Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Knee Struck by Sword and Arrows

People in the human trafficking business usually had some combat abilities. At the very least, they wouldn't be easily taken down by beginners like Adrian. They skillfully raised their knives to block his attacks.

With each strike, Adrian noticed that the guy's strength didn't seem all that great. It felt mismatched with his size, and he even grinned arrogantly after blocking Adrian's attack. Why didn't he immediately counterattack?

Although Adrian was prepared to adjust his posture after being pushed back, and he had considered how to respond to the opponent's counterattack, he never expected the guy to not counterattack at all. It seemed like he was getting too carried away with himself after blocking.

Adrian was used to initiating attacks after the first move and had almost forgotten how to take the initiative. Now that he suddenly gained the upper hand, he was a bit uncomfortable.

"I thought you were a King, or at least a Diamond, but turns out you're just Silver?" Having been beaten down by Artoria and Tom many times, Adrian believed that he could only handle street thugs. He never thought that this human trafficker would be just a little stronger than the street thugs!

This revelation gave Adrian a sense of assurance. He decided to see if his magic was effective.

"Strike of the heavy mountain!" He randomly shouted a name, but in reality, it was just a basic downward strike, enhanced with a bit of magic.

Clang!

"Ah!" The human trafficker he was facing hastily used his sword to block horizontally, but he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his wrist and his arm went numb. The large blade slipped out of his hand, leaving a deep gash on his chest.

Adrian was astonished as he looked at his sword. He hadn't used much force, yet he managed to send his opponent's weapon flying. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a small dent on the blade. This sensation was really strange.

Meanwhile, Artoria was busy dealing with six people simultaneously, displaying signs of strain. To be honest, she fought at full strength, and she wasn't adept at holding back. It was only after practicing with Adrian for so many days that she became accustomed to the rookies' attacking patterns, allowing her to kill these men without hesitation.

Tom, on the other hand, was busy observing the scene. He didn't want to interrupt Adrian's sword practice, and he also didn't dare to provoke the intimidating Peterman. After some contemplation, he finally made up his mind and used his sword to poke one of the men attacking Artoria on the buttocks.

"Ah~oh~roar~~~" The man let out a scream that sounded very similar to Tom's, clutching his buttocks as he jumped about three feet in the air.

After landing, he immediately retreated from the fray, glaring at Tom in anger.

Seeing this reaction, Tom suddenly stopped feeling afraid. He assumed a fencing stance, even showing a hint of excitement on his face.

"Damn it, die!" Feeling provoked by a cat, the man couldn't bear the humiliation. He had forgotten that this cat needed to be captured alive and swung his sword down at Tom.

"Ahaha!" Tom burst into laughter and casually used his sword to knock the attacker's blade aside. Seizing the opportunity, he raised his sword and thrust it into the man's knee.

In the next second, the man dropped to his knees as an arrow narrowly missed Tom's scalp, shaving a part of it and taking away Tom's black wide-brimmed hat in the process.

But the arrow didn't stop; it continued its trajectory, hitting the knee of Tom's opponent.

Peterman had heard rumors that the girl guarding the tavern was strong, and Tom, being a cat, was negligible. Moreover, the tavern's little owner was rumored to be weaker than the cat, so he decided to bring his gang to confront them head-on.

However, he never expected the seemingly frail little girl to possess such strength. She had instantly taken down two of his men, and now she was holding her own against five or six attackers.

The little owner wasn't as weak as rumored, and even the cat knew how to use a sword!

If he had known about their strength at the tavern earlier, he would have disguised himself, approached cautiously, and suddenly attacked them. But now it was too late for regrets; his gang was already engaged in a fierce battle, and Peterman couldn't stand by idly. As their leader, he had come primarily for the cat.

Peterman swiftly strung his bow and aimed at Tom's shoulder. He couldn't aim for vital areas if he intended to capture him alive. He was confident in his archery skills and was determined not to shoot anywhere lethal.

Seizing a moment when Tom was occupied, Peterman released an arrow.

However, Tom, experienced in dealing with surprise attacks, bent his head down, expertly avoiding the arrow. Well, he didn't avoid it perfectly. Tom's eyes rolled back as he looked up to see his bald spot and touched the bare scalp. His expression indicated that he was on the verge of tears.

The arrow had struck Tom's opponent right in the knee. The unlucky guy howled in pain, clutching his knee, rolling around on the ground.

After successfully donning his hat, Tom realized who was responsible for his bald spot. He glared angrily at Peterman, his nostrils emitting white vapor as he lifted his sword, approaching Peterman.

For an instant, Peterman felt like he had done something wrong. He experienced an irrational sense of guilt, a kind of inexplicable unease. Did he do something terribly wrong? After all, he was a human trafficker who did wrong things every day.

Tom marched toward Peterman with an air of rage. With every step he took, he rubbed his hand over his bald spot. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he turned around to approach the guy who had an arrow sticking out of his butt. He removed the arrow and his hat from the guy's buttocks.

"Ah!" The unfortunate human trafficker felt the pain of a second injury as Tom removed the arrow. He grimaced, clutching his wounded buttock as he rolled on the ground in agony.

Tom put on his hat again, feeling sympathetic for the guy's suffering. He gently pushed the arrow back into the wound. Given the guy's rolling speed, an ordinary person wouldn't have been able to push the arrow back in.

This action baffled Peterman. What kind of devilish cat was this? Was there such a torturous cat in the world?

Frustrated, he released another arrow in quick succession.

As Tom marched toward Peterman, he waved his sword, knocking away the arrows Peterman had shot at him one after another.

Peterman refused to believe it and shot four more arrows in succession. Each arrow was aimed at one of Tom's limbs. He felt that these arrows would be the pinnacle of his archery career, a miraculous set of arrows!

However, Tom didn't change his walking posture at all. He casually swung the Western sword in his hand, and soon screams rang out:

"Ah!!!" *5

All five arrows that Peterman had shot hit the buttocks of the five men who were attacking Artoria.

Without exception, all five men clutched their buttocks, leaping three feet into the air. Their tongues seemed

to stretch out impossibly long, and they even appeared to hang in the air for several seconds.

Finished writing, Adrian glanced back and realized that the protagonist's fight was quite boring, lacking the entertainment value of Tom's actions. He thought about changing the protagonist's label to that of a supporting character instead...