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Chapter 164
Duel with the Sword Saint 2
Translated by AmaLynne
Sam and Kurando moved simultaneously.
“――Water God Fist.”
“Amamiya Style――Mizuchi.”
The moment Sam wrapped himself in both body-enhancing magic and water, Kurando released a slash at an incomprehensible speed.
In an instant, blood sprayed from Sam’s shoulder before he could react.
“――Hah.”
“Impressive. It seems you’re somehow keeping up with my movements. Sharpen your focus. You can’t afford to divert your attention even for an instant.”
Without making a sound, Kurando kicked the ground.
It wasn’t visible――it wasn’t about speed.
(I can see it!)
Sam’s senses, heightened to their fullest, managed to keep up with Kurando’s movements.
“Amamiya Style――Branch Droop.”
“――Ku!”
Successive strikes at an abnormal speed assailed Sam.
Sam attempted to counter them all with his Water God Fist magic――but he failed.
The successive strikes tore through Sam’s shoulder, cheek, arm, and leg.
Whenever he tried to create distance, slashes came flying through the gaps.
Splattering fresh blood, Sam could only focus on defense.
When well over a hundred strikes assaulted Sam, they suddenly stopped.
“You are indeed resilient. Your body-enhancing magic is quite impressive.”
“――Are you intentionally using technique names to sound theatrical?”
“Your tone is faltering. Have you lost your composure?”
“Don’t underestimate me!”
Sam launched an attack.
He struck continuously using enhanced physical abilities and attacks imbued with sharp water.
These were attacks that could even send a dragon flying, yet the Sword Saint calmly parried each blow with his sword.
Moreover, he countered with slashes while parrying.
Blood flew once again from Sam’s body, despite his enhancements.
“It’s truly remarkable body-enhancing magic. No one has made me wield my sword like this before. No matter how tough you are, with the right technique, cutting and causing wounds is effortless. Even if it’s not a fatal wound, how much can you endure?”
(This is bad. The difference in physical ability is laughably huge. This old man is several times stronger than Lise-sama or Hanae-sama!)
“O sun, bestow your grace upon us who feed on your radiance――”
Sam abandoned close combat and decided to switch to magic.
He had wanted to avoid using only magic against a swordsman, but given the vast difference in physical abilities, he chose to fight in his area of expertise.
However,
“I won’t let you chant.”
The blade of a sword neared Sam’s brow.
He discarded the incantation, focusing solely on evasion.
“――Damn!”
Although he narrowly avoided it, Kurando turned the sword sideways, cutting deeply into Sam’s cheek and ear.
Blood splattered, and pain surged.
“Sam!”
Lise, who had been silently watching, couldn’t bear to see Sam struggle any longer and cried out loudly.
Understandably so, Sam himself was aware that he was being pushed back.
“It’s okay,” he tried to signal with a wave of his hand, but his hand was also covered in blood from the wounds.
“It’s just a flesh wound. Aren’t you going to use the skill that killed Albert Frege?”
(

..)
“I see. You don’t want to kill me after this――how naive.”
A vertical slash was unleashed.
Sam tried to dodge, but his feet wouldn’t move as he intended. The slash struck directly, cutting vertically from his shoulder to his chest.
By instinctively contorting his body, he avoided being cleaved in two. If he had reacted a moment later, he might have been bisected.
“――Hah
 hah, damn it.”
The deepest wound he had sustained until now caused him to realize that blood was flowing and his strength was fading.
This wasn’t going well.
He was on the brink.
Before Kurando killed him with his sword, he might bleed to death.
While applying healing magic to himself, Sam desperately tried to escape the worst-case scenario.
However, Kurando couldn’t have been just watching.
Once again, a slash came at Sam.
Sam poured magic into his body, enhancing his physical abilities to the maximum, focusing on evasion and defense.
With each swing of Kurando’s sword, small and large wounds were carved into Sam’s body.
Before he knew it, Sam’s blood was flowing copiously, staining the gravel red.
“Put your hands together and see for yourself. I understand that you’re strong. I haven’t been giving my all, but I haven’t been holding back either.”
“I appreciate you saying that.”
“Regardless of how much magical power you possess, how strongly you support powerful magic, you’re just a young boy adept at physical combat if you can’t use magic. Perhaps it would be different if you used a skill, but even though you’re cornered like this, you don’t seem to intend to use it. Then, let’s finish this.”
“I won’t just lose that easily.”
“Then come at me.”
In response to Kurando’s possibly provocative words, Sam further strengthened his body and kicked the ground.