96 - Chapter 21: Street-Slasher Later VS Disappointing Richter (Part 2)
Switching offense and defense, it was Later's turn to move.
There are about three patterns for dealing with a spear. That said, it is not a difficult concept. Either engage from a distance that exceeds the reach, compete within the same combat range, or dive straight into the opponent's chest.
Therefore, as his first move, he transformed the Rig Veda in his hand into a longsword. No, it was a longsword, yet it was a blade cracked at regular intervals. In appearance, it looked like a defective product on the verge of shattering.
"Fast...!!"
"!?"
With a single swing into the void, the sword itself extended and flexed like a whip, assaulting Richter from above. The cracked sections broke apart, but perhaps because wires connected them internally, it functioned as a bladed whip.
A weapon known as a whip-sword, a segmented sword, or a galian sword.
Rather than power or functionality, it is a fictional weapon that does not exist in reality because the mechanism cannot be reproduced, and even if it could, it would be impossible to handle. However, the Rig Veda is a versatile Lost Artifact that changes its form according to the user's will. As long as the image is clear, it will reproduce it, even if it is a romanticized weapon.
"Let's start with a battle of sheer volume!!"
And for someone who enjoyed subculture, that image was incredibly easy to conjure.
The blades danced wildly like a giant serpent writhing across the earth, attacking from all directions, regardless of up, down, left, right, front, back, or heaven and earth. It was not just the tips one had to worry about. There were blades spaced out along the belly of the whip. Even the trajectory of these blades, which came to shave away flesh like a chainsaw, would inevitably be fatal if they hit.
The effective range extended dozens of meters, and the foot soldiers nearby were quickly blown away, forming a slaughter-space from which escape was impossible.
However, Richter, who was near the center, remained calm.
"────Phew...!"
He took a short breath to steady himself, put strength into his hara, and steeled his resolve. He knocked down the tip of the whip-sword attacking from the front with the head of his spear, brushed away those leaping from behind or underground with the butt of the spear, and parried the sweeping strikes of the whip by letting them slide along the shaft of the spear to counterattack.
Despite it being a weapon he was seeing for the first time, Richter handled it with a single spear, consistently finding the optimal solution. No, he was reading the moves. It only looked like the optimal solution because he was placing his spear exactly where he saw the attack going.
(Man, Shannon can't win against this,) Later thought, without slowing his assault.
He had heard that there was a gap in their abilities. Since they were master and disciple, he had simply thought that was natural, but the real thing far exceeded his imagination.
Physical abilities were a superior version. He hadn't shown it yet, but likely the techniques were a superior version as well. But above all, the fact that he had accumulated genuine experience was the biggest factor.
His center of gravity was heavy. While the footwork used to dodge the whip-sword was light, the top of his head barely moved up and down. With the absolute minimum of movement, he was completely defending against Later's attacks. He's solid, Later thought. This solidity is something a person who has casually played through life with high specs and cheats in hand cannot obtain.
People learn the most when they taste defeat. Those who have known defeat many times and still survived are unfazed by a few irregularities.
(Even if I manage to take one round, a high-ranker will learn from it and improvise a counter for the next round...!)
Because he had a job, Later in his previous life had only been able to play fighting games to a moderate degree. Even so, the experience he had accumulated paid off, and he could reach a decent rank.
However, when stepping into those inhuman realms of online play, he would occasionally match against pros or famous figures in the community and get absolutely demolished. Even if he managed to take one round by pushing through a dirty option, it would no longer work in the next round, and he would fail to break the opponent's defense or evasion, only to realize his action patterns had been read and he was losing the damage race.
From Richter, he smelled the same scent as those who had polished their skills in such actual combat. Even if he continued with these wild strikes, he probably wouldn't be able to break him.
(I set some things up, but I reckon the win rate is only about 30 percent at best,) Later thought.
What Later had taught Shannon was how to use the body and a few techniques that would be considered unorthodox from the perspective of the Albert-style Centaur School. They weren't one-hit kills, but they had the element of surprise. It was at a level where he might win if he could exploit a gap, but without them, he certainly wouldn't win.
That said, that assessment was regarding Shannon, not Later himself.
(Even if he was a former Gold rank, he's not as good as the Master. If that's the case, even I────)
Deciding he could win, Later immediately returned the Rig Veda to its bangle form and leaped to the side.
"!"
Immediately after, a slash of light raced through the space where he had been a moment before. A few strands of hair were sliced away, and since it was near his sideburns, it was not hard to imagine that if his judgment had been delayed by even a second, it would have been a fatal wound.
"When did you set up 'Afterglow'?"
"Tch. Did you learn it from watching Shannon?"
Later glared at Richter, who was straightening up and clicking his tongue, while scanning his surroundings. Since one had been set, it was safe to assume multiple had been set. At this stage, he could no longer move carelessly.
"Yeah. I knew you were a set-up character. I just didn't know when you set them," Later said.
"I don't know what a set-up character is, but regardless, it's too late. While I was circling around you as you fled from that strange weapon, I did it every time I swung my spear."
As expected, he suggested that the escape routes had been sealed.
However.
"So you're saying you set them all around me? In that case...!"
Later had an answer for that as well.
He channeled mana at full power into the Rig Veda on his right arm. The high-concentration mana poured in without restraint released the excess as red flashes, and Later poured his own image into the Rig Veda.
That absurd amount of mana, second only to Geoglyph's, was likely causing even a Lost Artifact to overload. The Rig Veda distorted as if screaming. However, Later ignored all of that and slammed the Rig Veda, along with his right fist, into the ground.
Immediately after, every kind of weapon scattered in all directions.
This was not a metaphor. Nor was it a joke. Swords, daggers, spears, axes, bows, hooks, kunai, and even guns, as well as things that would be meaningless on their own, appeared in countless numbers and flew in all directions at ultra-high speed.
While neutralizing every single 'Afterglow' that had been set in their path.
"────I just have to make them all misfire on this end."
Richter, who parried the armaments launched toward himself with his spear, then saw Later's fearless smile. Meanwhile, the scattered Rig Veda was sequentially turning into liquid metal and returning to his arm.
Feeling dizzy at such absurdity, Richter spoke heavily.
"...What is your adventurer rank?"
"Copper."
"Are you a rank fraud?"
"I get that a lot."
Richter's face twitched at the brat who so readily accepted such a harsh evaluation. He wondered why such a monster existed in the wild and why he had crashed the party at this timing.
"Now then, I've got plans of my own. I'm not in the mood for this, so get lost."
"...What, you figured it out?"
"With that arm, if you have no other real attacks besides the first strike, that's what one would think."
"No, listen, the only people who could dive through that and attack are the ones with screws loose, even among Gold ranks. Don't put me in the psycho category. I'm an ordinary man."
Being answered so honestly, Later tilted his head in his mind, wondering, Really? If it were the Master, Gado, he would have dove in with glee.
"You're on the Prime Minister's side anyway, right? Our teacher has already seen through the preparations on that side. He hasn't told Her Highness Lumilia, but he says he's shared it with Count Radock."
"I see. Well, I wanted a reason to lose at an appropriate time, so your existence was a godsend. At worst, I intended to go as far as Count Radock."
"Couldn't you have just normally joined the Royalist faction instead of playing along with this farce?"
"I am Shannon's master. Now that I've granted them full transmission, I cannot be by their side, nor should I be."
"Hmm... ? Hm?"
Later felt something slightly colored and lingering in Richter's trailing way of speaking, and he tilted his head slightly.
"In other words, is it that? ────A lolicon?"
"..."
Immediately after, a silent, piercing strike flew toward his heart, and he hurriedly backstepped.
"Wait, hold on!? Stop suddenly trying to kill me, you'll scare me!"
"Shut up. Trampling all over a person's feelings...!"
"Ah, seriously? It was a joke, but was it a bullseye? Yay, lolicon!"
As if adding a bonus, another strike flew toward his face. Since it was the second time, Later dodged it smoothly.
"But still, the age gap..."
"That's why I'm staying away! I'm already middle-aged!?"
"O, oh. Surprisingly common-sensical...?"
"Besides, that kid's own heart is directed toward Her Highness. Though I don't know if they've noticed."
Ah, Later looked up at the sky and remembered Shannon.
Separate from loyalty, he could tell that Shannon had feelings for Lumilia. Whether that was something flighty like love or romance, Later didn't know. Moreover, although it was a reversible TS, the gender identity was female. Since the heart was directed toward the same sex, it was an unknown territory for Later.
He knew the concept of yuri, but he wasn't very familiar with it. That was Marianne's field. So, rather, in terms of gender, wouldn't it be more natural for Shannon to get together with Richter? He thought, as someone who was a kemoner but claimed to have relatively normal fetishes.
"At one point, I considered taking them as my wife, but..."
Before he could agree, the old man blurted out something dangerous, so Later gave a single nod.
"Rather than 'Afterglow' Richter, you're 'Disappointing' Richter, aren't you?"
"I'm definitely killing you."
This time, a spear drenched in killing intent flew toward him.
●
There is a concept called the Three-Fold Rank of Swordsmanship.
It later became widely known as the Three-Fold Rank of Kendo, but originally, it meant that a naginata was three times stronger than a sword.
As this indicates, the difference in reach is vividly reflected in the results even in close-quarters combat. Just as humans have maintained superiority over other races since primitive times by using out-range tactics, attacks from a distance────attacks from outside the opponent's range────provide a one-sided advantage.
Therefore, when comparing various close-combat arts, spears and naginatas always have an advantage. They are good for thrusting, good for sweeping, and good for parrying. While the length one can handle varies by person, if even a child can acquire a reach exceeding a five-foot blade by using a light material like bamboo for the shaft, the extraordinary performance becomes clear.
If a single warrior handles this, it is truly like giving a club to a demon. Therefore, in a world without the concept of guns, the spear can be called a must-have item that works on any battlefield.
As mentioned before, there are mainly three ways to overcome this.
One is a range that exceeds the spear, namely long-distance attacks such as bows or magic.
One is to also handle a spear and stand on the same playing field.
And the other is.
"Fast...!!"
To traverse the tip, which is the maximum killing range, faster than the opponent's reaction speed and dive into their chest.
(Tch! As I thought, this guy has a counter-strategy...!!)
The engagement shifted from a distance.
This time, against Later, who had dove in within a single breath, Richter responded quickly with a backstep and a spear sweep. However, Later responded by transforming the Rig Veda into a buckler to parry and stepping in further to maintain a close-contact state.
Richter, who took distance, and Later, who closed it, crossed the battlefield like a dance, stirring up the wind.
The reason Later took such action was likely the influence of learning the Centaur School through Shannon.
The technique called 'Afterglow' that Richter uses as his main axis in combat is the fixed placement of slashes. In other words, it maximizes its strength specifically in a fixed battlefield.
If they were in a ring partitioned by tightropes, eventually the opponent would have nowhere to run, and he could secure victory like a tsumeshogi puzzle.
However, in an open battlefield like this, such a way of fighting is impossible. That is why Later constantly advanced and attacked, cornering Richter and forcing him to retreat so that the battlefield would not be fixed. He constantly forced him to change locations, change footing, and continuously change the field. Even if Afterglow was set, by the time it activated, Later would be far ahead.
With the Rig Veda, he could transform it into a bow with excellent reach, a whip-sword like before, or even a spear, which is Richter's home turf, but the reason he deliberately avoided those forms and clung to the opponent even by crossing the maximum killing range was this.
The man called Later did not hesitate to find life in the midst of death. After all, he was a man who lived his previous life on a philosophy of sheer grit. He knew well that victory, which cannot be snatched away through pain and suffering, is not a victory.
Of course, Richter was not just retreating and standing idly by. He was using the spear to keep him at bay and moving to guide him toward the coordinates where he had set 'Afterglow' by taking a wide detour.
But.
"Hmph...!!"
"Tch!!"
Later, who opened a distance for just a moment, transformed the Rig Veda into a short bow and fired an arrow just ahead of Richter to keep him in check. After stopping his feet, he immediately transformed the Rig Veda into a katana and closed in to continue the attack.
He did not let the attack advantageous to himself be broken. He was completely controlling the combat. He did not let things go the opponent's way, seized the initiative, narrowed the opponent's options, and constantly created an advantageous situation.
(I feel like I'm being forced into a kata practice...!)
Richter, who was being pressed this far regardless of the advantage or disadvantage of the weapons, could not understand it, but for Later, the fighting gamer, he wasn't doing anything particularly difficult.
In the world of fighting games, combat styles such as offense and waiting exist.
Normally, the advantage or disadvantage of these is heavily influenced by the systems implemented in each game or the character used, but Later himself preferred aggressive offense, and it suited his nature. That is why he used many such characters, and that has become a great power in reproducing it in this world.
Conversely, now. In this battlefield where he directly feels the hot wind and the smell of blood────no, to be precise, he noticed it from the moment he was born into this world and experienced the law of the jungle.
That this world is a world where aggressive offense is advantageous.
Come to think of it, that was also correct in his previous life. The same goes for taking the initiative; it's not that waiting is weak, but unlike a game, in reality, damage goes to the body as pain. If the skin is torn, thinking becomes dull due to pain. If blood flows, that alone is a mental and physical debuff. If a strike lands, consciousness goes somewhere due to the impact, and a fatal wound occurs just by a blade being inserted somewhere into the internal organs.
While that is not everything, in a fight with weapons, the one who lands the first strike generally wins the killing match.
When he noticed that fact, Later was convinced, So it's basically Real Blood-Blade. I see, it's suited for me. Therefore, he recalled his combat experience in both real and virtual aspects from his previous life and basically took the offensive when constructing a fight. And the way he attacked was something that was dozens of generations ahead for the people of this world.
And the basis of aggressive offense is to do what the opponent hates.
This is not just about finding a weakness and striking it. It also includes showing movement, even if it's a swing and a miss, to restrict the opponent's actions.
In this case, it was the action of maintaining a close-contact situation that spears are poor at, and the moment Richter showed any movement, crushing that start.
Those who are not warriors might think it's nasty, but in a combat where lives are at stake, there is courtesy, but there are no rules. If rules are set, it is just a sport.
(And this is Copper? I don't know where this brat has been active, but is the guild master there blind!? This bottomlessness wouldn't even be surprising for a Platinum!!)
●
Meanwhile, at that time. At the adventurer guild of the Ernesta Empire.
"A-choo!!"
"Do you have a cold, Guild Master?"
"No, I'm not feeling bad, but... is it because it's been peaceful for the last two weeks?"
"We haven't seen them lately, have we. Those Three Idiots."
"I wonder where they are and what they're doing now... no, for some reason, I have nothing but a bad feeling..."
Dusk, the guild master who was clearing paperwork, shivered his bulk, but this premonition would later come true and become an international problem.
●
(His defense is rock solid!? Does this guy really have any intention of losing!!?)
While Richter was marveling at Later, Later was also amazed by Richter's defensive performance.
It was not physical hardness, but the precision of his reading and parrying that was abnormal. Since Later kept diving in no matter what, Richter retreated while holding the spear short, using it with agility like a short spear or a glaive, but this showed an effectively high rotation rate and countered all of Later's attacks.
Initially, he had transformed the Rig Veda into a katana, but now he had changed it into dual swords to prioritize the number of hits in close contact, yet it still brought the fight to a stalemate.
(What is this guy looking for?)
Richter continued to devote himself to defense and did not actively attack. He retreated even if it meant giving up on setting 'Afterglow', but he kept a watchful eye on his surroundings. Later didn't understand the intention, but at a certain moment, Richter's feet stopped.
(Oh?)
Exactly at the deepest part of the enemy's left wing. He had pushed him to the point where the royal capital's walls were just one breath away. It was probably unbelievable that the strongest knight of their own country was pushed to the brink. The surrounding foot soldiers also instinctively stopped their movements and watched the fight between the two intently.
(Is he telling me to do it?)
He felt that the defensive hand had loosened slightly. He probably wasn't just getting worked up in front of the crowd. Most likely, this situation itself was Richter's aim.
(I don't feel great being played with...! But if he's telling me to do it────I'm going all out!!)
Later made up his mind, returned the Rig Veda to its bangle form, and used full body reinforcement. The overflowing mana leaped into Richter's chest at a speed that created red afterimages.
He dodged the spear tip that flew in as a counter by twisting his body while stepping in. He parried with his right arm while stepping in, and then slammed a crushing blow into Richter's torso. That strike, which dented the armor regardless of its hardness, made a dull sound that was unbelievable for a bare fist and metal.
Taking a direct hit, Richter's body floated slightly, but Later did not stop.
He then stepped his left foot wide to Richter's left side and lowered his body, using that recoil to strike from the back with a 'Forest-Piercing Kite'. He broke the posture, and from there, he flipped his body and simultaneously────.
"Wave!!"
When he unleashed a strike with both palms, Richter, who took the direct hit, flew horizontally to the ground as if released from gravity, smashed through the outer wall of the royal capital, and disappeared into the city.
The ancient fighting gamer calls this sequence of a crushing blow, Forest-Piercing Kite, and dual palms as follows.
"I did it. Achilles Special...!!"
Having crossed off one of the techniques he wanted to reproduce, having wanted to try it in practice once, Later nodded with satisfaction.
However.
(That guy probably flew off on his own at the end...)
Only the final dual palms felt lighter than the expected impact. Despite that, since he flew further than imagined, it was not hard to imagine that he had most likely flown off on his own.
He could understand that there was probably some reason for it, and since he had said he wanted to lose, he was used conveniently. For Later's part, he went along with it because he thought that if he defeated Richter, who was said to be the strongest in the kingdom, he could greatly dampen the enemy's morale.
In fact.
"A, a demon..."
"A red demon..."
"It's a Red Demon..."
The soldiers of the Prime Minister's faction who had been watching the fight between Later and Richter were unsettled.
"Red Demon, huh. As for a nickname, it's not bad. ────Look here, I'm gonna eat you up!!"
Later, who felt good about the flashy name, showed a bit of service spirit, and the soldiers screamed "Wah!" and began to scatter like spiderlings.
"Kekeke. Are there any naughty children here!?"
Laughing loudly, Later chased them while gliding across the ground on one foot, and his catchphrase was more like that of a Namahage than a demon.
●
"Lord Gardel! Our allies are retreating!"
At the words of the subordinate who rushed into the main camp, Gardel asked quietly.
"Both wings have retreated, correct?"
"Yes!"
"And Richter?"
"He was reported to have been defeated on the left wing a moment ago."
"Hmm, has the time ripened?"
From the start, this side was a motley crew. Their barbarian-like nature, thinking only of achieving or stealing merit, which was hardly fitting for nobles, was nothing new.
It is fine to have greed. However, vulgar humans who cannot even move for the sake of the country, let alone swallow that greed, are not needed for the kingdom from here on.
"Very well, set the fires. Seal the escape routes of those who are unsettled. The rest will be finished by the new First Knight Commander, Mule Grey."
This long-running farce was finally nearing its climax.
To be continued next week (I didn't say I'd make it in time).