Matan’s Shooter

Matan’s Shooter 479

TL: xLordFifth

ED:

When would it happen?

Both knew the moment he would move and she would react. They didn’t even hope for a full beat; for agile close-range fighters, even half a beat was enough. Just as Shin Nara’s hand was about to touch the hilt of her sword.

The very instant Petyr leaped to seal her movements before she could draw her sword!

“I knew it, Attaque Surprise!”

Shin Nara’s arm was half a beat faster as she drew her sword.

Swoosh!

The speed at which her sword’s tip moved was enough to create a vapor cone around it.

However, it was a sad sight for her that Petyr, whose muscles had bulged as if they would burst, the Miyau who she thought would pounce in front of her in an instant, was still grounded.

“Buhaha, what did you know?!”

“How can this be-“

She had been certain Petyr would be in that spot.

But now, her attack skill futilely whizzed through empty air towards nothingness.

Petyr was among the strongest assassins, able to induce movements with just a twitch of his muscles. And having taken her turn first, now the price had to be paid.

Nara: Leeha-ssi, Petyr-

In this moment of crisis, Shin Nara instinctively sent a whisper to the first person who came to her mind. Naturally, Petyr’s onslaught was faster than Leeha’s response.

“Cough, Contre-“

There were many skills for counterattack.

During her rapid combat with Petyr, Shin Nara found herself unable to properly execute any skill. Before she could even initiate a skill, Petyr’s claws were sure to have slashed her throat.

If she had been a regular player, relying solely on Middle Earth’s fencing skills, she would have been dead already.

Chaang——!

Leeha: Nara-ssi?! Nara-ssi! Stall Petyr, I’ll be there soon!

However, Shin Nara was not a typical player. Using only the strength of her wrists, she managed to parry Petyr’s attack with her sword.

Leeha’s whisper echoed faintly, but Shin Nara had no time to respond.

“Muhooot!? You blocked it? Indeed, Buhahaha, indeed Ma’am Shin!”

Even the attacker Petyr was surprised, but it was a pleasure born of his confidence. Once the Miyau gained momentum, his movements were unpredictable.

“Acrobatic Ambush!”

The distance between Petyr and Shin Nara was less than a meter.

With a short gap, Petyr attempted an attack with a tumbling motion, folding his body.

Shin Nara was momentarily baffled.

Tumbling at this distance? As soon as his body would complete half a rotation, they would be upon each other. Unless he was aiming for a kick attack, this move made no sense!

“Damn, Degagement!”

Thus, Shin Nara was able to react.

Petyr had to pay the price for trying to surprise his opponent! He was not one to misjudge distance and make such an attack! There must be some trick!

Whiish-!

Her slender sword thrust towards Petyr.

How could he dodge while tumbling? Just as her sharp sword tip was about to pierce Petyr’s thigh, his gleaming claws sprung out.

Chang—!

By the time the metallic clash echoed, Petyr’s form had completely reversed. The tumbling Miyau had vanished.

“Buhahaha, isn’t it fun?”

“Layering an illusion and then attacking from above it – how cowardly!”

“Typical Ma’am Shin, anyone else would have had their throat cut three times by now!”

The reason for such an outlandish attack was clear: to completely strip away the usual sense of distance.

There was no time to be amazed by the idea of creating deception with a sequence of skills.

‘When did he use the illusion? Where?’

There was no sign of Petyr using such a skill, but Shin Nara couldn’t ponder any longer.

Attacks were coming simultaneously towards her neck, thighs, solar plexus, and chest. Petyr’s strikes were flexible, unpredictable, yet precise and sharp.

Claws clashed with the sword. A sword clashed with claws.

With each collision, sparks flew. In the dim light, each spark made Petyr’s face flash eerily.

Kagaat——-!

“Buhahaha!”

“Heup!”

Barely managing to block two of Petyr’s claw strikes, Shin Nara’s plate mail on the upper body was scraped. With a long metallic scraping sound, part of her armor was gouged out.

‘I can’t read the flow. This is much more challenging than during my palace days,’ Shin Nara thought, struggling to keep up.

Understanding Petyr’s pattern seemed almost impossible, and reacting to his movements was perilously close to failing.

‘I wish he’d use a skill, like “Nape Slash” – it would be easier to handle than this – Cough!’

Chaang——!

Nara parried Petyr’s fierce attack with a swing of her sword.

Petyr was not the kind of assassin to use skills that force movements.

Such skills are used by lower-level assassins to catch their target off guard. However, using them also means revealing one’s position, which can be easily countered by skilled and aware opponents. Moreover, Petyr’s basic attacks were more powerful and unpredictable than any low-level assassin’s skill, making it unnecessary for him to resort to such tactics.

“Uhyooooo!”

Whisk-!

Petyr suddenly turned his back to Shin Nara.

‘A gap!’

She wanted to stab him. Even if he was a beastkin Miyau with extraordinary physical abilities, could he react in time from that position? She was confident her stab would be at least 0.3 seconds faster than Petyr turning around to raise his claws.

“Yikes-!”

But Nara restrained herself.

That was exactly Petyr’s bait! No sooner had she thought this than Petyr leapt up, extending his foot.

“Venom Claw.”

The soles of his feet extended in a straight line, tipped with sharp, now purplish-colored claws.

Shwaash-!

His foot’s swift extension cut through the air, missing her. Although Petyr’s attack came to nothing, Nara couldn’t help but swallow dryly. If she had attempted a stab when he showed his back, that spot would have been where her chest would be.

“Oh! Surprise?! Buhaha, didn’t expect you to resist that timing!”

Regret tinged with sincerity was evident in Petyr’s voice. The fact that his recent attack was a desperate attempt was clear from the lack of smoothness in his follow-up movement.

“Phew, you just used your turn too, right, Petyr?! Sentiment de fer!”

Nara wouldn’t miss this opportunity. Her quick thrust, like an Olympic gold medalist’s, was aimed at Petyr’s right forearm. He couldn’t block with his right hand. Petyr’s left hand hastily came up to parry her attack.

Kaang, and with that sound, the corner of her mouth rose slightly.

“Got you.”

“Buhaha! What can you do with such a feeble attack?”

“Fencing isn’t just about slashing or stabbing. It’s about how you handle the moment your sword clashes with the opponent’s. That’s the skill of a first-class fencer.”

“Buhaha, that’s a laugh-“

Whisk-!

Petyr tried to swipe away her sword with his left hand, but Nara’s sword didn’t leave his claws. It moved as if glued to his left hand’s nails.

“-Eh? Even so, I’m not-“

“Liement!”

It wasn’t a skill, but pure fencing ‘technique.’

When Petyr swung his right hand to strike her sword, Nara dragged her blade diagonally downwards, extending it.

With a brilliant transfer of force, Petyr’s left hand involuntarily followed.

Even as the top Miyau beastkin player, he couldn’t counter her move in his compromised stance. The situation continued similarly. Petyr tried to break away with his left arm or strike her sword with his right arm or legs, but each attempt failed.

Whisk, whisk, whisk-!

It looked almost like a choreographed dance between the two.

Of course, this was exceedingly difficult. Facing Petyr, the pinnacle of agile assassins, Nara focused intensely, not missing even the smallest cell in his body. Naturally, she was pushing her limits with each move.

‘Leeha-ssi…’

Leeha’s words, telling her to wait, had been her driving force up to this point, but now even that was waning.

“Oho, ohohoho! Isn’t this fun, Ma’am Shin?!”

“Fun? Hardly – if it’s come to this-!”

She had to make a choice.

Now she had to disengage her sword from those vicious claws.

Petyr would continue his relentless assault. If she had to keep defending, her only chance was now.

“Coquille Maneuver!”

With the skill activation, she detached her sword.

Coquille, the part of the sword protecting the hand, briefly shone, and the light transferred to Nara’s left hand, the one not holding the sword.

“Buhaha! Now it’s my turn-“

“No! It can’t be like this!”

Petyr lashed out with his claws.

Instead of swinging her sword, Nara extended her left hand to ‘catch’ Petyr’s claws. Kagagagaga! A sharp metallic screech resonated from her hand.

But with the ‘partial barrier’ effect activated by the skill, her left hand wouldn’t be severed.

“Oops?!” Even Petyr was momentarily taken aback. Had she just caught his claws with her bare hands?

Thankfully for Petyr, the distance between him and Shin Nara was very close. It was too late for her to swing or stab with her sword. Yet, she swung her right arm anyway.

“It doesn’t matter, it was all for this moment anyway, even if I die, I’ll make sure you – Petyr – will too.” That was her plan. The damage might not be significant, but the sound was satisfyingly crisp.

Thud—–!

Her fist, clutching the sword handle, struck Petyr’s face hard. With a crack, Petyr’s jaw seemed to twist out of place.

Thud-thud-thud, Petyr’s body hit the ground and flew backward from the powerful blow, but being a Miyau beastkin player, he quickly got back up. Nara knew that he had deliberately let his body fly to mitigate the damage.

“Buhaha, uhuhu… Is that all? Uhuh, is it?”

“The damned guy. Feels good to land at least one blow on you.”

Nara ground her teeth. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold out.

‘Leeha-ssi- no, it’s impossible for him to rush to me in the vast, uncharted Erika Continent without a map…’

A strange mix of hope and despair shook her. With Petyr’s expression turning serious, she knew she had to fight even more desperately.

“You might think you’ve always had the upper hand because of the Sacred Knights at the Holy Grill’s palace, Buhahaha. Just a one-step difference in ranking makes a huge difference. I’ll make you feel it, Ma’am Shin.”

Step, step, step. The Miyau straightened his back and walked towards Shin Nara.

His words were true. The battles that had been equal or in Nara’s favor were surely influenced by the home-ground advantage.

“If you thought I would be easy to handle, you’re mistaken, Petyr-“

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