Chapter 371
Chapter 371
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 372
Chapter Title: Interspecies War (11)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Grrr. What the hell are you?!”
Kir growled in a low voice.
Even with his keen sense of smell, he couldn't detect a single trace of blood from Lee Hyuk-soo.
The instincts of the Yorang tribe warned him that the being before his eyes was an unknown terror, utterly unlike their hunting methods.
Lee Hyuk-soo didn't answer.
No, he couldn't.
His parched lips twitched faintly, but no sound came out.
The power of the evil spirit Adora had infused only moved his body.
It couldn't replicate the delicate vocalization he had in life.
Only his ash-gray eyes coldly stared down Kir.
Those eyes held no living emotions—only the pure intent to destroy the opponent.
Kikigik!
A sound like dry bones clashing echoed from Lee Hyuk-soo's body.
He began to move.
But it was hard to call it human movement.
His limbs twisted at grotesque angles that defied joint limits, with speed like a shadow of death—fast and utterly unpredictable.
Baal's sword, gripped in his bony hand, shot toward Kir in a lifeless gray flash.
“Kuh!”
Kir instinctively leaped aside to dodge Lee Hyuk-soo's attack.
But a shallow gash appeared on his shoulder, and due to the cursed effect of the Blood Arena, blood flowed more profusely than expected.
Damn it, even a small wound is fatal in this arena!
Kir gritted his teeth and reset his stance.
And at the same time, the fact that not a single drop of blood scent emanated from his opponent plunged him into even greater confusion.
“If you have no blood, I'll shatter your bones instead!”
Kir tried to use his signature stealth, but Lee Hyuk-soo's movements always surpassed his expectations.
As if he knew Kir's next move in advance, Lee Hyuk-soo precisely blocked his paths and unleashed relentless attacks.
His swordsmanship lacked the flair or precision of his living days.
Instead, the undead's mercilessness—immune to pain—combined with the evil spirit's unpredictable power, making it even more threatening.
The Blood Arena quickly devolved into chaos from the clash of the two warriors.
Kir inflicted countless wounds on Lee Hyuk-soo's body with his claws, but Lee Hyuk-soo shed not a drop of blood, emitting only the clatter of bones.
On the contrary, the blood from Kir's own minor wounds was staining the ground beneath his feet ever redder.
Bleeding effects maximized.
Wound healing and regeneration drastically reduced.
Continuous pain and stat degradation.
All the Blood Arena's curses were now binding the Yorang tribe warrior Kir himself.
“Kraaaak! No way! Why... why won't you bleed?!”
Desperation and terror mixed in Kir's shout.
His most powerful weapon and racial trait, Blood Thirst, had been utterly neutralized.
For the first time, he was overwhelmed by helplessness and despair.
Lee Hyuk-soo offered no reply, silently swinging his sword.
His goal was singular.
To sever the opponent's breath.
And this 'irregularity' might just be humanity's true strength.
In the Abyss's long history, countless mighty races had fallen relying on rigid power and strategies. This unpredictable struggle to surpass limits could be the newborn human race's greatest weapon.
Kir's claws repeatedly tore and pierced Lee Hyuk-soo's emaciated body, but it meant nothing.
Not even blood—just faint wisps of dust-like powder.
No pain at all.
On the contrary, Lee Hyuk-soo's attacks grew faster and more erratic, relentlessly exploiting Kir's openings.
“This isn't a fight!”
Kir's voice now carried disgust beyond fear.
He felt his blood-craving instincts crumbling mentally before this bloodless being.
His feet were already soaked in his own blood, yet the opponent pressed on with lifeless eyes.
The arena's curse applied solely to Kir.
What the hell is that gear?!
Kir's mind filled with questions and terror.
His level was clearly higher.
His claws were 'Eternal'-grade weapons infused with mana specialized for bleeding, handed down through Yorang generations.
Lee Hyuk-soo's sword looked like an ordinary steel blade at a glance.
But the heavy destructive force and eerie aura each clash with his claws were anything but ordinary.
As if the sword itself were alive... born from ominous flames.
But what Kir truly couldn't comprehend wasn't the equipment.
It was the entity before him.
A mummy-like body shedding no blood.
Motionless, emotionless movements as if impervious to pain.
And attacks defying human joint structure—grotesque and unpredictable.
It denied every law of 'hunting' he had honed his life for.
“Kraaaa! Die! Die, you monster bastard!”
Kir seemed to abandon his last shred of reason, charging at Lee Hyuk-soo with blood-soaked claws flailing wildly.
The blood pooling at his feet flowed like a river, draining his life force even faster.
Lee Hyuk-soo silently withstood Kir's final frenzy.
Kir's claws embedded deeply in his withered body here and there, with sounds of flesh tearing, but still no blood.
On the contrary, his movements sharpened further, Baal's sword slithering like a living serpent into Kir's gaps.
Chaeng! Kagang! Seogeuk!
With metallic clashes, a dull sound of something being severed rang out repeatedly.
The claws on both of Kir's arms fell limply to the ground.
“Th... this can't...”
Collapsed on the blood-drenched floor, limbs severed, Kir stared up at Lee Hyuk-soo with hollow eyes, beyond even fear.
His gaze held only awe for the incomprehensible being and deep despair at his own powerlessness.
“......”
Lee Hyuk-soo silently looked down at Kir.
Then, the Baal's sword in his hand quietly plunged toward Kir's heart one final time.
Pook.
With a dull thud, Kir's body convulsed violently once before going still.
The Yorang tribe's 'Lower Seed Slayer,' Shadow Claw Kir.
He met a pathetic end atop the Blood Arena without tasting the blood he so craved.
“Waaaaah!”
“We won!”
“Lee Hyuk-soo! Lee Hyuk-soo! Lee Hyuk-soo!”
It was a cauldron of ecstasy.
The second interspecies war, which had harbored some unease.
Thanks to successfully defeating the first opponent, Kir.
People on Earth embraced one another, shouting in joy without exception.
No one advocated for the enemy tribe or pitied them anymore.
They had all seen it.
The scene of the Gremlin tribe being completely 'deleted' from the Abyss along with their star.
It wasn't mere defeat or death.
The total annihilation of everything that had existed.
That horrific reality etched deep into Earthlings' hearts, leaving no room for naive sympathy or sentimentality.
“See that! That's us humans! We beat even those monster bastards!”
A man shouted excitedly.
In his eyes burned greater fervor and pride in the victory than fear of Lee Hyuk-soo's grotesque form.
“Yeah... we have to win. No matter what it takes, we have to win to survive.”
Even a woman who had teared up at the Gremlin children's final moments moments ago now stared at the screen with a hardened expression.
Shadows of sorrow lingered in her eyes, but a stronger will to survive had taken root.
Of course, not everyone reacted the same.
Lee Hyuk-soo's bloodless mummy-like appearance.
And his movements defying human joints still shocked many, instilling instinctive revulsion.
“We won, but... is that really Lee Hyuk-soo?”
“Do we have to change that much for victory...?”
Online communities buzzed with debates.
Praise for the win mixed with profound anguish over the cost and loss of humanity.
But one thing was clear: Earthlings' perceptions had shifted.
They could no longer dismiss the interspecies war as someone else's story.
It was reality tied directly to their survival.
In that reality, humanity was realizing it must use every means to survive.
Lee Hyuk-soo's bizarre transformation brought shock and fear, but also the sweet fruit of 'victory.'
“We won again!”
“Adora! Adora! Adora!”
“Humans forever!”
The second match was humanity's victory.
Adora had overwhelmingly crushed her opponent.
Han Shin in the third, and fourth warrior Ling Ling, both secured wins.
Four consecutive victories.
Humanity dominated the Yorang tribe.
The Yorang, stripped of their initial arrogance, saw only five of their original nine warriors left, gazing at each other in despair.
Their pride, the Blood Thirst ability, was neutralized by Lee Hyuk-soo's 'bloodless' form in the first match, and they crumbled helplessly before the human warriors' overwhelming power and tactics in the rest.
Their leader, the Bloodwind Khan, scanned his remaining warriors with a devastated expression.
Four elite warriors lost.
At this rate, the entire tribe might follow the Gremlins' fate.
He closed his eyes in anguish for a moment, then opened them with a grim resolution.
“...It's over.”
His voice was hoarse, heavy with the unavoidable choice for his tribe.
“Further sacrifices are meaningless. The Yorang tribe... surrenders. For the next round, we have no choice.”
At his declaration, the remaining Yorang warriors bowed their heads.
Anger, humiliation, and a faint relief crossed their faces.
The system message shocked all tribes.
Humanity was quietly, yet dramatically, ascending the stage of the interspecies war.