Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Shattering the Sevenfold Barrier
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Three Skeleton Janissaries stood in a row before Shin Yu-hyun.
The battle slaves wielding the Frost Sword Seolbaek and the Flame Sword Yeonhwa.
The Phalanx that Lancer No. 1, who had wielded the Cursed Poison Spear Akad, had evolved into.
The Frost Ranger that Archer No. 1, who had wielded the Frost Bow, had evolved into.
The Phalanx especially wielded twin spears as weapons.
The Cursed Poison Spear had split into two: a 2-meter-long green poison spear and a 1.5-meter-long red curse spear.
Moreover, upon assignment to the Janissaries and evolution, various unique skills had been generated.
"Do you think these skeletons can stop me?"
Vlad sneered and thrust his palm forward toward the Janissaries.
Keening!
A red orb of light began to gather in front of his palm.
Flash!
Soon, a red beam shot toward the Janissaries and Shin Yu-hyun.
'Dodge!'
Shin Yu-hyun activated Body Strengthening Technique and Split Thought, issuing a command to the Janissaries.
The Janissaries reacted nimbly, unleashing the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan's divine steps.
Kaboom!
The red beam that grazed past Shin Yu-hyun's group exploded behind them.
In that meantime, the battle slaves and Phalanx charged toward Vlad.
"Insolent fools!"
Vlad scowled at their fearless advance and thrust his palm forward again.
At that moment,
Swaeek!
Three arrows flew toward Vlad.
"Tch!"
Vlad, who had been aiming to strike the battle slaves and Phalanx, hurriedly deployed a defensive spell.
Shhuk!
A translucent hexagonal shield of mana, glowing with red light, formed in front of Vlad.
Kwajik! Crackle!
"Huh?"
Vlad's face twisted in surprise as he desperately generated two more red mana shields.
The first arrow embedded in the red mana shield had emitted freezing chill, encasing the shield in ice.
It was the Frost Ranger's unique skill, Frozen Arrow.
Kwajik! Crackle!
The remaining two Frozen Arrows then froze and shattered the red mana shields Vlad had created.
In that interval, the battle slaves and Phalanx arrived before Vlad.
"Damn it!"
Vlad's expression turned troubled as he gazed at the Frost Sword and Flame Sword crossing toward him.
Kwang!
But the skill protecting Vlad activated.
A barrier that defended against all physical and magical attacks had blocked the battle slave's strike.
"You insolent wretches!"
Furious at being pushed on the defensive, Vlad raised his right hand high.
Red, blood-like energy gathered in his right hand, forming a long spear.
It was the 5th-class bloodline magic, Blood Lancer.
"Die!"
Gripping the blood-red spear, Vlad thrust it toward the battle slave.
Swaek!
At that instant, a green poison spear materialized above the battle slave's left shoulder.
"Tch!"
Vlad, thrusting the blood-red spear at the battle slave, hurriedly altered its trajectory.
Kang!
The tips of the blood-red spear and green poison spear clashed.
They had pierced at each other's spear tips precisely.
With his left hand, he had activated the barrier to block the battle slave's cross blades, while with his right, he parried the battle slave's green poison spear with the blood spear.
"Your side's wide open."
"...!"
Startled by the sudden voice, Vlad whipped his head to the left.
There, a jet-black longsword was surging toward him.
"Amateurish, whelp!"
But Vlad scoffed.
In the split second Shin Yu-hyun had spoken,
That was plenty of time to prepare a counter.
Sruk!
Red energy erupted from beneath Vlad's left foot, forming a translucent membrane.
Soon, the black flame-wrapped magic sword Levatein clashed against Vlad's red barrier.
At that moment!
Swoosh.
"What?"
Vlad's eyes widened in shock.
Shin Yu-hyun's sword had passed through the red membrane, blurring as it did.
Kwaang!
Right then, an immense shockwave erupted against his right back.
"Gah!"
Vlad spat blood and was flung away by the shockwave.
Following him, Shin Yu-hyun uttered,
"You're the amateur here."
The call from the left had been a feint.
After drawing Vlad's attention leftward, he had unleashed Lightning Flash to circle behind swiftly and smashed his blind spot—his back—with Annihilation Strike.
"Urk, ugh."
Vlad groaned as he rolled across the floor and staggered to his feet.
'To be pushed this far.'
Vlad realized he had been blasted all the way to the door where Ruber was sealed.
Shwaaak!
Then, with a sharp whoosh, Levatein surged through the air, scattering black flames.
Shin Yu-hyun had already closed in.
"You think I'll just take this lying down?!"
Vlad squeezed out his mana and activated his unique skill.
Kaaang!
"Tch!"
Shin Yu-hyun grunted.
A powerful barrier had formed around Vlad.
A massive shield shimmering in seven colors.
From within it, Vlad shouted,
"I won't let the likes of you anywhere near Lord Ruber!"
"Why resist so fiercely? What happened in the past?"
Shin Yu-hyun gazed at Vlad with an inscrutable expression.
For Ruber's first familiar to act this way.
"The First Immortal King fell to the Chaos Gods. He vanished in battle against the magic beasts they created. Lord Ruber was left with a deep wound in her heart. I won't let her suffer again. If you can't protect her, then leave!"
Vlad glared at Shin Yu-hyun and bellowed.
The First Immortal King had failed to drive out the magic beasts and disappeared without a word.
Afterward, the Seven Arcs had scattered, seemingly sealed in shrines across various dimensions.
By the hands of the Chaos Gods.
But some had sealed themselves away to evade the Chaos Gods' eyes, awaiting the right moment.
And now, Shin Yu-hyun, the successor to the Immortal King, had appeared.
"Leave just like that? Can't do."
"As expected, words won't suffice. In any case, you can't enter Lord Ruber's chamber. Not until you break the barrier I've set."
Vlad sneered at Shin Yu-hyun.
His unique skill, Arc Anciel.
A seven-layered barrier Vlad had deployed in earnest.
With this barrier, Vlad had protected Ruber countless times.
Thanks to it, he was called the Barrier Master and earned Ruber's trust.
This time too, he was confident his barrier would hold.
"If you want to reach Lord Ruber's chamber, prove your strength."
Vlad stared at Shin Yu-hyun with brimming confidence.
He was certain it was impenetrable.
"Overconfident, aren't you? Fine. I'll show you my power."
Shin Yu-hyun eyed the seven-layered barrier Vlad had deployed.
Indeed, Arc Anciel, composed of seven layers, was a formidable defensive barrier.
No matter how many Skeleton Soldiers he threw at it, it wouldn't even scratch.
But,
"Come forth."
Shin Yu-hyun decided to use his trump card he hadn't employed until now.
The undead summons he had saved as a finishing move due to their high mana cost.
[4-star Boss Heavy Armored Ant]
Chieeeek!
From the dark shadow emerged a massive ant with a black carapace.
Its body was protected by chitinous biological armor, and its back mounted twin cannons.
'Hmph.'
Having summoned the Heavy Armored Ant, Shin Yu-hyun inwardly groaned.
A huge chunk of his chakra mana had been consumed.
'The mana cost is steep, as expected.'
Summons fundamentally consumed mana.
But the Seven Arcs, spirit beast White Wolf, and Undead Deathwatch Chiron had low costs.
They could manifest using their own mana.
The Immortal King's pet, Shadow Slime Ka-mang-i, was the same.
Iron Golem and Living Powered Armor were rewards from dungeon clears, so also low cost.
However, the undead 4-star boss Heavy Armored Ant, 5-star boss Red General Ant, and 5-star unique boss Deathstalker had high costs.
Thus, he had saved them as trump cards.
"A Heavy Armored Ant? You think a mere 4-star boss can break my barrier?"
"We'll see."
Shin Yu-hyun smirked back at Vlad, who sneered at the Heavy Armored Ant.
Keyiiiing!
Meanwhile, blue mana was converging in the cannons mounted on the Heavy Armored Ant's back.
Magnum Blaster!
Flash! Shwaaaaaak!
Soon, a blue beam sliced through space toward Vlad's barrier.
Kwajajang!
The blue mana cannon shattered the outermost red layer of Vlad's unique barrier, Arc Anciel, but failed to pierce the second orange layer.
"Hmph. Not bad. To break one layer of my barrier. But the red outer layer is the weakest of the seven."
Vlad eyed the Heavy Armored Ant with surprise.
He hadn't expected it to destroy even one layer.
But as Vlad said, the outer layer had the lowest defense.
"What now? The next layer has far higher defense. And I still have six layers left."
Vlad smiled at Shin Yu-hyun.
Thinking he had no more cards left.
"Not yet."
Bwoong!
No sooner had Shin Yu-hyun spoken than something massive surged from the shadows.
The Hekaton Hyper Beetle, Chiron, resembling a stag beetle.
"Chiron, Super Vibration Wave!"
Keyiiiiing!
Chiron, hovering above Shin Yu-hyun's head with buzzing wings, began vibrating its horn.
Thud!
Soon, the Super Vibration Wave rippled out from Chiron's horn, surging toward Arc Anciel's second orange layer.
Kwakwang!
The Super Vibration Wave collided with the second layer, erupting in a shockwave and explosion.
Within it, the second layer shattered.
"Another boss-grade summon?"
With the second layer broken, Vlad scowled.
He hadn't known Shin Yu-hyun had yet another boss-grade undead.
"But still insufficient."
Vlad curled his lips into a smile.
The Magnum Blaster and Super Vibration Wave had simultaneously destroyed the second layer, but stalled at the third.
"No matter how you struggle, you won't breach the third layer. Give up."
"Think so?"
Shin Yu-hyun chuckled at Vlad's smug expression.
Sruruk.
And moments later, the third boss-grade summon emerged from the shadows.
[5-star Boss Iron Golem]
A colossal, brutish jet-black suit of armor towering 5 meters tall—the Iron Golem.
"A third one?"
Vlad's face registered shock at the massive black armor before him.
Right after,
Thud thud thud thud thud!
The Iron Golem charged toward Arc Anciel's third yellow layer with heavy thuds.
A shoulder tackle.
Moments later.
Kwaaaaaang!