Chapter 367: A Fight Between Brothers
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 367: A Fight Between Brothers
The reason I didn't challenge our unspoken agreement was perfectly clear.
‘He cannot defeat me.’
Goff had grown stronger. Stronger to a degree incomparable to his former self. I thought that even if you searched the entire continent, there would be no one who could defeat him. Only a few Named, like the North Knight or the Queen of the East, Jang Ye Ri, might stand a chance against him.
But that didn't mean Goff was stronger than me. This wasn't arrogance, nor was it mere confidence. It was a completely objective analysis. Just as I understood my opponent, I understood myself in detail.
My physical abilities, upgraded by my various weapons and the influence of the Seat of Sorrow, had already transcended my race. My past experiences, clawing my way up from the bottom, had made me strong, and I was growing stronger even now.
It's true that everyone pursues strength. But I pursued it with more tenacity, and in the end, I achieved what I wanted. I couldn't call it perfect, but I had established my own fighting style, and I had survived and won countless battles.
Perhaps if I didn't have the power of the Seat or my other weapons, it would be natural for me to lose to him. But that would never happen.
[ Weapon Integration ]
[ Target - Ridil - The Dagger that Pulled Out the Evil Dragon's Heart ]
- Brother! It's been a while.
‘Yeah. It's been a while.’
- That crazy sister is making things really difficult.
After a brief nod, I began to watch Goff slowly. A sharp pain wracked my entire body, but it wasn't enough to immobilize me. Scales continued to sprout on my tail, arms, and legs, and my vision seemed to narrow.
I was undergoing my Dragonoid Transformation. My body instantly felt lighter as the magic from Ridil filled me. For this fight, it was more advantageous than Levatain or Mystletainn. The fact that it had relatively few side effects was its most appealing feature. After slowly moving my arms and legs, I shot toward him in an instant.
Goff is fast. He possesses exceptional speed, but only by the standards of others. It's also true that he has immense destructive power, but that's meaningless if his attacks don't land.
Goff's strengths are his stamina and physical power; his weaknesses are his speed and technique—this analysis is based on my standards, not anyone else's. When he fights, he's like a beast. He moves by instinct, but he is not ruled by it; he rules it.
Though it's a slightly different kind, you could probably call it a form of genius.
But integrated with Ridil, I am fast enough to counter everything he has.
“Kuuuwoooooo!”
Goff moved in response to the scream I'd let out unconsciously. Naturally, everything began to come into view. His breathing, his footsteps, the movement of his muscles, his usual patterns of action—all of it was analyzed in an instant and sent to my brain.
My brain sent commands through my nerves, and my body began to move in reaction to his. It wasn't certain, but I could see his attack routes.
“..................”
I could see him charging, his fist raised high. The first attack itself was a feint; he knew I would dodge it anyway.
He'll slam the ground to throw me off balance. There's a high probability he'll obscure my vision with debris and then land a second attack. They are all attacks I can evade.
Craaaaaaash!
The ground shattered. As expected, fragments flew toward me, but I didn't dodge. With Levatain in one hand and Mystletainn in the other, I batted away every piece of incoming debris.
“Hahahaha!”
The sound of his laughter slowly reached my ears. A massive fist cut through the air. Instead of making a large motion, I minimized my movements. The giant fist brushed right past me, an attack that was never going to hit.
Unable to block the immense wind pressure, my hair and clothes began to flutter in the opposite direction. I immediately raised Gram and swung it at Goff's arm.
‘It's shallow.’
I had already anticipated that no matter how much magic I poured into it, the attack wouldn't land properly. The only way was to keep switching weapons and force in critical hits.
‘Mystletainn.’
I switched the Gram in my hand for Mystletainn and stabbed at his arm again. The way he swung his fist at me without flinching showed he clearly trusted his body, but wounds were beginning to appear.
They were just scratches, meaningless wounds. But I definitely felt like I was scoring points.
CR-CR-CR-CRACK! CRAAAAAASH!!
A huge cloud of sand was thrown up in an instant. His fist had struck the ground again. As I pulled back, a massive foot came flying—a simple kick that needed no distinction between a low kick and a high kick. If it landed, it would feel like being hit by a missile.
Since I was in the air, it wasn't easy to change direction, but after growing a tail, I was free from such restrictions. I struck the ground with my tail and narrowly dodged his foot in mid-air. His foot passed right over my head.
‘This is fun.’
Fists and swords, feet and weapons, began to clash continuously. The corners of Goff's mouth turned up, and so did mine.
A fight like this is enjoyable.
“Aegis!”
After blocking one of his fists, I immediately summoned the flames of Levatain to envelop Goff, but the fire was swept away by a single roar infused with magic.
“Hahahat.”
Attacks like this are meaningless. Unless I were to summon the Flame of Ruin, I wouldn't be able to pierce Goff's body with this kind of assault.
His movements are purely for combat; therefore, they have no wasted motion. It's completely different from the movements of the Queen of the North, Han So-Hye. Her movements are perfect. Perfectly refined, they make you feel as if you're watching a well-honed sword.
Goff's movements are different. It's not like he learned how to throw a punch. He has no advanced techniques. But Goff is like a collection of giant weapons.
If you wonder why he doesn't wield an axe, the answer is quite simple. He doesn't need to bother with a weapon. In fact, a weapon would only get in the way. The weapon he can use best is his own body. Swinging his fist is more suitable and more powerful than swinging an axe.
Instead, what he invested in was…
‘Armor.’
He invested in body-enhancing items and armor. Learning a lesson from his fight with the King of the South, he covered his body in items with high magic resistance and boldly discarded anything that might affect his movements.
And thus, the perfect weapon named Goff was born. I even had the ridiculous thought that if he were truly a weapon, I would have used him myself. Nothing more needs to be said.
I'm not the only one who has researched and strived to become stronger.
“But... you look slow.”
“Being fast isn't always a good thing, brother.”
His movements aren't actually slow. I can just see them.
I can see his shoulder pulling back, his eyes looking at the precise point of impact, his fist swinging toward me.
If I can see the attack route, the choice is obvious.
‘Cut.’
I don't think I can cut him down in one blow.
But I swing my sword.
His large size is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Everywhere within my reach is a target. Fresh blood began to spurt from all over Goff's body.
Each time I swung Gram, Mystletainn, and Levatain in succession, sprays of red blood flew into the air.
“That... tickles!”
Craaaaaaash!
The massive explosions and flying sand must be visible even to the chieftains in the Land of Glory. Those with good eyesight might even be watching this fight from afar.
CR-CR-CRACK! CRAAAAAASH!
Every time the flames and Goff's magic clashed, the surroundings began to explode. If we had really fought in the Land of Glory, the battle wouldn't have ended with just the surroundings getting smashed. A glance around as time passed made that obvious.
The fight was dragging on. But it wasn't entirely without results.
“You're tired.”
Goff's movements had started to slow.
“No way...”
I still didn't have a single scratch on my body. I wasn't panting for breath, but the wounds all over Goff's body were undoubtedly draining his stamina.
“Don't hold back for my sake.”
“Of course.”
I lunged at him once more, switching my defensive approach to a more aggressive one. Seeing the corner of his mouth lift, he seemed to have a hidden card up his sleeve, but I was sure it was something I could counter. Just as I took another step, Goff slammed his massive foot into the ground.
CRAAAAAAAAASH!!!
A sandstorm spread out in all directions, but it didn't hinder my advance.
However, when I saw magic being sucked toward him, I couldn't help but swallow hard.
“Every Tom, Dick, and Harry...”
The Queen of the North's technique of forcibly pulling an opponent in with magic and then cutting them down—a technique I had imitated. And now, Goff was displaying it. Of course, the version he was imitating wasn't the Queen of the North's, but mine.
The explanation is long, but my body was pulled in in an instant.
‘I can handle this.’
“Aegis!!”
A shield that could unconditionally block any attack materialized before me. Goff didn't know the essence of martial arts or anything like that. Since he was forcibly imitating the technique, it must have a huge stamina and magic cost. An attack with such an obvious trajectory is simple to block.
CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!! CR-CR-CR-CRACK!!!
But it was breaking.
‘Fuck...’
Absurdly, what was shattering wasn't his fist, but Aegis, which I had thought to be an invincible shield. The strongest shield was beginning to falter against the strongest hammer. His advancing fist would surely strike me. As the shattered Aegis dispersed with a roar, Goff's fist filled my vision.
‘I'll take it.’
As I released the Dragonoid Transformation, Ridil immediately shot out from my body. The weapon to integrate with was Gram. If I boosted my physical abilities, I could block this attack.
“I was wait...ing for this!”
Before I could merge with Gram, Goff snatched it from my hand.
‘Weapon Switch.’
I tried to instantly swap the dagger on my person with the Gram in Goff's hand and integrate, but his hand was already coming at me.
‘Again?’
The technique just now was a trap from the start, a trap laid to land a blow no matter what. It was so absurd I had to let out a dry laugh, because this wasn't Goff's style.
‘He was desperate.’
He, too, is desperate. The usual Goff would never have chosen such a method. This was clearly outside my calculations.
With a sickening crunch, my hand holding Gram was crushed. As my gaze followed Gram, which was naturally knocked from my grasp by the sharp pain, he took another step forward.
CRAAAAAAAAASH!!!
Goff's magic spread out, and once again, my body was pulled into his grasp.
‘It's not a technique he can use consecutively...’
No, if it's him, he can definitely do it.
I instantly calculated the time it would take to switch weapons and integrate with Gram, but I realized it was impossible. Biting my lip hard, I gave up on integrating with Gram.
“I hate... to lose...!!”
My eyes began to turn red. I reached out to the one I hadn't integrated with until now.
[ Weapon Integration ]
[ Target - Dainsleif ]
My vision began to change.
- Kyahahahahahahahahaha!!