Chapter 129
Chapter 129
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: Sword Clan's Necromancer
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A red mana blast fired from the tip of the Death Stalker's tail—a massive 5-star unique magic beast resembling a gigantic scorpion—hurtled toward Choi Jin-seong.
'Ah...'
As he stared at the red mana blast flying straight at him, Choi Jin-seong felt a whirlwind of emotions.
And in that instant, a flood of memories flashed through his mind like a lantern slide show.
'Jin-ho...'
Above all, the image of his one and only little brother, Choi Jin-ho, came to mind.
The bright, innocent smile of his ten-years-younger brother, who was hospitalized with a rare disease.
BOOM!
Suddenly, an enormous explosion erupted right in front of Choi Jin-seong's eyes.
'Wh-what?'
Choi Jin-seong wore a bewildered expression.
A scorching heat and blast of wind certainly washed over him.
But he was unharmed.
Someone had blocked the red mana blast that had been barreling toward him completely defenseless.
"Wh-who?"
Choi Jin-seong stared blankly at the back of the man who had revealed himself as the red conflagration exploded and then dissipated, murmuring in a dazed voice.
Had he heard that?
The man turned to look at Choi Jin-seong.
'It's been a while.'
Shin Yu-hyun gave a wry smile inwardly.
Choi Jin-seong was gazing up at him, looking just as he had in those past memories.
"You're safe now. Fall back."
Shin Yu-hyun first sent Choi Jin-seong to the rear.
'Good thing I wasn't too late.'
Before linking up with the Wind Forest Volcano Guild's raid party, Shin Yu-hyun had been battling dozens of magic beasts.
Then, at some point, some of the magic beasts retreated and bolted away in a panic.
With plenty of magic beasts still remaining, he left the rest to Dia, Shuub, and the skeletons.
Shin Yu-hyun had chased after the fleeing magic beasts alone.
And that's when he saw it.
Lee Kang-hoon pulling a crystal device from his pocket.
'Lee Kang-hoon.'
Shin Yu-hyun glared at him murderously with sharp eyes.
Lee Kang-hoon was using the crystal device to control even the 5-star magic beasts, Blade Ghouls.
The moment he saw the red mana blast shooting toward Choi Jin-seong at the same time, Shin Yu-hyun moved without hesitation.
He used the Blink skill of Hermes' Shoes, Talaria, to position himself in front of Choi Jin-seong.
Then, with Bone Wall and Bone Shield, he weakened the red mana blast's power, and finally cleaved it in two with Flash Slash to block it completely.
KIIIIAAAAA!
With its attack thwarted, the Death Stalker let out a monstrous screech and charged forward.
The ground trembled slightly as the ten-meter-long colossal scorpion barreled in.
It seemed the crystal device Lee Kang-hoon possessed couldn't control boss-grade beasts.
'Gotta take that guy out first.'
Shin Yu-hyun eyed the Death Stalker charging toward them.
"Ka-mang-i."
Kyuu!
At Shin Yu-hyun's call, Ka-mang-i, perched on his shoulder, let out an adorable cry.
At the same time, a summon emerged from the fan-shaped shadow spreading out before Shin Yu-hyun.
It was none other than a 5-star boss-grade Iron Golem.
BOOM!
The moment it burst from the shadow, the Iron Golem used its entire body to halt the Death Stalker's charge.
Slash!
But the Death Stalker's charging power, with its ten-meter body length, was tremendous.
Even the five-meter Iron Golem was pushed back several meters before it could stop.
Whoosh.
Yet the Death Stalker was aggressive.
The moment its charge was blocked, it raised its pincers and swung them at the Iron Golem.
Clang! Clang!
The Iron Golem lowered its stance and guarded with both arms against the sturdy pincer strikes from left and right.
Shuuuk!
Not only that, the Death Stalker thrust its tail forward at length.
Kaang!
But the Iron Golem deflected the tail with its steel-hard arms.
Then the Iron Golem's counterattack began. It struck down on the Death Stalker's head with interlocked fists.
BAM!
KIAK!
The powerful blow to its head sent the Death Stalker staggering back slightly, dazed.
But it soon spread its pincers wide and clamped onto the Iron Golem's arms.
The Iron Golem tried to wrench its arms free, but the Death Stalker strained with all its might, refusing to let go.
Kieeeeng!
And at the tip of the Death Stalker's tail aimed at the Iron Golem, red light gathered.
Flash!
Finally, a red laser-like mana blast shot toward the Iron Golem.
But, ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Your summon, Iron Golem, deploys a mana barrier. Zzzzzzt!
The Iron Golem not only had high innate defense but also defensive skills.
Thanks to that, the mana barrier that formed in front of its chest scattered the red mana blast in all directions.
Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom!
The dispersed strands of the red mana blast crashed around the Iron Golem, exploding in small bursts.
The Iron Golem and Death Stalker battled fiercely, locked in a back-and-forth struggle without giving an inch.
'The unique boss magic beast can be left to the Iron Golem. The problem is...'
Shin Yu-hyun glanced at the Wind Forest Volcano Guild's raid party and the 5-star Blade Ghouls.
Dozens of Blade Ghouls were immobilized by Lee Kang-hoon's crystal device.
The raid party was taking advantage of the opening to eliminate the Blade Ghouls.
There were only a handful of Blade Ghouls left now.
Thud!
Shin Yu-hyun kicked off the ground hard and unleashed the first step of Heaven-Splitting Divine Steps, Gale Wind Divine Stride, charging toward Lee Kang-hoon.
"Wh-what!?"
As Shin Yu-hyun closed in rapidly, Lee Kang-hoon looked flustered.
"S-stop that bastard!"
Sensing danger on instinct, Lee Kang-hoon pointed at Shin Yu-hyun and yelled.
Some Wind Forest Volcano guild members reacted to his shout but wore confused expressions.
To them, Shin Yu-hyun was a benefactor who had come to their aid.
In fact, he had saved Choi Jin-seong from peril and summoned an Iron Golem to check the Death Stalker.
Thanks to him, the raid party could focus on wiping out the Blade Ghouls without worrying about the Death Stalker.
Yet now he was telling them to stop Shin Yu-hyun?
"Halt."
"You can't pass through here."
At that moment, two guild members from another team stepped in front of Shin Yu-hyun.
Shin Yu-hyun clicked his tongue at the sight.
But he immediately activated Talaria's unique skill, Sky Step.
Bang! Bang!
Using Sky Step to create air platforms, Shin Yu-hyun leaped over their heads and dashed past.
He rapidly closed in on Lee Kang-hoon.
"What the hell are you? Why are you after me...?"
Lee Kang-hoon started speaking with an indignant expression but suddenly thrust his arm at Shin Yu-hyun like lightning.
At some point, a sharp dagger had appeared in Lee Kang-hoon's hand.
'Just as shameless as ever.'
Shin Yu-hyun scowled and glared at him.
What was one of the most infuriating ways to deal with someone?
Trailing off mid-sentence.
And on top of that, Lee Kang-hoon followed up with a sneak attack.
Just like in his previous life, Lee Kang-hoon was a despicable, vile man.
Swish!
Shin Yu-hyun twisted his body halfway to evade the incoming dagger.
He was an archer, weak in close quarters to begin with, but close combat was Shin Yu-hyun's specialty.
After dodging the dagger, Shin Yu-hyun slipped into Lee Kang-hoon's guard and drove a fist into his solar plexus.
Thwack!
"Guhk!"
Lee Kang-hoon cried out in pain as his body bent into a < shape.
His jaw dropped as a result.
Shin Yu-hyun clenched his fist again and uppercut his chin.
Crack!
Lee Kang-hoon's head snapped back, his body lifting slightly off the ground.
In that state, Shin Yu-hyun inhaled sharply and unleashed a barrage of Breathless Combo strikes.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Each blow carried killing intent and rage.
Under the relentless flurry, Lee Kang-hoon was gradually lifted into the air.
His face swelled up, ribs shattered.
Blood sprayed from his nose and mouth.
Thump.
Moments later, Lee Kang-hoon collapsed to the ground, gasping raggedly.
"You damn bastard."
Shin Yu-hyun looked down at him coldly.
The instant he saw Lee Kang-hoon pull out the crystal device, Shin Yu-hyun understood everything.
Why the Wind Forest Volcano Guild had failed the 5-star Monolith raid dungeon.
'Who would've thought this scum was a Getia Worshipper.'
Based on memories from his previous life, Shin Yu-hyun had pegged Lee Kang-hoon as just an annoying, petty old fart.
Always blaming his subordinates for his own mistakes, nitpicking and harassing over trivial matters.
He must have pulled some scheme during this 5-star Monolith raid too.
"You're going to spill everything you know."
Lee Kang-hoon wasn't dead yet.
Shin Yu-hyun had at least held back some.
Now that he knew the man was a Getia Worshipper, he needed information.
Shin Yu-hyun picked up the crystal device—smaller than a palm, crafted with Getia technology—that Lee Kang-hoon had dropped moments ago.
At that moment,
"Gahk!"
"Wh-what?"
"Wh-why?"
Suddenly, screams erupted from all directions among the Wind Forest Volcano guild members.
"Wh-what the hell?"
Shin Yu-hyun turned to the guild members at the sudden screams, his face paling in shock.
Nine of them had stabbed their fellow guild members in the back.
Among them was Lee Sang-beom, the 1st Team Leader and a 5-star B-rank hunter.
"Ha, that fucking idiot."
"Why'd you pull out the sacred relic...?"
The nine clicked their tongues while glaring at Lee Kang-hoon.
'No way?'
Only then did Shin Yu-hyun piece it all together.
The traitor wasn't just Lee Kang-hoon.
The ten who had abandoned the raid and retreated in his previous life were all Getia Worshippers and traitors.
"Team Leader 1! What the hell are you doing?!"
Lee Young-soo, a raid party member and the 2nd Team Leader, shouted in disbelief.
And rightly so.
Nine comrades had just been slaughtered by their own guild members.
"They're all gonna die anyway. Why bother explaining?"
Lee Sang-beom smirked at Lee Young-soo.
Lee Sang-beom was the strongest among the raid party members.
Probably why twenty of the assault team had been killed.
Indeed, out of the original thirty, nine lay dead.
"More importantly, who the hell are you?"
Lee Sang-beom glared coldly at Shin Yu-hyun. The reason he and the other eight traitors had acted now was because of Shin Yu-hyun.
Shin Yu-hyun had beaten down Lee Kang-hoon and taken the crystal device.
"That sacred relic isn't for the likes of you."
Lee Sang-beom assumed a combat stance, glaring murderously at Shin Yu-hyun.
The other traitors were closing in to finish off the remaining party members.
"Never imagined there'd be this many Getia Worshipper scum."
Lee Sang-beom's eyebrow twitched at Shin Yu-hyun's words.
"So you know about us."
"A little. Learned about you while smashing the Iron Armored Group."
"Iron Armored Group?"
Lee Sang-beom scowled at Shin Yu-hyun.
And realized his identity.
"So you're that useless trash from the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan."
"Trash? That's you Getia-worshipping traitor bastards."
"What'd you say?"
Lee Sang-beom furrowed his brow at Shin Yu-hyun's provocation.
"Don't get cocky, you worm. Before I crush you."
The Shin Yu-hyun that Lee Sang-beom knew was talentless garbage from the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan.
He'd heard rumors of him getting stronger lately, but he couldn't be a match for a 5-star superhuman like himself.
The Iron Golem he'd brought was a concern, but it was tied up fighting the Death Stalker.
The situation favored them.
Until a voice dripping with icy rage that could freeze one's heart rang out.
"How dare you insult the Master. Looks like you want your limbs torn off before you die."
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