Chapter 122
Chapter 122
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Chapter 122 - EP.29 – 킹콩과 혼종은 격돌한다(9)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
```html
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.29 – King Kong and the Hybrid Clash (9)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Mystery refers to the "unknown power" scattered across various parts of the continent.
Some call it the devil's blessing, others say it's a boon from gods or fairies...
However, according to the famous sage Merlin's hypothesis.
- Mystery is nature's blessing, merely a portion of the infinite energy generated in nature's cycle seeping into us.
This was the theory currently most championed by the academic world.
In fact, just looking at the dormant volcano Vulcan imbued with mystery or the eternal snows of the north that are cold but not freezing—aren't these mysteries created by great nature itself?
Thus, people believed the great sage's hypothesis as if it were established fact.
However, this great sage also mentioned.
- Mystery is not a power given freely. Rather, it demands a price to a cruel degree.
Mystery is not a power given freely.
One can see this just by looking at the Mystery Races.
Barbarians possess innate superhuman strength and warrior talent, but their intellectual capacity is lacking.
Beastkin have innate bravery and rapid growth potential, but lack the ability to integrate with others.
Dwarves may have innate craftsmanship and long lifespans, yet they lose their muscle mass in their teens.
Whether born with mystery or acquiring it later, every mystery comes with a price.
There is no power given without a cost.
Therefore...
"Kuh-heuk!"
In the case of the mystery that manipulates a colossal monster like the Mother Worm, it meant an enormous price was involved.
A price so immense that a mere human could never pay it...
Drip...!
No. 4 vomited blood from his mouth and shed bloody tears.
His appearance was that of a vengeful ghost.
He was no different from a blood-soaked corpse that had already given up on life.
But what could be done?
'Death! Death to our enemies...!'
No. 4 no longer had the sanity to maintain reason.
All that remained was killing intent toward the enemy!
'Twelve long years! Twelve years enduring in this filthy tunnel, flattering that repulsive priest...! And now it's all ruined!'
For a full twelve years, he had lived in this godforsaken tunnel.
Solely to devote himself to the organization—no, to the Black Moon Assassins.
All for the single-minded resolve to fulfill their "long-cherished wish."
'This is no wish that some knight can just come and ruin!'
No. 4 gritted his teeth.
- No. 4 Apostle. You need to fix that hot-blooded personality of yours. If you did, you could have aimed for No. 2 Apostle by now.
This was something he, who bore the name No. 4 Apostle, often heard from No. 1 Apostle.
The de facto leader guiding the Black Moon Assassins and the one closest to becoming the [Grand Apostle].
Such advice from No. 1 Apostle was not something even a fellow apostle like him could easily dismiss.
- I'll make an effort.
- Effort alone won't cut it. You're hot-blooded by nature, and since you were implanted with ogre tendons, you're subtly influenced by the monster's instincts. Changing that temperament of yours is probably impossible.
- ...Are you mocking me right now?
- I'm not mocking you; I'm making you face reality. At the same time, here's some advice.
- Advice?
- Yes. If you encounter a superior who's clearly stronger than you, run without fail. With your temperament, there's a risk you'll charge in like a moth to a flame even against the strong.
- Ah, come on, running away? There's a line to what you can and can't say...
- Remember this. We have a long-cherished wish we must fulfill, even if it means swallowing our pride.
- !!
- Right now, the Black Moon Assassins' status within the Blood Crusaders is rock bottom. Probably because we foolishly botched things in the past. There are plenty who even resent us using the apostle names. So, No. 4 Apostle—no, Drak...
- ......
- To fulfill our wish, we need as many apostles as possible. So, if you meet a dangerous enemy, run, and save as many subordinates as you can. We still need a lot of manpower.
- ......Understood.
Drak nodded deeply at No. 1 Apostle's words, who rarely called them by their real names, and said he understood.
To save as much manpower as possible, and to survive himself...
But now.
'No. 1 Apostle! Sorry, I can't keep my promise!!'
Drak gritted his teeth, realizing No. 1 Apostle had seen right through his temperament.
Yes, he was hot-blooded.
The kind that couldn't calm down without venting the rage boiling in his chest...!
'I'll kill him! I'll kill him no matter what!'
Because of one guy, the base he'd built over twelve years was crumbling, and the soldiers he'd painstakingly trained were dying.
Some were already buried in the collapsing tunnel.
If he didn't get angry seeing that, he'd truly be a saint, but unfortunately, Drak was no saint.
Thus.
[[Keeeeee!!!]]
He had unleashed even this monster's reins.
Drak had embedded a single needle into the Mother Worm's head.
It was a massive needle roughly the height of a person, and this needle was the organization's trump card for controlling the Mother Worm: the "Mystery of Monster Manipulation."
A mystery that took the user's lifespan as the "price."
At the same time, the monster affected by the mystery grew larger and stronger the more "sacrifices" it consumed, and who knew how many trials and errors it took to reach this point.
And originally, their plan was to grow the Mother Worm to twice its current size, collapse the tunnel, and even invade the kingdom.
If they charged not just the Mother Worm but also the armed prisoners, the kingdom would suffer massive damage.
It was part of a plan they'd invested over twelve years into, but now half of it was already ruined by a single loach.
Thus...
'I'll definitely kill that knight who ruined our long-cherished wish!!'
Drak, filled with killing intent to slay him even if it meant offering his entire lifespan to the monster, charged toward death alongside the Mother Worm.
As if he no longer cared whether the tunnel collapsed or not.
Whoosh!!
...It certainly seemed that way.
Splurt!!!
[[!!!?]]
"??"
Drak, the monster racer mad with rage, forgot his fury in that instant and was left dumbfounded.
─Because the Mother Worm's neck had been precisely pierced.
"What technique is that?"
"Piercing Sun Spear."
"Ho, a technique I'd like to experience once."
"I can let you feel it right now if you'd like."
"Haha, I won't hold back then."
The loathsome knight's kicked spear precisely pierced the Mother Worm's neck, and the body lost its head, halting its charge.
Drak couldn't follow the sequence of events, but he couldn't afford to stand there dazed.
Whoosh!
"As long as I don't die, that's all that matters for now."
"!!!?"
A massive man whose approach went unnoticed.
The man had already grabbed Drak's shoulder, and Drak instinctively swung his sword to shake him off.
Kwachik!
"Not bad skill, but you relied too much on talent and slacked on training. A pity."
The man—Maximus—lightly deflected the blade, shattering it like glass, and then crushed Drak's shoulder.
"Kuaaaak!!"
Drak had prided himself on his physical prowess, unmatched by anyone, but unfortunately, his opponent wasn't just somewhat strong like him.
"This is how you use strength."
Kwaaaang!!
He was one who wielded power that shook even the mountains.
- Force to Uproot Mountains and Overawe the World.
Maximus's power literally contained the might to overturn a mountain, something a mongrel hybrid of barbarian and ogre, mere parasites on the mountain, couldn't withstand.
Crunch!
Under Maximus's blow, Drak's limbs turned to powder, and he passed out.
For one bearing the apostle's name, it was an utterly pathetic end.
"Now, the interloper is gone. Shall we continue the fight?"
"...If that guy had run off with him, I might not have been able to chase."
"Haha, what kind of knight would pull such a cowardly stunt?"
"Maybe not you."
Lee Han and Maximus felt no particular thrill despite felling one colossal monster and one skilled foe.
They were as calm as if they'd merely swatted an annoying mosquito buzzing by their ears.
Now they could fight without any more interruptions.
And watching these two...
"Wait, isn't there no reason to fight anymore?"
Derek voiced the most obvious doubt, but he couldn't bring himself to share his opinion with them.
...Fearing what rough treatment he might receive if he wedged himself between them.
A wise choice from the thief class.
Coincidence?
Or fate.
Like a divine revelation from the heavens, the skill's cooldown ended with an alert, and Derek instinctively activated [Status Insight].
Ding.
Name:[Maximus Iron de Lionel]Species:[??]Traits:[Northern Great Warrior (Lv.8), Force to Uproot Mountains and Overawe the World (Lv.8), Heavenly Martial Body (Lv.7), Tactician (Lv.6), Monster Hunter (Lv.5), Descendant of the Black King (Lv.3).]
Crack...!
Derek was stunned.
He already knew it was a Lv.8 hero class from the detection skill, but seeing the trait details left him speechless.
The species name showing as ?? again was one thing, but it didn't matter now.
What are these traits? So flashy they're majestic and blatantly overpowered!?
'N-Northern Great Warrior? The trait only the north's strongest champion can have? The one with a 0.000003% acquisition rate...!'
Not just [Great Warrior], but with the prefix [Northern], meaning a national champion.
The pinnacle trait obtainable only by staking one's life in battle.
And that at level 8...
But even more astonishing were 'Force to Uproot Mountains and Overawe the World' and 'Heavenly Martial Body'.
'Do such unheard-of traits even exist...'
The condition for Force to Uproot Mountains was insane enough, but that someone achieved it was baffling.
The benefits screamed "insane."
Already getting permanent overall stat buffs from Heavenly Martial Body, and additional ones on top...!
Moreover, not just one—five out of six traits were physical stat-related...!!
...Is this guy the fantasy version of Xiang Yu, or Hercules?
'First time hearing them, but I get it—those traits are definitely top-tier...'
'Strength buffs? That's not just slapping a jet engine on a truck?'
'Exact amplification isn't shown, but top-tier traits average 45%... Northern Great Warrior base 50%, and assuming the other two excluding Black King Descendant are 35% each...'
Total 210% buff.
This guy truly had a jet engine strapped to his already cheat-level body.
...Dizzying.
Where did such a monster even come from?
A true irregular character.
If he appeared as a boss, it'd be tantamount to "don't kill him."
Definitely a bug character born from system error.
Feeling that vertigo, Derek looked at Lee Han worriedly.
No matter how strong the instructor was, against such a "bug monster," he wouldn't emerge unscathed...
─Kwaaaang!!
"-----."
Tzzzzing—for a moment, the surroundings turned into a vacuum.
The instant the two knights clashed, a massive concentric wave enveloped dozens of meters, distorting the air.
Derek couldn't withstand the shockwave and was flung into the wall.
"...Cough."
Drip.
Blood streamed from his nose from the impact, but Derek didn't bother wiping it, just wore a dumbfounded expression and turned to Lee Han.
"...Status."
He activated the skill and saw it.
Literally—
Name:[Lee Han Turtle]Species:[??]Traits:[Diamond Attainment (Lv.8), Strong Regeneration (Lv.6), New-Super Sense (Lv.7), New-Extreme Poison Resistance (Lv.5), Prodigy's Talent (Lv.8), Spell Slayer (Lv.6), New-Indomitable (Lv.5).]
...Stats that made one question if it was even human.
"........."
Derek was so shocked he nearly fainted.
He knew Lee Han had faced deathly crises during the Ghost King's elixir and the trial to reach Lv.8.
He expected additional traits, but this...!
'I-insane! Indomitable? The one that emerges only if [The Enduring], [Madman], [Pain Enjoyer] all form...!?'
Normally, surviving the elixir's agony and gaining even one would be fortunate...
But all three formed the day he took it? Astonishing enough, but seeing [Super Sense] and [Extreme Poison Resistance] nearly made Derek collapse.
All traits with generation rates comparable to Northern Great Warrior.
Chilling traits.
Confirming the Lv.8 traits' powers, Derek realized how foolish his worries were.
'Whoa... He's like the Ghost King in human form?'
Derek had a sudden realization.
Maybe their species showing as ?? meant they could no longer be classified as human...
Thus.
'...I-I'm not gonna die, right?'
Feeling like a shrimp caught in a whale fight, Derek quickly scanned for an escape route.
Stuck between those King Kong or Godzilla-like brutes, he wouldn't even leave bone fragments behind.
```