Chapter 46: Skill |
Sensing the approaching danger, the Watchman jolted in surprise. He decisively abandoned his shot, gripping one end of his bow and swinging it outward like a wooden blade.
However, the assailant charged straight ahead, facing the Watchman''s sweeping strike head-on.
The Watchman''s physical strength was nothing to scoff at. Even though he only wielded a bow, the sheer force of the blow instantly tore through the attacker''s clothes.
Then, in that very moment, the "person" split apart.
The upper half leaped high into the air, rolling mid-flight, and thrust a dagger downward with the intent to pierce the Watchman''s skull.
Meanwhile, the lower half crouched low, revealing a hidden head. Slightly elongated hands gripped daggers in both standard and reverse grips, stabbing viciously toward the Watchman''s feet.
"Halflings?" The attacker was actually a pair of Halflings working in tandem.
Halflings were considered a subspecies of Mankind.
In the past, these subspecies, along with creatures like elves and dwarves, were not uncommon.
Consequently, under normal circumstances, it was incredibly rare to see these non-human intelligent beings.
To think that this slightly eccentric person, who usually wore a long robe, was actually formed by two Halflings stacked on top of each other.
They were incredibly agile, and their practice of the Breathing Technique only served to further enhance their nimbleness.
Facing the sudden assault from the pair of Halflings, the Watchman took a deep breath. Dark spots had already surfaced on his skin.
Only, compared to the previously circular dark spots, they had now transformed into intricate patterns.
Nemus had made certain adjustments to his Whale Transformation Sickness. Although the Watchman had not gained the Colossus Trait, he had successfully acquired the Tough Hide Trait.
The Halflings'' daggers struck his resilient skin, only managing to carve out a few shallow gashes.
And even these minor wounds would completely heal within the span of a few breaths.
Having activated his Whale-ification, the Watchman tightened his grip on his short sword. Completely ignoring the flea-like Halflings, he slashed his blade directly at Arlo, who was charging forward once again with a weapon in hand.
As their blades clashed, Arlo was at a clear disadvantage.
However, the moment Arlo sensed the overwhelming force, he twisted his wrist, using the edge of his blade to redirect the momentum of the Watchman''s strike.
He then spun around, closing the distance between them. With a flick of his blade, the tip dug right into the tendons of the Watchman''s wrist.
The slight pierce of the skin did not draw blood, but it caused the Watchman''s hand to go numb. His grip loosened, and his short sword was instantly flicked into the air by Arlo.
"Guarding a small village and fighting a few Nest Beasts... your skills are terrible," Arlo mocked. Even though he only had one arm, and despite his Attribute Value in strength and defense being vastly inferior, he held his ground.
Arlo did not fear the Whale-ified Watchman in the slightest. This was the unyielding confidence born of pure skill.
As a member of an ordinary race whose Attribute Value could no longer be increased, his only path was to fight battle after battle, relentlessly practicing his swordsmanship time and time again.
"A man who doesn''t understand skill is nothing more than a clumsy Wild Beast!" Arlo swung his blade once more, striking the falling short sword he had just disarmed.
The short sword shot through the air like a projectile, flying straight toward the Watchman''s eye.
Simultaneously, Arlo lunged forward, twisting his body to thrust his blade directly into the Watchman''s slightly open mouth.
The two Halflings executed their coordinated assault as well.
One bounded up from the ground, aiming a dagger straight for the Watchman''s rear. The other grabbed the Watchman''s head with one hand, hooking fingers toward his nostrils, while using the blunt pommel of a dagger to strike the blood vessels in his neck. This was a calculated attempt to induce severe dizziness and disrupt the Watchman''s movements.
"I am no Wild Beast. And your swordsmanship isn''t quite as formidable as you claim," the Watchman rumbled from the depths of his throat. He completely ignored the attacks of the others, gritting his teeth and literally biting down on Arlo''s blade.
To his own surprise, the image that surfaced in his mind was not of his daughter, but the terrifying, oppressive presence of Nemus.
Because he had witnessed an entity with a far more overwhelming aura, the pressure before him failed to induce panic. Because a greater evil existed, his own sins could be eclipsed, granting him a twisted sense of peace.
On the other side of the Watchman stood three more individuals. Two were ruthlessly gunning down the villagers with arrows, while the third stood a short distance from Opper, fiercely guarding him as he prepared a spell.
Surrounding the area were a group of weaker Caravan "lackeys". Armed with bows and arrows, they cordoned off the perimeter, mercilessly shooting down any villager who attempted to flee.
They watched the intense clash with evident shock. To think that Arlo had failed to take down the Watchman immediately!
Arlo was the absolute strongest among them. His Attribute Value had reached 8, and his masterful techniques could amplify that score of 8 significantly in actual combat.
Many experts with the exact same Attribute Value found it nearly impossible to match Arlo in a fight.
This was especially true regarding his sheer willpower in battle. Arlo was completely devoid of the fear of death. That profound, innate indifference toward his own life and the lives of others always allowed him to snatch victory from the jaws of a life-and-death struggle.
While the two Halflings possessed relatively weak physical strength, their agility was truly unparalleled.
When fighting in perfect unison, they could pinpoint their enemy''s movements with frightening accuracy and violently interrupt them.
But the battle would not halt here. The trio launched another flawlessly coordinated assault.
The Watchman sensed the impending danger. Although his Tough Hide provided him with extraordinary defense,
it did not make him completely invincible. The various parts of his body lacking that dermal protection remained glaring vulnerabilities.
His opponents possessed a wealth of combat experience. After failing to achieve significant results against his Tough Hide during their initial probing attacks, they immediately shifted their focus to his anatomical weak points.
He violently spun his body to evade Arlo''s vicious thrust, simultaneously lashing out with a sweeping kick toward the Halfling beside him.
However, the kinetic shift of his twisting body was instantly detected by the Halfling clinging to his back.
With his diminutive frame pressed tightly against the Watchman, he could perceive every single twitch and ripple of the man''s muscles in real-time.
Then...
He contorted his body, caught his dagger in his mouth, and grabbed the Watchman''s neck. Using the momentum from the Watchman''s spin like a swing, he vaulted himself upward. The moment he released his grip, his entire body was launched through the air like a projectile.
The Watchman''s leg, mid-kick, was violently struck by this living cannonball.
The sudden, intense weight crashing into his leg threw the Watchman off balance, forcibly interrupting his attack.
Meanwhile, his Halfling brother capitalized on the opening with flawless synchronization. Lunging forward, he aimed both of his daggers directly at the Watchman''s crotch.
The two Halflings possessed incredible synergy and terrifying agility. Even if an ordinary warrior were clad in heavy full-body armor, they would only be ruthlessly toyed with. The pair would endlessly interrupt their actions before ultimately claiming their life through a series of fatal strikes to their weak points.
To make matters infinitely worse, at this very moment, Opper''s spell was nearing completion.
"Slithering on their path, soaring through the feathered sky, like the rivers of the past, rising and falling in elegant flight!"
As Opper finished chanting his incantation, several translucent entities descended from mid-air.
Their bodies were nearly transparent, yet the subtle difference in their physical composition caused the light around them to refract and warp ever so slightly.
Summoning System Spell: Feather Sky Serpent Summon!
The instant these near-transparent Feather Sky Serpents appeared, they brought with them an overwhelming sense of lethal peril.
Right at that pivotal second, a sharp arrow tore through the air, whistling straight toward them.
The Ring on Opper''s finger grew faintly warm.
Driven by pure instinct, Opper spun around, frantically calling upon the Feather Sky Serpents to shield him.