Chapter 353
Chapter 353
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 353
Chapter Title: Land of Sorcery vs. Land of No-Mind (3)
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Rokan grinned wickedly.
It was no coincidence. It was a tactic that worked especially well against male monsters.
In his previous life, he hadn't possessed this level of raw power, so he'd faced crises time and again.
It was only natural that he'd resorted to battle tactics like targeting the groin or throwing sand in those situations. After all, you had to win first, right?
It was a method he'd used countless times, and as always, the effect was immediate.
“Groooan!”
No matter how iron-willed a warrior was, no one could remain detached in the face of the agony from having their manhood blown clean off.
The pain would dominate their entire body to the point where they couldn't even form the thought, *I'm a eunuch now!*
“True Storm Slash!”
Rokan didn't miss the opening. Was there anything better than Storm Slash for bewildering an enemy's limbs?
On top of the actual strikes, the razor-sharp wind blades that inflicted massive damage proportional to his attack power burrowed into Kolop's body, leaving the monster unable to regain his senses.
“Argh, aaagh! I... Incarnation of the Battlefield!”
Amid the torment of his body being shredded, he barely managed to activate his Creation skill, but the glow seemed somehow faded.
Was it because, just like Rokan, a gaping void now existed in one corner of his colossal frame?
“Pfft!”
“Kyaaak! You bastard!”
Kolop shrieked spasmodically at Rokan's laugh as he circled behind with a back grab.
The monster had once again lowered his stance and lunged from below, convulsing and leaping to dodge.
Rokan didn't let that gap slip away.
With his muscles tensed and posture shrunken, there was no way the beast could exert his full strength.
In a situation like this, the straightforward approach was best. The difference in power had already been made crystal clear.
“Light Massacre!”
There was no need to go as far as Ultra Extreme. A flurry more dazzling than Savage and more powerful than True Storm Slash unfolded in a single breath, savagely targeting the monster's entire body.
Flinch!
Even down to the groin.
They say if you're startled by a baby snake, you'll jump at the sight of a pot lid—and sure enough, the beast convulsed and twisted whenever Rokan's battle axe neared his crotch. He took every attack he could have easily blocked.
His body was left in tatters, and he even lost one arm.
“Pathetic.”
For a power-type warrior, losing an arm was a devastating blow to combat effectiveness.
With his balance thrown off and unable to maintain a solid stance, he couldn't properly harness his strength even if his raw muscle power remained intact.
Block Rokan's already overwhelming assaults in that state? Fat chance.
The control that had once allowed him to deflect glancing blows with ease crumbled sharply. He couldn't parry or redirect, leaving gaps everywhere.
“Not even worth eating.”
Rokan lost all interest in the wretch.
He was a castle lord from the illusion demon realm, no less, and wielded a halberd akin to a pure axe—so Rokan had considered harvesting his heart. Instead, he coldly shook out his battle axe.
With precise motions, he dismantled the beast's defenses, severed his neck, and crushed his heart.
“Ha!”
Claaang!
Having finished off one foe, he turned to see his clone locked in a fierce clash with Garune.
The clone's attacks were vicious enough that one solid hit would end it, but the spear-wielding opponent refused to trade blows head-on.
He kept a strict distance, unleashing nothing but showers of rapid thrusts.
Even when the clone used Full Body Charge or Blink to close in, the result was the same.
His entire fighting style was built for hit-and-run; he never allowed the gap to close, and the clone repeatedly cleaved empty air while waiting for an opportunity.
Tricky bastard. Ignoring Creation skills, it seemed every Master skill had been invested in mobility and escapes—even Rokan himself wasn't entirely sure he could catch the guy.
*Then.*
But it wasn't impossible. Their matchups were oddly unfavorable, yet Rokan had several ways to deal with him.
And he chose the simplest one.
“Steps of Resolve, Full Body Charge.”
Thud.
Rokan stomped hard and charged forward.
Toward Garune? No, he had no intention of bothering with that hassle.
The two Sorcery Land castle lords were struggling desperately to defend their walls, while the No-Mind Land lord had already fallen to him twice over.
And wasn't another one tied up with his clone? You could call it aggressive pressure, but in truth, the foe was the one pinned down.
So how many lords remained? Just one.
Sure, their forces outnumbered his side, but with lords at 2-to-1, what did that do to the frontline?
The No-Mind Land phantom beasts, bereft of commanders, flailed and screamed in disarray, while the Sorcery Land beasts moved with systematic precision under orders, systematically tearing them apart.
Once in close quarters, spell-types had a hard time against melee, but they were covering each other and shifting positions without ever conceding that range.
“Argh!”
To make matters worse, a lion had leaped into the wolf pack.
Rokan burst out behind the phantom beasts fixated on the front, rampaging freely with no way for them to respond.
Even level 400-plus beasts couldn't bridge the vast power gap with him.
“Ack!”
Boom!
Garune snapped to attention at his subordinates' screams, a beat too late.
Only then did he realize what he was truly facing.
If that had been the real Rokan, he wouldn't have bothered helping defend the castle—he'd have ganged up on Garune instead.
“Weak shit!”
The monster frantically tried to pull back.
It was already 2-on-2. With Rokan joining the Sorcery beasts' side, they'd be the ones at a disadvantage.
“Aura Bombardment!”
“Ugh!”
But Rokan wasn't about to let him go.
It was his clone, after all. No way it'd just watch the enemy flee.
The clone sprayed aura wildly to cramp his movements while Rokan himself hurled his body forward to block the escape.
“Kaaargh!”
At this rate, he'd eat a blow to the back of the head and die screaming, so Garune desperately wheeled around.
The screams of his phantom beasts continued unabated.
For now, the enemy was on the defensive, but what if they successfully held the castle and pushed forward aggressively?
In a battle where victory had seemed assured despite some losses, total defeat could mean ceding territory to the Sorcery Land in reverse.
Impatience set in. His speed increased, but his precision began to falter.
“Graaaaaah!”
Right then, Rokan's cry of madness pierced straight through him.
For a split second, it froze his mind and body, creating an opening.
“Full Body Charge!”
“Guh!”
The clone didn't miss it.
He slammed his brutal frame into Garune's frail one, grinding his battle axe deep.
“Uh, uugh...!”
“Light Massacre!”
That was the problem with evasion builds. They weren't accustomed to pain.
They might've endured some during training, but once they reached mastery, they rarely faced agony beyond a certain threshold.
Pain became a forgotten concept. So when unprecedented torment seared into his body, his prized speed turned worthless.
He couldn't even think to use an escape skill as he yielded to the clone's killing stroke.
It didn't kill him in one hit, but his limbs were severed, his body a mangled ruin, and he collapsed.
The clone. A mere clone had brought down a castle lord of the illusion demon realm.
[You have leveled up.]
“Huh?”
If anything, Rokan was the one left baffled.
He hadn't expected the clone to take him down, so the sudden level-up left him with a slightly dazed look.
Splurt!
His battle axe was still carving through phantom beast necks.
“Nice!”
But good was good.
He'd thought he was far from the next level, that these small fry wouldn't fill the exp bar—but since it happened, he welcomed it gladly.
He swept through the enemies with renewed vigor.
“Blade of the Colossus!”
KABOOM!
Then, a massive roar erupted from the opposite gate. A single sword larger than the walls themselves came crashing down.
The presumed Sorcery Land lord hurriedly deployed defensive magic to block it, but the sword's attack power apparently overwhelmed it.
The gate and a section of the wall crumbled in a heap, and every phantom beast atop it was slaughtered.
Ziiing.
“You bastard! Carlton!”
“...!”
A gate ripped open in midair, and someone emerged.
A face familiar to Rokan. Matulda.
The King of Sorcery!
And the one he glared at with murderous intent?
Rokan could guess without looking.
The King of No-Mind.
The ruler who kept warrior-type phantom beasts under his heel had appeared in person.
*So confident, huh?*
Whether he knew about his fallen subordinates or not was beside the point. It wasn't 2-on-1 anymore—even 4-on-0 wouldn't matter if he stepped in personally. Castle lords were no match.
Ten or twenty might change things, but that was no easy feat. And those had to be level 400 castle lords at that.
Their matchup was unfavorable too.
As the pinnacle of melee specialists, closing the distance made him the worst nightmare for spell-casters.
“No more pointless fighting.”
The moment Carlton appeared, Rokan activated Wing Mode and rose into the sky to gaze down at him.
Retreating in surrender? No chance. His talk of meaningless sacrifices referred only to his underlings.
He himself drew his sword, his battle lust igniting.
“Why not settle this between us, King of Sorcery?”
“Grit! Fine. Today, we end this!”
All combat ground to a halt. Squabbles between underlings held no meaning now.
With the two kings of the illusion demon realm on the field, this was no mere territory skirmish.
It was a war of annihilation—utterly crushing and absorbing one side.
And it was about to begin.
Whooooosh.
An almost deathly silence fell, but the air and mana churned violently.
A clash of such overwhelming power that the weak would buckle under it.
Just their auras alone unleashed waves akin to natural disasters.
“Wait!”
At the breaking point, someone leaped between them.
Rokan.
The aftershocks of their ferocious aura duel shook his insides painfully, but it was tolerable. He'd pushed Blood Awakening to its limit.
The remaining duration nagged at him a bit, but it was fine. What he could do came down to a single decisive clash anyway.
“We're ahead numerically—no reason to accept that kind of duel. Right, Matulda? Mind if I take the first shot?”
“What? Hmph... Very well.”
How far could Rokan go against a Majesty Master?
Matulda didn't expect much, but it was a slight burden either way. If he were that confident, he'd have invaded the No-Mind Land himself first.
As long as Rokan could wear him down a little and inflict some wounds, that would suffice, Matulda figured.
He stepped back slightly, adopting the pose of reluctantly granting the request.
“So you're the one. Cocky human.”
Carlton flared his savage aura at the sudden intrusion, turning his gaze to Rokan with a low growl.
“No time for talk—let's go! No-Mind Awakening!”
But Rokan had no interest in banter. Before Storm Incarnation and Blood Awakening timed out, he played his hidden trump card.
The Armament of the Heavenly God and the Armament of the Demon God.
He awakened them both at once.