Chapter 157: Sloth
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 157: Sloth
From the empty space, a longsword shot up. As I grabbed the blade and channeled my mana into it, a voice immediately rang out.
[Activating the item effect of Dainsleif - Legacy of the Magic Sword Dain.]
This was the first time I'd ever had an item announce its activation. But I wasn't flustered in the least. On the contrary, I was filled with anticipation.
Just as the item description had said, blood was continuously dripping from the Legacy of Dain. The red fragment in its center was gradually losing its color. It seemed that if the fragment lost all its color, I would be the one taking damage.
An ominous mana radiated continuously from the sword. It wasn't the mana I had infused. It was the sword's own inherent mana.
\- Vwooooom
Pleased by the sound of the sword's hum, I channeled a bit more mana into it. For a limited time, I could control the blood dripping from the Legacy of Dain. Though it was only a small amount for now, I extended my hand toward the man staring blankly in my direction.
In an instant, the blood that had pooled on the ground formed into a sphere and began to rain down on him.
“Uwaaaaaaack!!”
The head of the man who had been staring vacantly in my direction shattered. The blood that spilled from him also fell under my control.
‘Not bad.’
It was an incredibly good item. No, its effectiveness was truly insane. Kim Hyeji, too, was staring in my direction, her expression blank. She seemed skilled and experienced, but she looked flustered now that the situation wasn't going her way.
I knew her type all too well.
‘The complacent ones.’
There were definitely similar types in the West. They were the ones who grew content with their current position and completely gave up on climbing higher or improving themselves. The ones with no goals, or only vague ones.
They were the ones who fall behind the times.
While continuously controlling the blood dripping from the Legacy of Dain, I charged toward them at full speed. A shield-bearer tried to block me, but it was futile.
I directed my will into the blood spilled by the man whose head I'd just blown off, and a spike of blood instantly shot up from the floor.
“Uwaaaaaaack!”
The man beside him quickly raised his shield, but the spike pierced his side, killing him instantly. By the time I reached them, a large pool of blood had already formed. Screams erupted from all sides, and with each one, my mana drained a little more.
Kim Hyeji occasionally fired spells in my direction or cast odd magic to block my path, but the shield-bearing Orbo, along with Gark and Hark, deflected them all.
Spells with virtually no casting time couldn't possibly have any real power. Ragia, on the front lines for the first time in a while, was also performing well, sowing chaos among the enemy ranks.
It felt as if I had become a demon king. Anyone could see that the enemies had already lost their will to fight. There was no need for me to even charge into their midst with Dainsleif in hand. Simply by sending my will into the blood they'd spilled, I could hear their continuous screams.
Anyone who drew near was instantly impaled by the blood spikes covering the ground. I lopped off the man's head, increasing my supply of blood.
I felt like I was starting to understand this weapon, the Legacy of Dain.
This was the type of weapon that grew stronger the longer a battle raged on. The blood spilled from the wounds I inflicted became a weapon itself. It had its drawbacks—a constant drain on my mana and a penalty of taking damage if it wasn't sated with blood—but compared to the sheer utility of Dainsleif, those penalties were practically nonexistent.
Looking ahead, I could see the members of the Blood Dagger Clan tearing apart the last of the enemies. Thinking the fight was over, the Goblin Three Sisters were playing around with the arms of the humans they had hunted, and Jung Hayeon, too, was taking her time playing with her long-awaited new toys.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaack!”
“Ugh-eub... Aaaaaack!”
Wherever those kinds of screams were heard, Jung Hayeon was sure to be there. Even though I'd seen it many times, the sight of her killing them by inserting roots to make their bodies explode, or simply burying them alive to be crushed, was still quite grotesque. The tiny roots burrowing into their eyeballs were enough to make even me look away. But I had no intention of criticizing her.
Such actions further crushed the enemy's morale. Just because they were strong, just because they had reigned as powerful figures for a long time, didn't mean they were without fear. This was especially true for the complacent ones.
On the contrary, they were even more afraid. They feared losing what they had. They were terrified that everything they had built would vanish into thin air.
As I slowly walked forward, the members of the Blood Dagger Clan began to part, clearing a path for me. What I saw was Kim Hyeji, her face contorted as she held up her hands to maintain a barrier.
For a powerful warrior who had once helped build the great eastern city of Hadum, she looked far too pathetic.
“Fucking bitch...”
The moment I muttered in the human tongue, Kim Hyeji looked at me, her expression filled with hope. She didn't even seem curious how I could speak her language; she was just desperately trying to save herself.
“S-spare me. I... I'll definitely be useful.”
“You are not useful.”
Even Lee Wanyong back in the settlement constantly strives to survive. Feeling threatened when he saw Hakajin learning the human language and absorbing his knowledge, the man worked and studied for the settlement to the point of exhaustion. That is why I've let him live.
But this woman was different.
“P-please... I'll do anything you say... If... if you like... hu... humans... G-grrrk.”
Tired of listening, I thrust the sword in my hand through her neck. She died with a wet, gurgling sound.
The fight was more anticlimactic than I'd expected. Still, for someone like me who had risen to a certain level of power, the battle served as a stark reminder.
‘Become complacent, and you die.’
Become slothful, stop striving, stop moving—and in the end, you die. I've grown stronger, but I'm still lacking. This victory wasn't won through pure skill, but through a stroke of luck and the power of an item. If Kim Hyeji hadn't panicked at the end, the fight would have dragged on much longer.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the only way to survive is to strive even harder.
After unsummoning the Legacy of Dain, I slowly looked down at Kim Hyeji's corpse.
I did not let out a victory cry.
Instead, with a heavy heart, I ran quickly toward Black Spear's position. The entire Blood Dagger Clan followed me in silence.
*
Jung Youngsoo, who had served beside Kim Donghyun for years, catering to his every whim, stared blankly at his boss's final moments.
“Uwaaaaaaack! F... fucking hell!”
An ogre with massive fangs was gruesomely chewing on Kim Donghyun's arm.
‘N-no way...’
Of course, it wasn't his first time encountering an ogre. They weren't Named Monsters, but when they had gone on a hunt into the jungle, they had faced a group of ogres, and he had definitely seen his boss take them down with ease.
In Jung Youngsoo's mind, Kim Donghyun was the strongest. He was a powerful man who was always at ease. But he couldn't quite grasp who this person was, clutching one of his arms and sprawled on the ground in such a pathetic state.
At first, the fight had clearly been in their favor. After pushing back the ogre that charged with a loud drumbeat, he had even smashed its foot with his mace.
Having been hit head-on by a mace that could match a monster's strength, there was no way the ogre was undamaged.
And what about the next attack?
After unbalancing the large ogre with his shield, he had even visibly shattered one of its shoulders.
Until that point, he had never doubted their victory. The situation changed a little after some more time had passed. To be precise, it was after the ogre's eyes became bloodshot. The creature began to relentlessly hammer at the shield with its large axe, pressing its attack with savage tenacity.
Even monsters feel pain.
Having handled various slave monsters, Jung Youngsoo knew well that they, too, felt fear and pain. But that ogre did not flinch.
When Kim Donghyun charged with his mace, it would press closer, aggressively pressuring him as if daring him to strike. Sometimes roughly, sometimes cleverly, it continuously swung its axe, draining his stamina. It charged at Kim Donghyun as if to tear him to shreds, swinging its broken arm. It was as if it felt no pain. It was literally like a beast.
A single mistake.
Kim Donghyun had flinched for just a moment at the creature's ferocity, and that single mistake had created this hellish scene.
“Thump!”
“Thump!”
The sickening, terrifying drumbeat continued to sound. No matter where he looked, none of his comrades were unscathed. All the men who had been like a real family, like brothers, were now lying about with their limbs torn off.
“Uwaaaaaaack!”
“Aaaaaaaaack!”
“Kwooooooooar!”
A Twin-Headed Ogre was clutching men in both hands, tearing off their heads with its mouths.
There were some who grouped together to fight back, but he knew there was no hope since the mages and priests had already been wiped out by the first wave of ogres. A few archers had survived, but the moment Kim Donghyun fell, they abandoned the group and fled.
It was then that he realized these creatures understood human formations.
They were clearly different from ordinary ogres. They knew who the priority targets were and understood how to conduct a group battle.
“Uwaaaaaaack!”
Another scream was heard; this time, the large ogre was stepping on Kim Donghyun and tearing off his other arm. It chewed on the torn-off arm a few times before tossing it aside as if it had lost interest.
It was a horribly familiar sight.
As Jung Youngsoo stared at the absurd scene with terror-filled eyes and a frozen body, he suddenly recalled a memory of themselves.
The image of themselves, watching as weak women and children were thrown into the cages of magical beasts to be eaten.
Only then did he realize what kind of situation he was in.
It was the exact same situation. Now, they were the ones in the position of the weak, and the ogres were undoubtedly in the position of the beasts.
“F... fuck...”
A curse escaped his lips unconsciously. Clutching his trembling hands as tightly as he could, Jung Youngsoo closed his eyes.
Soon, a pain like being burned began to spread through his entire body. Desperately holding onto his fading consciousness, Jung Youngsoo had one last thought.
If only... if only... they hadn't done those things here, they wouldn't have met an end like this.
And so, he closed his eyes.