Chapter 613: One Weird Fighter
What the fuck?
This was the question that was running through the minds of all of the people watching the ongoing battle between Zhen Liu and Lin Fang.
Was the reason for this question because it was a one sided beatdown that happened too quickly?
No.
Was it because one of the fighters brought out a secret technique that hadn’t been seen in centuries?
No.
Or did the battle end in a manner that was statistically impossible?
No.
The reason for this question was quite simply due to one of the fighters clearly going insane.
Because what kind of crazy person uses an aether puppet like a projectile weapon, especially one three times their size?!
Answer: A crazy person…or at least someone who was following someone else’s lead…
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‘Well, that’s mildly infuriating,’ Zhen Liu thought to himself as he watched the Copper Oni zako being used as a springboard for Lin Fang’s plan of attack.
A part of him had seen it coming, due to the size difference between the two of them being rather noticeable and the tactic being something he had done once or twice before.
It didn’t mean he had to like it though.
‘Alright, lets knock this guy down to earth,’ Zhen Liu thought to himself as he began to crouch down in preparation for jumping and headbutting his opponent in the ribs.
However, just before he did so, the [Root Maiden] had stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder.
‘Huh?’
From what Zhen Liu could sense through his connection the evolved zako had a request…at least, that’s what it felt like.
Zhen Liu’s connection with the zakos was not the same as his connection to the kaijin.
In regards to the kaijin, Zhen Liu could tell what they were thinking and what they were feeling in any given moment. In some cases, he could even be them and vice versa.
The zakos on the other hand didn’t really have thoughts or an identity, but they had plenty of emotions. This meant that Zhen Liu had to interpret what they wanted through vague feelings in the back of his head.
Literally.
He had attempted in the past to use the kaijin as a go-between himself and the assigned zakos, but that didn’t pan out since the zakos and kaijin communicated on a level that could only be described as instinctual and almost predictive.
Regardless, this was the first time a zako had begun to show initiative and Zhen Liu figured he might as well give it a go.
[…]
‘Okay…you don’t want me to intervene since this is your first fight for real in a while…right?’
[!]
‘Alright, cool…but that guy is about to do a swan dive of blades right into my neck, so I unless I block or counter his ass, it’s not gonna-‘
[!!]
‘No, I have faith in your shield, the problem is that he is coming in at an angle that makes it tricky to use such defenses.’
[?!]
‘Wait, you want me to do what? Is that even safe?’
[!!!]
‘That…certainly explains the people shaped craters back home…you’re positive that you can hit him if I do that?’
[…]
‘I’m…incredibly certain there is a difference between hitting a person and hitting an armadillo with one’s own body, but I digress.’
[…]
‘Fine, if you think you’ll be able to deal with him in the air, I’ll give you a-‘
[!!!!!]
‘Wait, you too?’
And so, in the span of the few moments in which Lin Fang was airborne and about to dive on to Zhen Liu like he was a video game assassination target, the zakos had come up with a fool proof plan on how to stop him.
‘Ready?’
[!]
<
By having Zhen Liu throw them at Lin Fang.
‘I really hope this works.’
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[See, I told you it was a bad idea to use the zakos as lawn darts, and now they think its an actual battle tactic!]
[I mean…it kind of works…and you’re not allowed to judge amiga, you participated in those games too.]
[Only because my zako wanted to try it out…]
[Hey, that means you can’t blame me for your zako’s weird behavior!]
[Quiet…watching…her…do…her…thing!]
[Fine…]
[Razor, remind me to never abuse my zakos in that way.]
[Right back at you, Spring.]
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‘Oh hell, what the fuck?!,’ Lin Fang cursed as he saw the duo of aether puppets coming his way.
Due to the manner in which he chose to strike at Zhen Liu, Lin Fang was unable to maneuver mid air or at least change the angle so as to avoid any incoming attackers.
As it was, Lin Fang was set to go on a collision course with the strange aether puppets that Zhen Liu had literally thrown at him.
‘Shit, shit, shit! If I can’t avoid them, then I might as well pick the one I can at least try and counterattack against…not that either of them are a good choice for me to deal with…’
The two aether puppets were thrown in sequence, first the [Root Maiden] then the [Copper Oni], but they were coming at him from his left and right side, respectively.
‘Oh fuck, these damn things look even more vicious up close,’ Lin Fang cursed as he got closer to the aether puppets. He had a general idea how the damn things looked when they were staring each down, and when he used one as a springboard, but it was a very different feeling when one was about to collide with the damn things.
The [Root Maiden] was holding its shield up not in a manner that suggested it was going to block anything Lin Fang might throw at it, but that it was going to use the shield as a weapon to knock his ass out of the air.
Meanwhile, the [Copper Oni] had no obvious weapons to swing at Lin Fang, but the man realized that it probably didn’t need to, given how large and heavy looking its fists were.
From the way they were racing(falling/flying) towards each other, Lin Fang figured his only choices were to either engage with one of the puppets and hope to turn the situation around, or maybe try to dive right past the two puppets and attack Zhen Liu directly. Unfortunately, the latter option meant that he would be opening himself up to being attacked by the puppets without being able to retaliate.
It was, essentially, a lose-lose situation, but one of those losses was significantly more painful than the other.
However, just as he was about to grit his teeth and just attack one of the puppets instead, a thought came to him.
‘Wait a minute…maybe it doesn’t have to be painful. If I time this right…’
In the split seconds before he made contact with the puppets, Lin Fang made the decision to try and use the [Root Maiden] and its shield as a means to launch himself towards Zhen Liu and avoid the other puppet entirely.
If it worked the first time, then it should work a second time…right?
‘Here goes nothing!’
Without any chance to think it over or second guess himself, Lin Fang swung out one of his arms in an attempt to make contact with the [Root Maiden] and use the moment of impact to correct his orientation.
However, this would turn out to be a very bad idea.
*Thunk!*
*Groan…*
<
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‘Oh shit, he actually went for the Root Maiden…poor bastard,’ Zhen Liu thought to himself as he watched the [Root Maiden] make use of an ability back when it was a “normal” zako.
‘He might’ve had a chance if he went for the Oni instead…then again, I probably could’ve punched his ass out anyways…oh well.’
_____________________________________________
Moments after Lin Fang’s knife made contact with the large wooden shield, tentacle-like roots came bursting forth and ensnared his arm.
Evidently, he didn’t expect this to happen in the slightest and now he was trapped.
Instinctually, he tried to pull his arm free, using aether to enhance his strength in order to break the roots holding him in place.
‘Gotta-ah! What the fuck?!’
The moment he tried to leverage his aether however, the roots holding his arm began to grow even thicker and wrap even tighter as they greedily absorbed the aether Lin Fang was trying to use to enhance his strength.
Much to Lin Fang’s horror, he realized that the [Root Maiden] wasn’t just an obviously defensive type aether puppet, but one that was meant to serve as a trap to those who dared to engage it in unarmed, or at least close quarters combat, and he had fallen for it hook, line and sinker.
But that was only the start of his bad news.
‘Let me-wah!’
With his arm locked in place, Lin Fang had no choice but to be dragged by the [Root Maiden] as it swung it’s shield, not in order to throw him off or hit him, but so that the [Copper Oni] could have a clear shot.
In essence, Lin Fang was now stuck between a rock and a hard place, almost literally.
‘What the fuck do I do now?!,’ he thought to himself as his impending doom approached.
At this point though, there was only one option…
