Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: The Orb of Demonic Energy (2)
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In this situation.
"We'll join you too."
"This area's mostly cleared already!"
Song Hana and the Beast Emperor jumped in, unleashing a barrage of attacks.
And then.
"Beast Transformation."
Kang Hyun-soo, who activated the Beast Transformation skill twice over.
Vampiric Aura, Goddess's Tear, Sword of Gluttony, Ice King's Necklace, Ring of Protection, and more.
He threw everything he had into it—skills and items he'd gathered so far—infusing them with hefty doses of his Holy and Poison stats as he hammered away relentlessly.
Cecilia, the Assassin King, had seen her growth slow a bit since ascending to the throne, but she'd steadily honed her skills as an assassin.
She alternated between Stealth and attack skills, pressuring the Orc Lord.
Small wounds accumulated on the Orc Lord's body, soon joined by some fairly serious ones.
As the tide turned against him.
"Kuuaaaak! Help me!"
The Orc Lord called in his minions.
Kang Hyun-soo's summons and Mad Blood Witch Yuka's golems held them off.
But the Orc Chieftains and Orc Great Warriors broke through the encirclement and came charging in.
"Blizzard."
Kang Hyun-soo triggered the Ice King's Necklace's area-of-effect attack skill.
Whiiiiiing!
Chilling frost froze the Orc Chieftains and Orc Great Warriors solid.
"Ice Fortress."
He followed up with the area defense skill Ice Fortress, perfectly sealing off the inside from the outside.
Even so.
"Kuoooo! For the Lord!"
He couldn't stop around a hundred Orc Chieftains and Orc Great Warriors from joining the fray.
"Block them!"
The Orc Lord, issuing the order, focused solely on Kang Hyun-soo.
In response, Kang Hyun-soo.
"Block it."
Kwaaaang!
The Dragon King in half-human, half-dragon form led the charge, along with his tankiest summons, intercepting the Orc Lord's assaults.
Amid the back-and-forth clashes.
The Orc Lord's minions—the Orc Chieftains and Orc Great Warriors—began dropping fast.
"Kuwaaaak! I'll kill you!"
Certain that dragging this out meant his defeat, the Orc Lord.
"Protect me!"
He handed rear defense to his orc underlings.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
He madly drew up demonic energy, channeling it into his twin axes.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang!
He pulverized the Dragon King and the other summons in an instant, closing in on Kang Hyun-soo.
"Protect the lord!"
The Scarlet Flame Emperor Dorchov took the lead.
"Out of the way, you orc scum!"
"Hyun-soo!"
The King of Benevolence and Righteousness Shin Chang-hu, Sword King Jang Seok-won, Song Hana, the Beast Emperor, Demon-Slaying Spear King Jin Gu-pyeong, and Assassin King Cecilia all sprang into action to defend Kang Hyun-soo.
"With your lives!"
"Protect the Lord!"
"Victory is ours!"
The orcs threw themselves into blocking the Orc Lord's rear.
That's when.
-Now.
Kang Hyun-soo gave the order to his brigade-commander-level summon who hadn't joined the fight yet: Doppelganger King Taliman.
The Doppelganger King Taliman, disguised as an Orc Chieftain and fighting for the Orc Lord up to now.
Whish!
He spun around.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
And buried his mana-charged axe deep in the Orc Lord's back.
Kwachik!
"Khek!"
The Orc Lord's body staggered weakly.
Though downgraded, Doppelganger King Taliman was a summon based on a demon noble.
Among those present, he ranked fourth in strength—behind only the Orc Lord, Demonic Dragon Karas, and Kang Hyun-soo.
"You should've watched your back."
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
Kang Hyun-soo unleashed his full mana, swinging his sword.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
The Orc Lord defended with all his might.
But caught in a pincer attack, he couldn't muster his full power.
In the end.
Kwachik!
Kang Hyun-soo's sword plunged straight into the Orc Lord's heart.
"Yuka!"
Kang Hyun-soo called out to the Mad Blood Witch Yuka.
"Yes, Golem Summon!"
Before the Orc Lord's body could disintegrate from its residual mana, the Mad Blood Witch Yuka.
Crack! Crack!
Used the corpse to craft a golem.
'I'll have to forfeit the experience.'
With the Orc Lord's body lingering as residual mana instead of scattering, no experience would come.
But.
'I can live with that.'
Experience could come from wiping out other orc packs.
Plus.
'No experience, but the achievements still count.'
[You've achieved the impossible feat of soloing an Orc Lord.]
[Title: Orc Lord Slayer (EX-Rank) granted.]
[Title: Orc Slayer (EX-Rank) granted.]
[You've achieved the unbelievable feat of soloing a demon viscount.]
[Title: Demon Noble Slayer (S-Rank) upgraded to SS-Rank.]
[You've achieved the splendid feat of single-handedly repelling a demon army invasion.]
[Title: Atlantis Dimension Guardian (SS-Rank) upgraded to SSS-Rank.]
New achievements unlocked, and old ones leveled up.
And then.
"Legion Formation."
At Kang Hyun-soo's word.
Shaaa!
Mana coalesced into.
"Kuoooooo!"
The Orc Lord revived.
Kang Hyun-soo demoted the Dragon King from brigade commander to battalion commander.
"Appoint as Commander."
He promoted the summoned Orc Lord to brigade commander.
"Commander's Blessing."
And bestowed Commander's Blessing on top.
Then.
"How exactly did you get so strong on your own?"
He asked his burning question.
"It's thanks to the Orb of Demonic Energy. What it does is..."
Just as Kang Hyun-soo had predicted, the Orc Lord explained in detail—and with utmost deference—how he'd gained such solo power.
The gist: possessing the treasure known as the Orb of Demonic Energy lets it absorb negative emotions and the blood and flesh of the dead from afar, funneling them all to its owner.
"Where's the Orb of Demonic Energy now?"
"The Orc Great Chieftain who just crossed through the new dimensional gate should have it."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know for sure. But I can guess the location."
"You can guide me there, right?"
"Of course, my lord."
"Oh, by the way, what's your name?"
Orc Lord worked fine.
But if another Orc Lord summon came along, it could get confusing.
Worst case, if he had no name?
He'd just go with Number One, Number Two, or whatever.
Luckily.
"I am Kashiku."
He had one.
"Got it."
Kang Hyun-soo turned to Song Hana and the other commanders.
"Jackpot."
"Hahaha, SSS-Rank achievements this time!"
Everyone was buzzing with excitement.
"You all can't be away too long, right?"
Most nodded at Kang Hyun-soo's question.
"I've delegated to my subordinate commanders, so I can spare about a week."
Demon-Slaying Spear King Jin Gu-pyeong declared a week.
"I can do a week too."
"Me as well."
King of Benevolence and Righteousness Shin Chang-hu and Sword King Jang Seok-won chimed in with a week.
However.
"Three days is my limit."
Assassin King Cecilia, emperor of the Rokto Empire, could only give three.
"I have to head back in four days."
Scarlet Flame Emperor Dorchov, head of the Earth Player Alliance, had just four days.
"Tight timeline."
When Kang Hyun-soo acquired the One-Man Army class, he gained the Summon Swap skill.
A spatial teleportation skill that swapped positions between summons.
'Cooldown's a whopping 25 days, huh.'
Even that was down from F-Rank's original thanks to upgrading to E-Rank.
'F-Rank was a full 30 days.'
Higher ranks?
It'd be a highly versatile skill.
Not just for long-range travel.
'Can swap positions mid-battle too.'
And fortunately.
'F-Rank had three stacks; now it's six.'
No issue sending those five back.
Though replacing them here would take some doing.
'Still, I assigned five extras generously, so it should be fine.'
He'd held back stacks despite having spares precisely for.
'Moments like this, when I can snag achievements.'
Wasting long-cooldown stacks on regular orcs would've been a shame.
Better to call them in for surefire achievement grabs like now.
'It benefits me.'
And the commanders too.
"Are these the commanders under you, Hyun-soo?"
The Mad Blood Witch Yuka, having successfully crafted a golem from the Orc Lord's corpse, eyed Scarlet Flame Emperor Dorchov with wary suspicion.
"Yeah. Why? Something off?"
Kang Hyun-soo asked, puzzled.
Song Hana and the Beast Emperor barely spared him a glance, so why was Scarlet Flame Emperor Dorchov getting this treatment?
"He's incredibly strong."
"He's a named player with an emperor title. Plus, my buffs amp him up even more."
In his previous life, Scarlet Flame Emperor Dorchov never snagged a divine title before dying.
But now, his skills were surging so much that it felt within reach.
"And the summons are insanely powerful too."
The Mad Blood Witch Yuka glared murderously at Orc Lord Kashiku, Demonic Dragon Karas, and Doppelganger King Taliman.
'Is she doubting that earlier event?'
From her perspective, it made sense.
With such powerful commanders and summons at his call, why hadn't he used them when Doppelganger King Taliman—disguised as the Orc Great Chieftain—attacked?
'That could be trouble.'
He'd worried a bit deploying Demonic Dragon Karas against Orc Lord Kashiku and summoning the commanders including Scarlet Flame Emperor Dorchov.
'Figured blaming skill cooldown would smooth it over.'
The madness and killing intent in Mad Blood Witch Yuka's eyes were no joke.
As Kang Hyun-soo started to explain the cooldown.
"He's way stronger than me. He'd probably help you more than I do, Hyun-soo. That pisses me off."
The Mad Blood Witch Yuka said something out of left field.
"Huh?"
"I'll get way stronger from now on. Stronger than him and those guys. I'll be the top commander and summon under you, Hyun-soo."
The Mad Blood Witch Yuka shot jealous glares at Scarlet Flame Emperor Dorchov, Orc Lord Kashiku, Demonic Dragon Karas, and Doppelganger King Taliman.
'What the hell is this?'
He'd prepped excuses in case she questioned the prior event.
But she'd not only dropped any suspicion—she'd forgotten the whole thing.
What mattered most to Mad Blood Witch Yuka right now?
Winning favor from Kang Hyun-soo, the only one who showed her interest and affection.
She hated being hated more than death.
Ideally, she'd be the most beloved among the commanders and summons.
'I'll get stronger.'
To earn Kang Hyun-soo's interest and love?
'Give him even greater help.'
That meant powering up.
The Mad Blood Witch Yuka had been consumed by madness, twisting her mind into abnormality.
Truth be told, even before the madness as Golem Master Yuka, calling her mentality normal would've been a stretch.
Raised in twisted surroundings.
'To be loved, I have to be useful.'
She'd developed warped values.
'If I'm less helpful than those guys, he might abandon me. No, Hyun-soo wouldn't ditch me. But he'd pay me less attention and love.'
That warped mindset had only grown more distorted under the madness.
Everyone who'd given her interest and love so far?
Wanted her power.
Once it became useless?
They discarded her.
So naturally.
'I need to get stronger. That's how I become his most beloved commander and summon.'
She harbored deep terror that her value dropping.
Might get her abandoned by Kang Hyun-soo.
"Yeah, keep pushing forward."
"Yes!"
The Mad Blood Witch Yuka beamed in response.
From Kang Hyun-soo's view.
The sight of her jealous even of his summons was just baffling.
But.
'No harm in it.'
Her being his commander and burning with ambition to grow stronger?
He welcomed it wholeheartedly.