บท 84: Shifu Zeru

Jin opened his phone and checked the status of the newly captured monster. "So, it's a werejackal. Hmm, the stats profile said this monster can be placed either in the Zither Mistress dungeon or Goblin dungeon." Jin looked up and stared at Shu for a while.

"Nope, they are already in my stomach and I am not spitting it out for you to capture. That would be gross. Look over the horizon instead." Shu pointed towards the north with its tree branches and Jin saw a pack of similar looking werejackals running towards him.

"I wonder if it is okay to call my bellators for support?" Jin figured this could be a part of Zeru's training but there was no way to fight such a large pack. He would definitely be outnumbered. They were not like the zombies, easily countered and killed.

"Ask and thou will receive." Zeru appeared out of Jin's phone and stared at the horizon for a while.

"What is with that cheesy line? And I thought you would only return two days later?" Jin gave his Shifu a vexed look.

"Sometimes things do not go exactly as planned, and this is one such example," Zeru said in a cool and calm voice that oddly made Jin uneasy. When Jin thought about it, he was, in fact, the first disciple Zeru had taken. In a way, he was an inexperienced teacher since he only fought for himself and his master. At the very least, he was trying to teach. "Perhaps, he should not force himself too hard and use the traditional route of teaching students." Jin thought to himself.

"Actually, Zeru's master did not really teach him much and mostly gave him lots of weird errands to do. I think Zeru is trying to imitate his master and he hopes that you will learn in the same way he did. Guess it was not working too well. That was why he decided to appear early to amend his mistakes." Yun said in Jin's thought.

"I noticed that your sword skills are still unpolished from the previous brief fight with the yellow Werejackal. While you did utilise your cultivation techniques, you did not have any proper sword techniques to complement it. It would be quite the disgrace if other people knew Zeru's disciple cannot hold a sword properly." Zeru unfolded a cloth that was covering his wooden sword.

"Hence, I shall teach you by sparring with you right here, right now. Try to learn everything." Zeru raised his sword as a sign of challenge to Jin.

"What? But those werejackals are coming!" Jin started to have cold sweat as Zeru was going to duel right in front of the werejackals.

"Then shoo them away as we fight. Right now, I am giving you five seconds before I start my attack." Zeru beckoned Jin to start, or he would make a move.

Jin just gritted his teeth and rushed forward with his sword.

"Your centre of gravity is out of place and I can easily see where you are aiming. Were the shifting weights from the living armour insufficient training?" With his wooden sword still sheathed at his waist, Zeru dodged Jin's attack with just a slight shuffle of his feet. After which, he used his wooden sword's hilt to bash Jin's stomach, making Jin nauseous, almost throwing up in the process due to the sharp pain in his abdomen.

"Do not rely on speed and strength alone. It might work now against belligerent dumb creatures but what if you met a true sword master? Get up once more." Zeru was serious in his duel with Jin. He really did want Jin to improve.

"Yellow is gone!" Brown shouted as he sighted the Z scarred monster and the farm boy fighting each other. Although it seemed like a one-sided battle.

"Then we attack them all together and grab the farm boy's body. Take him away from the Z scarred monster and check if he still has those seeds," Grey shouted furiously and took his axe out while he was running. "That stupid yellow, I told him to be more careful."

"Grey! Boss will be coming earlier than expected since this area is closer to the reinforcements. He also said he has a big surprise for that darn z scarred monster once he arrives." Brown relayed the message to Grey. Brown was able to pick up far-reaching howls due to his were-powers bestowing an increased sensitivity of hearing.

The werejackals like Brown and Grey each had an attribute raised abnormally high from living a certain number of years. For Grey, it was an increase in intelligence and magical abilities. Hence, he was the logistic and strategic head for the Jacks. He could manage a simple fire or ice spell with ease. Most werejackals could never dream of having the chance to do so. Despite that, both Brown and Grey were competent fighters which was why they each had a name based on their fur colour. Their boss bestowed these titles to differentiate themselves from the underlings.

"Good, let's go!" Grey raised its axe and signalled the whole pack of werejackals to charge forward.

Jin fell to the ground once more and Zeru had yet to unsheathe his wooden sword when fighting against him. There were only hilt strikes, kicks, punches and even a slap, but that does not mean Jin was not learning. He did not realise there were so many simple ways to counter swords solely with hand to hand combat.

Jin in desperation took some sand and threw it at Zeru before attacking. "Decent move, but you threw it too early, I can anticipate your next attack without keeping an eye on your movements."

Zeru rushed forward and grappled Jin during the sand attack which made Jin drop Bam. While in a grapple hold, Jin had a hard time breathing due to the pain. "Looks like our party crashers have arrived. Pick your sword up, I shall spar with you properly." Zeru released Jin and unsheathed his wooden sword.

Jin suddenly heard a loud howling voice from behind but before he could do anything, Zeru dashed past Jin in a flash and smacked the werejackal down to the ground with his wooden sword. Zeru promptly continued his move set by stabbing the wooden sword into Jin from the back. Thankfully, Jin was ready for the strike and blocked with Boo before he attempted to pierce Zeru.

"You need to lock your wrist when you thrust. Take note of your footwork too. Also, why do I feel like there is a lack of conviction to attack me? Are you scared of me? If you are, how are you going to fight in the future if there is a threat against your loved ones? Or your customers?" With each question, Zeru pushed Jin back even further.

Jin disengaged from Zeru, only to find out he was going to get pounced on by another werejackal. Somehow, the movements of the werejackal were slower than Zeru and Jin used Boo again to block the werejackal's swipe attack. Instead of disengaging, Jin lunged onto the werejackal and used Bam in his right hand, to stab the werejackal in the throat. He quickly dropped Boo and the handphone appeared from his wristbands which he used immediately to capture the werejackal.

"Capture complete," Yun said in his mind.

"Haha, I see that you found another function for the living armour. To store your phone between the wristbands for easier access." Zeru moved like a flying arrow towards Jin and he successfully landed a hit on Jin's back which caused Jin to fall to the ground again. However, this time three werejackals directed their fury towards Zeru, which gave Jin a split second breather to retaliate back against him.

"Excellent, you are learning." Zeru twirled his wooden sword with his fingers and blocked all four attacks simultaneously. Jin could only find himself bewildered by Zeru's techniques. Zeru smiled and continued to attack Jin but as time went by, Jin got more and more used to Zeru's attack. Now he managed to defend himself from at least half of the attacks. To both master and disciple, the werejackals were like flies attracted to the delicious smelling food.

Grey, who was observing the fight from the sidelines, knew it would be stupid to intervene in the duel between the farm boy and the Z scarred monster. He also realised the farm boy was capable of making his brothers disappear into nothingness. He counted six werejackals who disappeared.

In addition, the Z scarred swordsman was not even making an effort to kill the werejackals, unlike in the previous ambush where they greatly suffered as he searched for the sparkling seeds.

Brown was itching to prove his worth but Grey stopped him. "Wait for Boss to come. In the meantime, let those two humans wear each other out."

"Heh, you do not need to wait any longer," Brown smirked as they heard an echoing howl behind them. Both turned to look and saw a large praying mantis hovering above them with two towering figures at the top of it.

"Boss Gold and Lady Boss Cat are here." Brown howled loudly and charged towards Jin.