Dragon Ball: Saiyan's Gourmet Journey

Chapter 697 Swift Swords Against Swift Swords, Miss Liu Also Owes a Favor
"Um, Mr. Broly, how can we demonstrate this to you?"

Kashima Sakura asked the question.

"It's very simple, just use all your strength to attack me."

There's nothing simpler than real combat experience to understand someone's fighting skill level.

"Are all methods acceptable?"

Yamato. Memoirs continued to question.

"Personally, I don't care what methods you use. As for whether you want to go all out, that's up to you if you want more precise guidance on combat techniques."

Brolida.

The three members of the Takemikazuchi clan exchanged glances and nodded.

“Well then, Mr. Broly, our apologies.”

The three adopted the front and rear guard formation commonly used by adventurers and launched an attack in this direction.

Hitachi Chigusa, who seemed to have a somewhat introverted personality, took off the bow and arrow slung across her back.

Drawing the bow, nocking the arrow, aiming, and firing—all in one smooth motion.

The arrows were a bit slow, and Broly just shifted his body slightly, causing the arrows to miss.

As he charged toward the archer girl, Kashima Sakura, wielding a large wooden club, came to meet him.

This character shares the same role as Grace of the Loki Familia: to act as the vanguard tank in the team, drawing enemy fire and preventing their rear-guard teammates from being attacked.

Unfortunately, in terms of both stats and defensive skills, he is far inferior to Jagris.

However, this is to be expected; it is normal for there to be a large gap between ordinary adventurers and first-level adventurers.

Broly didn't directly defeat the opponent in order to understand his skills and stats.

Instead, he used tricky swordsmanship to put pressure on the man.

Sakura Kashima, who had only ever fought monsters before, now felt a little out of sync with the boy's fighting style. His opponent's various feints and sword techniques made him, who was holding a large wooden stick, somewhat flustered.

He thought it was a powerful slash, but his opponent lightly skimmed the water and slashed in a different direction, aiming at the hand holding the wooden stick.

Thinking it was another feint, the blow was so powerful it almost knocked the stick out of his hand.

After less than four or five rounds of fighting, Kashima Sakura felt that she was about to give up and expose a major weakness to her opponent.

"Fate, help me!"

Fortunately, he wasn't fighting alone; he had his companions.

A girl with long, straight black hair, dressed in a kimono, came to support from the side, wielding a short sword.

Yamato shared some of Broly's firepower, greatly reducing the pressure on his companions when facing the Saiyan boy.

[Your teamwork is excellent; have you practiced coordinated attacks?]

Broly stepped back slightly, parrying the girl's dagger, then dodged the wooden stick thrown by the young man, and swung his sword to deflect the incoming arrows. He internally assessed the three's combined attack.

However, as good as their teamwork was, so were their weaknesses. If this weren't a test of combat skills, but a life-or-death struggle, he could have killed the Kashima youth who was being too reckless and had abandoned his defense to attack him.

Hitachi Chigusa, who was in the rear, drew his bow and aimed again, only to see that the Saiyan boy had hidden himself in his companion's body.

The archer girl tried to adjust her shooting position, only to find that her opponent also adjusted their position in sync, using their companion as a shield.

"Chigusa, where's the support?"

Even though she was facing Kashima Sakura two against one, Yamato Mikoto felt immense pressure. Chigusa behind her hadn't attacked again after firing two arrows, which prompted her to ask her why.

“I can’t shoot arrows, he’s been using you as cover.”

Hitachi.Chigusa quickly explained that it wasn't that she didn't want to shoot arrows to provide support, but rather that she couldn't. If she missed, it might result in her own teammates being seriously injured.

"Fate, we can't beat them head-on, so we'll use your move."

Kashima. Cherry Blossoms.

"it is good."

Yamato responded and called out to the archer girl behind him.

"Chigusa, prepare to fire, but don't aim for vital areas."

Broly had no idea what the three were planning to do. He had thought he had probed enough and was ready to defeat the front-row duo, but he put his plans on hold. He wanted to see what other tricks these three had up their sleeves.

Wow!

Suddenly, the girl with long, straight black hair and a single ponytail retreated, while the short-haired youth in the front row shouted and swung his large wooden stick around. Even after she dodged it by retreating, he continued to relentlessly swing the stick in pursuit.

"Invoking the name of the Supreme One, I am filled with trepidation..."

The long-haired girl with black hair, who had temporarily withdrawn from the front-line battle, began to chant incantations rapidly.

[Do you want to use a fierce attack to buy your teammates time to unleash their magic?]

Broly thought to himself, but instead of attacking the girl with long black hair, he gave the young man, who was like a tank in the front row, face and pretended to be slowed down by her.

However, after two breaths, the girl with long, straight black hair still hadn't finished reciting the incantation, leaving Broly somewhat speechless.

If this were a real battle, he would have thrown a knife at the girl with long, straight black hair who was chanting the spell long ago. Even if he didn't have a knife in his hand, he wouldn't have let her release her magic so easily.

"Descending from the heavens, unifying the land, divine martial prowess in battle, Futsu-no-Mikoto!"

The purple magic circle was finally activated after the third breath, unfolding beneath Broly and the stick-wielding youth.

A black magic ball that looked somewhat familiar appeared in Yamato's hand. Broly felt his body suddenly become heavy and immediately realized that this was magic that manipulated gravity.

Seizing the opportunity, Hitachi Chigusa bypassed his companions and drew his bow again, the arrow aimed directly at Core Broly's right shoulder.

It was impossible for him to hit the target; Broly simply raised his hand and caught the arrow.

Seeing this, Yamato.Mikoto was a little stunned, wondering if his gravity magic had not worked. But when he looked at the gravity magic ball in his hand, and then at the [Futsu-no-Mitama] magic circle that still existed there, and his companions who were controlled and unable to move within the circle, it seemed that the magic was still working.

"You have nothing new to offer, don't you?"

Broly asked.

"Uh, that's all."

"Then, we can stop now. I have a general understanding of your combat skill level."

Yamato.Mikoto obeyed, canceled the gravity magic, and looked over.

Overall, your level is quite good.

Hearing this, the three of them looked happy.

"Of course, there are many flaws as well. For example, you, Kashima, your role in your team should be that of a front-line shield guard, right?"

"Uh, yes."

The young man nodded.

"So, which do you think is more important: inflicting some damage on the enemy or protecting your comrades?"

"Of course, it's to protect our comrades."

Kashima Cherry Blossoms answered without hesitation.

"But that's not what you did. Just now, in order to launch an attack on me, you revealed many flaws to me."

If I were truly your enemy, I might take advantage of any openings you make to attack you or your allies around you and behind you..."

Broly pointed out each of the man's weaknesses, and added at the end, "Mr. Grace of the Loki Familia handled things better than you. He would never expose his weaknesses to me for some unnecessary attack, and protecting his comrades is the first priority of the Shield Tank."

"Yeah, sorry."

Sakura Kashima broke out in a sweat and quickly bowed her head to apologize.

"As for the archers in the back, are your arrows only able to travel in a straight line? Your vision is blocked, so you can't shoot. Can't you use a ricochet? Trying to play with me by spinning around in circles, do you think you can spin faster than me from the outside?"

Also, tie up your side bangs and observe your surroundings. Are the trees in our family compound just for show, or do you simply not know how to climb them to get a higher vantage point?

"I'm...I'm sorry?!"

Hitachi.Chigusa looked like she was about to cry, and she also bowed and apologized.

"You're not bad, you know how to split up your teammates and share the pressure, but isn't your spellcasting animation a bit too long? If I have a ranged attack method, are you planning to interrupt the casting, or are you planning to tank the damage?"

Unable to refute, Yamato bowed and apologized.

To summarize the situation of the three people, it can be roughly as follows:

Tanks who are greedy for damage and don't know how to withstand damage are primarily responsible for their own actions.
The marksman doesn't look for advantageous output positions during team fights, and just stays on the sidelines, waiting for teammates to feed them;
The controller's control skills have a longer cast time than their lifespan, making them a sitting duck while casting spells, which has a humorous feel to it – controlling others starts with controlling yourself.

Such a combination can survive in the upper levels of the dungeon, but if they go to the middle levels, they will almost certainly be wiped out. This is because the monsters in the dungeon will not give them a chance to fight outnumbered. Most of the time, it is the adventurers who are outnumbered. If a team does not have enough damage output, going into the deep labyrinth is suicide.

"Mr. Broly, please feel free to offer your guidance."

The three of them, in perfect unison, made a dogeza (a prostration gesture) in front of the Saiyan boy.

“You practice defense, and I’ll have Bell and Lily team up to attack you.”

Broly pointed at the young man and said.

"You practice projectiles and positioning. Hmm, take the arrows off and use the headless stick to support your attacked comrade."

Broly then pointed to the introverted girl and said.

"As for you, practice rapid spellcasting and mobile casting. The faster you cast, the less risk the team will take. And if you can cast while moving, you'll be a qualified control expert who won't become a weakness for the team."

After finishing her business with the Lady of Abundance in the afternoon, the tavern's female elf came to the Hestia Familia's residence.

What I saw was a girl with long, straight black hair walking around in the yard, practicing her rap, but because she spoke too fast, her tongue got tied, her voice stuttered, and she kept having to start over.

On the other side, a white-haired boy and a little girl were climbing up and down a tree, running and shooting arrows, jumping and shooting arrows, playing all sorts of fancy archery, and launching a fierce attack on a young man who only defended and did not attack.

"Mr. Broly, what are you doing?"

Liu watched from outside for a while before going in to ask.

“Miss Ryu, you’ve arrived. Those are the Takemikazuchi Kinkaku. Their chief deity asked my family’s god to help guide and train his children, and I am currently training them.”

Broly answered succinctly.

"I can understand that the people over there are training, but what is this guy doing?"

Ryū points to Yamato. Destiny.

It was really strange that the other person was walking around in circles, muttering incomprehensible words.

"She's practicing rapid chanting of spells and casting spells while moving."

Broly offered an explanation.

Liu: “???”

Let's leave aside the fact that chanting spells quickly is indeed useful, but is this how you practice casting spells while moving (chanting in parallel)?
"Mr. Broly, parallel chanting requires the manipulation of magic. Are you sure this training method will be effective?"

Liu felt compelled to offer a reminder.

"Practice makes perfect. The spells themselves only serve to guide and enhance the magic. In fact, you can release magic even without actually reciting the spells."

"All you need to do is remember the energy flow of summoning magic and releasing spells. Let her get used to chanting while moving, and then adapt to summoning magic to create corresponding spells while moving. She'll be able to train herself eventually."

Brolida.

"That's quite a brutal and direct training method. So, Mr. Broly, how will you instruct me in swordsmanship?"

"That depends on Miss Ryu. What kind of swordsmanship do you prefer? Do you like it more proactive or more reactive?"

"What is active, and what is passive?"

"Being proactive means leaning towards offense, while being passive means leaning towards defense."

"I think I prefer to take the initiative more."

Ryu answered.

"Did Miss Ryu bring a sword with her?"

Broly asked.

"Yes, this is my sword."

The female elf took a wooden sword from her waist and said...

"Miss Naru, before I begin to provide guidance, I would like to first assess your swordsmanship skills."

Broly didn't waste any words and drew his sword, saying directly.

"no problem."

The female elf didn't waste any words either, and the two walked to the open space next to them.

This scene caused the people who were sparring to stop their training.

Lily Luca and Bell paused the game and both looked over in their direction.

Seven years ago, Ryu and Sword Princess fought to a draw.

Seven years later, Ryu will fight the boy who can teach the Sword Maiden swordsmanship.

She didn't know if she could win, but she was clearly taking it seriously.

To understand the opposite sex your friend likes, start by understanding their strengths and capabilities.

"can we start?"

"anytime."

The waitress was as swift as the wind; as soon as Broly finished speaking, she sprinted towards them.

The female elf's swordsmanship style is mainly based on fast swords. Her attacks are not very powerful, but they are exceptionally light and agile. When Broly's short sword and wooden sword made contact, they produced a crisp, tinkling sound.

The opponent's basic physical stats were slightly lower than Ais's, but her swordsmanship was not much worse.

Bro used the Illusion Sword to try and pull the female elf into his battle rhythm, but Ryu was completely unmoved by it, sticking to her own fast-paced approach and refusing to let it affect his attack.

The Lv.4 female elf, due to the existence of level sublimation, has slightly higher stats than Broly, whose current average 4S stats are 3300.

Despite being unaffected by the Illusion Sword technique, Liu Liang managed to suppress Broly, whose wooden sword was swung around in a blur.

After exchanging blows with the elf lady for a while, Broly changed tactics, abandoning the old trick of using fast and slow swords to draw her into his own fighting rhythm, and instead directly used fast swords against fast swords.

He used the advanced version of the Light Katana, Phantom Sword Dance, which focuses on smooth energy flow and stacked attack speed, continuously slashing faster and faster to impress you.

At first, Liu Liang didn't feel anything when they were exchanging blows, but after a while, she felt something was wrong. She realized that she seemed to be unable to keep up with the swordsmanship that was as fast as light and shadow in front of her, but she was unwilling to admit defeat and continued to persevere.

After catching three consecutive upward slashes of light from the wooden sword, he finally lost his grip and the sword slipped from his hand.

Broly's short sword tip was also resting beside the elf's neck, the wind from the sword blowing Ryu's dyed green hair to one side.

"I lost."

Liu Liang said straightforwardly.

"Mr. Broly, how do you manage to make your sword get faster and faster? Doesn't your arm get sore?"

The female elf asked out of curiosity, her hand already sore from the high-speed slashing.

"The soreness is a problem with the application of force. Each of my strikes is launched by borrowing the force of the previous strike. It is a technique of using the opponent's force against them. The force is used in a sequential manner."

Sometimes, your strikes have to counteract the force of your previous strikes, which naturally makes your hands feel sore.

"Furthermore, I deliberately guided your swordsmanship to counteract your own force, which is why you ran out of steam and couldn't keep up with my slashing speed."

Broly didn't keep her in suspense and directly explained the situation. Ryu Liang suddenly understood why she felt her sword was getting slower and slower while her opponent's sword was getting faster and faster.

[As expected, there was a reason why the swordswoman from Loki's Familia asked for swordsmanship instruction.]

Liu Liang could clearly sense that at the beginning of their fight, his basic physical stats were slightly higher than those of the boy in front of him.

"Is this one of your secret techniques?"

"It's a technique for channeling energy that I figured out myself."

Broly nodded.

"Been taught a lesson."

Ryu Liang went back to pick up his wooden sword that had fallen to the ground and headed towards the main gate.

"Hey, Miss Ryu, where are you going?"

Seeing that she looked like she was about to leave, Broly quickly asked her what was wrong.

"I have already experienced your swordsmanship, so I will naturally go back and digest it."

"It's only natural," Ryu Rion said.

"Ah, you don't need my guidance anymore?"

"Uh, hasn't the instruction already been completed?"

The human and the elf stared at each other in bewilderment.

"But I haven't told you about the techniques for applying force here yet."

"Ah, are you planning to teach me that impressive sword technique you just used?"

"Uh, Miss Ryu, are you really here to ask me for swordsmanship lessons?"

Broly asked, somewhat puzzled.

Upon hearing this, Liu Liang's expression became somewhat complicated. He suddenly remembered that he hadn't actually come to ask for swordsmanship advice, but rather to check on the boy's condition for his friend Xi'er. However, he had gotten carried away during the swordsmanship sparring earlier and felt that his skills had improved after the fight, so he was preparing to go back and study them further.

"Yes, I came to learn swordsmanship, but I didn't expect you to be so generous as to teach me such a secret technique."

"That's what the female elf replied."

"Uh, now that you mention it, it seems like I'm at a disadvantage. Should I make some demands on you?"

"It's only right to set conditions. Mr. Broly, what would you like to order?"

"Then, Miss Ryu, how about I grant you a request in the future that doesn't go against your own conscience?"

"Is this a debt of gratitude that I'll have to repay in the future...?"

Ryu Liang only thought about it for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"can."

She is the kind of person who always repays kindness and venges wrongs, so this condition is practically meaningless.

(End of this chapter)