Chi Fist: Bamboo Revelry—a defensive Technique for use against blades, turning the human body into something akin to supple bamboo. Amateurs would halt slashes with their bones, but I stopped them just below the skin. Though it still caused injury since it involved cutting through my clothes and a layer of skin... That was why I didn’t like using it very much. There would never be a time I would ever feel so threatened as to use this, to be honest. It was almost always easier for me to dodge and punch back.
Time to aim up.
Sauzan’s attack was just a little earlier than Tohaulow’s since his role was to lock me in place; it didn’t matter whether his attack landed or not. He was the decoy to allow Tohaulow’s strike to hit. The frighteningly fast wind-assisted heavy strike coming down from above right this moment was the real attack.
I know. Let’s teach this wind user the unwavering power of the earth.
I moved back a step from Sauzan and entered a handstand. Rotating quickly to build momentum, I kicked up in sync with the heel descending down on me.
An oppressive impact sounded out across the night sky.
There was a sharp crack. That was likely the creaking scream of Tohaulow’s sacred weapon. I didn’t break it, did I? Surely that wasn’t enough to do it in.
“H-How?!”
Tohaulow had put her all into that attack and yet it had been completely neutralized. The moment she landed on the ground, she put distance between us, lining up beside Sauzan, who had also pulled back. They’d definitely thought there was no way that strike could be blocked. I couldn’t blame them—most martial artists would’ve either died or tried to dodge. Perhaps this was enough to make them realize I was stronger than a demon king.
What I had used this time was Chi Fist: Mountain Gate—your body became one with the ground, borrowing the earth’s toughness. This was also a defensive Technique, a step above Gandolph’s usual defense. Though I had swung my leg up, it technically wasn’t classified as a kick. It was a defensive maneuver to dull the impact. It was like blocking the strike with a shield, though I could’ve just taken the hit normally. It wasn’t such a powerful strike that I needed to use a Technique.
Hmm.
“I suppose that wasn’t bad.”
So this is their full strength?
By my estimation...both of them at once were maybe half of my current strength.
So these were the Hero candidates of the modern day. If there were ten of them equal to their strength, I might’ve been able to really let loose, but this still wasn’t enough. I’d wanted them to drive me further into a corner. I’d wanted them to come after my life more violently. It wasn’t fun, otherwise.
But...at least I could acknowledge that there were in fact martial artists in this generation who were pretty strong.
“There’s no way...”
The two of them were dumbfounded. That move they just fired off had to have been the one that used all their strength. Even their sacred weapons looked like they were losing their luster a little, like the color was fading. Had they run out of energy?
“Have you tired yourselves out now? Are you done?” I asked, taking a step forward. “Then it’s my turn. Don’t worry. I’ll be nice.”
The strong are defined by enduring the attacks of the weak. Once you had taken them, it was your turn to strike.
And so, I very gently beat them up, until neither of them could stand.
What? There’s still a doctor on the island. They’ll be fine.