Volume 2 Chapter 16 Moonlight That Pierces Dragon Scales II
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Huh…!”
He concentrated his strength in his arms.
He put his weight onto the shield where the wooden sword struck.
An irregular application of ‘Leap’.
The tip of the spear pierced through the black mist.
Renaud opened his eyes wide.
”……!”
The large man swiftly retracted his arm, more agile than he appeared, resting the shaft of his spear just above the shield on his back, near the nape of his neck, as he looked back.
There stood Kian, who had narrowly escaped with ‘Leap’, repositioning his wooden sword with a flick of his wrist.
In response to Kian quickly closing the distance, Renaud thrust out the spear he was holding over his neck.
Then he leaped.
His legs spread wide, kicking up clouds of sand as his coat flapped in the wind.
For a moment, it seemed as if Kian was soaring through the air. The spear pierced the ground where he had been standing just a second earlier.
Normally, he would finish by striking down the wooden sword from above here, but the enemy had a scaled shield also slung on his back, like a spear.
(But)
”────!”
Kian jumped over the giant man’s head, enveloping his wooden sword with energy.
An applied technique of ‘impact’.
’Pierce’.
A technique designed to bypass the enemy’s tough armor and deal direct damage to their interior──
”…!?”
But even that…
(It’s not working!?)
The moment his attack struck the shield, there was definitely an impact.
However, the giant didn’t even flinch. Instead, he fixed his predatory gaze, like that of a carnivore, through the gaps in his shield.
”Urahh!”
The big man used the rotation of his body to lift the spear that had been digging into the sand.
He was carrying the spear just like a shield.
Therefore, as he deflected Kian’s wooden sword with the shield, the tip of the spear was approaching to pierce his abdomen.
”……!”
He couldn’t dodge it.
In an instant, he had drawn a club from his waist.
A tremendous impact struck his arm.
He felt a sharp pain in his side.
He was slashed.
But it was shallow.
Kian released the shattered club with one blow and temporarily withdrew from the fighting range to land behind the large man on his left.
”……”
Landing silently, Kian focused his energy (ki) to heal his side.
The wound emitted white steam as it healed in an instant.
Nightshade’s coat was also regenerating the torn fabric as it absorbed Kian’s blood.
”Hah-hah!”
He braced a dragon-scale shield on his left arm.
He shouldered a spear with his right.
The huge knight with a black beard was laughing.
But it was not a smile of ease.
It was the gaze of a human hunting seriously.
He was salivating at the opportunity of finally facing an exquisite warrior (prey) after a long time.
”……”
As the massive knight slowly closed the distance,
Kian moved to the side, around him.
Both were watching for an opportunity to take advantage of each other’s blind spots.
Renaud’s curly black hair hung down to his temple.
His blue eyes shimmered brightly.
(My ‘Break’ is stopped by the shield. ‘Pierce’ is—)
Kian narrowed his eyes.
The giant showed no signs of damage to his muscles or internal organs.
(In the moment I focused my energy, the other party enveloped themselves in magic power to nullify the attack. It was a fundamental counter to ‘pierce.’ This large man seemed to know Azrael’s Dance Swordsmanship.)
”Kuh──!”
As he thought of something, Kian’s eyes widened in surprise.
After all, Renaud’s huge body floated in the vast sky.
It leaped forward in a single bound, covering ten meters in 3 swift steps, landing just above.
He aimed his shield at Kian.
Behind him, he tensed his arm that gripped the spear.
He thrust down accurately, aiming for the shoulder.
”…, …!”
’Leap’.
If he hesitated, he would be crushed.
While watching the sand explode right in front of him, he quickly retreated.
However.
”WOOO!”
Having figured out his tactics, the beast immediately broke through the sand wall and lunged at him.
It was a large creature trying to catch the nimble little animal known as Kian.
A fortress-like shield closed in, and sharp spear thrusts were unleashed from its edge.
”…!”
But he blocked.
With a wooden sword.
He deflected the spear’s thrust outward.
The spear moved away from the edge of the shield.
The spear and shield.
In that brief gap, he caught a glimpse of Renaud’s body.
(This is it!)
”…! …!”
He twisted his wrist, bending it.
He turned the blade of the wooden sword inward after deflecting the spear.
Stepping in toward the large man, he slashed upward, aiming to insert the wooden sword into the gap between the spear and shield.
”Nuuu…!”
His blue eyes widened.
In an instant, the hot sand swirled.
The giant had jumped.
Renaud, in that fleeting moment, stopped his charge and leapt back, covering a distance of about twenty meters in one bound, creating space between himself and Kian.
”――――”
”……”
The distance between them widened once again as they glared at each other.
A murmuring arose from the surrounding crowd.
”Ridiculous, Lord Renaud has retreated?”
”Are you saying he successfully deflected his attack? That’s impossible.”
”I couldn’t see that Azraelian’s movements at all. Who on earth is he?”
”He moves in a strange, swaying manner. That’s why those warrior monks from that country are so troublesome.”
Amid the sounds of onlookers, Renaud bared his teeth and laughed lowly.
He combined his shield and spear, peering out from behind the shield with his blue eyes.
His curly hair clung to his forehead with sweat.
”Kuku, don’t think you can dodge this next one.”
”────”
(Simply striking with ‘pierce’ won’t work. It will be perfectly countered. However…, if he throws magic power to negate my ‘pierce’, I just need to make it so he won’t know where I’ll direct my energy (ki).)
Kian positioned his wooden sword beside his ear.
He believed in the skill of his own sword arm.
His honed intuition for combat.
Kian even forgot to use Leap, staring intently at the giant knight ahead.
(He knows the ‘Church Knight’s Spearmanship’ of the Western Church. He has sparred with its practitioners before. After receiving this man’s spear, he found its power and speed to be on another level, but the techniques being used were basic forms.)
In other words, it involves blocking with the shield and countering with the spear.
Overpowering the opponent by crushing or striking them with the edge of the shield.
”────”
”…heh…”
(I’m pretty sure one of the techniques involved using a shield to gently block a slash and deflect it back outwards.)
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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