Chapter 1168: Anthony On Tour pt 20

Chapter 1168: Anthony On Tour pt 20

So I learned something. It's possible to shape sword-light into horns. Also it hurts. I dodge to the side, quick as a flash, and I swear the light curves, following me before it slams into my side with the force of Tiny's fist. Luckily, I was able to angle my body to deflect the majority of the force, otherwise it may have managed to put a crack in my carapace.

Not wanting to be on the receiving end of a never-ending series of similar swings, I decide I'd best put in a little offence to throw my opponent off balance. Considering the barrier is in place, I feel a little more confident unleashing some of my more potent abilities, so I decide to Dash and follow up with a Void Chomp.

Not empowered, obviously. I'm not trying to turn my opponent into paste.

The gap between my mandibles fills with a howling void that draws everything in as the dark jaws of pure energy form, extending outward from my own. For his part, Phul isn't going to stand there and take it. For a moment, I see him hesitate, as if he were weighing whether to meet my lunge with one of his own, but he decides against it at the last second.

Redirecting his slash into the ground, he uses the tremendous force generated to launch himself to the side, flying over my mandibles to land on my left flank. I expect Phul thinks he has time to recover there after I finish my chomp, but he's about to learn I can turn on a dime. I whirl around, six legs flashing to align myself before I execute a charge, unwilling to give the swordsman time to recover.

Trapped in place, Phul lowers his horn and commits, winding back and gathering a dazzling amount of sword-light on the tip of his blade. As I bear down on him, angling myself to slam straight on, he swings from right to left.

Like a herd of stampeding rhinoceros, the light forms into a wave of horns that smack into my side. The force is absolutely tremendous, and despite my best efforts, he actually manages to shift my enormous frame off course. As I barrel past, I manage to clip my opponent with my legs, knocking him a smidge off balance, and I use that time to dig in my claws, sending a spray of sand flying up to splatter against the barrier.

Holy moly. That was a seriously heavy swing, strong enough to knock me to the side, and I weigh like ten tons or something. I mean, I haven't been on any scales, but an elephant would be a snack to me at this point. I'm big.

My insides were positively rattled when I got hit, but thanks to my inner-plating, I was able to absorb the blow without any cracking in my carapace.

After facing Phul head-on once more, I decide it's time to get serious and bust out some gravity magic. Minds spin, power flows and I begin to pull together the energy I need.

Half my minds commit to forming the gravity well, while the others are tasked with peppering the swordsman with minor spells to buy me the time I need.

[Uh sure. Let's go with that. As I said, totally temporary, no effect on the weapon itself.]

Perhaps unconvinced, Phul gives his weapon a few test swings, appearing satisfied by the end that I'm not lying to him.

[Our weapons are very important to us,] he told me, [I have worked with this blade for over twenty years.]

[Well, it shoots rhinos made of light at people, I can understand not wanting to lose it.]

He looks at me a little confused.

[That's not the sword,] he tells me, [that's me!]

[What?! I'd assumed it was an enchantment or something!]

[Oh no. Shaping the light is the pinnacle of our Skill. When I achieve mastery, I will reach the tenth sword, and be a blademaster.]

[Nice. How far off are you?]

[I hope to achieve my goal in another ten years.]

That far off? Yikes.