Chapter 160
Chapter 160
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: How to Use the Demon Bead
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Serack!
"Kuwooooh!"
Kang Hyun-soo's sword, wrapped in blood-red aura, sliced off the right arm of the Orc Lord wielding an axe.
'A shame. I was aiming for the neck.'
The Orc Lord's reaction had been faster than expected.
But.
'This is enough.'
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaang!
Kang Hyun-soo unleashed a barrage of ferocious attacks.
The Orc Lord, having lost its right arm, switched to its left hand to grip the axe, but.
It couldn't withstand Kang Hyun-soo's onslaught and staggered back like a drunkard.
Losing an arm was a problem in itself, but.
The real issue was how overwhelmingly powerful Kang Hyun-soo's attacks were, with his Strength stat pushed to the body's absolute limit.
On top of that.
'It feels kinda weak?'
Even though it was an Orc Lord, compared to Kashku—the first one Kang Hyun-soo had defeated and turned into a summon—it seemed somewhat weaker.
If Kashku had been a viscount-level demon noble,
This one felt like not even a viscount—maybe a knight-level demon noble at best?
The limit for an orc chieftain and the minimum for an Orc Lord was knight rank.
In other words.
'This guy's just a rookie who barely scraped by to Orc Lord rank.'
Even among Orc Lords,
There was a clear difference in caliber.
'Well, not that I'm complaining.'
With three Orc Lords present.
If all of them had Kashku-level demon viscount power?
He might have had to seriously consider retreating.
"Kuwooooh! Help me!"
At that moment, the injured Orc Lord, under relentless assault from Kang Hyun-soo, called for aid.
Orcs swarmed in from all directions like a hive of bees.
But that was.
'Legion formation.'
Enough to turn the named players who had died here into summons.
Shaaaak!
- Block them.
At Kang Hyun-soo's command.
"Yes, sir!"
The newly created summons responded with vigorous shouts and intercepted the orcs' attacks.
Though they were basic soldier-level summons without even squad leader appointments,
Their base consisted of named players including Iron-Blood Emperor Bragul the Archduke, so.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
Aura exploded everywhere.
Kwaaaaang!
Powerful attack skills rained down in droves.
'Commander appointments.'
As Kang Hyun-soo appointed the particularly strong-looking summons as company commanders,
Their combat power surged even higher.
Then.
"Strong human!"
"It's the Dark Knight's leader! Kill him!"
Two Orc Lords charged toward Kang Hyun-soo at tremendous speed.
- Block them.
Regiment commander-level summons moved to intercept the Orc Lords at Kang Hyun-soo's order.
Kraaaang!
Leading the charge was Dragon Karas, who had already recovered fully.
Following behind.
Doppleganger King Taliman, Orc Lord Kashku, and other summons blocked the advance of the two Orc Lords.
And then.
"I'll help too!"
Kuuung!
The rag golem created by the Mad Blood Witch Yuka joined in.
However.
Kwaang! Kwaang!
Blocking two Orc Lords wasn't easy.
'Legion summon.'
Kang Hyun-soo resummoned Emperor Dorchov of Enemy Flames and the other commanders.
'Their cooldowns have a few days left, but.'
They could hold the line without them for now.
Plus, last time there had been only one Orc Lord, but.
'This time there are three.'
The achievements would naturally be more generous.
'I can't pass that up.'
Shuuuuk!
The commanders, including Emperor Dorchov of Enemy Flames, summoned by Kang Hyun-soo's legion summon skill.
"Hahaha! Even more lavish this time!"
"I've been waiting for you to call!"
Joined the battle with beaming smiles.
They couldn't help but be thrilled at this golden opportunity to earn rare high-rank achievements.
But.
Kwaaaang!
"Ugh!"
Benevolent Army King Shin Chang-hoo was pushed back by the Orc Lord's axe swing.
"Old man, these guys are no joke!"
Sword King Jang Seok-won swung his aura-wrapped sword with full power repeatedly, but.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Far from pressuring the Orc Lord, he was the one getting pushed back.
'One and two are different.'
Especially the combo of two Orc Lords with demon noble-level power?
It wasn't just 1+1=2.
It was more like 3.5 in strength.
'I need to cut this one's throat as fast as possible.'
The injured Orc Lord was somehow enduring Kang Hyun-soo's onslaught despite losing an arm.
And.
Wriggle wriggle!
As demonic energy was consumed, its right arm was slowly regenerating.
"Hyun-soo!"
"I'm joining!"
Song Hana and the Beast Emperor joined in then.
Pajijijik!
A sword wrapped in pitch-black lightning struck the Orc Lord's body.
"Kuwohk!"
Its movements slowed, if only slightly.
And then.
"Hup!"
The Beast Emperor, cloaked in golden aura, hammered the Orc Lord with a flurry of punches.
The Orc Lord desperately tried to break through the encirclement of Kang Hyun-soo, Song Hana, and the Beast Emperor to rejoin its allies, but.
Song Hana and the Beast Emperor were no pushovers.
And on top of that.
"Hup!"
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Kang Hyun-soo was swinging his blood-red aura-infused sword at terrifying speed.
The problem was not just the speed.
The power behind each strike was unimaginably overwhelming.
From the Orc Lord's perspective, it had clearly blocked the sword with its axe, yet.
It felt like being pummeled by a hammer instead of a sword—the impact was immense.
Surrounded on three sides while injured, the Orc Lord spewed demonic energy wastefully in resistance, but.
Serack!
In the end, its left arm was severed by Kang Hyun-soo's sword.
Kwa-jik!
And its heart was pierced.
"Kuohk!"
With one Orc Lord's breath cut short.
"Yuka!"
"Golem summon!"
The Mad Blood Witch Yuka quickly began crafting a new rag golem.
'Legion formation.'
Kang Hyun-soo likewise used the freshly defeated Orc Lord as a base to create a summon.
Tuk!
At that moment, a bead dropped to the ground.
'Is this the Demon Bead?'
As Kang Hyun-soo picked it up.
[Demon Bead – EX-Rank]
-Absorbs negative emotions, blood, and flesh to accumulate demonic energy.
Simple system info appeared.
'What a rude description.'
And the system message color itself.
'It's red.'
Not the usual blue.
'Is this because the system is judging an item made by demons?'
When the Mad Blood Witch Yuka had awakened as the Despair and Terror Rag Golem Master, the system messages had been red too.
'I'll look into the details later.'
Right now, priority was eliminating the Orc Lords.
"Let's go!"
Kang Hyun-soo immediately joined the battle with the commanders and summons tying down the two Orc Lords.
"Kuwooooh! Dark Knight!"
"Kill!"
The Orc Lords spotted Kang Hyun-soo and roared in fury as they charged, but.
'Our forces have grown in the meantime.'
An additional summon based on the Orc Lord and a golem had joined.
'As expected of the Mad Blood Witch.'
The performance of Yuka's rag golem, based on the Orc Lord,
Was stronger than Kang Hyun-soo's summon based on the Orc Lord.
Except.
'No buffs, so it's a shame.'
Kang Hyun-soo could instantly boost his summons' power via commander appointments and Commander’s Blessing.
In contrast, the Mad Blood Witch Yuka's golems?
Even with golem synthesis skills for reinforcement, they couldn't power up as instantly as Kang Hyun-soo's summons.
'And the growth speed is slower.'
However, Kang Hyun-soo's summons had the fatal drawback of consuming stats.
'The Mad Blood Witch Yuka only needs mana and corpses.'
Kang Hyun-soo's summons were efficient but poor value.
While Yuka's golems had decent efficiency and great value.
Given enough time?
She could assemble a golem legion as powerful as Kang Hyun-soo's summon legion.
'Good thing I spared her.'
If he'd killed the Mad Blood Witch Yuka after meeting her without any intent to recruit?
He never would have reaped these benefits.
"Kuwooooh! Get out of my way! Move!"
The Orc Lords focused solely on Kang Hyun-soo, unleashing fierce attacks.
The most effective and correct tactic against a summoner-type player.
However.
"Where do you think you're going!"
"Do I look like a pushover to you!"
"We're not scarecrows!"
Kang Hyun-soo's subordinate commanders,
"Block them!"
"Yes, sir!"
And the summons charging without fear of their own dissipation struck back.
"Kraaaak! You damned bastards!"
With overwhelming ferocity and tenacity.
And even if they somehow reached Kang Hyun-soo.
"Eat this!"
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
Despite being a summoner, Kang Hyun-soo demonstrated personal combat power rivaling top named players even without summons,
Kwaaaang! Kwaang!
Swinging his blood-red aura sword repeatedly with immense force.
"Kuwooooh! You lowly human scum!"
From the Orc Lords' perspective, it was enough to drive them mad.
No matter how much of an Orc Lord they were.
Orc Lords were still living beings of flesh and blood.
And their source of power, demonic energy,
Was a resource that inevitably depleted over time.
In truth, under normal circumstances, the two Orc Lords should still be at full strength.
No, they should be even stronger.
Countless humans and orcs had died here.
And even now, Kang Hyun-soo's summons and the Mad Blood Witch Yuka's golems were slaughtering orcs nonstop.
They should be able to recover demonic energy and even aim for promotion.
However.
The Demon Bead was the problem.
The blood and flesh of dead orcs.
Negative emotions of fear and despair.
All of it was being sucked into the Demon Bead.
And worst of all.
'The Demon Bead ended up in that human's hands.'
From the two Orc Lords' viewpoint?
They needed to steal or destroy the Demon Bead for any chance of victory.
"Kuooohk!"
They could only charge at Kang Hyun-soo even more desperately.
However.
Kwaang!
Their full-force axe swing clashed with Kang Hyun-soo's sword, producing a massive explosion—and they were the ones pushed back.
'What kind of power...?'
Demon flesh was superior to human in every way.
Especially orcs.
They had absolute confidence in their strength.
Yet.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Despite superior demonic energy.
Inconceivably, they were being overpowered in raw strength by a human.
And that human.
'He's clearly a summoner.'
Using aura, attack skills, and immense strength.
The Orc Lord couldn't comprehend the situation at all.
And eventually.
Kwa-jik!
Kang Hyun-soo's sword split the Orc Lord's head in two.
"Atalka!"
The remaining Orc Lord in combat cried out its fallen comrade's name.
"Golem summon."
"Legion formation."
But the dead comrade.
Revived as a rag golem infused with mana and a summon of demonic energy,
Kuooh!
And charged at the ally it had fought beside moments ago.
"Kuohk!"
The lone Orc Lord resisted with all its might, but.
It couldn't defeat alone what it had failed against even with two.
In the end.
Kwa-jik!
The last Orc Lord's breath was severed.
"Golem summon."
"Legion formation."
Kang Hyun-soo, having turned the Orc Lord into a summon.
"Huu!"
Collapsed to the ground with a long sigh.
'As expected, prolonged battles are tough.'
Intense pain shot through his muscles, feeling like they might burst any second.
The backlash from overinvesting in Strength.
If not for the dot heal skill, Immortal Sacred Flame?
He wouldn't have lasted this long.
'I need to avoid maxing Strength from now on.'
It had been unavoidable against three Orc Lords, but.
If the fight dragged on longer?
Kang Hyun-soo's body might have collapsed first.
'First, burn through the stats.'
Kang Hyun-soo additionally turned named players from the Saklant Empire, orc chieftains, and orc great warriors into summons.
His high stats plummeted steadily until hitting rock bottom.
'Skill enhancement.'
He then used skill enhancement to reset
Back to normal.
At that instant.
[Level up.]
[Level up.]
[Level up.]
……(omitted)……
Levels skyrocketed.
He'd defeated three Orc Lords, but plenty of other orcs remained.
And with his summons diligently hunting the rest,
'Of course levels are rising.'
Kang Hyun-soo's subordinate commanders also squeezed out their remaining stamina to hunt orcs.
Such a jackpot hunting opportunity was rare.
'Time to check system messages.'
The additional achievements from killing the three Orc Lords.
'None.'
Just existing ones had.
[You've achieved the unbelievable feat of single-handedly defeating demon barons.]
[Title: Demon Noble Slayer SS-Rank has grown to SSS-Rank.]
[You've achieved the splendid feat of single-handedly repelling the demon king's invasion.]
[Title: Guardian Star of the Atlantis Dimension SSS-Rank has grown to EX-Rank.]
Grown, that's all.
'Kinda stingy.'
The Orc Lords' power was on the weaker side for barons,
'But three of them.'
No new achievements, and only two existing ones upgraded.
'Well, can't be helped. Look on the bright side.'
After defeating Orc Lord Kashku, a viscount-level demon noble.
'Low-tier demon nobles probably won't trigger achievement growth anymore.'
It was expected.
'Still, at least three of them should have gotten EX-Rank achievements.'
His subordinate commanders' growth was as good as his own.
'Anyway, how do you use this thing?'
Kang Hyun-soo tilted his head at the Demon Bead in his hand.
As he pondered asking Orc Lord Kashku,
[Demon Bead is fully charged with demonic energy. Absorb demonic energy?]
[Yes] [No]
A blood-red system message appeared before Kang Hyun-soo's eyes.