MTLNOVEL Chapter 102: I Told You, I'd Win
Within the dimly lit underground bar, the Honkai soldier and Shu faced each other. Shu's eyes darted around, rapidly assessing his surroundings, searching for anything that could give him an edge.
Although Shu had a strange, almost unfounded confidence in his abilities, just like before, the sight of the two tachi in the soldier's hands made his heart pound.
Guns? Guns are garbage!
The standoff didn't last long. With a faint rustle, the soldier exploded into motion, appearing instantly before Shu, a blade slashing down towards his neck.
Anticipating this, Shu ducked, twisting his body to the side, simultaneously kicking a nearby bar stool into the soldier's leg.
A normal person would have flinched at such an impact, but the soldier, struck squarely in the knee, merely paused, then shifted direction, continuing its relentless advance towards Shu.
Shu glanced at the soldier's white armor, mentally assessing its strength. Looks like this armor is good stuff. Just not sure if it's actual armor or some kind of exoskeleton.
I'll have to peel it off later and see.
Lost in thought, Shu swiftly overturned a table, placing it between himself and the soldier, then grabbed a metal baseball bat leaning against the wall.
Finally, a decent weapon!
Shu glanced at the bat in his hand, appreciating its solid weight for the first time.
The overturned table was sliced cleanly in two, the soldier's advance not even faltering.
Gripping the bat, Shu swung with all his might.
While the soldier's ability to dodge bullets had left Shu speechless, it seemed to have allocated all its skill points away from melee dodging.
It didn't dodge at all!
The bat connected solidly with the soldier's raised arm, deflecting the incoming blade.
Seizing the opportunity, Shu closed the distance, grabbing the soldier's wrist and pulling it back.
They were closer than ever before. The soldier's hands still gripped its tachi, while Shu had already discarded the baseball bat.
At this range, fists and daggers were far more effective than swords!
With a flick of his wrist, a shard of broken glass appeared in Shu's hand. Gripping it like a makeshift dagger, he reversed his grip and stabbed it deep into one of the few exposed areas on the soldier's leg, between the plates of its armor.
The glass shard slid in without resistance. Shu silently thanked whoever designed the armor for prioritizing aesthetics over practicality.
At the same time, he cursed them internally. If you're going to design something, go for simple and brutal! Didn't the bikini armor memo get around?! Why bother with all these complicated plates?!
Despite the deep wound, no blood flowed. It seemed the soldier's body was truly desiccated.
Shu glanced up. The soldier turned its head at the same moment, their eyes meeting.
Its gaze was still devoid of any emotion, as if Shu's actions were utterly inconsequential.
Maintaining his close-quarters advantage, Shu swiftly withdrew the glass shard, then, still gripping the soldier's wrist, slashed at the other exposed area on its upper arm.
As the shard neared the soldier's face, it finally reacted, struggling against Shu's hold and narrowly avoiding a disfiguring injury.
The soldier swung a tachi, attempting to counterattack. Shu, still holding its arm, twisted his body, deflecting the blow and, with the glass shard, slashed towards the soldier's eye.
He wanted to destroy those eyes that had stared him down so many times.
I hold grudges!
Moreover, Shu was almost certain the soldier used its sight to lock onto targets; otherwise, it wouldn't have turned its head to follow him during his earlier sideways dash.
Destroying its eyes would significantly increase his chances of survival.
The soldier swung its tachi again. This time, it maintained its balance, preventing Shu from using the same tactic. He was forced to retreat half a step to avoid the attack.
But his grip remained firm.
The soldier, lacking the capacity for strategic thought, didn't know how to create an advantageous position. Shu, however, did.
Close combat was his advantage, and he wouldn't relinquish it easily.
With a sharp tug, Shu closed the distance again.
The limitations of the long swords became apparent. After one swing, the soldier couldn't bring its second blade to bear in time. Shu's makeshift dagger, reversed in his grip, stabbed towards the soldier's eye once more.
"Shhhk—!"
This time, there was no resistance. The jagged edge of the glass shard pierced the soldier's grayish-amber eye, and a dark, reddish-black fluid sprayed from the wound.
The liquid splattered onto Shu's hand, icy cold to the touch.
There was no foul odor, nor the metallic tang of blood. The only blood Shu smelled was his own, dripping from the wound on his face.
Its vital point struck, the soldier finally reacted, its arm thrashing wildly, throwing Shu off balance.
The fluid on his hand acted as a lubricant, and Shu lost his grip on the glass shard, leaving it embedded in the soldier's eye socket.
He didn't try to retrieve it.
If it had slipped once, it could slip again. It was no longer a weapon, but a double-edged sword, as likely to harm him as his enemy.
Moreover, the shard was simply too short to deliver a fatal blow.
He needed another way to end this fight!
And that was—the soldier's own swords!
He had to disarm it! He had to bring the fight to the ground!
It's just like thumb wrestling! I've got experience with this!
Gritting his teeth, Shu grabbed one of the soldier's hands, putting his weight into the hold, preventing it from launching an effective counterattack.
While his hands wrestled with the soldier's fingers, his foot wasn't idle. He kicked hard at the injured leg, where he'd earlier embedded the glass shard.
The wound, though not bleeding, had clearly weakened the limb. The sudden kick buckled the soldier's leg, forcing it to its knees.
Seizing the moment, Shu dropped to the ground, dragging the soldier down with him.
The once elegant fight instantly became a chaotic brawl. Shu wrestled with the soldier, forcing it and its still-gripped tachi to roll on the ground.
The long swords became a hindrance, the floor preventing any effective swings.
Clearly, the soldier's body, though dead, still possessed potent combat instincts, but it hadn't anticipated such an unorthodox tactic.
One eye blinded, one arm restrained, unable to find purchase on the rolling ground, the soldier couldn't land a clean blow. Shu, meanwhile, expertly pried open its last gripped finger.
The tachi was his!
A slightly crazed grin spread across Shu's face. He scrambled to his feet, straddling the soldier, one foot pinning its remaining sword to the ground.
"It's over…" Shu licked his lips, the metallic tang of his own blood filling his mouth. He raised the tachi, holding it before the soldier's remaining eye, declaring victory.
"Which means—" A look of relief washed over Shu's face as he plunged the blade downwards.
"I win."