Chapter 56
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Heavenly Dragon's Ascension
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Ruyan didn't hesitate and drew his inner energy to its peak.
'If I delay, the mercenary corps will be in danger.'
There was no time to waste on a monster that wouldn't die even when killed.
He had to break through quickly and get back to the mercenary office.
Sssrrk.
An arrow slid out from the quiver on its own and nocked naturally onto the bowstring.
Ruyan gripped the fletching tightly and drew back the bow with all his might.
Krreak.
The divine wood branch bent as if it might snap.
Into it flowed the Divine Bow's majestic inner energy, vast as a mountain range.
Wuuung.
Over a full gapja of inner energy dwelled in the arrow, radiating tremendous heat.
The blazing blue arrow began devouring the surrounding area just by existing.
Whiiing.
The air around it was sucked entirely into the arrow, whipping up a gale that enveloped it.
The arrow thrummed with the ferocity to burst forth and tear everything to shreds.
Kwaaduduk.
Ruyan gripped and endured that monstrous gale to the end.
And at the moment the storm reached its zenith, he loosed it straight toward the sky.
Paaat.
The arrow rocketed upward, spinning at tremendous speed.
Divine Bow Secret Art
Heavenly Dragon's Ascension
A millennium-aged Imugi becomes a dragon and ascends to heaven, scattering storms in its wake.
Ruyan's arrow became the Heavenly Dragon.
Clutching immense inner energy in place of a yeouiju, it soared to the heavens.
Papapap.
Fist-sized clumps of sword aura rained down wildly from the spinning arrow.
A barrage of aura that blanketed the heavens and earth!
Those brilliant, overwhelming beams bombarded the lowly creatures left on the ground.
Kwakwakwa kwang!
The Heavenly Dragon's storm swept everything away.
The knights' heads exploded, their bodies riddled with dozens of holes.
Yet the downpour didn't stop.
It tore up the earth and ground all impurities atop it to dust.
Kwaaaang.
When the Heavenly Dragon finally touched the sky, having reined in its thunder, nothing remained below but ruins.
Whiiing.
Only dust swirled forlornly in the massive crater, sunk over 5 meters deep.
Not a single breathing soul was left. And Ruyan was nowhere to be seen.
'Just hold on a little longer.'
Ruyan was already streaking through space at tremendous speed.
By the time Ruyan reached the mercenary office, roars were erupting from inside.
"Kwaaaah!"
It was Theo's scream.
Ruyan kicked the door to splinters in one go and charged inside.
The first thing that met his eyes was the aftermath of fierce combat.
The table lay burned and toppled, the lobby scarred with countless sword marks everywhere.
Chaeng.
In the center, the Alize Mercenary Corps had all drawn their weapons and were clashing with the knights.
'What a mess.'
Some knights, their heads already severed, still charged undaunted at the mercenaries.
"Halt! Stop!"
As Ruyan's bellow crashed through the office, a massive qi storm swirled violently.
Lion's Roar!
The Divine Bow's roar subdued all beings by itself.
The knights, intact even without heads, staggered and froze at a single shout.
"Ruyan!"
"These bastards aren't human!"
The relieved twins lit up at his voice and hopped back to approach him.
"I know."
Ruyan nodded calmly and raised his hand.
He'd faced their kind before.
He knew exactly how to deal with them.
Whoooong.
A massive qi stream extended from Ruyan's hand, dragging the knights toward him.
Void Attraction!
Even a 6th Circle Orc Lich couldn't escape the Divine Bow's call.
The six knights in the office thrashed violently before being sucked straight into Ruyan's hand.
"Ignite."
Ruyan unleashed infernal flames upon the captured knights' bodies.
Hwaruruk.
Tremendous heat surged in an instant, reducing the knights' bodies to ash.
And that was the end of it.
"Those bastards weren't normal, but you took them out so easily..."
Eddie sounded a bit deflated, but Ruyan was nothing but impressed by how long they'd held out.
"Eddie, you fought well."
Ruyan looked Eddie straight in the eye, praising him before calmly shifting his gaze.
"Theo..."
With the knights gone, the office's depths revealed roiling black mana, as expected.
And at its center was Theo, his body rapidly swelling and turning pitch black.
"Krak!"
Transforming back into a chimera.
His innocent sky-blue eyes gradually clouded, replaced by blank white orbs filled with murderous light.
"Theo, snap out of it!"
Ruyan bellowed again to rouse him and approached.
But in that instant, a transparent barrier formed, blocking his path.
Thung.
Ruyan, bounced back unexpectedly, frowned slightly and glared at the office corner.
"You again."
"My child is perfecting itself. I can't have you interfering."
A middle-aged woman in a tight black dress slithered into view.
It was Juler.
But Ruyan's expression hardened gravely as he looked her over.
'Her shoulder's fine.'
It couldn't be.
Ruyan had clearly shattered it.
The injury was severe enough to rip her entire arm off—even a priest's healing wouldn't have sufficed.
No, to begin with, Juler's body, slathered in sticky mana, couldn't accept divine power anyway.
'What trick did she use?'
Ruyan narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Juler, then shook his head.
"You're... no longer human either, are you?"
The answer came quickly.
Juler had tampered with her own body too.
"Oh my. That's rude."
Juler giggled and shot back.
But Ruyan was in no mood for pointless banter with her.
'A thing not even worthy of being vermin, masquerading as human and committing such atrocities!'
For the first time in ages, he felt rage creeping up.
"I misjudged you."
Ruyan had anticipated Juler making some move.
He figured whatever pathetic struggle she attempted would lead to intel.
So he'd let her go.
But in the end, it proved an unwise choice.
"You're just a monster."
Juler was a madwoman, plain and simple.
Blinded by greed, she'd crossed the line. Disrupted the world.
Because he hadn't eliminated this demon in time, innocent knights had become chimeras.
"Vile creature whose very existence is sin. This seat shall now reap you."
Ruyan's icy aura slammed down like frost across the area. Kung!
The Divine Bow's presence.
Straightening his back with dignified poise summoned mountains and oceans rumbling in his wake.
"Haa, how can you be so beautiful? You'll make the perfect body."
Undaunted by that solemn pressure, Juler writhed excitedly.
"Number 34. Capture him now. Don't tear him up too badly."
That chilling command was the final trigger. Fully transformed into a chimera, Theo lunged at Ruyan.
Swaaak.
His shadow stretched long—then connected straight to Ruyan.
Ppaak.
A pitch-black burning fist smashed into Ruyan's face.
'Kuhk.'
Absorbing the massive impact, Ruyan swallowed a groan and staggered back.
But Theo didn't stop, charging again to drive another fist in.
Thuk.
Ruyan bit his lip hard and barely endured this one too.
Such a powerless display. Ruyan hadn't even lifted a hand—he was just taking the beating.
"Hmph! What the hell are you doing?"
Realizing something was off, Juler shrieked.
But Ruyan ignored her completely, staring straight at Theo.
"Theo, sorry I'm late."
A faint emotion laced Ruyan's whisper. A flicker of sorrow passed through his eyes.
The shadow twitched and retreated a step.
"Your name is Theo."
"Kuhk."
Conflicted? Theo thrashed in convulsions.
But that was it. The trembling soon subsided.
Hwaruk.
As if blaming Ruyan for all this agony, Theo's eyes blazed murderously.
Then he began assaulting Ruyan like a madman.
Thuk, puk.
Ruyan didn't dodge.
He didn't twitch a finger, taking every brutal punch on his body.
It hurt, but it didn't.
Theo's punches weren't anger. They were a tantrum.
I'm hurting this much!
Theo was screaming silently, with all his might.
"I'm sorry I can't hurt as much as you."
It was sincere.
Ruyan's own pain paled next to the tragedy of Theo's ruined life—it stung far worse.
And perhaps that sincerity got through.
The shadow shuddered violently.
Theo halted his attacks, wavered alone, then slowly lowered his fists.
"Ruyan..."
The flashing eyes dulled, sky-blue irises faintly emerging.
"Feeling a bit better now, lad?"
Ruyan smiled softly and nodded endlessly at Theo.
In response to that smile, Theo's eyes sharpened bit by bit.
But then, a sharp voice sliced between them.
"Eek! What did you do?!"
Juler couldn't accept it.
This was the first time one of her chimeras had slipped her control.
Especially Number 34—it was impossible.
"You too! Number 34 too! You're all my slaves! Mere expendables for the grand cause!"
Juler bared horrific killing intent, eyes bulging.
The ambient mana began roiling fiercely.
Mana Drain!
Black light flashed from Juler's hand, triggering an earthquake.
Drrrarar.
It wasn't just the ground shaking. The air and sky trembled as all mana was sucked into her hand.
Kururung.
The amassed mana began exploding sporadically in all directions.
Mana rampage!
'Planning to self-destruct?'
Rampaging mana was immensely powerful but equally dangerous.
It collapsed on itself and self-annihilated.
Ruyan had seen it before.
"Ahaha! No one can escape!"
Juler laughed maniacally without a hint of pain, pulling in even more mana.
And at last, she detonated it.
"Gravitation Field!"
⟨ 6th Circle Magic ⟩
A horrific spell amplifying gravity dozens of times to crush all on the ground. Infamous among 6th Circle magics as the most inhumane killer.
Kuuuung.
Immense pressure poured down, crushing Ruyan.
Juler's self-induced rampaging mana began brutally trampling the world.
Kwaduduk.
The entire building collapsed with a crunch, steel beams bending like taffy.
Stone chunks pulverized into dust and scattered.
Kuung.
As if a giant had stomped it flat, the area was pancaked, forced to kneel before Juler.
Dozens of times normal gravity!
Not even Ruyan could move freely under it.
"Kuhuk."
Ruyan groaned, resisting the force squeezing his body.
He channeled all his inner energy into protective aura, but it fell short.
He was losing ground; his knees inched downward.
'This is dangerous!'
He could endure alone somehow, but there were too many lives to protect now.
The Alize Mercenary Corps and Theo.
Having prioritized covering them with protective aura left him most exposed.
'Not enough inner energy.'
The biggest issue: even his dantian had limits.
He'd already burned a full gapja dealing with the knights at the gate.
His remaining energy could barely hold—he wouldn't last long.
'If I could just move somehow...'
Enduring pointlessly was meaningless. He needed to create a variable.
'Magic won't cut it.'
He had to admit it.
Juler's magical attainment far surpassed his.
Then...
Ruyan flung open the channel linking his mana circle and dantian.
'Abandoning magic!'