Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Crushing Leonhardt
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The light that had blazed across Leonhardt's entire body, bright enough to scorch him, finally faded.
The moment I instinctively recoiled from the explosion of light right in front of me, it was as good as losing the battle of wills against him.
Leonhardt, his skin glowing like a lit-up bulb, looked down at me with utter confidence.
Kali said,
["Something feels off about this. Am I the only one getting that vibe? My skin's all tingly."]
"Same here."
["Should I send in reinforcements?"]
"If things get dicey next, call in Dart and Gilgamesh."
["That serious?"]
No time to answer her question.
Emboldened, Leonhardt charged with his shining sword, fast as a flash of light.
Kwa—boom!
"?!"
Screeech—
The sensation of thunderforce clashing between our locked blades.
His strength had surged far beyond before, and the level of thunderforce coming from this hero—who'd never had any to begin with—felt utterly alien.
Power erupted.
Kwa-boom!!
Leonhardt's eyes gleamed white, now that he'd tasted divine power.
Boom! Boom!!
The hero before me swung his sword.
No need for sword training—or even a lifetime of it—like us modern folk; his martial prowess far surpassed the ordinary.
Buffs bolstering me and debuffs hammering the enemy poured in, but...
["Debuffs aren't landing?!"]
Someone was shielding Leonhardt.
Clang!
"Urk—!"
Every time his monstrous brute strength slammed his sword into mine, my teeth ground together.
A hero from the East.
Under Wirentia's command, every nation in Midgard had poured prime bloodlines and endless support into the eastern front, where monsters overran the borders.
It was like all Midgard's finest warriors had gathered there.
More precisely, he was a descendant of that lineage.
Among them, Prince Tereb from the easternmost frontline embodied the pinnacle of "best" and "strongest." His swordsmanship was no joke.
Clang! Claaang! Clang!!
I was too busy blocking his aggressive strikes to do much else, while that irritating thunderforce aggressively invaded my sensory domain.
Drunk on power, Leonhardt spammed thunderforce wildly as he flailed his sword about.
He spat out,
"Now I get what your power feels like. So this is it. Now that I can wield it, you're not all that special."
Cocky little shit.
I'd never imagined trading thunderforce with an NPC hero.
Leonhardt, lost in wielding thunderforce like an extension of his sword, finally unleashed a skill.
[For the Gods lv99]
Boom!
His father was from Wirentia, alright—skill name and all.
Leonhardt slammed his sword into the ground with all his might, blanketing the area in white light that upended everything.
Then came the combo.
Ka-ka-clang!
In the designated space, his sword spun three times in an instant, striking me thrice.
Even shielding with my sword and barriers, I couldn't withstand the force and went flying.
Leonhardt nimbly rushed me.
The hero's eyes flashed.
He raised his sword straight, concentrated his thunderforce, and thrust in a straight line with full power.
Kwaaang—!
My defenses held, preventing penetration, but nearby heroes scattered like the parting of the Red Sea.
The overwhelming pressure bore down.
Screeech, boom!
I'd been pushed back helplessly, but stabbing my sword into the ground and shifting my stance stopped me dead. The surroundings flinched and fell silent.
I relaxed my battle stance and asked,
"...That all you got?"
Leonhardt, who'd been smirking down at me from afar, visibly startled.
He'd landed his prized finisher and skill successfully, wearing that smug look like he'd righteously judged me.
I was genuinely dumbfounded.
"You strutted around so cocky, I thought some major god had your back. But nah, nothing special."
"!"
"Can't even control your thunderforce properly. Guess an NPC's just an NPC."
Leonhardt clenched his fists.
To heroes, "NPC" hits like gods looking down with "mere humans," and you'd get it.
His thunderforce had surprised me a bit, but even decent thunderforce meant nothing from a total newbie.
If Leonhardt were a game player, I'd be tempted to kidnap and force-train him into a guildmate—he had that much potential.
But this wasn't his power. It was from whoever was backing him.
I asked Leonhardt,
"Who's the one propping you up? An awakened hunter? Some hidden master? I won't get mad—just tell me the name."
I wanted to know.
["I can hear everything you're saying from here, you know. Gotta guildmaster flex right now?"]
"Yeah."
["Fine...."]
Kali trailed off in reply.
Spotting talent and dragging them into the guild? Guild master instinct 101.
Leonhardt looked shell-shocked.
If it'd been Hellcannon instead of Leonhardt, things might've gotten dicey.
Hellcannon's swordsmanship, martial arts, and sword aura control outclassed Midgard's heroes by a mile.
But this guy was too green.
Great sword skills, sure—but that's it. His thunderforce was nowhere near Dart or Gilgamesh's level to begin with, and zero control meant it just burst out wildly.
Master the ebb and flow of thunderforce, and you could squeeze out even more explosive output.
No way a guy freshly unlocked with mystery support knew the thrill of toying with it like a rubber band.
"Well? Answer me?"
I readjusted my grip on my sword, but the hero, deep in shock, stayed silent.
Boom!
I didn't wait, slamming my sword into the ground.
Kuku-boom!
I unleashed a similar skill to his [For the Gods], and Leonhardt's eyes bulged.
"!"
Tweak a vaguely matching skill, and it works like a charm.
Fascinating discovery.
The area erupted on a grander scale than his version, the shockwave flinging everything skyward.
Screeech—!!
I yanked my sword free, infused it with thunderforce, and swept horizontally. Heroes scattered across the area got wiped out in one go.
From nearby, guildmates let out impressed cheers.
From gate to dungeon.
The first squad had nearly died at the gate, then poured effort into Midgard.
Guild skills were now far freer; top rankers' adaptability had skyrocketed, spawning derivatives from familiar skills.
I bellowed,
"Kali! Damage barrage!"
I left the incoming attacks to them and charged Leonhardt.
He hastily raised his sword.
Kaa—clang!!
"Grk!!"
His sword, momentum crushed, felt weaker than before.
Clang! Claaang! Boom!
I pressed lightly, overwhelming with thunderforce, and Leonhardt paled.
Beyond raw skill output, pure thunderforce suppressed his mana, crippling his techniques.
Word was, widen the thunderforce gap enough, and you could hijack another hunter's skill window, commandeering their mana like your own. Pure theory—I hadn't tried it yet.
I caught the moment faltering Leonhardt tried a skill and countered instantly.
"?!!"
Kuku-boom—!
I grinned leisurely at Leonhardt, who recoiled in horror from eating his own technique reversed.
The once-fierce hero had lost all will to fight, face twisted in fear.
* * *
Godgold's live stream was pure festival vibes.
"Kaisha! Kaisha!"
Ptoo! Ptoo!
Hosts pulled out party hats and noisemakers from the siege days.
Chat was the same.
-Kaisha is a god! Kaisha is a god! Kaisha is a god! Kaisha is a god! Kaisha is a god!
-Where'd all that "we're doomed" tension go lololol so funny lololol
-Wow, Kaisha's on another level
-Haa... so cool.... Kamen......
-Tomorrow's news is gonna be wild
-Cameramen who fled scared when Kaisha got pushed, now charging back all brave once she turns it around
-Unni I love you(//´༎ຶД༎ຶ//)♡ Unni I love you(//´༎ຶД༎ຶ//)♡ Unni I love you(//´༎ຶД༎ຶ//)♡ Unni I love you(//´༎ຶД༎ຶ//)♡ Unni I love you(//´༎ຶД༎ຶ//)♡ Unni I love you(//´༎ຶД༎ຶ//)♡
-lololololololololololololololololololol
-Why tf does she fight so goodㅠㅠ my heart hurts gonna dieㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Comments flooded up fast.
Kaisha gleefully hammered Leonhardt, then hit him with a counter—chat exploded in ecstasy.
-Wow so cool
-Kya!!!
-Godlike payback! God Kaisha!
-Upper comment rhymes lol
-Feels like the game's just swapped Midgard for modern backdrop?
-Fun factor unchanged
-Ugh getting hit by that counter feels so gross;; like getting utterly wrecked;;;
-Did the hero just use thunderforce?? Heroes can't normally, right?? That full-body lightbulb moment earlier—was that thunderforce activating???
-Kaisha's thunderforce is insane lol thunderforce bully Kaisha wrecking with thunderforce
-I'd convert for real if someone started Kaishaism
-Wish Kaisha was my noonaㅠㅠ
-First time feeling like this
-This is modern hero flick material lololol absolute blast lolol
-Wow... that skill tho.....
Tension vanished from chat; viewers partied like watching live game footage.
Gorgeous, boundary-blurring skill animations between reality and game.
Fighting like it's a game.
Once Kaisha swept the area and properly engaged Leonhardt, the tide fully turned.
Freed-up hunters protected nearby cameramen for close-ups, while Kali began capturing heroes alive per Kaisha's orders.
Heroes seeing this started surrendering, speeding things up.
-Thought Kaisha was getting pressured by that blondie for a sec, but nah she was just playing with him lololol
-Kaisha loves scouting enemy strength first
-She toyed with Dart too, duh
-Fr fr if Kaisha shows in dungeon or PK zone, players tense af. Whole group unloads ults, zone turns to chaos, corpses everywhere.
-Survivors only get scouted lol real-time tourney starts lolol
-Super famous. Vs guildmaster or exec PK, gotta go all out. Even then, iffy on pickup.
-Not guildmaster picking—players damage beg guildmaster lol "judge my skills plz"
-Used to be direct PKs
-No way lol guildmasters swarm and she still bodies??
-Absolutely no mercy lolol just dust on a rainy day lololol
-Next day guild invite waiting
-Kr.... ecstasy.......
-Fucking tempting
-Wanna get PK'd by Kaisha and wrecked. Thrilling just thinking
-lololololololol
-Pls let me pass Fulminak trials
-ㅠㅠㅠFulminak applicants so jealousㅠㅠ why no office jobsㅠㅠㅠㅠ
One hyped host, like cheering a ninth-inning homer comeback, got a live voice update.
"Oh. Other side's wrapping up too."
"Smooth sailing."
Facing central heroes ready for a straight fight wasn't easy, but chasing fleeing ones was just as messy.
One host sat at the PC, hand on mouse.
Screen switched.
From Kaisha's near-finished scene to Dart and Gilgamesh's wrapping up too.
"Dart and Gilgamesh side's almost done too, so let's check it out real qui—"
"Whoa!"
But it was too gruesome to keep watching.
"—Never mind."
"Damn, Dart's lost it. Guildies already dropped a bunch, fair to rage, but turning it full horror genre."
"Scary enough for nightmares."
The broadcast cut from Dart slaughtering captured western small fries back to Kaisha.