Chapter 554: 554

I tense my body, wary of Howgrey’s [Blissful Spinner]. The only reason I can stand against him is thanks to my overwhelming physical advantage. But, his [Blissful Spinner] can overturn that.

Howgrey kicks his shortsword. It flies towards me, spinning at a terrifying speed. Dodging it is impossible, it’ll just come back. The right course of action is to repel it.

I step forward and swing into the shortsword, hoping to force it away. It’s heavier than I expected. It seems the skill is applying a constant strong force to maintain its trajectory. I was hoping to knock it far away, but instead it flies back to Howgrey’s side.

“Of course, I’m not going to miss this opportunity.”

Howgrey jumps forwards and snatches the shortsword out of the air and stabs it towards me while I’m still recovering from my swing. I leap back to dodge.

To follow up, he swings his longsword towards me. I raise my sword to block. Howgrey cancels his swing, and kicks off my sword to fly away.

“Can you endure this?”

He kicks his dagger, causing it to spin towards me. But that’s not all.

Howgrey’s figure blurs, and he rapidly gets closer. By chasing his own [Blissful Spinner] with [Shadow Fox], he’s going to strike with simultaneous attacks. If my opponent was anyone other than Howgrey, I would never consider the possibility of him aiming for something so ridiculous.

But, the fact that I was able to see his aim so early is a great help. From the trajectory of [Blissful Spinner], I can estimate where he’s going with [Shadow Fox].

“Here!”

I jump towards safety as I swing my sword towards his destination. But, I miss by a large margin.

“It was unlikely that you’d be able to keep reading where I was going with [Shadow Fox]. Surely you know that I have an advantage in a match of reading as long as I’m the one leading the movements?”

Howgrey stands in front of me, his longsword in hand. He led me along with his movements. Does this mean he’s figured out how to completely counter how I’ve been reading him!?

“You’re a far more fearsome swordsman than you realise, Dragon Hunter. I am not underestimating you as are underestimating yourself. That is why I am able to predict you so accurately.”

I jump backwards. But I’m too late. A deep cut runs from my shoulder to my waist. My blood splatters, and I feel a sharp burning pain.

My consciousness becomes hazy. But I can’t collapse now. I’m just one step away.

Howgrey has his complete reading of me, and his three irregular techniques. I was just barely able to match him as a swordsman, but then he brought out [Blissful Spinner]. Still, he surely must be out of new tricks now.

…My [Autoregeneration] isn’t able to fully repair my body. It’s almost at its limit. The next serious hit I take will be the end.

Howgrey isn’t pursuing me. He wants to collect the dagger he threw.

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At this point… More so than [Dream Wolf], [Shadow Fox], and [Protective Shellfish], I find [Blissful Spinner] to be the most fearsome threat. It’s a simple throwing skill and doesn’t have as great an effect as those three techniques, but in the hands of a master like Howgrey, it leaves no openings whatsoever. My options are restricted by his dagger, and conversely, his options expand limitlessly.

There’s no way I can handle this. It’s different from the unidentifiable wall that stood between us. [Blissful Spinner] has shown that there is a clear, unsurmountable wall that separates me from Howgrey.

I sense the dark cloud of danger deepen. My instincts are reacting to the threat [Blissful Spinner] poses. However… The danger seems to be stronger further away from him. Through my instincts, I’ve realised a way to deal with the [Blissful Spinner].

Howgrey lifts his dagger to the side and raises his leg. Immediately, I leap forward and swing my sword down. He lowers his leg and takes a half-step back, parrying my strike. I keep chasing him as he tries to gain distance, relentlessly swinging my sword. He falls back, dodging to the left and right of my swings.

“I won’t let you throw it, Howgrey!”

[Blissful Spinner] has certain requirements. He must hold his dagger horizontally and place his foot to the handle before kicking it. If I can keep attacking him, he won’t have a chance to use it.

Of course, this prevents me from taking a more reactive approach, and makes it easier for him to counterattack. But, the next time he uses [Blissful Spinner], I’ll have probably lost. As long as I can prevent him from using it, I still have a chance of victory.

Howgrey makes the best use of the different lengths of his swords, warding off my attacks entirely. Each time I swing, the radiance surrounding [Laevateinn of Life-Cutting] grows stronger, and I feel the little health I have remaining being sucked away. But, each of my swings is faster than the last.

I need to make this a short battle. The longer this lasts, the more opportunities he’ll have to outmanoeuvre me. There’s no way I can keep attacking an opponent like Howgrey for long. I’ll burn my life energy with [Laevateinn of Life-Cutting] to drive him into a corner.

Blood splatters. Amidst our flurry of blows, my sword has grazed his side. Howgrey’s eyes open wide.

“…I suppose I should regain some distance first.”

He’s defenceless. I stab my sword into his abdomen. But, no blood emerges. He’s using [Protective Shellfish] again. He probably took the blow on purpose to gain some distance with the recoil.

…Then, from far away, he’ll use [Blissful Spinner]. I doubt he’ll let me close the distance so easily again. He’ll control the battlefield with [Blissful Spinner] and press me into a corner.

I kick off the ground with all my might, thrusting my sword forward. I have a chance to hit him. But, it’s almost a blind guess.

As he flies away at high speed, the tip of my sword pierces his chest. For the first time, his expression is one of shock.

I continue on, tumbling across the ground, then quickly rise to my feet.

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