F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 222: Relic Hunt: The Sword (1)

"H-He didn’t enter the castle!" Gris exclaimed through the white ribbon.

Daru’s brows furrowed at the report, but then eased the next moment. He even seemed a bit relieved.

After all, wouldn’t ganging up on a depressed horror — whose life was hanging by a few thousand, perhaps mere hundreds of hitpoints — and was on a defeated march back to seek false comfort...seem a bit dishonorable?

It felt like they were some mean school bullies.

While nothing changed in the first and last parts, the middle part would at least be omitted, and they would only be fighting a half-HP Rocante.

This battle would be fairly manageable and wouldn’t leave a bad taste in his mouth.

Or so he thought...

"D-Daru, Caleb! Quick, he suddenly increased his speed! H-He has a desperate look on his ugly face!"

Gris definitely didn’t have to add the last part, but he did anyway.

The human duo’s eyes momentarily widened, as, the moment their Serpentkin comrade’s words ended, the hulking horror was already in view...and was well on the way to pass their hiding spot quickly.

Ascalon had a tendency not to act quickly when caught off guard, as he was someone who valued preparations very much.

But Daru wasn’t such a guy.

Without hesitation, two of him dashed out from behind a stone slab.

The hunt for The Sword’s relic had begun.

Somehow, despite their preparations, the start wasn’t as smooth as it should’ve been.

The desperate spurt was definitely unexpected.

Daru, dashing with everything he had from two sides, was finally noticed.

And Rocante...smiled creepily at him.

It was as though the horror was another desperate drug addict who suddenly found a fix.

He found the expression rather vile, but a battle was a battle, and he had to focus.

Daru temporarily hurled the inconsequential matter to the back of his head.

For now, it was his sword and his opponent’s gigantic stone greatsword. He could add his comrades to the equation once they’ve joined the battle.

Rocante lifted his weapon, sweeping at both attackers.

But Daru was already used to this common counter. He jumped, turning into a red tornado and slashing down as he passed the horror.

His heavy sword cut the skin cleanly.

But to his surprise, he was not able to cut the flesh well. The darned, underworldly muscles weren’t just for show.

Before Daru could land properly, however, he felt it.

Danger.

He instinctively looked at the source, and it was unsurprisingly Rocante, who was already on the attack again, a rather mad smile on his face.

The speed at which the horror reset was truly terrifying, and Daru felt as though he was being eyed as prey.

...Which he didn’t like.

His landing wasn’t as graceful as it usually was, but that was the least of his worries.

The gigantic stone sword was upon him.

Daru’s plan was not to have a direct clash of swords as much as possible, respecting the hulking monstrosity’s physicality, but he had no choice this time.

A piercing clang rang across the chosen battlefield, far from the usual produced by a clash between stone and metal.

The next moment, Daru felt his foot leave the ground again, but compared to La Filosa’s opening strike, his backward momentum was significantly more forceful.

He was truly sent flying this time.

Before he comprehended what had happened, Daru felt something hard on his back, but his momentum soon pushed him through it, and he felt like he would pass out as he landed on the ground a few dozen meters from where he dared clash with the hulking horror.

His arms felt completely numb, and Daru wasn’t sure if his sword was still in his hand.

"Ah...what...?"

The moment the pain and the realization caught up, he found himself staring at the gray skies, his body aching all over as a red damage value floated up:

[- 650]

Despite the root cause being a direct clash, Daru suffered almost a clean, twenty-percent damage to his total hitpoints.

There was definitely no way to survive a clean hit from the monstrosity.

"DARU!!" he suddenly heard the next moment, snapping him back to focus.

A gigantic stone sword was chopping down at him.

Daru’s eyes widened, and he hurriedly rolled to the side, dodging the attack that would’ve certainly ended him by the smallest of margins.

Rocante’s greatsword crashed heavily on the ashen, sending clouds of ash billowing and Daru rolling more violently.

He used the momentum to his advantage, rolling to his feet.

He was able to recover his footing, but his body...his body felt like crap, and it made focusing even harder.

Clearly, clashing with the hulking horror was a blunder that should be avoided at all costs.

"Ah...that really hurt..." Daru groaned with an inappropriate smile, combat instincts roused.

He gripped his tachi tighter while performing some preparatory steps, knowing by heart that his opponent would dash out of the smoke.

And Rocante did.

However, instead of dashing, the hulking horror lunged, crashing down at him with a mad smile.

Daru Swallow Stepped to the side, pivoting his foot and slashing his weapon down at his opponent’s thick wrist with all his might.

Putrid black blood spurted out in the next moment, splattering across the ashen ground and forming vile clots of ash.

But Daru only clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

His prediction was immaculate, and his swift counter could not have been cleaner. Yet, the cut he inflicted was moderate, at best, though probably more on the shallow side.

It was quite an easy tell with how the sensation felt.

Only, he didn’t have the luxury to allow such a matter to occupy his mind, as he wouldn’t be able to feel anything in the next moment if he didn’t move.

Daru quickly jumped back, narrowly avoiding a wild swing.

Rocante was quite the relentless fellow and would’ve chased after him...had the horror not suffered another, sudden, cunning cut on his Achilles tendon.

"How the hell is that part so tough?!" Caleb cursed through the white ribbon, landing a dozen meters to the right of the abomination.

Then, another moment later, ashen dust billowed behind Rocante and to his left as two more wretches skidded to a halt.

"Daru, we’ve arrived!"

"Damn...look at those juicy muscles..."

The Relic Hunting Cohort of Egress was in position.