Chapter 176
The thing that jumped noisily out of the tall grass was a fish . However, it was a bipedal fish . In its hand was a makeshift spear and its body was wrapped in a type of waterweed as it ran wildly in our direction . It was a merman .
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“Well, I had an idea after looking it up at the guild…”
“Be careful of their spears, but not only the spears . They will use water magic as well . ”
“Be careful of everything then . Got it!”
I replied as I held the sword above my head and ran forward . ‘Jack of all Trades, Master of None’ had allowed me to simulate the movements of these merman…known as ‘sahuagin . ’ I also knew what kind of magic they would use . And so when they held their spears at that level…
“Hah…!”
A bullet of water fires off . I press into the dirt with my right leg and jump to the left . As I know their movements, I can act before they have even taken them . Then I land to the right side of the sahuagin and swing the great sword down with all of my might . It cuts through the creature’s shoulder and into the torso . The sahuagin’s top half flies in the air .
Without missing a beat, I swing the sword up this time, taking the sahuagin that stood behind the fallen lower half of the first . This is immediately followed by a downward swing into the head of another sahuagin who came next to me . Blood sprays in the air like mist as two more quickly fall .
After that, I quickly concentrated on Presence Detection and searched for my next prey . Someone was coming from behind with a raised spear . I used Legs of the Forest Wolf to jump up high . At the same time, a burst of water magic hits where I had been standing a moment ago .
‘They are able to launch three water bullets with every swing of their spears . The bullets will come at you from the front and sides, therefore, the only way to escape is to go up . ’
That was what I had read at the guild . This magic made the sahuagin a lot more dangerous . There was not much you could do unless you had a shield .
I kept my guard up as I glanced towards Daniela . She had opted to create some distance and then use her bow to turn the sahuagin into pin cushions . She had killed more than half of them already .
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“You are slacking, Asagi!”
“Sorry!”
I moved away frantically as an arrow whizzed passed me . It wouldn’t have hit me anyway, but it was still perfectly terrifying . Arrows were not meant to be used like that . And that’s the truth .
I groaned at Daniela’s harsh disciplinary style as I landed on the ground and held my sword ready . There in front of me, was a sahuagin that was larger than the rest . It looks like I had unexpectedly landed in front of the big one . The boss . Also known as the lord of the lake .
The boss sahuagin breathed its misty breath and held its spear…and what a spear it was . This was not the kind of boss who left his subordinates to do the dirty work . Those were the best kinds of bosses . Except he was my enemy right now .
“Daniela won’t like it if I don’t give you a good work out . ”
Blue magic enveloped my blade, turning it into water . This was the crowning achievement of a blacksmith with blue magic, the Schwarz Tempest . This thing could cut through anything, even the neck of a wind dragon .
And so I held it up and charged at the boss sahuagin . It would die under this unblockable attack . …Or so I thought . My eyes widened as the blade descended .
It had done it . The boss sahuagin had done the same magic on his own spear .
And so my great sword was blocked, and I was pushed back . Not only that, but it caused the current of water enveloping our weapons to bounce off and disappear . I would never have imagined that there was something this sword couldn’t cut… I was practically dumbfounded as I stood there and held it in front of me .
“I see . So it has the same attribute as mine…”
“FWWOOOSSH!”
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Master Daniela had given me lessons on magic and anti-attributes and the workings of nullifying spells before . I looked around cautiously as I thought back on what had happened . It looked like the others were not going to join the fight . They were either holding their spears and watching, or going after Daniela . Well, Daniela would probably kill them no matter what they were doing .
The boss sahuagin was more important, anyway . If the power of blue magic wasn’t going to help me, it would be up to pure swordsmanship . It wasn’t about dealing one heavy blow with a great sword then . And so I thrust the thing into the ground and unsheathed the Glampanzer with my right hand and took out the Ashikirimaru with my left .
This change in style must have made him wary because the boss sahuagin now lowered his stance and slowly pointed his spear out .
Our eyes locked on one another as we slowly closed in . However, he had a further reach .
“FFWWUAA!!”
“Hh…!”
A sharp thrust came towards me . I used Ashikirimaru to swipe it aside and take another step forward . However, the spear quickly pulled back before thrusting again . This time, I used the sword in my right hand to block it and take another step forward .
“SHHAA!!”
The spear I had blocked from the side came swinging down like a whip . I ducked out of its reach and finally found myself within striking distance .
“Hah!’
With a shout, I slashed upwards with the demon sword . The boss sahuagin adeptly maneuvered his spear and stopped it by a hair’s breadth . However, that left him open for the Ashikirimaru . The sharp blade tore into his arm and fresh blood sprayed in the air .
“Gggsshh…”
Its webbed hand tried to hold the wound shut, but the blood would not stop . It dripped down, painting the spear red . He would not be so quick now . I had been targeting his arm from the beginning .
“Now try holding that spear!”
“GGGRR…SHHHRRR…!”
The boss sahuagin glared at me with rage . I returned it with a grin . His reply was a thrust of his spear, which was now covered with water magic . However, the thrust was weaker now that he could only use one arm . I didn’t even have to block or parry it . I could just step away . And while I did that, I activated Legs of the Forest Wolf and increased my speed .
Eventually, the boss sahuagin could not keep up with me . His spear stopped moving and he screamed with irritation . He could no longer fight . Everything was about to end . At the same time, Daniela had killed the last of his subordinates .
“Good . It’s over!”
This was the moment for Asagi Kamiyashiro to showcase the move he had simulated so many times over in Jack of all Trades, Master of None . No one had been around to witness it before and send him a thunder of applause, but Daniela was here now . In spite of already being madly in love, she would somehow fall in love all over again . Such expectations went wild in my heart .
This move was purely about speed . A little technique added to the mix turned it into something incredibly deadly .
The wind moved faster as my swords turned into a blur of silver and green and shot towards the boss sahuagin .
“Kamiyashiro-style Dual Fang Body Slash!!”
A high speed flash tore into the boss sahuagin’s torso . And without slowing down, I cut into him from the other side . This was a move for dual-wielding . Cutting through a body with two fangs . The sharpness of the swords was vital . Jack of all Trades, Master of None had instructed me that it would be hard to keep my arms steady if I just slashed, and so I cut him as if stabbing through his flesh . The result was quite satisfactory, an all-around success .
The boss sahuagin had been cut into three pieces . Its eyes rolled back as it sunk into a puddle of blood . Perhaps it would find some solace in dying in something wet .
“Phew…”
I swung the blood off of the sword and put it in my sheath . My eyes quickly went to the spear . It had fallen from his grip before my attack, and so it lay there without a scratch . Upon picking it up, I could sense the water attribute within it . While I already knew about, the fact that it was so tangible was rather impressive .
“Good work, Asagi . ”
“Hey . Spoils of war . ”
I twirled it around and pointed it at her . Daniela grabbed it and let out a sigh of admiration .
“It is a good spear . It is hard to think that a monster would own such a thing . ”
“Perhaps they just found it in the marshes? I bet it was an Adventurer who challenged the lord of the swamp . ”
I bet .
In any case, the fight was over and we decided to return to the camp . We would come back later to take the gills as proof of the hunt, if we could . But for now, we were just so tired and wanted to rest .
“Ah, Asagi . What was that thing you did? It was powerful and you moved well, but otherwise, quite embarrassing to watch . ”
“What? …you’re kidding, right?”