Chapter 442: An overdue meeting…sort of
At some point during Zhen Liu’s fusion with Nepherage and subsequent bumrush against Grand Fisher,Logos and Pathos finally started advising him again.
=The seal on your hand, remember? He’s probably picking up the energy being released by that seal and is acting appropriately, i.e., recalling a whole lot of repressed memories. He might assume that you stole that power from whichever lord he served back when he was a kaijin.=
‘Oh…well that can’t be good…am I going to have as much trouble fighting this guy as I did with Grub?’
‘You and I both know that size is meaningless in a world where there are literal children that can throw mountains.’
=You should be fine milord, last time you and the other kaijin were a full rank lower than your opponent. This time you’re at the same rank and outnumber him. This should be quick.’
‘Groovy…wait, while I’m fighting him, can y’all-‘
=Already on it milord.=
‘Thank you. Nepherage! You ready?’
[And oh so willing.]
‘Suggestive. Let’s do this.’
________________________________________________
*Bing-Bong*
Please note that for the following combat scene, that the one fighting Grand Fisher is actually a fusion between Zhen Liu and Nepherage, but for the sake of simplicity, the writer is opting to specify the fighter as just “Zhen Liu”.
This is because, technically speaking, Zhen Liu is the one in charge of the body.’
*Bing-Bong*
________________________________________________
[Meteor Impact!]
“Shit!”
Sensing the incoming attack, Grand Fisher proceeded to concentrate water aether into the soles of his fin-feet and launch himself out of the incoming punch as it was just about to hit.
Unfortunately, just like before with the ice narwhal, he was a touch too slow and ended up getting a scratch ripped across his cheek.
Adding insult to injury, the strike actually hit Grand Fisher’s face in such a manner that it formed a perfect cross. Granted, he didn’t really notice nor was he in the right state of mind to care about such things.
“Tsk!”
After failing to cave in Grand Fisher’s head, Zhen Liu stopped his descent as quick as he could and proceeded to loop back upwards to the same level that the fish man was at in one smooth flight path. He then proceeded to cross his arms in a show of contempt and arrogance.
“What’s wrong, baitfish,” Zhen Liu taunted in a voice that would be more fitting coming out of a sentient volcano, “afraid of getting burned?”
“You…thieving charlatan…,” Grand Fisher growled in two parts pain and rage.
[This abomination is surprisingly slippery, milord,] Nepeherage commented in surprised admiration for their opponents quick thinking, [also, what’s with the voice?]
‘Well he is technically a marlin,’ Zhen Liu replied, ‘or maybe a sailfish? Swordfish? Also, the voice is because I’m trying to hide my identity.’
[Ah…those aren’t the same thing?]
‘Same family, different species.’
[Ah.]
“Who-who the hells are you?”
‘Huh?’
[Huh?]
As Zhen Liu turned around at the voice calling him, Zhen Shi began to float towards him, a look of bewilderment on the old man’s face at the sudden arrival of this mysterious warrior (read: grandson faking it).
Of course, the look of surprise could also come from the fact that the warrior who saved him was seven feet tall, built like a statue with jade red and black skin with a pair of horns that curved upwards to boot…and was also able to easily injure the guy who had been seemingly nigh invincible up until this point.
Zhen Shi and Zhen Liu stared at each other, only one of them being aware at they actually knew each other.
Well, technically two of them.
For a brief moment, Zhen Liu was tempted to call Zhen Shi, “grandfather”, but he couldn’t due to his current form technically a disguise and someone not associated with the Zhen Clan.
‘Alright…just like I thought up…’
Without missing a best, Zhen Liu proceeded to a tell a simple yet complicated.
“Good evening, Patriarch Zhen Shi,” Zhen Liu said with his gravely voice, “it’s nice to finally meet you in the flesh.”
“Meet me in the flesh?,” Zhen Shi repeated with a confused tone, “wait, how do you know my name?”
“Well, I should hope I remember the name of the grandfather of one of my apprentices.”
“One of your-wait…you’re Zhen Liu’s master? The one who taught him how to cultivate using aether puppets?”
[Good to know that lie is still holding up.]
“Indeed I am,” Zhen Liu lied through his teeth, “apologies for my appearance, but this is how I look when I use my armor.”
To emphasize his point, Zhen Liu banged his chest with his fist, causing a clanging sound.
[Ow.]
‘Sorry.’
“Understandable,” Zhen Shi accepted, “but why are you here? Were you following us?”
“Oh no,” Zhen Liu dismissed, “I was actually following-”
“Don’t you ignore me, you wretched thief!,” Grand Fisher yelled at he pulled his arm back, readying to throw his harpoon.
[Bakekujira’s Wrath: Smashing Wave!]
“-him.”
Angered by this intrusion, and being subsequently ignored, Grand Fisher lashed out by throwing his harpoon directly at Zhen Liu, all the while infusing the attack with enough [Chaos] and aether to cause the silhouette of a giant skeletal whale monster to overlay it.
A feeling of cold, dead dread soon fell over the battlefield as the skeletal whale flew fast and true towards intended target.
Zhen Liu began to charge up his aether and [Chaos], readying to fire off an earth based attack to smash the skeleton into pieces, until…
“Don’t bother expending any effort, master. Allow your most magnificent disciple to do it for you!”
“Huh?”
From the ship below, came a spinning tornado of energy that flew directly upward and into the very neck joint of the skeletal whale, severing the head from the spine in one fell swoop. In turn, this also knocked the harpoon back into Grand Fisher’s hand.
Not that it was going to help much with what was going to happen next.
Oddly enough, the energetic remnants of the whale skeleton did not immediately disappear, but was instead caught up in the tornado, adding to it’s size and shrapnel.
“Now then! [Cosmic Counter Spin]!”
“Cosmic what?,” Zhen Shi asked in a confused tone, “what does that even-WHOA!”
The energetic tornado proceeded to ascend to a height even greater than the current fighters, before stopping at least a dozen feet above Grand Fisher’s head specifically.
In an act of what could only be described as “ironic martial revenge”, the tornado above Grand Fisher’s head began to launch a flurry of energetic strikes consisting of not only the bone fragments it had just acquired from smashing the bakekujira construct, but also a sizable amount of the spear strikes Grand Fisher had just peppered the ship with.
“More thieving charlatans?!”
Grand Fisher looked outraged as he was forced to block against not just one attack, but two of his own attacks in one big conglomerative mess.
If he could see expression of the warrior who was doing this time, he’d be even angrier.
Eventually the barrage stopped as the tornado stopped spinning, revealing the source to be a young blonde woman with decisively sharp features and an even sharper smile.
Like an elegant dancer, the woman proceeded to pirouette and leap midair until she landed right in front of Zhen Liu with an elegant spin.
“How was that, master?,” the young woman asked in a distinctive accent and a smile.
________________________________________________
[Seriously, how’d I do? And what is my alias?]
“Not bad…Rachel” Zhen Liu answered.
‘That was significantly more elegant than what we were planning.’
[Meh, I’ll worry about elegance when I’m not smashing in someone’s skull in.]
________________________________________________
“What the fuck…”
Zhen Shi was absolutely stunned at this development, because it was insane enough that Zhen Liu’s master was a warrior capable enough to injure this crazy fishman, but apparently the man had another disciple that was clearly stronger than his own grandson, and his own sons.
“Ay caramaba amiga! Learn some patience!”
“Slow…down…”
Correction, more than one other disciple that was significantly stronger than his sons and grandsons.
“Harriet. Frederick. Did you two make sure the rest of the people on board are okay?”
“Yes, master~”
“Of… course…”
Floating upward from the ship below came forth two more radically visually striking warriors.
“Hold up…do I recognize one of them?”
One was a tanned skin woman with blue hair and a distinctively electric behavior while the other was a mountain of a man that looked viciously familiar to Zhen Shi.
That being said, the giant and the tanned woman proceeded to ignore Zhen Shi’s presence in order to talk to Zhen Liu.
“So what’s the plan master?
“How…do…we…slay…him…?”
________________________________________________
[Are you sure we can’t just say hello? It seems kinda rude,] Hurricroak complained.
[Need…to…pretend…to be…aloof…,] Frosttusk answered.
[Fair enough.]
________________________________________________
“Insolent…thieves…,” Grand Fisher said for the third time this evening as he stared at the red horned warrior.
Why did he, this bastard, this monster, this unworthy knave, this thief, thief, thief!
Have her symbol?!
How did he create those kaijin?!
How long has it…
‘Wait…how long ago has she…. who…was….GGGAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH’
________________________________________________
‘Okay guys, we’re just gonna take this easy and-‘
*FWOOOOOOOOM!*
‘Goddammit.’
Just as Zhen Liu and the kaijin were about to make a plan of attack to slay or capture Grand Fisher, the abomination in question suddenly released a huge amount of [Chaos].
“YOuuuUUU ThhhhIIiEeevvvving WOOOoooOOormmnss!,” Grand Fisher yelled in a voice that sounded as if it was melting, “iiiiIiiii WiiiiiLllll takkkeeee ittttt baaaack!”
‘Of course this happened.’
