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Breaking Through Enemy Lines
「That’s right, please hold the lantern」
「Is it okay?」
We’re getting away from here. Suppose Gimu was outside the fort. All that’s left here are just the small fries and Tuda.
It’s better to defeat them in a short time rather than hiding. First of, the people remaining in this fort should have been staying up all night waiting for the attack from outside, just as Gimu walked around searching for the enemies outside. Despite taking naps, they would probably be prepared to respond to some extent to any abnormalities.
So that’s why I aimed for before dawn, just when they let their guard down. It was such a delicate timing between Gimu's return and the others waking up.
「There’s nowhere to hide anyway」
She hung the lantern in her left hand while holding the oil jar with her right hand. I didn't think that was necessary but.....oh well, I’ll just let her do as she likes.
I push the door. It wouldn't open.
There’s a bar outside, huh? I wonder what they were going to do if Koza wanted to go to the restroom.
But, it’s meaningless to the current me.
I put the staff against the wall and placed my hand on the base of the door, and put my strength into my hand. It was quite a struggle, but at a certain point, the wood couldn’t hold out and split. And it seems like the bar outside the door had broken at the same time. The door fell against the wall on the other side of the corridor with a loud crash.
「Let’s hurry!」
Taking the staff back, I went out into the corridor. Liliana also followed behind me, not wanting to fall behind.
As expected, there was a reaction once you made a sound. At the place where I was surrounded earlier, I ran into two men in the corridor.
「Ah!」
They looked surprised. But, we were children after all. There was contempt in their eyes. At the same time, they were confused and could not figure out the cause of our escape from the locked room. Inevitably, their reaction was a beat too slow.
「Haa!」
I stepped in and sharply thrust the staff.
The staff was violently driven straight to a man’s defenseless between his eyebrows. With just that, the man at the front fainted and collapsed.
「Wha?」
The other one, the man behind him, tried to wield what looked like a saber but, I didn’t give him time to swing it. Similarly, I pointed the staff between his eyebrows and when his attention shifted upwards, I quickly twisted it back and hit his completely unguarded groin.
「Gobaaah」
I couldn’t help but sympathize with his pain as a man. But, it was the ironclad rule to aim for the weak point in battle. And the final blow.
I swung the staff at the base of the crouching man’s neck. And it seemed that he lost his consciousness from that attack.
The saber and an axe lie at my feet. I instinctively picked up but the young lady couldn’t possibly use them. But even if I held them myself.....eventually, I just head to the window across the room and throw them outside.
A voice inside me asked what I was doing. They were trying to kill you. Have you forgotten about Linga village?
Well, it might be precisely because I hadn’t forgotten. Having witnessed death up close, I became even more afraid of it, for both myself and others.
「Let’s go」
So I said, as if to suppress the conflict inside me. My voice became lower, perhaps unconsciously.
Liliana stared at me, looking worried.
But, there was no time to look at each other. A woman’s voice interrupted.
「Ah! You guys?」
Her tone was rough, not giving any sense of femininity at all. There was a sword in her hand. It’s long enough for her to wield with one hand, but she wasn’t carrying a shield.
So, I closed the distance between us similarly. The woman swung her sword as the staff came at her forehead, trying to knock the tip of the staff aside. But it was useless.
In terms of strength and speed, my strike overwhelmed the opponent. It may be possible to completely fend it off if you had great skill, but just bringing up your weapon as if to block a normal attack would be of no use.
The woman also fell unconscious with the blow.
Seeing it like this, Jusa was probably quite strong in his own way. He could use a sword and a shield properly, moreover, he had an old wound. As for these people, they all had level 2 or 3 in their weapon skills but I mostly win against them with a single blow.
I looked down the stairs. It was the place where Gimu came from when I was caught earlier. After making sure the young lady was following me, I walked down the stairs. And there, my eyes met with a man running up from below.
Victory goes to those who strike first! The opponent tumbled down in an instant. Seemed like he had no time to ready the spear in his hand.
I may have had the high ground advantage, but there are probably other causes as well. Lilian was holding the lantern behind me. The man running up the stairs saw the light and squinted at the brightness.
At the bottom of the stairs was a hall. It was a dreary place with nothing in it, as usual. And, one person. He held a sword with both hands. A long-haired man with a beard, the kind who radiates a stifling, heavy atmosphere.
I realized that I had a bit of a bad compatibility with him. It was a knowledge I learned in my previous life. A two-handed sword would not be too much use in a normal fight due to its size and weight. But historically, they had been made in many parts of the world. Their purpose was not to directly kill the enemy. It was a weapon created to break the shafts of long spears and the like.
Grasping the situation, the man held the sword diagonally upwards. It was a stance to shorten my staff in response to my movements.
What now? I didn't want to take too much time.
I couldn’t think of a solution right away.
I guess this was also due to my lack of knowledge and experience. I had almost no experience at all, fighting with a weapon in my previous life. At most, it was just at the level of taking kendo classes at school.
Also, it was said that humans find it more difficult to deal with pinpoint thrusts than with a wide, sweeping attack.
……in that case.
I took a step forward and sent out a stab.
This was a feint. Watch carefully, and when the opponent swung his sword, immediately release the staff.
That was my intention but his expression changed and he jumped back.
Crap.
Too obvious, huh. The opponent was aware that he was using an unwieldy weapon. So he must be choosing the right timing to brandish his sword. So he was waiting for my move but the stab was sharper than expected. This has put some distance between us. Moreover, my plan for the feint might have been seen through.
Eeei, in that case, might as well use brute force.....
Just as I was thinking like that, my mind suddenly cleared.
Once more.
I stepped forward and sent a slash.
He swung his sword to match that this time. Did he think I wouldn’t use the same feint twice? But, the staff’s trajectory suddenly veered to the right. I leapt and turned my back, like a figure skater. Rotating once in that manner, the tip of the staff hit the man’s face. His upper body snapped back, disrupting his posture.
I landed and immediately sent out a follow-up attack. With that attack, the man fell completely silent.
This finished the underlings. But.....
There was a faint light from a lantern coming from the corridor. He was watching my battle intently.
Tuda placed the light on the floor and calmly approached.
「That was surprising」
This was troublesome.
I wanted to defeat this formidable enemy by surprise if possible.
While he was thinking I was just a normal kid.
「Even though he looks like that, Obry is an Aquamarine adventurer」
It’s the man I just defeated.
Aquamarine would be in the ranks of intermediate adventurers. From the bottom were Peridot, Jasper, and Garnet. Above that should be Aquamarine.
「How did you release the rope? And the door should have been blocked」
What to do? My aim was not to win against this person. It’s to bring the young lady back.
The window was a few meters away. This place was on the second floor of the fort. But, compared to a normal building.....it was obvious, but the height was quite tall. Also, I wasn't alone, and I would be falling to a place I couldn’t see while supporting the young lady’s weight.
Couldn't do. It was risky in its own way. I could try it if there are no enemies around. But, if I suffered an injury to my legs and was discovered by the enemies, it would all end right there and then.
So, should I use Piercing Hand?
No. That was also a bad idea. He’s not here, but if Gimu suddenly showed up. We really had nowhere to go.
「Who knows.....maybe it had gotten brittle?」
Despite saying that, I still stood ready with the staff.
「I can’t believe you quickly took care of all 5 of my men.....I see, did you really come here alone?」
Tuda also readied his weapon.
Yes. No choice but to defeat him here with force.
If I could defeat Tuda with just my ability before Gimu returns, it would be the same as being able to successfully escape from here. On the other hand, it may already be impossible to rescue the young lady if I rely on Piercing Hand.
I checked Tuda’s ability once more.
------------------------------------------------------
Tuda Ohm (25)
・Material Human Form
(Rank 7, Male, 25 years old)
・Skill Fores Language Level 5
・Skill Ruina Language Level 4
・Skill Saharia Language Level 4
・Skill Boujutsu Level 5
・Skill Hand-to-hand Combat Level 4
・Skill Throwing Technique Level 4
・Skill Stealth Level 4
・Skill Swimming Level 3
・Skill Medical Art Level 3
・Skill Sexual Technique Level 4
Empty (15)
------------------------------------------------------
Jeez.
This guy, there was no range where he was bad at in a fight.
With a staff, his size gave him an advantage thanks to his size. On the other hand, I would be a victim of his Hand-to-hand Combat skill if I approached him. If I moved back untactfully, he would attack me with a projectile next. We were still too far away for our staff to touch but it might already be within striking distance for him.
「What’s the matter? You’re gonna escape right? You’re not coming?」
I couldn’t organize my thoughts.
Even the decisiveness would probably differ depending on whether one has actual fighting experience. And I was overwhelmingly lacking in that part.
「……then, I’m coming for you!」
Fast!
It was a sharp step, incomparable to the small fries from before.
The tip of his staff approached before my eyes. I finally twisted my head with great difficulty to avoid the blow.
My turn this time.
Just when I thought of that, there was a sound of wind at my feet. Reflexively taking a step back, the staff grazed the tip of my nose.
That’s right. This was not a spear. But a staff.
Tuda moves deftly, making full use of both ends of his staff to skillfully attack.
Unfortunately, he was superior to me in terms of simple skill.
That being said, I couldn't just stand here and did nothing. I had the advantage in terms of physical ability.
I squeezed in a thrust in between the attacks.
And at that moment, my body staggered. I wasn't swept away. This feeling.
I firmly planted my feet on the ground and endured it. No, I couldn't do it. I decided to do the opposite, stepping in further and throwing my whole body into the attack. But Tuda was nowhere to be found.
I rolled ungracefully on the stone floor. But, I was able to take some distance thanks to that. I hurriedly stood up and fixed my posture.
My experience in fighting Jusa proved useful now.
That’s right. Once a warrior reached a certain level, they would ward off attacks instead of blocking them.
Unlike the woman from before, I wouldn't try to deflect the attack with a shallow trick. I moved my feet properly and slightly changed the direction of the strength I put into. That’s how you create an opening.
I was able to respond like that because I knew the opponent had that level of ability.
However.
This was troublesome. Tuda was starting to catch on.
My strike was certainly sharp. And my athletic ability was also extraordinary. But, I lacked actual fighting experience and was unable to apply my skills effectively. I hadn’t received proper martial arts training, so I had a limited repertoire of techniques to use. It was natural since I just fought wildly with the skills I had stolen but this time, that has become a clear weakness.
Calm down.
If it were about physical ability alone, right now, I was superhuman. Even Tuda didn’t have the physical strength to jump from one building to another. So, I had to make full use of that.
「Uooohh!」
I stepped forward with a cry.
Hit him with all my strength. That said, it was just the fingertips. I didn’t put much strength into it.
And Tuda was hit. He got hit.
「Ughh!?」
Even so, it was absurdly heavy. Moreover, it was a consecutive attack. I aimed at Tuda from every direction without a pause.
The way I fought at the start was poor. I should have kept my distance or deflected the blow skillfully, but now I couldn’t use my legs properly. I had to keep steady and flat on the ground and keep blocking the staff strikes that came at me without pause.
Although the enemy had an advanced level in boujutsu. Even after all these attacks, I still couldn’t land a direct attack on his body.
「Uhh, ohh」
At that moment, my raised staff flicked Tuda’s left hand aside. The force from the attack made him let go of his staff.
Now!
Just as I was about to step in and follow up with an attack, a white speck appeared in my vision.
His body twisted unnaturally. At the same time, he swung his staff from overhead with one hand, attacking me. I put more strength into my feet to avoid that as well. Tuda’s staff grazed my left arm. Because of my own forward momentum, I got blown away spectacularly and ended up flat on my back near the wall. There, a follow-up attack from the staff came swinging at me.
I barely managed to block that attack.
「Che」
Tuda took a quick step back with an anxious expression on his face.
That was dangerous. Just now.
When he let go of his left hand before, it was a trap. Just as I threw myself into him, a pebble he carried and concealed in his hand came flying at my face.
If I hadn’t taken a look at his abilities with Piercing Hand. If I hadn’t expected he’d use a projectile weapon. I would definitely be unable to avoid that.
I was running out of breath.
I couldn’t stop sweating before I knew it.
Strange. I should still have some time.
Ah, I see.
This was not my body’s fault.
The effects of the pill were still continuing. But, my mind was exhausted first.
And Tuda was not one to miss this opportunity.
He closed the distance and countered with a flurry of blows.
「Waa」
And in between the chaotic attack, he slid his staff in and with an upward flick, and before I knew it, my staff went flying. He’s astonishingly skillful.
And before I realized anything else, we had become so close he could almost hug me. And as if to deliver a finishing blow, Tuda swung his short-held staff down.
「Guffhaah!?」
But, he was the one screaming in pain.
My hand grabbed his staff. And he hastily pulled it towards himself as if to resist. However.
「Agguhhh!?」
His hand convulsed violently, as if jolted by electricity. He couldn’t resist my strength with just one arm. I forcefully wrestled the staff away from his hand.
Tuda didn’t give up. He leaped back and tried to regain his posture.
And I briefly chanted for the third time at that moment.
「Kuhh!?」
His left foot twisted in the wrong direction, and he ended up exposing himself vulnerably.
And then, my staff hit his shoulder.
And that one blow was enough.
It was a close one.
If it were not for the 『Action Inhibition』 spell I learned from Irich, I would be the one defeated here.
Most importantly, Tuda didn’t know that its existence played the biggest role. Even though it was magic, it was a feeling of pain in the end. If he knew that it might come, he would probably be able to calmly endure it. And the reason I was able to defeat him just now was because I pressed for an attack without pausing while he was confused by the unexpected pain.
But, there was nothing to obstruct us now.
I finally calmed down and turned around to look at my surroundings. I noticed the anxious Liliana.
I won, so why?
Aah, I see.
I smiled and gave a thumbs-up to her.
And she suddenly also smiles.
Yosh.
All we had to do now was just go down those stairs and leave through the gate.
Beyond the bare window, the sky was gradually turning gray. Gimu would be back soon. We had to hurry.
Liliana approached me when I signalled with my eyes.
We ran down the stairs next to the hall. A faint light leaked in from the gaps in the gate.
Just a little more.
However, a shadow was cast there. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
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