Chapter 51: Fang Tang’s Way of Battle

Cave No. 94.

Fang Tang looked at the kobold lying at his feet and awkwardly rubbed his nose.

“Should I not even use the Grand Dragonfinch of Xia?”

His luck while exploring the caves wasn’t great, but the Grand Dragonfinch of Xia never failed to strike a critical blow. Of course, it was always that unspeakable spot.

Fang Tang even began to suspect that the exquisitely crafted Grand Dragonfinch, ever since being bound to his spirit, had developed some peculiar preference.

How could it be so unerringly accurate?

Every slash, a critical hit!

[Do you still not understand what you are training right now? Combat ability! This is vital, and it will be by your side for life.

Within the twisted rules, spirit-bound items play unimaginable roles, and the Grand Dragonfinch’s spirit-binding ability is exceptional—one could even call it rare. Compared to the mechanical claw-arm and the Frost Cannon, the Grand Dragonfinch will always be your companion. So, you must learn how to use it.]

Fang Tang nodded in sudden realization, then remembered something that made him feel a bit strange.

“By your logic, there’s no need to collect those blueprints?”

[Foolish! How do you know there’s no danger lurking within the caves? Besides, some of the weapons from the Church of the Machine God are quite useful, and within the twisted rules, they make for great support tools.]

Fang Tang: “…”

Fine, he’d keep collecting them.

It was just a matter of combining martial and technological arts, after all!

The chest in Cave No. 94 was a silver one, and the supplies inside weren’t bad.

At the very least, for Fang Tang, who’d lost everything overnight, it was a small replenishment of his now meager reserves.

He patted his severely thinned newspaper stash and sighed softly.

“Money is hard to earn, and life is hard to swallow. Who knows how much longer I’ll have to live like this?”

He tore open a sausage and fed it to Yueyue on his shoulder, then headed for Cave No. 95.

Here, there was a swarm of vampiric bats.

According to what “Eyes” had told him, he needed the ability to deal with any type of threat.

He’d rarely faced flying creatures before, mostly because they were difficult to aim at.

Now it was different—he had to take up his blade and face them head-on.

From now on, the Grand Dragonfinch of Xia would be his primary weapon.

The AKM and **** could finally retire.

He even listed them in the trading zone; he’d traded his flame muzzle for an elemental stone and thirty copper ingots.

He still had ecological copper fluid but no blueprint for it. Judging by the name, he’d need a lot of copper ingots for this material.

So, better to start collecting copper early, instead of scrambling at the last minute like with the mechanical claw-arm, which had cost him nine elemental stones.

With his burden greatly lightened, Fang Tang moved with even more agility.

Combined with the occasional burst of speed from the mechanical claw-arm, he quickly cleared out the five bats.

After this fight, Fang Tang grew more adept at wielding the Grand Dragonfinch. Though he couldn’t yet wield it as an extension of himself, he was already handling it with skill.

“Those martial arts novels are all lies. As if you could cultivate sword intent just by hugging your sword all day. Sword intent is forged in battle and drenched in blood!”

With a ringing clang, the Grand Dragonfinch returned to its sheath.

He gathered up the blue water stones in the cave and pressed onward.

[Above, there’s a special environment cave—a forest. Inside are two flower sprites. Abilities: Thorny Entanglement, Sea of Blossoms.]

“Flower sprites… are they proper creatures?” Fang Tang blinked curiously.

[That’s not the issue. Flower sprites are… moist. They’re not human, and as creatures born of the twisted rules, all special environment caves are the same.]

“Oh, so they aren’t Fallen?”

[Strictly speaking, no. Fallen are humans consumed by emotion, while creatures born within the twisted rules could be said to lack sentience.]

Fang Tang understood, gripping his sword more tightly as the mechanical claw-arm carried him up into the cave.

Don’t ask why he didn’t just fly up.

A man should be grounded!

Cave No. 96 was breathtakingly beautiful.

In the five hundred square meter space stood ten trees, lush and verdant. The grass beneath his feet was thick, the air suffused with floral fragrance, and the huge trunks pressed against the ceiling, their heavy canopies forming a natural chandelier.

The setting was stunning, but danger lurked everywhere.

The first thing he noticed was the half-meter-tall grass, sharp as blades.

Fang Tang was sure you could pull one up and use it as a sword.

The flowers swelled from time to time, and a mere brush would have their needle-like pistils turn you into a pincushion.

The mechanical claw-arm supported Fang Tang as he constantly scanned his surroundings.

“Where are the flower sprites?”

[You said it yourself—flower sprites. That means the flowers.]

Fang Tang: “…”

He glanced at several flowers aiming at him and swallowed hard.

“Didn’t you say flower sprites are moist?”

[They’re certainly moist, covered in dew. How could they not be?]

“…Heh. If I believe another word you say, I’ll be your grandson.”

Fang Tang gave a cold laugh and slowly approached the flower sprites.

He could have used the mechanical claw-arm to burn the place to ashes, but to hone his blade skills, he had to take this risk.

As the old saying goes: “Between life and death lies great terror… and great liberation.”

This wasn’t a death wish; he was inviting the flower sprites to meet their end.

He bent down near the flowers and swung the Grand Dragonfinch.

Suddenly, several thorned vines shot from the shadows straight at Fang Tang’s face.

But his reflexes were already well-honed.

With a swift slash, the vines were cut down.

Before he could feel pleased, the leaves above rustled, and petals began to drift down like rain.

Fang Tang’s heart sank as he looked down.

The earth bulged, and two green figures, each over a meter tall, emerged. Each had two flowers blooming on their heads, hands pressed together, chanting under their breath.

“What, are you performing last rites?” Fang Tang muttered, then leaped at the flower sprites.

A flash of cold steel, and one sprite’s arm flew off.

The two sprites turned furious, raising three arms above their heads.

“Hey-ya!”

As soon as they spoke, the drifting petals spun into a whirlwind, their softness transformed into razor-sharp daggers hurtling toward Fang Tang.

“%$# damn it…” Fang Tang cursed.

Ignoring the sharpness of the grass, he charged at the sprites.

Behind him, two mechanical claw-arms sprayed blazing fire, burning the incoming petals.

The flames worked, but there were too many petals moving too fast.

In an instant, Fang Tang was slashed all over.

Fortunately, they were only superficial wounds.

Even as he was wounded, he closed in on the flower sprites.

“So you like to play with flowers? Well, a blade’s flower is still a flower—let’s see how you handle this.”

As he spoke, the Grand Dragonfinch fell.

The flower sprites were spellcasters, and everyone knew spellcasters were fragile.

The sharp blade sliced through the sprite’s delicate body with ease, cutting through like water, meeting no resistance.

With the flower sprites dispatched, the petals in the air suddenly stilled, drifting weakly to the ground, sliced in two by the sharp grass as they landed.

“…I think I’ve found my own way of fighting. To use everything at my disposal, rather than forcing myself to hone a single skill. What I need is to combine both perfectly.

A fighting style that merges spirit-bound items and elemental weapons, assisted by sequence abilities—using every means to survive. That is the path I must walk.”