Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Mastery of the Ultimate Body
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A explosive clash erupts as sword auras collide.
"Die, you brat...!"
"Not a chance, you hag...!"
"What!? Hag!? Have you ever seen a hag this beautiful!?"
A thunderous single stroke comes crashing down vertically. The sheer amount of internal energy poured into it sends the sword aura spreading out like rippling waves on both sides.
One Sword Wave!
The waves of sword aura crash into each other, amplifying the strike's power. It's the ultimate technique for facing multiple foes, but against a single opponent, it seals off every possible avenue of evasion with ruthless precision.
"Hmph! Brute force and endless internal energy won't...!"
But instead of dodging, his opponent traces a perfect circle in midair.
Clang! Clang-clang! Clang-clang-clang!
The sword that blocks the initial strike draws layer upon layer of circles, deflecting the sword force flawlessly. The impeccably drawn circles are almost mechanical in their precision!
The waves of sword aura scatter in all directions, cracking the ground apart.
Boom! Crash!
From the window of my office, I munched on deep-fried mantosh and braised pork, gazing down at Hayes and Edward's boisterous duel.
'At this level, both could take on most legendaries and come out on top. In level terms, around 15 or 16.'
They were humanity's empire's strongest warriors. In Ardania, where transcendents were rare and even masters few and far between, their prowess was truly unparalleled.
"I always think this, but it's incredible. It feels like watching the siege monsters."
"Yeah, about that level."
I glanced toward the distant walls. A battle was raging far off. From down below, the massive height of the walls would block the view, but from the top floor of our even taller guild tower, I had a perfect vantage point.
Boom! Thud!
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The gigas standing atop the walls unleashes a barrage of cannon fire, while rows of soldiers lined up beside it madly pull the triggers of their anti-materiel rifles.
Behind them, mages continuously enchant the ammunition before handing it off, and priests stationed at intervals erect barriers to shove back leaping enemies.
It looked intense, but it was routine work. Even hordes of legendaries rarely breached the walls.
Monsters that could once terrorize an entire nation single-handedly were now pathetically dying against our mythic-grade walls.
Of course, smart monsters didn't charge mindlessly like that, which made defense trickier.
'But I've been preemptively clearing out the key landing spots.'
Even so, injuries piled up constantly, and deaths occurred now and then. How could there be zero casualties when clashing with legendaries so frequently?
But even that had dwindled to the point of being dismissed as mere "accidents."
Compared to the old Ardania, where people died in the streets without wars or disasters, it was incomparable.
[Han Jaeyeon has acquired the Heroic Magic Tome Crimson Lotus from Iron Castle!]
"Oh?"
"Heroic-grade. First one in about nine months."
"Has it been that long?"
Server-wide announcements for heroics and legendaries popped up frequently—but they were all my drops. I massacred legendaries on a regular basis, so items naturally piled up!
I used the surplus heroics for enhancements, then awarded them to high officials and direct subordinates whenever occasions arose.
Over ten years, our soldiers and knights were fully equipped.
'I see. Ten years.'
Looking back, time had flown by in the blink of an eye. That such a not-insubstantial span felt so short proved its density wasn't all that packed.
'Almost like a vacation, really. Child-rearing aside... well, I'm not the one raising the kid.'
I'd planned a shorter break, but balancing my body and internal energy took far longer than expected.
"Now that I think about it, I skipped hunting today."
"Shall I prepare?"
"Yeah. I'll head to the training grounds after."
As I stood, Flower approached and pressed her lips to mine.
"Be careful."
"Always am."
I headed to the rooftop. As emperor, I rotated between eight key strongholds, currently at the City of Light.
Which meant.
'Six hundred kilometers west.'
Whoooosh—
I crouched, stepping on empty space. Jumping off the roof could damage even a legendary guild tower, so I used All-Things Resistance to tread on dimensions instead.
And then.
Boom!
I launched.
Arrival was instantaneous.
Flash!
The acceleration buff enveloping my body vanished in a snap. I'd precisely landed on the pillar of light six hundred kilometers away.
[Temple of Death]
I set foot on the silent satellite. Tilting my head up, I spotted a sun-sized planet in the far distance.
'Thought it'd be a quick trip.'
No such luck.
[Intruder.]
[Intruder.]
[Intruder.]
"Ah, hold on, just a sec. Aish, these impatient bastards."
I grimaced at the oncoming elder skeletons.
Ten years had passed.
While adapting to my own flesh, I'd relentlessly refined my personal martial art, Great Vessel Late Bloom. Every day, three hours of meditation to build internal energy, massacring legendaries to test techniques.
And above all.
I'd fought these mythic skeletons.
Training progressed steadily, but dungeon clears stalled completely. The enemies' counters had grown more vicious, outpacing my growth.
Whoosh!
I snapped my head aside, dodging a swinging left arm, slipped inside, and swung Hyperion. The elder skeleton, faster than me in basics, thrust its shoulder to block—but I smashed its leg with my left shin, toppling its stance, then crushed its skull.
Splat!
The follow-up elder skeleton's left arm clipped my side unavoidably, but I'd braced for it—I hooked my pinky into its scapula and yanked it close.
Crack!
'Damn, too shallow! Off to a bad start!'
I hadn't shattered its head. I'd struck it, but no Shadow Twice follow-up. Cheats like insane passives and stats weren't exclusive to me.
Additional Effect Immunity Supreme (Mythic)
Nullifies up to 3 additional effects from damage-dealing attacks. Nullified attacks deal minimum damage only.
Cooldown: 3 seconds.
'Ha. What kind of regular mob...'
This insane passive nullified all add-ons up to three times—even criticals—so sword god class's damage multipliers were useless.
'Might need to scout other mythics. Ultimate stats cap even expert combos.'
Lately, such thoughts nagged, but Sword God Unity was too good to abandon. Just that one trait doubled Hyperion's 6.2 physical coefficient to 12.4—more efficient than all my passives combined.
[Intruder.]
[Intruder.]
[Intruder.]
They swarmed from all sides. Elder skeletons spaced kilometers apart, but they closed gaps as effortlessly as I leaped six hundred kilometers.
Crunch!
Splatter!
Dodge. Smash heads, collapse stances, stomp. Once enough gathered.
"Come forth. Landworm!"
Rumble—
The ground warped. A several-kilometer radius liquefied instantly, sucking in the accelerating elder skeletons with their transcendent physiques.
At the same time.
[Kyahahaha! Head-hunting time—!]
A giant of darkness emerged, smashing the flailing elder skeletons' skulls. Hyperion's epic trait.
Demon Sword Soul.
Clunky combat style, but mythic specs and flight made it shine in spots like this.
Obviously, Landworm didn't poke its head out. It'd just get pummeled. Its real utility lay elsewhere—losing it would be disastrous.
[Han Jaeyeon has acquired Elder Skeleton Humerus (Legendary) from Temple of Death!]
[Han Jaeyeon has acquired Elder Skeleton Humerus (Legendary) from Temple of Death!]
[Han Jaeyeon has acquired Bracelet of Valor (Heroic) from Temple of Death!]
"Oh, Bracelet of Valor."
Unlike the material humerus (legendary but just crafting fodder), this had versatile uses. I perked up, pressing the fight.
Crunch! Thud!
Evade grasping hands, stomp, crush heads. Tread air, missile-launch in all directions, swinging wildly.
After perfecting Ultimate Body, I'd agonized over wielding it. Memorizing chakra rituals, thirty-minute meditations, mythic sword auras... All paled against simply swinging a sword, a shocking revelation.
And over the last ten years.
I'd realized my huge mistake.
'I didn't know my body at all.'
Ultimate Body's true peak wasn't the ether organ Great Qi. Or rather, it was—but something more fundamental: [compatibility to house a physical dantian].
Bioforce cultivators struggled blending other ethers. Mana-fused, All-Things-Resistant flesh dulled inspiration, complicating ether control immensely.
[Intruder confirmed. Eliminating.]
[Huh! You look fun!]
But my Ultimate Body was different.
This dantian-bearing flesh only slightly dulled inspiration—internal energy flowed flawlessly.
Meaning.
I could coat my body with internal energy...
And reinforce my flesh.
Thud.
I kicked off the ground and shot forward. Luna Death Knight (Mythic) Namgung Hyun-ah charged to meet me.
Black sword aura streamed from her blade.
"Hoo."
A silent breath, channeling qi.
Martial arts feature lightness skill. Simply put, making the body light—methods vary by tradition.
Interfere with gravity, levitate via telekinesis, even ride wind with elements.
The opposite, Thousand Pound Drop, manipulates gravity downward. Same mass, but added falling force accelerates drops.
Thousand Pound Hammer adds mass to internal energy itself. Truly heavy, no drop speed change.
"And in this case."
That mass matters.
Great Vessel Late Bloom.
Mountain Breaking Strike.
Namgung Hyun-ah's sword clashes with Hyperion. Her sword aura nullifies most external forces, including physical, but mine bore sword aura too.
'Not a skill, so no fancy applications.'
Still, sword aura met sword aura—neutralizing on contact, blades colliding raw.
[...!?]
Shock etched the death knight's pallid face.
Shrieeeek!
Hyperion crushed her armor and all.
Rooooar—!
Monstrous physical force cratered the earth like a meteor strike. Surrounding elder skeletons flew into space, birthing a mountain-sized crater on the silent satellite.
My painstakingly forged One Mind had veered utterly wrong.
This was Ultimate Body's proper use.
"Mi-, cheat! This can't...!"
A roar scattered the dust. Above Demon Lich (Mythic) Saruman's head, a black sun blazed fiercely.
Clang!
I launched. Saruman clacked his skull, mocking me.
[Too late, monster...! Weird physics trick, but I've got dimensional barriers...]
Rip!
I shouldered through, piercing dimensions raw.
[What!? No sword aura even?]
As he said, sword aura could tear it—but wasteful. Would take three-plus strikes; by then, his spell completes. Why bother with All-Things Resistance available?
Grab.
I seized Saruman's skull. Its central life vessel gleamed.
"No, don't."
"Yes."
In this qi-less void, beyond his hearing.
I clenched my fist.