Chapter 7: Swords and Fists

Location: Vendora Castle

Vendora is an ancient castle spanning approximately 2 kilometers. Built in 1578 by the brilliant architect Alexander Bethor, it was intended for the first king of the Impact Kingdom.

However, what the kingdom's inhabitants, except for those within the government, are unaware of is a massive research facility, nearly the size of the entire kingdom, buried beneath the city's surface.

Inside one of these laboratories, a doctor whose eyes have been replaced with bionic eyes is observing Emilia as she recovers from her battle with Akazuha.

She is currently placed inside a water-filled chamber, and robotic arms are beginning to stitch up her wounds and restore her severed body parts.

{Click}

The automatic door behind her opened, and another doctor entered.

She was a woman of the beastkin race, with rabbit ears, snow-white skin, and a face like that of a great beauty.

She walked towards the other doctor, adjusted her white glasses, and asked,

"How is A.H.M. 2008 doing?"

The doctor with the bio-eye, Dr. Kael, kept his eyes fixed on the screen displaying Emilia's survival data. The cold blue light from the screen illuminated his cold face.

"She's stable now, but vital organs are still severely damaged." Her voice was dry and analytical. "Her biomechanical system is down by 43%, her alloy skeleton is broken in 18 places, and her energy core is depleted by 70%. Most notably, she has suffered some psychological damage, with her resistance and confidence indices dropping by 97%. She's completely broken down."

The rabbit-like beast-tribe woman, Dr. Lira, whistled softly, her rabbit ears perked up in interest.

"Subdued by a naturally occurring biological individual? Interesting. Does the battle data confirm the information from the Venuz-2017 satellite?"

"Yes." Dr. Kael tapped lightly on the control panel. A hologram appeared, replaying key moments from the battle between Akazuha and Emilia, recorded from satellites in outer space, hidden cameras, and underground sensors placed around the city. "The Akazuha Shashiki displayed physical strength far exceeding the parameters of any A.H.M. Generation 2000 member. He didn't use complex magic, but rather a supreme form of body technique called {Martial Arts}. He defeated 2008 with precision, speed, and a purely physical finishing blow."

Lira approached the glass vial, her curious gaze sweeping over Emilia's healing body.

"So that's right, those old geezers on Aetherion sent 2007 and 2003 down. 2007 was neutralized by a martial arts technique, and 2003..." She chuckled softly. "He's fighting that guy."

"A foolish act," Dr. Kael remarked coldly. "We only have a few pieces of information about him from the newspapers; everything else about him is a mystery."

"Besides..." Lira added. "Emilia's ability to overpower him is thanks to her invincibility mode, reducing damage to zero; otherwise, the battle would have ended in 10 minutes."

"But aren't you curious?" Kael turned back, his eyes shining. "A being with natural, unaltered life forms, yet capable of reaching such a level. His DNA, muscle structure, even his motor nerve pathways... all are priceless treasures. If we can analyze them, even replicate them, our bio-soldiers will surpass all limits."

Kael finally looked away from the screen, his bio-eyes emitting a faint red light.

"That's why we need to capture him at all costs. We need Akazuha alive and intact, or at least with a functioning brain. A rotten corpse from 2003 is useless."

"Then..." Lira smiled, a beautiful but cold smile. "We should need some help. 2003 has activated the tracking signal. Instead of letting it crush the specimen, we can remotely control it, leading the chase to Test Site 9. There, the environment is controlled, and we can deploy A.H.M. 2009 and 2011."

"2009 and 2011 are still in their final testing phase," Kael reminded, his voice sounding thoughtful.

"Exactly, what better way to test them than to pit them against the world's strongest creature?" Lira winked. "We gather valuable combat data, and at the same time, we have a chance to capture Akazuha alive. Killing two birds with one stone."

Silence fell for a moment, broken only by the sound of the robotic arm stitching Emilia's wounds.

"Alright," Kael nodded. "Activate the {Hunting Trap} Protocol. Navigate A.H.M 2003 and Akazuha's signal to Zone 9. Deploy 2009 and 2010 on high alert. Record all data."

"And Emilia?" Lira asked.

"Show her all the battle data again," Kael said, his voice cold. "Including the moment of defeat. Stimulate feelings of hatred and a desire for revenge. When her body recovers, upgrade her neural reflex system to level 4. Next time, she must become a more perfect fighting machine, in case those guys get defeated again."

"Turning defeat into a tool... you're ruthless." Lira chuckled, but didn't object, and began typing commands on his personal control panel.

"Oh right, it seems we still haven't captured the princess, have we?"

"Isn't that right? We sent the mass-produced A.H.M 1001 to capture her, but then Akazuha appeared and killed them all. A few C-rank adventurers were also sent, but it seems he killed them too. Emilia went there, but she was defeated as well."

"A.H.M 2003 and A.H.M 2010 aren't incredibly powerful, but their combined strength is immense. Even so, their combined power isn't enough, so we should use the second option."

"We need to try to capture it as quickly as possible and then control it." Kael said, entering the activation codes for 2009 and 2011. "That puppet king Ardan VI is about to lose his usefulness."

<♤♤♤>

"Are you alright?"

A.H.M 2003 helped A.H.M 2008 up. Thanks to the healing artifact he brought, the cut on A.H.M 2008's neck had closed.

"He's no pushover. His speed is even faster than mine."

"Let's charge forward and then split up, each attacking from opposite sides."

A figure emerged from behind the smoke, seemingly rising and advancing towards them both.

"Prepare..."

Akazuha stepped out of the smoke, but instead of going forward, he went to the right and placed the robot down.

"Stay here, partner, I'll be right back."

Akazuha stood up, then teleported towards the two men, punching them away.

"Your punch is too weak, you ox! Your punch is like a girl's, no, a girl's punch is stronger than yours."

The two men had disappeared.

"Huh, where did they go?"

He looked around and saw the two men charging at him from both sides. Akazuha sighed, not from exhaustion, but to catch his breath.

"Flowing Claw Spring Fist!"

His hands clenched tightly, his nimble fingers deflecting the bull's charge, while the leopard, with his superb knife skills, unleashed a flurry of slashes that even Akazuha found impressive.

"As expected, you're strong thanks to these two knives."

"No wonder you were defeated so easily earlier." His hands skillfully blocked all the knife slashes.

"That was because I underestimated you!" He slashed even faster.

With his supple body, dodging those slashes was effortless.

However, fighting these two was incredibly difficult; their coordination was perfect, like two becoming one, and one becoming two.

The bull threw a punch at him, which he blocked with his right hand, then punched him with his left.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!* Bang!

He punched him repeatedly, but with his incredibly durable skin, punches with the force of a nuclear bomb couldn't injure him.

He punched down, Akazuha blocked with both hands, the punch so powerful it destroyed half of City 003.

"Damn it!" Akazuha looked in horror at the civilians in danger.

"Where are you looking?"

The black panther slashed at Akazuha, but he kicked the bull away, then turned towards the shockwave in the shape of a slash, and punched it to pieces.

"I have to save those people."

He prepared to run to save the civilians, but a girl in the distance was running towards him.

She shouted, "Teleportation!"

A series of magic circles appeared at the feet of the civilians in danger, and with a flash of light, they were teleported away.

"Heh..." He spat out a broken tooth. "Looks like I have someone to help me."

"Is it her?"

"Do you know that girl?" Akazuha asked.

"She's the one I slashed; she's in the adventurer group of the girl you just rescued," A.H.M 2008 replied.

"Oh, really?"

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

"You're distracted."

He sensed danger; the buffalo's punch was hurtling towards his head. Luckily, the mysterious girl blocked it with her forearms, but she was pushed back, and Akazuha caught her.

"Are you alright?" Akazuha asked her, looking at her forearms and seeing the bruises healing.

He looked towards the two figures, now standing next to each other.

"Hey, what's your name?"

The girl with white hair and pink scales replied, "Kisugaki Fumoto."

{White and Pink Snake - Kisugaki Fumoto}

{Rank 38 - Class C}

"Shall we cooperate?"

"What's your rank?"

"I don't have one."

Fumoto looked confused.

"So you're not an adventurer?"

"No, I'm an explorer."

"It's no different."

"Yes, it's very different."

All four stood there looking at each other, none daring to attack first for fear that if they attacked first, they would be the losers.

"Alright, let's go, partner."

"We only just met a few seconds ago."

"Never mind, let's cooperate to kick those two ass first."

Fumoto sighed, drawing her sword, ready to charge into battle once more with the black panther and its accomplice, the water buffalo.

Akazuha, meanwhile, assumed a fighting stance.

The two beastmen charged forward, their punches and slashes synchronized.

Fumoto, pushed aside by Akazuha, was able to dodge the attack. Both of them spun around and unleashed a series of kicks at them.

"Super-Speed ​​Kick Combo!"

"Shadowless Blast!"

The two men struggled to defend themselves, one using his hands to block, the other using his knife.

"Gahhhh!!!!" The bull-like man yelled and punched the ground with enough force to push both of them back.

The bull-like man lunged at Akazuha, while the black panther-like man lunged at Fumoto.

Both seized the opportunity; one moved the enemy away, the other kicked the enemy flying towards the harbor.

End of Chapter 7

Some information that isn't very useful:

- Cities: The Kingdom of Impact possesses the largest territory on the continent, stretching from the majestic Heavenly Mandate Mountains in the west to the White Cloud Sea in the east, and from the Eternal Forest in the north to the Burning Sands Desert in the south. To effectively manage such a vast area and eliminate the remnants of regional divisions from the pre-Impact era, the central government under the first Ardan kings established a unique administrative system: a nationwide numbering system.

The entire territory is divided into 99 Administrative Zones, each assigned a unique number from 001 to 099. The numbers are not simply names, but also reflect strategic location, geographical characteristics, and level of development.

Zones 001-010: Located in the center of the territory, surrounding the capital Lunaris (Zone 001). This is the political, economic, and cultural heart of Impact, home to the kingdom's top authorities, prestigious academies, and most powerful noble families.

Zones 011-040: These fertile, densely populated areas serve as the kingdom's food granary and center for handicrafts and light industry.

Zones 041-070: These are border regions, dense forests, or high mountains. Populations are sparser, and the economy is primarily based on mining, forestry, and hunting and exploration guilds. Many military outposts are located here.

Zones 071-099: These include specialized areas such as Zone 077, the Free Trade Zone, areas of free trade, or newly annexed territories acquired during the expansion of Ardan VI. They often have their own laws and a strong military presence or presence of private corporations.

A.H.M: A.H.M (Artificially Hybridized Monster) is a top-secret research program, originating in the late period of Ardan V and intensified to its maximum under Ardan VI. The initial internal objective was to create perfect bio-soldiers to protect Impact, replacing human sacrifices in conflicts, but currently they are used for a separate purpose.