Chapter 11: Chapter 11 Kengiri

Shizu, using her metal umbrella, swung it in a horizontal full swing striking 3 gengiri as they were blown back. Parts of their insect carapaces broke off and they then laid motionless on the ground with purple blood leaking out of the newly revealed flesh of their bodies. Shizu then turned her head in the direction where Kajima and Azi were battling with their foes.

Kajima face two gengiri, one directly in front and another on his right flank. Kajima struck out with the tip of his halberd as he skewered a gengiri through its maw and continued until it was out the back of its head. He then pulled the tip of his halberd out and spun to swing his weapon horizontally with the axe section of the halberd to decapitate another gengiri on his left and continued his motion until he had made a complete revolution to decapitate the previously skewered gengiri.

Azi, who was facing off one gengiri, was on the defense as he was still unfamiliar with combat, but he held his ground as he gripped his shield tightly. With each strike from the gengiri, he could feel the impact travel up his left arm and slightly rattle his mind. His left hand was starting to become numb, and it soon showed its effects. When the gengiri moved to strike, his left arm could not reposition his shield in time. His left shoulder was only grazed by the gengiri's attack and in response to this Azi jumped back to get some distance. The gengiri did not follow and instead took its own stance with its gaze on Azi. Azi then decided that he should try for a killing blow rather than waiting to tire out the gengiri. He was not confident in his strength so he felt that he needed to prolong the battle to ensure he would slowly damage the gengiri, but he now decided the end the fight before his left arm became too numb which would leave him vulnerable to the gengiri's attacks.

Holding his shield up to cover the majority of his left side he then took a somewhat crouched stand with his left foot in front. He then positioned the short sword he held in his right arm pointing forward in a phalanx stance. He put power into his legs and rushed forward. The gengiri struck out to attack Azi's exposed right side but was instead met with the flat of Azi's shield. Azi had performed a shield bash and then followed up with two quick swipes of his short sword. One swipe was horizontal to cut deep into the fleshy maw of the gengiri and the other swipe was vertical which ran down the length of the gengiri under belly.

Azi quickly backstepped and observed if the gengiri was still alive. He was relieved to see that the gengiri slumped to the ground with purple blood pouring from its body. Calming his senses down he took stock of his surroundings and then himself, which made him realize that he had a tingling sensation in his arms. During battle, Azi could feel that his arms slightly tingled after every strike he made, and he believed that it was due to his excitement and fear. Azi's attention was then drawn to Shizu's voice.

Shizu: "No other enemies nearby on my side, how about you Kajima?

Kajima: "It clear over here as well. Azi! You okay?"

Azi: "I'm alright, just a small graze on my left shoulder. Hand me the bottle of alcohol and a bandage I'll fixed myself up."

The forest of Shisayama was a dangerous place as not only were their monsters and predatory animals. There was also an assortment of poisonous plants that could easily make you sick if its pollen got into a wound. This was what Azi was taught by Kajima as his first lesson in forest survival.

After bearing with the slight pain when applying the alcohol to the graze, he then began to wrap it with a bandage. Shizu helped him through the steps of properly securing the bandage so that it did not fall off while in combat or while running.

Azi: "Thanks for your help Shizu. So, what's the plan? Should we head back?"

Shizu: "Yes, we have already reached the boundary of our search area as we already made it to the clearing just before the climb up the mountain. I don't think we should head back though as with our pace we would still be in the forest during the dead of night. The forest is more dangerous to travel through at night due to how we lack the ability to see through the darkness. We will set up camp here for now."

Shizu looked to Kajima and motioned for him to begin loading the camping gear he was carrying. Azi helped Kajima set up two tents, one for him and Kajima, and the other for Shizu. They were small but would get the job done as a temporary shelter. 

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Shizu: "I will take a look around to ensure that the surroundings are clear."

After a nod from Kajima and Azi, Shizu left the two to set up the rest of camp. During this time Azi learned how to light a fire, how to find the right tinder, and how to create a fire starter with a stick and some bark. What interested Azi was Kajima's lesson on medicinal herbs and edible plants. 

Kajima: "This plant with the heart shape leaves are known as Alole and the insides of the plants stem is edible, but its better use is as a skin ointment that help with sun burns and dry skin. You can use it as food in emergencies or help keep the skin on your feet from getting too dry and developing callouses. This yellow flower here is called is called benweed and its poisonous to human if exposed to wounds and if you mixed it with water and then boil the mixture down you can create a poison that dulls the senses. It can also be used if mixed with a lot of water as a way to get rid of stomach parasites as most common parasites have no resistant to benweed."

With focused and attentive eyes, Azi was hanging off a Kajima every word as he had a giddy expression on his face due to how he was fascinated by the knowledge Kajima taught him and by the amount of knowledge Kajima had. Azi's lesson came to an abrupt end as a loud crashing sound could be heard coming from the direction of where Shizu had walked away.

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Shizu Point of View (POV)

Shizu was making her way through the forest near the encampment Kajima and Azi were setting up when she noticed a strange outcropping of stones that had a few destroyed trees atop the outcropping. Each tree was massive and was broken at as if it was ripped in half widthwise. As she thought about what could have moved and destroyed these trees, she made her way to get a closer look at the spectacle. She suddenly stopped her movement as she began to hear a slight rustling from the rock outcropping. The rocks were covered in snow as their surfaces were caked in a white color and Shizu thought that the rustling was just her imagining. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, she turned away to return to camp, but before she took a single step, she heard the previously rustling noise and this time it was much louder. She looked back and was horrified by what she saw. The rock outcropping was moving as it seemingly rose up reveal an insect like maw and it legs as it got to its feet and charged at Shizu.

Shizu guarded herself with her metal umbrella and she successfully avoided from getting directly struck. But she was blown back and was pushed into a nearby boulder which sounded with a hard impact that rang out for all to hear. She quickly got to her feet and began engaging in a defensive battle with the newly revealed foe. It was a Kengiri which are similar to the gengiri but were much larger standing at a height of 3 meters and a length of 3 meters. It had a white carapace that blended with the snowy surroundings, but what was much more menacing than its size was the two lobsters like claws it had. The Kengiri's that make Shisayama there home would rarely make a nest in the forest and instead stayed high in the mountains in caves, so Shizu was caught off guard by its appearance here in the forest.

After clashing with each other for a few minutes, Shizu could hear Kajima's voice yelling out.

Kajima: "Get back, quickly!!"

Shizu jumped back but was not quick enough as she was again blown back by the Kengiri's claw arm. In response to this Kajima, with Azi behind him, charged forward to meet the foe.

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