Raid: The Blacksmith-Chapter 81: The Downfall of The Reinhardt Family Household: Part Three

Chapter 81: The Downfall of The Reinhardt Family Household: Part Three

Their weapons clash endlessly.

~Clank!~

~Ting!~

~Clank!~

Taipan and his clone attack Raid from both sides. He launches an unending barrage of slashes from the left, while his clone does the same from the right.

Though barely, Raid manages to dodge and parry their attacks as only his clothes end up being slashed all over. Even so, it’s clear from a single glance who’s at an advantage. And it’s none other the strongest surbodinate of the Reinhardt Family. Number one. Also named, unbeknownst to him, by the Warriors Association, as Taipan. After one of the deadliest, if not THE deadliest snake in the world.

The battle goes on. Shockwaves emerging with every exchange. The once beautiful snowy planes that shone a bright white hue slowly getting ruined in the process.

"This man is dangerous." Taipan somewhat praises internally. "He wasn’t this strong when I first attacked him. He’s getting stronger and faster as the fight progresses. A growth rate like this is no joke. The only way I end this fight is if I deal with him quickly." He affirms as he continues his assault on Raid, alongside his clone.

Raid then flips over Taipan’s clone and immediately dashes towards the trees, back into the forest. Taipan and his clone follow without delay, chasing after him like predator after prey, launching slashes all the while, each one dodged cutting down multiple trees in its way. Raid then jumps up to create distance, using the branches all around in an attempt to slow them down. The attempt fails as they cut through every single one of those branches, chasing incessantly after him.

"Like I’d let you get away that easily." Says Taipan internally as he and his clone close the distance. "Go." He orders his clone telepathically.

"Got it." His clone readily obeys and draws closer towards Raid. He then flips along the trees and jumps up higher than Raid, only to descend back down to attack. Daggers in tow as he swings both of them downward, towards the F-Rank. Raid immediately blocks the attack, moving his own daggers and placing them horizontally in front of his chest. With a loud clank, the impact sends Raid hurling straight to the large crater in the middle of what’s left of the forest, tree after tree and tree falling down as a result of Raid’s body crashing through them without stopping in the slightest.

"Good, let’s keep it up. I don’t plan on letting him get a single second to catch his breath." Declares Taipan as he dashes after Raid. "I’ll create more clones, even though it takes a lot out of me." He decides.

He then gathers his Mana, building it up from his Mana Source, his heart, and creates a second clone with it as he reaches the expanse in the centre of the forest. Repeating the process again, he creates another clone, and another clone, and another. Up until he has nine clones in total.

"My Shadow Clone Spell allows me to create a maximum of eleven clones, but if I try to make more than nine right now, while trying to keep the Shadow Space in tact, there’s a good chance my organs will explode from the inside. This ought to be as far as I can go for now." He shifts his focus fully towards his opponent. Then attacks him immediately after noticing that he’s back up on his feet.

"Fine then." Says Raid in notice of Taipan’s grown army. "Think I’m scared of you? I’LL TAKE ALL OF YOU ON! BE IT TEN OR A HUNDRED!" He roars. As if in response, the daggers in his hands begin emitting white colored lightning bolts around them.

"Interesting." Taipan observes. "There’s no way that’s a coincidence. Number three had an electricity Skill that was amplified by his Thread of Unbridled Severance, since it was made from Thunderium. But what this Raid kid has is Lightning Elemental Magic itself, which is a much more advanced version of the Skill number three had. I refuse to believe he has a Skill that allows him to steal other people’s Skills and somehow even upgrade them. Since he’s a Blacksmith, it must have something to do with the weapon, the Thread of Unbridled Severance. Now I have no doubt that he’s the one who killed number three. So then, does this mean that he can obtain Skills from weapons based on their properties? Just as I suspected... he’s dangerous. Too dangerous."

Raid then lets go of his daggers before clashing with Taipan, freeing their handles from his grip.

They fall and he immediately catches them at the ends of their chains, then dashes towards Taipan and his clones.

"He’s fast." Taipan notices. "But I’m fast too, even more so since most of my A-Rank and above Skills are activated." He immediately surrounds Raid with his clones. Raid twists his body and flips in response, sending his daggers hurling at Taipan and his duplicate.

~Ting!~

~Ting!~

~Ting!~

The daggers are parried and returned to Raid but he immediately swings them back. Their parried once more and sent back again. And again. And again, as multiple blades continually clash and clash once more as if a war of swords is taking place.

Raid jumps up and escapes his encirclement, flipping over a few of Taipan’s clones. Taipan watches and oders the closest one to immediately go after him.

The clone throws one of his daggers at Raid, only for the dagger to be sent back flying straight for his head, popping it like a black balloon, resulting in the first of Taipan’s clones’ dissipation.

"Incredible." Taipan can’t help but be amazed, even at his own foe, someone his duty is to kill. He continues watching closely in between his small crowd of clones as Raid dashes towards them. Making sure to keep a safe distance yet not one so far that it hinders his view of all that’s happening.

One of the clones attacks Raid head on. Raid pulls the ends of the chains connected to his daggers, catching his daggers by their handles and clashes with the clone. They tussle a little bit until Raid emits lightning around the clone, electrocuting him in an instant, causing him to vanish as well. Taipan wastes no time in sending more of his clones after Raid, seeing as there’s now seven left. Four of the seven remaining clones then surround Raid immediately. One to his front. Another behind him. The third one to his left and the fourth to his right, all attacking simultaneously.

Raid dashes towards the one to his front while the clone responds by thrusting his right dagger straight towards his face. Raid releases his right dagger, letting it fall, and catches it by the end of its chain. He then swings the chain and wraps it around his neck to hold the blade down his left shoulder with his left hand. Immediately afterwards, he tilts his head to the side to avoid the clone’s attack and stretches his now free right arm out to intersect it with that of the clone, only to then wrap his hand around the back of the clone’s neck and pull back hard after sliding his right leg to the side to trip the clone. The clone’s whole body spins like the vanes of a windmill at a great speed and is sent flying towards the other clone behind Raid. They clash, their daggers piercing through them both in no pretty manner as they then dissipate like black smoke.

Taipan watches eagerly as Raid then unwraps his dagger’s chain from his neck, catching it and spinning anti-clockwise with both daggers in tow to quickly behead one of his remaining clones. The clone dissipates afterwards but the next one in the daggers’ way moves quickly to counter the attack.

~Clank!~

~Clank!~

Raising both his daggers to his head’s height to parry Raid’s own daggers one after the other. Raid then quickly catches his daggers by their handles after they bounce off those of the clone’s and pauses to look at Taipan and his remaining four clones.

"Hah..." He sighs. "You know, a part of me was afraid you’d simply create more clones if I just killed them. But it seems my worries were unwarranted. Though it’s a powerful Spell, it takes a lot out of you, doesn’t it?" Raid asks with a rhetorical tone.

"So he saw through it, huh? Impressive." Taipan observes. "What a shame... such Skill, such prowess... if only I could recruit him to join the Reinhardt Family, instead of having to kill him. He’d be the perfect asset." He adds as Raid continues.

"Seems it doesn’t duplicate all your Stats. Only Strength, Speed and Intelligence, I would guess. Of course, if it was able to duplicate your Health Stat, you’d basically have infinite stamina, and well... that’d just be cheating." He says with a condescending smirk.

"Brat." Taipan retorts internally before answering. "Cheating?" He echoes. "This coming from an F-Rank who can fight on equal footing with high level Warriors? Laughable." Though he doesn’t laugh even as he says that. Then he continues. "And as for the topic of exhaustion. I don’t think you, of all people, have the right to say anything." He finishes.

After a long pause, Raid finally responds. "You’re right." He says. "You’re fucking right and I hate it. So let’s get this over with already. Since we’re both tired."

"Agreed." Says Taipan with a soft chuckle. It throws Raid off a bit. Taipan notices the slight change in Raid’s expression, but ignores it and goes on. "It’s time for me to really go all out."

Then, in an instant, he disappears. His clones as well. Immediately surrounding Raid after, they attack, catching him completely off guard.

"Let’s get this over with." He declares internally as he and his clones gang up on the F-Rank.

The first clone comes down from Raid’s right and slashes his chest, cutting his white tie in half and leaving a long scar across, making Raid’s attempt to evade by moving back a bit, null and void. Then the second clone comes down from Raid’s left, immediately leaving an ugly scar across his right cheek as Raid attempts to avoid the attack by turning anti-clockwise.

Then, with the clone that was behind Raid now being in front of him, as a result of Raid himself having spun a complete 180, he descends straight ahead towards Raid to cut him down. Raid turns anti-clockwise once more to evade, but the clone slashes through Raid’s shirt and across his stomach.

Then comes the forth clone. His sole mission, to cut Raid’s head off. Raid’s responds by stepping to the side, causing the slash to land, but not deep enough that it sends Raid’s head flying off his body and only just deep enough to leave a long scar across his neck.

After stepping to the side. Raid then immediately meets with Taipan himself. "It truly is a shame. No matter how much, strategically speaking, it would benefit the Household if he joined us, the murder of Young Master Zeke, the Great Lord’s very own son, is an unforgivable act, punishable by death. Right here and now, I have to kill him no matter what." He says to himself as he descends at a great speed to deliver a downward double slash with his daggers towards Raid, but is immediately surprised by what happens next.

Raid somehow survives even his attack, jumping and spinning horizontally over him, allowing Taipan’s daggers to only cut through his arm and leg.

"What!?" He exclaims. "Like a fucking cockroach." He curses as he lands down and immediately turns to follow up with another attack after Raid falls down on his back. His clones follow and they jump up in an attempt to cut Raid down as they land.

Further annoyance creeps in Taipan after Raid quickly rolls his body away from him and his clones, successfully evading their joined attack also.

Then afterwards, Raid jolts himself upwards by pushing down hard and a blaze of flames envelopes him briefly as he’s sent flying upwards only for the flames to immediately dissipate as he flips back and lands back down safely away from Taipan and his clones.

"Don’t tell me he has Fire Elemental Magic as well!?" Taipan exclaims internally.

Then, with determined abandon, sparing no second, he dashes after Raid, activating another one if his A-Rank Skills, Swiftsteps, which increases his speed significantly, deeming it advantageous for him to kill Raid immediately, else the fight might turn out differently than the way it’s going currently.

Raid tries to stand up, noticing Taipan coming after him, and immediately fails, kneeling back down. "He’s tapped out!" Taipan exclaims in observation. "Now’s the time. Let’s finish this!" He then moves at a greater speed than his clones, leaving them behind. Then he raises his daggers and swings them straight towards Raid in attempt to cut his head in half, but then-

~Swoop!~

He misses. Though barely. He still misses. Something he did not account for. A look of genuine surprise on his face after passing Raid as a result of him tilting his head back and bending backwards. But what happens next, makes Taipan’s skin shiver. Raid’s Mana increases by leaps and bounds in basically an instant. That along with his Speed.

He dashes straight at Taipan’s remaining clones and takes all four of them down in the blink of eye, with a single horizontal slash of his daggers.

"Yeah... I was right." Taipan punctuates. "No... I was more than right. This man... is dangerous." He adds. "That sudden surge of Mana, that’s not something you get from the Stat increase effects of A-Rank Skills and above. His Mana didn’t just increase, it was multiplied in an instant. No, this isn’t someone that I can recruit. This is someone that I have to kill. If I don’t... if he’s left unchecked... then this man might just end up being the downfall of the Reinhardt Family Household." He affirms. "I have to kill him now!" And then dashes towards Raid at a far greater speed than he’s ever moved before, activating all his other high Ranked Skills in the process, save for one very special SS-Rank Skill, determined to do away with him as swiftly as possible. Raid does the same. And they immediately clash.

~Booom!!!~

A shockwave unlike any before results from the impact. They stand firm and tussle against one another, powering through the great force that threatens to blow them away from each other. It spreads and wipes out all that’s left of the forest, even spreading over to the snowy planes beyond the forest.

Their clashing energies warp the very gravity around them, causing them to levitate as they continue pushing against each other. Clouds form all around with lightning bolts emerging from them and striking about with no specific target. They spin in mid air as they try to overpower each other. Raid pushes, but Taipan pushes back as they continue to wrestle with one another.

Then, in the end, the strongest of the Twelve Guardian Shadows has the last laugh. With a deep grunt, he pushes Raid and overpowers him, sending him flying straight towards the mountains behind him. But he doesn’t end it there. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Not enough! There’s only one way this ends. With my trump card. My most powerful Special Attack." He slowly raises his right dagger to point it at Raid as he says that, activating his one and only SS-Rank Skill, Venom Regalia, then launches a Special Attack for the second time since this battle started, letting out a brief sigh before speaking and then...

"Venomous Redemption." He slowly utters.

An attack that can cut the very sky in half. A Spiritual Attack of great force made entirely out of poisonous energy. It slices everything in front of Taipan to pieces in an instant. The clouds formed by him and Raid’s clash, the lightning bolts striking down, the mountains Raid is being sent flying towards, and of course, Raid himself.