Chapter 291: Section 79: Hooked
This strike caught him completely off guard, and he was stunned for a moment before he quickly crossed his blades to block, sending the Black Iron Scimitar flying.
“Excellent, he has lost his weapon!”
Just as Suanzao was about to rejoice, the Fishman youth had already seized the opportunity he had created!
He threw himself directly into Suanzao’s arms.
Suanzao suddenly felt a severe pain in his chest, as if a tiger shark had crashed into him. He couldn’t help but open his mouth, and bubbles gurgled up profusely.
“Such strength?!” Suanzao’s heart trembled.
...
It was very rare for a brown-scale Fishman to unleash such a powerful impact.
Suanzao had also often practiced combat with his master, and in his recollection, his master had never possessed such strength.
“If I were knocked down directly, wouldn’t that be completely humiliating!”
Suanzao hurriedly braced his chest and planted his legs firmly on the seafloor, retreating three or four steps but resolutely standing his ground against the collision.
While retreating, he forcefully struck down with his arms, attempting to smash the back of the Fishman youth with the hilt of his blade.
Because his master had cautioned him, he only used the hilt and did not reverse the blade. At the same time, his target was not the Fishman youth’s eyes but his back.
“Fall for me!” Suanzao roared. Although he had held back, he was confident that if his strike hit the opponent, the latter would surely fall to the ground and not be able to get up.
But the Fishman youth didn’t even look, and directly raised his hands to block Suanzao’s elbows.
The move was incredibly skillful.
If the youth had tried to block Suanzao’s forearms, he would have faced an immense force, and given the strength of the brown-scale Fishman, it was likely that he would have failed to hold it off.
If the youth blocked the arms above the elbows, it would have been easier, according to the principle of leverage, the force to bear would be much less, making a successful parry more likely.
But it was of no use.
Because as soon as Suanzao moved his elbows, his forearms would still drive the Bronze Scimitars, hammering fiercely into the Fishman youth’s body.
Therefore, when the Fishman youth blocked Suanzao’s elbows, it immediately caused Suanzao to be dumbfounded, unable to exert any force, and the faces of many warriors among the spectating Fishmen also changed slightly.
Laymen watch the excitement; connoisseurs discern the subtleties.
Though it was a minor movement, it allowed the strong Fishmen present to perceive that the Fishman youth was quite skilled.
After propping up Suanzao’s elbows, the Fishman youth took the momentum to counterattack, his palms flipping to tightly grip the opponent’s elbows.
Suanzao clenched his teeth, furious in his heart: “You’re challenging me to a test of strength?”
Just as he was about to exert all his strength to overpower the youth, the Fishman youth suddenly kicked off the ground, his fish head savagely striking Suanzao’s chin.
Suanzao was knocked backward, his head spinning and vision blurring. Pain radiated from his chin, but Suanzao bit down hard, not making a sound.
“To cry out in pain, wouldn’t that be utterly face-losing?” The rage in Suanzao’s heart grew: “Damn it, so painful, I must repay you!”
But in the next moment, the Fishman youth followed through with an upward kick.
Bang!
The strike hit right in the middle of Suanzao’s crotch.
“I… Ah!” Suanzao instantly felt a violent shock both in body and mind, his rage drowned by the intense agony as he couldn’t help but cry out in pain.
For a moment, Suanzao forgot to resist, his body instinctively retreating backwards.
But he had forgotten that his elbows were firmly in the grip of the youth.
The Fishman youth clung to Suanzao’s elbows, his legs whirling like windmills, repeatedly driving his shins or knees into Suanzao’s groin.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The terrifying rapid strikes made a sound that sent shivers down the spine of every male Fishman.
In a very short time, Suanzao went from crying out in pain to screaming, and then from screaming to whining pitifully.
Suanzao collapsed on the ground miserably.
The Fishman youth did not let up and stomped on him several times with his feet.
Suanzao curled up like a lobster, clutching his crotch tightly, his mouth continuously hissing in pain as he inhaled seawater.
“I win!” The Fishman youth raised his arm, shouting victoriously, then panting heavily after the intense exertion.
The whole place was deathly quiet, except for the sound of the youth’s proclamation of victory.
The youth walked towards his scimitar, which was stuck in the sandy seabed.
He retrieved it effortlessly.
The Fishmen close to the Black Iron Scimitar decisively stepped back, cautiously distancing themselves from the Fishman youth.
Many male Fishmen felt a chilling breeze beneath their crotches, as if a cold stream had suddenly shot between their legs.
The Fishman youth, holding the scimitar, returned in front of Suanzao and, with a flick of his wrist, spun the blade in several flourishes.
Watching these blade tricks, Suanzao felt wronged to the core, infuriated beyond words. He remembered his master’s words of caution—”Be wary of his scimitar.”
“Despicable!” Suanzao lay on the ground, grinding his teeth in resentment.
The next moment, the Fishman youth walked past him lying on the ground and bent down to pick up Suanzao’s pair of Bronze Scimitars.
“What are you doing!?” Suanzao shrieked, panicking as he saw the scimitars fall into the youth’s hands.
He wanted to get up, but the pain in his crotch was unbearable, and even the skin beneath the thick scales turned noticeably pale.
Despite his best efforts, Suancai couldn’t stand up; the pain in his crotch pierced through to his core.
The youth easily picked up two Bronze scimitars and loudly declared, “These are my spoils of war.”
“Put them down! This is a duel between warriors; you’re robbing me!” shouted Suancai.
“You challenged me, and I spared your life. Taking your weapons is already showing you mercy. Do you not value your life?” the Fishman youth sneered, the cold and ruthless intent to kill immediately emanating from him.
The Fishmen were agitated by the killing intent and began to shout.
“Foreigner, you’re too arrogant!”
“Daring to kill in our town, you’re practically asking for death.”
“This is a duel between warriors. Just now, Suancai was obviously holding back; he just used the hilt to hit your back. (Even though he missed…)”
“Shut up, all of you!” The Fishman youth shouted back, tall and unafraid, full of wildness.
He certainly had the capital to be fearless.
Having Silver Fighting Spirit and a Dragon-man Form. Relying on Dragon Scale’s defensive power, he could even fend off Golden Level Combat Skills, and fighting his way out through the encirclement of these Fishmen was not a problem at all.
The only somewhat troublesome issue was the town’s only Silver Level Fishman Shaman.
However, the Fishman youth had another trump card—the Deep Sea Monster Fish was lurking nearby, ready to come to his aid at any moment.
“Everyone, calm down!” The caravan leader, Elder Brown Scale, finally couldn’t sit still. He had sent Suancai to challenge the newcomer, just to gauge his strength for potential recruitment. He did not wish conflict to arise from this.
After this battle, Elder Brown Scale grew even fonder of the newcomer and his desire to recruit him grew stronger.
Immediately, he stepped forward, gently waved his hand, and calmed the emotionally charged onlooking Fishmen, showing his prestige in the town.
Then, Elder Brown Scale turned to face the Fishman youth and said with a smile, “Suancai is my apprentice. He was outmatched and defeated by you. There’s nothing inappropriate about you taking these two scimitars as spoils of war. If you like them, take them.”
“Master?!” Suancai exclaimed in shock, momentarily forgetting the excruciating pain, “Those two scimitars are your treasured possessions.”
“Indeed, they are my treasures, but unfortunately, you lost. And the opponent clearly held back,” Elder Brown Scale said with a purposeful sigh.
“Master…” Suancai’s eyes filled with blood, and he seemed on the verge of tears, “I swear I’ll repay you with two brand new Bronze scimitars. No, Black Iron—I’ll definitely get you two Black Iron Level scimitars!”
“That’s more like it.” The Fishman youth purposely pouted, trying to look smug and triumphant.
Fortunately, he had spent more time lately in his Mutated Fishman Form, or else making such an expression would have been difficult.
His appearance immediately filled the surrounding Fishmen with revulsion, and they longed to give the youth—a foreigner—a thorough beating. Suancai, in particular, was gnashing his teeth in hatred.
But Elder Brown Scale pointed at the Fishman youth and intentionally shook his head, “Almost? No, you’re far from it.”
“Hey, what do you mean by that? You still can’t accept it, can you?” the youth intentionally complained.
Seeing the youth take the bait, Elder Brown Scale chuckled, “You practice the Single Blade Style, don’t you? Are you really skilled with dual blades? You now have three blades, can you handle them all?”
The youth pouted, “I can’t handle them all; moreover, I am used to using just one blade. But I can sell them for money. Do you want to buy them? Just say so. If the price is right, I’ll sell them to you on the spot.”
Suancai’s eyes turned dark with anger.
These were clearly his master’s scimitars, and now his master had to buy them. How detestable this newcomer was!
Elder Brown Scale nodded without hesitation: “I will buy them. But, I won’t pay you with money.”
“Are you making fun of me?”
“Of course not. What I’ll give you is worth more than money. Like my swordsmanship or Combat Skills,” Elder Brown Scale said astonishingly.
He stared at the youth with a piercing gaze, “If I’m not wrong, you’ve never properly learned how to use a blade, nor do you have any Combat Skills.”
Suancai’s heart stirred, greatly agreeing with this guess: “Definitely not. If he had, would he be able to throw the blade like that?”
The Fishman youth pouted with an air of “although you guessed right, I’ll die before admitting it, and I’ll still be stubborn”: “Humph, of course I have Combat Skills. I didn’t use them because I’m afraid of causing a fatality. If I really had used them, you would be preparing your apprentice’s funeral.”
Suancai felt as if a throwing knife had pierced his heart.
Elder Brown Scale laughed heartily, not contesting the Fishman youth’s words: “I can teach you how to use a blade and impart Combat Skills to you. I’ll use these in exchange for the pair of Bronze scimitars; what do you say?”
“Master!!” Suancai cried out.
The other Fishmen present were also shocked; they all understood that Elder Brown Scale held the newcomer in high esteem and wished to promote him.
“Let me think about it,” the youth said, feigning hesitation.
Suancai felt like he was going to cough up blood.
“Back in the day, to learn as an apprentice, I went through so much suffering. With great effort, risking my life, I dug up a large pearl to present as a tribute. I knelt in front of the door for three days and three nights, only then touching the master’s heart. And now, faced with such a good opportunity, you still need to think about it?!”
“Hey, you might be intentionally teaching me the wrong thing to harm me, right? After all, he is your apprentice, and these are your scimitars,” the Fishman youth started to make a fuss.
“How dare you slander my master! You…” Suancai’s eyes bulged with anger, filled with blood vessels.
He wished he could tear the Fishman youth to pieces.
Elder Brown Scale put out his hand to stop Suancai’s outburst. The youth’s skepticism made him think even more that this wild Wandering Fishman had no guile in him.
He smiled and said, “Indeed, he is my apprentice, and these originally were my scimitars. But I won’t teach you wrong. I look forward to both of you fighting a real battle someday. With brilliant swordsmanship, and marvelous Combat Skills. Don’t you want that?”
The Fishman youth was taken aback, showing a look of yearning.
“Heh, the kid took the bait,” Elder Brown Scale keenly noticed the nuance in the youth’s expression, feeling delighted.
Seeing Elder Brown Scale’s slightly upward-curving mouth, the Fishman youth also felt delighted: “Heh, the old fellow took the bait.”