Chapter 322
Chapter 322
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 322
Chapter Title: Transcender (3)
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“Full-body charge, Blink!”
Boom!
Rokan and Gromoltan collided.
The duration left on his Creation skill was minimal now. Rather than half-heartedly massacring others, he needed to focus on the most troublesome opponent.
“You dare!”
But perhaps because he’d already seen this tactic, Gromoltan didn’t go down easily.
Even with the charge boosted by the Giant’s Strength, the foe spun his whip in a vortex to block Rokan.
A skilled response, as if he’d known it was coming. Level 450 wasn’t a title earned lightly.
“I’ll make sure you neither live nor die, you bastard!”
In that instant, Gromoltan’s eyes flashed. Madness. It was the same mad glint Rokan himself possessed.
“Urk.”
The moment he shoved Rokan back, a flurry of whips came flying.
Faced with those unpredictable attacks, Rokan could only hunker down and focus on defense. No matter how far beyond his limits he’d pushed himself, the foe’s whip was a Creation skill too.
Each lash that struck drained his health sharply, dropping it below half in an instant.
‘Not a problem.’
But he could handle this much with ease. In fact, he was waiting for it to fall below 10%.
As long as a single empowered blow didn’t explode his head, he could afford the health loss.
[All stats increase by 100% due to the Unyielding Will title effect.]
And soon enough, it happened as he’d hoped. His opponent knew Rokan had an immortality effect but had no choice except to keep attacking.
Swish.
“……!”
But at that perfect timing, the foe’s whip coiled around Rokan’s ankle.
He’d defended against being fully bound, but he couldn’t block the whip snaking around his vulnerable ankle.
“Submit!”
[You have been exposed to the Whip that Tames All Things.]
[A powerful brainwashing force acts upon you.]
[The Unyielding Will title effect renders you immune to all influence.]
A brainwashing force slipping through that split-second opening.
Without Unyielding Will, he might have canceled all his skills and killed himself, but Rokan had resisted even the mental assaults of the Heavenly God and Demon God.
He ignored the mental attack and swiftly swung his battle axe to sever the whip.
Whoosh! Boom!
“Urk.”
But Gromoltan reacted first.
Sensing the brainwashing had failed, he yanked back, slamming Rokan into the ground.
“Damn it.”
Rokan quickly checked himself over, but his power hadn’t weakened.
All his stats were intact. The only change was the Creation skill’s duration ticking down faster than before.
Rokan realized it immediately. He hadn’t grown weaker—the enemy had grown stronger.
“Like a damn mosquito!”
The foe had absorbed or copied his power.
He couldn’t tell if it had taken all of it, but right now, the monstrous strength emanating from the whip was nearly on par with his own.
“Heh heh heh, keep struggling!”
Swish, swish. Boom!
Rokan thrashed to shake off the whip, but his body betrayed him first.
As if nerves connected the whip to him, every time he moved, it whipped around and smashed him into the dirt.
Helpless.
He tried to use Blink in desperation, but even that was impossible. Some power in the whip blocked his escape.
“Giant’s Strength!”
So Rokan resorted to his last option.
If their strength was equal, he’d overwhelm with greater power!
He summoned the Titan’s strength in a burst and yanked the whip. Gromoltan’s massive body lurched forward. Rokan kicked off the ground and launched himself at the foe.
“Wave Whip!”
Rrrrrumble.
But that didn’t work either. The whip was so long that before Rokan reached him, a new skill activated.
The whip vibrated finely, slamming devastating waves into Rokan’s body.
The vibrations shook his insides, ignoring his physical toughness.
“Gah!”
Now Rokan was the one getting anxious. Without a counter, the skill durations would end, and defeat was certain.
“Nightmare!”
In that moment, an unfamiliar name escaped Rokan’s lips.
The archdemon planted by the Demon God to guard his bloodline.
In the form of a black horse, it detached from Rokan and charged at Gromoltan.
“No!”
Even Gromoltan startled at the powerful demonic energy that rivaled his own.
Could he block Nightmare while holding Rokan? His eyes darted wildly before he reluctantly released the whip to lash at Nightmare’s ethereal form.
Neigh!
Its body ignored physical attacks, but the whip infused with Creation skill demonic energy struck true.
Mental attacks didn’t work between them, but physical ones favored Gromoltan.
Perhaps because it still held some of Rokan’s latent power.
“Blink!”
But that was enough. Nightmare had freed Rokan from his bonds and forced the whip to shorten again.
Rokan surged to Gromoltan’s side in one leap, gritted his teeth, and swung his battle axe.
Kagagagagang!
Rokan’s battle axe clashed with Gromoltan’s whip, sparking black embers.
Rokan’s stats should have been superior, yet the foe took the hit unscathed.
“Pulling every trick in the book.”
Rokan retracted his battle axe swiftly and clicked his tongue upon seeing the whip coiled around the foe’s arm.
He’d wrapped the whip around his own arm to boost his stats.
A level 450-worthy display of skill mastery.
‘I’ll end it in one blow.’
Rokan’s eyes flashed. Dragging this out was disadvantageous. The Creation skill and Wild Storm Incarnation durations were nearly up.
He didn’t know how long the foe could use his weapon—also a Creation skill—but from what he’d seen, it outlasted his own.
So he staked everything on one strike.
No matter if the foe coiled or clustered the whip for defense, this ultimate blow would render it meaningless.
He considered swapping to the Avenger’s Armor for the special skill [Time of Revenge], but dismissed it. Changing gear would cancel the Weapon Awakening on his Golden Lion set.
He needed a surefire blow right now.
“Tran……!”
Thud!
A strike gathering all his power.
Rokan’s eyes widened like saucers as he prepared Transcendence.
At the moment of activation, a hole blasted through Gromoltan’s chest.
“You, you……!”
The one who ripped out his heart was a demon.
Not just any demon—a level 450 being with upper-rank demon status, like Gromoltan.
[Essence Plunderer Ibullian][Lv 452]
“Oopsie. Should’ve watched your back.”
The fiend mockingly grinned with demonic malice as Gromoltan’s corpse crumpled.
Splat. Whirr. Flash.
Gromoltan’s fearsome body hit the ground. Rokan’s body, having scraped together his last scraps of power for Transcendence, withered pathetically. All skills deactivated amid the backlash.
“Putting on quite the show, human.”
Amid it all, Ibullian stared straight at Rokan, a sinister smile curling his lips in amusement.
“Perfect timing. Were you watching?”
But Rokan stood tall.
Fine, kill me if you want. He’d achieved his goal anyway, so dying once wasn’t hard. No need to grovel.
“Wasn’t that what you wanted?”
His opponent was no pushover. He smirked knowingly, as if he’d seen through it all, and played along.
Smirk.
Rokan smiled in satisfaction at his words.
Just as he’d said, the entire scenario had unfolded exactly as Rokan intended.
The rumor he’d spread alongside news of the Celestials’ raid on Gromoltan’s territory. It was leaked to reach not Gromoltan, but another upper-rank demon’s ears.
Unlike Celestials, demons had weak tribal bonds. If a peer showed weakness, they’d strike without hesitation.
Rokan had glimpsed the power and potential of Creation skills through Transcendent Awakening, but seeing Gaokan confirmed level 450s had something extra.
Whether he could beat it was uncertain. So he’d spread deliberate rumors, accepting some loss, to bait another upper-rank demon into killing Gromoltan.
That Rokan had drained much of Gromoltan’s power, and the war with Celestials would inflict heavy damage.
Suspicious demons might dismiss it, but if even one bit, he could take Gromoltan down easier than expected.
And now that faith had become reality.
Swish. Boom!
In that instant, the ground exploded beneath Rokan’s feet.
No major direct damage, but enough to upheave the earth and fling his body back.
“But don’t pull cheap tricks like this again. I gained something this time, and you reek of His aura, so I’ll let it slide. Don’t think I’ll tolerate such rudeness twice.”
It was a warning.
He showed no intent to kill Rokan now, but snapping his fingers to devastate the surroundings demonstrated his power—like he wouldn’t just politely thank and leave.
The gap in individual combat prowess was stark compared to Gromoltan, who’d specialized his Creation skill in beast taming.
‘This bastard…….’
But if he thought that would break Rokan’s spirit, he was mistaken.
Rokan met his gaze steadily, neither affirming nor denying. Ibullian, amused by the look, continued smiling.
“What an entertaining human. Once your power recovers, come find me. I could use you for various tasks.”
‘That’ll be your funeral.’
With that, Ibullian snapped his fingers and vanished.
All that remained was a ruined wasteland and Gromoltan’s cooling corpse.
“Whew!”
Rokan exhaled deeply, stared into the empty sky where he’d disappeared, then gathered his loot.
As a tamer-class, Gromoltan’s drops weren’t very useful, but high-grade items would fetch a good price.
He collected the items left by Celestials and magical beasts too, then used the Heavenly Rune Book.
He recalled the notification from before Ibullian left.
[You have slain the upper-rank demon beast tamer Gromoltan.]
[You have usurped the authority of an upper-rank demon.]
[You have acquired governing rights over the demon realm city of Gromoto.]
The demon authority reclaimed when he lost Turubi had upgraded and returned.
This time, it was a straight ‘acquired,’ not temporary.
Likely due to absorbing the Demon God’s blood.
Either way, the key was possessing his vast territory outright, with full management rights transferred.
Rokan teleported to Gromoto immediately and opened the territory management screen.
“What a mess.”
He’d held some hope for an upper-rank demon’s domain, but Gromoto was in shambles.
Few dared challenge Gromoltan’s authority, so growth had stagnated. Each outpost was in chaos or ruins.
With Gromoltan’s death, his mental control lifted, and powerful magical beasts rampaged.
“Gonna be busy for a while.”
Despite the lingering backlash, Rokan toured the outposts right away. He had a replacement for Gromoltan’s mental control.
Neiiigh!
Nightmare.
Nightmare began dominating the magical beasts’ minds in Gromoltan’s stead.
As the outposts stabilized, a game-wide announcement appeared for the first time in ages.
Announcing an unprecedented massive update patch.