"Five may be too much," Rui remarked.
"We'll be fine," Kane confidently reassured him. "Between you and me, we can handle them."
"Just to remind you, I'm normally not as strong as I am when facing you," Rui told him. "My power depends on how familiar with my opponents I am. I grow stronger as the battle prolongs."
"Yeah, I know that, if we don't manage to take them down immediately, then we can rely on your adaptive evolution to overcome them," Kane nonchalantly explained.
Kane had grown much more confident ever since he regained his Fulminata technique. Rui often had to hold him back and ensure that he didn't fall prey to his own self-confidence.
Frankly, five was on the very limit of what Rui was willing to tolerate. If not for the fact that the reported squad was comprised of only mid-grade Martial Squires, he would have never agreed to that.
However, the two of them were high-grade Martial Squires at this point. Rui especially had a rock-hard foundation while Kane had powerful trump cards.
"Come on," Rui nodded. "It's time to go."
Because of the speed of Martial Squires, it was a very short time until the Martial Squires would reach the vicinity of Crexeet town. The department of defense mandated that all Martial conflicts were not to occur within a certain radius of the town as much as possible, which meant that Rui and Kane had to move quickly.
The two of them immediately dashed away in the distance as Rui used all of his sensory techniques to track and surveil in order to make sure that they weren't blindsided.
"There they are," Rui narrowed his eyes after he spotted them after merely a minute of travel.
Instinctually, he wasn't threatened by any one of them. The Squire Realm was much wider and broader than the Apprentice Realm.
The difference between high-grade Martial Squires and mid-grade Martial Squires was not small.
Before they could even reach each other, Rui quickly used his Pathfinder technique, launching a powerful sonic projectile from quite some distance away. He didn't have the pattern recognition systems of the VOID algorithm helping him at this point, but he aimed based on intuition.
THWOOM!
BAM!!
It struck him in the abdomen, striking him well enough to collapse him.
Rui grinned as he already caught one of his opponents completely off-guard with no active defensive technique. Because the activation of the Mighty Flash Roar Blast technique was not something that could be perceived at a great distance, and because sound was far too hard to directly perceive at a distance.
They didn't know what hit them, literally. The damage inflicted wasn't damning, but it was a great start as the remaining four rapidly moved forward after confirming that their ally was not in a critical condition.
Closing the distance became a much greater necessity, as Rui was nothing short of a high-grade long-range specialist in their eyes. The worst thing that they could was give a long-range Martial Squire all that distance between them.
They didn't quite understand why this long-range Martial Squire was running straight at them, but they nonetheless welcomed it. The distance between them shortened in seconds, and the battle had begun before they even reached each other.
THWOOM THWOOM
POOW!
Two of the enemy Martial Squires launched projectiles toward Rui and Kane, and the two of them promptly avoided them while Rui launched multiple sonic projectiles at them. Avoiding them from that distance was effortless, especially for Kane.
However, much to Rui's chagrin, his enemies had also wisened up with the initial ambush, they paid attention to his motions very carefully, dispersing in random directions the moment Rui gave any sort of indication that he was attacking.
Without a predictive model, he couldn't know which direction they were going to go in.
Regardless, three Martial Squires immediately pounced on Rui.
He was unsurprised. After all, it was common sense that long-range specialists were weak at close ranges.
WHOOSH!
Rui simply disappeared when their attacks connected with him, leaving behind an empty image.
A simple feint from the Phantom Step technique.
TAP TAP TAP!
Rui exploited a blindspot as he employed his Lightning Ripple technique to send an electrical current down the nervous system of his opponent.
"Rgh!" The man grimaced as he felt certain parts of his body lock up!
POW!
A swift hook crashed into his jaw. Not only was he hindered, but Rui also employed Reverberating Lance to permeate the impact as deep as possible.
THUD
The two of them Martial Squires were shocked, Rui had taken down one of them before they could realize it. Furthermore, he did it in close-range combat. They were shocked that a Martial Squire could possess such great long-range capabilities as well as formidable short-range capabilities.
Rui stepped forth toward them as he blasted them with his most powerful strikes. The two hapless Martial Squires struggled to cope with the sheer onslaught that Rui unleashed. One of them tried matching his blows, yet was shocked when she failed. The other gritted his teeth as his guard rattled with every impact that Rui unleashed.
He prepared for an incoming strike, yet to his surprise, the impact was gentle.
The very next moment he felt a tremendous force all across his body pushing him backward.
"WAAAAAAH!" Rui launched him flying with Reverberating Catapult.
He turned to the woman, who launched a powerful weighted blow toward Rui.
Yet before she realized it, Rui had spun behind her, winding about her as his arms coiled across her neck and head.
He had swiftly exploited an opening to get her into a rear choke hold. Simultaneously, his charged body began sending a current across her body, partially paralyzing her muscles. Not only could she not breathe, but Rui's Thundercoil completely denied her resistance.
Soon enough, the brain shut down, deprived of blood.
Rui glanced over as he watched Kane take down the fifth Martial Squire that Rui had launched flying with his technique.
Just like that, it was over. Rui was reminded once that most battles were anti-climactic.
