Ultraman: It turns out this is the easy mode.

As soon as Basil's challenge ended, the surrounding aliens erupted in cheers. Spectators who were about to leave turned back, crowding the outer perimeter of the fence, their faces beaming with excitement and anticipation. Their cheers were even louder than before: "Great! Another fight!" "Let's see if this alien seaman can beat Storm One!" "Maybe we'll see a spectacular sword duel!"

Cui Ming stopped and turned to look at the confident-looking Basil, his eyes completely unwavering. He glanced at the hooked sword in the other's hand, then at Basil's tense posture, and nodded indifferently: "Fine." As soon as he finished speaking, he picked up the Magma Spinal Sword and walked straight towards Basil—no more words, just the start of the fight.

Seeing this, Basil's eyes flashed with surprise, clearly not expecting Cui Ming to be so decisive. However, he quickly adjusted his stance, gripped his hook sword, and assumed a defensive posture. He felt that his three years of hard-earned swordsmanship was enough to deal with any opponent, but in Cui Ming's eyes, this guy's level was only "okay."

After all, Cui Ming had previously fought against the strongest female Basil on Planet Basil. That female Basil was not only a formidable swordsman, but she could also manipulate seawater to launch attacks, making her far more powerful than the Basil before him. Yet, she was ultimately captured alive by Cui Ming and imprisoned in a special cell at the EDF base. The Basil before him, in terms of aura, the composure of her moves, and her control over her weapon, was far inferior to that female Basil. In Cui Ming's eyes, she was nothing more than another alien delivered as "spoils of war."

"Take this!" Basil shouted, launching the first attack. He pushed off with his feet, his body shooting towards Cui Ming like an arrow released from a bow. The hook-shaped sword in his hand whistled through the air as it slashed diagonally toward Cui Ming's shoulder. The spikes on the sword gleamed coldly, clearly aiming to break through Cui Ming's defenses in one strike.

Cui Ming stood still, only slightly shifting his body to easily dodge the attack just as the hooked sword was about to strike. Simultaneously, he swiftly swung his spinal sword, the blade grazing the edge of the hooked sword with a crisp "whoosh." Basil felt a sudden numbness in his wrist, the hooked sword nearly slipping from his grasp, and he was startled—Cui Ming's strength was far greater than he had imagined!
But Basil did not back down. He quickly adjusted his posture, using the recoil to turn around, and swung his hook sword horizontally, attacking Cui Ming's lower body. This time, he used a technique he had honed for many years to deflect force, attempting to use the hook of the sword to entangle Cui Ming's weapon. But Cui Ming remained calm and composed, pressing his spinal sword downwards, precisely blocking the hook sword's attack. Then, he twisted his wrist, and the blade slid down the curve of the hook sword, aiming straight for Basil's wrist.

Basil, startled, hastily withdrew his attack and retreated, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He then realized that the gap between himself and Cui Ming might be greater than he had imagined. Meanwhile, the surrounding audience, seeing Cui Ming's composed demeanor, cheered again: "Go Storm One! Finish him off quickly!" "This space sea man is no good; he can't even touch Storm One!"

Cui Ming looked at the retreating Basil with a hint of mockery in his eyes: "Is that all you've got? Looks like your hard-earned swordsmanship isn't all that great." With that, he abandoned his passive defense and charged towards Basil, his spinal sword drawing a chilling arc in the air as he launched a fierce attack. A seemingly evenly matched challenge was doomed from the start.

Generally speaking, Cui Ming never mocks his enemies casually. Even when facing the most arrogant opponent, he only lets his strength speak for itself. However, the Basil aliens are an exception. After all, the strongest female Basil alien tried to cause trouble after being captured, which made Cui Ming have no goodwill towards this race. Since they are Basil aliens, there is naturally no need to be polite.

Enraged by Cui Ming's taunts, Basil was completely enraged. His eyes turned bloodshot as he roared and charged forward again, wildly swinging his hooked sword, abandoning all his previous composure and consumed by the single thought of "defeat Cui Ming." But the more agitated he became, the more openings he created, and his chaotic attacks were riddled with flaws in Cui Ming's eyes.

Cui Ming slightly shifted his body, easily dodging Basil's attack. At the same time, seizing the opening when his opponent was retracting his attack, he suddenly exerted force with his feet, instantly closing the distance between his body and Basil's. Before Basil could react, the Magma Spinal Sword in Cui Ming's hand had already pierced straight through Basil's chest with a sharp whooshing sound—the tip of the sword emerged from his back, stained with red blood, which was particularly dazzling in the sunlight.

"Ugh—" Basil let out a shrill scream, his body instantly stiffening, the hooked sword in his hand clattering to the ground. He looked down at the longsword in front of his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief, as if he couldn't believe he had been defeated so easily.

Cui Ming stared at him expressionlessly, then suddenly grabbed Basil's head with his left hand, his fingers digging into the man's scalp like iron clamps. Basil tried to struggle, but found his body pinned down by the longsword, unable to move at all, only able to let out weak whimpers.

“Since you’re a Basil alien, you should be prepared to be dealt with by me,” Cui Ming said coldly, his arm suddenly exerting force. A crisp “crack” was heard, accompanied by the sound of bones breaking, as Cui Ming forcefully pulled Basil’s head off his neck!
Red blood gushed from his neck like a fountain, splattering all over Cui Ming, but he didn't care. Holding Basil's head, he casually threw it on the ground. The headless body swayed for a moment before falling heavily to the ground, completely still.

The alien spectators outside the fence fell into a brief silence upon witnessing this scene, before erupting into even more fervent cheers: "Good! That's Storm One! This is how you should be ruthless against the Basil aliens!" "So cool! He pierced through and then pulled out the head, leaving the opponent absolutely no chance!"

Cui Ming flicked the blood off his sword, glanced up at the boisterous audience, then looked down at Basil's corpse and head on the ground, his face remaining expressionless. To him, dealing with a Basil alien was no different from dealing with the Magma aliens; it was just another problem to eliminate.

He bent down to pick up his sword, wiped the blood off it, and turned to walk towards Lindis and Saeko Busujima, saying calmly, "It's cleaned up. We should head back to base." The two nodded and followed Cui Ming off the field—this sudden challenge had ended with Basil's tragic death, and Cui Ming's reputation as "Storm One" had gained even more intimidation among the aliens. (End of Chapter)