Chapter 43: Water Stance

It's very different from the practices he did. The fight against the beasts was completely different from fighting against humans.

However, Diether was no longer as helpless as he was before when he fought against the three-eyed Viper before.

Clang! Clang!

Sounds of metal colliding against the steel-like horns of the beast goats were heard throughout their area.

Cries and shouts of the beasts and hunters were mixed within this dense forest. Some can be seen fighting head-on against the beast while others use different tactics like throwing daggers, shooting arrows, and even laying some traps to halt the movements of the beasts.

Diether was told to assist whoever needed some help… He happily agreed to this kind of job since he didn't have to fight head-on and he can sneak attack to easily gain an advantage… or this is what he thought when he heard it Trance.

'This is much more difficult…'

Diether realized the chaos would spread too wide and there was no easy way for a successful sneak attack. If he focused too much on finding the best time to sneak attack, he might cause trouble to nearby battles and to the Hunter he was trying to help.

'Ahh… I should think too much about it… I'll just do my best. Master isn't telling me what to do. He must be testing my battle capabilities…'

From time to time, Diether was using his powerful overhead strike in hopes of dealing a critical blow to the Blood Horned Goats only to be deflected by those impossibly tough horns.

Clank!

One of the Hunter's sword was actually broken after hitting the horn!

'Ugh! So it's really a bad idea to hit the goats using an overhead strike… We must target their foot or body instead of the head which can be easily defended.'

The cores of the beasts were normally placed on the head of the beasts and it was common to target this place not only to deal a critical blow to the brain but also to disrupt the energy flow coming from the cores.

The cores were the source of any beast's Spiritual Energy that allows them to use skills.

As Diether remembers from the book he read, the cores that came from these blood horned goats were mostly used to temper a popular magic weapon called Raze Shield. Mapan even clearly indicated that the shield was used by one of the five powerful knight brigades, the Ashen Knights.

Unfortunately, Diether still lacks a lot of information about these knights. He only knows the three powerful forces in the kingdom, the Arcanists, the Hunters, and the Royal Army…

In this Royal Army, he was only aware that their core power was due to the existence of the Knights.

The first Knight order he heard was from Marian Fraser who introduced herself as a member of Chaos Knight that was seemingly connected to House Larkinson…

He didn't think too much about it until he read some bits of information about the Ashen Knights.

Anyway, it wasn't important right now as Diether still has to deal with the goats.

'It shouldn't be hard if I'm targeting their bodies or their legs.'

He was still small and the large goats in front of them were standing taller than him.

Diether took a few steps back as he let the hunters and beasts clash against each other.

He took a deep breath and took his stance while observing everything in his surroundings. The trees, bushes, rocks, soil, beasts, and hunters became very clear in his eyes.

His expression became composed, not befitting a 10-year-old child…

He absorbs all the movements happening within the area…

Haaa~

As Diether exhaled, he changed his stance!

Jodan-no-Kamae to Chudan-no-Kamae.

Chudan-no-Kamae or the Water Stance is the most basic out of five stances that balances both attack and defense. In was in contrast with Jodan or the Fire Stance that was shows aggressiveness in battle.

Haa!

Diether shouted as he steps onto the battlefield and fought bravely against the beasts.

Reiji nodded his non-existing head at his decision since it was the most appropriate battle stance.

Well, there was also Gedan-no-Kamae or the Earth Stance that may be useful at this time but Reiji was confident the Water Stance will also do very well in this situation.

'Alright, in case there's a danger… I can just Take Over. You should just focus on gaining experience in this real battle…'

Reiji understood that this is what Diether lacks the most right now… A battle experience that even Reiji lacks.

After all, he himself had only battled against his fellow practitioners and not against these beasts.

Aside from that, he only used it to some deserving thugs on the street when he was still young and hotheaded. That was even hardly called a fight since a single hit to these thugs would make them crouch in pain.

Aaargh! Help!

Save me!

While he was reminiscing his past, he heard cries for help coming from the Arcanists group in the central area.

'Was the swarm too much to handle? They should be more than capable of handling it… Aren't they capable of producing fire or something?'

The Anchor Scarab was also listed in the book they had and they have a very cute core.

It was so small that instead of using it to craft magic weapons, it was being used to craft jewelry.

That's right, the colorful and radiant cores coming from these scarabs were sought after by the Jewel Crafters.

Since the book came from Mapan, most of the information they have was about the market value of each core he had contact with.

Reiji looks around and noticed that the cries were being ignored or…

'Hmm… It seems that I'm the only one who can hear their cries for help… It shouldn't be that far…Oh, maybe they are too focused on their battle? Well, that's understandable… Any feats of carelessness can result in a tragedy if battling against a beast. Anyway, should I tell it to Diether?'