Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Laying the Bait
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I enjoy a battle of wits.
Not the purely intellectual kind, like chess, but the strategic exchanges that happen in the heat of combat.
Figuring out my opponent's intentions is fascinating, and hiding my own is just as fun.
Exchanging moves in real-time and ultimately seizing victory brings an intense sense of catharsis.
It's also why I prefer fighting masters over beasts or monsters.
But just as you can't live on a single favorite food…
Sometimes, I crave a different kind of fight.
A moment when I just want to fight like a brute.
*CRASH!*
That's why I was now engaged in an all-out brawl with Hariba.
Of course, Hariba is strong.
He surpasses me in strength, speed, and physique.
A fact I didn't need to dwell on.
I'm used to fighting opponents stronger than me.
*CRACK!*
An all-out brawl doesn't mean it's a mindless clash of strength against strength.
If it were, even I would have been reduced to a bloody pulp long ago.
However, I didn't back down.
Without taking a single step back, I was fighting at extremely close quarters with an opponent several times my size.
It felt like a violent gale was constantly raging before my eyes.
The slightest lapse in concentration, and I'd be swept away, my muscles and bones torn to shreds in an instant.
Under such pressure, I was somehow managing to hold my own against this monster.
There were two reasons I could continue the engagement against a superior foe.
Insight and technique.
*SNAP!*
A fist that missed me shattered a massive tree behind me.
An indirect measure of the destructive power in Hariba's fists. It made me think that a single hit could be fatal.
But simply dodging wouldn't be enough to take this guy down.
So, I was in the process of narrowly evading his attacks while accumulating dull pain in Hariba's body.
‘Even so.’
The situation is still dangerous.
I'm acting quite composed, but right now, my physical and mental energy are significantly drained.
It's becoming harder and harder to dodge Hariba's attacks.
But this isn't because I'm getting tired or he's getting faster.
I'm intentionally minimizing my evasive movements to focus more on the offense.
*Slice—.*
Hariba's fist grazed my cheek and ear.
That alone was enough to tear my skin.
With attacks of this power, the pressure is immense even when I successfully dodge. It's impossible not to imagine what would happen if I got hit.
So, this exchange was, in many ways, not good for my mental health.
Normally, that would be the case.
“Haaaah…”
I let out a hot breath amidst the fierce battle.
My whole body was drenched in sweat, but my breathing remained calm.
My head was hot with excitement, and my heart pounded wildly. Seeing as how that heat felt pleasant…
I might have lost a few screws while learning the Flame Arts of the Greatest.
*Whoosh.* I dodged Hariba's fist again, but this time, I responded differently.
Right after evading, I grabbed his wrist.
Of course, his wrist was as thick as a log, so it was more like I'd placed my hand on it rather than grabbed it…
“Gaaaaaaahk—!”
Flames erupted from my touch and raced up Hariba's arm.
In an instant, Hariba's entire body was engulfed in fire.
Even while feeling the pain of his body burning, the brute swung his fist with vigor.
It was more like a desperate flail than an attack, but I couldn't underestimate him, given his ridiculously powerful physique.
However, the trajectory of his attack had become much simpler, so I dodged it without difficulty.
And I suppressed the urge to sneer.
Acting composed here would jeopardize my plan.
“Ru-an—!”
*Stop calling my name, you bastard.*
While I grumbled inwardly, Hariba shook his body violently.
He looked like an animal shaking itself dry after a dip in the river.
He shook so hard that the flames vanished in an instant.
Still, his entire body was hideously disfigured with burns.
After a few more minutes of fighting in that state… Hariba began to let out monstrous cries that could hardly be called words.
I sensed the time was right.
*Whoooosh!*
A massive fist.
I faced the attack head-on and threw my own punch, just like when I first confronted him.
*CRASH!*
This time, I wasn't sent flying.
I didn't even budge.
I was still standing in the same spot, while Hariba, in contrast, flinched, his fist trembling in surprise.
Was that tremor Hariba's genuine reaction, or the reaction of the sinister bastard hiding somewhere in the forest?
I didn't know.
Frankly, I didn't care either.
‘This feels amazing.’
I hadn't entered the White Sun Eclipse state, but I feel like my condition has finally returned to its peak.
Hariba, who had faltered slightly, threw another punch.
I gritted my teeth and smiled.
The greatest strength of the Flame Arts of the Greatest.
The longer I fight, the stronger I get.
My physical abilities had been steadily increasing the longer the fight continued.
*BOOM!*
And finally, in this moment,
I surpassed Hariba's strength.
***
My fist landed squarely on his solar plexus.
I felt it punch through his massive muscles and reach deep into his organs.
“Guh… urk…”
Something—saliva or blood, I couldn't tell—dripped from Hariba's mouth.
I had no desire to get any closer, so I just kicked him away.
It's not exactly a secret, but that kick was an imitation of Seren's from earlier.
‘It was a pretty decent martial art.’
Besides, it was too advanced to be simple self-defense.
Where did Seren learn such a martial art?
‘This isn't the time for stray thoughts.’
I looked at Hariba, who had collapsed in a heap. It didn't look like he would be moving anymore.
My last attack incorporated the principles of internal energy projection, focusing on destroying his insides rather than causing external damage.
Seeing the result, it seemed to have been the right strategy.
‘Now then…’
Time to showcase my acting skills!
“Keuk…”
I exhaled a pained breath and dropped to my knees.
Then I contorted my face as if I couldn't move another inch.
“I've been had…”
*Nice emotional delivery, eh?*
I immersed myself in my own performance, even grading it.
In truth, one could usually tell if someone was faking by their complexion, but the veil of night was thick today.
No matter how good their night vision, it would be difficult to see my expression through this darkness.
Anyway, I gasped with a pained expression before collapsing.
This is method acting at its finest!
But…
…
…
Somehow, they don't seem to be taking the bait.
Did this bastard just leave?
If that's the case, this has to be the most pathetic display ever.
If I've been putting on this ridiculous show for no one, even someone as shameless as me would feel a profound sense of a reality check.
Could I have been wrong?
What if the mastermind was never here in the first place, and Hariba's hesitation in the area with many obstacles was just a coincidence—
*Rustle—.*
“...!”
Just then, I heard the sound of grass being crushed.
It was so faint that even I almost missed it.
If there had been the sound of insects in the forest, I surely would have.
‘He's coming this way.’
Finally, I'll get to see the mastermind's face.
I waited for him to get closer, and the moment I was sure he was within my range, I shot to my feet.
I immediately reached out to grab the approaching figure, but…
‘He dodged?’
My hand fruitlessly swiped at empty air.
“...”
I glared at the figure standing a short distance away.
It was a strange person completely wrapped in a drab robe, so I couldn't make out their identity.
Based on their build, they were likely male, but since gender can be easily disguised, I couldn't be certain.
“So you still had the strength to move.”
The voice is definitely a man's.
“Who are you?”
I asked out of courtesy, with no real expectation of an answer, but his reply was completely unexpected.
“You've grown so much.”
“I asked who you are.”
“You don't need to know.”
*Then don't act like you know me, you bastard.*
Anyway, judging by the voice, it was a man.
I stood still for a moment, then suddenly thrust out a palm.
Fire Wheel.
A blast of fiery wind, shaped like my palm, shot toward the stranger.
The strange person nonchalantly flapped the hem of their robe.
Beneath the robe was a darkness deeper than the night sky, but the truly surprising thing happened next.
The Fire Wheel I had launched vanished into that robe.
I felt no sensation of the attack landing.
This development was certainly outside my expectations, but I had already started closing the distance the moment I launched the Fire Wheel.
*Clang!*
When the robed figure flapped their robe again, something like iron chains poured out from within.
‘It's not magic, is it?’
A Blessing, then? Or a curse?
Whatever it was, the intent behind using the chains was easy to guess.
They're trying to restrain my movements.
Without slowing down, I added a subtle sway to my upper body.
Keian's Shadow Steps.
I was really glad I'd learned it.
“...!”
Not a single chain managed to touch me, and the robed figure finally seemed flustered, judging by how they hastily backed away.
I snatched one of the chains that flew past me and pulled hard.
“Ugh...!”
The robed figure's body was pulled toward me.
Watching them get closer by the second, I infused power into my fist.
My plan was to smash their jaw the moment they were in range, but…
Plan aborted.
I quickly ducked my head.
*Clank!*
Chains flew at me from behind.
If I hadn't noticed, my neck might have been wrapped up.
‘What?’
How did the chains that flew past me change direction?
A divine relic?
Or…
Another wave of chains poured out from behind me.
Faster than before.
I stopped pulling the robed figure and focused on evading.
‘There are more of them?’
The number of chains had doubled in that short time, and the moment I looked back, I understood why.
There was another robed figure behind me, dressed similarly.
“Didn't expect there to be another one?”
The robed figure said in a mocking tone.
“You got cocky pretty fast just because you brought a friend.”
“Then how about two?”
“What?”
At that moment, hands shot out from the ground beneath me and grabbed both my ankles.
“What the hell?”
Even I couldn't have predicted this.
The instant my movement was restricted, chains shot out from the front and back, wrapping around my body excessively.
In a flash, I ended up like an insect caught in a tangled mess of thread.
“…Capture complete.”
The robed figure let out a sinister laugh.