Chương 75: Walk The Plank (1)

I had charged in under the assumption that Theo and Ben hadn't noticed the sudden onslaught. Ever since we arrived on the boat, I hadn't been paying attention to Theo and Ben's movements, and rightfully so, because the skeletons that we were facing were not to be meddled with. Previously, in most of our battles, the adversaries had been weak, or at least, weaker, which allowed us to finish them off in just one blow.

They wouldn't have had a chance to fight back; one slash from our swords would end their lives, leaving their attackers unscathed. However, those were just the easy battles. If we continued to fight those battles for the rest of our Hopper careers, it could lead to us being too complacent and not aiming high. As always, complacency was a mental enemy that our brains had to fight and repress. And if they lost that battle, progressing and levelling up would be near impossible.

What we were up against were beasts that could effectively block and counter our moves, beasts that could fight back, beasts that were capable of wounding us if we weren't careful. Those were the battles we had to be accustomed to as budding Hoppers. In this case, it was me, just one person, against at least fifteen skeleton pirates that had one foot in the legendary level. But did I really care about it? Not really.

In the past, I had contributed to the defeat of one beast with a foot in the legendary level: the grotesque boss beast on Planet 501. I had slashed it wildly, prohibiting it from attacking us once more, stabbing my basic-level blade into it until there was no blood left in its system. Thinking about that moment instilled great confidence in me as I charged, finally stopping just a metre or so away from the skeletons at the front.

I drew my sword and assumed a stance which I supposed was a proper stance for a swordsman. I was going to fight the half-legendary beasts, and I was doing it of my own volition.

"Bring it on," I said with parched lips; despite this, my voice resonated, filled with unwavering confidence and hubris.

"I'm not scared of you." The skeletons at the front pounced. I did the same. However, it was one against at least three. On paper, this would mean that I should be crushed with no way to fight back based on their level and numbers. But I wasn't someone who abided by the rules theory has laid out. I was someone who dared to be different. [Skill, 'Strength (advanced)', has been activated.] [Skill, 'Speed (advanced)', has been activated.] Clang!

As the sword in my right hand and the sword the nearest skeleton wielded made contact, a dissonant metallic clang permeated the air which I thought was poised to rupture my eardrums, permanently destroying them; since I was tightly gripping onto a sword in one of my hands, at least one of my eardrums would still be left exposed to the discordant noise. Clang! Clang! Clang!

Since I had the upper hand in terms of speed, and since I was holding a sword in both of my hands, I sliced furiously, delivering a thousand blows in mere seconds. However, for some strange reason, they were all blocked or parried away by the skeleton at the front. And I still had at least fourteen more to defeat afterwards.

A part of my brain was still saying that it was impossible and that I needed support from Theo and Ben, but soon, other areas of my brain began shunning that thought, ostracising it and immediately throwing it out of the window. Despite me facing impending doom, I had to remind myself of why I exist in this world. To make the impossible possible. I should have the upper hand in these battles since I had read Night Hoppers ten times in the past.

Therefore, I should know exactly how mana beasts like these skeleton pirates fight. I couldn't falter. I had to put my best foot forward since the only way to go from here is forward. Clang! Clang! Clang! The raucous dissonance of two metal blades clashing was prominent as we fought. The beasts and I all had the burning, insatiable desire to be the victor of this battle. In our minds, defeat was unacceptable. Clang! [Skill, 'Strength (advanced)', has been activated.] Again, the skeleton had put me in a deadlock, which was something I urgently needed to break. I channelled all of my mana into my right arm, which was something I could do with a working mana core, in an attempt to force the sword out of my adversary's hand. However, there was just one minor issue with that endeavour. Slash! Suddenly, a searing pain entered my body from the side, and I soon realised my mistake. I wasn't just dealing with one skeleton pirate. I was dealing with fifteen.

That meant whilst I was trying to handle one of the adversaries, the others could just gang up on me and attack me in an area that was left unguarded. It was a potentially fatal mistake - it was something I didn't consider when firmly deciding to charge in. [Skill, 'Healing (advanced)', has been activated.] I didn't have time to inspect the wound and how deep it was.

As I endured the excruciating pain and continued my one-on-one fight with the skeleton I had been fighting, I swung the sword in my other hand wildly in the hopes that it would protect me from any sudden attacks. After all, the almost unfair strength disparity between me and the skeletons was unfortunately immutable. I had Cayman to blame for that one. Clang! Clang! Clang!

"It's working." It sure was. Vehemently swinging the sword in my left hand actually ended up parrying sudden attacks, decreasing the size of my vulnerable area. [Skill, 'Strength (advanced)', has been activated.]"Come on!!!!!" Fling! Crash! It had taken ages, but finally, I, the significant underdog in this fight, had emerged victorious. I had no idea how much mana that move had cost, and I wasn't willing to find out.

In my head, I pleaded for an opportunity to reach into my pocket and pull out an advanced mana crystal to swallow. But that opportunity was never going to come considering the amount of skeletons I still had to defeat. That meant I had to plough through regardless. [Skill, 'Strength (advanced)', has been activated.] [Skill, 'Speed (advanced)', has been activated.] [Skill, 'Healing (advanced)', has been activated.] While activating three skills simultaneously, I charged head-on into another skeleton, with both of my swords coming into contact with the one the skeleton was wielding. Clang! Again, an ear-piercing noise filled the air as the three identical swords clashed. I was in a precarious situation, since activating three skills simultaneously at the level I was at was taxing and costly in terms of mana consumption. It was a situation I had never imagined myself in, a situation I should never have ended up in.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work. Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! With superhuman speed, I occasionally turned my head to see if there were other skeletons charging towards me. Luckily, some of them had charged towards Theo and Ben at the far end of the deck, which was a relief for me because it significantly decreased my workload. That meant I could finally focus on just the remaining skeletons. Clang! Clang! Clang!

The show that I was a part of was something akin to fencing with the metallic noises and the fairly small and thin blades. The only difference was that none of us wore protective headgear. Clang! Clang! If one of those slashes were to hit my head, I would be saying goodbye to life and hello to the afterlife. My vigilance was off the charts. Clang! Clang!

With unwavering determination, fervour and alacrity, and with the skeleton's sword high in the air, ready to cleave me and split my body in two, I struck, aiming my sword right in the middle of its ribcage. Clack! Clack, clack, clack.

"There's another one down." Like a house of cards, the collection of bones that made up the skeleton broke, scattering and subsequently splitting into several parts. The sword that was poised to split my body down the middle fell lifelessly onto the smooth wooden flooring. I couldn't stop and admire the fruits of my own work, though, since I still had at least ten more skeletons charging towards me, all armed with swords.

And unlike previously, when the skeletons charged in one by one, this time, they charged in as a group, determined to take me down and be the victors of this gruesome battle. Clop, clop, clop, clop, clop. My heart rate couldn't be measured anymore; it was beating so fast I thought it was going to burst. An unwanted layer of sweat was painted on my palms, making me inadvertently lose my grip on the swords. My forearms were already aching from gripping the swords for too long. Still, I had no time to back down.

Only losers back down, and in no way am I a part of that category of scum. I assumed a stance which I thought was suitable for someone wielding two swords and waited for the skeletons to charge at me and deliver the first blow. Clop, clop, clop, clop, clop. Clang! By this point, I was used to hearing the metallic clang of swords making contact. I had never played fencing before, nor have I played any other sport involving swords, but soon, this booming noise became music to my ears.

With my speed skill still active, I unleashed a deluge of sword strikes on the skeletons nearest to me, keeping my legs fixed on the floor despite the floor being smooth and my body being partially cut. My movements were nothing but a blur in the eyes of spectators; if you blink, you miss it. Clang! Clang! Clang! The three swords continued to hit each other as we blocked and parried each other's moves flawlessly.

I was barely holding on due to my speed skill heightening my awareness and strengthening my reflexes, allowing my reaction time to decrease and block moves that seemed ready to tear me apart at any point. As soon as I found an opening on one of the skeletons, I struck voraciously, and with the aid of my strength skill, the spine of the skeleton that had been hit was split in two, causing the bones near the spine to fly in a multitude of different directions.

The skeleton split into two distinct parts, with one half falling into the sea and the other half becoming a lifeless heap of bones on the deck. I still had at least five skeletons left to defeat. Clang! Clang! Clang! The monotony of this mission was insane, and it was driving some parts of my brain nuts. However, I still paid close attention to ensure that my knees didn't buckle and give way. Clop, clop, clop. The remaining skeletons moved closer towards me, surrounding me in different directions.

One of the sword moves I landed on the nearest skeleton sliced some of its ribs, but it wasn't sufficient for the whole structure to tip over. I wasn't fazed, but immediately afterwards, the skeleton, with a few broken ribs, struck when I wasn't looking, prompting me to reflexively block it when it was mere inches away from my chest. I parried the sword away, but the strength of this skeleton remained unparalleled; it didn't budge as I tried to push the sword away.

In summary, we were locked in a brutal stalemate where one wrong move could worsen the situation. Contrary to my expectations, although I had my strength skill activated, the sword was gradually pushing my arm back. The forearm muscles I was channelling all of my mana into were ready to tear, which would surely cause unbearable, searing pain. And soon, the worst-case scenario unfolded right in front of my eyes. Crack! Something exploded, sending shards of shiny metal flying in various directions.

Some of them pierced my cheeks, creating shallow wounds. I looked down at the source of the noise and was instantly disheartened. The sword I was holding in my right hand, the sword that I had fervently wielded with great swiftness and ardour, had shattered and broke, leaving half of my body exposed and heavily vulnerable to enemy attacks.

Punch! Punch! Punch!

"Don't punch recklessly like that!" Theo bellowed while swinging a sword in one hand and punching with the other.

"You'll injure yourself! At least swing a sword or something!" However, Theo's warning went unheeded as Ben, a skill user at the advanced level, charged into a group of skeletons with legendary-level expertise, punching wildly like a deranged boxer. Punch! Punch! Punch! Unfortunately, unlike the previous skeletons that he had defeated, the skeletons that Ben had punched didn't fall with just one punch. Sure, some of them had cracked ribs and broken bones, but that was far from enough to faze them.

"Die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" That was the one thing the skeletons weren't doing. Dying.

"Swing a sword!" Theo boomed.

"It'll make your life a lot easier!"

"I will!" Ben shouted back, showing signs of listening to Theo's feelings of consternation.

"Stop talking to me in the middle of a fight!" Two skeletons pounced at full speed when Ben finished speaking, ready to tear off his head and present it to its brethren. Ben, on the other hand, with speed that was out of this world, turned his head and in mere milliseconds, was ready to punch the skeletons all the way to the moon. Punch! Punch! Crack! Crack! Without knowing what was going on, the skeletons' swords were shattered, the swords' fragments flying and scattering before crashing onto the ground.

Finally, something which Ben excelled in the most had arrived. A fistfight. Ben stood squarely on the deck as the boat rocked back and forth from the gentle waves, beckoning for the skeletons to come closer. He tried his hardest to mimic the perverse expression the skeletons displayed, with the sole purpose of that being to berate and belittle them. Clop, clop, clop. Punch!

With just one punch from each fist, the front ribs of both skeletons shattered into a million pieces like the swords that had just been smashed. The skeletons, with all the bones from the neck up bobbing up and down, wandered around like an inebriated person, trying their absolute hardest to reach Ben. Punch! The second punch Ben delivered to each skeleton shattered the back ribs, causing the top half of the skeletons to topple over.

The remaining bones fell onto Ben's feet, burying it in a mound of nothing but human remains.

"It's a shame," Ben whispered to himself.

"I think I needed their swords. I don't remember if I still have the ones from yesterday."

"Ben! What the hell are you doing?" Theo shouted from somewhere; Ben wasn't sure where.

"You need to be on your feet! What if you get ambushed?" Instantly, Ben jolted back to life, looking around to see if there were any adversaries around. Once he found his target, he charged, running towards them at full speed. Theo, on the other hand, was taking an approach that differed markedly from Ben's. He held a sword in his dominant right hand while his left hand was clenched and in the form of a fist ready to punch.

There were several skeletons ready to charge at him, but Theo remained still, breathing in a relaxed manner like he was meditating. Unlike Ben, he remained silent when the skeletons struck, keeping his arrogance all to himself by ensuring his mouth stayed shut. Clang! The skeleton was allowed to deliver the first blow, which was casually blocked by the sword in Theo's right hand.

A low metallic hum was created when the two swords made contact, and when the skeleton attempted another fatal blow on Theo, that was effortlessly blocked as well. That meant it was Theo's turn to contribute to this grand show. He activated countless skills simultaneously specifically for this very moment, channelling all of the mana his mana core could muster into his left fist. Then, with great ardour and precision, the fist made contact with the skeleton's ribcage, shattering it in an instant. Crack!

Bones flew in all directions; one even hit Theo in the head. Theo, with his advanced-level punch, had just gifted a part-legendary level beast a one-way ticket to the afterlife. It would never be seen again in the form of a skeleton. The other skeletons that had witnessed this scene play out in front of them in just a matter of seconds did not hesitate; if anything, that just made them even more motivated to cut Theo into a myriad of different parts.

They lunged towards Theo with swords ready to cut and slice, but Theo, who showed no visible signs of being adept at the sword, was ready with his own move. Clang! The sword in his right hand crashed into one of the enemy swords, creating the familiar ear-splitting metallic clang that was usually heard when two swords collided. However, his other hand, which took the form of a fist crying out for something to punch, was launched straight into the sword of the other skeleton.

This hand wasn't as lucky, since the blade of the sword penetrated into the fist, creating a nasty stab wound that spilled blood immediately after it was opened. Crap, Theo said to himself. That punch was supposed to break the sword, not get stabbed by the sword! There was no way for him to staunch the bleeding, since his other hand was gripping onto a sword that was blocking an attack that could decapitate him. Unfortunately, humans don't have a third hand, and we have to deal with it.

With blood pouring out of the wound like a fountain, and with the other hand struggling profusely to keep the attack at bay, Theo continued launching punches in the hopes that one of them would make contact with either the skeleton or its sword. After all, what Theo does best is punch things, smashing them into smithereens. Punch! Punch! Punch! The majority of Theo's wild punches didn't meet their intended target. His right hand was on the brink of giving up, which would lead to him succumbing to a horrific wound.

However, just before all hope was lost, one of the punches made contact with something, prompting a surprising chain reaction. Crack! The sword belonging to the skeleton on Theo's left broke, leaving it unarmed. The mana that had been channelled into his left hand then travelled to his right hand, contributing to a gain in strength in that hand, enough for Theo's arm to withstand the weight of the attack again.

After successfully parrying the sword of the skeleton on Theo's right, Theo teleported to an area behind the two skeletons, punching them both to nothing but oblivion. Punch! Punch! What remained were just a heap of bones ready to be cremated. Theo, completely exhausted, let his sword drop freely to the floor. He covered the wound on his left hand with his right, allowing it to staunch the bleeding and helping to cauterise the wound.

Then, realising that there were no skeletons in the vicinity, he let out a deep breath, a sigh of relief.

"There's only one thing left for me now," Theo muttered.

"I need a break."