Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Chapter 119 - EP.29 – 킹콩과 혼종은 격돌한다(6)
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.29 – King Kong and the Hybrid Collide (6)
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The flames of the fire demon swept over them, leaving burns everywhere among the prisoners. In the ensuing chaos, they tripped over each other in droves.
If they were ordinary people, they would have been writhing in agony from the flames and burns, crying out in pain. But unfortunately, these were no ordinary humans.
"I-I'll kill you!"
They were humans injected with hatred and rage toward Pendragon from the start.
Moreover, they were murderers by nature—hardened survivors who had clawed their way through brutal competition with monstrous worms.
So instead of crying out in pain from the attack that engulfed them, their instinct was to burn with fury and seek revenge on the culprit who had injured them.
And so...
"There he is!!"
"Chase him!!"
The prisoners who escaped the flames swarmed toward the Pendragon knight like rabid hunting dogs.
"...We chase him too."
The man who had taken a hit from him clutched his nose, where blood poured like a waterfall, and forced himself to his feet.
His bloodshot eyes brimmed with murderous intent.
"Fourth Apostle, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Hurry and pursue. I'll recover for a moment and follow."
"......Understood."
Whoosh!
With the sound of wind, the black-clad figures vanished. The man called the Fourth Apostle caught his breath.
"He knows about the Black Moon..."
He ground his teeth, recalling the knight who had grasped their secrets.
One more reason he absolutely could not be allowed to live.
"I don't care who you are. I'll kill you for sure."
[[Krrr...]]
Even if it meant sacrificing him and everyone else as tribute!
Not out of frustration at the humiliating blow, but for the greater cause...!
...Drip, drip.
The blood still wouldn't stop.
—The Fist Pressure of the Hundred Steps Divine Fist enveloped the charging mob.
Boom boom boom!
"Aaaagh!"
"Guhk!?"
"?!?"
They tumbled across the ground without even knowing what had hit them. For those experiencing the Hundred Steps Divine Fist for the first time, it must have felt like a ghost had struck them, inducing hallucinations.
But it was understandable to mistake it for a ghost's doing.
"I-Invisible hands!"
"H-How from that far away...!?"
"The Pendragon knight commands ghosts!!"
Freely dominating distances of thirty or fifty paces and landing precise Fist Pressure strikes was truly like the touch of a ghost. The unexpected terror made the prisoners hesitate visibly, and whenever that happened, Lee Han...
Thwack!!
...didn't hesitate to kick their faces or shatter their legs.
The more they panicked and froze, the better for him.
It meant an easier breakthrough.
But...
Thud!
"Don't get scared—charge! We've got numbers!"
"One stab and the knight's dead, grandpa or not! Stab him—!!"
"Maintain formation! Don't break it, you idiots!!"
Not everyone was panicking.
Veterans accustomed to real combat proved it by shaking off the unfamiliar technique of the Hundred Steps Divine Fist and charging right back in.
Some, with command experience, began pressuring him gradually, while others dove in boldly.
Of course, for those types...
Crack!
"Out of the way."
Crunch!
...he smashed them mercilessly.
In an instant, his fists flashed dazzlingly, striking the philtrum and sternum.
After lightly disabling them with vital point hits, his hand blade stabbed into their side like a harpoon—and then!
Crunch crunch!!
His grip tore in like ripping flesh, crushing ribs.
The shattered bones pierced organs, and prisoners collapsed one after another.
Even if they survived, they'd carry lifelong disabilities.
Some might call it cruel, but Lee Han felt no hesitation.
'The rotten stench is overwhelming.'
The rot emanating from them.
Body odor from lack of washing?
No.
This was the stench his experience-attuned senses picked up—the rot of the vile.
The same foul odor from illicit spellcasters, illegal slave traders, and their ilk.
Beings with no guilt, who derived pleasure and thrill from harming others rather than reflecting on their crimes—tumors on society.
Lee Han felt no need to hold back against such scum.
'No time to waste emotions on trash that's useless alive.'
Lee Han's eyes grew cold as pebbles.
He no longer saw them as people, but as pests to exterminate.
And so, as he broke through, he steadily battered and shattered them without mercy.
Block his path? Smash them.
Resist? Make them pay dearly.
Repeating this principle as he advanced—!
Crunch crunch!!
"I-Instructor, looks like we've broken through?"
"......"
"Instructor...?"
"...Feels like I blacked out for a second."
"I-Immersion, huh. Scary level of..."
"Hoo..."
......At some point, no one stood in his way.
Derek swallowed dryly.
Lee Han's profound immersion and the resulting power display just now were...
'Even a Terminator would be less scary.'
Movements like a machine exterminating inorganic matter.
The moment he confirmed they were criminals, mercy vanished from his hands, and his motions grew ever more precise and devastating.
Overwhelming—almost like what a grim reaper might look like.
'The [Diamond Victory] trait must have gone berserk...'
Lee Han's seven—no, surely eight or nine traits by now.
Among them, the pinnacle Diamond Victory was likely a 'righteous' aligned trait.
Sensitive to evildoers, it would shine brighter against the wicked.
With synergy from his sensory traits on top, the Diamond Victory would unleash even fiercer power.
The advantage of trait linkages.
'If the Spell Slaughterer trait linked in too, amplifying the power... Instructor would be the pinnacle at his level.'
As just confirmed...
Shiver!
Derek felt grateful they were allies.
Lee Han's handling of the prisoners was so intense it bordered on terrifying.
"Wanna check Instructor's status window again. Wonder how much it changed..."
"Traits, huh... Damn, not even a game."
"Haha, I'll jot down the stats and show you later."
"Looks like your skill cooldowns are all up?"
"Haha..."
Derek didn't hide it.
His [Status Insight] skill was ready, as stated.
Moreover...
'Now up to five consecutive uses.'
Thanks to his own efforts and accumulated experience, all his skills had leveled up overall, and he was reaping the benefits.
Five straight uses of Status Insight was welcome, and the cooldown shrinking from three months to half a month felt great.
Thus...
"Just check the traits, and we'll see his new growth path. Traits are potential, after all."
"Sigh, feels like I'm a game character..."
Lee Han looked reluctant, but accepted it since it would reveal growth directions.
Game character or not, the anticipation of uncovering unknown potential swelled within him.
Lee Han looked forward to later.
...Of course.
"Assuming we escape safely."
"Huh?"
"...A seriously bad guy's coming."
"Instructor...?"
"Prep to run. This one's no pushover."
"!?"
Lee Han's expression hardened rapidly.
A potent presence crept into his senses.
No comparison to No. 4.
"Figured not every foe would be that sloppy."
"......"
Derek saw him ramp up tension like never before.
'W-What's coming?'
Derek instinctively activated [Crisis Sense].
To figure out what was approaching.
Soon...
[Beeeep!!]
"!!!?"
Derek yelped in shock and collapsed.
An enormous warning blared through his mind, shaking his brain.
"Guhh...!"
"Told you to prep to run, not pull weird stunts."
"I-Instructor! A-A massive guy's coming. Max Lv. 8...!!"
Derek was stunned.
First, by Lee Han sensing it from 10km away.
Second, by the foe asserting presence from 10km.
And finally...
'Crazy!? It's falling!'
The enemy was smashing through the tunnel ceiling, plummeting and closing distance in seconds.
Meaning they knew Lee Han had noticed and were heading straight here.
Derek panicked and tried to evade, but...
"-Too late."
Lee Han's instinct told him.
The foe would cover them precisely, evasion or not.
And shaking off something that big wouldn't be easy.
In that case...
Boom!!
'Can't shake it off? Then crush it flat.'
Lee Han clenched his fist, channeling his full-body power into it.
Jing.
The means to wield every 'force' from muscles, bones, tendons, weight, and more.
As this world's sole creator of jing, Lee Han's was leagues beyond cadets—not even same class.
Crackle!
The unparalleled jing master went beyond gathering power from every corner; he overlapped it.
Hummm!
Time remained before impact, allowing more buildup.
Lee Han bulged veins, amassing to the limit, until...
Thud!
Thud thud!
Explosions resounding from within.
Prep to unleash, a simple brutal chain of force detonations—no technique needed.
A feat that would burst others' bodies; Lee Han endured the pain, readying his extended fist.
A technique to land even one on Baltar, trusting his flesh.
If named...
—Overlapping Jing.
His maximum strike, completing just as...
Kaboom!!
The ceiling crumbled, and it appeared.
[UHAHAHAHA!!!]
Emerging with mad laughter, it had long sensed Lee Han—as he had it—and entered attack stance.
With terrifying pressure matching Lee Han's aura, the foe thrust its fist at him.
Crunch!
Rumble!!
Their auras and energies clashed, already reducing the surroundings to rubble—no escape left.
The two locked eyes just before collision, murderous intent...
"Eh?"
"Hm?"
......Familiar faces.
Definitely...
'Maximus...?'
—Boom!!
The volcano-like explosive fist met the thunderbolt-from-the-sky fist.
Their clash finally...
Rumble rumble!!
—triggered an earthquake.
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