Chapter 179
Chapter 179
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Ice Flower Divine Sword (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘Beastification.’
Crack! Crackle!
As Kang Hyun-soo activated the Beastification skill twice over, his appearance began to change.
At the same time, he maxed out his mana stat.
KABOOM!
Kang Hyun-soo, unleashing his full power, clashed head-on with the Ice Flower Divine Sword.
‘He’s definitely strong.’
Before his regression, Kang Hyun-soo had encountered several players bearing the Title of God.
They were all powerful, but...
‘Not everyone with a Title of God had the skills to match.’
There were quite a few who were overhyped.
And those types...
‘Didn’t hold onto their Title of God for long.’
They were either surpassed...
Or stripped of it.
But...
‘The Ice Flower Divine Sword is the real deal.’
A lone wolf with no faction backing him.
A true powerhouse who kept his Title of God right up until the brink of death.
Naturally, that meant...
Scraaaaaape!
‘He’s strong.’
His swordsmanship, wielded with two blades of differing lengths, was perfectly balanced between offense and defense, leaving no openings.
And that wasn’t all?
The skill with which he harmonized blue aura imbued with the opposing ice attribute and red aura of the fire attribute was downright awe-inspiring.
However...
Kang Hyun-soo wasn’t being pushed back at all.
In fact...
“You bastard, what the hell are you?!”
He was gradually overwhelming the Ice Flower Divine Sword.
A faint smile crept onto Kang Hyun-soo’s lips.
Right now, Kang Hyun-soo wasn’t even at full strength.
His level was 712, just shy of using skill enhancement.
He had turned the Mantis Guild’s leadership into summons and even appointed the Mad Dog King as commander with Commander’s Blessing, burning through a hefty chunk of his stats.
And yet...
‘I’m winning.’
Without any help from his summons, he was slowly pushing back the Ice Flower Divine Sword.
“What kind of power is that?!”
The Ice Flower Divine Sword scowled.
Each clash sent shocks through his grip that felt like they’d rip his hands apart.
And that wasn’t all?
The impacts made his muscles feel like they were about to burst.
On top of that, his ice-and-fire auras were being steadily crushed.
It was enough to make his blood boil.
‘If I use the Ice King’s Necklace or the Guardian Ring, I could seize the advantage quickly.’
But Kang Hyun-soo refrained from using the skills embedded in the Ice King’s Necklace or the Guardian Ring.
He wanted to test just how much stronger he’d grown beyond his pre-regression limit of the Title of Emperor—against someone with the Title of God.
‘Well, using the Sword of Gluttony and Vampiric Aura is already half cheating.’
But he hadn’t touched his divine stat.
The reason was simple.
He didn’t need to.
BOOM! KABOOM!
‘Because I can win like this.’
Kang Hyun-soo gradually seized the upper hand.
That was when...
“I won’t lose to some murderer in bed with the Demon King’s army!”
The Ice Flower Divine Sword roared in fury, and...
Shhhhriiiik!
His blue aura of ice and red aura of fire...
Twisted together into one.
At that moment...
KABOOOOOM!
“Guh!”
An impact incomparable to anything before slammed into Kang Hyun-soo’s body.
‘Is this the Ice Flower Divine Sword’s full power?’
With the ice aura and fire aura merged, the destructive force felt on a whole other level.
The density of the aura had intensified, weakening even the option effect of Vampiric Aura, which absorbed mana—the root of all skills.
‘So this won’t cut it, huh?’
Kang Hyun-soo activated his divine stat.
KABOOOOOM!
All his stats surged upward.
No extra amplification since the opponent wasn’t a demon, but...
The sheer rise in all stats was...
‘Basically cheating.’
KABOOOOOM!
‘Skill Amplification.’
Adding skill amplification on top...
“Gahk!”
The Ice Flower Divine Sword, who had been pressing Kang Hyun-soo so aggressively, was now getting unilaterally shoved back.
“That wasn’t even your full power?!”
Shock flooded the Ice Flower Divine Sword’s eyes.
His unique skill Fusion—merging ice aura and fire aura into one—was his trump card.
Opposites that could never unite, fused together, amplified the aura’s power beyond imagination.
And he’d never failed to fell an opponent after unleashing Fusion.
Yet now, that perfect record was shattered.
Clang!
His grip tore open, sending the sword in his right hand flying.
He still held one sword in his left hand, but...
There was no way he could beat an opponent he couldn’t handle with two swords using just one.
“Looks like the fight’s decided, doesn’t it?”
Kang Hyun-soo pointed his sword at the Ice Flower Divine Sword and said.
“Not yet!”
The Ice Flower Divine Sword charged without giving up.
‘He won’t stay down unless I put him down properly.’
Time to fully subdue him.
Clang!
Kang Hyun-soo easily blocked the Ice Flower Divine Sword’s attack, then...
Slash! Slash!
Swung his blade, severing the tendons in his arms and legs.
Thud!
The Ice Flower Divine Sword collapsed limply to the ground.
“Urk! You... what the hell are you? If a guy like you were in the Mantis Guild, there’s no way you wouldn’t be known!”
“Demon-Subduing Blood God.”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s words, the Ice Flower Divine Sword’s eyes went wide.
“The Demon-Subduing Blood God?”
The Ice Flower Divine Sword knew of the existence called Dark Knight and Demon-Subduing Blood God.
But deep down, he’d dismissed them.
Among those with the Title of God, plenty relied more on their faction’s reputation than their own skills.
He’d figured the Demon-Subduing Blood God got his title by riding the coattails of the massive Dark Knight faction.
But no.
‘I lost.’
He’d displayed overwhelming power that crushed him—a lone Title of God holder.
Grit!
The Ice Flower Divine Sword ground his teeth.
Then, with a puzzled look, he asked,
“But if you’re with Dark Knight, aren’t they sworn enemies of Mantis Guild?”
“Yep, sworn enemies. That’s why I wiped out their main base.”
“Then what’s with that guy?”
The Ice Flower Divine Sword pointed at the Mad Dog King.
“I subjugated his mind with a skill.”
“Bullshit! Then what about those liches?!”
Kang Hyun-soo scowled at the Ice Flower Divine Sword’s words.
“I defeated the liches invading the Atlantis Dimension and control them via Life Force Vessels.”
This was already public knowledge, announced by the emperors of the Rokto Empire and Saclant Empire.
“Don’t make me laugh! That’s impossible!”
‘Did this guy live alone in the mountains or something?’
Why didn’t he know what everyone else did?
“It’s totally possible!”
“Hmph, fine, liches maybe, but controlling a monster like that psycho with a skill? No such skill exists.”
Kang Hyun-soo scowled again at the Ice Flower Divine Sword’s words.
“It does.”
There was the Marionette skill.
It was just that...
The Mad Dog King was such a deranged murderer that the risk was too high, so he hadn’t used it.
‘Not worth Eternal Domination.’
But even just Marionette would carry too much risk of him causing trouble.
So he hadn’t used it, but...
‘If I wanted to, I could.’
Oblivious to Kang Hyun-soo’s thoughts, the Ice Flower Divine Sword said,
“What, you’re in league with those guys?”
He spouted nonsense.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You knew I was taking down Mantis Guild bastards, so you disguised yourself to cover your tracks.”
“Hah!”
Kang Hyun-soo let out an exasperated sigh.
‘He said he was fleeing some damn monster, and that was the Ice Flower Divine Sword?’
Apparently, the Ice Flower Divine Sword had been single-handedly crushing Mantis Guild.
And that led to this misunderstanding.
“See? My guess was right! Demon-Subduing Blood God, what the hell were you thinking raising those murderers?!”
The Ice Flower Divine Sword spouted more nonsense.
“Are you an idiot?”
Kang Hyun-soo was dumbfounded.
‘That explains why he was wandering alone.’
His mental state wasn’t all there.
“Hmph! Hit a nerve, huh? Got nothing to say!”
‘He really is an idiot.’
He was lost in his own delusions and convinced they were true.
‘Must’ve given his allies a real headache.’
If a weakling spouted crap like that?
Just ignore him.
But a Title of God powerhouse acting like that?
‘It’s a walking disaster.’
At least his nature was righteous, so that was a relief.
If not...
It would’ve been a much bigger problem.
‘But if I play it right, I could use him.’
A sly smile formed on Kang Hyun-soo’s lips.
“What if I’m right?”
“Huh?”
“What if you’re wrong and I’m right? What then?”
“Hah! You wanna bet on it?”
“Yeah.”
“Fine!”
“Then let’s make a contract first.”
Kang Hyun-soo pulled out a soul contract.
He always carried spares, never knowing when he’d need one.
“A soul contract?”
“What, scared now?”
“N-No, but I’ll pass on the soul contract.”
“So you are scared.”
“You think I’d fall for that trick? I never sign soul contracts.”
“If you’re right, there’s no need to refuse.”
“No.”
The Ice Flower Divine Sword seemed resolute.
Kang Hyun-soo prodded his pride every which way, but he wouldn’t budge.
‘Did he get burned badly once before?’
He’d thought the idiot would fold easily.
Surprisingly tough.
‘Well, trying to rope in a Title of God player with tricks is basically free lunch anyway.’
“Fine, no soul contract. I’ll agree to the bet.”
‘Huh?’
He’d been about to give up.
And now he bit.
“If there’s no soul contract, what if you renege after losing?”
“What do you take me for? I’d never do that!”
‘Why’s he so against soul contracts?’
But he couldn’t just let it slide.
“Then what makes me trust you enough to reveal my skills?”
“Just trust me.”
“Just trust you?”
“Yeah.”
“Fine, just trust you it is.”
“Huh?”
“If you break the promise, I’ll just make you pay with force.”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s words, the Ice Flower Divine Sword paled.
He’d already fought once and knew Kang Hyun-soo outclassed him.
“If I lose the bet, I’ll grant you one request.”
“Anything?”
“I’ll hear it first and decide.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“What if it’s something unjust?!”
“Do I seem like I’d need to bother with that?”
“You never know.”
Kang Hyun-soo racked his brain at the Ice Flower Divine Sword’s words.
‘Forcing a soul contract won’t work.’
But swallowing his assurances felt off.
“How about this?”
Kang Hyun-soo pulled out an Oath of Conviction.
“An Oath of Conviction?”
“This one applies separately to each of us.”
It was a bit of a dodge, but...
‘It might work.’
A soul contract required mutual agreement, leaving room for funny business.
But an Oath of Conviction was signed solo, making tricks harder.
“Fine, but I’ll write the terms.”
The Ice Flower Divine Sword took the Oath of Conviction and filled in the conditions.
Simple terms.
Loser grants winner one request.
But nothing unjust.
“You decide what counts as unjust?”
“Of course.”
Kinda vague.
But...
Not bad.
“Do I need to sign one too?”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s question...
“No need.”
“Huh?”
“If you’re really behind those guys, I’m dead anyway.”
‘Huh, he’s got a good grasp on reality?’
It surprised Kang Hyun-soo.
‘Then why accept this bet?’
If Kang Hyun-soo really was the villain he imagined?
He’d be a dead man here.
If not?
He’d let him go free, so no need to agree to a bet granting a non-unjust request.
‘Oh?’
That was when an intriguing message popped up before Kang Hyun-soo’s eyes.
[Using unique skill Replica – SSS-Rank.]
[One stack is consumed.]
[Creating replica of Jumping – SSS-Rank.]
[Replica skill Jumping – F-Rank has been created.]
[Replica skill possesses 10% of the original’s capabilities.]
‘A rare spatial movement skill, huh?’
Kang Hyun-soo had been continuously casting Replica on the Ice Flower Divine Sword.
For one reason only.
To extract useful skills.
And thanks to that, he learned the Ice Flower Divine Sword possessed a spatial movement skill.
‘Lucky me.’
Spatial movement skills were incredibly rare.
How rare?
Even after raiding the imperial vaults of the Rokto Empire and Saclant Empire, Kang Hyun-soo...
‘Only snagged one.’
And it was merely A-Rank.
Yet the Ice Flower Divine Sword had a mid-range spatial movement skill at SSS-Rank.
Checking the skill info...
‘The range is pretty decent. But the cooldown’s a killer.’
Assuming it grew to SSS-Rank?
The range would expand further, but...
The cooldown probably wouldn’t shrink much.
‘If it matches other skills, about an hour?’
Now it clicked why the Ice Flower Divine Sword kept yapping to stall.
‘Dragging out time until cooldown’s up?’
That made sense.
If he lost the bet?
Grant a non-unjust request, done.
If he won?
He’d stalled until cooldown ended, then use Jumping to escape.