Chapter 258
Chapter 258
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 258
Chapter Title: King of Chaos
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No one could open their mouths.
Not Cratos, not even Ban Slaine or Baek Si-woo.
The sight of Seo Woo-jin in his Demon King Transformation left them utterly speechless.
It wasn't just the change in his appearance.
Of course, seeing him transform from a human into something else was shocking.
But the real reason they couldn't speak was the awe-inspiring pressure radiating from Seo Woo-jin.
"Hoo—"
Seo Woo-jin exhaled.
The chaos embedded in his breath crushed everything around him.
"You... my lord...."
At that moment, Ban Slaine finally managed to speak and call out to Seo Woo-jin.
"Please remember what I said earlier."
But Seo Woo-jin shook his head, cutting him off.
He knew exactly what Ban Slaine was curious about, but now wasn't the time to answer.
'First, I need to resolve this situation.'
Seo Woo-jin turned his gaze to Cratos.
The monster's eyes were trembling nonstop.
"Let's pick up where we left off. Whose responsibility is my death?"
At least, it wasn't Cratos's.
The omnipotence filling Seo Woo-jin's body had pierced through the monster's realm completely.
Thanks to that, he knew.
Cratos was no match for him.
['King of Chaos.']
"Don't call me that. I have a name: Seo Woo-jin."
Seo Woo-jin furrowed his brow and warned Cratos.
'King of Chaos,' 'The One Who Brings the End of the World.'
He hated hearing those kinds of titles.
"I'm not planning to act out your prophecies."
All he wanted was to win the Descent War and return home.
But Cratos didn't seem to think so.
['That is why it is called fate—because it is an unchangeable future.']
The monster was convinced.
That Seo Woo-jin was truly the being who would end all worlds.
"Cut the bullshit."
There was no value in listening anymore.
"Just die."
In his slightly colder demeanor after the Demon King Transformation, conversing with Cratos was nothing but a waste of time for Seo Woo-jin.
['Wai—!']
As Seo Woo-jin took a step forward, Cratos desperately tried to speak.
But it was too late.
Seo Woo-jin's movements far transcended anything Cratos could perceive.
Boom—!
Its head exploded.
Pure white scales, red blood, and chunks of torn flesh scattered into the air.
In the blink of an eye.
One of Cratos's heads went limp, drained of power.
"Pretty tough."
Seo Woo-jin, already back in position, raised his fist to look at it.
Cratos's scales and bones had far greater durability than expected.
Though one punch had burst it open, a faint ache lingered in his fist.
That was how sturdy the monster's body was.
But what happened next was even more astonishing.
Shhh—
Strength began to return to the neck where the head had vanished and gone limp.
And in less than a few seconds, the exploded head regenerated.
Seo Woo-jin let out a hollow laugh at the sight.
'What is this, a hydra?'
It didn't sprout two heads like the mythical hydra when one was severed, but its regeneration speed was no slouch.
['I request a conversation.']
Cratos, now fully regenerated, spoke once more.
Of course, Seo Woo-jin paid it no mind.
"If one doesn't work, go for two. If that fails, just slice them all at once."
Seo Woo-jin drew Caraniel.
To deal with the unexpectedly tough head in one blow, a sword was far better than a fist.
Slash—!
A long line tore through the air.
When had he even swung it?
Ban Slaine hadn't even noticed Seo Woo-jin's movement.
Yet in that brief instant, Caraniel unleashed a staggering 108 slashes.
The result...
Cratos's body began to crumble.
* * *
"Hurry! We must arrive by tonight!"
Testaron shouted from the lead.
Cratos's domain was still quite a distance away.
But with the knights' physiques, they could reach it by tonight, just as Testaron said.
Of course, it would require pushing themselves hard.
"The soldiers are falling behind."
One knight glanced back and reported.
Even though they were northern-born and raised, they couldn't keep up with the knights' pace.
Inevitably, the distance between them was growing.
"It was expected."
But Testaron had no intention of slowing down.
"Our priority is getting the knight order there. The soldiers can arrive a bit later."
If Cratos truly was an enemy, the soldiers' forces wouldn't make much difference.
The only reason he was bringing them was for one purpose.
To transport supplies.
"...Understood. Then we should assign one knight to lead the soldiers."
"Do that."
Testaron nodded at his subordinate's words and quickened his pace again.
"Can you hold out moving like this? You look like you'll collapse the moment we arrive."
Kye Soo-ji, who had overheard everything from behind, asked Aileen.
"It's certainly a strain."
It wasn't a big issue for the senior knights.
They were gradually surpassing human limits.
Their bodies wouldn't tire from a few days of running.
But the other knights were the problem.
Running across this harsh northern plain all day would definitely take a toll on their stamina.
"Shouldn't we go a bit slower then?"
Kye Soo-ji asked again, her face full of incomprehension.
No matter how fast they arrived, what was the point if they couldn't fight?
"No. We still need to hurry."
Aileen replied with a resolute expression.
"Lord Ban Slaine is the supreme commander of Massive Guardian and our nation's hope. With him possibly in danger, we have no time for leisure."
No matter the strain.
Even if they arrived with no strength left to fight.
They had to go.
"If we can't walk, we'll crawl and fight. If we can't hold a sword, we'll bite and fight."
If that's what it took to keep Ban Slaine safe, they were willing to give their lives.
To the Blue Shield Knight Order and Massive Guardian's soldiers, Ban Slaine was that kind of existence.
"Hmm...."
Kye Soo-ji nodded.
It differed from her own values, but she could understand.
"Still, I don't think there's much danger."
Lee Ji-ah, trailing behind, chimed in.
"There's Uncle with Grandpa Lord, right? So no need to worry too much."
Lee Ji-ah knew well how immense Seo Woo-jin's power was.
The other heroes did too.
Considering the miraculous scene he had shown at the Derhan Jarban Plains, it would be stranger not to realize it.
"He melted over ten thousand Ancient Orcs with a single skill. And he even beat the Apostles. I don't know how strong Cratos is, but Uncle won't lose."
Everyone nodded at Lee Ji-ah's words.
No matter how they thought about it, they couldn't imagine Seo Woo-jin losing.
Everyone except Aileen.
"I know how strong Woo-jin is too. But Cratos..."
It was an existence on a completely different level from any enemy they'd faced so far.
Even Ban Slaine hadn't dared to subjugate it.
She couldn't guarantee that even Seo Woo-jin would triumph over it.
"Of course, with both of them together, I don't think they'll lose. But we can't afford to be optimistic, so we have to hurry."
There's a saying: one in a million.
If they approached optimistically and that one-in-a-million happened?
'Then Sion is finished.'
Without the massive shield that was Ban Slaine, Sion couldn't survive the Descent War.
To prepare for such a worst-case scenario, they had to support Ban Slaine.
Lee Ji-ah and Kye Soo-ji raised no more questions after Aileen's words.
"By the way, this Cratos Demonic Beast must be pretty strong, huh?"
Goo Dong-hwan suddenly spoke up.
"Yeah. The demonic energy is getting thicker."
"This much..."
Goo Dong-hwan glanced at the knights ahead.
"Not to downplay the knights, but won't it be tough for them to endure?"
Demonic energy was the natural enemy of mana.
They were fine, but the knights had no power to resist this demonic pressure.
"No need to worry."
Had he heard Goo Dong-hwan?
Testaron, at the front, looked back.
"The Empire's Sky Tower made something pretty good. Those guys know their stuff."
"Good stuff?"
As Kye Soo-ji tilted her head, Testaron chuckled and pulled a disc from his pocket.
"They say it overcomes demonic energy."
What he held was the same item Seo Woo-jin had seen in the Forest of Death.
The Sky Tower had succeeded in mass production and distributed it to various nations, eventually reaching the Blue Shield Knight Order.
"With this, demonic energy won't freeze us in fear."
Goo Dong-hwan stared at it for a moment before nodding.
"Then nothing's holding us back."
"...Holding us back?"
Testaron's eyebrow twitched.
Goo Dong-hwan's words seemed to have pricked his pride.
"Are all the heroes from other kingdoms like you?"
"What do you mean?"
Not understanding the question, Goo Dong-hwan asked back, and Testaron snorted.
"Sion's hero was always humble. Even after gaining power later, he never got arrogant or looked down on others."
"...Ha!"
Only then did Goo Dong-hwan grasp the meaning and let out a hollow laugh.
"So you're saying I'm arrogant? That I'm looking down on you?"
"Did I say anything wrong?"
The mood between them turned hostile.
Even as they raced across the snowfield, the two began glaring at each other.
"Anyway."
Kye Soo-ji, watching it all, shook her head.
"Why are those two like that?"
When Lee Ji-ah asked, she sighed and explained.
"They're clashing egos like a couple of battle maniacs."
"Egos?"
"Goo Dong-hwan lost to someone from Massive Guardian. That's why he's picking a fight on purpose."
"Ah!"
Only then did Lee Ji-ah recall what had happened between them.
"Testaron really was impressive. I never thought he'd beat Uncle Dong-hwan."
"He's acting like that to recover his bruised pride."
She looked at Goo Dong-hwan with pity.
Then she turned to Lee Ji-ah and Kim Da-hye beside her.
"Don't learn that kind of thing from them."
As if to block their view entirely, she stepped in front of the two.
'Battle maniacs, honestly.'
Kye Soo-ji sighed inwardly and shifted her gaze far ahead.
The demonic energy was thickening.