Chapter 66
When I was young, I briefly attended a Kendo Dojo.
I didn't go for long, and I only learned basic stances and movements, but there was something that stuck with me.
Middle Stance!
How to move your feet while holding a sword, how to swing it... I learned various things, but this was by far the most impressive.
I felt the spirit the moment the scary Kendo Instructor looked straight ahead with clear eyes and raised his bamboo sword.
The moment the Instructor lowered his sword, grinned, and said, “This is the basic Stance of kendo, Chudan-no-kamae,” still vividly comes to mind.
It looked so cool to my young eyes that I attended the Kendo Dojo every single day for a while, though I've forgotten a lot of it by now.
I'm not sure if I'm properly putting what I learned back then into practice right now.
What was it again...
Lower the shoulder line so it's level, and tighten the elbows as if they are touching the ribs.
Place the right foot forward, and slightly raise the heel of the left foot to put strength into the leg.
The tip of the sword is at the height of the opponent's solar plexus.
Ensure the Sword Tip aims at the opponent's glabella, and use both eyes To Grasp the opponent's gaze and the movements of their entire body's muscles.
Well, I think it was roughly like this.
As I continued to recall it, the Stance somehow came together. Whether this will actually be effective is something I'll have to verify in actual combat.
There just so happened to be a perfectly suitable opponent.
Shwaaaak—!
The katana, swung by one hand, flies in on a red trajectory.
Was it because the fingers on his other hand were mangled, or because he had a separate use for his remaining hand...
Either way, I couldn't let my Guard down. It was Ned Ludd, who was undoubtedly Superior to me in both strength and speed since I hadn't received any modifications.
Even if the opponent only used one hand, I had to use both hands and block with all my might.
Chaaaang.
I block the diagonally descending Strike by deflecting it from a relatively lower Position.
And naturally, the Force applied from top to bottom is much stronger.
Furthermore, the opponent was a Monster with far Superior Physical Strength to mine.
A stinging sensation shot through my arms, upper body, and even my lower body, making my bones ring. My whole body is sounding the alarm that it cannot hold out.
If so, I just don't have to hold out.
I twisted the blade, pushed it to the side, and struck upward.
The Red blade I had deflected and blocked slid straight down along the surface of my sword.
Using the opponent's strength against them.
I haven't learned kendo for long, but I know at least that having excellent Physical Ability isn't the be-all and end-all when it comes to crossing swords.
If being strong meant you were good at sword fighting, all kendo and Western Swordsmanship practitioners would have just gone to the gym to do weightlifting instead of training by swinging swords.
If I utilized the structure of the sword and the Principle of Force, even I, an Unmodified Natural, might somehow be able to hold my own against that Ned Ludd, at least within the Realm of Swordsmanship.
It was a katana prepared with such calculations in mind, and it was working so far. So far.
Of course, it wasn't as if there were no variables at all.
Tzpit—!
The blade that had dropped downward twisted at the last moment and aimed for my leg.
What the.
Completely changing the direction the Force was applied at that moment was an unbelievable Athletic Ability.
Because it was a completely Unexpected Attack, I couldn't defend against it and ended up getting my leg slashed.
Because it was a Sword Strike that hastily changed its route, it couldn't cut deeply, but that Alone was enough to inflict a fatal wound that would render my leg immobile.
Normally, that would have been the case.
“...!”
Ned Ludd's expression stiffened coldly. He realized it immediately from the sensation reaching his hand.
He hadn't cut properly.
Instead of the feeling of cleaving human flesh, he must have only felt the sensation of piercing something completely different.
I didn't Step out to fight in such a thick outfit for nothing. The things stuffed inside my clothes are all safety mechanisms.
Especially, the Rubber Block and Ceramic Blocks were equipped to protect my vitals and limbs.
I had a bit of a hard time Cramming in the things rolling around in the Warehouse one by one, and because of them my body became heavy, making it hard to even execute a proper Movement... but in the end, they are proving to be highly effective like this.
Ned Ludd's katana stopped short of digging into the Rubber Block covering my leg.
If a little more Force had been applied, he might have been able To Cut my leg as well, but his Stance was too inaccurate for that, and the loss of Kinetic Energy from changing paths midway was also large.
Rather, it made no sense that he even extended the tip of his sword to aim for my leg in the midst of all that. Anyway, he's ridiculously strong.
My heart sank momentarily and I was terrified, but in the end, his sword failed to reach my body.
And now, it was My Turn.
Often, Chudan-no-kamae is called a Stance of Offense and Defense as One. As far as I know, it means that an Attack must occur simultaneously with defense.
*At the same time as I deflected and received the downward-striking katana, my Upper Body Muscles smoothly lifted the twisted sword and, this time, slashed the blade's tip downward in a reverse motion.*
The pitch-black, thin blade strikes like a blue viper.
Swaaaaak—
I swung it well. That thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
It felt good, the sensation of the muscles in my entire body densely bunching together and heading toward a single point.
Even though I had let go of the sword for a long time, I could feel that my Stance, strength, speed, and balance... everything was perfect.
It wasn't just me; the situation with my opponent was also like that. Ned Ludd had the tip of his sword on the floor/Ground below due to his foiled Attack.
His Center of Gravity was leaning forward, and his Stance and Movement were heavily distorted.
In this state, he absolutely cannot block my Attack. He can't dodge it, either.
This will definitely work. That was what I thought.
“Kuaaaak!”
Crunch.
But the next moment, my two hands, along with the handguard and hilt of the katana I held, were striking down on Ned Ludd's back.
Conversely, he had lowered his Stance and lunged straight forward, ramming into my body.
“...!”
I couldn't even imagine it. To think that he would instead apply more Force to dig straight in and initiate Wrestling, since his balance was broken and he was leaning forward.
His speed was so insanely fast that my sword ended up missing its target.
The blade vainly cleaved the empty air, but instead, I did Strike his spine accurately with the hilt portion, which I struck with precise form and heavy Force.
It must have had an effect, as Ned Ludd's body Flinched briefly and he let out a groan, *Keuhuk—*.
But it was still not enough. He quickly recovered his stiffened body and slammed his closely cropped head hard into my abdomen.
It felt like being hit by some kind of bull rather than a person. Even a scream refused to pop out of my mouth.
If the Rubber Block I had similarly attached to my stomach hadn't mitigated the impact, my internal organs might have ruptured.
Feeling my body flying away from the immense amount of impact, I used the recoil to lift my knee.
At the same time my Knee Kick landed somewhere on Ned Ludd's torso. Something stuck firmly to the side of my thigh.
They were fingers.
He hadn't missed that brief opening and had launched a Surprise Attack like a ghost, Ned Ludd's three fingers, from the hand not holding a sword.
Of all places, it was exactly the gap where I hadn't equipped a block. He must have aimed for it on purpose.
The moment I thought “Oh crap,” a Blue Current spewed out and blasted directly into my thigh.
Bzzzzzt—!
Feeling a Thrilling pain in my leg, I flew far away, unable to control my body properly, and tumbled noisily over and over.
“Ow... fuck.”
There was a tingling and stinging sensation. My thigh was numb and wouldn't move properly, but I limped and somehow stood up.
When I raised my head, the only comfort was that my opponent wasn't in very good shape either, just like me.
“Kuuuugh—.”
The Knee Kick I fed him at the end must have landed pretty well. Then again, the feeling of the Strike against my knee was quite solid.
He must have been hit exactly in the solar plexus, seeing how he was struggling to catch his breath and spitting out blood-tinged saliva.
On top of that, since his dorsal spine area was properly hit by the sword hilt earlier, the impact inflicted on his body must be quite large.
Not only I, but he had also suffered at the hands of the other Ronin and the Blonde Young Lady, so he must have hit his limit in terms of Physical Strength as well.
And above all... he must be really pissed off because his Attack didn't work properly.
The guy was glaring at my leg area with a heavily contorted face.
The area was where the electrodes on his fingers had stuck and discharged the current.
My clothes were torn, and through the gap, melted Polyethylene could be seen, and a strange burning smell was present.
The Electric Shock that aimed for my thigh at an exquisite moment.
Based on observations through the Closed-Circuit Camera, it was cyberware that Ned Ludd heavily favored, and a Technique that always popped out at decisive moments.
Naturally, I had made preparations suited for it.
Not only did I install blocks on every important part of my body, but I also tightly wrapped all other exposed areas with Plastic Wrap.
Because of that, I had this dull-looking appearance, and my movements slowed down. Coming out of the Warehouse was delayed because I had to prepare everything one by one, but I was able to remain safe even after being hit by a current Attack like this.
If I had been hit without a Protective Device, my leg would have been paralyzed, and I could have even died instantly from shock.
That is because it's a high-voltage current Attack fired with the single-minded intent to kill a person without hesitation.
I should say it's extremely fortunate that it ended at just a tingling and stinging level thanks to taking precautions in advance.
“Ghk, you rat-like bastard... you prepared quite thoroughly, didn't you? A bastard who's nothing special.”
I give a smirk and say something to Ned Ludd, who is glaring at me as if his eyeballs will burst, with thick veins bulging on his neck and forehead.
“Why don't you look in a mirror before you speak? Who's the one that looks like a rat here?
At those words, his expression contorted even further.
Looks like I touched a sore spot. It seems he has a Complex about his rat-like appearance.