Act Cool and Scram

The effect of Brother Fly's power was not particularly formidable; it merely increased the anger of anyone who heard those words by 300%.

In the past, most of the people Joss encountered were ordinary folks, who were as prone to blind rage as they were to losing their reason. However, for powerhouses, controlling one's emotions and maintaining rationality was a mandatory course.

It was not to say that the strong never felt anger, but they rarely lost their reason because of it or made inappropriate choices.

To them, anger was merely an emotion, never an impulse.

Because of this, Joss rarely used this ability nowadays. Even against the Grandmaster, there was no need; after all, even if the Grandmaster went out of his mind, his subordinates would definitely step in and stop him in time.

Yet, there are no absolutes in this world, because standing right in front of Joss was the most furious and violent existence in the entire Marvel Universe!

In the comics, Hulk was defined by the trait: [The angrier he is, the stronger he gets, capable of growing without any limits.] Unless facing beings who could alter causality or reality, most people who confronted Hulk could only end up tasting defeat beneath his fists.

It remained unknown whether the Hulk Joss was facing retained this bug-tier ability, but without a doubt, anger still amplified Hulk's power.

Aside from the Green Scar, all forms of Hulk grew stronger the more berserk they became. Reason was nothing more than a pure shackle.

Thus, courtesy of a foul-mouthed curse from student Joss, who excelled at provoking anger, the Hulk... completely snapped.

An axe, larger than Joss himself, swept past his side, plowing a deep trench into the ground before smashing a massive hole roughly ten meters in diameter into the wall of the arena.

Only then did the sonic boom dust, generated when the axe broke the sound barrier upon being thrown, finally detonate right in front of Joss.

"Holy... crap?" Joss stared at the deep trench on the ground, swallowing hard with some difficulty.

If yesterday's slash had made him feel Death's sickle graze across his throat, Hulk's casual throw made him envision a nine-foot-tall gangster Grim Reaper with a giant gold chain, holding a glowing blue six-barreled minigun right at his forehead and letting it rip.

"ROAR!!!!!!"

Suddenly, a deafening roar from the Hulk pulled Joss back to his senses. In his heart, he couldn't help but feel immensely grateful that the berserk Hulk didn't know what it meant to press the attack; otherwise, if that hammer in his left hand had been thrown as well, he would probably be dead by now.

Although Hulk didn't know how to pursue an advantage, he also didn't know the meaning of mercy. Though slightly delayed, his left hand had already been raised!

"No, I can't dodge it! I simply can't avoid that kind of speed, but getting hit means death. Neither the Infinity suit nor the slime body can withstand it... What should I do? What can I do???"

A wave of overwhelming terror spread through Joss's heart, and his fingers even began to tremble slightly, but he still managed to retain his sanity.

Since he dared to pull such a stunt, he naturally had already considered this outcome. He had only been stunned for a split second by that unimaginable display of power, but in the very next second, Joss regained his composure.

He couldn't run, and he couldn't tank it. If he had Captain America's shield right now, he might have been able to block this blow; otherwise, he was dead without a shadow of a doubt!

"Wait?! A shield... don't I have one?!"

At the very instant before the Hulk was about to hurl the flying warhammer, Joss finally recalled that item he had basically never used since acquiring it.

"Come forth, Sword in the Stone!!!!!!"

Though drawing an item from the system was merely a matter of a single thought, it had to be said that once Hulk's attack was launched, it was far faster than an ordinary person's neural reaction speed.

Just as Joss shouted in furious anger, the massive warhammer had already left Hulk's hand. The two actions took place almost at the exact same time!

However, even a supersonic flying hammer still had a dozen or so meters to cross, whereas Joss only needed to plunge the Sword in the Stone directly in front of him.

It was precisely this tiny margin of difference that allowed him to successfully activate the ability of the Sword in the Stone within the final microsecond!

The Sword in the Stone that could never be pulled out! No matter what kind of force was applied, it could never be extracted!

BOOM!!!!!!!!!

The warhammer collided with the Sword in the Stone planted in the ground, and the former instantly shattered into countless fragments, sweeping outward like a fragmentation grenade. It instantly blanketed the greater part of the arena, peppering the ground and walls with countless craters.

Joss curled his body up behind the Sword in the Stone. Not a single shard of shattered iron managed to harm his body, but the Sword in the Stone was, after all, not Captain America's shield. While it possessed the absolute property of being indestructible and unmovable, it did not absorb kinetic impact.

As Newton put it well—though it might have also been said by Zhou Shuren—forces do not simply vanish into thin air. Even though the frontal impact of this immense force was blocked by the Sword in the Stone, the subsequent shockwave still slammed relentlessly into Joss!

Knowing full well that leaving the protective range of the Sword in the Stone meant certain death, Joss simply gritted his teeth against the agonizing pain of his internal organs feeling like they were tearing apart. Leaning desperately on his ability to stand his ground firmly without moving an inch, he finally managed to weather this wave of impact.

"That really packs a punch... But this is perfect. If not for this, my plan wouldn't have succeeded."

Wiping the blood from his face, Joss grabbed the hilt of the Sword in the Stone with one hand and—looking utterly cowardly—hid behind the blade to peer at the Hulk.

"Hulk!!! Eat shit, you bastard! Eat shit! Eat shit! Shit, shit, shit!!!!!!"

Caught completely off guard by a twenty-hit combo of taunts, the effect was so profound that even the Hulk froze in place. Then, visibly to the naked eye, the muscles all over his body bulged even more horrifyingly, the sheer magnitude of his power compressing and distorting the surrounding air!

He was about to blow his top from sheer rage!

The Grandmaster, watching the battle from afar, had initially been rather smug. Not only was he certain that the Hulk had Joss right where he wanted him, but he had also laid down an inescapable net all around the arena. No matter how the two of them ended up, he was determined to capture Joss.

Yet, the power the Hulk was displaying right now was something even he had never witnessed before. After all, there had never been an opponent in this arena worthy of forcing the Hulk to use his full strength, nor any scoundrel who could provoke him to this extreme degree.

"This kind of power... It's terrifying. What on earth did he do to make the Hulk this furious? No... Before that, what can he possibly do facing a Hulk like this?"

Even the immortal Grandmaster broke out in cold sweat at the power the Hulk was currently displaying. He simply couldn't fathom why Joss would pull such a stunt; driving the Hulk into such a frenzied state meant Joss would undoubtedly be the first one to die!

However, just as the Grandmaster was bewildered, Joss turned his head to look at him, a cold smirk curling the corner of his mouth as he said, "Farewell!"

The next second, Joss's figure vanished entirely.