Chapter 21: Elite – Spring-Leg Jack (3)

My dagger stabbed it in the back when I sneaked up on it earlier.

I’d originally aimed for its neck, but the thing was just too tall. If I raised my hand high enough to swing horizontally with full force, I’d lose leverage.

So I opted to thrust into its back instead.

After all, I wasn’t arrogant enough to think a single sneak attack would finish it off. My true goal was only to confirm one thing.

Was its body impervious to blades and bullets?

The answer was: not invulnerable, but far tougher than a normal human’s.

When I used my dagger with an aether coating to stab solid wood, it didn’t take much effort to run it clean through. But when I drove it into Jack’s back, only the tip sank in. Now, the tip of my blade was stained with a dark purplish-red liquid that looked like red wine—probably its blood. At least it wasn’t corrosive.

I didn’t have any weapon on hand capable of delivering a fatal blow. And after that ambush, there was no way it’d let me get close again.

Which meant all I could do was—

Stick to the plan!

Breath ragged, I sprinted through the winding alleyways, vaulting over sacks and crates strewn across the path and cutting sharply around corners. It might have looked like parkour, but I was running for my life.

Whoosh!

Another blade hissed through the air. A glint of silver streaked past where I’d just been, a throwing knife burying itself deep into the alley wall. The edge was absurdly sharp; it plunged in up to the hilt without so much as cracking the stone. Judging by its throwing motion—clamping the knife in its fingers and flicking its arm—it shouldn’t have had much aim without elbow joints. And yet, it was deadly accurate.

“Tch—!”

I glanced toward the row of warehouse rooftops to my left. Jack was bouncing across them like solid ground. Back when I’d slashed at him, I’d caught a glimpse of a grotesque smile on his gaunt face.

He threw both arms one after the other.

First throw—

I lunged forward in a full leap. The knife whistled past the back of my head; I felt it shear through a few strands of hair.

But the second throw—

No time to dodge this one.

All or nothing!

A surge of adrenaline made the world slow to a crawl. Even then, the blade was fast as lightning. My brain fired on all cylinders, recalling our combat drills in the rotted-face village—the one move I’d used against the lizardfolk—

A parry!

My left arm snapped up, swinging the small round buckler on my wrist. Jack’s second knife was already in flight. It was far too fast to consciously react to—so I left it to pure instinct, forged through training.

The knife and buckler collided.

Clang!

Crack!

Time returned to normal. The knife’s silver arc bent ever so slightly—just enough to deflect it past me and into the ground. I stood frozen, a deep gouge now carved into my buckler. The edges of the mark were unnaturally clean. I broke out in a cold sweat.

It was the first time I’d ever tried to parry something so fast—and it was more a deflection than a proper parry. The knife was simply too sharp. If I’d tried to block it directly, it would’ve gone straight through both shield and arm.

“Ch-ch-ch-ch-cheeeeekkk!!!!???”

Even Jack froze, not expecting me to deflect that blow. It was a knife that sharp, after all—

Wait.

That sharp?

Suddenly, a crazy but plausible idea hit me.

That’s it!

The deflected blade had landed just a few steps away. I bent down, snatched it up, and bolted for the nearby waterwheel. Jack needed at least five seconds to snap out of it, and five seconds was all I needed to sprint over twenty meters. I finally burst out of the warehouse district and saw the wide river spread before me.

The waterwheel!

But what I really had my eyes on was the tower attached to it.

A three- to four-story wooden structure stood at the riverside, with the waterwheel embedded into its river-facing wall. Inside, it was likely filled with hydraulic mechanisms—watermills, irrigation gears, pulleys for lifting goods. This was the kind of structure used for farming and shipping in old towns.

If my earlier dash had been fighting for my life,

Then what came next would be wagering it.

Before we set out, the rotted-face people had given us a detailed briefing on the town’s layout, which was when I realized my earlier misconception. I’d thought the river running through town was the main one, but that was only a tributary. The real river, wide and strong, ran past the outskirts. This now-ruined town had thrived on agriculture and river transport. The warehouse district stood close to the main river, with farmland on the opposite bank. The massive waterwheel and tower had been built for irrigation and grain milling. The chieftain himself had led the construction in his younger days and was quite proud of it.

And now…

“Sorry, Gramps…”

I sprinted—no, flung myself—into the tower.

It was dim inside, filled with a pungent, moldy odor. Each floor was a ten-square-meter platform with a central hole allowing gears, chains, and iron rods to pass through. I scanned the surroundings, but Jack wasn’t about to give me time.

“Giiiiiii!!”

The crumbling wooden door behind me—no, the entire wall—was sliced clean through. Another swift cut carved a gaping hole through the brick-and-wood structure. Jack leapt inside.

Time to run? No.

“Yo. You made it.”

I stood at the center of the first floor, listening to the creaking grind of the waterwheel’s gears, greeting Jack with forced calm.

“…Gi?”

The prey it had been chasing suddenly stopped fleeing; confusion flickered in Jack’s glowing eyes. I steadied myself, adjusting my stance.

This tower and waterwheel hadn’t been maintained in over a decade.

Constant wear from the river, years of damage from fog fiend. This was the most corroded building in all of town.

Though some parts were reinforced with brick and stone, the main supports were made of whole wooden beams—most of them on the verge of collapse.

And against Jack’s claws, wood, stone, and metal were all equally worthless.

At this range, in such a tight space, it probably wouldn’t use throwing knives.

“You’re really slow, huh? Why didn’t your creator give you joints?”

I spoke casually, slowly shifting until one of the main support beams stood directly between us.

“Gi gi gi…?”

It tilted its head, not understanding, but raised its claws again.

“Come to think of it, why are you the only one wandering out here? Could it be your creator threw you away for being defective?”

“Giiiiiii!”

It didn’t understand my words, but the taunt hit home. Enraged, it whipped its arm, spring compressing then extending—its claws tore through half the ground floor. Deep gashes carved up every wall, and the weaker ones began to crumble. The main support pillar took a direct hit and was sheared clean through.

But I had its rhythm now. I could estimate its range by the compression of its springs. As soon as it attacked, I dodged and bolted up the stairs to the second floor.

“Jack! You’ll never get me unless you go all out!”

I kept yelling provocations, all while secretly hoping.

“Gagagagagaaahhhhh!”

Looks like it worked.

Destruction roared below. A claw tore clean through the second-floor platform, letting Jack leap straight up without using the stairs. Its claws swept wide, slicing apart more support pillars, smashing rusted gears and drive rods. The rhythmic creaking of the waterwheel turned erratic. Even the main axle groaned dangerously.

Crack…

Creak…

The whole tower groaned ominously.

The stairs beneath my feet began to shake. Not my imagination.

“Come on up!”

I reached the third floor—the top. A loud crash came from below. The second floor was mostly gone. The remaining supports—

Crack!

—No need for me to finish the job.

Jack, now a frenzy of destruction, slashed at everything indiscriminately. The tower’s internal structure was gutted—support beams shattered, walls in tatters, the drive system knocked off track. The entire place was collapsing under its own weight.

And it wasn’t over.

I knew—

With spring legs like that, Jack couldn’t climb stairs well. It was faster for him to jump through the gaps between floors.

He would appear—

—right here.

As I reached the top, he sprang up through the center opening.

At that moment, mid-leap, his spring legs were fully extended.

“Giiiiiii!!”

There he was.

“Gi!?”

He hadn’t expected me to stand right at the hole he was emerging from. It looked like suicide, but it wasn’t.

The wager ends now.

This wasn’t dodging. It wasn’t fighting. It wasn’t a duel to the death.

This was execution.

“For Vaclav’s death—”

As he rose, I swung.

I wanted to strike the body, but there was no time. And even if I landed a hit, it likely wouldn’t be fatal.

So I aimed for his extended spring leg.

Aether coating alone couldn’t cut through it. Not with my blade, no.

But what about his?

“Gi!?”

“—Pay the price!”

Shing!!!

A silver arc flashed.

There was resistance, then it gave way.

I’d used the knife Jack had thrown at me earlier. It was sharp. Strong. Likely forged from the same metal as his springs.

And with an aether boost—

“Giiiiiiiiiiii!!!”

—It cut clean through.

I severed Jack’s left spring leg. He crashed to the floor in a heap. Off-balance, the claw swipe he aimed at me veered wide, slamming into the third-floor wall. I reversed the grip on the knife—it had a short handle, but enough to wield—and prepared to strike again.

But Jack lashed out in a frenzy, springing upright, balancing on his remaining leg, claws slicing down again—

“Bye now.”

And he missed.

Because I didn’t follow up. I dodged sideways in a leap.

Diving through the hole Jack had made earlier, I plunged down, past the open gaps connecting all three floors. The collapsing interior flashed past me. My feet slammed into the ground floor. The pain shot up my legs—I gritted my teeth—but Cat’s Step had cushioned the impact. Without it, I’d have broken something for sure.

Creak! Creak! Creak! Creak!

Booooommm!

The entire tower shook. Crashes, groans, splintering beams—all around me. Debris rained from above. Shattered walls caved in.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

“And now—”

“Giiiiiii!!!”

“Here he comes.”

Jack, dragging his severed leg, dropped from above, straight down from the third floor. Arms flailing wildly, eyes glowing red, his twisted jaw gaping so wide his entire face seemed to unravel. He was a beast now, maddened by injury. A feral, rabid beast, baring its fangs and charging.

And that made him even more dangerous. Wild, uncoordinated claws flailed like a meat grinder. One step too close, and I’d be headless.

So—

Let this place be your grave.

The moment he landed, I leapt outside through the very hole he had carved in the wall.

He howled in rage and despair behind me. His claws shredded the stone floor, but with a missing leg, he couldn’t keep his balance. He tried desperately to stand, to use his spring-leg once more, but the moment he compressed it—

He collapsed again.

“Don’t waste your strength.”

I watched him flail, then stepped back, slowly putting distance between us—farther and farther from the tower on the verge of collapse.

“Gi…gi…”

“You of all beings should know how crucial balance is to that body of yours. And now, without a leg, you’ve lost everything. Your center of mass. Your footing. Your power.”

“Giiiiiiiiiiii!!!”

Booooommm!!!

With one final, anguished howl, the three-story waterwheel tower came crashing down. Dozens of tons of rubble buried Jack beneath it, the thunderous roar drowning out his last scream.

And as if to drive in the final nail, the massive waterwheel, now unsupported, teetered, then toppled sideways, landing squarely on the mountain of debris.

***

It was over.

A wave of exhaustion swept through me. My legs gave out, and I slumped to the ground, staring at the massive pile of rubble before me, still shrouded in smoke and dust.

Then, from the pouch hanging at my waist, I retrieved a small bottle of liquor we’d brought from the village—originally intended for emergency disinfection.

It was tiny, small enough to fit in one hand. I twisted off the cap, and the faint slosh of liquid reached my ears.

“To Vaclav.”

Murmuring the words, I took a small sip, letting the burn trail down my throat and settle deep in my chest.

~~~~~

Zhou Yuhong vs. Spring-Leg Jack
Zhou Yuhong · WIN
Achievement Unlocked: Destroyer of Art

Zhou Yuhong
 • Kills: 33
 • People Rescued: 8
 • People Killed: 0
 • Total Score: 513
 • Rank: 7 / 98,105

#####

Runic Throwing Knife
 • Type: Throwing Knife
 • Weight: Ultra-Light
 • Background: A weapon used by the alchemical creature Jack, forged by alchemy master Ian before he lost his sanity during early alloy experimentation. Extremely light and compact, yet remarkably sharp. The runes etched along the blade allow it to accelerate mid-flight, enhancing its piercing power. It can also be used for slashing and cutting, but due to its short blade and handle, it’s ill-suited for attacking large targets. When infused with magic, the runes enable in-flight trajectory correction to improve accuracy—though this function is unusable in a world without magic.
 • Acquisition: Dropped by the elite enemy Spring-Leg Jack in the center of the ruined town
 • Special Abilities:
   • Flight Acceleration (innate property)
   • Trajectory Correction (requires magic, currently unusable)