Chapter 291
Chapter 291
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 291
Chapter Title: Shamus (2)
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Joe remained silent.
No, more precisely, the entire Anti-Shamus Alliance—including Joe—had fallen silent.
The city's new armed force, the Security Bureau.
The Pinkman group, which had made a name for itself across the Allied Kingdoms including Randa.
The overwhelming numbers and organization of the Direct subordinates under Lisa.
Even the Fighter Crew, who had risen as a new power in the underworld.
Despite everyone's blood still running hot from battling Shamus's minions just moments ago, the sudden landslide and the wooden rampart sweeping everything away had chilled it to the bone.
Shamus... The living legend of Randa, as he'd heard countless times before. But to wield power capable of reshaping the terrain itself? It was utterly beyond expectation.
Calling him a one-man army wasn't an exaggeration.
Yet what was even more shocking was that someone was actually fighting against such a Shamus.
The chilling impacts echoing from beyond the wooden rampart were proof. Joe knew instinctively who it was.
'Mr. Dave...'
Suddenly, the ground trembled, and a massive tidal wave erupted from within the wooden rampart.
A tidal wave made of earth.
It seemed impossible for any human to pull off, but soon an even more astonishing sight unfolded before their eyes.
A ferocious black flame rode a massive whirlwind, smashing head-on into the earthen tidal wave.
It was a scene so far beyond common sense that it felt like natural disasters clashing.
Oliver felt ashamed of himself for thinking he'd finally mastered Black Suit and Black Armor perfectly, enough to pull his weight as a proper fighter.
Even the top talents from Randa could only gape in awe at the spectacle unfolding before them.
But this wasn't the end.
The pillar of fire that had shattered the earthen wave suddenly writhed like an enraged serpent and collapsed to the ground.
It took the form of a monster lunging for prey. Yet a giant born from the earthquake immediately subdued it.
A giant composed of brown and deep green.
The giant, towering as tall as the skyscrapers in District J, rose with Shamus on its shoulder and seized the black fire pillar with its massive hands, twisting until it snapped the life from it.
A sight that not only chilled the blood but shattered all will to fight.
Its sheer overwhelming presence made even the thought of battle evaporate.
Shwoooohahahahahahahahaha—!!!
As everyone was overwhelmed, they could see vast quantities of natural power draining from the giant's body.
Though he was only a half-baked black mage without proper training, Joe recognized it as 'Extraction.'
Dave was stealing the druid's power.
The giant swung its fist in panic at the foe siphoning its strength, but it seemed futile.
The extraction had stopped, but another giant had risen immediately after.
A giant intertwined with green natural power and black magical energy.
Shockingly, this new giant was a head taller than the one carrying Shamus, and standing proudly on its shoulder was Dave.
"...Oh, God."
***
"It's a bit... noisy up high."
Oliver remarked, having created a giant just like Shamus and climbed onto its shoulder.
A dull roar of wind battered his ears relentlessly.
"......"
Shamus looked up at Oliver's words without responding.
Oliver hadn't expected a reply, but something felt off.
Shamus had fought well and achieved astonishing growth in the process, yet he didn't look pleased at all.
Instead, his gaze toward Oliver shone with indescribable shock, absurdity, and despair.
Why?
Oliver couldn't understand.
He had grown during the battle and unleashed such incredible techniques—what could possibly be wrong?
Oliver had even learned a thing or two from it.
Shamus finally spoke.
"How the hell did you do that...?"
The usual cheer and leisure had vanished from Shamus's voice. His emotional state mirrored it.
After shock, absurdity, and despair came doubt, anxiety, and slowly rising fury.
As if he'd witnessed something utterly unforgivable.
"What do you mean?"
"How did you make a wooden giant... as a black mage."
"Ah... So it's called a wooden giant."
Oliver nodded as if learning something new.
In return for the lesson, Oliver answered earnestly.
"I copied you, Sir Shamus. Of course, I lacked materials, so it wasn't exact."
It was the truth.
Mid-extraction of natural power, Shamus had interrupted with his wooden giant, forcing Oliver to halt and improvise with what he had.
Natural power was in short supply, but fortunately, it wasn't a big issue.
He had a substitute energy source.
"Emotion?"
"Yes, the robe I was wearing. It's gone now."
As he said, Oliver no longer wore his emotion robe.
To mimic Shamus and form the wooden giant, he'd substituted the missing energy with it.
It wasn't difficult.
Using 'Bless'—which manipulated and shaped matter with emotion—he forged the giant's basic skeleton, then supplemented the rest with natural power.
"Thanks to that, I got it pretty close."
He'd answered with sincerity as thanks for the good lesson, but Shamus gave no proper reply.
He just breathed raggedly in silence, his emotions glowing even more complexly than before.
He was confused... and furious.
"I... I can't accept this. I won't... accept it!!"
Shamus muttered something incomprehensible and moved his giant.
Reacting to his rage, the giant clenched its massive fist and pulled its arm back. Oliver responded in kind, moving his wooden giant.
"Please."
At those words, Oliver's stationary wooden giant also clenched its fist and drew back its arm.
Moments later, the two skyscraper-sized giants unleashed punches matching their colossal bulk.
Even their relatively slow movements generated tremendous air pressure blasting outward in all directions, and soon their fists collided.
..........!!!!!
A roar that tore at the ears and a vibration that felt like it would rip bodies apart shook everything. Shamus's 'real' wooden giant staggered, one arm shattered.
Of course, Oliver's wooden giant wasn't unscathed—its striking arm was half-destroyed—but it could recover soon enough.
"Guoooohhhh—!!!"
Oliver's wooden giant looked at its half-ruined hand, let out a non-living roar, and seized Shamus's wooden giant, biting into its arm.
Kwaang...! Kwakwakwakwa!!
With the sound of rock tearing, chunks of flesh were ripped from Shamus's wooden giant. Oliver's devoured them, regenerating its own half-destroyed hand.
"......!"
Shamus recoiled in horror.
He hurriedly maneuvered his wooden giant to smash a fist into Oliver's.
Kwaaaang...!!
The sound of a mountain crumbling echoed.
It was a fitting description. It looked like mountains clashing.
But despite the thunderous noise, Shamus's wooden giant inflicted no significant damage.
Oliver's wooden giant turned its head unscathed, as if angered, and swung its fist in retaliation.
Kwaaaang.............!!
Another mountain-shattering boom resounded, and the two wooden giants tangled in a brutal grapple.
Crude like children wrestling, but their overwhelming size and power evoked pure terror.
True to the raw contest of strength without finesse, Oliver's larger-headed wooden giant slowly overpowered Shamus's.
The entwined giants tilted gradually to one side, and the flurry of punches increasingly favored Oliver.
Shamus's wooden giant crumbling bit by bit.
Oliver's roared and pressed harder, opening its massive maw to devour Shamus's wooden giant along with its natural power.
Wajak...! Wajijik...! Tuduk...!
With each boom and tremor of battle, the eye levels of Oliver and Shamus began to diverge.
"Die—!!"
Shamus mustered his last strength to control his wooden giant, launching a punch at Oliver.
Aiming to kill the sorcerer instead of toppling the giant.
Oliver's wooden giant rolled its eyes toward him, tilted its body to shield Oliver—taking a hit that caved in half its face—but seemed unbothered.
Instead, it clamped its jaws on the extended enemy arm, then fully retracted its fist and slammed it into the opponent's face.
Kwaaaaang...!!!
The instant the punch landed, one arm tore free from Shamus's wooden giant, its face shattering.
Unable to hold form, it crumbled amid mountain-collapsing roars.
Yet even then, the awakened Shamus whipped beanstalks like lashes, wrapping them around Oliver's wooden giant's wrist and yanking himself onto the fist.
He hadn't given up.
"That's... impressive."
Oliver said sincerely.
Shamus charged along the wooden giant's arm toward Oliver, his body transforming with each stride.
His already long, toned legs grew even longer and more muscular, resembling a deer's more than a human's.
His arms extended 1.5 times longer, covered in elongated green fur from the backs of his hands up.
His neck and trapezius thickened and lengthened, shifting him toward a half-human, half-beast form.
"Please."
Oliver requested of his wooden giant. It spat out the severed arm and raised its opposite hand to smash down at Shamus.
"Woooaaargh!!!"
Shamus let out a beastly howl and leaped, using the beanstalk whip to evade the hand and land atop it.
His thighs ballooned like inflated balloons as he gathered power, then exploded upward toward Oliver.
His leg strength was phenomenal; despite the distance, he closed in instantly.
"Third."
Oliver said upon seeing it.
At his call, Child-Third emerged from his bosom. Along with it, the shrunken Corpse Doll-Rag 2 was propelled forward by pre-set mana.
"Dispel shrink spell."
At Oliver's words, the shrink spell lifted, and Corpse Doll-Rag 2 returned to full size, blocking Shamus's path.
"Didadak-! Dadadak-! Dadadak-!"
Third inside Corpse Doll-Rag 2 spread its arms wide to bar Shamus.
The doll bristled with razors and awls across its arms and entire body.
"I've seen this cheap trick already!"
Shamus bellowed and punched with all his might. Corpse Doll-Rag 2 shattered into pieces from the shockwave—in a single blow.
Its torso splintered like puzzle pieces, and the twelve forcibly grafted arms scattered like insect legs.
"Have you seen this?"
Oliver gestured, and at the motion, a blade sprang from the doll's arm joint, flying at Shamus.
A completely unexpected ambush. Caught mid-air, Shamus couldn't dodge; blades embedded in his back, side, and shoulder.
Puk—! Puk—! Puk—! Puk—!
The instant they pierced, the latent disease-weakness black magic 'Exhaustion' seeped into Shamus's body, a poison-like fatigue dulling his flesh and mind.
"Pathetic...!!"
Yet Shamus's innate grit pushed back the fatigue as he hurtled toward Oliver again.
Judging he could win without the emotion coat.
Toward such a Shamus, Oliver spoke once more.
"Falls."
At Oliver's call, Child-Falls emerged from his bosom, along with the shrunken Corpse Doll-Duncan propelled outward.
The shrink spell lifted, returning it to full size and blocking Shamus anew.
"The same cheap—!!"
"Falls. A gift."
Oliver tossed the meat-tonfa from his waist to Falls inside Duncan. Falls snatched it mid-air.
Fortunately, as per Oliver's request, it recognized Falls as master and expelled the pre-stored Black Suit and Black Armor onto him.
"Please, Falls."
"Kraaaagh!!"
Duncan, clad in Black Suit and Black Armor, collided with Shamus mid-air, driving a full-force punch into his chest.