Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Slaughter Emperor VS Fist Emperor
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The Fist Emperor's mouth fell open wide.
Explosive speed and power.
Flawless swordsmanship without any wasted movement.
'He's definitely not below me. In fact...'
He was a cut above the Fist Emperor.
Every time Kang Hyun-soo rampaged, the enemies crumbled like rotten straw.
"Aaack!"
"Kill that bastard!"
"Eek! Spare me!"
Even as he charged alone into dozens of foes.
Kang Hyun-soo showed no sign of yielding ground.
He was rampaging ferociously like a lion thrown into a flock of sheep.
'To think he's that strong.'
The Fist Emperor's ears flushed red.
He felt a surge of shame recalling his own words from moments ago.
"That guy's got a Toyin tribe bastard as a hostage! Grab him!"
At that moment, the enemies' leader pointed at the Fist Emperor and shouted.
Having realized Kang Hyun-soo was a foe beyond their capabilities, they shifted their target to the Fist Emperor.
'You think I'm an easy mark?'
The Fist Emperor was incredulous.
Kang Hyun-soo was displaying astonishing prowess.
But the Fist Emperor was no slouch himself.
"I'll show you what I'm made of!"
Roaring fiercely, the Fist Emperor unleashed punches and kicks at the enemies charging toward him.
Thud! Crack!
Enemy flesh burst open and bones shattered.
The Fist Emperor's speed and power fell short of Kang Hyun-soo's.
But he possessed a battle sense sharp enough to more than compensate.
Like a beast prowling the darkness, the Fist Emperor exploited the enemies' openings with instinctive strikes.
And that was far from all.
He used the enemies' bodies and surrounding terrain as shields or weapons, chaining together maneuvers that looked like magic tricks to onlookers.
'As expected of the Fist Emperor.'
Kang Hyun-soo watched the Fist Emperor's combat style and cracked a faint smile.
'It feels like watching a live-action old Hong Kong movie.'
The Fist Emperor's battle sense was indeed extraordinary.
'This could be fun.'
Kang Hyun-soo could also draw on the Fist Emperor's battle sense.
After all, he possessed the same skill: Feral Sense.
'I think I get it.'
Instinctively, the enemies' weaknesses jumped out at him.
Without conscious intent, his body moved to sever their lifelines.
It felt exactly like acquiring the senses unique to a beast driven by pure wild instinct.
'And this is just F-Rank.'
Kang Hyun-soo remembered the Fist Emperor's prime before his regression.
Thus, he knew better than anyone the true potential of the fully developed Feral Sense skill.
'Let's keep this up.'
He would recruit the powerhouses from his past life and copy their signature skills as replicas.
If he steadily grew that way?
'I can get revenge on the Demon King's forces and the traitors for what they did to me before the regression.'
Kang Hyun-soo fell into a trance, swinging his sword.
Moments later.
"Eeeek!"
All the enemies, save their leader, lay as cold corpses.
'Not even worth summoning as fodder.'
They were players, sure.
But their average levels were a measly 100 to 200.
They were no better than the human hunters—stragglers, plain and simple.
'Figures they'd resort to crime.'
Crunch crunch.
Kang Hyun-soo approached the enemies' leader.
"D-Don't come any closer! You monsters!"
The leader screamed and backpedaled.
Slash!
In that instant, Kang Hyun-soo swung his sword and severed the man's leg.
"Aaahhh!"
The leader let out an agonized wail.
"Why target me?"
At Kang Hyun-soo's question, the leader froze.
Slash!
Kang Hyun-soo swung again, lopping off a finger.
"I'll ask again. Why target me?"
"You're gonna kill me anyway! You think I'll spill just like that!"
"If you come clean, I'll spare your life."
After a moment's hesitation, the leader spoke up at Kang Hyun-soo's words.
"You've got a fortune on you!"
"How'd you know I have a fortune?"
"I-I heard it at the martial arena!"
"Was the arena staff in on it with you?"
"W-Well..."
"Just say yes or no. If you're in cahoots but deny it, he'll get off scot-free."
"I-It's complicated."
"What?"
"That guy's loudmouthed and loves blabbing. Buy him a few drinks normally, and he spills everything easy. He even raises his voice excitedly at the arena sometimes."
In short, the guy had a loose tongue and leaked info without much prodding.
Kang Hyun-soo fired off a few more questions.
The leader answered faithfully.
But.
'Nothing too useful.'
The only takeaway was that these guys were full-fledged criminals.
Human hunting, robbery, slave trading, contract killing, mercenary work—they did it all.
Their victims were mostly powerless slum-dwellers or poor commoners.
They committed any crime that seemed low-risk.
"You're letting me go now, right?"
Having spilled everything, the enemy leader asked Kang Hyun-soo.
"Yeah, I'll let you live."
"Th-Thank you!"
The leader broke into a beaming smile.
"But I doubt he'll forgive you."
Kang Hyun-soo pointed at the Fist Emperor.
"What?"
The leader turned to look.
There stood the Fist Emperor, face twisted like a vengeful demon.
'The Fist Emperor's a good soul.'
A righteous man, even.
However.
'Not a pushover.'
Even before the regression, the Fist Emperor had never shown mercy to criminals.
And that held true.
"Aaahhh!"
Now as well.
With a final wretched scream, the leader met his end.
"We'll split the loot fifty-fifty."
At Kang Hyun-soo's suggestion, the Fist Emperor shook his head.
"You took down more of them. Let's each keep what we got from our kills. Oh, this guy's basically your kill, so take it."
The Fist Emperor handed over the skillbook dropped by the freshly deceased leader.
"Got it. We'll do that."
Kang Hyun-soo accepted the skillbook and gathered the spoils.
'Fresh fodder for the Sword of Gluttony and Ring of Protection.'
There were low-rank items and non-defensive skillbooks the Sword of Gluttony and Ring of Protection couldn't consume, but those could just be sold.
"You're strong."
Having finished sorting loot, the Fist Emperor eyed Kang Hyun-soo with competitive fire.
"My comrade's just as strong."
At Kang Hyun-soo's words, the Fist Emperor's eyes lit up.
"Mind a spar?"
The Fist Emperor loved to fight.
He didn't earn that title for nothing.
"Come to the inn where I'm staying, and we'll spar all you want."
"No need to join the party?"
The Fist Emperor asked, puzzled.
He'd figured Kang Hyun-soo was luring him in with the spar as bait for party recruitment.
"Nope, doesn't matter. I'd like to spar with you too."
The Fist Emperor burst out laughing at Kang Hyun-soo's reply.
"Then I'll drop by tomorrow morning."
"Sounds good."
Kang Hyun-soo and the Fist Emperor resumed walking toward the inn.
"Your skills are impressive. Honestly, you surprised me. What's your level now? Wait, that's rude to ask. How long have you been training the sword then...?"
The Fist Emperor reverted to his chatty self, peppering Kang Hyun-soo with questions.
Kang Hyun-soo gave suitable replies as they went.
Moments later.
Kang Hyun-soo and the Fist Emperor arrived at the inn.
"Come here tomorrow."
"Got it. I'll be here."
"See you then."
Kang Hyun-soo and the Fist Emperor exchanged brief farewells and parted.
'Perfect.'
At this rate, recruiting the Fist Emperor was in the bag.
'Time to head in and crash.'
Kang Hyun-soo entered the inn.
But.
"You've been with that guy all this time?"
Song Hana stood at the inn's entrance.
"Yeah, we grabbed dinner and had a few drinks."
"I was worried since you were out so late. Tell me next time if you're gonna be late."
Kang Hyun-soo nodded reflexively at Song Hana's words.
"But what's with your clothes? There's blood on them."
Song Hana's eyes were sharp.
She spotted the few splattered drops instantly.
"And what's in that bag? Items?"
"I'll explain inside."
Kang Hyun-soo and Song Hana entered their room.
There, Kang Hyun-soo gave her a quick rundown of the day's events.
"Don't wander late at night. It's dangerous. If something comes up, let's go together from now on. I know you're skilled, but..."
Song Hana's nagging went on and on.
'Did the Fist Emperor's motormouth rub off on her?'
That day.
Kang Hyun-soo's ears had no peace from morning till night.
* * *
The next morning.
The Fist Emperor showed up.
Way too early.
"Let's eat first."
The Fist Emperor nodded at Kang Hyun-soo's suggestion.
He hadn't eaten breakfast either, apparently.
Kang Hyun-soo, Song Hana, and the Fist Emperor sat facing each other in the first-floor dining hall.
"Introductions first. This is Song Hana."
At Kang Hyun-soo's words, the Fist Emperor spoke curtly.
"Jupina Arsoa. Just call me Jupina."
Arsoa was the family name, Jupina the given.
"Here for a spar?"
Song Hana asked the Fist Emperor.
"Yep."
"Can't wait."
At Song Hana's words, the Fist Emperor's long ears twitched.
He'd witnessed Kang Hyun-soo's skills firsthand.
But not Song Hana's.
"Looking forward to it."
A tense air crackled between Song Hana and the Fist Emperor.
They glared at each other with competitive sparks in their eyes as they ate.
After breakfast.
The three gathered at the inn's training hall.
As a top-class inn, the hall was well-equipped.
High walls blocking prying eyes and neatly laid stone flooring.
The walls and floor were enchanted with reinforcement and defense skills to withstand heavy impacts.
'The facilities are great, but so's the rental fee.'
This hall cost 1 gold per hour—a real money pit.
"Come on, let's get started."
The Fist Emperor looked at Kang Hyun-soo with eager anticipation.
Kang Hyun-soo prepared for the spar.
"Can I go first?"
Song Hana cut in.
"I'm here to spar with Kang Hyun-soo, not you."
Song Hana's lips curved into a sly smile at the Fist Emperor's retort.
"What, scared to fight me?"
Twitch!
A vein bulged on the Fist Emperor's forehead.
"Hah! What nonsense. Fine, if you want to be humiliated that bad."
Before Kang Hyun-soo could intervene, Song Hana and the Fist Emperor's spar was set.
'This'll be good.'
Kang Hyun-soo watched with keen interest.
Slaughter Emperor and Fist Emperor.
A clash between two absolute powerhouses he'd never see before his regression, unfolding right before his eyes.
'The Fist Emperor awakened as a player first.'
Naturally, he had more combat experience.
But Song Hana was no pushover.
'Song Hana's way stronger now than she was at this point pre-regression.'
Thanks to the butterfly effect of meeting Kang Hyun-soo, she'd monopolized major achievements and grown rapidly.
The Fist Emperor had higher level.
But Song Hana's actual stats likely outclassed him.
"Spar starts."
Smack!
The moment Kang Hyun-soo, the impromptu referee, gave the signal.
Song Hana and the Fist Emperor charged at each other.