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Chapter 78: If Senior Were Here, One Move Would Be Enough to Kill You
🕑 Added 2025-01-09 23:13:36 +0000 UTCCharlot practiced for a while longer and then put on the Mask of the Cat again.
Wearing this wondrous artifact mask was akin to having the finest instructor. It allowed him to experience the most refined techniques of dagger-throwing and close-quarter combat, where every strike was perfected and flawless.
Charlot firmly believed that as long as he continued to put in the effort, he could truly master throwing knives. Even without the Mask of the Cat, he would still be able to wield them skillfully.
"I probably do have some talent for ranged combat, like shooting and throwing," Charlot murmured to himself.
As darkness fell completely, Charlot finally stowed away the Mask of the Cat and his assassin's dagger. Satisfied with his progress, he estimated that in another ten or so days, his throwing knife technique would be ready for actual combat.
However, he also noticed a shortcoming in his knife-throwing technique.
Controlling the knives required him to use Bloodflame Aura, which he also needed to recall the knives. There was a range limitation to controlling weapons with Bloodflame Aura. If the distance exceeded the limit, the connection would be lost, making it impossible to throw at full power, and the knives would slow down significantly.
Of course, the solution was simple: he could purchase a batch of ordinary throwing knives and use them without any intention of retrieval. The Bloodflame Aura could instead amplify the power and speed of the knives.
An even better solution would be to commission a set of extraordinary throwing knives capable of automatically returning to him...
Charlot, however, was unwilling to spend that much money—nor was it necessary. After all, he still had his Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle!
Charlot practiced throwing knives partly because he found the skill intriguing, and partly because using Bloodflame Aura to manipulate the Blood Rose and Vampiric Axe would benefit from improved technique.
Among the other three personas that the Mask of the Cat could manifest, one of them was naturally Aubrey Tildon Atwood, whose extracted skill was—shooting!
The shooting skills of this president of the Fierce Horse Detective Agency far exceeded Charlot’s own. While Charlot’s university-level shooting training merely allowed him to snuff out a candle at twenty paces, Aubrey Tildon Atwood’s marksmanship could shoot down birds mid-flight.
To Charlot, Aubrey Tildon Atwood's gunmanship was nothing short of godlike, a mountain far beyond his reach.
The other two personas were strangers to Charlot. Their extracted skills were Knightly Spearmanship and Swordsmanship, respectively.
Charlot only observed these briefly before losing all interest. While his martial skills weren’t exceptional, he had studied traditional academic swordsmanship during his time at the national institute and university. Compared to that, these two individuals’ Knightly Spearmanship and Swordsmanship were nothing more than mediocre techniques—not even worth practicing.
By now, it was already late at night. Charlot didn’t bother returning to his room. Instead, he reclined on a deck chair, closed his eyes, and quickly seemed to drift off to sleep.
An hour later, Charlot still hadn’t stirred. A shadow silently rose, revealing three glimmering throwing knives in hand—just as a gunshot rang out.
The brown-haired, gray-eyed assassin wielded his blades with lightning speed, parrying the bullets with a series of metallic clangs. He let out a soft exclamation: “You knew I was hiding nearby all along?”
Charlot had no interest in answering. When he was practicing with throwing knives earlier, he had activated Eye of Insight. By sheer coincidence, it had scanned the assassin lurking on the roof.
The Eye of Insight automatically activated in the face of danger, but this assassin had extraordinary abilities that perfectly concealed his killing intent. Therefore, Eye of Insight couldn’t warn Charlot in advance. But once he actively triggered it, the assassin’s stealth was futile.
Charlot intentionally waited for the assassin to make his move. He knew regular bullets wouldn’t harm this opponent, but the Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle was too cumbersome to fire stealthily.
After firing a shot, Charlot dropped the Magnum Mauler, leaped up, and shouted, “Senior! Lend me a hand!”
The brown-haired, gray-eyed assassin flinched in shock. He was well aware of the First Rose’s reputation. Menielman was not famed solely for her beauty; she was a true high-ranking Transcendent, her swordsmanship ruthlessly unparalleled.
The assassin’s knives spun in his hands as he engaged Charlot in a fierce exchange of over ten moves. Just as he attempted to retreat and recover his strength, he suddenly felt a sharp breeze behind him. A Vampiric Axe sailed toward him. He barely managed to tilt his head to avoid it, but the axe suddenly “jumped” and smashed into the back of his head.
Charlot had initially been cautious of the assassin’s extraordinary speed. However, after deducing that his opponent’s ability was Leopard’s Hunt, he became far less apprehensive.
While Leopard’s Hunt provided a burst of speed, its energy consumption was enormous and unsustainable. After each wave of attacks, the user would need time to recover and reset their combat state.
At first, Charlot didn’t dare divide his attention. But now, he could leisurely exploit openings to ambush the assassin with the Vampiric Axe.
Struck hard by the Vampiric Axe, the assassin felt dizzy, but his “intellect” returned as he yelled, “There’s no Menielman here at all!”
Charlot laughed. “Of course not! If Senior were here, one move would be enough to kill you. Why would I need to lift a finger?”
Enraged, the assassin launched a storm of furious attacks.
Charlot met each strike calmly. The Arsilo Family Swordsmanship in his hands once again resonated with the opening movements of the Twelve Angelic Melodies—Fire of Dawn! With the advantage of Eye of Insight and the Magical Rapier, he defended himself steadily.
The two clashed for over a hundred exchanges. Although Charlot remained on the defensive, he was far more composed than during their previous battle.
Half of this progress was due to the throwing knife training he had done earlier. By instinctively comparing it to the Arsilo Family Swordsmanship, Charlot gained a deeper understanding of the technique.
The Arsilo Family Swordsmanship was famed for its bizarre, ruthless, and unpredictably swift strikes, as quick as flashes of lightning.
Charlot had gone through numerous battles, but many of the swordsmanship’s subtleties still eluded him. He had simply executed the inherited moves without fully grasping their essence.
During this intense fight with the brown-haired, gray-eyed assassin, a sudden flash of insight struck Charlot, unlocking several new variations in his technique.
The Magical Rapier flickered like a flame, infused with the essence of the Fire of Dawn.
The assassin launched six consecutive knife strikes, forcing Charlot’s rapier aside, then retreated swiftly and leaped onto the roof.
Charlot hurled the Vampiric Axe, but two throwing knives shot toward him in response. Forced to deflect the knives with his sword, Charlot momentarily lost control of the axe. The assassin easily dodged the Vampiric Axe and disappeared into the darkness after a few swift bounds.
Charlot grabbed his Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle and also leaped onto the roof, but not even the Eye of Insight could detect the enemy now. Clearly, the assassin had already fled far away.
Sighing, Charlot muttered to himself. He didn’t relish being targeted by such a formidable assassin. With abilities like stealth and Leopard’s Hunt, this opponent was incredibly troublesome. Twice now, Charlot had managed to injure the assassin, but each time, the killer escaped.
“According to the rules of the Orc Assassin Alliance, if I kill this assassin, they’ll only send more people. How am I supposed to solve this problem?”
“For now, I have no way of dealing with this assassin organization...”
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