Vol 2 Chapter 6 (2/2)
“Oom rel eckt vel dash!+” shi+horu had come too
“Haru!” Mary’s voice
Everyone was down the ladder and with hied the elder kobold first but at sozo Now, he and Yume took on one each, Kobold A and Kobold B, respectively
“Haru, what about your wound?!” asked Mary
Haruhiro gingerly touched his cheek, and, although it stung with pain, it would be fine as long as he left it alone
“I’m fine! Heal me afterwards!” he replied on his way to support Yu for its back while assessing the situation around him
I don’t have the ability or the qualifications, but for the moment, I’m the leader
All things considered, Ranta was doing fairly well He employed [PROPEL LEAP] and [JUKE STAB] to stay out of the ene for his chance to attack, and then struck with [HATRED’S CUT] or [ANGER THRUST] As usual, Haruhiro thought all thataround was both unnecessary and inefficient, butstyle than Ranta specifically Still, it was the fact that this particular Dread Knight was Ranta which irritated him
Mogzo and his opponent looked evenly ed to land any heavy blows on the elder kobold, and once in a while the elder would land a blow or two on hi the elder kobold through his guard
He earing plate raze here or there would just put scratches on the ar heavy bloith his bastard shile letting the plateelse
“The hobgoblin was stronger!” cried Mogzo, suddenly stepping in aggressively and locking blades with his opponent He i his bastard sword around the kobold’s sword, then pulling his oord back With a shout, he unleashed [SPIRAL SLASH] straight at its face
Mogzo’s attack grazed the kobold’s cheek the sa it to ju the distance once zo sent chills down Haruhiro’s spine The aura of stability Mogzo provided in a fight was a… but was that due in part to Ranta’s ability to keep one enemy fully occupied?
Indeed, Ranta looked less harried now than he had been in yesterday’s fights Was that thanks to experience? Ranta had preposterously insisted on fighting that last kobold alone yesterday Maybe because he had forced hiured out the best way to deal with the kobolds for himself
We won’t know unless we try… Is that what it was?
Facing everything with caution, not reaching for anything beyond their grasp, and having this safety first mentality meant advancement was impossible Even if they did advance, the pace would be terribly slow Without anybody to dispute Haruhiro’s leadershi+p, it would be only a painstaking improvement
Do we need Ranta around after all? Haruhiro wasn’t convinced and ed Ranta’s necessity, even if he didn’t really like Ranta as a person So a decision had to be based on more than just personal likes and dislikes? But Ranta never butted heads with Manato the way he did with Haruhiro When Manato was killed, Ranta, in his oay, had been just as upset as everyone else
What’s the difference between Manato and me? wondered Haruhiro
Naturally, there were plenty of differences In fighting ability and wits, Manato clearly had him beat But Manato had established a sort of peace with Ranta, while Haruhiro just couldn’t get along with him What was the difference? Perhaps it was fine just to blame it on ability and wits and leave it at that
The line appeared, completely unexpected and unintended That indistinct line of light, glowing hazy and faint, connecting the point of Haruhiro’s dagger to a point on the kobold’s back It wasn’t straight nor just a si trail
Haruhiro knehat to do: Follow the path it provided He wished that he could see the line every ti It appeared less than one in a hundred times, if even that many
When Haruhiro engaged an eneet in position behind it Then it wasevery second—or even more frequently—for an opportunity to strike He had repeated the process more than a thousand times now because he didn’t know of any other way
He couldn’t fight an enehts with the pit rats and oblin had instilled deep into hiainst any eneh it was sneaky and underhanded, he attacked from behind where the enemy was least protected
He ad such hts were to the death and both sides battled with all earnestness and desperation Nothing elsemore solemn; because it wasn’t easy nor simple, no method was forbidden…
Or so Manato had once said
When Haruhiro saw the line, he kept his breathing caled and unsteady, the line that finally appeared for him would disappear It would disappear if he tried to bend his knees to crouch, or if he tensed his wrists, elbows, or shoulders He didn’t even have tiet away He had to ht way to put it…
When the line appeared, Haruhiro felt as if his body reacted without hi It would be impossible to land his attack if it didn’t work that way
It landed this time as well Haruhiro’s body followed, ser slid into the kobold’s back without resistance Perhaps it was inaccurate to say that Haruhiro consciously followed the path the line provided, since he was already en route by the time he noticed
The kobold round as its final breath left its body
“Wh—?!” Yume blinked repeatedly, awestruck
“Yume, onto the next one!” Haruhiro exclaimed
Yume nodded several times “Sorry! Yume was just surprised, that’s all!”
“Oo [SHADOW ECHO] Voash!+ The black seaweed-like shadow elee, but not quickly enough The spell grazed its right shoulder, and, while the chain it, [SHADOW ECHO] didn’t work like fire or electricity It caused convulsions rather than doing dae
The elder kobold’s right shoulder began to shake, preventing it fro for a fraction of a second
“THANK YOU!” cazo’s [RAGE CLEAVE] The elder kobold blocked with its sword, but its stance was broken Mogzo pressed doith his bastard sword, forcing the elder kobold’s weapon to the side, then reversed his swing and rammed his blade into the side of the elder’s head
The elder kobold zo kicked it onto its behind and then brought his sword straight down, crushi+ng its skull
“YES!” Haruhiro pumped his fist
Oneto use [PROPEL LEAP] to retreat and try to draw the kobold back with hi none of it It refused to step forward so Ranta leapt in again, throwing [HATRED’S CUT] at it Again, the kobold read hiht
With Ranta effectively sidestepped, the kobold took advantage of its perfect positioning for a counterattack It swung at Ranta, forcing hirunt The kobold’s attack just barely missed
“Ranta!” Haruhiro began to run over to help
“Stay away!” Ranta yelled, up on one knee while deflecting the kobold’s attacks “I can still do this! I’ll kill this one on et my Vice!”
“What happened to being flexible?!” Haruhiro countered
“Two birds, one stone! [PROPEL LEAP]!” Ranta leapt backwards, still down on one knee “Whoa! It’s a new [PROPEL LEAP]! I just fucking inal skill!!!”
“It didn’t look all that different from the old skill…” Yume said coldly
“Yeah,” shi+horu agreed
“True” And Mary as well
Mogzo forced a dry-sounding laugh
“Filthy oty bastard scum!” Ranta cursed the kobold over and over as he attacked frantically
Just let him at it, Haruhiro decided Or at least until he looks like he’s about to get killed