"Master, you..."
Tommy gasped for air. He felt a warm, metallic breath surging in his chest, like a foehn wind blowing in his face. This heat from the inside out made him blush and speechless:
"Can you spare his life? I am willing to die for him."
"Mr. Shipworm can tell the difference between the flesh and blood of nobles and poor people." The master said contemptuously, dismissing this idea.
"In this case, I will die with this gentleman."
Tommy turned around, held the blade of the knife with both hands, and respectfully handed the hilt end to his master.
The master's deep, wrinkled pale eye sockets expressed a complicated expression. The emotion contained in that expression was so complex that Tommy couldn't describe it at all. He had only seen a similar expression when his grandfather looked at his father before he died.
This brief glance actually made Tommy feel that the other person was as flesh and blood as himself, making him less scary.
"Since you want to die, why don't you risk your life and sneak attack me? It's a dead end anyway, are you willing to sit back and wait for death?" The master did not take the butcher's knife.
"Because you are very good to me..." Tommy replied truthfully, "If you were just an ordinary chef, I would definitely be willing to learn your craft from you, take care of you all my life, and die for you when you are old. But I don't want to hurt you. Others, it’s not right to do that and the Holy Spirit will be displeased.”
"The Holy Spirit... after witnessing so many things, you still believe that He is real."
The master gripped the handle of the knife regretfully with one arm. He raised the knife flat and seemed to be examining the pale and strange face reflected on the blade:
"It's such a shame, Tommy. You don't know what you're missing."
"...I won't know anymore."
Clang! Sparks flashed before Tommy's eyes like fireworks, without even any pain.
He thought he would recall a lot of things at this moment, but nothing happened. Time did not become slow and sticky as expected, but like a thunder, the starry sky suddenly brightened, and then disappeared in an instant.
Am I... dead?
The strange thing is that his head still stayed in place and did not fall to the ground with the flash of the sword.
A green, impenetrable arc-shaped barrier stood in front of him. Countless small translucent crystal lattices formed complex and dense patterns, like a thick shield.
The cutting edge of the butcher knife underwent violent deformation and curled. There is also a long and deep knife mark on the barrier. Along the direction of the knife edge, the cracks spread like a spider web.
The stream of light penetrated the barrier, and the master's face was ferocious and surprised, and the originally pale skin was reflected into a distorted and miserable green. Wherever he could see it, a slender but full and powerful hand pushed open the originally locked kitchen door.
It's Miss Catalina!
Am I saved...?
Tommy could guess the owner of that palm, but before he could rejoice, the shield slammed into him like a mountain.
boom! The powerful impact knocked Tommy to the ground and pushed him into the corner. There was a buzzing sound in his head and ears.
…
"It seems like I'm so stupid that I didn't even notice that the guests were coming."
The bald man unfolded his weird six arms, his tone became calm again, and he said with a sneer, "Let me remind you, miss - the kitchen is an important place and no one should enter."
"It won't be long. I'm taking away Burke Orton, and that little boy named Tommy."
Katarina held an emerald and placed her left palm on the broken sword. The clear green crystal branches grew and spread, as majestic and vigorous as bamboo shoots sprouting from the ground, until the missing sword body of the 'Tree Heart' was completely repaired.
Although the distance between the two was far, the other party did not let Catalina complete the secret text so easily. The curled-edged slaughtering knife flew towards him, and a sound of breaking wind roared past, before Catalina knocked it away with her sword.
"No one is allowed to take raw ingredients out of the kitchen."
Taking advantage of this brief interval, the chef also pulled out six kitchen knives from the knife holder behind his back.
Judging from the force and accuracy of the throw just now, the opponent's reaction and strength should not be much worse than mine.
Katarina judged. She has faced opponents with one-handed swords, two-handed swords, or dual-wielding weapons, but she has never faced an enemy with six arms.
The kitchen knife may be sharper, but after all it is just a cooking tool without a sword grid or guard for blocking, and even the longest butcher's knife is only about the length of a dagger.
As a true battlefield killing weapon, the long sword has absolute advantages in terms of length and strength. As long as you guard the center line and control the distance between the sword edge and the opponent's throat, no matter how flexible the opponent's six arms are, it will only be a waste of effort.
Just as he was thinking about countermeasures, the bald man swooped forward like a cheetah. The six arms attacked from almost completely different directions, which was dizzying for a moment.
Katarina did not dodge or evade, but only one sharp thrust forced the opponent to retreat hastily to avoid being pierced through the throat by the tip of the sword.
Before she could take advantage of the situation and slash with her sword, an appendage exploded. The huge recoil shook the residual limb to pieces. In the bright red blood mist, the bones of the arm broke out of the flesh and turned into a scarlet bone spear to stab Catalina in the abdomen.
She lowered her center of gravity, and the "Lake" secret text appeared again. The green barrier made a crisp sound, deflecting the speeding bone spear and crashing into the wall, almost piercing the gas pipe.
At this time, the man had jumped high and jumped over the barrier in front of him, and the five sword lights turned into an airtight net. Even if Katarina stabbed her to the vital point with her sword, the remnant force of the blade falling from the sky would be enough to severely injure her.
Catalina stretched out her legs to kick forward, and used the barrier in front of her to slide backwards. She stayed close to the ground and managed to avoid the life-for-life fight on the other side. Then she rolled to her feet and counterattacked with vigorous steps.
The bald man stood up to fight, but after all, there was a huge chasm between the chef and the knight——
The dance of the sword cut off his flesh and blood like the blades of a wind turbine. The sword edge suddenly went from top to bottom, and then from bottom to top, over and over again, like raindrops in a mirror. Every time he moved around, an arm was cut or directly severed.
In an instant, the man had no arms left. He knelt on the ground covered in blood, as if dying.
"Surrender." Catalina put the sword on his neck, "I guarantee you will get a fair trial."
"No one can judge me."
The pale man without any beard or hair smiled and slammed into the sword blade, causing blood to splash everywhere. Katarina couldn't help but close her eyes.
Is this... the first person I've killed?
