Chapter 232
Chapter 232
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 232
Chapter Title: Fragment of the Fighting God (3)
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‘This is…….’
What should I even call it?
The presence of the ‘Fragment of the Fighting God’ was profoundly majestic yet utterly horrifying.
Hmm.
Yeah.
It felt like staring at Earth’s Mage Tower Lord, Sophia Silversone, or the Mage Tower Lord of the Magic World, Gospelheim.
Of course, I’m not saying it’s as strong as them.
Just that it’s on a whole other level—immeasurably powerful.
In other words, no clue who could even handle it.
Honestly, Rank 10 or Rank 4—they all look equally monstrous to me.
‘This won’t do.’
My ultimate move.
Time to unleash what I’d been sealing away, saving for a moment just like this.
With the translucent gray mass squirming right in front of me.
Wuuung!
I drew up my energy.
[Skill: ‘Teaching of Ten Thousand Arts’ (SS-Grade) used.]
[20 Stamina used.]
[‘Master of Ten Thousand Arts’ appears.]
“You bastard!”
The old man popped into the air and bellowed.
“You only summon me when shit’s about to hit the fan!”
‘Aw, come on.’
I shook my head.
‘As if. Think of it positively. It just means I trust and rely on you that much, right?’
This was genuine.
I’d wanted to show the old man Hungary’s chaos before now.
But I’d held off on purpose.
Because.
I needed to save the cooldown.
Having him by my side in a crisis like this brought immense relief.
“Ugh, if you can’t say nice things, at least don’t be rude.”
The grumbling old man spotted the Fragment of the Fighting God.
“What the hell is this vicious freak?”
His face twisted in disgust.
“You’re in deep shit again, aren’t you?”
Right then.
- Gruk….
A chilling sound erupted out of nowhere.
Hwoooo……
Vast magical power began swirling around the Fragment of the Fighting God.
‘Whoa, insane.’
The sheer pressure hit me, filling me with utter helplessness.
Could anyone even take that thing down?
It’s worse than I thought.
Even my instincts screamed I stood no chance.
Just comparing our energy reserves felt like boulders versus pebbles.
It was the boulder. I was the pebble.
‘This thing.’
My skin prickled, teeth chattering.
I clenched my jaw harder to hide the trembling.
‘A fragment of a constellation?’
Makes sense.
Even fragments are one-per-world level rarities, right?
“Master! Are you alright?!”
Thud!
Caden rushed over, shield raised in front.
[‘Caden’ uses skill, ‘Unyielding Shield’ (Lv.4).]
[‘Caden’ uses skill, ‘Must Protect’ (Lv.4).]
That’s when he activated his two signature skills.
[Unyielding Shield] was an area-wide defense forming a mountain-sized translucent barrier.
[Must Protect] was a buff skill boosting defense for allies in a set radius.
In an instant, a translucent membrane enveloped me.
- You… You seem like you’d be fun to fight.
It scanned me with haughty eyes.
- Indiscernible… but carrying something powerful within… This’ll be interesting. Fight me…!
With a grotesque voice.
Swoooosh!
It kicked off the ground and charged.
Ten black monstrosities flanked it from the sides, rear, and above, lunging simultaneously.
“Whoa!”
The old man yelped.
“How the hell do we block this?”
Hey.
I called you because I trust you—don’t say stuff like that.
‘For now.’
We fight till we can’t.
Standing still means death either way.
Kwaaaang! Boom!
“Urk, Master! I can’t hold much longer!”
The things pounded the translucent barrier with fists and feet.
The impacts were fiercer than expected, leaving a panicked Caden shouting.
“It’s fine—stamina’s still good!”
If the barrier breaks, recast the skill.
Run out of stamina?
Resummon.
At least for now.
“Sun!”
“Yes, my lord! Right away!”
Taeyang summoned ten Skeleton Lords.
The Lords summoned a hundred A-rank Skeletons each.
A-ranks summoned a thousand B-ranks each.
B-ranks summoned ten thousand C-ranks each.
Total: 11,111.
The space filled instantly with spear-wielding skeletons.
That’s right.
The king of kings.
[You are the ‘Skeleton Emperor.’]
The Emperor’s perk.
Now I could summon in tens of thousands, not thousands.
Wuuung!
This time, I called all six who’d just classed up to King.
Dmitri and Eldrin included.
No time for reservations in a crisis.
Rustle, rustle!
Dmitri and Eldrin materialized in the air.
“What’s going on, liege? We were speeding up production with the extra troops!”
“Liege? This is…….”
After quick assessment, the other five besides Taeyang began summoning skeletons too.
I could’ve called Bone One, Bone Arm, Bone Ball.
But against something even Absolutes struggled with, they’d be useless—skipped.
Rustle, rustle!
One by one, the bone hordes multiplied.
“Professor! Hop on!”
Via Arin’s sky magic, I lifted into the air.
- Gruk…?
The baffled monsters scanned around and attacked.
Kwagagag!
They grabbed, hurled, and shattered bones at blinding speed.
But more skeletons spawned faster.
Total summoned in a flash: 66,666.
Creak, creak!
So many that the entire thicket brimmed with bones.
“You little…….”
The old man gawked at me, stunned.
“You actually became a real Emperor?”
“…….”
Honestly, I was shocked too.
I knew, but first real test.
Never realized 66,666 was *this* many.
‘Come to think of it.’
I could infinitely mass-produce that number.
Even if my Skeleton King minions died.
As long as I had stamina, I could resummon that many.
‘This class is broken OP.’
Cursed my ass.
This was a blessing among blessings.
And using this here?
[Skill: ‘Death Roar’ (A-Grade) used.]
[50 Stamina used.]
Skeletons!
Double your strength right now!
Kugugugu!
The ground quaked at my skill.
Like they’d shot steroids, every skeleton accelerated.
- Gruk… Coward… using tricks…
- True battle… demands… flesh against flesh… with hands and feet.
The gray monster smashing skeletons glared at me then.
The black ones did too.
‘Right.’
These bastards.
They ignore summons and target only me?
‘Damn.’
I retreated fast.
But its speed meant Shadow Step wouldn’t cut it.
‘How the hell do you fight something like this?’
Tempted to unload Poison Flash.
But it wouldn’t work.
And.
I’d encountered the fragment—why wasn’t the catalyst dungeon activating?
I pulled the tattered dobok from my bag.
‘Soul of the Martial Artist’ (S-Grade).
Catalyst to open the ‘Fist Clash Showdown’ dungeon.
But.
“…….”
No reaction.
Just the gray wraith oozing murderous intent before my eyes.
Damn.
In the end, atop Arin’s magic platform.
Fwoosh!
I swapped my weapon for a shield.
No choice.
Just endure for now.
* * *
Tudududu!
High in the sky, inside the chopper.
HNN’s David was screaming excitedly.
“This, this is an unbelievable sight! Skeletons piling into mountains! Is this the Skeleton Emperor? Truly imperial! A high ranker worthy of the name!”
David couldn’t close his gaping mouth even as he spoke.
Bone Mountain.
Literally a mountain of bones.
└ Insane.
└ OP as hell;;
└ For real. How is that even possible? How many are there?
└ TBH. What if Skeleton Emperor turns around and drops that in the middle of a city?
└ High rankers are all like that lol. Wrecking cities is Tuesday for them.
└ Anyway, that’s nuts. Every single skeleton wielding bows, casting spells……. Damn, jealous. Why’d the sky bastard give me this trash unique ability?
The roughly 100 million viewers were all stunned.
Word spread, viewer count climbing by tens of thousands per second.
└ Problem is those monsters are nuts too.
└ Yeah, smashing through skeletons like nothing.
└ And smart. Look—they’re ignoring skeletons, gunning for the Emperor.
└ This is bad, right? If even that power can’t stop ‘em, what about us?
└ Nah, other rankers are heading in now that they realize it’s serious.
As ratings soared.
And the crisis deepened.
Nations began mobilizing.
[World Rank 88, Mask Rider Gio, declares support!]
[World Rank 68, Grim Reaper May Riley, declares support!]
[World Rank 50, Golden Lion Raon, declares support!]
[World Rank 39, Mudskippers Erol, declares support!]
And.
[World Rank 4, Oxford’s Sage Sophia Silversone, declares support!]
Even the Mage Tower Lord.
Rankers flocked toward Hungary.
Thunderclap Phloa and other Star Heaven members moved unofficially too.
News flashed across media nonstop.
Communities buzzed endlessly.
└ At least that’s a relief.
└ With those rankers banding together, we’ll get through this break.
└ Still, this incident’s huge……
└ Condolences to Hungary’s people.
Some fretted over the crisis.
Others prayed for victims.
Others reveled in the tension.
“Current situation!”
Tudududu……!
David shouted again from the chopper.
“Even with countless skeletons summoned, the Emperor’s being pushed back. The gray and black monsters remain dominant! Relentlessly cornering the Emperor! We need fast support from other high rankers…… Huh?”
Suddenly, a dazed sound leaked from him.
“W-Wait a sec?”
The pro broadcaster, forgetting it was live, showed clear panic.
“Huh? What? No way?”
Then he cursed out loud.
The curse aired raw.
└ Lmao what’s with the reporter?
└ Broadcast accident?
└ David just won the lottery?
└ What’s up. Camera shaking like crazy. HNN can’t do their job?
Static, static!
Despite viewer complaints, the feed kept shaking.
Then it stabilized.
“A-Ah, this is HNN’s David with breaking news from the US military.”
A trembling voice returned.
“R-Right now, two rocket missiles are inbound for Hungarian airspace…… Quick scans confirm nuclear warheads.”
└ ????
└ ??????????
└ Nukes?
└ Wtf?
└ Nuclear?
└ Outta nowhere?
The world erupted in an instant.
The mic leaked shouts: [Turn the plane NOW!], [Fuck!], [Who’s the crazy bastard?!]
Rustling followed.
“T-Too fast and stealthy for intercept… They’ll hit in two minutes……. Surviving Hungarian citizens and border nations, evacuate immediately…… Incoming high rankers, please evacuate too.”
The world plunged into shock and terror.