Chapter 230
Chapter 230
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 230
Chapter Title: Fragment of the Battle God (1)
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Hungary's capital, Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport.
A strange plane lands on the abandoned runway near the ruined city.
Kugugugugu!
From the plane that lands with a roar.
"Huaaaam."
I stretched as I got off.
"Hua, that's rough."
A whopping twelve hours of flight time.
Fortunately, the Association provided a flight.
Tuk!
Landing from atop the door without any device, behind me.
Thud, thud thud!
Taeyang, Kaden, Arin, and Dana followed.
After they could use polymorph, I rarely unsummoned them.
It was to help them practice the polymorph magic a bit more.
Essentially, it was because I wanted them to feel a bit more of the life of the living.
"Professor."
Arin, landing on the ground with flight magic, asked.
"We're not going to that Border Nation Summit?"
"Yeah, what's the point of going there."
I had no intention of heading to where the Border Nation presidents were gathered.
Kim Jin-ah would handle all the calculations and greetings with them.
My goal was singular.
To enter Hungary and uncover the identity of these monsters.
I didn't care about anything else.
"Professor, still, you need to be careful."
Arin said with a tense expression.
"You know the Magic Tower was a fragment of a constellation, right? That means the monster we're facing now is on the same level as the Magic Tower."
"I know."
Arin at her peak burned the Magic Tower with forbidden magic.
So she knew better than anyone how sturdy and tough the Magic Tower was.
"But you guys said it first, didn't you?"
I grinned.
"Monsters that dared to disturb my mood can be crushed in one go."
"Of course, my lord."
Whoosh!
Taeyang confidently twirled his spear.
"As long as my shield stands, no one can harm Master."
Boom!
Kaden slammed his shield down as always.
"And even if something happens, don't worry. I've got you, Master."
Dana smiled warmly too.
This...
Seeing their past forms instead of the usual creepy skeletons every day felt fresh.
They were full of vitality, somehow.
"Whew, good."
I exhaled shortly and looked around.
Even though it was Hungary's largest airport, it was eerily deserted without a soul.
"Hm."
Black smoke rose from spots in the air.
Some buildings were still burning.
"My lord, do you sense it?"
At that moment, murderous intent flickered in Taeyang's eyes.
"They've spotted us."
"Yeah, I feel it."
I nodded.
Immense energy around us had already been detected by the Azure Heavens Heart Method.
Some of the black monsters that had been slaughtering people in the city were rushing toward the airport.
Hm.
Two of them?
Sss! Sss!
My subordinates simultaneously released their polymorph.
Discarding their beautiful and handsome original forms, they returned to skeletons.
Creak, creak!
Since their training wasn't fully complete yet.
It was their resolve to fight at peak condition.
"First."
Fwoosh!
I created a spear in my hand.
"Some seem eager to greet us, so we should welcome them too, right?"
Let's clash once and gauge them.
* * *
We stood over the burning city in formation.
Fwoosh, fwoosh!
Buildings were ablaze.
Screams echoed sporadically toward the sky.
Chilling fear, sticky hatred.
It was like a post-apocalypse.
I inhaled at the sight of what seemed like the end of the world.
"Huup."
Hot air filled my lungs.
Before it could escape, a black monster would probably charge right in front of me.
"My lord, they're close."
"Okay."
I sensed it in my senses even before Taeyang spoke.
- Kekeke...
At that moment.
A chilling voice echoed in my head.
'Hoo.'
I looked toward the source.
The black monster I'd seen dozens of times in videos floated in the air, staring at us.
Just more vivid than in the footage.
I could see the veins bulging between its black skin, feel its hot breath, and its growling hostility.
'This.'
I tensed slightly.
It felt tougher than expected?
- You guys... are you strong?
Yeah, pretty strong.
"Attack!"
First strike wins.
At my shout to hit first.
Whoosh!
Taeyang leaped nimbly at my command and swung his spear.
After rigorous training and becoming the 'Skeleton King,' Taeyang's spear was like light itself.
Kwaduk!
The spear pierced the black monster's right shoulder.
Pusheok!
It sliced through flesh in an instant.
At the same time.
['Arin' uses the skill, Eloise's Flame (Lv.Max).]
Fwoooosh!
A stream of fire erupted from Arin's staff and exploded.
Kwagagaga!
The shock whipped up wind, and the exploding flames swirled into the sky, creating a dust cloud.
"Good, keep pressing."
"Yes, Professor!"
"Understood, my lord!"
Thus, a feast of spearmanship and magic unfolded.
- This one... is decent... huh?
But.
The black monster's split body filled back up.
The muscles torn by the explosion reattached.
"......?"
With a metallic rasp from its mouth.
Shuwaaa!
It suddenly blasted toward me.
What it swung was its fist!
'This bastard...'
Fast?
"Hueup!"
I tensed my lower abdomen and immediately swung my spear, stepping sideways.
Then thrust into the exposed side.
Stab!
It definitely went in.
But.
Heh.
Its grinning torn mouth signaled something was wrong.
"My lord, these guys... their regeneration is too fast!"
"Master, careful!"
Kwaaaang!
Kaden barely blocked a kick from the black monster behind.
Dana's healing enveloped Kaden's body.
"Professor, spears aren't working, magic isn't either! Something's just off!"
"You're right, it's weird."
I nodded.
You could tell from their movements.
- Kekeke... how about this... try taking it!
- Fight! Fight...!
The black monsters were aggressive.
Not just aggressive—excessively so.
They acted like they didn't know what 'defense' was, ignoring blocks entirely for pure offense.
Meaning every attack carried a mutual destruction effect.
"Their recovery is set way too high. No matter how much we hit, it won't matter."
"My lord, then what do we...?"
"Talk later! Keep responding!"
Kwagagaga!
The two monsters thrust fists and feet.
Strength entered Kaden's hand gripping the shield.
Dana's prayers grew thicker.
'This.'
Somehow.
It felt like this fight would drag on longer than expected.
* * *
Tudatadada...!
A helicopter rose into Budapest's skies.
The mark on the helicopter was HNN.
Hunter News Network.
A global media company specializing in hunters.
Reporter David, standing on the helicopter with a mic, looked down tensely.
The city in ruins.
David was dispatched here solely for the broadcast.
World ranking 69th, a high ranker's solo support!
Expected viewers: about 100 million?
With the incident drawing global attention.
HNN had no choice but to send a special correspondent.
"Hello, this is David from HNN. Whew! We're in Heli-city, over Budapest! Look down there!"
Kurung!
Kwagagaga!
The shield crumples, the ground craters.
Explosions boom, skeletons get flung.
"Below, two black monsters are locked in fierce battle with the Skeleton Emperor! Wow, incredible! Are these the monsters that devastated the city? Even against a high ranker, they're showing tremendous power!"
The fight was so intense.
The hovering helicopter shook.
'Hueu.'
David felt his heart drop but clung to the camera.
He might lose his life today.
But that was his job, his reason for being.
└ Wow, monsters that can go toe-to-toe with a high ranker?
└ Makes sense Hungary fell. They don't have many rankers anyway.
└ Goosebumps. Shouldn't other high rankers step in?
└ Skeleton Emperor, please take out those damn bastards.
└ Chills watching. How do such monsters exist...
└ Impressive though. What skeleton is that strong? Look at it using magic. Hundreds like me couldn't beat one.
Communities worldwide and live chat flooded with comments.
Then.
David's eyes sparkled.
"Huh? The Skeleton Emperor and his four skeletons are moving! Where to? Toward downtown? Downtown's hit with magnitude 6+ quakes intermittently. Massive casualties, all transport cut off. We'll follow!"
Tudatadada...!
The helicopter climbed higher and slowly headed downtown.
* * *
Monstrous speed.
Kwang! Kwaaang!
One hit, two hits were shocking, but I kept running.
These impacts were plenty recoverable with Dana's healing anyway.
"Professor!"
Arin, running ahead with magic, shouted.
"10 km left of downtown! Massive mana from that radius! We need to head there to find answers!"
About five minutes ago.
While fighting fiercely, Arin suggested searching for fragments first.
It made sense, so I agreed.
A fight with no answers.
We couldn't just keep enduring.
"Okay, keep going!"
"Master, I'll handle the surroundings!"
Whoosh!
The monster's thick hand swung.
Kaden immediately slammed up his shield.
Kaaaang!
The shield was pushed back, but Kaden held firm.
Also.
Fwoosh!
Eloise's Flame pierced its head.
But.
Squirm squirm.
The black flesh refilled.
'Tough.'
At this level, I was getting a bit worried.
What if we meet this fragment guy and get one-shot without a chance?
[Thunderclap: Hey hey, you okay?]
[Thunderclap: Watching the news. Situation looks bad?]
[Guide: Hoon, if it's too much, fall back. We'll join later.]
Chat windows popped up in my view.
Members of Byeolcheonji dispatched elsewhere.
[Skeleton Emperor: No, I'll mix it up first.]
I replied roughly and closed the chat.
Whoosh!
I deflected a left-side kick with my spear.
Then.
Fwoosh!
Switched to sword and slashed its neck.
Pointless action anyway.
"For now, trust Arin's judgment."
A solution had to exist.
The surest proof was my gut.
If my gut felt bad, I'd have bolted already.