F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 361: Switch Mechanic

"Switch!" Durandal roared as his dull-maroon-covered weapon — angled to block the Elite Gray Ateles Mortis’s blow — dimmed, exploding in a burst of shockwave that boomed outwards and rustled the foliage violently.

But aside from that, nothing happened.

Gritting his teeth, the heavily injured young man could only jump back, glancing at Daru.

"You! Didn’t I say switch?!"

Daru, however, couldn’t respond for a while, stepping in to relieve his newly arrived comrade. Mountainsplitter has just come off cooldown.

Veiling Onimaru Kunitsuna in an eerie black aura, the tachi clashed with the cleaver legblade, the berserk growl of the huge monkey accompanying the chorus of steel.

Daru was sent skidding back a few centimeters, but so was the primate.

He held his own this time.

"What’s a switch?" he asked, but before he got a verbal answer, he saw a blur rushing from beside him, seemingly having materialized out of thin air for a moment.

Durandal, covered in a translucent white glow for one instant, brandished his intricate broadsword at the Elite Gray Ateles Mortis.

His weapon, too, was suddenly covered in the same translucent white glow.

The attack didn’t seem to be too special.

Yet, the huge monkey was caught off-guard, shifting the position of its cleaver to block. As steel clanged, it staggered one step.

Durandal was visibly shocked by the sheer might and endurance of the monkey, deciding to cautiously back away for now, flashing an irritated glance at Daru.

"You don’t even know what a switch is?!"

"Oh, shut it, you jerk! The only time you open your mouth is when you blame your comrades for something that can’t be helped?" Elara retorted in fury, dodging the blade of her opponent.

"How could he know what a switch is? Do you think everyone is as well off as you? Daru, come and help us. You’ve been holding that elite off for almost ten minutes already. Surely this arrogant prick can at least do so for a minute. Let’s end these three buffoons first, then kill that big monkey together!"

Daru was a bit disoriented.

Not for being blamed, but because he was suddenly madly curious about this "switch" thing.

’Was it that white aura from earlier?’

Still, he knew they were in a deadly situation, and while the balance had tipped slightly in their favor, it could very well revert if they didn’t make use of it.

Daru put the curious matter at the back of his head for now, turning to help Elara and Peter.

With the three of them fighting against three wounded monkeys, the skirmish swayed heavily, and almost as soon as his Mountainsplitter came off cooldown, a head rolled.

Peter’s commanding ability was just too useful in skirmishes. In fact, it was borderline cheating.

Chi Xiao was an SSS-tier Soulbound Sword, after all.

His thoughts wandered as the three of them worked together to finish off the last normal Gray Ateles Mortis.

Sigrun definitely didn’t seem as powerful as Chi Xiao. At least that’s what he felt after observing how the two fought.

’But she hadn’t even tapped into the innate ability of her weapon yet...’ he thought inwardly in her defense, recalling that she still hadn’t found a suitable Soul Avatar and hadn’t had the time to.

[You have gained 18,850 Experience Points]

[You have obtained (1) Rothide.]

As the last monkey fell, the four of them quickly turned to the elite. A sneer appeared on Elara’s face.

Durandal was dying in less than a minute!

While the princess inwardly admitted that she was being spiteful and a bit unreasonable — pressuring the jerk by comparing Daru’s ten minutes against the Elite Gray Ateles Mortis in its normal state to Durandal’s less than a minute holding off the huge monkey while berserk — she still felt a flicker of delight at the Noravian SSS-ranker’s expression.

He was probably wondering how Onimaru Kunitsuna had managed to last ten minutes against that thing, questioning his own abilities.

Still, they cannot let the jerk die as, ultimately, they were comrades in a high-stakes interracial race.

The original trio immediately went to help.

Peter whispered into his sword, then slashed at the massive monkey, halting its movements for just long enough for Durandal to evade the blow.

Elara, meanwhile, suddenly said as she sprinted ahead, circling behind the Noravian SSS-ranker:

"Daru, watch this princess. This is how a switch works."

Daru did as he dashed to his position on the other side.

A second later, the Elite Gray Ateles Mortis was attacking Durandal again, but the SSS-ranker absorbed the blow with his sword, transferring the damage to the surroundings in the form of a shockwave.

It was at that moment that Elara emerged from behind Durandal, figure momentarily disappearing, then reappearing with a slight boost in movement speed, covered in the same white aura.

She raised her flyssa and struck forth, slashing at the huge monkey’s thigh.

Her sword got stuck halfway, her strength eventually failing to push through completely, but the damage had been done.

The Gray Ateles Mortis counterattacked in rage.

However, the cleaver legblade only phased through her.

A dark-wine blur then switched, wounding the elite further, though he was sent flying shortly after, struggling to stabilize his footing.

With Daru, Peter, and Elara around, the monkey could not pursue. There were many more important, immediate threats it had to deal with now.

The berserk Elite Gray Ateles Mortis was horrifyingly strong, and its corrosive Sword Skills were extremely lethal not only to them but to the environment.

However, with the four of them working together, there were simply too many Sword Skills that they could rotate to deal with the monkey spawn’s attacks.

Its frustration grew as it failed to touch the slippery foes. Once the hunter, now the hunted.

Unfortunately, no matter how wildly it thrashed about, none of its attacks worked.

The Elite Gray Ateles Mortis eventually fell, falling like a marionette with its strings cut as Chi Xiao passed through its neck, snuffing what remained of its life.

[You have obtained 72,120 Experience Points.]

[Congratulations! You’ve leveled up to 75.]

[You have obtained a Sword Skill Scroll from The Overseer: Rotblade Sunder (B).]

Daru’s brows rose at the last notification.

It seemed he had pleased the trial watcher once more, which he had already managed to do quite a few times.

He turned to look at his comrades’ reactions.

It seemed they received rewards, too. They were all battered and bruised, recovery consumables running dangerously low.

However, everything was worth it, as not only did he level up one time, but he also got a Sword Skill, reunited with another comrade, and managed to keep his second life.

Only, three pairs of eyes hiding in the shadows of the trees had other plans.

The battle had been so fierce that Durandal had forgotten for a moment, and by the time he remembered, a figure in burning moonlight was already streaking through the air, shooting straight for Daru.

"Onimaru Kunitsuna!!" the figure roared with a tone of familiarity anchored in deep-seated fury.