Hunter [54]: Flourish

"Leg Type: Crown Splitter!"

Akaza lifted one leg and executed a series of fierce kicks in rapid succession towards the head of the crouching Lin Jiu.

Lin Jiu lowered his sword and rolled to his left, his figure appearing behind and to the left of Akaza. He slashed diagonally at Akaza's legs, attempting to set up an attack on his neck.

However, the snowflakes at Akaza's feet had already sensed Lin Jiu's sword and immediately changed his move.

"Leg Type: Crown Splitter!!"

Akaza shifted his posture, supporting himself on his hands, and like a scorpion striking with its tail, he fiercely kicked upwards toward Lin Jiu's head from below.

If Lin Jiu insisted on attacking, Akaza's hands would be severed, which wouldn't affect him much. But if Akaza's tail strike landed on Lin Jiu's head, it would surely inflict heavy damage.

Lin Jiu reacted swiftly, raising his arm and executing a series of slashes to block Akaza's kick. The Nichirin Blade, with a sharpness rating of +3, cut through Akaza's defense like paper.

A section of Akaza's leg was sliced off, and simultaneously, Lin Jiu advanced, delivering a sudden knee strike. Akaza felt a chill in his lower body; in his current pose, being struck by Lin Jiu would inevitably cause him great distress.

Akaza raised a hand and punched the ground, using the force to propel himself into the air. Lin Jiu barely managed to collide with Akaza's thigh.

As Akaza rose and landed, the severed portion of his leg had already regenerated.

"Although I can't sense your aura, you're a worthy opponent!"

Akaza grinned, staring at Lin Jiu.

Lin Jiu did not respond. Being able to cut off Akaza's leg was only because Akaza underestimated the sharpness of the Nichirin Blade. Now that he had experienced it, it would be harder to injure him. With his Compass Needle activated, Akaza's sensing ability was not inferior to Lin Jiu's, and his reaction speed was even better, making it more difficult to harm him.

"Air Type!"

Akaza's attack once again swept through the air. Lin Jiu sidestepped and blocked with his sword. The force of Akaza's punch impacted the sword and Lin Jiu's arm, pushing him back.

Lin Jiu glanced at his health, noting that this blow had reduced it by 8%. However, his objective was achieved; seeing that he had escaped the range of the Air Type, Akaza charged forward.

Seizing the opportunity, Lin Jiu stepped forward, his right foot moving forward, toes pointing outward, legs bent into a resting stance. At the same time, his upper body twisted to the right, using the momentum to slash horizontally at Akaza's throat.

Compared to the sword techniques paired with the breathing styles of the Demon Slayer Corps, Lin Jiu's swordsmanship was plain, lacking any special effects. But his quick change of moves caught even Akaza off guard.

Akaza could only raise his arm to block the sword. Seeing that he only severed Akaza's forearm, Lin Jiu immediately retreated. As expected, the next moment, Akaza's other hand slammed down, but Lin Jiu dodged quickly enough, and Akaza's fist smashed a large hole in the ground.

Using the cover of the sand and dirt, Akaza charged at Lin Jiu. Seeing Akaza's forearm regenerate, Lin Jiu cursed under his breath and moved towards Akaza, thrusting his sword.

Seeing that Lin Jiu was advancing instead of retreating, Akaza was not alarmed but delighted. Even if the Nichirin Blade pierced his throat, it wouldn't be fatal, but he could use this chance to unleash a combo and heavily injure Lin Jiu.

"Something's wrong..."

Akaza immediately withdrew, dodging to the side. Lin Jiu's wrist twisted, and the originally straight thrust turned into a swift horizontal slash, aiming at Akaza's throat.

If Akaza hadn't dodged, the sharpness of Lin Jiu's weapon would have easily severed his neck, a defense he couldn't afford to ignore.

Akaza, suffering a minor setback, distanced himself and fully released his senses.

"How interesting! Your aura isn't particularly strong, which makes my Compass Needle less sensitive to you. Your seemingly simple slashes and thrusts are so elusive!"

Akaza gazed at Lin Jiu as if he had found a beloved toy.

"Damn it!"

Lin Jiu glared at Akaza. The flourish was the essence of his swordsmanship. A single flourish contained both offense and defense, with endless variations.

However, Lin Jiu's sword had a unique shape, resembling a knife. Among the basic moves of thrusting, slashing, and blocking, he excelled at thrusting and slashing, and could only use horizontal flourishes.

Lin Jiu often practiced the basic flourish technique to train his wrist's flexibility. It could be said that he was using a sword technique with a blade, making his moves appear ordinary yet incredibly agile.

Akaza's martial arts were straightforward and powerful but lacked variation. Therefore, before battle, Akaza would activate his Compass Needle with a snowflake pattern to compensate for this flaw.

Lin Jiu's aura was not fully detected by the Compass Needle, reducing its enhancement of Akaza's sensing ability. With their sensing and reaction abilities being roughly equal, Lin Jiu's agile variations gave him an advantage, making it difficult for Akaza to gain the upper hand.

This stalemate altered Lin Jiu's combat strategy from his previous battle with Doma, where he had actively suppressed Doma with his combat skills. Against Akaza, he adopted a flexible defensive counterattack, seeking openings during Akaza's assaults.

...

"Hey!"

"My name's not 'Hey!' It's White!"

"…"

"What is it?"

"Someone seems to be fighting over there."

Although Summer didn't want to talk to White, he still spoke up.

"Let's go and take a look."

White's eyes showed a look of interest.

Summer frowned and said, "We came out to gather information about the protagonist group's itinerary. It's better not to get involved in other matters. Aren't you afraid of getting scolded by Drunkard?"

White righteously said, "You already said there's a commotion from fighting over there. How could ordinary people cause such a disturbance? It might be some valuable information."

Summer thought this guy had a point, so the two of them quietly approached the source of the commotion. In this open wilderness, they could see two figures fighting from a considerable distance, and the commotion was quite significant; otherwise, it wouldn't have caught their attention.

"Can you see who it is?"

White asked Summer, as Summer was a contractor focused on reconnaissance and long-range capabilities.

Summer shook his head and said, "I can only make out the general situation. One is unarmed, and the other is using a sword. The one with the sword is likely from the Demon Slayer Corps."

"Why don't you take out your scope and have a look?"

White asked, puzzled.

Summer frowned and said, "You're an amateur. Did you see the intensity of their fight? It's very likely a battle involving a Hashira. At this level, if we use a scope to aim at them, they will instantly sense our presence. Their perception is sharp, and the focus of scope is easily detectable."

"So, using a scope is less effective than getting closer and observing with our eyes."

White mused.

"That's not entirely accurate; it depends on the situation. There are only two of us. If we're detected and killed first, what then? It's better not to meddle."

Summer stated frankly.

However, White stared at the intersecting figures in the distance and pondered, "The commotion is at least a Hashira-level battle. A Hashira wouldn't need to struggle this much to kill a Lower Moon demon, which means the other one is very likely an Upper Moon demon. Isn't this the opportunity we've been waiting for?"

Summer's heart skipped a beat. This White had some strategic thinking. He then realized that they were out here to investigate the protagonist group's itinerary to confirm the battle between Upper Moon Six and the Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui, so they could take advantage of the situation.

Now, it seemed very likely that an Upper Moon demon was fighting a Hashira right in front of them. The opportunity was right there.

"Let's get closer and take a look."

Summer crouched down and, along with White, slowly approached the battleground.

As they got closer, they could feel the ground shaking, dirt flying, and the impact of the energy.

"Holy crap! That's Upper Moon Three Akaza!"

White confirmed the identity of the unarmed figure.

Summer thought there was no need for such a big reaction if it was Akaza. They had already speculated that it was likely an Upper Moon demon, so it wasn't surprising it was Akaza. He looked up and saw.

"Holy crap! That's a contractor!"

At first glance, Summer realized that Akaza's opponent wasn't one of the Nine Hashira. He saw that the person distanced themselves from Akaza and drank a recovery potion, undoubtedly a contractor.

White crouched down, still stunned, "No way! How can a contractor be evenly matched with Akaza!"

"Did you forget that Old Wood encountered a contractor from the Demon Slayer Corps who could spar with the Ice Demon Doma? If I'm not mistaken, it's this guy!"

The poor contractors from the demon faction were out of the loop and still didn't know that Doma was already dead.

"What do we do now?"

White asked.

Summer thought for a moment and said, "Retreat!"

"Just leave like that?"

"What else? This guy isn't a Hashira. Whether he lives or dies has nothing to do with our mission."

Summer decisively chose to leave. Staying to help Akaza had a significantly higher risk of death.

With Akaza's personality, if they jumped out and offered to help, they might be the first ones he would kill.