CONFLICT

King Arthur was known for his might as well as his critical thinking skills. He was also someone who repeated the same teachings that he was taught in his early life, later passing them on to his children. One of his sayings was "Only a fool attempts success without the proper tools." which means that one should not go into a situation without assessing it and determining what is needed to overcome it. Marlin thought about this while attacking this giant beast. He jumps back and reassesses, noticing that the rapier did not get through the beast's exterior.

"So much for a sneak attack, huh?"

Kibe retorts.

Wazuki jumps to a tree and begins to shroud himself into the leaves while Marlin and Kibe approach the beast. Shinji covers the rear. Though Muto did not exactly tell them what they were fighting, they were all familiar with a beast of this caliber.

The Armored Saber Tiger is known throughout Sai Kido for being a beast whose durability is its most notable trait. Though it is inherently weaker than most threatening beasts, its ability to take hits as well as its growth potential during instances make it a formidable species. It is classified as a Tier 1 monster.

"Well if your attacks don't work then allow me to take it on!"

Kibe's right arm transforms into its draconic state and he pulls his longsword from his shield. He runs at the monster, slashing at it and making a small incision then punching it with his Dragon Arm as a follow-up. He jumps back and charges a Dragon Shot but the beast turns and smacks him into a tree. Seeing this, Marlin attempts to devise a strategy.

"Why are we even fighting it one by one? What was your name? Shinji? Attack when I give the order."

Shinji, while rushing directly towards the blindspot of the monster, retorts

"Since when do I take orders from someone who doesn't even show those who travel with him his face?"

"You stubborn-"

Shinji jumps at the beast and places both his hands on its legs.

"Drain Touch!"

A dark eerie aura forms around Shinji's hand and green energy is absorbed from the beast.

Shinji used this by determining that he currently has nothing that can damage the Armored Saber Tiger as the exoskeleton is much too sturdy for his current level of magic to go through. Drain Touch at first glance, takes chi from beings until they no longer have any left but if a Dark Cultivator continues to use it after taking all the chi from a being, it begins to drain their life force as a result. Low tier beasts tend to have no chi which makes it easier to siphon life force from them.

Shinji jumps back and the beast begins to observe him more than before. Kibe begins to get up and imbues his longsword with the light affinity.

"Alright! Let's just go first, M!"

"As long as you don't get in my way!"

Kibe and Marlin rush at the beast while Shinji gets back into his position.

Excalibur changes into a brown longsword with three holes aligned vertically in the center.

(If piercing you will not work then I have to change my approach.)

"My ever-changing blade will defeat anyone! Crush him! Excalibur: Quaking Wrath!"

Marlin uses Chi Stride to allow the first hit and makes contact to the side of the stomach and when the hit connects, Excalibur lets off a vibration that knocks the creature back. Marlin notices that some sort of damage was taken due to a small piece of the Saber Tiger's exoskeleton cracking.

"Alright! Now my attack can do some damage!"

Kibe takes his longsword and slashes that same area continuously and jumps back after landing four strikes. Shinji tries to divert the attention to himself and grabs the leg of the beast, inflicting it with Drain Touch. The three continue to attack, while trying to dodge the claws of the beast until it lets out a roar so loud that the birds begin to fly from the trees on the hill. The three boys are stopped by this roar.

(I-I can't move!)

Kibe thinks to himself.

Beastial Roar is an ability which many creatures are able to use. It employs a sound which can carry various effects depending on the creature that uses it. The Armored Saber Tiger is not very fast due to its large build and therefore is unable to catch things that are faster than it. This is why it uses a roar which temporarily stuns an entity depending on how much fear they currently hold, which under normal circumstances, creatures have some sense of fear when facing a bigger threat.

The tiger then swings its giant spiky tail and spins it in a circular motion, in an attempt to hit everyone around it while they are stunned. The swing begins to gather force as the first person who would get hit is none other than Shinji, who closes his eyes to receive the attack.

Fortunately, the attack is stopped prematurely and when Shinji opens his eyes, he sees Wazuki holding a broken greatsword and barely blocking the attack.

"I need a better weapon if you want me to help."

"Right! Upgraded Fusion!"

Kibe fuses two longswords in his spatial ring into one greatsword and throws it to Wazuki.

Marlin gets into his stance and readies his sword.

"Alright. Shinji, distract it while I make more openings for the other two."

Shinji sighs

"I believe I told you to stop ordering me around."

"This is not the time!"

Wazuki, fed up by the constant arguing between the two boys, speaks up.

"Enough! It's coming."

The beast runs at Wazuki in an attempt to bite him but the latter blocks the attack using the greatsword. However, He notices something during this encounter which was that the monster had not attacked with nearly enough power to do lasting damage. He did not understand why initially but eventually came to a conclusion. Unfortunately, it was too late. The first attack was a feint but no one noticed.

The beast swings its tail and knocks both Marlin and Shinji in opposite directions. Marlin softened the damage by blocking with Excalibur but still took a large amount of damage while Shinji is sent flying through the trees, falling unconscious.

"Shinji!"

Kibe's eyes turn into that of a dragon as he begins to rush towards the beast but gets held back by Wazuki.

"What are you doing?!"

Wazuki speaks but at a level where he can barely be heard.

"Enough. We have a task to complete. If you three are going to get in my way by being at each other's necks then I will handle it myself."

Wazuki activates his spatial ring and summons all of his weapons to the area.

(Complete the mission at all costs.) He thinks to himself.

He picks up his bow and points it at the tiger, aiming for its eye. Though the mask is durable, it still requires a hole so the Armored Saber Tiger can see. He shoots the arrow but the tiger moves its head slightly to dodge but in that instant, Wazuki uses Shadow Step to appear behind it.

(It may be durable but it is not unbreakable.)

"Assassin's Bane!"

This is a technique which utilizes the stealthy fighting style of a Hyakki to make them do more damage. It works by attacking an entity who is unaware of an incoming attack and vastly increases the damage as a result. This can normally only be used with daggers and bows as they are the Hyakki family's weapons of choice but due to being a weapon master, Wazuki is able to use it on all of his bladed weapons.

His blade glows purple and he slashes the back of the tiger with his greatsword making a noticeable cut on its hind leg with the sword getting stuck in its leg. Wazuki then utilizes his Shadow Step once more and appears directly in front of the beast who loses sight of him and puts on a pair of gauntlets, jumping above the beast then smashing it into the ground. Its mask cracks and it begins to get back up while Wazuki gets into his stance.

The Saber Tiger and Wazuki prepare to face off.