Chapter 227: Tombgrave's Right Arm
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 227: Tombgrave's Right Arm
The Colossus, Tombgrave.
Even among the Colossi residing in the upper floors of the Tower, he was a giant revered as a great hero.
'It hurts like hell... It feels like my nerves are being shredded to pieces.'
Jinhyuk frowned.
Throb! Throb! Throb!
A heavy ache traveled up his nerves, piercing straight into his brain.
Calling it "borrowing his right arm" was an understatement.
The repercussions of directly transplanting the Colossus's actual body part transcended imagination.
[Synchronization in progress...]
[Due to level and stat constraints, only 10% of this ability can be replicated.]
[Under the influence of the Colossus, all Strength stats increase by 500%.]
[Time limit: 3 minutes and 30 seconds.]
Only three minutes and thirty seconds.
No, though it was incomplete, having three minutes and thirty seconds to use Tombgrave's power was actually a massive window.
Crackle!
The 'Mark of the Moon', the proof of a Barrierist, resonated with his new arm.
Golden ripples flowed down Jinhyuk's neck, reaching all the way to his fingertips.
'I'll use a barrier to ease the pain and smooth out this foreign sensation.'
Whew...
Jinhyuk closed his eyes and calmly steadied his breathing.
As simply and quickly as possible.
At the same time, he configured his body to be perfectly optimized for utilizing this power.
Just five seconds.
Like that, Jinhyuk synchronized all of his mana.
* * *
"What on earth... is that power?"
Ograkun's eyes widened so much they looked ready to burst.
"..."
The White Tree Tangrasil also seemed utterly lost for words.
It was so bewildered that it had even forgotten to control the various insects it commanded.
That was how far the power Jinhyuk displayed transcended common sense.
'That is no ordinary human arm...'
On the surface, it might have looked like one, but the essence composing its core was by no means human.
Ograkun took a step forward, gripping his greatsword.
"So that's how it was. I thought you were relying solely on the Death Knight, but I was mistaken."
He had assumed that if there was a trump card, it would naturally be the Death Knight.
Anyone would have thought the same.
After all, the Death Knight was the strongest of all undead melee knights.
But.
"It turns out you are far stronger."
The one to truly fear was not some Death Knight.
It was this human who had inherited an unknown power.
He had to focus all his attention on this monster, whose mere presence sent shivers running down his spine.
"Now that you realize fighting is useless, why don't you tuck your tail? If you surrender the fortress, I'll let the giants leave alive."
"I'm afraid I cannot do that. I, too, have a reason why I cannot give up this place."
Ograkun shook his head.
His tone was firm, leaving absolutely no room for compromise.
[Since he possesses a rational personality capable of perfectly weighing pros and cons, understanding this trait might surprisingly allow you to avoid a fight.]
Considering what was written in the status window, his reaction was quite contradictory.
And as for the reason...
Jinhyuk had a vague inkling.
"Is it... because of the Demonic Human Association?"
At the casually tossed question,
"...!"
Ograkun's face showed an even greater agitation than when he had first laid eyes on Tombgrave's arm.
As if caught completely off guard, his greatsword trembled slightly.
Even so, seeing him quickly compose his expression and steady his sword, the description of him being good at controlling his emotions was indeed accurate.
Of course, even so, the cat was already out of the bag.
"I... have no idea what you are talking about."
"You don't have to try so hard to deny it. I don't intend to pry any further anyway."
There was no need to hear an answer.
'So it really was that.'
His reaction alone was enough to confirm it.
The Demonic Human Association had finished all preparations to summon the Demon King.
'It was no coincidence that the executive of the Demonic Human Association, who introduced himself as Gawain, came all the way to the Empire.'
Soon, a massive event would take place somewhere in the Tower.
The Descent Ritual of the Demon King, notorious as one of the most vicious absolute rulers of the Tower...
And, the giants had undoubtedly promised to join that ritual.
Only now did all the puzzle pieces begin to click into place.
"Since words won't work anymore, let's get started. I only have about two minutes and thirty seconds left."
"There is a time limit on your ability...?"
"Well, did you think there would be no penalty for obtaining this kind of power?"
"...That is also true. Then, why are you telling me this?"
"No particular reason."
Just,
"I'm just confident that's more than enough time to beat you."
Tap.
Jinhyuk materialized right behind Ograkun.
Tombgrave's right arm thrust toward the giant's spine.
By a hair's breadth, the greatsword blocked the strike.
Boom!
A shockwave erupted, making it hard to believe it was just a fist colliding with steel.
"Your reactions are pretty fast. I thought I targeted your blind spot perfectly."
"Ugh! Such brute...!"
Ograkun, whose body was easily more than twice Jinhyuk's size, staggered.
Of course, it was only for a moment.
Immediately regaining his balance, Ograkun swung his massive greatsword.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
The ground was completely gouged out by the single strike, sending a shockwave that reached all the way to the fortress's outer wall.
It was a blow of absurd power, completely defying the laws of physics.
However...
"N-not a single scratch?"
Jinhyuk had blocked the attack head-on using only his right arm.
"If this is all you've got... I didn't even need to use this arm."
He sneered, throwing in a taunt for good measure.
"I haven't even started yet."
"Of course. You'd better not have. If this were the end, my warmed-up body would have cooled down way too quickly."
Smiling faintly, Jinhyuk pulled out an axe embedded in the ground.
It was one of the weapons dropped earlier during the fight between T-Bone and the giant.
[The weapon is enhanced by Tombgrave's arm.]
Creak...
Like blood vessels, golden lines extending from his arm spread along the shaft of the axe.
Bare fists were fine, but when engaging in an all-out war, one naturally needed a fitting weapon.
Now, let's see how well this fits my hand.
Jinhyuk took his stance.
From the soles of his feet, up through his legs, to his waist.
And from his waist to his arm.
Mana surged and circulated through his blood vessels.
...That is dangerous.
Ograkun instinctively raised his greatsword into a defensive stance.
Rumble!
The dirt on the ground defied gravity, floating up into the air.
At the same time, the ground began to crack like a tortoise shell.
"If we're talking about a true strike of the Colossus..."
If power must speak of the absolute limit...
"It should at least be this much."
A shockwave erupted, incomparable to the one from Ograkun's greatsword.
Along with a flash of light, a massive tempest completely reshaped the landscape before them.
* * *
The fortress wall, once like an iron wall, crumbled.
This meant the treacherous path, which would have required countless sacrifices to breach, was opened in an instant.
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Though they didn't know what had caused that thick stone wall to collapse, finding the reason wasn't what mattered right now.
Somehow, they had to get inside, even a single step faster.
"Move all units inside immediately! Yes, the Titans! We must send the Titan Knights first. Sir Mjolten! Lead the knights yourself and seize the castle!"
"Those confident in their lightfoot techniques, step forward! We must secure the base first to win this war against those detestable bastards of the Empire!"
The commanders of the Empire and the Murim screamed frantically.
Soon, the light cavalry of the Empire, centered around the Titans, entered the castle.
The top-tier experts of the Mount Hua Sect, led by Baek Seol-rin, followed closely behind.
"We did it! We're faster!"
The Titan light cavalry led by Mjolten charged into the castle, racing toward the Lost Paradise.
A few giants resisted, but they were no match for the Titan Knights, who were entirely composed of Sword Masters.
"Aaargh!"
"Gah..."
Giants with holes pierced through their bodies collapsed to the left and right.
A single-point breakthrough utilizing speed and weight.
It was a destructive force hard to believe came from light cavalry, not heavy cavalry.
The characteristics of the magitech weapon known as the Titan surely played a significant role.
In less than thirty seconds, all the giants guarding the path to the Lost Paradise were wiped out.
'As long as we secure the Lost Paradise, no matter how much those Murim bastards run wild, we will hold the upper hand.'
Mjolten spurred his Titan even harder.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The light cavalry in the rear did not forget to keep the Mount Hua Sect led by Baek Seol-rin in check.
However, an anomaly occurred among the light cavalry charging relentlessly at the front.
A fierce gust of wind seemed to press against their skin, and then—
"Aaargh!"
"Ugh!"
The gust instantly turned into a raging typhoon.
The Titan Knights charging at the front were shredded like paper.
Splat! Splat!
Crunch!
Fountains of blood dyed their vision red.
They had been caught in the sweep of Ograkun's greatsword.
"Is it that damn giant...! Out of my way! I'll deal with him myself."
Mjolten stepped forward, swinging his sword imbued with an Aura Blade.
Or rather, he intended to swing it.
At least, until his head was severed by the giant's follow-up strike.
"S-Sir Mjolten!"
"To think Sir Mjolten couldn't even last a single exchange..."
"He's... he's a monster."
Seeing Mjolten's head roll on the ground, the knights hesitated and shrank back.
Their commander had died without even putting up a proper fight; who would dare step forward with confidence now?
It was maddeningly frustrating to retreat with their goal right before their eyes, but they had no choice.
For now, they had to fall back.
Right then,
"W-wait... Hold on a second."
One of the knights tilted his head in confusion.
Something was off.
A heavy sense of incongruity, completely out of place with the current situation, clung to him like glue.
"Damn it! Strange or not, if we don't run right now, we'll end up as minced meat between those Mount Hua Sect leftovers and that monster!"
"Just wait! Look closely at that giant."
"Look closely my ass... Huh?"
The blonde knight, who had been shouting in frustration, narrowed his eyes.
Come to think of it, the giant's state was indeed strange.
His face was filled with sheer terror.
His body was covered in wounds.
The majestic, imposing figure that had just swept away the knights was nowhere to be found.
"That... that guy is running away."
A prey frantically fleeing from a far greater predator.
Yes.
The sword strike he had just unleashed was closer to a desperate struggle for survival.
Questions naturally followed.
If so... who on earth had instilled such overwhelming terror in that monster?
Step.
It was at that moment they heard footsteps.
"It's useless to drag things out like this."
Holding a massive axe, Jinhyuk walked out from among the golden roses.
"Pant... Pant... Pant..."
Ograkun panted heavily.
The time limit his opponent had spoken of: three minutes and thirty seconds.
He had run all over the Lost Paradise to buy as much time as possible, but now he was cornered.
Furthermore, for some reason, a mere three minutes felt like an eternity.
Gasp...
A single breath.
And just a single blink of an eye.
Yet, before he knew it, Jinhyuk had already closed the distance, standing right beneath Ograkun.
The axe lunged toward the giant's waist.
I have to dodge.
His mind knew it... but his utterly exhausted body could barely manage to raise his greatsword at an angle.
Boom!
"Cough!"
Ograkun's body bent in half.
Bouncing repeatedly, his body rolled miserably across the ground.
At this rate, I'll die.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Ograkun's pupils dyed a blood-red crimson.
[The unique ability 'Berserker' blooms!]
"Groooaaar!"
The beast, having completely lost its reason, roared savagely.