Chapter 465: Spar with the Jungle Lord? [2 - END]
CLANG!
A thunderous roar of the Jungle Lord’s swing rang out, followed by the crackling insides of the tree Lillian’s back was up against.
Due to the force of the swing, Lillian shot through the other side of the tree, only managing to catch a glimpse of the tall tree falling over, cut in half.
Blood surged up her throat and flooded the inside of her mouth, causing the taste of iron to appear as it split out from the corners of her lips.
She was fortunate enough that her body was durable enough to survive being thrown through a tree.
Once gulping it down, Lillian fell to the ground, rolling before leaping back up to her feet.
But then—
CLANG!
—She was forced into yet another clash with the Wendigo, who wasn’t patient enough to allow Lillian a single moment to breathe.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
A few dozen minutes had now passed, and during that time, she had been thrown through several other trees.
By now, the Jungle Lord’s movements had dramatically dropped in speed, most likely due to the greatsword’s overwhelming weight, which also allowed Lillian to have a fighting chance.
It should be carrying around 4 times its body weight!
Ignoring the blood dripping over her face, Lillian swung her cutlass with ferocity, and so did the Jungle Lord.
CLANG.
Upon clashing, Lillian dashed back before charging back in, pulling her arm back for a horizontal swing as she roared:
"[1st Technique of the Deep Sea Hunter: Tidebreaker Slash]!"
With her roar, she felt her arms become rejuvenated with power and her mana becoming more active as they surged towards her blade.
Although no Expression appeared...
CLANG!
She did make progress.
The Jungle Lord blocked her swing before noticing a dramatic increase in force behind it.
His body was shoved back a few metres, skidding against the grass floor and leaving skid marks.
Seeing this, Lillian bent her knees and pounced forward, drawing back her cutlass as though it were a bowstring.
Then, right before stabbing, she roared out:
"[2nd Technique of the Deep Sea Hunter: Harpoon Thrust]!"
The Jungle Lord hurriedly raised his greatsword in defence with clear difficulty and blocked the stab, but he had managed to shove him back as well.
However, not as far, allowing him to charge forward in retaliation.
Lillian watched as the Jungle Lord went for an overhead swing and immediately raised her sword.
And not a moment later—
CLANG!
—The two weapons met.
Lillian struggled under the weight of the blow for a split second before muttering out:
"[3rd Technique of the Deep Sea Hunter: Riptide Reversal]...!"
With a sudden boost in strength, Lillian parried back the Jungle Lord’s greatsword surprisingly before suddenly vanishing.
And as her figure blurred out of existence... What emerged in her place caused the Jungle Lord’s glowing hollow eyes to flicker.
It was water... Not ones from her element, but illusory ones in small amounts.
Lillian, who had appeared behind the Wendigo, felt a supernatural spark flash through her hands all the way up to her brain; she felt something!
Ending her attack with an upward slash, which was ultimately blocked by the Wendigo, she couldn’t help but feel she was nearing a certain point.
’I’m close!
She could feel it now!
She watched the Wendigo, upon parrying her attack, blur out of existence as well. He was initiating the Riptide Reversal, as well!
Lillian spun around and—
CLANG!
—Managed to parry his upward swing.
’His attacks are even slower now!’
Lillian’s eyes flashed and glowed with a certain light as she muttered the 3rd technique’s name again—Riptide Reversal—before blurring out of existence.
The Jungle Lord, who had watched her do this, caught a glimpse of narrow streams of water wrapped around his body—followed by a sight of rippling in the air from where Lillian once stood.
He then felt as though his mind was flipped in reverse.
It was a nauseating feeling... And something...
That could only occur with the appearance of a—
SWISH!
—Expression of a technique!
Lillian’s blade slashed through the air, causing a diagonal cut to appear on the back of the Wendigo. Her gaze, which was once dull and focused, glistened in realisation as she felt a sort of rhythm in her movements.
Had she...
Had she finally achieved it?
’My theory was right!’
Lillian’s lips curled up into a broad smile as she brought back her arm for a stab.
The Jungle Lord, feeling a pain stretch up his back, twisted his body around instantly—instinctively dropping his greatsword as he pulled back his arm and shaped it into a vine spear.
And in that exact moment, the two stabbed forward at the exact same time—although different in speed, the two had one thing in common.
It was a harpoon. The form and illusion of a harpoon.
"[2nd Technique of the Deep Sea Hunter: Harpoon Thrust]!"
Pouncing towards each other, the tips of their illusory harpoon crashed into each other with tremendous force, causing a loud DING sound to erupt.
While Lillian’s harpoon was duller compared to the Wendigo’s, she managed to contend with him for a split moment before being flown back.
But the loss of that clash didn’t cause the bright smile to falter on her face.
Instead, she leapt back in, raising her arm for a horizontal slash as she felt her body move with more focus and confidence.
With a roar of the name of the 1st technique—Tidebreaker Slash—Lillian slashed towards the Jungle Lord, who had shaped his spear into a sword.
The two warriors swung their blades, causing the illusory scenery of two crashing waves meeting.
Lillian’s eyes glowed slightly as she followed the movements of the Jungle Lord, feeling her breathing shifting to both unsteady and steady rhythms.
Her footwork had also become more refined the longer she fought and learnt from the Jungle Lord.
Her progress with the Deep Sea Hunter was so rapid that she had begun to be able to anticipate the Jungle Lord’s next movement.
Like a fisherman out at sea who was surrounded by a multitude of waves, Lillian flashed her hand out, casting the blade of her cutlass forward into the wave of attacks heading her way.
The Tidebreaker Slash to clash with the Jungle Lord’s slash, the Harpoon Thrust to clash with the Jungle Lord’s stabs, the Riptide Reversal for the Jungle Lord’s follow-up attacks!
As the battle went on, her Expressions began to grow to the point they could be compared equally to the Jungle Lord in size and ferocity!
And not only that, but with her mana’s intunement with her movements, she felt her body move with much more power and speed!
The feeling was similar to how Marionette’s Crimson Nocturne affected her, except that instead of her body being forced to increase its physical output, it was only her mana.
Lillian felt the Jungle Lord’s vine spear pierce through the side of her lower abdomen.
Her eyes flashed with pain, but she only let out a grunt before lashing her cutlass out.
With a stab of her cutlass, she aimed at the Jungle Lord’s shoulder and pierced through it with her illusory harpoon; a hole appeared and took off his entire shoulder.
Lillian dashed back and ripped the vine spear stuck through her, ignoring the pain and blood loss as she continued on fighting with a look of fervour.
She dashed forward and raised her sword for a Tidebreaker Slash.
The Jungle Lord, having regenerated his arm, watched as Lillian roared out the technique’s name and found himself face-to-face with an imposing wave.
Not only did he sense the danger of the attack, but also the amount of mana flowing through it.
It... It wasn’t something he was going to be able to parry!
Dodging out of the way of Lillian’s attack, he watched as the illusory wave crashed into the tree previously behind him and, in an instant—
SWISH!
—Felled it.
THUD...!
A trunk of the three that was at least 5 metres thick was cleaved through in an instant with solely technique, mana, and physical might alone—no fancy enchantments, just a plain-looking cutlass.
The smirk Lillian had on her face morphed into a grin, a wide and devilish grin as the grip on her cutlass tightened even more.
Such progress... Just for putting her life on the line...
’What an addicting feeling...!’
Once Lillian fell to the ground, she looked for the Jungle Lord, but then realised...
He had disappeared.
She twisted her body around, looking for the Wendigo, who was suspiciously unseen. Could it be that the Jungle Lord had suddenly begun to move at a speed she couldn’t see or react to now?
Just as she was about to move away from the spot she was standing on, her instincts sparked in her mind. It was telling her to move out of the way!
As Lillian was about to do just that, she caught a sight of something above her; it was the Jungle Lord!
The Jungle Lord, having leapt into the air, transformed his arm into a dull stick of vines before lashing it through the air at a rapid and consecutive rate.
Then, in that moment, a large illusory net appeared in the air—followed by the vibration of mana that lingered around it.
Lillian widened her eyes.
It was the 4th technique of the Deep Sea Hunter—the Drowning Net!
Had it already learn how to do that technique!? It had only seen it once!
Lillian raised her cutlass and summoned all the might in her arms. Then, with a hurried yell, she yelled:
"[1st Technique of the Deep Sea Hunter: Tidebreaker Slash]!"
As the illusory wave formed around her and rushed upwards, it was ultimately carved into pieces as the net cut through it seamlessly.
Lillian gulped.
"W-welp... It seems that I..."
The girl felt the Drowning Net crash into her body, pushing down on her body and—
THUD!
—Causing the entire area around her to erupt with stone and plant debris, as well as a dust cloud to form.
It seems that she still had a lot more to learn...