Swordsmanship Genius and Shapeshifter

Chapter 97 Swordsmanship Genius and Shapeshifter

Fishman —

In Terella, this monster can be found wherever there is water, whether it's the ocean, the river, or the swamp. In terms of frequency of appearance, it is second only to the goblin.

But they are not as easy to deal with as goblins.

Firstly, their individual strength is somewhat greater; secondly, as aquatic monsters, they naturally dominate rivers, lakes, and seas, while in such places, humans are merely passersby.

Therefore, at this moment, everyone on the ship was not careless and was fully alert and ready to fight.

Cinderella and her daughter were escorted to the middle of the deck by Isabella and Amelie.

Holcher led the Iron Axe mercenary group to the ship's side, keeping a close eye on the water.

Richard then took out his lute, first casting a golden shield on himself, then playing an inspirational tune for each of the front-line warriors, and incidentally activating Hua Wu's flying knives.

Splash!

He had just finished playing the instrument twice when a merman emerged from the water, brandishing a fork and trying to jump onto the deck—only to be blasted back by the mage Jon, who was guarding the rear, with a magical missile.

However, more and more murlocs appeared, and the missiles were no longer sufficient. The front-line warriors raised their weapons and faced them head-on.

In an instant, a battle broke out from bow to stern.

"Wow, there must be almost forty of them now?"

Having grown up in a harbor, Richard had seen many fish-men, but he had never seen so many at once in a freshwater river, and he was momentarily stunned.

"Hey, it's heading your way."

Grace whispered a reminder to Richard, who snapped out of his daze and saw three mermen rushing towards him. He immediately summoned his beast pack, releasing eight wolves to stop them.

"Woo-hoo!"

The fishmen were startled by the sudden appearance of the wolf spirit, and then their hands, feet and tails were bitten, causing them to scream and howl.

Richard saw that they seemed rather clumsy out of water, like three wooden targets, so he withdrew the sonic blast he was about to unleash and instead drew his one-handed sword.

Since we're going to fight anyway, why not take the opportunity to practice the Rose Sword Technique!

What? You're saying that the new swordsmanship you've learned isn't smooth and makes it easy to expose weaknesses?

No big problem. I have Beast Intuition and Luck inside, Diamond Shield and Flower Dance Throwing Knife outside, and Grace who is obviously just slacking off outside. I can stand still and salute the French military and I won't die!

Richard smirked and charged into the ranks of the fishmen.

Not far away, Holcher was also taken aback by the unexpected number of merfolk.

But given his level and experience, he quickly adjusted his mindset and regained his composure.

However, he panicked a little when he saw that some merfolk had been overlooked by the mercenaries and were heading in Richard's direction.

Oh no, my final payment!

Poet, please, please don't get hurt!

He quickly tried to turn around and offer assistance.

But the next second, Richard used the Summon Beasts spell and then nimbly and swiftly charged into the mermen.

Although his footwork and movements were a bit clumsy, the stats made up for it, and the golden shield around his body was incredibly powerful, seemingly even having a counter-attack effect. Then there were those two throwing knives that automatically blocked attacks—

hiss----

That spell just now, I remember it was a level 3 spell, right?

And that movement, that equipment, and that shield I've never seen before—

This situation made Holcher vaguely feel that Richard's claim of having fought alongside Isabella might not be a joke.

In the center of the deck, Isabella stood guard in front of Aisha and Mary, serving as a reserve and last line of defense, and did not make a move for the time being.

She noticed Richard's behavior and guessed that he was practicing swordsmanship. A smirk appeared on her lips as she called out, "The moves don't need to be so forceful. You need to be able to pull back at any time. Don't forget your footwork and control the distance—"

Oh wow, there's even a live demonstration!

Upon hearing the shout, Richard immediately adjusted his movements, making his Rose Sword Technique even smoother.

soon--

Pfft!

[Experience +7]

Richard successfully killed the three mermen in front of him with his sword without using the Wild Dance Slash, thus gaining experience.

Just then, the scabbard opened again:

My handsome master, I must confess that I underestimated your potential.

Richard asked in a low voice, "So, am I now fulfilling your request?"

[Actually, you're still a little short, after all, you're just a beginner. But in terms of actual combat ability, many serious swordsmen might not be your match. And most importantly—your sword-wielding posture is just too beautiful! The Rose Sword Technique suits you so well! Oh, I'm practically fainting—]

You have received a gift pack from the Thousand Sun Sword Sheath.

Ultimately, it's all about looks.

It's good to have a reward though.

Richard pursed his lips and opened the gift package.

You have gained 1 point of Constitution.

You have acquired the following specialization: Swordsmanship Prodigy. You can learn swordsmanship more quickly, deal more damage when using a sword in combat, and perform two attacks in one action (sword moves only).

Note: "A sharp sword, a sharp eye!" — Rui Li, a fencing expert who hates puns.

Hey, it's a noble feat that allows for multiple attacks!

Although it's limited to sword techniques, it's enough to significantly enhance his close-combat abilities!

Just as Richard was feeling pleased with his new skill, the situation in the battle changed again.

A two-meter-tall red-scaled fishman, holding an anchor, climbed onto the deck, swatted away a level 4 Iron Axe mercenary warrior in front of him with a claw, and roared as he charged toward Richard!

"Be careful!"

Holcher became nervous again upon seeing this.

Isabella also sensed something was amiss. In her view, Richard was ultimately a spellcaster; his swordsmanship was only rudimentary. He was alright at casting spells from a distance, but directly confronting this near-mid-level merman leader was far too risky.

However, amidst the worried gazes of the crowd, Richard raised his sword and charged straight at them.

When he was practicing his sword just now, he didn't use either his special skill or combat technique. Now, he wants to test his limits!

First came a flurry of movements, then a display of swordsmanship genius, followed by a charged, powerful strike, and finally, a flurry of slashes!

In the blink of an eye, Richard thrust out four swords, each one powerful and heavy, and each one precisely pierced the fishman's left chest!

"?!"

Before the fishman could even swing the anchor, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, blood gushed out, and with a thud, he collapsed to the ground in disbelief!

[Experience +8]

Richard smiled with satisfaction as he looked at the fishman's corpse.

That's pretty impressive.

Attributes lay the foundation, specializations increase speed, and combat skills boost damage output. After some time, he'll fully master the Rose Sword Technique to compensate for the weaknesses in skill combos. Then he'll no longer fear close combat against melee fighters of equal or lower level.

"Gods above! Is this still a poet?"

Holcher rubbed his eyes, too shocked to believe Richard's performance, which had suddenly become many times more intense.

He realized that this poet was truly talented, and was completely different from those who only sang hymns in aristocratic courts!

He really misunderstood them before!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but swallow awkwardly again.

Isabella, on the other side, was equally surprised.

But because she had spent a long time with Richard and was used to being startled, she quickly accepted his progress.

Then, still thinking expectantly to himself: "As expected of you, Richard, you've already shown such talent so early in your swordsmanship training. Just how strong will you become once you've mastered it?"

soon.

The remaining fish-men were all eliminated.

The group then began cleaning up the battlefield and clearing the deck.

Between work, he would occasionally look at Richard with admiration or apology (specifically, Holcher).

Richard smiled and nodded in response.

Although he doesn't really care about minor misunderstandings, it's always good to not be treated like a pretty face.

I just hope Holcher doesn't turn around and give him money again just to apologize.

Thinking this, he casually cast his gaze upon the various items left behind by the fish-men, activating his Eye of Insight to see if he could find anything else he could use to bewitch them.

Unexpectedly, they saw something strange.

【Name: The Shapeshifter's Skinning Knife (Cannot be charmed)】

hiss.

A shapeshifter?

>