Dokeshi March: Chapter 36 (Patreon)

Chapter 36

Grant backed up before jumping up onto the rim.  Minamino was ready for the move, and swiped his horns at Grant’s legs.  He leapt over the pointy instrument of death, and swung his Uchigatana downward at the base of the man-bull’s neck.  Somehow, the creature knew to shift a half-step backward, and his sword clanged off the heavy helm.

He immediately selected ‘Defend: With weapon,’ and had to block a furious blow when the man-bull spun and kicked out at his chest.  The creature moved so fast, Grant suspected it had to be some sort of ability.  The sound of the iron-shod hoof impacting his sword made a harsh ringing noise, and Grant couldn’t help but drop to a knee to clear his head.

<I don’t think this is the right match for you, Grant.>  He decided to ignore the sword spirit, especially considering the fact there wasn’t much he could do, kneeling right in front of Minamino.  <Your style is too straight-forward.  This one has the cunning of a beast, with the insight of a human.>

Action: Defend: With weapon.

Result: Deflected ‘Thundering Kick’ attack.  Stunned by impact for 5 seconds.

Actions: Please select one option from the following list.

Attack: Lethal, Non-lethal, Spell.

Defend: With weapon, Without weapon.

Run: Attempt escape.

As he selected ‘Defend: With weapon’ again, Grant was barely able to knock away a horn as it tried to gore him.  He was able to use the force of the impact to roll backwards against the rim of the fountain, which he used to help him get back to his feet.  This time, he managed to angle the head of Minamino down, and the horn not trying to impale him stuck in the ground.

Action: Defend: With weapon.

Result: Deflected attack.  Opponent delayed for 3 seconds.

Actions: Please select one option from the following list.

Attack: Lethal, Non-lethal, Spell.

Defend: With weapon, Without weapon.

Run: Attempt escape.

<Try to switch with Suki.  Her fight is at a stalemate, and she would fare much better against this creature.>  Grant glanced over to see his betrothed trading blows with the knight.  It looked like her blows against his plate armor were doing damage, but using her gauntlets to deflect the mighty swings of the cleaver-sword were hurting Suki as well.  <I would suggest running to her battle against the knight, and try to get the bull creature to disrupt their fight long enough to switch.>

“If I try that, I will just get run down and trampled!”  Grant’s words were emphasized by the monster finally tearing itself free of the ground with a very human-sounding roar.  “How am I supposed to outrun a bull the size of a freight wagon?”

<Well, I think it’s been long enough since you were last hit that you can use your spell.>  Grant immediately felt dumb for not thinking of it himself.  <Why don’t you use that?>

Selecting the ‘Spell’ option, Grant activated the speed boost it provided in training mode.  He took off like a bolt from a crossbow, using his left hand to hold on to the rim of the fountain as he ran around it to the opposite side.  Grant was surprised to see the copper ring shoot lightning into the water all along the rim, but he didn’t have time to think about it since the clown he was approaching had already turned to face his approach.

“Ha!  Come to face your end at the edge of my blade instead of the horns of my pet?”  The thundering hooves of Minamino approaching from the rear were making the water in the fountain ripple, causing the lightning to dance.  “Well then I would be happy to-”  The clown stopped talking as Grant slammed his sword into the upraised cleaver.  His spell instantly deactivated the moment he returned to combat, but the metal plate armor meant the lightning imparted by Grant’s blow through his sword made the Vassal jerk and dance for a moment before grunting in pain and taking three steps back.  “Ugh.  I see.  Cheap tricks will not bring you victory, little Wielder.”

Suki was more than willing to take advantage of the Vassal’s distraction, and landed a haymaker right in the ribs of the clown.  It rocked him to the side, but he didn’t even pause to look back at her.  Minamino, seeing his master attacked by the pink-haired Wielder, thundered past the two men and plowed directly into her crossed arms.  Her feet dug furrows into the ground as they came to a stop, and she paused to shake her arms out.  The man-bull shook his head to clear it, meaning Suki wasn’t the only one affected by the impact.  Grant’s vision was filled with the system screen, telling him how effective his spell had been.

Action: Attack: Spell.

Result: Opponent takes 5 damage (90 mitigated).

Actions: Please select one option from the following list.

Attack: Lethal, Non-lethal, Spell.

Defend: With weapon, Without weapon.

Run: Attempt escape.

<His armor blocks ninety damage.  That isn’t good.>  Sarge paused, as if reading something.  <Your best bet is going to be using your Kenjutsu skills to wear him down.  Your base damage is only seventy-one points, meaning you could wail on him all day and it wouldn’t do anything to him.  A critical hit does a maximum of one hundred and seven damage, and that’s only for a perfect strike.  It’s time for you to be perfect.>

“You know, I’m glad I get to kill you first.”  Dangerous Dade waved his scepter again, and his outline seemed to blur.  “The Dokeshi wanted you taken alive, but that isn’t fun for me.”  It now looked like Grant was looking at the Vassal through a haze, which would make it much harder for him to block and attack.  “And as everyone knows, clowns love to have fun!”

Grant was forced to dance backwards, swinging his sword where he thought the cleaver swinging for him was going to be.  If he could deflect it into the ground, it would buy him a few moments to make a clean strike on the joints of the armor.  Unfortunately for Grant, the illusion spell the Vassal had cast made it seem like the giant cleaver was moving slow.  It wasn’t.

“Ha!”  The impact of the cleaver smashing into his sword without Grant being prepared for it caused the back of his own sword to smack him in the face, which Dade found to be hilarious.  “Haha!  That was brilliant!  Does your plan to defeat me involve beating yourself up first?  Because I don’t think anyone has ever tried that one before.”

The coppery taste of blood from his split lip didn’t put Grant in a laughing mood.  He completely ignored the notice telling him about his failure to defend, and instead chose the ‘Attack: With weapon’ option.  Since the Vassal was just standing there laughing at him, Grant was happy to take advantage of him holding still.  His sword darted out in a heavy stab, and the impact of his sword tip on his target made his hands vibrate with the impact.

<Ooh, good plan!  I like the way you think.>

“Ow!  Now, that wasn’t very nice.”  The Vassal was shaking his hand while the sound of his scepter splashing into the fountain signaled the end of his illusion spell.  “It isn’t very polite to attack a man while he is having a laugh.”  He moved to step into the still-rising water to collect his lost weapon, but Grant wasn’t going to let that happen.  While he couldn’t use his turn to attack because the clown hadn’t done anything, he could beat him to the illusion device.

Grant was much lighter than the man in full plate armor, so he was able to get over the rim and back in the water much faster.  The clown didn’t want him to reach it first, so he finally took his turn.  Grant’s only warning was the whistling sound of the cleaver as it swung for his ribs, so he wasn’t able to get his sword at a good angle.  He was slapped right back out of the fountain, somehow managing to hit both his face and the back of his head on the copper rim.

<Now is your chance!  Activate your spell!>  Still stunned, Grant followed Sarge’s directions by reflex.  Even though he had certainly been knocked out of his spell’s attack range, he selected the option.  <Perfect.  He definitely didn’t expect that.>

“What?”  Grant looked up, seeing the clown in full plate armor doing a very odd dance inside the fountain.  “What’s wrong with him?”

<That, my young Wielder, is what happens when you apply lightning to water.>  The spell lasted a full five seconds, and the evil knight sank into the rising waters.  <Enough standing around, Grant.  Finish him!>

Still groggy from hitting his head, Grant used his sword to help him climb to his feet.  As he got up, he glanced over to see how Suki was doing.  If she needed his help, now was the only time he might have to give it.

“What’s wrong, little man-bull?  Too scared to fight a girl?”  She definitely didn’t need his help.  Somehow, Suki had already knocked the heavy horned helm off the creature’s head, and she was now chasing it around the courtyard.

<Yeah, I think she’s good.>