Chapter 281
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 281
Chapter Title: Kill Them All.
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Gula's 【Behemoth】 was undoubtedly a powerful technique.
After all, it could fuse monster factors together to create an ultimate body possessing the powers of various bosses.
But Diego thought otherwise.
As powerful as 【Behemoth】 was, it was inefficient.
For one thing, being a giant monster was only advantageous in large-scale battles against numerous enemies or in fights where survival was the top priority.
Against a small number of powerful enemies, or in one-on-one combat, such an enormous body would actually get in the way, making it difficult to utilize the monsters' traits to their full potential.
And, in the first place, this was something only Gula, who possessed 『Predatory Evolution』, could accomplish.
That was why Diego had pondered.
A way to surpass 【Behemoth】.
After continuously researching and experimenting.
He had finally completed it.
A secret technique that allowed him to obtain power even greater than that of 【Behemoth】 without using monster factors, by utilizing his Unique Skill, 『King of Insects』.
And at this very moment.
The secret technique Diego had devised was drawing every insect in the jungle toward him like a black hole.
Bzzzzzzzz!
Butterflies. Flies. Mosquitoes. Spiders. Ants. Scorpions. Grasshoppers. Beetles. Parasites. Dragonflies. Praying mantises. Bees. Ladybugs. Bugs. Bugs. Bugs…….
Hundreds of millions?
Or perhaps billions?
They covered the night sky like a swarm of dark clouds.
They blanketed the earth with their bodies.
The sight of an immeasurable mass of insects gathering from every direction like a tidal wave was pure terror.
It was a sight that any living creature could not help but find horrifying.
But fortunately.
Or perhaps unfortunately.
That sight did not last long.
Because Diego's armor absorbed the countless insects that had gathered in an instant.
And as it absorbed the insects, Diego's armor rapidly mutated.
The armor became harder.
Muscle fibers intertwined with its joints.
Wings of insects sprouted from its back.
And when all the changes were complete.
The insects that had filled the world only moments ago could no longer be found anywhere.
Instead, what remained was a bizarre suit of armor, its mechanical components intertwined with biological fibers, with fragments of insects etched throughout its entire body.
“Hmm.”
After clenching and unclenching his hand once.
Diego suddenly made a fist and struck the Blood Giant beside him.
BAM!
The result was horrifying.
He had not even put his full strength into it. It was a light punch, almost like a jab.
Yet the upper body of the Blood Giant, which had only been reduced to a bloody mess even after taking one of Maia's punches, was blown away as though it had been completely pulverized.
It was a tremendous display of power that would have left even Gula, the most physically powerful of the Monarchs, horrified.
“Hehehehe, this is beyond my expectations.”
【Beelzebub】.
A secret technique that, by accepting insect factors instead of monster factors, grew stronger in proportion to the number of insects absorbed.
It had not grown unnecessarily large.
If anything, that allowed its power to become even more densely condensed.
Savoring that power.
Diego marveled in a firm, healthy voice instead of the phlegmy voice he had used until now.
He could say it with certainty.
Perhaps things had been different before.
But now, he could overwhelm even Gula.
When he had relied solely on the power of the Spirit Realm, and when he had gained the additional power of one of the Seven Arcs.
The restrictions released by 『Constellation Descent』 were on an entirely different level.
“How about it, young man? Are you beginning to regret making an enemy of our Liberation Brigade?”
About a thousand giants, each comparable to a high-level Player.
Four executives who had surpassed the Level 100 limit through 『Constellation Descent』.
And now, Diego himself, who had acquired power that surpassed even a Monarch.
Displaying such overwhelming might that even if they faced the Ten Great Guilds head-on, they could easily overpower them.
Diego spoke magnanimously.
“If you regret it, kneel down and beg for forgiveness. If you offer up the Seven Arcs even now and submit yourself to the Liberation Brigade, I might even put you to good use.”
He thought.
He really was quite merciful.
As long as he could recover one more of the Seven Arcs, he was willing to show this much generosity.
Of course, he would have to plant insects inside Rimon's head and turn him into a puppet who obeyed only his commands.
But at least he would not die.
If Rimon were in his right mind, he would immediately kneel and bow his head.
That was why Diego had deliberately displayed his power so ostentatiously.
“So.”
And so, the next moment.
Diego could not help but look puzzled.
“Is that all?”
“……What did you say?”
“I asked if this is all you have.”
Even though he had displayed enough power to make even a Monarch feel fear.
There was no fear.
No agitation.
No tension.
Rimon's attitude was so calm that it was as though he were an audience member asking a circus ringmaster if there was anything else to see.
Or perhaps a cleaner watching a considerate passerby lay out trash for him so that it would be easier to clean up.
Taken aback by Rimon's utterly composed attitude, Diego soon let out a low chuckle.
“Hehehehe, there's no need to pretend to be brave. I can feel your fear……”
“My fear?”
Using the unique senses of insects, which allowed them to detect pheromones.
Diego had tried to sense Rimon's fear, but his voice trailed off.
“……I can't.”
That calm face was so cold, firm, and tranquil that it almost felt emotional.
A chilling sensation, as though he were probing something that was not a living creature with his antennae, left him confused.
“What exactly are you?”
How could he remain this calm without even becoming excited?
Did he not know fear of death?
Was he even human?
Rimon did not bother answering the question filled with so many doubts.
He simply spoke calmly to Maia, whom he was holding in his arms.
“Looks like this is everything they have.”
“Hmph. For a pathetic criminal organization like the Liberation Brigade to prepare this much is commendable enough.”
“Well, I suppose they deserve an award for effort.”
“Do not use the word ‘effort’ so carelessly. It is offensive to call this pathetic nonsense an effort.”
“My apologies.”
Rimon chuckled.
Maia spoke sharply.
The two continued their conversation without a trace of tension, maintaining the same posture.
“I would prefer to take my master somewhere safe first, but the situation doesn't exactly allow for that. In that regard……”
“I am your master, not baggage.”
Even if she had agreed to be protected by him, she had never become a burden.
Maia stated this firmly.
Then she looked straight up at Rimon, who was holding her, and continued.
“If it is truly troublesome, lend me only one arm. At the very least, I will not get in your way.”
Perhaps because it was so unexpected.
Even Rimon, who had taken Diego's 『Constellation Descent』 in stride, looked somewhat displeased at her words.
“Are you really going to be all right?”
“Who do you think I am?”
As sharp and cold as ever.
Maia stared at him with a mocking expression.
After looking at her for a moment.
Rimon eventually nodded with a sigh.
“As your slave, I would strongly advise against it…… But if that is your wish, I suppose it cannot be helped.”
“Did you think a slave had the right to choose?”
“Then, as a proper slave, I shall ask beforehand. How would you like me to punish them?”
Hearing that question, Maia slowly turned her head.
The mastermind who had dared to use Gula to trap her and put her clan in danger.
She looked grimly at Diego, the executives of the Liberation Brigade, and the more than a thousand giants.
Then she spoke in a cold voice.
“Kill them all.”
“If that is your command.”
“What the hell are you talking about……!”
In the end, Diego shouted furiously.
When he had been under Gula, he could laugh at Rimon's ignorance, mocking the fact that he was being used without even knowing his own identity.
But now, Rimon had not only revealed his true identity, he had also displayed such overwhelming power, yet he continued to treat Diego as though he were not even there.
As someone blessed by a Great Star, Diego could no longer tolerate being treated that way.
But he could not finish his sentence.
Because the moment Diego opened his mouth to shout, Rimon had already begun to move.
One step, while holding Maia.
One step, slipping through the opening created by Diego's carelessness.
One step, lightly extending one arm.
CRACK!
“……!”
At that moment.
Diego and the three executives of the Liberation Brigade could only widen their eyes.
It was not merely because Rimon had suddenly appeared behind them.
It was because a man wearing a black iron mask was already in his grasp, his neck twisted and his tongue hanging limply from his mouth.
‘How……!’
They were horrified.
Before they could even blink.
Without them realizing it.
One of their comrades, who had acquired strength comparable to a Level 100 Monarch, had died an unnatural death.
Yet even amid the confusion, Diego instinctively shouted.
“―Kill him!”
Although the Liberation Brigade's executives were superior in terms of abilities.
The first ones to charge at Rimon were the giants surrounding them.
The immediate reaction was possible because their minds had been numbed by Ambrosia, leaving them less affected by the psychological shock.
But the result was horrific.
BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!
He gouged out their eyes with his fingers.
He shattered their knees with kicks.
He crushed their groins with his elbows.
It was less a massacre than outright pulverization.
Ordinary giants.
Even Blood Giants comparable to Archduke-level Players.
Anything that approached was instantly ground apart, resembling nothing so much as a human meat grinder.
‘What the hell is that……!’
Diego was horrified.
When the trapped Green Dragon Clan had retreated.
He had watched Rimon lead the way, opening a path through the enemy.
That was why he knew Rimon was an opponent he could never afford to let his guard down against.
But he had still underestimated him.
Rimon's skill in toying with the Forest Guild members had certainly been impressive, but it had relied entirely on his superior physical abilities.
The punches Rimon had thrown back then had looked like nothing more than a street brawl, no matter how Diego looked at them.
But now.
At this very moment.
Diego was realizing for the first time just how terrifying a street brawl could become.
The way Rimon fought was similar to what he had seen before.
Wildly thrown punches.
Kicks that seemed to be swung without much thought.
Compared to the disciplined movements of the Seven Dragon Society's masters or the flashy movements of martial-arts Players, his motions were crude and chaotic.
Only one thing had changed.
He attacked vital points without hesitation.
Yet that small difference had made Rimon's fighting style terrifyingly lethal.
Before one could even slowly count to twenty, more than a hundred giants had already been transformed into chunks of flesh.
Even more terrifying was the fact that Rimon was still holding Maia with one arm.
Which meant that he was causing this horrifying carnage with only one hand.
At this rate, the giants might be wiped out within minutes.
And then?
Who would be next?
“The princess! Target the princess!”
Driven by an instinctive sense of danger, Diego changed the target.
He believed that even Rimon, who was grinding everything apart like a meat grinder, would expose an opening if he had to protect Maia.
But immediately afterward.
He realized his mistake.
Rimon did not bother protecting Maia.
He merely loosened his left arm slightly, which had been supporting her, and focused on killing the giants charging from the right.
In fact, that alone was enough.
BOOM!
“……!”
Maia, whose arms were wrapped around Rimon's neck.
She was held in his left arm.
And from within Rimon's embrace, she spun around and shattered the giant charging from the left with her long, slender leg.
“Please do not overexert yourself when you are not in good health.”
“Hmph. Do you not know that even patients benefit from a moderate amount of exercise?”
Rimon, fighting with only his right hand while crushing giants like toys.
Maia, held in his arms while sending giants flying like sheets of paper.
If one judged solely by the toughness of their bodies, the two were the world's strongest swordsman and martial artist, capable of competing for first and second place.
Watching the giants being swept away by the second in a storm of pulverization created by the two men and women.
Diego could only stand there in stunned disbelief.
There is a common misconception.
That a swordsman is powerless without a sword.
Indeed, even a master of Kendo who could take on ten grown men armed with nothing but a stick might struggle to defeat even one or two people with his bare hands.
But that only applied to the modern era.
In other words, it applied to those who learned swordsmanship as a sport or through Skills.
Those who learned practical swordsmanship were different.
Unlike competitions fought on equal terms, on a battlefield one had to face all kinds of weapons, including bows, axes, and spears.
One might also have to fight multiple opponents at once.
And one's sword could suddenly bend or break at any moment.
For that reason, a swordsman who had survived actual combat could not help but become skilled at all kinds of improvisation.
Grabbing an opponent's weapon with one's bare hands and counterattacking in the opening.
Using the sword as a feint for a kick.
Scattering dirt from the ground with the sword.
Or simply throwing a broken sword.
Pretending to look elsewhere before launching a surprise attack.
These were all basic methods used by battlefield swordsmen—methods that would be unthinkable in a sport.
Indeed, old manuals on practical swordsmanship from the distant past contained surprisingly many bare-handed techniques and hidden tricks that would result in certain death if one did not know how to counter them.
What mattered in actual combat was winning, not fighting honorably.
And there was one important fact.
The Sword Emperor was also such a swordsman.
Not only that, he was the greatest practitioner of practical combat, having fought wars against the Seven Dragons even before becoming a Sword Master.
Back then, the Sword Emperor had no choice but to become proficient in such rough fighting and improvisation simply to survive against the masters of the Seven Dragon Society.
Even after becoming a Sword Master, it was no different.
The Seven Dragons were not opponents he could defeat simply by playing at honorable knighthood.
And Rimon was the final disciple of that Sword Emperor.
In other words, he was the one who had learned both the strongest swordsmanship of that era and the finest form of dirty fighting.
Improvisation, when used again and again, eventually becomes a technique.
After experiencing countless fierce battles while protecting the world, Rimon's rough fighting had reached a whole new level.
It had already become a martial art of its own.
Developed in the exact opposite direction from the Seven Dragon Society's martial arts, which systematically manipulated psionics, it was a killing art that used the entire body as a weapon to pulverize one's enemies.
And now.
Rimon was freely displaying the pinnacle of that rough fighting.
BAM!
……While facing Diego, the three executives of the Liberation Brigade, and hundreds upon hundreds of giants with nothing but his bare hands.