Chapter 34: They Probably Think You’re Family

Zishan noticed the movement.

Then, he noticed something else.

Several beasts farther behind him had suddenly abandoned their previous formations again.

One of the larger creatures stopped responding to its earlier commands and charged directly toward the nearest group of Olmost soldiers, completely ignoring the coordinated attack Larper had been attempting to organize.

Another beast suddenly attacked one of its companions.

Zishan’s eyebrows rose.

’Oh?’

He glanced toward Larper before examining the surrounding creatures again.

A rather wonderful possibility suddenly occurred to him. ’HAHAHAHA! SO YOU CAN’T CONTROL EVERYTHING WHEN YOU’RE BUSY DEALING WITH ME?!’

Apparently, the enemy Corporal’s control wasn’t nearly as effortless as Zishan had initially imagined.

The more attention Larper devoted to stopping him, the more difficult it became to maintain complete control over every beast participating in the attack.

Naturally, Zishan decided that he should become as troublesome as possible.

He accelerated toward another group of approaching creatures, forcing the enemy to redirect even more of his attention toward preventing the white-haired Soldier from reaching him.

Several Taming connections weakened as Larper redirected his attention, and another group of beasts immediately lost formation.

Farther behind Zishan, the Sergeant noticed several of the beasts suddenly abandon their formations. His eyes narrowed as he realized that the enemy Beast Tamer’s attention was now divided between controlling the horde and dealing with the white-haired Soldier charging toward him.

"THEIR TAMER’S DISTRACTED! TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!"

The Olmost soldiers attacked the disorganized creatures.

And Zishan was becoming increasingly delighted by this discovery. He didn’t necessarily have to kill every Magic Beast himself.

As long as he kept the enemy Corporal occupied, the Sergeant and his soldiers could deal with the creatures whose Taming connections had weakened. And considering that aggravating other people was one of his greatest natural talents, Zishan was beginning to believe that he had discovered another excellent assignment.

Larper had finally grown tired of allowing him to continue approaching.

The young Corporal abruptly withdrew several of his weaker Taming connections before leaping down from the damaged defensive structure. Mana gathered around his legs, and his figure suddenly accelerated toward Zishan, whose expression changed the moment he realized how quickly the bastard was approaching.

’OH, FUCK!’

He barely managed to raise his sword before Larper appeared directly in front of him.

Their weapons collided with a tremendous metallic impact, forcing Zishan backward as an enormous amount of force traveled through his arms. His boots scraped across the damaged ground, and for a brief moment, he genuinely thought his sword was about to fly out of his hands.

’WHAT THE FUCK?!’

Larper followed up with another attack, his narrow, curved blade sweeping toward Zishan’s shoulder.

The young Soldier twisted his body and narrowly avoided the strike, although several strands of his white hair were severed in the process.

Zishan’s expression darkened when he realized that the bastard had nearly ruined his beautiful hair! But he had absolutely no time to complain.

Larper launched another attack, forcing Zishan to raise his sword again while retreating several steps.

Despite his ridiculous Stats, Zishan realized that fighting an experienced Level 99 opponent was considerably different from massacring Magic Beasts with Wildfire Requiem.

The young Corporal possessed superior swordsmanship, excellent magical control, and enough physical strength to make every successful block feel like a personal insult.

Worse, he was still controlling several Magic Beasts while fighting. Nevertheless, Zishan wasn’t completely helpless, especially now that his Insatiable Warbody continued responding to the prolonged combat, and the temporary enhancements granted by Battle Pulse allowed him to react more comfortably than he would ordinarily have been capable of reacting at his Level.

More importantly, Larper was having difficulty maintaining complete control over the surrounding beasts.

Every time Zishan forced him to defend against another attack, several of the pale Mana threads extending from his body weakened.

One nearby beast abruptly abandoned its previous command and charged toward an entirely different section of the battlefield, while another began attacking indiscriminately. Zishan noticed both of their strange behaviors.

His grin gradually returned when he realized how much trouble his attacks were causing. ’HAHAHAHA! I’VE GOT YOU NOW, MOTHERFUCKER!’

Zishan increased the pressure, refusing to give Larper enough breathing room to regain complete control over his beasts. He still had his unspent distributable Stat Points available for an emergency, but he wanted to see how far he could push his opponent before resorting to them.

Their swords clashed again as Zishan attempted to strike Larper’s exposed side. The young Corporal deflected his blade and stepped forward, forcing Zishan to retreat when another attack came dangerously close to his chest.

Despite the physical enhancements provided by his Insatiable Warbody, Zishan was painfully aware of the difference between their combat experience and level. Larper’s movements were precise, and every time Zishan thought he had found an opening, the bastard would either force him into defending or turn his own attack against him.

’FUCK! CAN’T YOU MAKE A SINGLE MISTAKE?!’

Whenever the young Corporal concentrated on attacking him, several of those strands would weaken, causing the beasts connected to them to hesitate or abandon their formations. Zishan took advantage of that discovery by attacking whenever Larper tried to restore his control, forcing him to choose between defending himself and maintaining his commands.

Larper caught Zishan’s next strike against his blade and shoved him backward with enough force to make his arms ache. He followed with a thrust toward Zishan’s abdomen, but the young Soldier twisted aside and brought his sword down against the approaching weapon.

Their blades collided near his waist, sending another painful shock through his hands. Rather than attempting to overpower Larper, Zishan used the opportunity to move around his opponent and force him to turn away from the beasts he had been commanding.

The effect was almost instantaneous. Several Ridgefang Hounds abandoned their coordinated attack, while a heavily armored beast charged toward an opening that had already been reinforced by the Olmost soldiers.

Farther behind them, the Sergeant noticed the disruption and ordered his men to concentrate their attacks on the creatures that had lost their coordination. Without the Beast Tamer directing every movement, the defenders could finally isolate the larger beasts instead of facing another unified charge.

Larper’s jaw tightened when he noticed what was happening. He had already lost a considerable number of Magic Beasts, and now a Level 50 Soldier was deliberately interfering with his Taming Magic. Worse, the bastard appeared to be enjoying himself despite being forced onto the defensive throughout most of their exchanges.

Zishan grinned when he saw Larper attempting to restore several of his weakened connections. ’HAHAHAHA! SO YOU REALLY CAN’T DO BOTH, HUH?!’

Larper withdrew another portion of his Taming Magic and concentrated on the opponent standing before him. His next attack struck Zishan’s sword with such force that the young Soldier nearly lost his grip, although he managed to keep his footing by shifting his weight onto his rear leg. Zishan’s arms trembled from the impact, and he resisted the urge to attack recklessly when Larper raised his weapon again.

For several seconds, neither managed to land a decisive blow.

Zishan couldn’t afford to exchange blows carelessly against someone so far above his Level, while Larper had already discovered that ignoring the young Soldier for even a moment would give him another opportunity to disrupt his control over the horde.

"You," Larper suddenly said.

Zishan raised his sword when the young Corporal addressed him, keeping his attention on his weapon in case the bastard attempted another attack.

Larper glanced toward the burning battlefield, where the remains of his Magic Beasts were scattered across the western approach. His expression darkened when another explosion erupted among the surviving creatures, prompting him to return his attention to the white-haired Soldier standing before him.

"You’re the bastard who’s been killing my beasts."

Zishan stared at him for a moment before glancing toward the surviving Magic Beasts. A particularly wonderful response occurred to him, and he adopted what he considered an extraordinarily sincere expression.

"No wonder the beasts obey you; they probably think you’re family."