Chapter 190
Chapter 190
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: Maninsal (1)
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Lord of Utmost Speed.
Genius of Spacing.
All self-enhancement skills.
They boosted his movement speed and attack speed to their absolute limits while elevating his sense of distance to superhuman levels.
These were the ultimate enhancement skills exclusive to spearmen, allowing him to ignore the enemy's perceived timing and spacing to deliver merciless strikes.
Destructive power was a bit lacking, but that could be more than covered with the right combo skills.
“Kyaaak!”
Puk-puk-puk-puk!
In just a single breath, the spear arts of utmost speed turned the enemy into a porcupine from Talran’s hands.
The troll’s innate regenerative ability was maximized by the skill’s power, but even that couldn’t keep up with the sheer speed and depth of the wounds erupting across its body.
“Space Breaker!”
“Shield of Protection!”
It flailed desperately with master skills, but Delas was at Talran’s side. True to form as a proper knight wielding sword and shield, he unleashed defensive master skills to deflect the enemy’s attacks and carve out space for Talran to thrust his spear.
“One-Point Thrust!”
Puk!
Finally, Talran’s finisher pierced the foe, sealing its movements and cracking its body.
The thrust was so blindingly fast that it seemed to pierce the same spot repeatedly without withdrawing, shredding the shoulder and sending the arm flying.
A troll’s regeneration was impressive, but not enough to reattach a severed limb. It was unnaturally swift recovery, not undead-like regeneration.
“Gurk!”
Even with both arms intact, it had barely held on using its raw toughness. Losing one arm and its balance made survival impossible.
Talran’s spear and Delas’s longsword plunged into its staggering form in unison, dismembering its limbs and nullifying its regeneration.
They sank it completely.
“Kyaaak! You filthy pests!”
Tollog’s eyes flipped in rage.
It activated combo skills to target Talran and Delas’s backs wildly, but Delas spun around and blocked them all.
Tollog’s attack power outstripped Delas’s defense, but he could still hold it off even at the cost of some HP.
“Jump.”
“Kee-yak!”
“Kruk!”
Then, Rokan appeared right in front of Tollog.
Its erratic movements with the summon had been tricky, but now with its eyes rolled back and stuck in place, Rokan used his immense strength for a Sergeant Jump.
It was fairly high in the air, but reachable for Rokan enhanced by Gale Wind Incarnation.
Had the summon not flinched in surprise, its head would’ve been split in one shot.
“Tch.”
But it only grazed it. Even so, the summon lost direction and wobbled. The wind pressure swept over it.
“Krut!”
Regaining control, it soared straight up to a height Rokan couldn’t reach.
Meanwhile, the forces it had brought were being slaughtered by the human masters, but there was little it could do.
Both sides lacked master skills now, but the humans still had two high masters and Rokan, who was no slouch.
The humans now held the edge in master numbers.
“Retreat…… Retreat!”
In the end, Tollog shed bloody tears and ordered a withdrawal.
It had charged in sneering at mere humans, only to lose its vice-captain and high master Mokanon. Defeat would crack not just its pride but the tribe’s trust in it. Still, it beat total annihilation.
Master-class beings were that precious.
Especially in wartime.
“Block them!”
“Urk, please!”
At its command, the troll masters fled desperately. They sacrificed summons for time and poured out their remaining skills to create openings.
More fell in the process, but a relatively large number of survivors escaped.
‘Did they trigger a quest?’
Tollog’s relentless sniping from the air with finger barrages helped, but the troll players’ efforts were key. Their suicidal resistance kept the human masters from pursuing recklessly.
Rokan judged a quest was involved.
If it offered massive rewards even in death, their desperate defense of the NPCs made sense.
“Cease pursuit!”
In the end, Rokan halted the chase, limiting it to maximum ranged attacks.
Better to stop after inflicting heavy damage than risk even minor friendly losses from overextending.
The trolls had taken serious hits, but still held overall force superiority.
Unknown reinforcements could turn it into a human disaster.
“Waaaaah!”
They repelled the troll horde without a single sacrifice. They’d even chewed through half their forces.
Such a victory was beyond expectations, so the human masters roared in joy from the depths of their chests. Only the rushing players looked baffled.
[Troll Horde Interception Quest has failed.]
[Troll Horde Interception Quest has ended.]
Quest failure.
They achieved the absolute goal of routing the troll horde, but since no quest-holding players participated in combat, it counted as a failure.
‘Saved some coin.’
Some players might gripe, but what could you do? They contributed nothing to the rout.
Rokan didn’t have to pay quest rewards and got free player labor.
“The siege equipment we worked hard to build is useless now, huh.”
Amid the cheers, Talran and Delas approached Rokan.
Talran suffered post-berserk-like exhaustion from the time-limited master skill, but his face wasn’t grim.
He knew this unimaginable victory stemmed entirely from Rokan, so he stood joyful yet deferential.
“We’ll use it someday.”
But Rokan stayed vigilant. They’d slashed the enemy’s total strength, but the war was just beginning.
The longer it dragged, the more players would reach or approach master level, becoming new variables.
War foretold mass deaths but also sudden growths.
‘War matters, but I can’t slack on leveling.’
So Rokan felt the need to grow further.
Top-tier master skills let him smash high masters even at master level, but humanity needed more to survive this war.
Two high masters gunning for him would endanger his side, and matchups might not favor him one-on-one.
The ancient emperor fight exposed that berserk’s heart-burst instant-death didn’t always apply, limiting bait tactics.
He needed high master status ASAP.
‘If they complete the Black Dragon Legion racial quests…… Horrific.’
Worse, they still had racial quests. Far deadlier than the Golden Lion Alliance’s.
“One and all, making their lord a grand master. Insane bastards.”
Despite differences, their quests shared a point: Elevate current lords to grand master.
Methods varied.
Goblins summoned a high priest; undead revived a death lord.
All via the current lord’s body, unlike the ancient emperor revival. Trolls and orcs openly empowered their lords.
Legendary troll hunter and orc lord grand master promotions.
Their quests gathered what was needed.
“Sabotage theirs, boost Golden Lion ones……”
Humanity’s was done. But not fully.
They’d failed this time but would seek a “controllable ancient emperor” another way. Just needed time.
Waiting and helping would take too long. Better to grow to grand master himself in that span.
So Rokan eyed other Golden Lion racial quests.
“Half-elves after all?”
Fastest was the half-elves’.
Relatively mild world tree revival, and Rokan had already boosted progress with interventions.
But risky. He’d also set traps to derail it if needed.
“Worst case, use it as a countermeasure.”
So he kept it as an option.
Any racial quest completion now would rock the continent again.
“Let’s head back.”
Wrapping his thoughts, Rokan looted drops and returned to Kazantia.
Festive mood met their triumph, but he tightened defenses and vigilance beyond normal, then slipped away somewhere.
“Hmm, over there?”
Using a teleport magic circle, Rokan arrived at Lumaric Territory, the dwarves’ front line.
Like Kazantia, a territory-wide quest was active, but with standout rewards.
[Clash with the Orcs][Quest]
Contribute to the great war against the orcs!
-1.2x EXP on war participation
-Rewards scaled by contribution
-Regional victory: Special weapon/armor repair voucher
-Major battle victory: Equipment crafting voucher
-One-man army: 50% discount voucher
-One-vs-thousand: Choose equipment
-Solo hunt at master level+: Special equipment crafting voucher
Purely dwarven rewards.
Dwarf gear guaranteed at least epic-grade for the level.
Even victory repair vouchers prevented max durability loss and rarely upgraded gear quality.
Talented dwarven smiths hammered them sharper and tougher.
Rokan, who rarely needed repairs but prized dwarf hands when he did, found it tempting.
His “Dwarf Friend” title allowed normal repairs, but special vouchers were superior.
Plus 1.2x EXP, vital for Rokan who couldn’t take quests but needed the effect.
‘Not just benefiting others.’
Dwarves excelled at siege weapons too, boosting win chances there.
If they seized an orc base, Black Dragon eyes would fix on dwarves, easing pressure on humans.
A new chance for humanity.
Rokan accepted the quest at once and scouted the battlefield. He summoned his skeletal horse and galloped toward the imminent clash.