Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Iron Wall Confrontation
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The moment Hanok took down Sorzer.
Clang! Boom!
Balop swung his axe relentlessly at Five.
Balop's specialty was the overhead smash.
The power surging from his massive frame and bulging muscles.
Combined with the weight of his two-handed axe.
The result? Balop's overhead strikes could cleave even massive Phantasmal Beasts in two.
And now, he unleashed those strikes in rapid succession.
Not only splitting his foe clean in half.
Each blow cracked the earth, shattering it apart.
Yet despite hammering away endlessly, Balop's face remained grim.
Sweat beaded on his brow.
His arm muscles swelled to the bursting point.
His lungs burned like they might explode.
The recoil from his repeated overheads was taking its toll.
But what about Five?
He blocked every single smash with the same steady stance from the start.
Boom!
Five met another plunging axe head-on.
Balop felt a numbing jolt shoot through his hands, like they might split open.
'What the hell kind of monster is this?'
Excluding the freaks he'd seen at the major guild summit alongside his guild master.
This was the first time he'd ever laid eyes on something like this.
'Where the hell did this thing crawl out from?'
Talented fighters usually made a name for themselves.
Even if they holed up in some mountain for solitary training.
This wasn't a world where you could get strong that way.
There were only two paths to power.
Ascension and skills.
The strong always said it.
Differences in Ascension weren't something you could easily bridge.
But matchup, circumstances, gear in hand.
And finally, how you wielded your skills.
Those could tip the scales and rewrite the outcome.
Skills were the most crucial element of strength.
So how did you acquire them?
Simple.
You dove into dungeons.
Ascension worked the same way.
Dungeons were the only road to true power.
All strength stemmed from the dungeons.
That's why Pioneers were all the rage, why they commanded such status.
In a world like that, could someone grow strong in total obscurity?
'Sure, if they tried hard enough, maybe.'
But major guilds had eyes and ears everywhere.
Balop belonged to the elite squad of one such guild: the Steel Wolf Guild's Wild Wolves.
Of course he'd know about any notable powerhouse worth knowing.
'But this guy? Never heard a peep.'
An assassin-swordsman blending assassination skills with warrior ones.
He'd never heard of any assassin-swordsman this strong.
And that realization soured Balop's mouth.
'Not knowing a damn thing about him means...'
Either the guy was some ultra-reclusive powerhouse who'd gone to extremes to stay hidden.
Or he had backing so deep even major guilds couldn't sniff out intel.
'We're screwed.'
That backing could take several forms.
A Warlord or someone of equal renown.
Major guilds couldn't touch their info.
Like the Bloodless Sovereign, who dominated the underworld black markets.
No one even knew what she looked like.
But there was something even more terrifying.
The Niflheim Empire's imperial family.
Major guilds inevitably learned about the empire's shadowy underbelly.
Which was why they steered clear of anything tied to the imperial family.
Balop's gut screamed "imperial family" purely on instinct.
Five just kept giving off that vibe.
His swordplay was disciplined, methodical.
The hallmark of knights.
Boom!
Balop smashed his axe down once more and leaped back hard.
Five didn't pursue, just reset his stance with crisp precision.
A display of utter leisure—he could chase anytime he wanted.
Balop's face twisted in dread as he ventured cautiously,
"You... you got ties to the imperial family or somethin'?"
Five's brow twitched.
Balop inwardly clicked his tongue at the telltale reaction.
That response seals it. Definitely imperial family.
'Damn it, we're done for.'
Messing with imperial folk meant major guilds got pulverized, no exceptions.
He'd come for revenge on his guild master's brother, and now the whole guild might vanish.
Balop's face drained of color.
But he didn't know his instincts were only half-right.
Five let out a quiet sigh.
'Normally, even mentioning the imperial family wouldn't faze me.'
Five was Nightcrow.
Secrecy was second nature.
But during Syria's subjugation.
She'd pulverized his loyalty to the empire into dust.
Five shuddered at the memory.
"Hoo... forcing mistakes out of me, dredging up bad memories."
The terror etched into his body reacted instinctively to the imperial mention.
"Thanks to you, I've realized I can slip up."
Vampirization [S]
Temporary Ascension to 16th level. Fangs bared. Presence erased.
Five's leg kicked back.
His sword angled diagonally, poised to strike.
He looked like a beast coiling for the pounce.
Balop shivered at the sight.
For some reason, Five's presence had vanished entirely.
Like the air or the ground itself—too fundamental to notice.
Balop's senses screamed that his perception was broken.
Thud!
His instincts blared alarms at max volume.
Something deadly was coming, no doubt.
"So I'll make sure you never dare utter such words before Him again."
The instant Five finished speaking.
His eyes flushed crimson, fangs gleaming.
Then, he vanished right before Balop's eyes.
"Huh?"
Balop froze solid.
The sun beat down overhead.
Smoke from the clashes drifted on the wind.
But no sign of Five anywhere.
'Di-disappeared?'
He'd been right there.
Gone, just like that.
No presence, no matter where he looked.
Cold sweat trickled down Balop's cheek.
His face paled blue by degrees.
Then it hit him—the one mistake in his thinking.
'...Hero-rank Pioneer?'
Balop pegged Five as Hero-rank.
But he was wrong.
No Hero-rank could vanish this flawlessly, no matter their defenses.
This wasn't Hero-rank.
'This lunatic.'
16th Ascension, Bronze Hero-rank.
A true superhuman who'd shattered the Hero-rank wall into the next tier.
The moment he realized it, victory was impossible.
No matter how favorably he played it.
Bronze Heroes crushed even that.
'Run, now!'
Smash the axe, kick up dust, slip away in the chaos...
Shunk—
Suddenly, he felt a blade bury deep in his throat.
Five's crimson eyes flashed past.
'Ah.'
I'm dead.
Too late to realize.
Slash!
His head spun skyward in a blink.
Thud—
Balop's severed head landed neatly in Five's palm.
The red faded from Five's eyes, fangs retracting.
After becoming Syria's kin.
Bestowed her power, Five gained a new skill.
Vampirization [S].
His ultimate technique, surging him temporarily to 16th Ascension.
'Makes you realize just how incredible Lady Syria is.'
From Hero-rank to 1st Ascension—even one step was a chasm.
To leap it so effortlessly.
Five felt Syria's strength anew.
'And the one who forged that Syria... Lord Leyzon.'
Fierce reverence gripped his heart.
The subjugation had imprinted one supreme priority.
Respect for Leyzon.
His past meant nothing now.
Five existed only to swing his sword for Syria and Leyzon.
Thud—
Balop's headless body finally crumpled.
Five casually dropped the head atop the corpse.
"All of you, stand down."
Black killing intent erupted from him.
The guild members, belatedly sensing the shift, froze en masse.
Five had no intention of letting Leyzon's attackers go.
In the distance, he spotted Hanok staggering to his feet.
He'd soloed a foe two Ascensions his senior.
Leyzon would be pleased.
Mission accomplished.
Time to clean house.
Just as Five prepared to wipe them out, sparing one...
Thud!
His killing intent clashed with another, scattering.
Five furrowed his thick brows and shifted his gaze.
There stood a towering man.
"Everyone, fall back behind me."
Axe gleaming under his billowing cloak, catching the sunlight.
The guild members broke free of Five's intent and fled at his command.
Five ignored them, eyes locked on the newcomer.
He knew that face.
"Iron Wall."
15th Ascension Hero-rank adventurer. Guild master of Steel Wolf Guild.
Iron Wall, Rafila.
He'd arrived.
Rafila's gaze shifted calmly.
It landed on Balop's decapitated form.
"Held out well."
Rafila praised Balop highly.
His foe had temporarily hit 16th Ascension, Bronze Hero-rank.
No mere elite squad grunt could handle that.
Thud!
In that instant, a shield burst from Rafila's hand.
A massive tower shield big enough to cover his body.
A legendary item superior to even Uniques, capable of blocking large-scale magic barrages.
Fortress of Iron Wall.
The weapon that earned him his moniker.
Rafila entered full combat readiness.
"Not a bad read."
Five deemed Rafila's judgment spot-on.
From the moment Five had aimed his blade at Leyzon, he'd planned to exterminate Steel Wolf entirely.
Including Rafila, naturally.
Rafila knew it, accepted combat was inevitable.
He hadn't claimed the guild master seat for nothing.
His instincts were razor-sharp.
Five exhaled slowly, eyeing Rafila.
His skill, Wide-Area Sensitivity, activated.
Beyond Rafila, multiple presences registered.
Five could handle Rafila alone.
But he hadn't come solo.
Rafila's Wild Wolves were here too.
Plus traces of mana everywhere.
Definitely prepping massive spells.
'What now.'
Even for him, clearing this many would take time.
Worse, Hanok and Haron were here.
They'd fought brilliantly.
But Hanok was still growing.
He couldn't weather a magic barrage.
'If Hanok or Haron get hurt...'
No face left to show Leyzon.
And Rafila spotted that weakness.
Those with something to protect grew vulnerable.
Now was the moment to crush Five.
Whoosh!
An axe soared skyward over the tower shield.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
More axes rocketed up in tow.
Endless Pursuit [A]
Axes home in relentlessly. Targets: Weak points.
The skill his brother once wielded—Rafila had it too.
And their prey? Hanok.
"When hunting Phantasmal Beasts, strike the weakness first."
He treated Five as one outright.
"Hanok."
Black killing intent gathered on Five's blade, flaring.
Hanok's ears perked up.
"Hold out as long as you can till I kill him."
"Got it!"
Hanok was already bounding like a beast.
Five exploded forward in a leap of his own.
His sword dipped low, scraping the ground, then arced upward.
The moment it slammed the tower shield's flank.
Rafila's Fortress of Iron Wall bent like a living thing.
Five instantly stomped the earth.
Reversal [A]
Blink behind the foe. Chainable.
Rafila, who'd been frontal, reappeared at his back.
Five had flanked him.
Rafila reacted fast.
The Fortress of Iron Wall spun in a flash to block.
But Five leaped again.
Reversal [A] (Chained)
Flanked again. Back exposed.
Two Reversals in a row.
Five claimed Rafila's back once more.
Rafila's unguarded rear filled his vision.
Five's sword surged forth.
Claaaaang!
The Fortress of Iron Wall intercepted.
The shield meant to guard the rear—now inexplicably up front.
Sparks flew from Five's blade.
His eyes narrowed fiercely.
Unique gear, Fortress of Iron Wall.
Its trait: Absolute Defense.
Attacks from any angle triggered automatic repositioning.
'My skills suit assassination, not breaching the vanguard.'
Even with warrior skills, Five wasn't a pure warrior.
Bad matchup against Rafila.
'Vampirization...'
Cooldown not up yet.
No quick kill possible.
'The problem is...'
Magic circles now blanketed the sky in droves.
Rafila could tank the barrage with his shield.
Five and Hanok? They'd be obliterated.
Five gritted his teeth.
He'd have to overwhelm the shield's pursuit.
'Even if it kills me.'
His muscles ballooned to their limit, body heat radiating—
Crackcraaaack!
The skyborne magic circles fractured instantly.
Rafila and Five's eyes snapped upward together.
Crack, shatter!
The massive array shattered.
Rafila's face hardened.
Something had gone wrong with his guild mages.
Five exhaled and smirked faintly.
"Sorry, looks like time's up."
Shatter! Crunch!
The axes chasing Hanok ricocheted away.
They exploded into fragments.
As Rafila scanned the ominous air.
His eyes caught a writhing red shadow beneath the tower shield.
Before he could identify it.
A staff emerged from the shadow.
A dangerous mana orb formed at its tip.
Before realization dawned.
Fierce Poison Explosion [B]
Massive AoE blast. Vision whitens.
"Fierce Poison Explosion."
With the incantation, Rafila's world went white.