Qi Liu stared in surprise as the man called Jani swung the scimitar in his hand towards himself.
Although it was the first ti Qi Liu had seen such a form of self-harm, he had heard of such scenarios before. Sotis, destroying oneself is the only way to break an enemy's attack, he thought.
But Qi Liu was wrong. The man nad Jani did swing his scimitar at himself, but he didn't harm himself. When the blade was about to touch his body, CLANG! CLANG! It sounded as if it had struck a hard object.
Qi Liu was utterly surprised by all of this. He initially thought the two engaged in a battle of Physique Techniques were starting to brew so Secret Techniques. What was even more striking was that they were casually chatting, as if they weren't fighting over anything at all.
The current scene brought Qi Liu so relief. He didn't need to worry about being caught in the crossfire along with Young Master Hustace. It seed these people were engaged in a civilized contest rather than a physical brawl, which greatly reassured him.
However, he also knew that this was rely the calm before the storm. What was bound to happen would happen. For instance, that Fighter nad Jani, who, after a flurry of slashes, had beco like a madman.
"'I've seen through your attack pattern!' Jani said to Estev. Of course, only Estev could hear this. The others were completely focused on condensing Spirit Power, laying the groundwork for their own spells, and couldn't possibly be distracted enough to listen to their conversation. As for Qi Liu, it was even less likely for him. Although his Sound Sensing Skill allowed him to hear many unexpected sounds, it didn't an his hearing was superhuman. He could only see Estev's and Jani's movents, not hear their voices clearly; after all, the sounds from their clashing Physique Techniques were not insignificant.
"'Your weapon is this pipe of yours. You really are good at hiding; I'm beginning to doubt if being a Fighter is your real profession.' After chopping off the restraints on his body, Jani felt much lighter, and he could clearly feel that with every restraint he removed, his opponent had to pause.
"'You surprise as well. It seems Willem didn't just send anyone,' Estev responded indifferently.
Being seen through wasn't his downfall; it just minimized his advantage a little.
It was just a bit of a pity that his Bone Lock Spell had been broken...
"'Your smoke is your weapon. You've materialized Spirit Power and imbued the smoke with it, which gradually gives the smoke a tangible feel. It's sowhat like transmutation in Alchemy. I'm curious now, what is your actual profession?' Jani continued to search for the shackles of smoke on his body. He also deduced that his opponent needed to exert so Spirit Power to control the smoke and wouldn't dare to relax and launch a surprise attack on him at this mont.
"'Your deduction is reasonable, but all of this is a waste of ti. I advise you to give up hope sooner. Go back and apologize to Willem; perhaps you can save your precious lives.' Estev secretly gathered strength. Now that the Bone Lock Spell had been broken, he needed to find another technique to defeat his opponent.
Moreover, Estev had an ominous feeling that Jani, the Bone Fighter opposite him, had already sensed the Spirit Power required for him to control the smoke. The opponent was certain that he wouldn't dare to launch a surprise attack at this mont and was thus intentionally slowing the pace of breaking the Bone Lock Spell.
A slower rhythm was not good news for him. His weapon was materialized smoke. This smoke was a very valuable asset to him; each wisp was enhanced by his Spirit Power. His opponent was right; so Alchemy skills were indeed involved.
He had an Alchemy Equation, a gift from a peculiar man in the past. This equation allowed him to freely convert smoke into a tangible state. However, reusing the equation required a lot of Spirit Power. Controlling the smoke once materialized also consud considerable Spirit Power; this aspect was sowhat similar to a Wizard's spell.
Estev was a researcher of miscellanea; he had so understanding of the skills of Fighters, Alchemists, Wizards, Scholars, and even Politicians. Although he couldn't use so skills proficiently, he had grasped them to so extent. Knowing oneself and the enemy was highly beneficial in battle.
Now that the opponent wanted to slow down the pace, this was clearly not good. His smoke was being cut by the opponent. Even though the smoke could be conglorated again, he would need to exert Spirit Power to control it. The slower the pace, the more smoke there would be, and the greater the Spirit Power he would need to exert.
Spirit Power might be a routine matter for Wizards, Alchemists, and Scholars, but for him, it was sowhat difficult to gather. After all, he was an ancient Hunter whose main focus was on Physique Techniques and Stealth Abilities. His Spirit Power wasn't weak, but using it so frequently at this level was sowhat wasteful.
So, he needed to speed up the pace, and the best way to do that was by taking the initiative to attack his opponent. Taking the initiative to attack ant he had to give up the smoke still wrapped around his opponent, and a part of him was reluctant to lose it.
Estev knew hesitation was the most taboo thing in battle. Yet, for so reason, he hesitated at this mont, as if many knots in his heart remained untied.
What he thought about most was Willem. Why would Willem choose this ti to act? And why send these three?
Part of his hesitation stemd from his understanding of Willem. With Willem's intellect, he wouldn't make such an obvious blunder as revealing his intentions too early, he believed. The other reason for his hesitation was quite simple: He didn't take these three leaders of the Black Crow seriously.
Ultimately, he didn't take these few enemies seriously; deep down, he didn't consider them a threat at all.
What he was hesitating about was how to crush this bunch. Should I expend half my energy to beat them hard, or should I play cat and mouse with them?
His hesitation gave the enemy an opportunity. The enemy was a Bone Fighter, whose Physique Technique transcended human limits.
SWOOSH— The blade brushed past Estev's ear. Estev, who had planned to speed up the pace, had his hesitation exploited by Jani, giving Jani an opportunity.
Reverse Physical Technique was characterized by its speed—so fast that others couldn't react. When Jani's Bone Blade slashed at Estev, Estev was still thinking about Willem.
Although the blade didn't harm Estev, it still trimd the hair by his ear, and the killing intent it carried made his ears ring.
"'Nice blade work,' Estev praised, brushing the severed hair from his face.
"'After all, we are leaders of the Black Crow. How could we be caught so easily?' This ti, it was Mugen, the fat man, who responded to Estev. He had been accumulating Spirit Power for a while and finally joined the battle. His opponent was Stan Sol.
Because Stan Sol had previously used the Incomplete Moon, his Spirit Power was currently weak, forcing him to only dodge. This gave the fat Alchemist a chance to retort to Estev.
And Jani, the Bone Fighter trading blows with Estev, was also full of confidence. He continued Mugen's words: "'We leaders of the Black Crow are not like those other small fry. We're not so easy to deal with.'"
After he finished speaking, Jani's entire body began to change drastically again. This ti, another Bone Blade appeared in his hand, and the white bone armor vanished, replaced by blade-like protrusions all over his body.
"'Now, I will let you witness the true power of the Black Crow's leaders!'"
"'That's right! I'm going to take this wind-elent wizard robe!' Gus, who had been preparing his spell nearby, was also ready and planned to make a move on Great Witch Biggs.
Estev had never imagined that his montary hesitation would allow all three leaders of the Black Crow to recover.
Now, he no longer needed to hesitate. He knew what to do.
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