Chapter 152
Chapter 152
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: Searching for the Gale's Traces (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘Not an easy fight.’
A 2 vs 1 against Master-level foes. Even for Rokan, it was a tough matchup.
The only reason he could hold on was that his enemies were holding back their Master skills, which had long cooldowns. If the two of them coordinated and unleashed everything at once, not even Rokan—with Berserk's effects—could avoid death.
That was why Rokan didn’t opt for the berserker-style combat of trading flesh for bone. Instead, he slowly backed away, measuring the distance.
It was tricky even with his title effects, but there might come a moment when he could turn the tables in an instant.
‘Now!’
And that moment arrived sooner than expected. One of the enemies, frustrated that two Masters couldn’t properly crush an opponent who wasn’t even Master-level, went all-in.
Whooosh!
Spotting the massive greatsword sweeping horizontally—bigger than a man—Rokan leaped into the air.
The other one activated a combo skill toward Rokan, whose movements were restricted mid-air, thrusting a skewer-like spear.
“Guard!”
Clang!
Rokan turned it to his advantage. Losing some health meant nothing to him anyway, so he raised his high-defense arm to block and twisted his body.
Thanks to that, he launched himself higher into the air, flying between them, and pulled a handful of shock grenades from his inventory, hurling them.
“Eat this!”
Thud thud thud thud!
Shock grenades couldn’t be blocked. They detonated on impact, and the knockback effect that triggered upon destruction was unavoidable, even for Masters.
“Guh!”
The knocked-back Orc Master flew toward the Emperor.
“Black King’s……!”
Whoosh!
The panicked foe hurriedly regained his composure, trying to unleash his cherished Master skill, but the Emperor’s Imperial Guard Knights were faster.
At least Master-level elites. They unleashed their power in unison, turning him into a pincushion.
A non-berserker couldn’t withstand that barrage. He turned into a lump of meat and plummeted to the ground in seconds.
“Remove it.”
The Emperor, watching impassively, spoke coldly.
His gaze was utterly indifferent and contemptuous, as if such a filthy corpse had no place in this momentous occasion.
And that wasn’t the end.
“What are you waiting for? Show these filthy, arrogant scum the might of humanity!”
[Emperor’s Aura effect: All stats increased by 25%.]
[Emperor’s Aura effect: All cooldowns reset.]
[Emperor’s Aura effect: Attack power and defense increased by 25%.]
[Emperor’s Aura effect: All skill power increased by 25%.]
The wide-area buff only the Emperor could wield had activated.
An insane ability that boosted all stats, attack, and defense while resetting cooldowns.
It was so overwhelming that it deserved to be called divine authority, not mere prestige.
“Then I can’t lose.”
Rokan benefited the most from it.
Not only had he escaped the 2 vs 1, but his abilities were enhanced again. No Master-level could beat him one-on-one now.
“Blood Phantom Descent!”
“Tch.”
Rokan pressed the enemy hard with his boosted power, but the foe wasn’t a rookie. He barely blocked the suddenly heavier attacks, then activated his Master skill when he couldn’t hold out.
Blood Phantom Descent. A berserk-enhanced version stacked with curse-based buffs. It enveloped the enemy.
Not immortality like Berserk, but superior in raw stat amplification. Knowing this, Rokan clashed with full force.
“Wild Slaughter!”
He poured everything into pummeling the foe.
[Critical!]
[Critical!]
[Critical!]
Rokan had already slain multiple assailants, stacking combat buffs to their peak.
His attack speed and crit chance were maxed out. With each skill, chunks of the enemy’s health vanished. The Fury King’s Axe special effect amplified damage by 30%, slamming in unfiltered.
“Grrgh!”
But Rokan was in the same boat.
Trusting Berserk’s immortality, he ignored defense and unleashed attacks, so the impacts on his body were beyond imagination.
His fully reinforced armor shredded in moments, health plummeting.
That was Rokan’s final gambit.
[Health fallen below 5%.]
[Title ‘Unyielding Will’ effect: All stats increased by 50%.]
The Unyielding Will special effect, triggered below 5% health! Blood Mark kept restoring health, but fortunately, the enemy’s attacks outpaced it.
True to an orc’s fierce pride, he didn’t yield to Rokan’s charges, pouring on attacks.
‘This moment is where Berserk cheats, you fool!’
Even with pain dulled for user protection, the full-body shocks should’ve been numbing, but Rokan held firm, trading blows with the Orc Master.
“To a mere…… human……!”
Ten grueling minutes of bloodbath. The victor was Rokan.
He blocked the orc’s attempt to crush his skull and unleashed brutal attacks until the enemy knelt.
“Whew, no time to breathe.”
Screeech!
But Rokan had no time to savor victory. The moment the duel ended, a sharp arrow flew from somewhere.
A precise shot piercing for his throat.
He barely twisted away, but it grazed him, tearing skin. A few centimeters closer, and his throat would’ve been severed.
“This calls for…….”
No time to pinpoint the hidden shooter, Rokan moved. Not forward, but toward the ongoing ancient Emperor ritual.
“Halt!”
“Not going far. Just catching my breath.”
But only up to where the Imperial Guards blocked.
Releasing Berserk and restoring health with Life Charge, Rokan didn’t rejoin the fray. He caught his breath and assessed the battlefield.
Fortunately, the Emperor didn’t complain.
After all, Rokan had slain multiple enemy Masters.
‘Gotta clear this first debuff at least.’
With buffs and titles, he could tangle with non-Masters, but dying from overlooking that skirmish would ruin everything.
So he decided to clear the first debuff, then gauge and fight appropriately.
Worst case, he’d recast Berserk debuff-be-damned, but using it up would leave him twiddling thumbs the rest of the time.
“Huh?”
Then, something caught Rokan’s eye.
‘Whoa, it pops here?’
[Searching for the Gale’s Traces] [Quest]
You’ve found a trace of the Gale that once scourged the world. Find the remaining traces to inherit the Gale’s legacy.
-Advanced Training Grounds cleared (Complete)
-Seafloor Tunnel first clear (Complete)
-Kill five Class Masters as Class Expert (Complete)
-Acquire Sealed Gale’s Battle Axe (Complete)
-
-
A blank in the quest’s stepping stones had filled.
It felt less like he’d completed it and more like it happened to him, but even reconsidering, the conditions were brutally harsh.
Who’d dream of killing not one, but five Class Masters one-on-one as a mere Class Expert? Rokan had unwittingly achieved the impossible, but he wasn’t purely thrilled.
Two even tougher conditions remained.
“Damn, at this point, shouldn’t there be a hint or mid-reward?”
He figured they’d dangle something to hook him, but the system stayed silent. With a click of his tongue, he scanned the battlefield.
‘Still manageable somehow.’
Thanks to the Emperor’s buff, humanity’s side—previously overwhelmed—was regaining balance.
Master-levels evaded thoroughly or had fellow Masters tank while buffed soldiers and knights handled foes. They were still pushed back, but the pace slowed dramatically. The enemies hadn’t committed full forces, treating it as infiltration, not all-out war.
‘If each faction’s top dogs showed, it’d be over already.’
Suspicion of a trap played a role too. Humanity’s racial quest ending so soon was hard to believe from other races’ views.
Committing elites risked irreversible losses if it was a Golden Lion trap.
But if true, inaction would be disastrous, so they had to send some.
Losing this many Masters hurt them too, but not fatally.
That explained no High Masters from the enemy. Their goal wasn’t annihilation but disruption and sabotage. With numbers, Masters could manage.
“Raaargh!”
As the standoff dragged, the enemies grew impatient. Humanity’s main force guarded the revived ancient Emperor’s body, progress stalling, urgency mounting.
Resolved to break through, they unleashed Master skills en masse. Sweeping minions or slaying obstructing Master-level knights, they carved a path.
“Silver Lion Knights, hear me! Sever the limbs of these rabble unfit even as slaves and lay them before me!”
“Yes, sire!”
That triggered it. The Emperor’s calm gaze flared with fury. His personal Silver Lion Knight Order—guarding the ancient Emperor’s body—mobilized.
Each an upper Master, some High Masters: super-elites entering the fray.
“Remember: This isn’t extermination. Focus on destroying the target!”
The Black Dragon Legion assailants responded in kind.
Their goal: destruction, not kill count. Sneak in, land one hit on the ancient Emperor’s body—that was enough. Preventing revival made all their deaths worthwhile.
Two forces with clashing objectives surged forward.
‘Stealth.’
Rokan vanished into the chaos.
Not fleeing the field, but hiding in the confusion to deceive enemy eyes—for a chance to intervene.
The current Emperor was Master-level, guarded by High Masters, but what if……?
Even sacrificing himself to save the Emperor could yield massive gains.
“Blessing of Death!”
“Lethal Strike!”
“Silver Lion’s Glory!”
“Silver Lion’s Valor!”
Kaboom boom boom boom!
Master vs Master, but styles differed vastly.
Black Dragon assailants unleashed raw-power Master skills, while Silver Lions chained synergy buffs sequentially, showcasing insane group enhancement.
Some attacked, some defended with skills, effortlessly nullifying assaults and amplifying damage.
“Arrow of Annihilation.”
Amid the fierce exchange, an eerie arrow flew from the Black Dragon soldiers hanging back. Silent, scentless, but chilling upon sight.