(Pov Genjuro)
“Well, my opponents are you two, then.”
I pointed the tip of my large sword toward the knight golem and the archer golem. I wasn’t sure if such a provocation had any meaning, but I couldn’t let them join the two already headed toward Jigoro. Besides, could I afford to ignore their hostile intentions?
“Eliminate.”
Well, it seemed to have gone well. Unfortunately, I didn’t possess the skill to attract an opponent’s attention like Jigoro did. So, I was unsure if it would be effective, but it turned out my worries were unfounded.
Huh? Could it be that they intend to defeat me quickly before joining up with their friends? If that’s the case, it’s rather disrespectful and quite unpleasant.
The knight golem closed the distance while holding its shield in front of it. It was also concealing the sword it held in its other hand. Probably to keep its attack hidden and make it harder for me to anticipate its movements.
Furthermore, at that very moment, the archer golem released a volley of arrows. Rather than targeting obvious critical points like my head, it aimed for my knees, displaying an unexpectedly shrewd tactical approach.
“Whoa there!”
Using my short sword, I deflected the arrows and then raised my large sword. With all my might, I swung it downward toward the Knight golem, fully intent on cleaving the golem shield and all, in twain if possible.
Clang clang clang!
However, things didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. My large sword, which had previously sliced through the body hair and tough skin of the Tarrasque, could not sever the knight golem’s shield. Instead, it merely sent the golem flying with the force behind my swing, leaving only shallow scratches on its surface.
“Even Jigoro can’t smash through… huh?”
I glanced sideways at Jigoro, who was fighting the shield warrior golem, but it seemed that even his powerful fists couldn’t break through the shield. If I, with my large sword, couldn’t slice through that shield, then it would be impossible to break through a thicker great shield with fists alone.
Despite my momentary distraction, the golems weren’t inclined to wait. The archer golem, perhaps to buy time for its companion to rise, unleashed a rapid succession of arrows. I deflected each one with my short sword. It was annoying, but in a way, it felt like a mini-game and was strangely enjoyable.
As I dealt with the constant barrage of arrows, the knight golem finally got back on its feet. Once again, it closed the distance with its shield held forward. Hmmm, using the large sword to intercept it would be straightforward, but it would lead to a repeat of our earlier exchange.
That wouldn’t be very impressive. After all, I had spent my youth honing my skills with swords and spears. While brute force had its place, I wanted to finish this in a more artful manner.
“Well then, maybe I should let you make the first move.”
With my decision made, I raised my large sword high, while the arms holding the short sword and striking sword loosened down. Now, let’s see how they react.
“Eliminate.”
The knight golem started by thrusting its shield forward, attempting to bash me with it. I countered with the striking sword, deflecting the blow, but it followed up with a hidden sword thrust. Hmm, not your run-of-the-mill tactic.
“Shah!”
I swung the large sword down towards the opponent’s sword and knocked it aside. Having successfully parried both stages of its attack, the knight golem lost its balance. I saw this as an opportunity but was interrupted by the archer golem, which released an arrow to hinder me.
“You’re in the way!”
I sliced through the arrow with my sword; because of that, I was no longer able to counter the Knight golem with it. However, there was no need to worry.
“There’s more than just one sword, you know?”
“E… li… terminate…”
While I deflected the arrow with my large sword, I twisted the remaining short sword and striking sword into the gaps in the Knight golem’s armor. The armor’s inner plating seemed to be thin, as both of my swords plunged deep into it. Ah, it seems like I found a convenient weak spot.
“Now, it’s just a matter of finishing it off…”
“Eliminate.”
As I casually parried the arrows coming at me, I observed everyone else’s battles. Some were engaged in rather dangerous skirmishes, but I doubt anyone will die here. Interfering would be rather uncouth.
“Jigoro seems to be enjoying himself, so perhaps I should too.”
Well then, archer golem, let’s have some fun until you run out of arrows. Don’t worry; I’ll make it quick when the time comes. Ho-ho-ho!
◆◇◆◇◆◇
(Pov Ruby)
“Aaaah, come on! The two of them are doing whatever they want!”
I couldn’t help but shout that as I dealt with the continuous attacks of the dual wielding golem. Whenever it was me, grandpa, and Jigoro forming a trio, the leader role always fell on me.
The reason? Well, isn’t that obvious given the current situation? Jigoro charged in without a word, and grandpa followed suit, causing chaos. Normally, both of them are relatively sensible, but when it comes to battle, they become selfish. I couldn’t trust them to lead the team.
In fact, I thought it was amazing that Isam could handle those two when we were all acting together…Though sometimes, I wonder if he himself was crazy as well.
“Hey! I don’t have the time to think about unnecessary things right now!”
Well, there was no helping it at this point. I’d let those two rampage as they pleased, and I needed to focus on the dual wielding golem right in front of me. Unlike those two, who seemed like battle prodigies, I didn’t have that level of talent. Dealing with even one golem was challenging enough!
I managed to dodge the attacks unleashed by the golem I was facing. To be honest, I wasn’t very skilled at defense. If I took the offensive, I could give my grandpa a run for his money, but the moment I went on the defensive, I’d quickly find myself defeated. I just couldn’t seem to master the art of parrying that Isam was made to learn in such a short period of time.
So, the assassin style suited me perfectly. Ambushing was the basic approach, ideally resulting in an instant kill and, if not, at least inflicting severe injuries on the opponent. That way, I could seize control of the fight, press the advantage, and defeat my enemies while maintaining momentum. It had brought me this far.
“Eliminate.”
“Ugh, but I really hate going head-to-head!”
So, a full-on showdown like the one I was currently engaged in wasn’t my forte, to be honest. Being entirely on the defensive was the worst possible scenario. My opponent was a dual-wielder, just like me. That meant I could predict its moves to some extent, but if you asked whether I could respond effectively, well, I don’t think it’ll go so smoothly…
“Eliminate.”
“Whoa! That was close!”
My race was Assassin Jewel Slime. I mean, the fact that “Assassin” was in the name should tell you something. When it came to agility, I was the best in the guild. So, if I focused all my efforts on evading, I could easily avoid the enemy’s attacks.
Thanks to evolving with the items I received as event rewards, my base defense was actually quite high, nearly rivaling Iris’s. The name “Jewel” wasn’t just for show. So, if I got hit just a little, it didn’t seem to cause any real damage. My health was second only to Isam’s, though.
But my slime body was holding me back. Since I hadn’t grown in size at all since I started playing, there was a significant difference between me and the dual-wielding golem, akin to that between an adult and a child.
“Eliminate.”
“Ugh, seriously! Isn’t it unfair to use not just swords but also stomping!?”
The golem didn’t just attack with its swords; it also came at me with stomping feet. Meanwhile, my reach was so short that I didn’t even have time to counter. Even if I stretched myself to the limit, I couldn’t reach the golem’s forearm. What was I supposed to do?
Even though I knew that I couldn’t win in a two-on-one scenario like the two others, it was still a bit frustrating. I knew it was impossible to replicate their movements, but at the very least, I wanted to defeat this golem in a stylish way, even if it was a silly matter of pride. But then again, I was a sore loser by nature, so I couldn’t help it, right?
“Wait a minute? If I don’t take any damage, do I really need to bother blocking?”
As I pondered how to turn the situation around, suddenly, an idea dawned on me like a revelation.
Of course! Trying to pull off the same superhuman feat as those two, dodging attacks while counterattacking, was beyond me. Since I couldn’t replicate their divine skills, I decided to capitalize on my high agility and defense. I’d simply ignore the enemy’s attacks and go on an all-out offensive!
“Eliminate.”
“It won’t work!”
Yeah, it seemed like I was only taking minimal damage. So, without worrying about defense or evasion, I relentlessly pressed the attack. I would showcase the offensive style Grandpa had praised me for!
“Sei! Hyah! Waha!”
“Eliminate.”
The dual-wielding golem and I stopped each other and engaged in a fierce swordfight. It was during this clash that I realized I had another advantage. We, slime creatures, had a weak point called a core. In other words, if you didn’t use an attack related to the core’s element, striking other parts of our bodies wouldn’t be very effective.
If you wanted to reach my core, it meant breaking through my defenses and getting your blade to the colorless, transparent core deep inside my slimy body. Since magic wasn’t functioning properly in this place wouldn’t it be very difficult to take me down with physical attacks?
“Eliminate.”
“The armor is tough, but… if I target the gaps!”
The armor of this golem was incredibly sturdy. It seemed different from the previous α and β models. However, since this one is also an artificial golem, there should always be gaps in joints and such. It appeared that a blade could pass through those gaps!
I darted around the golem, persistently aiming for its joints with my daggers. In the meantime, the golem attempted to counterattack, but it couldn’t keep up with my speed. Occasionally, I would get hit by a lucky punch, but the damage was minimal. It seemed like I could pull this off!
“Eliminate.”
“Right here! Thrust!”
Swiftly, I circled around to its rear, using my dual daggers to strike at the joints behind both knees of the golem while employing a martial technique. The martial technique I used, “Sharp Thrust” had the effect of increasing the power and critical rate of thrust attacks. How about this?
Bikiki..!
As I thrust my daggers, an unpleasant cracking sound echoed, indicating that something had broken. I had made an impact! But I knew I couldn’t let my guard down. I twisted the daggers inside to inflict further damage before stepping back.
The moment the daggers were withdrawn, the golem collapsed as if it had given up right on the spot. I later learned from Iris that my earlier strike had completely shattered the spherical joint that supported the golem’s knees. It was no wonder it couldn’t stand anymore.
“Now, I’ll keep at it from here!”
I continued to thrust my daggers into the immobilized joints of the golem. First, I aimed to disable its arm movements by breaking its shoulders and elbows. It was somewhat difficult because they were concealed by armor and not easy to target, but it wasn’t impossible. My daggers were able to destroy four joints on the left and right, exactly as I aimed.
“Eliminate.”
However, my opponent was a robot-like golem. It forcefully twisted its hips and swung its arms in a sweeping motion, attempting to slash at me. Its unwavering determination….. never giving up no matter how it was compromised; that was truly remarkable, to say the least!
So, to prevent it from doing that, I slipped my dagger between the gaps in its armor, targeting the joints around its waist. I stabbed repeatedly, just to be sure. Unpleasant cracking sounds echoed repeatedly, and the effect was evident from the sounds alone.
Bachi-chi!
Ah… I think I heard a critical sound. The golem started convulsing…
“Elim…inate… Eli…Eli…Eli…Eli…Eli…Eli…Eli…Eli…Eli…E…E…E…E…E…E…E…E…!”
“Ugh, creepy!”
Something went wrong, right? It only ever said “eliminate,” but now it was repeating the same part like a broken radio from a horror movie! Creepy! Scary! And above all…
“Noisy!”
“Eli…”
On impulse, I severed the golem’s head with my dagger. It seemed the speaker producing the sounds was somewhere in its head, and now the noise was gone for good.
Nonetheless, I managed to establish a new fighting style, and I might even owe a bit of gratitude to this golem. It had become nothing more than a silent heap of junk, but thanks all the same.
“Let’s see, both of the maniacs… seem to be showing off. Iris and Isam will do something about the golems. As for Karl… uwaa..”
As I watched everyone else in combat, I didn’t feel the need to join in. The battle maniacs could be ignored. They were just having fun. Iris and Isam were fighting together, and I didn’t want to get in their way. Karl’s battle….wasn’t the kind I could intervene in, no.
So, maybe I’ll just enjoy the view from the sidelines! Watching other people’s battles could also be a learning experience for me!
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