Chapter 174
Chapter 174
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 174
Chapter Title: Harvest Festival (5)
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‘This can’t keep happening in the future either.’
Even without doppelgangers, there needed to be a way to conceal the identities of summons that had absorbed demonic energy through the Demonic Energy Orbs.
‘Right now, it’s manageable because I need more summons than the charging speed of the Demonic Energy Orbs allows.’
Once he finished injecting demonic energy into the top-grade doppelgangers?
From then on, he’d have no choice but to assign the Demonic Energy Orbs to summons originating from demon nobles.
Injecting the demonic energy stored in the orbs into lower-grade doppelgangers would result in far too much waste.
‘I need to solve this problem as quickly as possible.’
Only then could he freely command the enhanced summons powered by the Demonic Energy Orbs.
Kwaaaang!
With Doppelganger No. 2 joining the fray, the delicate balance shattered.
That was the beginning.
Kang Hyun-soo sacrificed stats without hesitation to turn the Death Knights into summons.
He had to do it to permanently reduce the number of capable Death Knights under Viscount Rimonschitz’s command.
‘Too bad I can’t use liches as summons.’
His biggest concern was that Viscount Rimonschitz himself was a lich.
‘Well, taking him down comes first anyway.’
Whether he could turn the lich Viscount Rimonschitz into a summon was a problem for after victory in battle.
-Uwaaaah!
Viscount Rimonschitz began rampaging even more fiercely, spewing demonic energy like mad.
There was only one reason.
‘My demonic energy is becoming his demonic energy….’
Demonic energy that was only permanently depleted, never replenished.
As a result, Viscount Rimonschitz was on the verge of demotion from viscount.
Now, only one option remained.
Eliminate Kang Hyun-soo and seize the Demonic Energy Orb before the demotion.
As Viscount Rimonschitz unleashed a frenzy of attacks, Kang Hyun-soo found himself in dire straits.
Even as the lowest rank among demon viscounts.
‘A demon viscount is still a demon viscount.’
Those attacks were absolutely not something to ignore.
Hadn’t Doppelganger King Talisman, who had fully recovered his pre-death power equivalent to a demon baron’s might, been obliterated in a single strike?
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Lethal blows rained down on Kang Hyun-soo one after another.
To protect him, summons took heavy damage and vanished in succession.
“I’ll protect you!”
Mad Blood Witch Yuka confidently stepped forward, offering her elite golems as shields.
But.
Kwaaaang!
A single attack from Viscount Rimonschitz shattered them completely.
‘Terrifying.’
Neither Mad Blood Witch Yuka’s golems nor summons specialized in defense like the Dragon King could withstand Viscount Rimonschitz’s assaults.
Using brigade-commander-grade summons as shields could block them.
‘But that doesn’t add up.’
Losing top forces to heavy damage or outright destruction was too costly.
The defensive skills stored in the Ice King’s Necklace and Ring of Protection were depleted.
The stacks of Equivalent Exchange were all used up too.
‘Should I use that method?’
The current Viscount Rimonschitz was like a runaway train with broken brakes, charging solely at Kang Hyun-soo.
-Now it’s over!
With golems and summons smashed.
Viscount Rimonschitz gathered demonic energy to its maximum.
Hwaruruk!
And hurled it toward Kang Hyun-soo.
A situation impossible to block without sacrificing brigade-commander-grade summons.
‘It’s a bit sneaky, but no choice.’
Kang Hyun-soo activated Shadow of the Moon.
Sarararak!
His form evaporated completely.
Kwaaaang!
Viscount Rimonschitz’s attack merely demolished the innocent imperial palace of the Saclant Empire.
-You bastard, where did you go!
Suddenly losing his target, Viscount Rimonschitz panicked considerably.
Viscount Rimonschitz was an Arch Lich King.
A being who could track not just the life force of living creatures, but their souls as well.
Yet Kang Hyun-soo’s life force and soul had abruptly vanished, as if he’d soared into the sky or sunk into the earth.
‘Search all you want; I’m not coming out.’
Shadow of the Moon wasn’t merely a stealth skill—it was spatial magic.
Kang Hyun-soo had shifted to another space entirely.
No amount of searching or attacks could locate him.
‘I never thought I’d use this skill in combat.’
Kang Hyun-soo had confidence in his abilities.
He’d judged direct participation in battle as advantageous on the field.
However.
‘With key skills on cooldown and mana depleted, even I’m helpless.’
Crucially, constantly reviving vanished summons meant steadily sacrificing stats, weakening him further.
His stats hadn’t hit rock bottom yet.
‘But all that’s left is low-tier named player level.’
In that weakened state, with the Ice King’s Necklace and Ring of Protection skills exhausted and Equivalent Exchange stacks gone.
‘One mistake, and it’s game over.’
The Book of Immortality allowed one-time revival.
But he had no intention of wasting such a precious chance on a mere demon viscount.
‘It’s sneaky, but it’s the best option.’
Kang Hyun-soo’s class was unequivocally summoner-type.
Moreover, he created summons by expending stats, not mana.
‘I can’t use mana-based attack skills, but legion composition skills that cost stats remain usable even with Shadow of the Moon active.’
From his safe position, Kang Hyun-soo continuously produced summons to assault Viscount Rimonschitz.
Even though brigade-commander-grade summon Orc Lord Kashku had vanished.
‘I can just revive him via legion composition.’
As Kang Hyun-soo hid in another space via Shadow of the Moon, deploying only summons.
-You damned punk, where the hell are you pulling these tricks from!
Viscount Rimonschitz could only rage and flail helplessly.
He’d aimed to end the battle by slaying the enemy leader.
But the leader had vanished.
The others?
Kill them, and they revived to attack him again.
Kang Hyun-soo had to watch the Saclant Empire players’ eyes, so he’d used the trick of reviving vanished summons out of sight, like covering their eyes.
It fooled the Saclant Empire players.
But not Viscount Rimonschitz, the Arch Lich King who could detect souls.
Powerful foes vanished, only for identical souls to reappear repeatedly—he couldn’t miss it.
He wanted to eliminate even Charles XIII again, but the royal guards had already evacuated him.
No demon subordinates lingered near Charles XIII either.
From Viscount Rimonschitz’s perspective, targeting Charles XIII was impossible, let alone finding him.
Viscount Rimonschitz fought on with the frustration of navigating an endless maze.
Amid it all, what infuriated him most.
-How dare you to my kin!
Some of the Death Knights—demon nobles and top-grade demons who had guarded him.
Had vanished, only to return as Kang Hyun-soo’s loyal servants, blades turned against him.
-Uwaaaah!
The cornered Viscount Rimonschitz spewed demonic energy in a mad frenzy.
But victory and defeat were already decided.
Saaak!
In his rush to revive vanished Death Knights to compete with Kang Hyun-soo.
Before he knew it, Viscount Rimonschitz’s demonic energy had dropped from demon viscount to baron level.
At that moment.
Viscount Rimonschitz lost the capacity to fend off the onslaught from Kang Hyun-soo’s subordinate commanders and summons.
Pajijijik!
Song Hana’s sword, infused with pitch-black lightning, flew toward Viscount Rimonschitz.
Kwajik!
Viscount Rimonschitz’s skull, glowing with red eyes, shattered under Song Hana’s blade.
Pasasak!
The headless body rapidly lost its power, crumbling to dust.
And scattered away.
Simultaneously.
Grrrrr!
Uwaaaagh!
The undead monsters blanketing the battlefield vanished en masse.
‘Jackpot.’
Kang Hyun-soo’s face lit up as he deactivated Shadow of the Moon.
Only one reason.
[Removed a demon tribe member and permanently absorbed their demonic energy.]
[Goddess’s Tear EX-Rank purifies the permanently absorbed demonic energy, converting it to special stat Divinity.]
[Divinity stat has increased.]
……Omitted……
Messages of rising Divinity stats flooded endlessly.
This wasn’t just from defeating Viscount Rimonschitz.
It was possible because the demonic energy bursting from his vanishing undead horde poured in wildly.
Moreover.
[Level has increased.]
[Level has increased.]
[Level has increased.]
……Omitted……
Levels rose insanely.
‘Insane.’
Kang Hyun-soo was currently level 0.
He’d scraped stats to the bottom reviving summons, then used Stat Lock and Skill Enhancement in the decisive moment to maximize level-up efficiency.
Even so.
‘Never expected this much.’
From level 0, Kang Hyun-soo shot up to level 631 in an instant.
Even after Skill Enhancement,
His level exceeded what it had been before returning.
On top of that.
[Achievement: Solely defeated Arch Lich King—an impossible feat.]
[Title: Arch Lich King Slayer EX-Rank granted.]
[Title: Undead Slayer EX-Rank granted.]
[Achievement: Solely defeated Demon Viscount—an unbelievable feat.]
[Title: Demon Noble Slayer SSS-Rank upgraded to EX-Rank.]
[Achievement: Solely repelled Demon King Army invasion—a splendid feat.]
[Title: Guardian God of Atlantis Dimension A-Rank upgraded to S-Rank.]
New achievements added and upgraded.
‘Wasn’t he demoted to demon baron at the end?’
The rewards treated it as defeating a demon viscount.
‘Lucky.’
If they’d counted it as a demon baron due to demotion, he’d have been bitterly disappointed.
‘Not the time to slack.’
Kang Hyun-soo burned through level-up stats to diligently convert vanished Death Knights into summons.
One regrettable point.
‘Damn, why isn’t it eligible?’
Song Hana had smashed the skull, so Arch Lich King Viscount Rimonschitz’s soul didn’t appear.
‘Is it really impossible to turn liches into summons?’
Not just any lich, but a demon viscount no less.
If he could?
‘It would’ve been the ultimate masterpiece surpassing everything so far.’
Plus, One-Man Army experience would’ve skyrocketed.
‘Total bust?’
As Kang Hyun-soo clung to lingering hopes.
Song Hana picked up a pile of red orbs from the ground, startled, and rushed to him.
“L-Look at these.”
Kang Hyun-soo took the red orbs from Song Hana’s words.
Their identity.
[Arch Lich’s Life Force Vessel – SSS-Rank]
[Lich’s Life Force Vessel - S-Rank]
[Lich’s Life Force Vessel - SS-Rank]
Life Force Vessels from the vanished liches.
Including the Arch Lich’s, and regular liches’.
Even among liches, ranks varied wildly.
Each triggered a red system message.
Item info was simple.
[Arch Lich’s Life Force Vessel – SSS-Rank]
-Life Force Vessel containing an Arch Lich’s soul.
-Can revive the Arch Lich by supplying demonic energy.
‘Can revive by supplying demonic energy, huh.’
A bright smile bloomed on Kang Hyun-soo’s regret-filled face.
“Hand them all over.”
Kang Hyun-soo took every Life Force Vessel from Song Hana and rummaged through them.
‘It has to be here. It must be.’
After digging through the red orb-shaped Life Force Vessels for a while, Kang Hyun-soo spotted it.
[Arch Lich King’s Life Force Vessel – EX-Rank]
-Life Force Vessel containing an Arch Lich King’s soul.
-Can revive the Arch Lich King by supplying demonic energy.
The item he’d sought appeared.