Chapter 220
Chapter 220
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 220
Chapter Title: Desperate Clash with the Slaughter King
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[Such a pathetic sight...! It was over from the start...! The end is here!]
"Yeah... that's right...!"
BOOM! RUMBLE RUMBLE!
With every clash of their strikes, shockwaves and destructive blasts radiated outward, shaking the earth.
The Slaughter King's incarnation wielded power at the peak of human capability, putting even Yoo Seongwon on the defensive.
Hunters watching from afar or through drones gasped in awe at his skill in holding his own.
"Whoa, surpassing S-Class wasn't just talk."
"Is that even a human fight? Ha..."
"Now I get why Olympus tried talking it out first."
Meanwhile, the scavengers and the Slaughter King's minions observing via other means whispered tensely among themselves.
Przewalski, the horse-headed beastman, was especially stunned by how perfectly Yoo Seongwon had transformed in just a few short years.
[Hiiing... To change this much so fast.]
[...First time seeing him, but... no wonder the others lost.]
"Right, Toryu. As the hero chosen by that 'star,' calling him an apostle wouldn't be wrong. The others' defeats make sense. But... even so, fighting a 'constellation' is a whole different level."
Apostles were ultimately subordinates of constellations. Even incarnations paled before the divine scale and laws governing true constellations.
At least as the 'Star's Guardian,' he seemed to match that scale somehow, but toppling a constellation with ordinary means was impossible.
'Got it! A gap!'
[Useless.]
Clang!
He barely seized an opening and swung his sword at the chopstick-thin body, but it didn't slice—instead, his hands numbed like striking rock, and Paegwang Knight Yucheon's sword bounced off.
Seizing the moment, the Slaughter King swung "Eat Everything," forcing Yoo Seongwon to twist away desperately. He rolled across the ground, the attack grazing his armor.
"Haa... haa... No way! What kind of body is that...!"
[This is... a divine body.]
'Damn, it's supposed to be made of the Star's Heart or whatever—should cut like butter?'
Kaaaaang!
Sword met "Eat Everything" again in a shower of sparks. Yoo Seongwon blocked with effort and was pushed back, but the Slaughter King pressed relentlessly with fork and knife, showing no fatigue.
Defense alone was overwhelming, and the real problem? Paegwang Knight Yucheon's sword wasn't penetrating. No clue how to handle it.
'Damn! What now? Use Paegwang Heavenly Sword Flow?'
[Ooooooh!]
'No openings. Shit! This damn cast time!'
Pondering a big move, Yoo Seongwon tried creating distance or finding alternatives, but the Slaughter King's barrage wouldn't relent.
This barren ruin, cleared for their duel, offered no cover or hiding spots.
No relying on armor either. All he could do was dig in defensively. He needed a plan.
'Constellations really aren't pushovers.'
[Grooooar!]
'No fatigue, body won't cut, and those weapons straight-up devour on contact...! How the hell do I win?'
Kuuuung! Crack crack!
The fork and knife split the earth, cracks spiderwebbing out. Watching, Yoo Seongwon had a spark of inspiration.
He gripped Titan's stake in his other hand, feigning a two-handed counter, and swung at the incarnation.
The stake's weight plus his strength carved the ground as deeply as the incarnation had earlier.
[Idiot's trick...!]
Yoo Seongwon twisted into the crevice he'd made, dropping down. The Slaughter King tilted his head, watching.
Seizing the opening he'd craved, Yoo Seongwon jammed the stake into the falling wall, climbed atop it, steadied himself, aimed Paegwang Knight Yucheon's sword at the Slaughter King, and swiftly chanted the Paegwang Heavenly Sword Flow he'd been itching to unleash.
"Boundary of earth and sky, horizon! I swing this blade to cleave sun and moon along your path! Paegwang Heavenly Sword Flow, Chapter 3—Horizon Slash!"
Yoo Seongwon unleashed Horizon Slash diagonally, guaranteed to connect. Its trajectory perfectly halved the incarnation.
Victory seemed at hand—but the Slaughter King's incarnation stood unscathed.
[What, that?]
"...What?"
It hadn't even bothered defending with "Eat Everything," tanking it with its body. Yoo Seongwon froze in shock.
Paegwang Heavenly Sword Flow from Paegwang Knight Yucheon's sword, and it shrugged it off? Impossible.
Even the mightier Dragon-Phoenix King had screamed and dispersed its incarnation on a hit. This was baffling.
'What? That thing? How do I even...?'
[Don't get careless if you think you'll win.]
Before he could strategize, the Slaughter King leaped into the crevice, fork and knife aimed at Yoo Seongwon.
A direct hit meant instant death, so he fled desperately, defending with Paegwang Knight Yucheon's sword.
'Damn! What kind of bullshit fight is this? How do you beat that?'
[Die.]
"Urk!"
BOOOOM!
Stunned that Paegwang Heavenly Sword Flow failed, Yoo Seongwon had no room to think.
The Slaughter King's onslaught continued. With no sure counter, defense was all he had. Fatigue set in, the earlier technique taxing him heavily. Options dwindling.
'Damn! How do I turn this? Ugh!'
[Gap in your guard!]
"Urk!"
Thwack!
In this hopeless fight, his sole means of defense and offense—Paegwang Knight Yucheon's sword—flew from his grip in a moment's lapse. Now, pure evasion.
Borrowing martial prowess to dodge and roll frantically, he discarded the now-useless Titan's stake as mere clutter, fighting desperately to survive.
'Damn! Damn! Damn!'
[Die! Die! Die!]
"Haa... haa... haa...!"
For the first time since gaining SS-Class stats, exhaustion hit mid-battle, deep fatigue creeping in. Yoo Seongwon fled the ever-vigorous Slaughter King's assaults.
Lucky this was underground; on the surface, he'd have to renounce knighthood for such a pathetic display.
"Cough! Cough! Haa... haa... haa... Damn!"
[Regeneration?]
"Sorry, but I don't... have that! Gah!"
[Even if you like running... it'll end eventually...]
"No thanks!"
Somehow adapted to the Slaughter King's garbled speech, Yoo Seongwon quipped back while dodging "Eat Everything."
First, reclaim Paegwang Knight Yucheon's sword for any resistance—but that intent was obvious.
His edge had been dodging via beastly aggression and endless stamina. Now, that predictability became fatal.
[Gotcha.]
"Gah! Ugaaaah!"
Rushing for the sword exposed his path. A fork from "Eat Everything" pierced his abdomen, hoisting him like tonkatsu.
The prongs wriggled alive, devouring armor, flesh, blood, and organs. Agony doubled. Instinctively, he grabbed the fork to pull free—but that backfired.
"Ka, kuaaaaaah!"
[...Fool...]
"Eat Everything" consumed all it touched. His gauntlet and fingers vanished.
He yanked back fast enough to save most, but the glove was gone.
'Damn... is this really the end? Ugh!'
Despair gripped him. Pain, blood filling his mouth, breathing labored. No answer against this cheating constellation.
Fork impaling him aloft, the Slaughter King swung its knife for the decapitating finish.
Even now, martial prowess refused defeat, thrashing instinctively to evade.
'Huh?'
[You...!]
Struggling drove the fork deeper, his pierced body slamming into the Slaughter King's embrace.
'If this is it, at least land one good hit...'
Vision fading, Yoo Seongwon saw the nearing face. For one final strike before death, he clenched his fist and smashed the incarnation's visage with full force.
[Oof!]
"Kraa... aaah...."
Shockingly, the incarnation flew back, tumbling across the ground. Yoo Seongwon slipped free, rolling too.
Bewildered, he recalled the sensation.
Unlike the hard impacts from Paegwang Heavenly Sword Flow or the sword—soft, like bursting a water balloon.
'...No way?'
[...What... what...!]
Struggling up, the Slaughter King dropped powdery flecks from its mouth, staring at Yoo Seongwon in alarm.
Unsure what happened but sensing he'd luckily found the weakness, Yoo Seongwon yanked a potion from inventory, chugged it, clenched both fists, gritted his teeth, and stood.
Normally fatal blood loss, but potion and high stats let him move barely.
Only chance: drop it before time ran out. He charged.