Chapter 304
Chapter 304
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 304
Chapter Title: Veteran's Guerrilla Warfare (4)
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“Awoooooooo!”
No matter how much it was called a transcendent being—a Grand Master—it was no match for Kirito, who had acquired divinity.
Like a predator and its herbivore prey, the enemy’s desperate resistance was nothing more than futile struggling. With its nape bitten, no amount of resistance amounted to anything beyond meaningless twitching.
“...Insane.”
Rokan hadn’t expected the gap to widen this much.
Even chalking it up to the effects of evolving a Grand Master-level existence felt like an understatement—it was far too overwhelming.
With that kind of power, the beast might be able to wipe out Gmolton and all his underlings single-handedly.
Paaat.
“Huh?”
But the duration was incredibly short. The instant Kirito snuffed out the enemy’s life, Rider of Legends expired, reverting him to his original state.
‘A shame.’
It could’ve made things wrap up nice and easy.
Still, just witnessing the potential was more than enough. At this level, it could serve as a trump card, couldn’t it?
Plus, once it reached the Grand Master realm, the duration would extend even further.
Having finished his calculations inwardly, Rokan scanned the castle grounds littered with corpses before issuing his next command.
“Retreat!”
An immediate pullback.
There was no point lingering here—nothing more to gain—so he planned to loot everything he could with the Plunderer’s privileges and get out.
Hit and run.
Or guerrilla tactics, as they were known—one of Rokan’s signature moves from his previous life. Unlike others who ran in guilds or parties, he’d always operated solo.
Having thoroughly razed Gmolton’s two territories, Rokan and his legion melted into the darkness, vanishing like phantoms.
“By now, he’s gotta be pissed.”
Gmolton, who’d mobilized his forces right after Rokan’s appearance, was likely confronting the ruined territories a step behind.
He’d be combing the area meticulously, oblivious to Rokan’s full retreat order.
In the meantime, Rokan capitalized on the time he’d bought, moving with haste.
Clear of the enemy territory, he began circling around.
Seizing the opening from the troops shifting south—the site of the initial strike—he now targeted the north.
A classic feint east, strike west maneuver.
If Gmolton hadn’t budged his forces, Rokan’s side would’ve been the one in trouble. But a Gmolton this furious wouldn’t sit still. Not to mention he’d gotten word of two territories going down.
Coldly speaking, it was a ploy that could be seen through easily. But when rage blinded you, it was the kind of trap you saw coming and still fell into.
“Everyone, battle stations!”
Vampires, who struggled to move by day, had been carted in coffins and crates borne by werewolves, so the advance wasn’t limited to nighttime.
Moreover, though not a full moon, the ample moonlight still empowered the werewolves. They were short on expendable fodder, but with Rokan stepping up personally today, that wasn’t an issue.
“Rider of Legends.”
This time, they opted for infiltration and ambush over a frontal assault.
He summoned Digdog to bore a massive tunnel underground, then sow chaos from within.
Even magic beasts with keen senses would struggle to detect an approach from below. And Digdog’s tunnels didn’t skim the surface—they plunged deep.
Fwoosh.
“Go.”
Flutterflutterflutterflutter.
It started with the vampires. Swarms of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of bats coalesced and dispersed, throwing the space into disarray. The magic beasts couldn’t mount a proper response.
Occasional swings incinerated some bats here and there, but that was it.
Even those losses were minimal. As the bats sowed confusion, Rokan, Sharac, and Kirito emerged aboveground.
“Krraaaaaaaaah!”
Rokan’s roar as a colossal divine warrior shook the territory. It stiffened the bodies of enemies rushing in haphazardly, creating gaping openings.
“Awoooo!”
The werewolves’ feral instincts didn’t miss those chasms.
They lunged at beastly speeds, slamming claws into hearts. If blocked, they rammed in their vicious fangs.
“Red Moon!”
Red Moon activated once more, buffing not just Kirito but every werewolf.
Meanwhile, Rokan had showered the field with every area-of-effect buff item at his disposal.
“Aura!”
The territory devolved into pandemonium in seconds.
Werewolves fanned out into every alley of the village, vampires providing support from the skies and rooftops.
Tough magic beasts they might be, but caught in chaos and plummeting morale, all they could do was hold out.
“Aura Barrage!”
Even that didn’t last once Rokan leaped into the fray.
With him, Sharac, and Kirito piling on, the battle tide turned drastically.
“Damn it! While Lord Gmolton’s away!”
“Hold the line somehow! Take down one more if you can!”
At this point, the enemies abandoned any thought of survival. They’d heard two territories of comparable strength had fallen, so mutual destruction was off the table.
But flight wasn’t an option.
Subjugated by beast tamers, their loyalty wouldn’t allow it.
“Uhihihi, perfect!”
Rokan relished their defiance.
Unlike before, three Grand Masters converged on him. He laughed maniacally and unleashed Full-Body Charge.
“Blink. True Gale Slash!”
Whooooosh!
The opener was the same: charge the center foe, slam in a shoulder charge, then trigger True Gale Slash.
But he didn’t expect it to end there.
His real aim was the slash’s raw damage—plus scattering them every which way.
“Kraaaack!”
The damage alone was devastating.
With Gale Incarnation, Full-Body Matchless, Soul Awakening—all cranked to max—Rokan’s strike shredded the desperate guard of one and mangled the bodies of those scrambling away.
“Bloody Prison!”
The flung enemies were ensnared wholesale by Sharac’s beasts.
Prisons forged of blood. They didn’t just cage the foes—they began siphoning blood from their wounds, bolstering the prisons’ durability.
“Krng! Get this crap off me!”
Kirito scowled, ready to smash right through his cage, forcing its release. But Sharac cleverly kept the others locked, toying with them.
‘Easier than I thought.’
A 3v3 among Grand Masters, yet Rokan couldn’t shake a twinge of disappointment.
Compatibility played a part, but these magic beasts were proving far easier than the ones guarding the prior castles.
Proof he’d grown stronger, sure—but when he’d braced for brutal life-or-death clashes without even seeing a creation skill before it ended, he couldn’t help feeling it was a waste even as he caved in an enemy’s skull with his battle axe.
‘Makes the pets seem like the better fight.’
Truth be told, Gmolton’s pets were in another league.
Pasture-raised or not, they were regional overlords who’d inherited his special power—already Grand Master-tier, complete with nasty traits that made them tougher nuts to crack.
“Urng!”
Clang!
Then, for the first time, Rokan’s battle axe met resistance.
A cow-humanoid, shaking off its daze, had thrust up its halberd to block.
“Moooo!”
“Guh?”
Followed by a frenzy of strikes.
The beast whirled its massive halberd—rivaling Rokan’s enlarged battle axe—hurling him back. It snorted hot breath and unleashed its power.
“Cow World!”
“...!”
No mere combo or master skill. Its creation skill erupted, ripping open six gates around it.
“Mooooooo!”
Monsters identical to it came pouring out.
The battlefield turned into a cow pasture in an instant.
Smaller than the original but packing no small punch, they barreled toward Rokan.
“Pfft.”
Why the laugh?
Facing a herd of halberd-wielding cows, Rokan couldn’t stifle his leaking chuckle.
“You bastard! Let’s see how long you keep laughing!”
Stung, perhaps, the cow-human snorted massively again, then jammed its weapon into the ground and began milking itself.
White milk fountained up, blanketing its body.
Sssizzle.
It fully healed the wounds from Gale Slash and Rokan’s combo.
“Puhaha!”
Absurd sight mid-battle, but who wouldn’t crack up?
Rokan burst into full belly laughs, enraging the cow-human into its next skill.
“Bossification!”
“Huh?”
Master Bossification. Transforming its traits into boss form for amplified power and vitality—its body swelled to rival Rokan’s.
“Easier to spot now—great!”
No fear from Rokan; thrilled to distinguish clones from the original, he rocketed toward it.
“Ultimate Assault!”
KABOOM!
No red meteor, but the impact carved a massive crater.
Those beneath? Smeared into bloody paste.
“True Gale Slash!”
Not done: another Gale Slash shredded every mini cow-human nearby.
Bathed in their blood instead of milk, he fully restored his slightly depleted life force.
“Heh, hope the XP’s boss-tier too!”
Next: Steps of Tenacity. He launched like a cannonball at the bossified cow-human.
“Explosive Slash!”
“Oh?”
The boss whipped its colossal halberd around.
Eerily akin to Rokan’s Gale Slash—explaining how it weathered a direct hit better than expected.
‘But just dodge it.’
No damage landed on Rokan.
Spotting the skill trigger, he backstepped clear of the radius.
The boss merely cleaved empty air. A beat later, Rokan burrowed into its guard.
“Full-Body Charge!”
Thwack!
A brutal shoulder charge!
Penalty for its telegraphed swing—its chest caved, spraying white milk into the air instead of blood.
Sizzle.
Milk stung where it hit skin. A boon for the beast, a hazard for others.
Rokan frowned slightly as the thing rolled across the ground and rose, seeming less scathed than expected.
Despite the clear hit, it was holding up too well.
‘Healing on impact?’
Only one explanation: the milk it sprayed healed it right back.
If true, a real pain.
“Blunt force won’t cut it, huh.”
But he had options.
If strikes fed its healing, just slice it apart. Or pummel till the milk ran dry.
“Wanna see who tires out first?”
Decision made, Rokan flashed a wicked grin.
Cracking his knuckles, he charged to give it a thorough thrashing.