Volume 2 - CH 394

9-28. Catch and Fetch with Equal Strength.

“How courageous of you to look away…!”

“Better than getting observed closely by you…”

A large hunting sword and a pair of swords clash with each other.

Making a clanging sound, they both ponder how to go for the next strike.

The battle between the enemies was impressive, as both sides were evenly matched in strength.

Karna uses her skills to increase her speed and decrease her opponent’s speed.

Although this seems like an advantageous skill at first glance, Maria possesses a skill that can dispel debuff magic, which keeps the battle in a stalemate.

Maria pushes the hunting sword forward, and Karna notices and steps back.

Of course, she was raising her own speed, so she will never be caught by any counterattack.

After quickly retreating, she attacks again by kicking the ground.

Swoosh

“[Fang Thrust].”

Maria takes a hazy stance and calls out a thrust skill.

The thrust attack flew straight and grazed Karna.

However, without changing her speed, Karna swings her double swords down at Maria.

It was a light attack.

However, the swing was dangerous, still full of killing intent, making Maria’s skin shivers every time she received it.

It’s been a while since she fought in such a tense situation.

Pushing away the double swords, now it’s Maria’s turn to step back.

“…Haa. I didn’t want to use this because it’s tiring…”

“…”

If the battle drags on, it will interfere with the plan.

Although it’s no longer something that can be called a plan… she left that aside.

Maria closes her eyes and claps her hands in a strange rhythm.

Pa-pam-pam-pa, pa-nn, pa-nn-pa-pam-nn.

She opens one eye to check her surroundings.

The opponent is still right in front of her.

She opens the other eye.

Three seconds later, the opponent seems to launch an attack from above.

Maria’s eye color changed.

One eye remains black, but the other has turned white.

“[Yoichi].” (Foresight)

Swishhhh

Exactly three seconds later, Karna decided to attack from above.

Maria had completely anticipated it and evaded it by half step to side.

After that, she kicked Karna and retreated once again to keep her distance.

“Uh…”

“Mmhm, I think I’m getting used to it.”

Now it’s time to attack from Maria’s side. While keeping one hand on herself.

“[Slowly].”

“[Magic Fog].”

The moment her speed was reduced, it was immediately discarded. Her weapon was held with both hands, swinging in a circle was performed to generate centrifugal force.

Maria’s attack was blocked by Karna’s weapon, but Maria’s automatic skill finally activated.

Kerchaaaang!!

The twin swords were smashed to pieces.

Even though Karna had received attacks from large weapons such as the hunting sword, she was an assassin and had some experience with handling weapons with any condition. So she thought the weapon wouldn’t be destroyed by the attack just now.

Normally, the weapon would not have been destroyed, but Maria’s automatic skill, weapon arms destruction, did not allow it.

It was a skill that did not activate easily, but once it did, the battle would tilt heavily in her favor.

“Phew, finally it came out.”

“Huh!?”

“Don’t underestimate the Guildmaster.”

Maria immediately launched a counterattack. She swung the hunting sword from a high position to strike down, cutting through Karna’s body, and bringing an end to the fight.

Or so he thought.

Clang

“…?”

The blade didn’t go through.

The large hunting sword was completely stopped by Karna’s shoulder.

She wasn’t wearing thick armor, and it didn’t seem like she was enhanced with any magic.

“Too bad.”

Zaghh.

Seizing a momentary opening, Karna thrust one of her broken swords into Maria’s leg.

Maria’s precognition changes in accuracy due to agitation.

Powerful skills are difficult to handle.

The precognition from earlier should have completely torn Karna apart, but it didn’t.

That caused her to become agitated and temporarily deacivated the skill.

Reacting quickly, she swung the hunting sword, which hit Karna, but she couldn’t tear her apart like before.

Taking advantage of the opening, she used the other broken sword to slice Maria’s arm.

If handled like a dagger, a broken sword could still be useful.

Maria, who had her arm slashed, couldn’t support the large hunting sword and dropped it on the spot.

However, she picked it up with her other hand and immediately retreated.

She pulled out the sword stuck in her leg and threw it far away.

“This skill….. don’t tell me?!”

She had never seen it before, but she knew someone similar with that skill.

“Same as Reizen-kun…”

She had an intuition that she couldn’t win against this enemy at this stage.

She could only hope to survive through evasion.

But it was highly doubtful whether she could escape while injured.

If someone was nearby, nothing would have happened, but no one was around.

She might be able to run away, but if the opponent came to kill her, the probability of losing was higher.

“What should I do?”

Wuuuuushhh

“!!!”

An attack is coming.

She immediately stands up and puts her hands shielding her body.

In any rate, she has to escape to where her comrades are.

It was very dangerous for her, who is not good at magic, to face her current enemy now.

She wondered where the nearest ally was from there.

She had a thought that escaping and hiding is the biggest priority.

Thinking so, she ran anyway.

“Guh!!”

Hssshh…

She somehow defends against the attack from behind.

She can’t use foresight in her current situation.

She is doing her best to fend off the opponent’s attacks.

“Isn’t it unfair that you can attack me while I can’t!?”

“Doing what your opponent doesn’t like is the basic of combat.”

“You’re not wrong though!”

Her arm that was slashed can’t move with any willpower.

She wonders if the tendon is cut, and yet, she wields the oversized hunting sword with her remaining arm.

Her weapon size helps to block attacks.

But I don’t know how long this will last.

“Oh, come on! Isn’t there anyone who can help me here!?”

“I’m here.”

“What!?!”

“Yo…”

Her reinforcement emerged from the ground.