Proud, Trashy Cockerel

Blink picked up his quarter staff. With the staff held by his right hand to the side, Blink taunted the gang, "Go ahead and show me what you got, useless bums!"

The scar-faced man just snorted at Blink. He drew out his saber and once again strutted like a proud cockerel.

"You look prettier than a girl. After we beat you half-dead, I'll make sure to enjoy you first before I kill you and feed your corpse to the wild beasts."

"You're not only a useless bum, you're an idiot too. The dust has not yet left your tongue, yet you proudly strut around and make useless threats like you've got any ability except to kiss the ground in a fight. I'll make sure you'll regret what you just said." Blink was totally enraged.

He walked towards the scar-faced guy meaning to destroy not only the man's body but his spirit as well.

"Just a lucky dodge and now you think you're invincible," the bandit replied.

He moved to meet Blink head on. Once again he projected a horizontal slash by moving his right hand past his left hand before swinging his saber.

Even a second-rate fighter would have seen the strike and evaded it so easily. As for Blink, he just stopped walking, having precisely calculated that the saber will miss him by several inches.

Blink lifted his quarter staff into the high guard stance. As soon as the blade passed, he stepped forward and smashed his staff into the exposed head of the scar-faced bandit. Then, Blink stepped sideways to the right, spun around and smashed the man's left knee viciously.

The man barely avoided getting wounded by his own blade as he slumped to the ground. He rolled over and held his busted kneecap while his mouth produced a blood-curdling scream.

His companions were still stunned and failed to react as Blink glided over the scar-faced guy, his hands already transitioning into the high guard stance. He was ready to smash his staff down as soon as his feet landed.

Another bandit kissed the ground, totally out cold.

The bandit next to the fallen guy thrust his sword towards Blink but the latter had long predicted this move. He simply stepped to the side, his staff in the high guard position thereafter. Another hard smash to the head. Three down, two to go.

The youngest bandit was now all nerves, he had to hold his dagger with both hands.

Blink decided to toy with him. He held the staff in the high guard position anew. He let the bandit see him about to bring down his hands, and the bandit stepped back while covering his lowered head with his two hands.

Upon knowing that he wasn't hit, the bandit thought that the staff must have missed him. He raised his head and was about to lower his hands when he saw that the staff was still in the high guard position. As soon as he saw Blink start to lower his hand again, the bandit hid inside his turtle shell once more. Again, the smash did not come down his head.

This time the bandit realized that the enemy was just feinting. He lowered his hands. Big mistake. As soon as his head was exposed, a light tap went down onto it.

Although the strike was just a tap, Blink made sure the bandit felt it. As soon as the latter raised his free hand to rub his head, Blink struck below the armpit under the raised hand. Yelping in pain, the bandit put his right hand over the swollen part under his left armpit.

Blink then slapped the right ear of his foe, the blow strong enough to make that ear ring. Instinctively, the right hand of the bandit, still holding the dagger, moved to where he was last struck. The dagger cut some of his hair while narrowly missing his flesh.

Blink followed up with a thrust to the solar plexus. The bandit keeled over. But before he could plop down on the ground, Blink rammed a palm strike to his chest. The guy got flung about five arms' length. When he landed, he rolled a few times before ending up on his stomach.

It was only three days ago that Blink started to learn palm techniques. He discovered a few pages of a manual on palm techniques folded among the pages of one of the books Master Tszarek bundled up for him. The tattered pages were obviously torn from a manual. Blink regretted that his master didn't have the complete manual, but the four defense-to-attack techniques from the four pages that Blink was able to practice was good enough to give him a wider array of moves.

Blink was still not satisfied with the power unleashed by his palm strike. However, against a mere bandit with low level skills, it was more than enough.

The bandit he struck with his palm coughed painfully, blood dripping out of his mouth.

There was only one man left standing among the bandits. Blink approached him, quarter staff held on each ends by both hands.

The cautious bandit threw away his weapons. He didn't want to fight. He was very clear from the beginning that the five of them together did not even stand a chance. He wasn't so foolish to think that he could beat the pretty boy in front of him.

"Please, young master, I told them not to bother you, but they just had to be stupid and pick a fight with you." The last bandit standing felt a chill creep up his spine to the base of his head.

The scar-faced guy had a moment of clarity. He eyed Blink with unrestrained fury. He was unwilling to accept losing to a seemingly harmless boy who's about half his age.

"Pretty boy, you had luck on your side today," he declared. "But next time I'll take you down on the first strike."

Blink regarded the man with unrestrained contempt.

"No wonder you're such a trashy fighter. You're simply too much of a moron."

The bandits didn't know it, but they caught Blink in a really foul mood. Before waking up that morning, he saw Berge in his dream. She was crying while being held in Flip's embrace. But what really upset him was that she was hugging him back.

Blink glared at the scar-faced man with sinister eyes.

"You know why you're such a trashy fighter? Because you're far too proud of your measly skills. Let's see you strut around like a cockerel after I'm done with you."

"You little shit!"

"Who told you you're allowed to talk!" Blink scolded the man. He slapped his staff to the man's battered knee. Just as the man howled in unspeakable pain, Blink slapped his throat with the staff.

The man choked violently. A few seconds later he started shaking like he was having an epileptic seizure.

Blink calmly waited until the man stopped shaking. He stood over the man's field of vision. When the man looked at him this time, there was fear in the man's eyes. Blink smiled a baleful smile.

"Your lesson commences now!" Blink said. He was beating his own palm with his quarter staff.