Chapter 174: The Horse and Deer Ascend Once More 3
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What the hell is this guy?!
I almost screamed internally as all five of my full-power consecutive strikes were blocked by his sword.
This is insane.
The way this guy uses his body is absolutely insane.
How is he blocking my sword?
I’m not boasting; I’m genuinely baffled.
To put it simply, the act of a human supporting something is entirely a matter of balance.
That’s why people lower their center of gravity, adjust the weight on both feet—in other words, they take a stance.
So what’s with this guy?
He blocked the sideways slash I aimed at his flank while standing stock-still, in a ridiculous posture as if he just forcibly extended his right arm, seemingly only caring that his own sword could reach.
I’ll cut you in half, defense and all—that’s what I thought as I swung, but he blocked it, and I nearly cursed at the iniquity before me.
So what? Was my sword blocked just by the strength of his wrist?
“Are you a monster?”
“I’d rather not hear that from you.”
My opponent dutifully responded to my muttering.
Damn, I might actually start to like him… but die anyway.
Before the wave of flowers turning red from the Magicka Wave generated by the clash of our swords could reach the edge, I launched a follow-up attack.
Right, then up—a two-hit combo aimed at his head, meant to kill.
As always, my sword was blocked with movements that seemed like a joke.
But that’s fine.
According to Master, high, high, low is a killer combo.
Meaning my real target is the low kick.
I’ll snap both his legs.
I threw the kick with all my speed and power, ensuring there was no chance his sword could intercept it, only to be stunned by the bizarre sensation.
“Huh?”
What kind of movement was that? A strange sound escaped my lips involuntarily.
It was like… yes, exactly like flicking the lower body of a puppet hanging from strings, my kick was deflected.
No, that’s not it.
A chill ran down my spine, and I raised my sword purely on instinct.
I blocked the downward-swung sword.
The abnormal weight behind the blow, coming from that ridiculous stance, sent a shiver through me.
It wasn’t deflected.
Watching his legs move fluidly like curtains fluttering in the wind, centered around his navel, I realized.
His legs weren’t supporting his weight from the start.
“Are you kidding me, floating?”
Blocking the overhead strike resulted in me looking up.
The situation—being looked down upon by Erica’s enemy—made me feel like I could cough up blood.
“That’s my line, Longdagger. How are you unharmed after taking my sword strike? Normally, you’d be cut in half, sword and all, you know? Just because you’re Longdagger doesn’t mean you can do anything, right?”
Whether it’s the Prince or this guy, the way you all use ‘Longdagger’ makes it sound omnipotent. I don’t get it.
“Must be thanks to the sword. I’ll be sure to thank whoever made it.”
“My plans keep getting interrupted, Longdagger isn’t nice to me, and he attacks while erupting flames from his whole body…”
The pressure trying to push my sword down increased.
I knew this was bad, but I couldn’t move.
“Unpleasant.”
If the lower body doesn’t need to support weight, then the legs can act as arms.
A kick too crude to even be called such flew towards me, like he was using his own shin as a club.
Aiming for the head? How merciful. Master would’ve gone for breaking the legs. And then cut you in half once you lost your balance. You really are an amateur after all.
Dash!
“Shaaa!”
With a yell filled with guts, I met his shin with a headbutt.
I felt the satisfying sensation of his shin snapping against my forehead. Though it made me dizzy.
“Isn’t that going a bit too far?”
As always, only their voice was expressive.
“Didn’t you know?”
His expressionless face tilted.
“The neck muscles have twice the strength of the leg muscles, you know.”
Legs have three times the strength of arms, and twice that means a headbutt has six times the power of an arm strike.
“Eh? That’s wrong, though?”
I couldn’t help but sense the truth in the girl’s genuinely bewildered voice.
“Is that so?”
I couldn’t stop myself from asking back.
“Yeah.”
However, the reply came paired with a kick to my left flank.
Damn it! Master lied to me!
I skipped twice across the water surface that had become hard like cobblestone before stabbing my sword into it to kill my momentum.
Blood dribbled uncontrollably from my mouth, forced open by my broken jaw.
This is a stupid face I can’t let Erica see.
The man— no, wait, was it an exceptionally beautiful girl? —No, why the hell should I care about the enemy’s gender identity?
The figure came towards me, sliding across the water’s surface.
The way their legs didn’t move, instead trailing behind them, overcome by water resistance, was just too absurd.
At a distance of about ten feet, the man swung his sword.
Reacting instinctively to the approaching Magicka Thread, I swung my own sword.
The sensation was like I’d deflected a sword, making me want to tilt my head.
I had expected the feeling of shattering something, like when deflecting an Ogre Knight or Dragon Breath.
Ah, crap. I bit down on the complaint with my back teeth, clenched thanks to Healing Magic.
I finally understood the nature of his attack.
This is the same thing as my ‘cutting from afar’.
So my sword technique, at least in terms of cutting power, is on par with Master’s attacks?
Though I’d rather not confirm that with my own body ever again!
I deflected the next three incoming flying slashes, then righted myself to face the man rushing towards me with those creepy movements.
If it weren’t for the water underfoot, I would have initiated the attack myself, but if I misjudged the force and tripped, it would be game over.
I had charged in recklessly just now, but I couldn’t flatter myself into thinking I could always move like that.
The man attacked with an absurd stance and absurd sword lines.
Easy to block.
“That’s way too soft! Hey!”
You won’t even land a single blow on Erica like that! I couldn’t help but taunt him.
While taunting, I deflected his sword and slammed into him with my shoulder.
We ended up in close quarters, so neither of us could use our swords.
But I could use my head.
I crushed his nose with my forehead and locked his wrist with my left hand.
Sealing his kicks by being too close, sealing his sword by controlling his wrist, I used my free right hand to rain down blows on the man’s face with the pommel of my sword.
The man’s face broke while remaining expressionless.
I regretted giving the Dagger to the Prince.
I could have stabbed him repeatedly.
The moment I thought that, the man’s half-destroyed face smiled.
Before I could even register the bad feeling, an impact ran through my chest.
I slammed back-first into the wall, more confused about what had just happened than hurt.
This is bad—the moment my ass hit the ground, I twisted my body on pure instinct without thinking.
A sensation like ice being stabbed into my left chest.
“Not aiming for the head? You’re quite merciful, aren’t you?” I said to the man, looking at the sword piercing my left chest.
“Someone once told me that amateurs find it difficult to aim for the head. The heart doesn’t move around, so it’s an easy target.”
“I see. I’ll keep that in mind.”
As I replied, I frantically searched for a way out of this extremely bad situation.
In so many martial arts matches, there are rules where falling to the ground means defeat.
In other words, I was completely helpless right now.
Worse than just being down, my upper body was pinned by the sword.
What is this? It’s checkmate, isn’t it?
If they gained distance and attacked with magic, how long could I last?
Impossible. That means death.
I steeled myself.
“If you surrender, I won’t kill you? I decided I’d be gentle with Longdagger.”
The confidence of someone certain of victory was clear in their voice.
Their face remained expressionless, but their voice was eloquent, though.
I grabbed the man’s right hand.
I put all my strength into it, intending to crush the sword hilt along with his hand, but his composure didn’t waver.
“Save your sleep talk for when you’re sleeping, you expressionless bastard!”
Shouting as loud as one lung would allow, ignoring the sword still embedded in me tearing through my body, I pulled my upper body up.
My sternum caught on the sword, bouncing minutely inside my chest.
“I’m a beautiful girl, Longdagger!”
Following their advice—or rather, simply because it seemed out of reach—the thrust aimed at the opponent’s chest surely crushed the man’s heart.
Feeling the sensation of the hilt catching on their chest, I twisted the sword, arm and all.
Feeling the opponent’s sternum crack, I pulled back, released my left hand, and assumed the best defensive stance I could.
Because that was all I could do.
“Shit, so it’s that?”
Seeing the approaching mass of Black Magicka, I realized my mistake and couldn’t help but complain.
—Impact.
I was hit by Magicka.
Not magic, not a Skill.
Simply punched by Magicka.
If they have a sword like mine, one that can cut things with Magicka, then it stands to reason someone could punch with Magicka too.
Perhaps they exist, but honestly, this is ‘tough’.
“What the hell is that? A monster?”
I tried complaining, hoping it might buy me some time, but it was useless. Through my blurred vision, I confirmed the Black Magicka meant for the finishing blow.
The damage is severe. My left arm will be useless for a while. I’m still holding my sword, but my arm won’t move. Maybe because I hit my head hard, my vision won’t focus.
“Getting called a monster by Longdagger really hurts, you know!”
What does everyone think Longdagger is, anyway?
I pulled in my barely functioning legs and curled my body up.
I braced myself for the approaching mass of Magicka.
Next time, I’ll definitely shove it right into you.
The man was convinced of his victory, but I had no intention of dying quietly.
My molars, clenched so hard they creaked, forced an out-of-place smile onto my face, as if to say, ‘Like hell I’ll die’.
Maybe that’s why.
I said it with complete honesty.
“You’re the biggest idiot, aren’t you?”
Prince Daryl’s fist connected with the man’s face.
Afterword
Ahem, first, a few words.
The author, I did it!
Thank you always for your comments, likes, follows, and ratings.
They are the source of the author’s motivation.
As I also wrote in my activity report, this time, “Adventurer Life With the Exiled Marquise” at the Kakuyomu Contest…
Won the Special Award in the Isekai Fantasy category
And the Comic Walker Manga Award in the Isekai Fantasy category.
…has received these awards.
Due to the Kakuyomu Contest system, you can’t even enter the ring without first passing the reader selection phase, so this award is undoubtedly thanks to the support of all you readers.
While expressing my deepest gratitude here, I also want to praise myself, saying ‘I did it!’
I did it! Yeeeee-haaaaw!