Chapter 265: Accomplishment
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 265: Accomplishment
Swords that seemed they would never meet clashed. Holy power poured out endlessly, and I continuously blocked the torrent.
I could feel myself gradually getting used to it.
Her sword was still terrifying, fierce, and dangerous. But I was adapting.
“Stop your pathetic struggles and die, you insect!”
From her perspective, it must have looked like a desperate struggle. In a way, that was natural. To her, everything beneath her would look like an insect. The Kim Taesung of ten years ago was one, and so was I now.
There was no need to answer. I just kept swinging my sword, blocking her attacks.
Levatain, Aegis, Dainsleif, the Great Chieftain's Hammer. Mistilteinn, the Greatsword Too Large to be a Sword, Archmage Isaac's Throwing Dagger—every weapon was playing its part perfectly, checking her and blocking her path.
Countless weapons flew through the air, a spectacular sight.
When she soared into the air, I stepped on blood to rise and keep her in check. When I landed, I gave her no room to breathe, charging in immediately. Unstoppable attacks were met with unconditional blasts of flame, and if the distance widened, I hurled the Great Chieftain's Hammer.
It was only after some time had passed that I felt like this would never end. Wounds were accumulating on both of our bodies, but she kept healing herself with holy power. I had no means of self-regeneration. My stamina and mana were being restored, but that was all.
Mistilteinn. This weapon, which debuffed the enemy's healing, would be the star of this fight. I was used to swords, but I couldn't win by sticking to just one.
Slowly recalling the battle between the Queen of the North, Han So-hye, and the Sword Saint, Ha Yuri, I switched Levatain for Mistilteinn and thrust the spear.
She was startled by the sudden increase in my reach, but as expected, she parried my spear with her sword. When the spear was knocked upward, what did she do then?
I think she pulled her body back to regain her center. I immediately put the thought into action. I moved ceaselessly, pursuing her relentlessly.
Again, I thrust the spear. A look of disbelief colored Ha Yuri's face. She instantly parried my spear and aimed for my neck.
I switched to the greatsword to defend, then countered with the spear again.
“Fool.”
It felt like she was mocking me. It was only natural, as my skill was laughably insufficient to imitate the Queen of the North. But I was used to being mocked. I didn't care. I had always been ridiculed. Even as I stumbled and fell, I kept thrusting the spear.
I kept remembering her movements and imitating them.
Once, twice, three times. I grew more and more accustomed to it. It was still woefully inadequate, but I was adapting.
Haa... haa...
With a shing sound, a line of blood trickled down the Sword Saint's cheek.
It wasn't healing. No, the healing speed was incredibly slow. She must have realized why I was countering with this spear.
I slashed through the falling light of holy power with my spear. There was a way to block it, too. But it was impossible to make the technique entirely my own. It wasn't a skill I could truly wield. I swung the spear. As the Sword Saint dodged, I threw a dagger at her. I swapped the dagger for the greatsword. I saw her evade the greatsword. I checked her with blood. Once again, I thrust the spear.
I did what I could.
Perhaps because it was an unfamiliar style, more and more wounds piled up on my body. I was covered in blood, feeling as if I were completely soaked in it.
The only silver lining was that she, too, was gradually being stained red.
Her holy power was failing her.
“Quite a sight. You blood-soaked bitch.”
I muttered, and she trembled with rage as she thrust her sword at me again.
This was the moment I'd been waiting for.
‘Mimicry.’
I can mimic it.
I stomped my foot hard.
BOOM!
With the sound, the ground shattered. I channeled power into the tips of my toes and unleashed mana from my entire body. The Sword Saint's face filled with alarm.
The mysterious principles of martial arts, becoming one with the spear, supreme talent, understanding the weapon. I don't know shit about any of that.
I crammed and unleashed so much mana that my whole body screamed, trying my best to imitate the attack the Queen of the North had used on the Sword Saint.
“You!”
Startled, she spread her wings to fly away, but the vast expanse of flames and blood was sucked toward me along with the mana. Having been on the receiving end of this technique once, she knew its danger and tried her best to counter it. But the wave of fire, blood, and mana was too fierce.
The way it raged like a typhoon was almost majestic. I was only mimicking the appearance, but it was effective.
My grip on the spear tightened. I felt like I had become a black hole. The mana consumption was enormous—a natural consequence of forcing myself to imitate something beyond my abilities. But I could end this with this one blow.
“You fucking bitch!”
I screamed and swung the spear. The Sword Saint protected herself with her wings. These were the same wings that had blocked the Queen of the North. It was only natural for her to trust them. I gritted my teeth.
I planted my foot again, stopping my body in its tracks. I heard my foot shatter the ground. Blood trickled from my mouth, a backlash from the mana. It was a natural reaction to trying to instantly halt a body filled with more mana than it could handle. I had tried to imitate Goff, but it seemed the technique wasn't a good fit for my body.
After all, instantly cutting off such immense force was a technique only Goff among the Ogres could use.
Ha Yuri's expression was one of bewilderment at my sudden stop. The mana that had been rushing toward me came to a halt and began to bind her. Countless streams of blood, fire, and mana rained down on the Sword Saint in an instant.
The moment Ha Yuri grasped the situation and unleashed her holy power to block the fire and blood, I stomped my foot again.
BOOM!!!!!!!!!!
The sound echoed once more. The ground was utterly obliterated as I put strength into my arm. The instant Ha Yuri's shocked face came into view, Mistilteinn left my hand.
A deafening roar that seemed to tear the air—it was the spear-throwing technique I had learned from Black Spear. It wasn't perfect. I couldn't even aim for a vital spot. I just threw it, praying it would hit her torso somewhere. I didn't throw it in a straight line. I had to throw it fast, in an arc. That was the only way to pin her down.
CRUUUUNCH
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!”
And a scream echoed out. Impaled through the abdomen, she was slammed into the distance. Mistilteinn was driven deep into the ground. It had flown quite far. Perhaps because Mistilteinn had left my hand, it was hard to recover my mana. But it would continuously eat away at Ha Yuri's body. I immediately battered the Sword Saint's body with blood and fire.
I had to render her combat-incapable before she could recover. The soldiers around her were caught in the onslaught as well.
Spears and swords of fire and blood continuously hammered the Sword Saint, who was pinned to the ground.
“Kyaaaaaaaak!”
“Aaaaaaaargh! Sa... save me!”
“Aaaaaaaargh! So... someone, please!!”
“Help me! Ple... Aaaaaaaargh! Sa... save me! Save me!!”
The screams continued.
It was enough to obscure the Sword Saint from my sight. No human could withstand such a massive inferno and wave of blood. I have to cut off her arms and legs, I thought, channeling mana into my feet.
I immediately raised my greatsword and shot forward, and the curtain of blood and fire parted.
What I saw was Jeong Ji-young, standing firm, his body covered in burns and utterly mangled. The bastard who had been watching the fight had walked into that hell of blood and fire himself to pull out the spear.
“Well done, my love. Hahahahat!”
He hadn't screamed. The screams I'd heard had been solely the Sword Saint's voice. She had been acting, and the son of a bitch who loved her had been enduring the pain in silence.
The way he still kept his lips tightly sealed was, as a man, respectable.
I saw Ha Yuri, hiding behind Jeong Ji-young, swinging her sword at me. She was smiling with delight, likely thinking that without the spear, I had no way to damage her. The spear Jeong Ji-young had pulled out was now far away.
Seeing this, I smiled.
I swapped the greatsword in my hand for the spear and thrust Mistilteinn toward her once more.
With a thwump, she was pinned to the ground again.
“I knew it, you fucking bitch. I knew someone would come to save you. And I knew you'd betray that son of a bitch.”
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
I kept thrusting the spear. I immediately cut off Ha Yuri's arm.
“Kyaaaaaak!”
As expected, her healing was slow.
“Sa... save me! I was wro—Kyaaaaaaaak!”
I couldn't have not known. Emotions had been flowing from that bastard Jeong Ji-young the whole time. In fact, they were still flowing in, meaning he was still alive. He was watching the Sword Saint pinned to the ground.
“Jeong Ji-young! You useless piece of shit... get up and get this spear—Aaaaaaaargh!”
Her flailing struggles made her look like a pinned insect. With her wings, the resemblance was even stronger. The surrounding soldiers were silently watching their Sword Saint.
They were staring at their idol, who was thrashing and spewing curses, her body a mangled wreck. Due to the attack, she was nearly naked and completely covered in blood.
I kept thrusting the spear. Glancing to the side, I saw Choi Seulgi looking at me.
Haa... haa...
My breathing grew ragged. My mana, my stamina, my body—everything was at its limit.
My mind started to go blank.
Thinking she might recover and move, I plunged the swords I had into Ha Yuri.
Levatain, the greatsword—I kept stabbing her with them.
“Sa... save me... I... I was wrong...”
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!”
The screams began to fade. It wasn't that Ha Yuri had stopped screaming. I had exhausted so much stamina and mana that my hearing was failing. I felt like I could collapse at any moment.
A quiet stillness seemed to fall. I slowly looked around again. Goff and Black Spear, my brothers, my beloved clan members, the comrades I had fought alongside, the enemies who had died for their ideals, the women of the clan—everyone was looking at me.
‘It's over.’
The battle was over. The Sword Saint was pinned beneath me, and everyone was staring, wide-eyed. My hearing, which had failed, suddenly returned.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
The roar of the comrades who had fought with me.
“Kwooooooooooooooooooar!”
The voices of the Green Skins who had made me who I am today.
‘I won.’
“I won...”
I had achieved it. I had grasped it with my own hands. So much had happened, and there had been hard times. But I had never felt such a sense of accomplishment. It was less the relief of revenge and more the feeling of having done it. Without realizing it, a great roar erupted from my lips.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!”
As my hearing faded again and my vision began to blacken, I plunged the final sword into the Sword Saint.
And...
A great change came to the continent.
- End of Green Skin Part 2.