Chapter 88
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Ultimate Killing Move
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Dongyoung, who had flown off kicking up a cloud of dust, simply landed lightly in the distance. Rooted to the ground like a massive boulder, he casually brushed off the arm that had taken the impact. It was the attitude of someone swatting away an annoying insect.
His icy gaze shifted from me to Byeok Cheonwi.
"Are you from the Murim Alliance too?"
At the question, Byeok Cheonwi slung a greatsword as tall as himself over his shoulder and let out a hearty laugh.
"Hahaha! Damn right! I am Byeok Cheonwi, leader of the Murim Alliance's Azure Dragon Squad!"
His booming laughter echoed across the entire clearing. At the same time, Byeok Cheonwi's transmitted voice pierced directly into my mind.
-How are you holding up, Vice Leader?
I pulled myself free from the shattered stone wall and fired back a mental response.
-I'm fine. Be careful, Leader. That guy's... insanely strong.
-Yeah, I can tell.
Byeok Cheonwi's reply carried more excitement than tension. This battle maniac of an old man.
Spotting our private exchange, Dongyoung asked with an irritated expression.
"What are you two chatting about so amusingly?"
"We were talking about your mom."
At my response, Dongyoung's brow twitched.
"...Whatever. I'll kill you both anyway."
Dongyoung kicked off the ground and charged again. This time, his target was Byeok Cheonwi. The squad leader wrapped his greatsword in swirling blue sword energy and met him head-on.
CLANG-!
Another eardrum-shattering roar erupted. The clash between Dongyoung's small fist and Byeok Cheonwi's massive greatsword was devastating. The hefty blade bent like taffy, and Byeok Cheonwi's huge frame was hurled far away.
CRUNCH-! BOOM-!
He smashed straight through the wall of a nearby building.
I shouted at the dust cloud rising from the rubble.
"Come on, Leader! Put some real power into it! That was embarrassing!"
"Hahaha!"
In response to my yell, his hearty laughter boomed from the debris. Soon, Byeok Cheonwi emerged, dusting himself off. His clothes were in tatters, but he didn't seem badly hurt.
-This guy's crossed that wall.
His transmitted voice came again. The great wall at the pinnacle of peak realm that all martial artists dreamed of scaling. He was saying this bastard had crossed it.
I see. In that case, all we have to do is cross it ourselves.
To bolster Byeok Cheonwi, I launched myself toward him. Reinforce him, then take the guy on together. That was our only path to victory.
But Dongyoung didn't miss my movement.
CLANG-!
My vision flashed, and burning pain erupted in my side. Before I knew it, I was smashed into the opposite wall again.
"Cough!"
A gush of blood poured from my mouth.
Doesn't look good.
Dongyoung said coldly.
"Enough with the pointless tricks."
I immediately used a recovery suggestion to mend my shattered ribs and organs. As I rose, I observed Dongyoung. Now that I looked closely, this prick couldn't chain attacks. One hit, then a pause; another hit, then rest. There was always a gap between strikes. Whether it was recoil from his immense power or some other reason, it was a clear weakness. Just like a classic game boss.
The problem was that I'd just burned mental energy on recovery, so I couldn't reinforce Byeok Cheonwi right away. Recovery had its own cooldown too.
Then Byeok Cheonwi's voice transmission came.
-Vice Leader. I can buy us a little time.
-Please do.
I replied curtly. We only had one shot.
Hearing me, Byeok Cheonwi raised his greatsword high toward the sky.
VRRRMMM-!
Blue sword energy madly gathered at the tip of his blade. The surrounding air vibrated in sync with the sword's hum. Quasi-sword aura level energy. It was the same technique I'd seen him use back in the secret cave to smash that iron door Hancheol made. But this was incomparably denser and more powerful.
Dongyoung, who had been gathering qi in both fists, paused his attack, intrigued by the massive energy, and stared at Byeok Cheonwi.
Finally, as the sword energy reached its peak, Byeok Cheonwi roared and unleashed a massive slash toward Dongyoung.
"Raaargh!"
Dongyoung smirked at the sight.
"I can just dodge a big swing like that."
BOOM-!
He was right. Dongyoung effortlessly leaped aside, dodging the slash. Byeok Cheonwi's strike cleaved straight through the building behind where he'd stood, punching a massive hole in it.
And in that instant.
I was already right in front of Byeok Cheonwi, my palm pressed to his forehead.
"Ah."
A short groan escaped Dongyoung's lips. But it was too late. I poured every ounce of my mental energy into etching a reinforcement suggestion directly into his mind.
'Grow stronger.'
'Destroy everything.'
'Annihilate anything in your path.'
FLASH-!
Explosive blue light erupted from where my palm touched, starting at his eyes and enveloping his entire body.
His aura changed.
The danger of this new power's emergence was instinctively sensed by Dongyoung, like a beast detecting a threat to its survival. His target was clear: eliminate the source of that blue light, the man laughing heartily.
THUD-!
He kicked off the ground like a cannonball. His fist aimed straight for Byeok Cheonwi's heart.
'Not happening.'
I threw myself forward without hesitation. I had to buy even a split second for Byeok Cheonwi to adapt to his new power by serving as a human shield.
CLANG-!
Dongyoung's fist slammed into my all-out defensive arm. The impact was on another level entirely. I didn't even feel my arm shatter. It was as if my very existence was being erased, the pressure piercing through my whole body.
My vision went black, and I flew like a ragdoll once more.
BOOM-!
Feeling the stone wall crumbling behind me, I laughed.
That confirmed it.
This guy can't chain attacks.
Like a classic game, there's always a delay after a powerful move before the next action. He was playing a turn-based game all by himself, the bastard.
While I was embedded in the wall, Dongyoung instinctively put distance between himself and Byeok Cheonwi. Proof that my sacrifice wasn't in vain.
"Hahahaha!"
Byeok Cheonwi's thunderous laughter rang out from the center of the clearing. He gazed in awe at the blue light enveloping his body.
"This is incredible! Truly incredible! Why didn't the Alliance Leader tell me about something like this?!"
He was purely delighted, like a child with a new toy. Slowly, Byeok Cheonwi raised his greatsword. An entirely different level of power began to gather along the blade.
It wasn't blue sword energy.
A high-density force that glowed on its own, warping the space around it.
Sword aura.
The transcendent realm beyond the peak, wielded only by those who had scaled the wall of walls.
"Ooh...!"
Byeok Cheonwi swung the sword aura-coated greatsword through the air a few times.
WHOOSH-! WHOOSH-!
Each swing tore the air with a sharp screech, leaving faint afterimages in the space it passed.
Anyone hit by that would die for sure.
I thought as I barely dragged myself up with a recovery suggestion.
For the first time, the leisure vanished from Dongyoung's face. But he still clung to his arrogance.
"Doesn't change a thing. You're doomed anyway."
No sooner had he spoken than Byeok Cheonwi's massive frame launched from the ground.
"Haha! Keep talking!"
Instead of meeting the charge head-on, Dongyoung turned and bolted. The same movement technique he'd used chasing me earlier. A miraculous speed that left even afterimages hard to track with the naked eye.
Insanely fast.
But.
Byeok Cheonwi, amplified by his transcendent martial arts and my reinforcement, was even faster.
Like a massive blue beast pouncing on prey, he closed the distance to Dongyoung's back in an instant. Realizing he couldn't shake him off even at full speed, Dongyoung abandoned his escape.
He gritted his teeth, spun around, and gathered both fists in front of his chest to brace.
Turtling again.
The sight stirred an old memory. Back in the mental hospital, some guy had smuggled in a two-player fighting game. When I joined him for a round, he just huddled in the corner defending like mad, so I chair-shot him. Nostalgic times.
This turtle-lover...
Dongyoung took a deep breath and murmured lowly.
Extreme Advance
Turtle mode activated, huh.
But in that moment, Byeok Cheonwi—raising his massive greatsword overhead from across the way—echoed him exactly.
Wall Heaven
Why's this old man copying him?
But despite the playful name, the power in his greatsword was no joke. Space screamed and twisted, cracks spiderwebbing across the earth. The sword aura blazed like a sun on the verge of exploding, compressed to its limit.
The two colossal forces finally collided head-on.
BOOM-!
The world turned white.
A blinding flash and a roar that swallowed all sound erupted. The ground of the clearing was ripped up entirely, surrounding buildings shredded like paper and flung skyward. To avoid being swept away by the storm, I had to cling desperately to the floor.
How much time passed?
The raging tempest finally died down, and the thick dust began to settle.
Revealed at the epicenter of the devastation were the two men standing there.
Thud.
Dongyoung dropped to one knee. His left shoulder was a gushing fountain of blood, completely empty. The severed arm was nowhere to be seen—likely vaporized in the explosion's aftermath. His face was a twisted mess of shock, pain, and disbelief.
And behind him.
Dozens of meters of earth had been blasted away, forming a massive cliff. Looking up far into the sky, the dense clouds were sliced straight through in a perfect line, as if by a giant blade.
Byeok Cheonwi, who had wrought it all, had thrust his greatsword into the ground to steady himself as he panted heavily. His body was covered in wounds, but his eyes gleamed with the thrill of victory.
I stared blankly at the overwhelming scene.
Incredible.