Moving the Forest Shackles with a clatter, I closed the distance to the Feral Beasts.
Along the way, I also changed my weapon configuration.
I canceled the imitation of the Hydra weapon, which I found to be ineffective, and instead imitated the Forest Turtle’s halberd and the Forest Hammer set on both my left and right sides.
Also, I changed the Poison Whip to the Red Whip.
“Kikek.”
Before I could get into striking range, the Black Shadow standing on the far right moved. But it wasn’t an attack, it was a heal.
It consumed a considerable amount of Mana and regenerated its severed leg. Is that a Skill like my Body Restoration?
The wound was healed, but its Mana was depleted, so I guess it’s fine.
“Guoooooooh!”
Next, the Dragon on the far left roared.
With a roar that shook me to my core, the Dragon’s scales began to change color.
From a deep green that conveyed a sense of heaviness, to a golden hue like the morning sun.
“(So, you’re going all out too, huh?)”
The sense of intimidation increased. It must have used some kind of enhancement Skill.
However, the fact that it hadn’t used it until now must mean there was some reason why it hadn’t.
Time limit, number of uses, activation conditions… or perhaps a cost.
In any case, something that heavy must also be powerful. Caution is a must.
“(Well, the first one I’ll take care of is the Skeleton, Charge Slash!)”
I suddenly stepped in and unleashed a simultaneous slash with both halberds.
The Skeleton in the center tried to block with its countless arms, but I cut through them all, and the blades reached its exposed shoulders.
“(Compact Swing!)”
Immediately after, I thrust out the Forest Hammer.
The Skeleton, trying to counterattack without regard for its injuries, was sent flying back about ten meters by the impact.
“(Parry…!)”
Before the follow-up attack, I defended with the halberd.
As expected, the Black Shadow didn’t move, but the Dragon on the left attacked normally.
With the tremendous Speed it had shown me so many times, a flash of dragon claws.
I parried it with the handle of the Forest Hammer, using the momentum of the claw strike to move towards the Skeleton.
“(Swing! One more time!)”
I rotated my body and struck with the Forest Hammer.
I crushed its arm and sent it flying even further. Shattered ribs flew through the air.
While following up, I turned my attention to my back.
The Dragon I had turned to was running, and a beat later, the Black Shadow also moved.
“(I can’t let them catch up, Lightning Strike, Flee activate!)”
I released multiple bolts of lightning like a fence to stop them, and then fled from them, greatly accelerating.
Before the Skeleton could regain its posture, I closed in and swung the Forest Hammer down on its defenseless skull.
“(Charge Swing!)”
“Kofyo!?”
The Skeleton’s head was half-crushed, and it fell over with a thud.
“(Compact Slash!)”
I decapitated it with the right halberd and cut off one of its arms with the left halberd.
A blow that layered Storm Strikes upon Storm Strikes easily tore through even the Feral Beast’s sturdy body.
~Unidentified Information Recording Area~
…
War-Inducing Weapon Creation, Fue Toukouya’s Soul Accumulation Value (Level) has increased to 237.
…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The feeling of my body becoming lighter from the Level up.
I had cut off one of its arms just in case, but it seems the head was its weak point.
It seems it had also used up all of its stored Life, and the Skeleton stopped moving.
“(First one down…!)”
Immediately after, the Dragon caught up.
I used the Forest Shackles to block the claw strike from behind and jumped to escape the impact.
The Dragon immediately went on the offensive.
I turned around to meet it.
“Grrrruooooh!”
“(Parry, Block, Parry!)”
I deflected the sharp claw strike with the right halberd.
Immediately, the other arm swung, but I countered it with the left halberd.
Claw strikes, bites, charges, claw strikes, claw strikes, tail sweeps.
I simply parried the relentless combo with my imitated weapons.
The deflected claws hit the ground, creating deep cracks with the tremors.
Its overwhelming power. The Power boosted by the golden transformation would probably overwhelm me with brute force alone if I just used normal weapon handling.
“Parry!”
That’s why I’m spamming defensive Weapon Skills.
Normally, it’s difficult to use them in succession, but I have Raging Artistry. I was able to fend off the Dragon’s onslaught without the slightest waver.
“(–Ah, it’s about time.)”
After a brief exchange of attacks and defenses, the Dragon coughed up blood as I narrowly dodged a bite.
I hadn’t attacked it at all. I had been focusing on defense ever since the Dragon had turned golden.
“(It seems the Poison has finally taken effect.)”
So this was a seed I had planted before, before the golden transformation.
If I had hit it with the Hydra weapon that many times, the effects would be visible even during a high-speed battle between Feral Beasts.
“(It might have been troublesome if it had gone golden from the start, but–)”
From the beginning, I had seen hints of the poison.
One of them was the sluggishness of its movements.
The Dragon’s agility hadn’t changed much before and after the golden transformation, and that was what was strange.
If the golden transformation wasn’t a bluff Skill, it should have been enhanced in some way.
The fact that it wasn’t meant that the enhancement was being offset by the weakening effect of the Poison.
“(–It was a bit late to use it.)”
The Dragon’s Speed was the best among the Feral Beasts, and if it had gone golden before being poisoned, it would have been a bit more difficult.
But there’s no point in talking about what-ifs in a fight to the death.
“Graaah!”
“(I’m already used to that movement.)”
A high-speed bite was attempted even while coughing up blood.
I dodged it in a ring shape, immediately contracted, wrapped around its neck, imitated a multitude of blades, and Bit Through.
I bit into the golden scales—which were harder than when they were green—and, combined with the strangulation bonus, bit through its neck.
~Unidentified Information Recording Area~
…
War-Inducing Weapon Creation, Fue Toukouya’s Soul Accumulation Value (Level) has increased to 244.
…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“(Second one down, and Air Jump.)”
Immediately after, I jumped sideways to avoid the shadow rising from the ground.
A blast of wind erupted, and the Dragon’s corpse nearby was blown away several meters.
“(Its Power is still amazing!)”
I was impressed by the fist pressure that turned a mere aftershock into a ranged attack.
Come to think of it, the last time my Toughness was in danger of being broken by pure attack power was when I was caught in a fight between Feral Beasts back when I was a Lesser Beast.
“Keh, Kukeh, Kukakekekeh!”
“(Yo, hop, Jump. Damn it, you’re getting motivated now that your buddies are gone!)”
A barrage of punches with super high Power.
Even a graze would probably cause a lot of cell necrosis.
This was the opposite of its passive attitude so far, but I could guess the reason. It must have been under an order like “no friendly fire.”
That’s why it couldn’t attack before, so as not to involve its allies.
When I punched the Skeleton away and was sandwiched between the Dragon and the Black Shadow earlier, it didn’t even make a move to attack.
“(Maybe it would have been better to leave the Dragon alive and use it as a shield… no, in that case, the Black Shadow would have kept its distance, and I might have been counterattacked by the wounded Dragon. Okay, switch gears! I can see its weakness, all that’s left is to blow it away!)”
While dodging the fists that were twisting the air, I observed the opponent’s movements. I didn’t forget to hit it with the Red Whip when I saw an opening.
I attacked from a distance where I could react immediately, fearing a counterattack.
“Kakekeh.”
“(Whoa!?)”
I dodged the Black Shadow’s straight punch and retreated. And the moment I was out of range, the Black Shadow’s arm swung again.
Its arm had transformed into a long, thin whip that could reach me.
“(Jump–gueh!)”
My evasive action was forcibly stopped. For a moment, it was like I was paralyzed. I had the same symptom when I was entangled by the Skeleton, so this must be another Skill of the Black Shadow.
The paralysis was quickly released, but I couldn’t avoid the Shadow Whip now.
“(No, this is actually convenient, Block!)”
This was a good opportunity to confirm the truth of my assumption, so I would take the attack.
I thrust six Forest Shackles and two Red Whips into the ground, preparing for the blow from the side.
──Goooooooonnnn!!
It was an impact like never before.
A roar echoed, and my body, which should have been hardened by 〖Block〗, was nearly 20% destroyed in a single blow.
It even broke through the bracing effect of 〖Last Stand〗, and the chain carved a rut into the ground.
I was blown away more than twenty meters in an instant.
“(Ouch, that hurt)”
Checking my 〖Life〗, it had been reduced by 500.
Thanks to 〖Stockpile〗, I didn’t have any physical injuries, but I took the highest damage I’ve ever received.
“(Well, it seems like it’s the same for him though)”
“Kukeke…”
The Black Shadow’s arm, which had transformed into a whip, was blown off from the middle.
If you punch something hard with your bare hands, you’ll get hurt. It’s a natural principle.
“(Normally, you’d just get a little scratch… This guy is really unbalanced)”
I had expected it since my attacks were working normally, but it seems that the Black Shadow’s 〖Toughness〗 is very low compared to its 〖Power〗.
And if it tries to exceed my 〖Toughness〗, it will inevitably exceed its own limit.
“(This is troublesome, 〖Wave Slash〗)”
“Kaka!”
I sent a slash towards the Black Shadow, which had regenerated its arm, but it evaded by turning into a shadow.
It then approached me.
“(〖Quake Swing〗… The vibration has no effect, huh?)”
I shook the surroundings with the Forest Hammer, but the shadow figure clinging to the ground continued to move with an unconcerned face—though I couldn’t see its expression.
It seems I have to hit that shadow directly to damage its body.
“(Expand 〖Zone Control〗)”
In preparation for the Black Shadow’s attack, I placed the surroundings under the control of the 〖Armory〗.
Since I added ‘Suppression,’ it was easily overwritten. The thin darkness that had been hanging in the air quickly cleared.
“(Well, shadow clones, not bad)”
Of course, the Black Shadow wasn’t just coming at me blindly.
On the way, it created four dummy shadows to confuse me.
…No, there’s a possibility that they are clones that have divided its power, or at worst, they all have the same power as the real one.
It’s important not to jump to conclusions. Let’s deal with them before they scatter.
“(〖Compact Shot〗!)”
While manipulating 〖Zone Control〗, I shot the explosive arrows I had prepared.
The arrows didn’t hit any of the shadows, but the explosion engulfed all of them. It created a crater in the ground, swallowing and erasing many of the shadows.
“Ku, kekeke!”
One shadow survived. It seems to be the main body.
It had undone its shadow form, and its body was quite battered, probably due to the explosion.
However, its right arm, which had transformed into a whip, was still intact.
It swung it horizontally to strike me, who had finally come into its range.
“(〖Arms Craftsman〗!)”
Just before it was swung, a shield rose from the ground.
No, it would be more accurate to say it assembled itself rather than rose.
This shield was made by kneading the rocks around here.
〖Arms Craftsman〗 is a 〖Skill〗 that allows you to change the shape of materials as you like and create weapons as you desire.
With it, I turned the rocks in the plaza into a shield.
Having made countless weapons from Mana Minerals in the Goronomua Mountains, I can now shape them instantly.
Moreover, this time I added ‘Mass Production’ and ‘Master Craftsman’ to the additional effects of 〖Zone Control〗.
This allowed me to create a high-quality rock shield in a short time.
The shield was half-buried in the ground, and depending on how you looked at it, you could call it a wall.
“Keka!?”
Immediately after the rock wall was completed, the whip attacked.
The newly built rock wall was shattered in an instant, and the shadow whip was blown away by the recoil.
“(〖Whip〗, double!)”
And if the opponent’s whip can reach me, it means my whip can reach them too.
I swung two Red Whips from the left and right, striking the Black Shadow’s knee and neck.
The Black Shadow was distracted by the pain of its arm exploding and couldn’t defend or evade.
“(〖Rampage〗, Lightning Strike)”
But it’s not over yet.
A little while ago, when I tried to 〖Strangle〗 the Black Shadow’s neck, there was a strange sensation.
It was as if there was no core… as if there were no bones.
Also, the Black Shadow is transforming its arms.
Although it has a humanoid shape, it might be an amorphous species like a slime.
“(〖Charge Swing〗, double!)”
Hence the follow-up attack.
With the momentum of the charge, I struck the Black Shadow’s body hard with the Forest Hammer.
“Ke…ka…”
The reaction was dramatic.
Its body bent into a “く” shape—or rather, it was split in half at the abdomen, and the Black Shadow’s upper and lower body flew into the air like leaves.
And then, as if blown by the wind, its entire body disappeared.
~Unidentified Information Recording Area~
…
>>The 〖Soul Accumulation Value (Level)〗 of Fue Toukouya, the War-Inducing Weapon Creation, has increased to 248.
…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“(All three of them, subjugation complete. Ah, that was fun!)”
I shouted with joy.
Each of them was a tough opponent, but that’s why the joy of winning was exceptional. The thrill of my own tactics working well against a strong enemy is indescribable.
“(And, I can’t stay like this. I need to hurry and help Fiss, and—)”
In an instant, a strong chill ran through my whole body.
I turned sharply and glared at the source of the presence.
It was the place where Fiss was fighting.
From the rocky mountain at the edge of the plaza, a huge tree root was stretching into the sky.