Chapter 231
Chapter 231
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 231
Chapter Title: No Effect
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘It has no effect.’
Seo Woo-jin realized the moment the explosion occurred that the Apostle had blocked the attack without taking a single scratch.
“Tch.”
But there was no time to be disappointed.
More importantly, he had to protect Gye Soo-ji and get her to safety.
Instead of following up on the Apostle, Seo Woo-jin moved toward Gye Soo-ji.
“Woo-jin….”
Her condition was the worst.
One of her legs was mangled, and her body was covered in wounds large and small.
Her entire form was soaked in blood.
“Are you okay?”
It felt wrong even asking, given how terrible she looked, but Gye Soo-ji nodded with a forced smile.
“I’m fine.”
She didn’t look fine at all.
It was clear as day that she was barely holding back the pain.
“…Step back and rest for a bit.”
Seo Woo-jin positioned himself in front of Gye Soo-ji and turned to face the Apostle.
‘As expected.’
The white-haired Apostle stood there unscathed.
Not a single hair out of place, he simply stared at Seo Woo-jin.
“Are the heroes stronger than I thought? Or are you lot special?”
He asked with eyes full of boredom.
“Who are you?”
Seo Woo-jin countered with a question instead of an answer.
“Ardeto.”
A name he’d never heard before.
But he knew.
This was the Apostle stronger than Xenonia that she had mentioned.
“Were you the one moving the Ancient Orcs?”
Such a powerful Apostle had appeared here, and the Ancient Orcs’ movements had changed drastically.
Seo Woo-jin could only assume as much.
“No.”
But Ardeto shook his head.
“…No?”
It was an unexpected answer, twisting Seo Woo-jin’s expression slightly.
“Must be some other guy. There’s one who loves pulling stunts like this.”
There was more than one Apostle prowling the Zarban Plains.
‘At least two. Maybe three or more.’
The situation was dire.
Even Ardeto alone was no pushover, and now there was another.
‘Can I hold them off?’
He could manage somehow.
Ardeto looked strong, but so was he.
But the other heroes couldn’t.
If another Apostle attacked them alongside the Ancient Orcs?
No hero could stand against an Apostle who had surely reached the Transcendent Realm.
‘Dozens could die.’
The heroes’ current power couldn’t handle an Apostle yet.
If he had just one more year, maybe, but at their levels now? No chance.
‘I need to end this fast, even if it means pushing myself.’
Seo Woo-jin glanced back briefly.
He could feel Gye Soo-ji watching from a safe distance.
‘Hold off on Demon King Transformation.’
She might see it.
She trusted him, sure, but better to be cautious.
Save it for the absolute last resort.
“What’s your name?”
Ardeto asked then.
“Seo Woo-jin.”
“…Ah, so you’re the one.”
He seemed to have heard the name before.
Given all the run-ins with Apostles, it’d be weirder if he hadn’t.
Clap, clap—
“Impressive, just as the rumors say.”
Ardeto clapped with what looked like genuine admiration.
But his eyes and expression remained bored as ever, unchanged.
“You’re no slouch either. Xenonia mentioned someone stronger than her. That you?”
The moment Xenonia’s name left Seo Woo-jin’s lips, Ardeto’s face finally shifted.
Subtle, but his eyebrow twitched.
“How do you know her? Did you two meet?”
Ardeto asked, then shook his head.
“No, that can’t be. You wouldn’t be alive if you had.”
He clearly thought Seo Woo-jin was no match for Xenonia.
“Who knows? Maybe not.”
A smile crept onto Seo Woo-jin’s lips.
Seeing it, Ardeto’s brow furrowed slightly.
“If you’re planning some trick, forget it. I see you’ve reached the realm, but that alone won’t cut it.”
Ardeto was letting his guard down.
Even if Seo Woo-jin had attained Transcendence, he figured he wasn’t a real threat yet.
‘Perfect.’
Seo Woo-jin inwardly cheered.
The more Ardeto underestimated him, the easier the fight would be.
So he had no intention of clearing up the misunderstanding.
“Quit wasting time and just tell me where you heard Xenonia’s name.”
“Find out yourself.”
Seo Woo-jin shrugged indifferently, and Ardeto sighed.
“That works too.”
Whooooom—!
Demonic energy erupted.
Thick, ominous black Demonic energy.
‘As I thought….’
Seo Woo-jin was convinced once more.
Ardeto was no subordinate of Xenonia’s.
In fact, judging by the sheer volume of Demonic energy, he far surpassed her.
“Keep talking, then.”
Snap!
Ardeto flicked his fingers.
And at that instant—
BOOM!
An explosion rocked right in front of him.
But Seo Woo-jin wasn’t Gye Soo-ji.
He dodged the blast she couldn’t with ridiculous ease.
In a flash, he moved out of range and infused Chaos energy into ‘Kara Niel’.
Shiiiing—!
Gray aura sliced through the air toward the Apostle.
“That won’t work.”
Ardeto waved his hand irritably.
BOOM!
Another explosion, just like before.
“Hup!”
Like a volcano erupting, a pale white hand shot out from the plume of dirt blasting into the sky.
‘Too late to dodge!’
The speed was insane. Seo Woo-jin gave up evading and raised ‘Kara Niel’ to block.
Claaaaang—!
Immense impact crashed into him.
If it weren’t ‘Kara Niel’, the sword would have shattered, piercing straight through his body.
But Seo Woo-jin didn’t panic.
He had too much experience to flinch at an attack like this.
“Twelve Thousand Swords!”
He launched himself backward to disperse the shock, then activated the skill.
Twelve glowing points burst forth.
“Hm?”
Ardeto paused at the unfamiliar sight.
In that moment, the bright lights streaking through the air charged straight at him.
“No chance.”
Sensing something dangerous, Ardeto tried to evade.
But the ‘Twelve Thousand Swords’ lights were far faster.
Pew-pew-pew-pew—!
As if predicting his every move, the glowing points embedded into his body.
And then,
Whiiiiiir—!
The constellation began to rotate.
“Grr!”
Ardeto groaned as the stars spun with enough force to pulverize everything.
“This…!”
Shock rippled through Ardeto’s once-bored eyes.
‘It’s not mana!’
Not mana, not Demonic energy—a new power.
This alien gray energy, unlike anything he’d felt before, gnawed at his flesh.
“Art Burst!”
Realizing he couldn’t endure it barehanded, Ardeto belatedly unleashed his technique.
KABOOOOOM!!!
An explosion dwarfing all before it.
Even Gye Soo-ji, far away, was hurled back by the shockwave.
‘Ugh!’
Seo Woo-jin, much closer to Ardeto, took the brunt.
‘Nngh!’
It felt like being trapped in hellfire.
The coat etched with Rudain’s magic barrier vaporized instantly. Even his dragon-tooth-tough skin blistered from the heat.
But worse than the inferno was the pressure crushing his body.
It was like the entire world bearing down on him.
Ardeto’s power exceeded expectations.
‘I can’t hold this.’
Seo Woo-jin had to admit it.
He couldn’t beat Ardeto easily with his current strength.
‘Use Demon King Transformation?’
He seriously considered it.
Gye Soo-ji’s gaze still bothered him, but to survive this assault, he had no other way…
‘I do!’
Ways to block Ardeto’s attack without Demon King Transformation.
Two of them, even!
Seo Woo-jin didn’t hesitate and spoke.
“Celestial Wing.”
Wings sprouted from his back.
Influenced by Chaos energy, they were gray, unlike the previous black.
Power surged.
Activated at minimal output, it didn’t grant omnipotence, but the boost was still massive.
But he didn’t stop there and invoked another.
“Luden Gard.”
A name he’d forgotten, never needing it before.
Fwoooosh—!
Light burst from the tattoo on his hand, enveloping his body in an instant.
The cursed armor the Emperor had bestowed to collar him—the so-called Armor of the Demon God.
The one that destroyed the wearer’s mind, turning them into a mindless monster, now revealed itself.
The crushing pressure vanished instantly.
‘Luden Gard’s’ ever-active ‘Aegis’ was nullifying Ardeto’s assault completely.
“Haa….”
Seo Woo-jin straightened his hunched body.
He felt nothing.
No scorching heat, no body-crushing pressure.
Just like standing near a cozy heater.
His face hidden by the helm, Seo Woo-jin turned to Ardeto.
A flicker of shock crossed the Apostle’s face.
Likely from recognizing ‘Luden Gard’ rather than the block itself.
“An item blessed by Him.”
Unlike Seo Woo-jin, whose Demonic energy had turned to Chaos, ‘Luden Gard’ still held traces of it.
Feeling that, Ardeto’s face lit with emotion.
“I strove so long to claim it….”
Boredom fled his eyes, replaced by greed.
“Offer it to me. I’ll spare you and the woman behind you. No—all the heroes on this plain. Just give me that armor.”
His desperate longing for ‘Luden Gard’ was plain on his face.
“It would only harm you. It destroys the minds of the unworthy. Better to hand it to me.”
He even kindly explained its fatal flaw.
“Worthy, huh….”
Hearing him prattle about worthiness was so absurd, Seo Woo-jin let out a hollow laugh.
He stared at Ardeto and spoke quietly.
“Cut the bullshit and come at me. Unless you want to stand there and lose.”