Daru frowned as he turned, locking gazes with an unusually tall and muscular male Veshari who had a scar on his nose, brown hair tied into a man bun, and a greatsword shaped like inverted scissors resting on his shoulders.
He instantly disliked Halphar because of his choice of words.
"I am not a b*tch. Didn’t your mother tell you calling someone a b*tch is rude?" Daru reprimanded coldly, standing up and grabbing his tachi by the handle, ready to pull it out as needed. "Even I, who don’t have a mother, know this. You should be ashamed."
"Cough!" Halphar choked on his saliva, not expecting Otsuna’s response.
How the hell did the topic somehow drift into her not having a mother?!
"W-Well, my bad, then."
Caught off guard, the tall Veshari could only apologize, scratching his right cheek awkwardly.
"Fine, but never do it again." Daru followed up, shifting his focus to the Veshari reinforcement party.
There were at least twelve, including Halphar.
He then turned his attention to the tall Veshari’s nameplate.
==
Halphar
HP: 1,500 / 1,500
==
The trial name was written in red, causing Daru’s brows to raise in surprise.
"Oh, you’re an S-ranker? Your friend here said you’re an A-ranker..."
It was then that Akri laughed uproariously.
"Hahahaha! And you really believed it, huh, stupid b*tch?!"
Daru’s eyes narrowed, displeased again. He turned to look at Akri and glared at her coldly.
"Why is your race so fond of calling someone a b*tch? Are your brains so shallow that you find amusement in using such a vile word?"
"Heh, and so what?" snapped the female B-ranker Veshari back, unwilling to be outdone. "What are you going to do about it?"
Daru fell silent for a few moments, merely locking eyes with Akri.
"Fine, then. Since your parents are unwilling to teach you manners, I will do it."
It was then that Halphar chimed in.
"Hahaha! You’re quite the funny b– err, human. And how do you intend to teach her a lesson with me around, huh?!"
"You don’t have to worry about that. Now, will you fight me in a duel, or will you cower away and fight with your party?" Daru said, a faint smile appearing on his face.
The anger in his heart was momentarily replaced by the excitement of fighting a full-health S-ranker, who seemed to be competent, unlike the disappointing Alopecion from his race.
For a moment, the Vesharis froze in disbelief.
What is this human saying? Isn’t she screwed either way?
"Ha! Hahahaha!" Halphar burst out laughing, fascinated to encounter a nutjob from another race. "You’re challenging me to a duel, A-ranker human? Wouldn’t your loss be more embarrassing that way? At least if we gang up on you, you can say you were jumped."
"Ah, you don’t have to worry about that. First, I’m not fond of excuses, and second, I’ve yet to lose a duel against someone my age."
A dumb Veshari was rare. However, this didn’t mean there wasn’t one.
Halphar could be considered to be one, at least in Veshari standards, as the way of thinking engraved into their minds by their elders was that they should utilize every advantage they have, which, in this case, was numbers.
Why fight someone in a duel when you can just kill them together?
"Hahaha! Hoh, what a coincidence, eh?" The tall Veshari stretched his neck, fighting spirit ignited by the human bladeborn’s words. "I’ve also yet to be defeated by someone my age."
Halphar wasn’t lying.
He had even clashed with Ae’shkar and held his own well, though the battle didn’t happen in the Myriad Sword Realm.
"Hoh, you’re as strong as they say, Veshari?" Daru asked, pulling his sword out and striking a fighting stance as the tall Veshari walked closer.
"I am, I am. The question is, are YOU as strong as you’re saying?"
"Try me, then."
Halphar was already standing around thirty meters away from Daru by the time the latter’s last few words left his mouth, locking eyes with him.
Both had faint smiles on their faces as more than ten Veshari watched from the sides—some with amused grins, others with disdainful sneers, and a few with annoying smirks.
Only Ahfa, who was a fair bit smarter than most, was unsure.
While he was confident of Halphar’s abilities in combat, this Otsuna was "demonic" in A-ranker standards.
He was the only one who disapproved of this duel, thinking they should just kill the female human bladeborn together.
After all, if Halphar somehow lost, then they would be back to the same situation as earlier: a party of B- and C-rankers.
Ahfa had seen once how such a battle ended...
Another moment of fiery gazes later, Daru and Halphar suddenly disappeared, reappearing in front of the other and brandishing their weapons.
The strange greatsword and the tachi clashed.
To both combatants’ surprise, they were sent skidding back a few dozen centimeters after the clash.
Daru found it difficult to believe that a Veshari had such raw strength.
As for Halphar, he, too, found it difficult to believe that the pipsqueak female A-ranker in front of him had the same power as him—someone who was born with unconventional might and impossibly bigger bones.
"Hoh, not bad, human. But how long can you keep this up?" taunted the tall Veshari, who then slashed his greatsword two more times, sending a spinning gray crossing crescent flying his opponent’s way.
"Probably longer than preferable for you." Daru shot back, unhesitatingly dashing through the sword projectile.
He then jumped, turning into a red tornado.
To Halphar’s surprise, Otsuna was able to dodge the sword skill through immaculate timing and unmatched courage, slashing down at him upon arriving at prime striking distance.
*CLANG!*
An ear-piercing clanging noise then sounded as the two soulbound swords clashed once more.
’Kuhh...’
Had the tall Veshari not been focused enough, he would’ve been dealt lethal damage, if not outright killed in one strike.
He did well angling his sword, barely managing to block the human’s rather tricky sword skill.
In the next moment, Daru landed gracefully behind Halphar, immediately back to his fighting stance.
"Oh? Nice block, Veshari. You’re indeed quite skilled."