The Peerless Kobold - Chapter 192
A few days before this mock battle, I succeeded in changing into human form and was finally able to speak the human language. But then I found that it was unexpectedly quite difficult to move in this body. I had expected it would take time for me to get used to it, but this was more than I expected. I also realized that it was easier to move in a loincloth than moving in clothes with tail holes that I bought in Lucua village yesterday.
Still, it was necessary for me to test my limited abilities in this form so I asked Wallace for a mock battle, but… I had a hard time due to the decline in my sense of hearing and smell, as well as Wallace’s growth in terms of battle strength
(Should I just charge in…!?)
While I was at a loss as to how to attack, my opponent flawlessly charged in without missing a beat and launched a diagonal slash attack aimed at my upper body.
“Sei!”
“Guuh.”
I caught the attack by a hair’s breadth by raising my wooden sword diagonally, but at the moment of contact, the cat swordsman slackened his wrist and slid his weapon back, drawing a half-moon downward at an unrecognizable speed and launched a follow-up attack at the same pace.
“!?”
I gripped the wooden sword tightly to avoid being hit, and somehow managed to withstand a series of blows, but in a short time, the force of the blows calmed down and I was able to get an attack in. I felt a momentary chill as I pushed and slashed, blocking Wallace’s movement. After our swords clashed once, I quickly jumped back, gaining some distance away from my opponent as I squared off with him again.
“So after launching a series of attacks to put your opponent on the defensive, you get them to focus on protecting their upper body and launch an attack from below, huh…”
“Exactly. It’s amazing how you caught all of that.”
We smiled at each other as we exchanged a few words. Then, I took on a crouching tiger-like stance by turning my upper body to the side, lowering my hips, and positioning my sword so that the tip would extend to the back.
(I’m pretty sure this is the fool-proof single strike she was talking about…)
As I recalled the words and techniques of Sakura, a mercenary in my group who hailed from the Far East, I sharpened my focus. I felt Wallace take a half-step back while slightly lowering his hips and holding his sword in an upper stance.
And after a moment, the sound of two blades rushing forward cut through the silent air!
I closed the gap as if I were running on all fours by sliding my left leg backward, thrusting my other knee towards the ground, and using that as a spring to increase the force and speed of my attack as I used my upper body as a centrifugal force to swing the sword. However, my blade met my opponent’s blade with almost the same force.
The violent sound of the wooden swords clashing with each other reverberated in the area and the blow I launched caused the cat swordsman’s weapon to fly overhead, creating a deadly opening.
“Uwah!?”
“Gotcha!!”
I instantly adjusted my hold on the sword and proceeded to launch a slash attack at Wallace’s undefended torso, but…
“Well, they are made of wood after all.”
“You’re right…”
Both of our swords had completely broken due to the impact of the attacks.
“Do you want to continue?”
“No, let’s stop here… I have a feeling that I can’t win against you barehanded.”
I took on a light fighting stance and controlled the magic circulating inside my body in preparation for activating Adamantine Body when I asked Wallace if he wanted to continue, but the cat gentleman waved his hand in refusal.
So I relaxed my shoulders and looked in the direction of Buster and Liz who were supposed to be engaged in a mock battle, but it seemed like they finished earlier and came to watch. However, as soon as my eyes met theirs, they both averted their gazes and ran away somewhere.
Meanwhile, Ax fell over when one of the broken swords flew in his direction and hit him in the face while he was holding a bottle of honey… If I had to guess why he failed to dodge, he was probably busy licking off the honey from his paw.
