.

He extended his foot to take one step, then another, his stride much wider than a normal person's. It almost felt like the earth's gravitational force was weaker for him. He disappeared into the green of the woods within seconds.

He did not launch an attack the moment he reached the landing. Instead, he quietly observed how Zhao Yao would appear, then disappear, and appear again elsewhere. He tried to discern a pattern in his behavior and tried to pick up his opponent's scent.

It did not take long for him to identify who the man in the black cloak was. He knew this scent and he recognized this impenetrable power.

"The Headless Horseman…"

The corners of his lips lifted.

The Butcher might have been reformed, but he did not forget his humiliating defeat at the hands of the Horseman. He was glad that he had an opportunity to get his rightful revenge.

He was not going to mess up this time.

He was patient. He watched each of Zhao Yao's movements and waited for a good time to strike. His chance came when Zhao Yao teleported before him.

"Now!"

The Butcher's hand was lightning fast. It darted forward and wrapped its fingers around Zhao Yao's neck.

"I've finally got you, Headless Horseman."

Zhao Yao clutched the Butcher's wrist, trying to pry his hand away. It was not as easy as he assumed it would be. He found that he could not move it away even by an inch. His grip remained steadfast and firm, like a block of cement.

When he heard his assailant's voice, his pupils dilated in surprise.

"Butcher? He has escaped?" Zhao Yao thought.

He knew he was in trouble.

If he had detected his opponent's presence earlier, he would have had time to consider his options. Unfortunately, he was already stuck in his vice grip when he realized that the he was here.

This greatly reduced the ploys he could use against the Butcher.

"TimeFreeze is in cooldown."

"That would mean that my only way out is to go into the belly."

"But even if I resorted to that, it's not immediate. I need time."

"If I made any move at all, he could twist my head off my shoulders like a bottle cap. Should I sacrifice one life, then attack?"

The Butcher tilted his head to the side, looking at Zhao Yao curiously.

"Hmm? Headless Horseman, why aren't you resisting? Your compliance is very out-of-character," he commented.

He remembered their previous encounter very clearly. The Headless Horse was relentless, shrewd, and awfully aggressive.

He was disappointed with the lack of response had was now displaying.

"If you don't fight back, I won't have a chance to show you my new skills," the Butcher taunted.

Zhao Yao remained limp, which prompted him to shake his head.

"I have to be honest with you. I'm in excellent condition today, pal. Even if you fought back, you wouldn't stand a chance."

He tightened his hold on his neck, as if he wanted to break it.

On the navy vessel, Inspector Ho and Lin Chen heaved a great sigh of relief.

"Well, at least that's settled."

The Inspector's relief morphed into concern as he watched the Butcher take control of the battle with ease.

"The Butcher is good. Too good. We can't leave the rest of the Muscle Society with the King of the West. It's too dangerous."

Now that Zhao Yao was in the Butcher's grasp, a barrage of attacks were directed their way. Flames, lightning, acid, shock waves, and all kinds of superpowers were unleashed.

Chimera sent his fire dragons towards the pair. Godly God was one of the participants as well. He projected phantoms that tore through the field, heading straight for them.

"He's not fleeing?"

"If he doesn't move now, he's done for!"

The heavy blitz of superpowers started to descend towards them like a hundred arrows. The Butcher remained rooted to the ground, unperturbed by the incoming onslaught.

The contestants watched their powers draw closer and closer with their mouths wide open.

The Butcher pursed his lips. He looked more annoyed than afraid.

He tightened his fingers into a fist and sent a wave of heavy punches ripping through the air. A loud boom could be heard as each jab rocketed forward. They crashed into the superpowers that were raining on the duo, shattering them like fireworks.

There was a collective intake of air among the contestants.

Even Zhao Yao had to run and hide when they launched their powers on him. This mysterious masked man, however, could single-handedly reduce them to nothing.

"Who is that?"

"His punches are as powerful as a bomb."

"We're not gonna be able to win this monster."

To say that the Cat King competition had been eye-opening would not be exaggeration. From the Explosive Man, to Yue Shan, to Chimera, then Daniel Wu, and now the masked man; It seemed like there was no limit to an apostle's power.

Just when they thought they had met the undefeatable victor, someone better would come along.

The Butcher seemed to have made a clean sweep of the competition. His explosive punches had extinguished any thought of resistance in the rest of the contestants. None of them made a move towards him. They would take a step back if he as much as glanced their way.

He shook his head at them with disdain, then turned back to the Headless Horseman.

"Well, aren't we in for a treat?" the Cat King of the North said, "A new contender has appeared and he is even stronger than our unbeatable Daniel Wu. He had managed to slice through the other contestants' powers like a watermelon. It is truly unbelievable. Daniel Wu has finally met his match! He's gonna have to bid goodbye to his sapphires this time."

Zhao Yao might be in the Butcher's grasp, but he did not exhibit an ounce of fear or panic. He was running through all the different escape plans he could hatch up.

He had no clue that the Butcher was reformed and would not kill him, so he prepared himself to lose a life in order to get out of this sticky situation.

"I was too careless. I have no choice but to die once then…"

His mind was formulating a plan.

He would activate Suck Me In and try to make his way into the extradimensional belly. If his movement alarms the Butcher and causes him to break his neck, he would die.

That would go one of two ways. He would either die in the belly or, if the Butcher was swift enough, he would die outside of it.

If he managed to escape into the belly and die there, he would put on his cat armor and reappear on the battlefield.

If he died out here, in the real world, he would have to use a power-up and, unfortunately, put on that stupid princess cat dress.

Obviously, the latter option was not the preferred one.