188 Watch your back, please! part A breeze hit Ryu’s cape making it look like a g in the middle of the forest. Lorenzo, who was seemingly unarmed tried to step back, but Ryu wouldn’t let him.


    As soon as he was in close range Ryu let out both his swords from the sides with all his strength but Lorenzo drew short daggers from his side with a reverse grip and countered with a kick.


    “These are called Tantos, pretty handy for closebat”


    Ryu sheathed his bastard sword after realizing he couldn’t make the most of the two weapons at the same time. it might seem like a disadvantage, but more weapons don’t always mean more attack power.


    A low dual wielding skill meant the user was capable of wielding two weapons at the same time, not that they would be any good at it. It’s only after a lot of effort and training that a person can increase their attack cadence and attack damage with two swords instead of one, and even then it’s not really a good idea against armored enemies since a lot of the strength gets lost on speed.


    Before Ryu evenposed himself after sheathing his sword Lorenzo took a shot at him, attacking from both sides at the time, shifting his position, attacking over and over, but Ryu parried every single blow barely losing terrain.


    Lorenzo’s attack speed was amazing, but Ryu had sparred with Anne and even Luke before. Although both of them would be considered C rank adventurers, their stats were amazingly high wich made them terrible foes even without proper technique.


    But Lorenzo was one step above, although he was considered a C rank adventurer he held the power of a superior B rank adventurer, something highly unusual even for Crent standards.


    His hands became brighter and his speed started to increase after each hit parried by Ryu until he was eventually unable to keep up, even with the light de he was now wielding.


    .....


    For a quick second he thought in countering with a single strike skill or even an iron strike skill, but that would have left him open for a fatal blow and he had the suspicion that was what Lorenzo was aiming for.


    After taking some distance Ryu noticed how chipped the rapier was, only thirty durability left on what seemed to be a fine de. He could still wear it, but after parrying only a few hits it might break up leaving him defenseless.


    “Are you thinking now on taking my offer? You can still hand me the girl and live a long life anywhere but Crent. I don’t really want to hurt my student”


    “I’m not your student anymore, haven’t been for a while”


    “Ah, Ryu, You could have been earning big all this time, if you were stronger than Ryota you would have been making a lot of good money. I really don’t get it. Why did you have to y dumb?”


    “You know what I don’t get... Why didn’t you help me? Why didn’t you do anything when I told you I was cursed?”


    “I sent you to Risa, didn’t I?”


    “You did, but only to dispose of me and get more money from Bob and Luke”


    “There’s your answer right there, money. Do you think I enjoyed teaching spoiled brats, year after year it was always the same. I used to be a big deal, people in town respected me, I was Crent’s hero”


    “Don’t... Don’t use that word so lightly!”


    Ryu said, suddenly reminding everything he went through with his friends who were actual summoned heroes.


    Noticing Ryu lost his cool, Lorenzo smirked widely and headed back to his pseudo dragon.


    Fearing he would fight while mounted Ryu took a few steps back, but what he saw left him speechless and frozen at the same time.


    Lorenzo grabbed a huge knife like sword from his mount’s saddle. It was Risa’s sword, it was spotless as usual, except for a stter of blood on the hilt. Lorenzo, keeping the cocky smile on his face, proceeded to slowly wipe it clean with a handkerchief and wielded it extending his right arm to the side, just like Risa used to do.


    “Do you like this weapon? I just got it, you could say I had a big discount... a five fingers discount”


    Ryu jumped at Lorenzo bursting in anger, but Lorenzo parried by simply cing the tip of the sword in the ground and moving to the sides. The de was so gigantic, it became impossible for Ryu to actually hurt Lorenzo who was too quick on his feet moving around to dodge or blocking with the sword.


    “Of course it wasn’t my fingers, but Risa’s. I would have brought them to show them to you, but who knows where that bitch put those filthy fingers before. I wonder if they still carry her smell, she was always a smelly one, I guess It can’t be helped since she came from the slums but...”


    Lorenzo kept ranting about Risa, Ryu’s most respected instructor, increasing Ryu’s anger by the second. It got to the point where he couldn’t even speak anymore and attacked like a wild beast with no trace of any technique whatsoever.


    The rapier broke in his hands, but before Lorenzo could take the chance Ryu had already half drawn his bastard sword and used it to block Lorenzo’s strike. The former instructor lost bnce and fell back a few steps, dumbfounded about Ryu’s reckless, yet effective, technique.


    But the young adventurer wouldn’t let go of him and brandished his de relentlessly against Risa’s sword.


    Lorenzo tried a heavy attack but the de was too difficult to maneuver, even for a weaponmaster like himself, leaving his back open for just a second.


    Ryu didn’t miss his chance and hit his armor repeteadly, it sounded just like rain falling on metal, thest hit carried all his might, causing little to no damage thanks to the, now battered, steel te armor but sending Lorenzo to fly away from his stolen weapon.


    “I guess it’s time for me to take my kid gloves off”


    Lorenzo said with a grin as he unsheathed a two handed sword from his back.


    “Meet my enchanted de”