"Hey, hold on, young man. My hands are itching to teach this outsider who's so presumptuous in my territory a lesson. But I still have a pang of pity, so I'm giving my men the chance to serve you first. He..! He..! He..!" Gopal exclaimed arrogantly.
"Ha..! Ha..! Ha..! It turns out that Adipati Gopal is not only savage and cunning, but also a coward!" This time it was Dezo who laughed and scratched his neck.
One of the Duke's Seven Warriors then darted forward, just three spears' distance from Dezo.
"Hey young man, let's play! I don't think Lord Adipati is worthy of serving you yet!" the warrior exclaimed, while Dezo continued laughing and scratching his neck.
Feeling mocked, the man attacked Dezo first, a gust of wind whizzing straight at the warrior's forehead. With a flick of his head to the side, the blow met only empty air.
If the attack had come from a fist, this time the man struck with his foot. Once again, Dezo's body flickered slightly, but the mercenary's blow met only empty space. Seeing this, he furiously attacked Dezo again with a more agile attack. While Dezo had only dodged before, this time he met the man's attack with a palm striking forward.
"Boo!" The palm struck the attacking man squarely in the chest, sending him flying backwards, knocking him to the ground with three spears. His chest tightened with pain.
Seeing what was happening, six other mercenaries rushed to surround Dezo. One of them, Arkam, was a well-known figure in the area, possessing considerable skill and being the leader of the seven mercenaries of Adipati Gopal.
If Dezo hadn't signaled to stay put, perhaps all the young men who had been with him would have rushed to help, seeing that this wasn't a fair fight, as Dezo was being ganged up on by six men, including Arkam.
A torrent of blows descended upon Dezo from all directions. Dezo, realizing he was surrounded, immediately unleashed his Freezing Crater Walling the Mountain technique, blocking the six blows. Five of the attackers were sent flying, wailing in pain, their bodies as if struck by their own powerful blows.
Meanwhile, the figure named Arkam only took a few steps back, when, without Dezo's warning, the man unleashed a follow-up blow. One powerful blow struck the warrior squarely in the chest, causing him to stagger and feel pain in his chest.
Apparently, this man named Arkam didn't want to give Dezo any time to recover, determined to finish him off right then and there. Dezo quickly realized this, as soon as Arkam launched his next blow, his body shot into the air. A powerful punch from Arkam struck the ground where Dezo had been standing, causing a crater to form and emit smoke.
This was one of Arkam's signature punches, the Cobra Mematuk Mangsa (Cobra Pecks at the Prey). This punch not only punctured anything it hit, but also contained a deadly poison.
Dezo's body, which had been in the air, was now back on the ground a few spears behind Arkam. Seeing his opponent escape, Arkam immediately turned toward Dezo and delivered the same punch.
Dezo again used the Ajian Memboku Kawah Menebok Gunung (Freezing Crater Walling Mountain) to fortify himself against his opponent's attack as the two punches collided.
"Boom!" A loud explosion rang out, and Arkam's body, previously only staggered a few steps, staggered by three spears, as Dezo increased his inner strength in the spell.
Dezo's body, unaffected by the blow, quickly spread his arms to the sides. His palms faced upward. Suddenly, the surrounding sky darkened with thick clouds. Lightning bolts appeared in the sky, their streams merging with the warrior's palms. This was the Lightning Palm spell.
Both palms, now filled with lightning, were aimed at Arkam's staggering body, and the lightning beams struck him squarely.
"Jegeerrr!" Several spears shot Arkam upward, and they burned to a crisp upon impact.
Everyone who witnessed the scene exclaimed in surprise, including Adipati Gopal, who jumped from his seat. All of Gopal's men and mercenaries fled. Adipati Gopal immediately rose from his seat and shot into the air. Despite his bulk, this Duke possessed a remarkable ability to lighten his body, allowing him to float in the air like a bat as he unleashed a punch at Dezo.
"Whoosh!" Two black rays of light shot from Gopal's hands, seemingly casting a spell called "Bats Beating Fruit." The rays aimed at Dezo.
Dezo, too late to defend himself with the "Memboku Kawah Menebok Gunung" spell, simply rolled on the ground, avoiding the attack. The grass beneath Dezo's feet caught fire, horrifyingly from Gopal's spell.
Gopal, still hovering in the air, unleashed another punch, this time called "Bats Surrounding Eagles." A strange cloud of black smoke curled into the air, seemingly enveloping Dezo's body below.
Dezo, who had prepared his "Memboku Kawah Menembok Gunung" (Freezing Crater Walling the Mountain) spell, launched his punch into the air. As the black smoke curled into a cone, as if about to drill into the warrior's body, a bright flash of light appeared, followed by a loud explosion as the two blows collided.
"Blaaarr..!" As a result, Gopal's body, which had been floating in the air, was thrown and fell face down to the ground. Dezo's body also fell, rolling on the ground. His chest ached and fresh blood flowed from his lips.
All the young men who witnessed this were worried about the warrior's condition.
"Ha..! Ha..! Ha..! Little brat, it seems this is the moment when death will come for you!" exclaimed Gopal, standing upright, several spears away from Dezo, who was still crawling on the ground. With one hand holding his chest, Gopal pulled something out from under his shirt—a keris glowing bright yellow.
This heirloom is said to have claimed the lives of many martial arts figures who opposed the Duke. Besides being able to pierce the body, the strange aura surrounding the keris can also suck the blood, causing the victim's body to collapse limply.
The heirloom keris then shot toward Dezo, who was trying to regain his strength. In a half-crouching position, unable to stand fully, Dezo exclaimed.
"Andalas Tiger Sword!" A tiger-headed sword with two eyes, one yellow and one white, was drawn from the scabbard slung on his back.
As the sword was in his grasp, a dazzling yellow and white light radiated. Dezo immediately launched the sword, meeting the keris that Gopal had previously launched.
"Wooooooooooooss...! Deeess...! Kraaaak...!" A loud bang was heard, followed by the shattering of the keris that had been roaring toward the warrior.
Adipati Gopal's shock had barely subsided when he felt his body split open and his soul leave him.
It turned out that after the sword had destroyed Gopal's keris, it had also roared towards him like lightning.
"Craaaass!" It split his body in two, one charred and the other frozen, lying on the ground. The sword itself had returned to its sheath on the warrior's back.
Everyone watching was shocked, and then a loud cheer erupted from dozens of young men, signaling joy.
However, the commotion was short-lived, and the situation suddenly became tense. From Adipati's body, a tall, large shadow emerged, floating into the air and transforming into a giant bat.
A stream of flames erupted from the bat's eyes and mouth, shooting towards Dezo, who had now stood upright. Dezo simply ducked behind several spears, and the impact of the fiery mass exploded, setting the grass where Dezo had been standing ablaze.
Dezo, realizing that the giant bat was about to strike again with a fiery mass, immediately pressed his palms together in front of his chest, and a loud roar from a pair of tigers was heard.
The warrior's palms transformed into tiger stripes, the right palm a brownish-yellow striped, while the left palm a white striped one. This was his signature spell, the Pair of Andalas Tigers. Both palms were stretched forward, and two yellow and white rays shot out simultaneously, converging at a single point, precisely on the chest of the giant bat.
"Bouuumm..! Blaaaarrr..!" A tremendous explosion rang out, followed by the giant bat's body disintegrating into dust that scattered across the ground.
Dozens of young men cheered happily as they ran to meet the warrior, some of them even running back to Karim's house to share the good news.
"Long live Mr. Swordsman! Hooray..!" Dezo's body was repeatedly thrown up and up by the youth while cheering happily, Dezo smiled and was also immersed in the joyful togetherness...