14
1000 Words
While the shield woman blocked one of the blades, the crossbowman took the opportunity to shoot another bolt at Matt, but he was already moving.
For a brief second, he flared all his channeled self-buffs, giving him physical cultivation comparable to a Tier 14.
He was much faster than the man expected, placing the man’s teammate between Matt and the crossbow, and denying him a clear shot.
As Matt drove his blade through the woman’s less armored armpit, he raised his other hand and cast [Fireball] right past her head at the crossbowman.
Even as his teammate was impaled, the crossbow man dodged Matt’s magical projectile and sent his own in return.
Matt knew that the man wanted to quickly finish him off so his teammate could be helped and possibly saved, but he didn’t hesitate in casting [Mana Charge] while his blade was inside the woman.
The explosion of blood and gore didn’t even cause the crossbowman to pause for a second, and he shot at Matt once more while rolling away from his return [Jolt].
While he was absorbing the Genesis Energy from the kill, Matt cast [Mana s***h] once more and slashed out, causing the man to roll again, but he predicted it and cast [Earth Spear] at where he would land.
His second attack pinned the man through the leg, but before he could finish him off, the Sect man from before jumped at him with extended claws glowing.
Side-stepping, Matt was about to cut out at the Sect man, but he saw that the real target was the pinned crossbowman.
The crossbowman cried out a name Matt recognized, though he was speaking the Republican language. “Blood Hand.” Dying apparently didn’t stop the man’s commitment to shooting Matt, as he fired a final bolt even as Blood Hand was tearing into his abdomen.
He said something else even as he died, but Matt didn’t know the language that well. He did recognize the name as one of the Sects’ up and coming Young Masters.
Long Zhiyuan was known for his brutal, bare handed fighting style, giving him the name “Blood Hand.” It explained the man’s penchant for claw attacks and their efficiency.
Matt should have put that together before, but the man was strong enough that he had little room to think, let alone go through the hundreds of Sect fighters that he had memorized before entering Minkalla. His pulling out a sword and shield was a surprise that hadn’t been noted in the dossier on Long Zhiyuan’s commonly used weapons. Most people were bringing out backup weapons and skills though, since it wouldn’t take all that long on this floor before Inner Spirit skills matched the cost of Outer Spirit ones.
Now that he had a name, Matt activated his AI for a second while flaring his Concept to nullify Minkalla’s suppression and get whatever information he had about Young Master Blood Hand.
The information was short and sweet, but it told him what he needed to know.
The man was incredibly powerful, despite coming from a low Tier Sect, and the Empire speculation said that he was going to make a splash in the future if he wasn’t killed.
Knowing the man was going to be an issue if left alone, Matt grit his teeth and cast a single [Cracked Mana Spear] at him, wanting to finish him off quickly. However, a portion of his robes stitching lifted, manifesting a spherical shield that blocked the spear pulse.
Long Zhiyuan gave him a surprised look at the fact that he made the defensive barrier appear.
Matt assumed that it was a life saving measure given to the man by the Sects to help counter a solo melee fighter’s greatest weakness.
Seeing that ranged attacks would be futile, he cast [Cracked Mana Trap] at Long Zhiyuan’s feet, hoping to bypass the shield, and armed it with fire mana. The resulting explosion engulfed both of them in billowing flames.
Matt rushed forward and nearly caught a spear in his chest but managed to deflect it with the flat of his blade, only allowing the spear point to skitter along his physical armor.
Long Zhiyuan sidestepped Matt’s cast of [Jolt] while trying to stab him but ran into the wall that was Matt’s longsword.
Other than his longsword, Matt knew spear techniques better than anything else. Beyond Luna and Kurt’s training, he spent decades training with Liz, who used the weapon as her primary.
Long Zhiyuan was good with the weapon, but not anywhere close to Liz, allowing Matt to easily dance around the thrusting point of metal.
Seeing that it was ineffective, Long Zhiyuan retreated slightly, which allowed Matt to cast [Fireball] three times in rapid succession. He also noted the man’s robe didn’t protect him from the projectiles which he filed away.
With the small break, he inspected their battlefield and saw that they had attracted half a dozen teams over with their battle, and that theirs was just a small portion of what had become a complete free for all.
Liz, Susanne, and Aster were carving their way through the multiway battle with the help of a team from the Empire and one from the Guild; the three teams had joined together to defend themselves against the others.
Seeing that they were fine, and even starting to win their battles, Matt focused on his own.
A [Mana Spear] caught him in the chest and cracked his physical armor, but the only real damage was a flesh wound from the metal puncturing his under armor, so he ignored it.
Matt and Long Zhiyuan were beset by a third team, and even as they turned on the newcomers, they didn’t stop attacking each other.
A mage tried to cast a debuff spell on Matt, but he dodged the projectile, and after spending most of his remaining mana cost of [Earth Manipulation], he grabbed the mage’s ankle and pulled his leg under the ground.
- Writer
