Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: One After Another
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“What… the?”
“Wh-What just happened?”
“Deneb’s Apostle was taken down in one hit?”
The Constellations murmured amongst themselves.
They stared at the dust-settled arena with expressions of disbelief, but no matter how many times they looked, the result remained the same.
The Silver Sword, Liu Yihao.
Though he was the youngest of Deneb’s twelve Apostles, he was a powerful Awakened who had made a name for himself with his outstanding skills. Yet, less than a second after the match began, he was knocked out cold, his eyes rolled back in his head.
[…Uh, um.]
Spica, the host of the proxy war, looked down at the arena with a stunned expression before forcing an awkward smile and raising her hand high.
[Th-The winner is Vega’s Apostle, Awakened Kwon Oh-jin! Was he perhaps caught off guard? An unbelievable result!]
Only after she finished speaking did the shocked Constellations begin to applaud, one by one.
“N-No way.”
Deneb was just as bewildered by the unexpected outcome.
Although Liu Yihao was the youngest of his Apostles, he was an Awakened of the same Star level as Oh-jin.
No.
In truth, they couldn’t even be called equals. It had been over a year since Liu Yihao reached 7-Star.
Considering the vast difference in proficiency even among those of the same Star level, Liu Yihao, who had reached 7-Star much earlier, should have overwhelmed Oh-jin.
But the result was the complete opposite.
Far from overwhelming him, he was knocked out in a single blow without even a chance to properly attack.
“Grr!!”
Deneb ground his teeth, glaring at Oh-jin in frustration.
His hand, resting on the arm of his chair, trembled faintly.
Allen placed a hand on Deneb’s shoulder.
“Calm down.”
“…I know.”
Deneb replied curtly.
If he showed any sign of panic here, he would surely be ridiculed by the other Constellations.
“Bring Liu Yihao back. Treat his injuries first.”
“Understood.”
Allen nodded and descended to the arena.
[Well! The next Apostle of Lord Deneb to step up is….]
Spica’s voice trailed off as she looked toward Deneb.
“Ivan. Ivan will go next.”
“Yes, sir!”
Ivan Veroyev.
He was an Awakened ranked ninth among Deneb’s twelve Apostles.
Although his rank wasn’t much higher than Liu Yihao’s, he was not a 7-Star but an Awakened who had just entered the 8-Star realm.
Considering the immense gap created by a single Star, there was no need to worry about him being defeated as pathetically as Liu Yihao.
‘Still, I’d rather send out one of the higher-ranked ones.’
Deneb bit his lip anxiously, glancing at the Constellations filling the stands.
The relative strengths of Deneb’s twelve Apostles were so well-known that there wasn’t a single Constellation who was unaware.
Many already thought Deneb was petty for the rule requiring Oh-jin to defeat three of his Apostles. If he were to suddenly send out a high-ranking Apostle now, he would be disgraced even if he won the match.
“Don’t you worry, Papa (Папа)!”
Ivan said, using the Russian word for father as he laughed heartily.
“That Liu Yihao fellow was just careless! Now that I know he’s no ordinary opponent, I’ll go and face him!”
“Is that so?”
A smile crept onto Deneb’s lips.
The boy’s dark blue eyes turned to Ivan.
“Then I’ll be counting on you, Ivan!”
“Yes, sir!”
Ivan effortlessly lifted a greatsword of monstrous size with one hand and kicked off the ground.
*Thud!*
A heavy boom echoed as the nearly two-meter-tall man landed on the arena floor.
[The next opponent is Lord Deneb’s Apostle, Ivan Veroyev! He is an Awakened who boasts destructive power in his swordsmanship!]
Spica’s cheerful voice rang out across the arena.
Ivan grinned at Oh-jin.
“My apologies for being so arrogant, not recognizing a man of your skill! I apologize on Liu Yihao’s behalf!”
“We’ll see.”
Oh-jin smirked and gripped his spear.
“Was it really because he was careless?”
Even if he hadn’t been careless.
Liu Yihao was no match for him.
“We’ll find that out once we fight!”
Ivan raised the greatsword in his hand high.
A brilliant white light emanated from the Swan Constellation Stigma engraved on his left chest.
As the light gathered like dew on the blade of the massive greatsword.
“Hyaaaaaah!!!”
*Thud!*
He stomped his foot and swung the greatsword down toward Oh-jin.
The distance between Oh-jin and Ivan was over thirty meters.
It was a distance that could never be reached, no matter how large a greatsword he swung, but.
-Krrrrack!
A white energy erupted in an instant.
A chill spread from the greatsword’s blade, and an ice blade several meters long shot toward Oh-jin.
-Claaaang!
Oh-jin instinctively raised his spear to block the strike.
His body was pushed back, unable to withstand the impact.
A biting chill traveled up the spear shaft, and his palm turned blue as if from frostbite.
Oh-jin’s brow furrowed slightly.
‘So this is the power of the Swan Constellation’s Stigma.’
A Stigma that allowed one to freely manipulate ‘cold.’
He had heard rumors, but experiencing it firsthand was a different level of pressure.
‘However.’
Oh-jin smirked, gripping his spear with a blood-soaked hand.
It was a formidable ability.
But the Lyra Constellation’s Stigma he possessed was in no way inferior to the Swan Constellation’s Stigma in terms of power.
‘Exceed.’
*Zzzzzzt!*
Blue lightning coursed through his body.
His mana circuits contracted sharply, granting him explosive speed.
The draconic mana sleeping in his left heart flowed out and seeped into the lightning.
“Cheongnyongjin.”
A blue bolt of lightning in the shape of a dragon shot toward Ivan.
Ivan calmly raised his greatsword and swung it at the approaching lightning.
“Hraaaah!!”
With a fierce roar, the lightning was split in two.
The lightning that flowed through the blade spread to his body.
“Ugh! This one’s a bit tingly!”
A pained groan escaped Ivan's lips as he was electrocuted.
But it was only for a moment.
The white energy flowing from his Stigma pushed back the blue lightning.
“Now, let’s see you block this!”
He swung his greatsword with a confident expression.
A chill swept through the area as the greatsword, wreathed in white, cut through the air.
*Rumble!*
The ground buckled and surged with the icy wave that followed his strike.
A sword strike of destructive power.
Watching the tsunami-like wave of ice rushing toward him, Oh-jin lowered his stance.
“Well, is there really a reason to block it?”
*Zzzzt!*
Lightning flared around both his legs, and Oh-jin’s body shot into the air.
The wave of ice swept past beneath his feet.
Ivan grinned as if he had expected this and swung his greatsword at Oh-jin, who was now airborne.
“Blizzard Smash!!”
A swift upward slash from below.
A fountain of white energy erupted, aiming for Oh-jin.
“Haha! Now you have a reason to block, don’t you?”
Ivan grinned as he unleashed a torrent of white sword energy at Oh-jin.
Oh-jin was currently airborne.
Unless he could move in mid-air, he had no choice but to block the attack.
And if that happened.
‘He won’t be able to withstand it.’
Ivan was confident that in terms of sheer destructive power, he could rival even high-ranking Awakened.
Just blocking his casual swing moments ago had torn Oh-jin’s palm and made it bleed.
The power in this attack was about five times stronger than the first.
This time, it wouldn’t be just his palm freezing; it was an attack powerful enough that it wouldn't be surprising if his entire arm turned into a block of ice.
-Kwwwhhht!
Space distorted.
The white energy Ivan had unleashed spread out like a net, targeting Oh-jin.
Oh-jin looked down at the relentless white energy and gripped his spear.
[There it is! Awakened Ivan Veroyev’s signature move, the Blizzard Smash! Will Awakened Kwon Oh-jin be able to block this powerful attack?!]
Spica shouted with a heated voice, her eyes gleaming.
Blizzard Smash.
It was a unique skill Ivan Veroyev had created himself, and its ferocious power was famous enough that rumors had spread even among the Constellations.
As the Constellations watched with eager eyes to see how Oh-jin would block the attack.
“Hoo.”
Oh-jin exhaled softly and curled his body in mid-air.
*Zzt, zzzzzzt!*
Blue lightning spread around his body like a mist.
He uncoiled his body as if springing forward and ‘stepped’ on the mist-like blue lightning.
“Th-The Lightning Trace Step?”
A Constellation, recognizing the technique, gasped in astonishment.
The Lightning Trace Step was known as a technique of Vega’s spirit, Riak.
It was a technique that even Riak, one of the most skilled spirits, was said to have taken decades to master, yet an Awakened who had only been active for a year was performing it himself.
“But there’s no room to dodge…”
Perhaps because his technique was still unrefined.
By the time Oh-jin created a lightning trace in the air to step on, Ivan’s attack was already right in front of him.
Oh-jin looked at the white sword strike that was closing in—
And without hesitation, he threw himself into the attack.
“Wh-What!”
Ivan’s eyes widened.
To throw himself into an attack that he might not be able to block even with all his strength?
-Swoosh!!
Oh-jin’s body entered the net-like white sword strike.
It seemed as if his body would be torn to shreds by the net of sword strikes at any moment, but.
As if it were all perfectly timed.
Oh-jin’s body slipped right through the gaps in the attack, which had seemed to have no openings at all.
Completely unscathed, without even a minor scratch.
“N-No way!”
A cry of disbelief burst from Ivan’s lips.
The net-like white sword strike.
He had escaped an attack that not even a mouse could have slipped through, without a single injury?
No, even if there had been a gap large enough for a person to pass through, this was impossible.
‘How could he… unless he’s insane!’
Suppose there was a narrow passage just big enough for one person to squeeze through.
If the walls of that passage were lined with sharp blades, how many people would be able to throw themselves into it without any hesitation?
Even if one couldn’t die within the Sanctuary, pain still existed.
How could he throw himself into that when he had to know that a miscalculation of even a single millimeter would mean his entire body would be torn to shreds?
“I told you.”
*Zzt! Zzzzt!*
Stepping on the blue lightning he created in the air as if they were stepping stones, Oh-jin descended with a smirk.
“There was no reason to block it.”
In an instant, Oh-jin landed in front of Ivan Veroyev.
He slammed the butt of his spear into the solar plexus of the dumbfounded man.
-Thwack!!
“Keoheok!!”
Struck by the spear, Ivan clutched his solar plexus and collapsed on the spot.
“Uweeeghk!!”
He spewed a thick stream of vomit and then fell to the ground, unable to rise again.
“……”
[…]
Silence filled the arena.
Spica, the host, shouted with a voice thick with bewilderment.
[Th-The winner is Awakened Kwon Oh-jin! It’s Awakened Kwon Oh-jin!! Following the first match, he has overwhelmed Lord Deneb’s Apostles in the second match as well, without a single scratch!]
Cheers erupted from the Constellations filling the stands.
Having predicted an overwhelming defeat, they now showered Oh-jin with praise in their excitement at the unexpected turn of events.
“Now that’s what you’d expect from the North Star’s Apostle!”
“As expected of Lady Vega’s Apostle!”
“Where did she find such a talent?”
Was it similar to how humans watched dog fights?
The Constellations watching the match were showing an incredibly enthusiastic response.
Oh-jin listened to the roaring cheers and gestured to Deneb again with a flick of his finger.
“Next.”
“……”
Deneb’s expression twisted violently.
Even Ivan, whom he had trusted, had been defeated in an instant.
Now, only one chance remained.
If he lost here, he would have to surrender his divinity to Vega.
“I’ll go next.”
Just then.
A woman who had been watching the match with calm eyes stepped forward.
Deneb turned to look at the woman, his eyes wide with surprise.
The woman, who exuded a cold chill like a lone flower blooming in a snowy field, was named Xiaolin.
She was the woman who held the fifth rank among Deneb’s twelve Apostles.