Daru's expression turned stern before a faint yet fiery grin reemerged at the sight of the corrupted king's nameplate.
==
[(Dungeon Boss) King Carthur Lv.12]
HP: 800 / 800
==
"Many times has my kingdom been shaken, but it never fell. Do you know why?"
Daru didn't respond.
'How would I know? I just got here…' he thought inwardly.
"Because I'm the one holding the fort. Your kind have come and gone, Cluckson Commander [Omaru], a few just like you. But in the end, everyone chose to serve me. I'm quite certain you'll change your mind too…"
Daru only snorted, retorting sharply: "Hmph. Stop talking big, drug addict. Can you even fight in such a pathetic condition? Pull yourself together first, maybe then I'll believe you."
King Carthur's feline face twitched at the insult.
"Insolent motherclucker, taste this king's wrath!"
In the next moment, the corrupted king dashed at Daru, swinging his fancy greatsword as though it were a baseball bat.
King Carthur's speed and power were outright terrifying.
However, his entire attack was telegraphed. Daru would never be hit by such a lousy strike.
Sneering in disdain, he ducked under it and slashed horizontally, a red damage value floating up as the corrupted king bled from his thighs.
[- 73]
"Hoh? You got some moves, Cluckson Commander, but unfortunately for you, physical attributes are king! Look, I can even do…this!"
The bleeding suddenly stopped in the next moment, causing Daru, who had just turned to face King Carthur again, to narrow his eyes.
"See what I can achieve by merely clenching my mighty muscles? Nyahahaha! Swordsmanship is nothing but a trick used by the weak to give themselves a chance against the strong like me! Rraagh!"
The corrupted king then began swinging his sword wildly, just like a drunkard who had gone berserk.
His strength granted him the power to crack the ground with every swing; his speed allowed him to stick to Daru like glue, and his stamina seemed never-ending.
King Carthur slashed, and slashed, and slashed even more, not caring one bit about his clumsy footwork nor his lousy and wide swings.
Daru naturally retreated, showcasing immaculate and stable backpedaling as he angled his sword perfectly to either block or parry each attack, though he would suffer a fair amount of damage every time he opted for the former.
There was some truth to the corrupted king's words.
Still, he was extremely repulsed by the Swordspawn in front of him and was not sure if he would be able to find someone or something he hated more than King Carthur.
The bastard clearly stated that swordsmanship was not important, and Daru's gaze was getting colder and colder by the moment.
He shall teach this stupid swordspawn that while physical prowess is a part of victory, technique is, too.
Jumping back to create distance, Daru's pupils seemingly constricted as his mindset adjusted from having fun and learning to outright just defeating his opponent with everything he had.
It was only him, his sword, his opponent, and his opponent's sword.
King Carthur laughed and mocked in a slurred manner: "Nyahahaha! You see? You can't even attack, can you? If you just spent all your time training your body rather than wasting time with those stupid sword techniques of yours, you might've been able to hold your own even against me!"
But Daru only replied with a few words:
"Stop wasting time and just attack, stupid cat. I'll destroy you and your dumb belief…"
"What…did you say, Cluckson Commander? You still dare be insolent against this king?! Die!!"
In the next moment, King Carthur lunged at Daru, and Sir Meowdred couldn't help but exclaim in worry:
"Hold on, Cluckson Commander [Omaru]! I'm about to defeat this corrupted loyalist! I'll come help you after!"
Daru, however, didn't hear a single word from him. He was a hundred percent focused on the corrupted king's lunging attack.
"Hmph."
With a disdainful snort, he explosively dashed forward at the perfect moment, slashing horizontally at King Carthur's left rib area.
[- 80]
"Nyaargh!" the corrupted king growled in pain as his fancy greatsword struck the ceramic ground, sending shards flying everywhere.
He then turned and blindly swung his sword clumsily again, hoping to cut Daru in two without even checking to see where he was.
His Excatlibur hit nothing but the ceramic ground once more as Daru nimbly sidestepped and gracefully cut his wrist, extracting yet another pained growl from King Carthur.
"I've had enough of your nonsense!!" The corrupted king cursed, turning red.
His attacks became even more wild, slashing left, right, upward, downward.
Still, nothing struck their mark.
Everything was either easily evaded or parried, and a counterattack would come not long after.
King Carthur had always been able to stop the bleeding.
However, his HP was being gradually chipped down, and the pain from all the strikes he suffered sobered him up bit by bit.
He locked eyes with Daru, breaking into a cold sweat.
Those were the eyes of a cunning and patient predator…
Unlike him, the Cluckson commander wasn't aiming to kill him in a single, vicious attack.
"You! Are you not afraid I'll eliminate you in a single hit?!"
"Like you'll be able to hit me," sneered in what appeared to be overwhelming arrogance.
But the line between confidence and arrogance had always been thin: success.
If one succeeded, then he would be called confident, but if one failed, then he would be labeled arrogant.
And Daru, throughout his life, had only been a confident young man.
He had never been arrogant, because he never failed to deliver whenever it mattered.
"Insolence!!" growled the furious king, lunging at Daru again and chopping down, not daring to overswing this time.
But Daru only stepped slightly to the side, allowing Excatlibur to slide down the edges of his slightly rusty tachi and guiding it skillfully to the ground.
He then spun his sword with both wrists, landing a somewhat narrow but clean strike on King Carthur's exposed neck.
[- 160!]
"Kunyaaaghk!"
Red cubic particles spurted out of the corrupted king's mouth, floating skywards and dissipating as King Carthur stepped back, assuming a proper fighting stance.
==
[(Dungeon Boss) King Carthur Lv.12]
HP: 93 / 800
==
"Oh? I thought swordsmanship was useless? Why are you striking a proper stance now?" Daru suddenly spoke after ignoring a majority of the provocations. "Just keep showing me how attributes are superior, drug addict king. I'm waiting to be proven wrong."
"K-Kuhh…"
The corrupted king couldn't retort.
He had a sword skill, but if he used it, it would mean that he was admitting he was wrong.
"Nyaargh, whatever! Dead clucksons tell no tales! Die!"
The next second, King Carthur jumped, holding his greatsword in a two-handed stabbing grip and descending on the ground like a meteor.
"Holy Sword's Descent!!"
The sword skill would affect a huge area, and Daru would undoubtedly be hit if he didn't run.
And he didn't.
He merely stared at the plummeting king with a cold gaze, somersaulting at the perfect moment to dodge the hundreds of sword blades emerging from the ground and firing a relatively pitiful, red slash mark that precisely struck King Carthur's neck.
It wasn't able to cut through.
However, the damage value that floated up was more than enough to end the corrupted dominion:
[- 270!]