Chapter 94: Fierce Battle
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 94: Fierce Battle
"Don't tell me... Ryan, you're only playing for the other team because you can't find a girlfriend and had to settle for second best."
It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck, splitting a great tree.
Or like an arrow leaving the string and piercing the bullseye.
In that moment, Muen clearly heard the sound of a heart shattering.
"God damn it!"
Ryan’s eyes turned bloodshot again.
Bullshit! How dare you defile my pure love!
I’ll hack you into mincemeat!
The moment rage flooded Ryan's brain, Muen’s long-awaited attack finally struck.
Shadow Step!
Under the cover of the dim light, Muen even hid his dagger—the only thing capable of reflecting a glint of light—against the inside of his forearm. He was like a predator lurking in the brush, poised to strike; he wouldn't make a sound until the killing blow.
Ryan would never let his guard down against a frontal assault, but anger briefly destroys reason. By the time he snapped back to his senses, Muen had silently crossed the short distance between them. The hidden dagger flicked out like a claw, lunging with unerring precision toward Ryan’s throat.
A genuine premonition of death surged, and Ryan’s pupils constricted.
But.
Since their last encounter, Ryan had replayed the scene of fighting an enemy like Muen countless times in his mind. Even with the blade mere inches from his throat, he was still... no, he was far from finished!
Roar!
Ryan let out a guttural howl.
Explosive pops, like bones grinding together, erupted from his powerful frame.
His muscles swelled and his stature ballooned. In less than a single breath, his body actually shot up several inches!
Consequently, the dagger that should have pierced his throat only struck his chest. A metallic luster shimmered across the skin of his torso; even though the blade was infused with Fighting Spirit, it only left a faint red mark upon impact!
Muen was momentarily stunned by the sight.
What the hell?
The Hulk?
Are you an Avenger too?
"Muen Campbell!"
This minor transformation didn't grant Ryan a boost as massive as the Hulk's, but it still increased his strength by more than thirty percent.
However, strength was far from the deciding factor when facing a nimble assassin.
At such close range and in such a cramped space, Ryan knew his horse-slaying blade would be difficult to wield. He abandoned it immediately, reaching out to grab Muen with his bare hands.
Muen nimbly pulled back to retreat.
However, his calculated escape route was compromised by Ryan’s sudden increase in reach. He was still within the grasp of those massive hands.
Despite his best efforts to dodge, Ryan managed to seize one of Muen's arms!
Muen’s expression shifted slightly.
Ryan, however, let out a triumphant laugh.
"I’ve got you, Muen Campbell!"
When a squishy assassin is caught by a power-type warrior, anyone with half a brain knows how it ends!
You want to poke at my insecurities?
You want to break my heart?
I’m going to snap your limbs off, one by one!
Ryan gripped Muen’s arm and yanked hard, dragging him inward.
He threw his arms wide, as if he were practicing a hug for a non-existent girlfriend in his room.
But that embrace was anything but tender for Muen.
It was an embrace fueled by hatred and rage, designed to crush a man to powder!
With Muen’s slender build, entering that embrace would result in at least a hundred broken bones in an instant.
But the moment before he was pulled into the chest-crush, Muen’s shoulder jerked with a crisp crack of shifting bone.
He suddenly kicked off the adjacent wall, his body twisting through the air in a bizarre 180-degree rotation. He evaded Ryan’s lethal bear hug and flipped another 90 degrees backward, his knees bending as he slammed his weight down onto Ryan’s shoulders.
Ryan’s eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight.
Acrobatics?
But your damn arm is still in my hand!
He didn't have time to think further, because Muen had already raised the dagger in his other hand, driving it toward Ryan’s vulnerable eyes!
Pinned down by Muen's legs and unable to dodge, Ryan was forced to throw himself sideways. He crashed through the room's wall, shaking Muen off and creating some distance.
Still, he couldn't stop himself from screaming in pain.
Because of his sudden tilt, Muen’s dagger missed his eye, but the blade still sliced along his cheek, shearing off an entire ear!
Blood sprayed, staining the white walls crimson.
Ryan clutched his wound, looking at the slowly rising Muen with horror.
"You... what the hell are you?"
"What am I? That’s quite rude."
Muen stood up, smiling as he popped his dislocated arm back into its socket with a sickening click.
"Compared to someone like you, who’s been corrupted by an Evil God, I’d say I’m much more human."
"Bullshit!"
Ryan roared, but in his current state, the shout only served to highlight his internal terror.
"Human? Is that a move a human can make? Dislocating your own arm without blinking and then snapping it back... you’re telling me this is something a pampered Duke’s son is capable of?"
"I didn't have much of a choice."
Muen rolled his left shoulder. Finding that it didn't hinder his movement, he nodded with satisfaction.
"If you had to fight for your life every day against an enemy ten times stronger than you—someone who is also an expert at close-quarters combat—and if you were killed by him hundreds of times, the first thing you’d learn is how to take apart and reassemble every one of your joints.
"Because even if you don't learn, he’ll do it for you."
"What are you talking about?"
Ryan felt like he was looking at a madman.
"This is the Academy! Who would be fighting you to the death every day?"
"Well, that involves a little secret of mine, so I can't tell you, Ryan."
Muen gave a playful wink before continuing.
"However, there is one thing I can complain to you about."
"Actually..."
Muen lowered his stance, his body coiling like a tensed bowstring.
"During our last fight..."
The corners of Muen’s mouth curled into a smile as he looked at Ryan. It was a smile that held a ferocity Muen himself hadn't even noticed.
"I didn't get to enjoy myself enough either!"
In an instant, a violent aura—one that seemed to have weathered countless life-and-death struggles—erupted from the handsome, blond youth.
For a fleeting second, Ryan seemed to see a mountain of corpses piled beneath Muen’s feet.
Countless... of Muen's own corpses.
"Let’s start round two, Ryan!"
Muen lunged again.
Before the distance could be fully closed, Ryan hooked the horse-slaying blade off the floor with his foot, gripped it tight, and swung it in a massive horizontal sweep.
The wind howled like a crashing wave.
Thick Fighting Spirit wrapped around the steel, causing the blade's glow to explode outward. The range of the slash expanded until it nearly covered the entire room.
You think I’m going to go toe-to-toe with a freak like you?
Just die already!
But the moment the blade-light was about to touch Muen, Ryan saw him raise a hand, fingers curved like the talons of a beast.
Huh?
That’s weird.
Isn't that move specifically for interrupting martial techniques?
But I’m not using a technique right now.
Why is he using that?
The moment the question surfaced in his mind, Ryan heard a massive boom, like a clap of thunder.
Then came a violent vibration.
Shockwaves rippled through him.
In that instant, it felt as though he were being trampled by a stampede of rhinos. Ryan felt his internal organs, his body, and even his brain scream in agony.
His consciousness blurred for a split second.
And so.
The moment his vision refocused...
All Ryan saw was a brilliant flash of blade-light erupting from the darkness.
*
PS: It's my birthday, so I went out to celebrate. This is all for today.