Chapter 37
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: King of Sharks
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At the southernmost tip of the Kransis Kingdom was a beautiful island called Haiwa. The scenery was lovely and it was close to the mainland, but no one lived there.
There was just one reason: Haiwa was a den of monsters, attracting an endless stream from all over the southern region.
Today, in particular, Haiwa was no different from a living hell.
"It's breaking through that way! Take it down!"
"Yes, sir!"
Thwack!
The blood-soaked blade pierced through the Bolak's head. The infantryman who had dealt with the Bolak immediately returned to formation.
Slice!
"Infantry, fall back! It's a Mantar!"
"Infantry, fall back!"
After cleaving a Mantara monster that flew through the air like a stingrayin a single strike, Marquis Lox shouted, and his adjutant repeated the order.
"Knights and spearmen, to the front!"
The infantrymen echoed the command as they fell back, and the knights and spearmen moved forward.
Thwack!
Crunch!
The knights eliminated the Mantars at the front, while the spearmen used their long reach to pick off any monsters that tried to flee.
The knights and soldiers moved like the cogs of a clock, dealing with the monsters according to a pre-established plan.
"Whew..."
"Good work, my lord."
As the Marquis took off his helmet after felling the last Mantar, his adjutant brought him a towel to wipe his sweat.
"I go through this every year, but it's truly endless. They say the monsters here are weaker than elsewhere, but their numbers are insane..."
"They say the North is dangerous, but we have it just as tough."
"Hmph. Indeed."
The Marquis wiped the sweat from his face and returned the towel to his adjutant.
"How are the children doing?"
"Lord Collin and Lord Raon are fighting nonstop, just as we are here. Both are achieving excellent results with their outstanding martial prowess and leadership."
"That's a relief. And Yuren?"
"Well... the area where the Grand Prince is stationed is originally where the most monsters appear, is it not? But I'm told the monsters there have been completely wiped out."
"What?"
The Marquis, who had been about to put his helmet back on, froze.
"Apart from an initial wave of about a hundred monsters, they've only appeared in small groups of one or two."
"What in the world is..."
"The administrator who has managed that area for ten years says it's the first time he's ever seen anything like it."
"Hmm..."
The absence of monsters should have been a good thing, but the situation was so unusual that the Marquis felt a sense of unease instead.
"Your Excellency! A Sharkrai has appeared! To the west!"
As the Marquis was lost in thought, stroking his beard, the voice of a soldier on watch duty rang out.
"What?"
"Sharkrai!"
At the mention of a Sharkrai, the resting knights and soldiers rose to their feet.
"How many!"
"Eight... no, ten of them."
"As many as ten?"
"They're coming from the south as well. About two hundred Bolaks are swarming this way. They will arrive first!"
"Prepare for battle! All soldiers to the south, and the entire Order of Hydro Dragons to the west!"
"Soldiers to the south, Order of Hydro Dragons to the west!"
"Move!"
At the Marquis's command, the soldiers and knights moved like flowing water, forming their ranks.
The reason the Marquis separated the soldiers from the Sharkrai was simple. It was a harsh thing to say, but they would be more of a hindrance than a help.
Even the knights' lives were at risk from a single blow from a Sharkrai; to those beasts, the soldiers were nothing more than paper dolls.
"Do not face the Sharkrai alone! As per our strategy, one squad per beast! They are extremely dangerous monsters! Deal with them as quickly as possible!"
A seasoned knight could handle a Sharkrai on his own, but there were some who had only recently become knights. For their sake, the Marquis had pre-arranged them into squads.
"Understood!"
Swoosh!
A blue and green shimmer flashed from the bodies of the Sharkrai emerging from the sea. They had already activated their support abilities.
"Attack!"
As he gave the command, the Marquis was the first to charge toward a Sharkrai.
Vroooom!
Hans and the soldiers covered their ears at the rotational sound of the Mukbong, which resembled the buzzing of a swarm of bees.
Whoosh!
After confirming that the Salhonyeon had spread before the castle gate, I threw the spinning Mukbong toward the Sharkrai.
VROOOOOM!
The heaven-shaking roar began to slow the Sharkrai's movements.
"Kiaaak!"
"Kaaak!"
Sharks are creatures with exceptionally good hearing. While excellent hearing might normally be a great asset, this time it was not. The sound of the Mukbong had dulled the Sharkrai's movements.
Thwack!
"Kiiik!"
The three Sharkrai at the very front were decapitated by the Mukbong's saw blades before they could even react.
"Kiaaaak!"
As expected of high-tier monsters, the remaining Sharkrai tried to endure the noise and dodge the Mukbong's blades. But...
Slice!
"Gak!"
The torso of a Sharkrai that seemed untouched by the Mukbong was torn apart like a piece of paper. The Sharkrai next to it lost its head entirely.
Beneath the jet-black saw blades were thin, elongated, translucent blades. The Mukbong's trick was to make them think they had dodged the saw blades, only to steal their lives with the unseen ones.
Vroooom!
The Mukbong instantly killed six Sharkrai and was flying toward the center of the monster horde. Given its angle, it seemed it could do no more, but the Mukbong's ability was not yet finished.
Krakakakang!
When the Mukbong reached the center of the Sharkrai group, I clenched my fist and made it explode.
Pabababak!
"Kiaaak!"
"Keeeek!"
"Kaaak!"
As the Mukbong, which had been flying at high speed, exploded, its fragments split into dozens of pieces and embedded themselves like bullets into the nearby Sharkrai.
"Kraaa!"
"Kaaak!"
Even after being hit by the shrapnel, the Sharkrai continued to move toward the wall as if nothing had happened.
"Keuk!"
"Kaak!"
But the Sharkrai's movements gradually slowed, and one by one, they collapsed. As if their breathing was becoming labored, the Sharkrai clutched their chests, gasping for air.
"It's over."
The blades of the Mukbong were generously coated in the neurotoxin Haegonsachang. Since the neurotoxin acted directly on their wounds, its effects manifested very quickly.
"Kieeuu."
"Krrruu..."
Every Sharkrai that had been hit by even the smallest fragment lay on the ground without exception.
The Bolaks that had arrived first were fighting amongst themselves in front of the gate due to the Salhonyeon, and only six Sharkrai appeared to be normal. Even those six were poisoned by the Salhonyeon, so they would soon start fighting each other.
The battle was as good as over.
"Did you count them properly?"
I called out to Pilo, who was standing behind me with his jaw agape.
"Ah, ah..."
"Uh, uhh..."
Pilo and Hans were like mutes, unable to say a word, simply staring at me. It wasn't just them; all the soldiers on the wall wore the same expression.
It seemed their thought processes had temporarily shut down after witnessing such an unbelievable sight.
"Grand Prince!"
Klyde, as if just now snapping out of it, climbed up the wall.
"I heard Sharkrai appeared!"
"They're over there."
"Gasp!"
Klyde took a step back at the sight of dozens of Sharkrai writhing on the ground.
"Wh-what in the world..."
"You guys want to give it a try?"
There were six Sharkrai left. I thought it would be a good experience for Arin and Klyde to face them, so I removed the Salhonyeon from them.
"They'll start fighting among themselves soon, so you should be able to fight them one-on-one. If you each take one on..."
Swoooosh!
As I was looking at Arin and Klyde, I heard something rising from the sea. It was a sound I had been hearing continuously, but its volume was distinctly different from before.
"Gr-Grand Prince..."
I turned around, following Klyde's trembling finger.
"What is that..."
A massive Sharkrai, standing 2.5 metersno, at least 3 meters tallhad come ashore and was looking at the dead Sharkrai.
Strange tattoos painted in red were etched onto its arms and chest, and in its right hand, it held a bone sword that looked as if it had been ripped from a giant's spine.
"Sh-Sharkrai King!"
"What?"
Pilo spoke, clutching his trembling arms.
"I saw it while organizing the Lox family's archives. A body over 3 meters tall, the king's tattoo, and a sword made of bone. It's exactly as described. That's the king of the Sharkrai!"
"I never made anything like that..."
When I looked back at the Sharkrai King after hearing Pilo's words, our eyes met. Its blazing red eyes held nothing but pure rage.
Thump!
The Sharkrai King immediately started running toward me. With just a light push of its feet, it was covering ten meters at a time.
"Arin, Klyde. It's not 'want to try,' you have to. You two take care of the remaining Sharkrai. I'll..."
The Sharkrai King instantly reached the base of the wall, then kicked off the ground and leaped. In a single bound, it was over the wall and above my head.
"I'll have to deal with this one!"
"Hiiik!"
"Heok!"
I grabbed the scruffs of Pilo, Hans, and a nearby soldier and jumped down from the wall.
Craaaaash!
"Kraaak!"
The Sharkrai King hadn't even attacked; it had simply landed, yet the wall crumbled. Its strength was monstrous.
"Kuaaaaah!"
Boom!
The Sharkrai King leaped down again, aiming for me. I threw the people I was holding behind me and dodged its landing.
"Grand Prince!"
"Don't worry about me, do what you have to do!"
I reminded Arin of her task and sprayed poison at the Sharkrai King.
"As expected, its resistance is strong. It's not taking effect immediately."
The stronger the monster, the stronger its resistance to poison, so it seemed it would take some time for the poison's effects to appear.
Craaash!
Rumble!
The bone sword the Sharkrai King wielded was every bit as terrifying as it looked. The ground shattered with every swing.
If it weren't for the Creator's Eye showing me the direction of its attacks, I would have been hit and killed a dozen times over by now.
"I didn't expect you to show up, but I came prepared!"
After evading the Sharkrai King's attack with a backflip, I drew the ten hidden weapons tucked into my belt. They were the ones I had asked Giranox to make.
Chiiing!
I held twelve hidden weapons in my hands: ten black ones that didn't even reflect light, and two white ones created by transforming Agnes.
Sibijibi (Twelve Zodiac Daggers)
Shwaaang!
The twelve hidden weapons, the Sibijibi, flew toward the Sharkrai King like rays of light.
"Kraaaaa!"
Vwoom!
Hwaaang!
The Sharkrai King swung its bone sword frantically, trying to knock away the weapons, but each of the Sibijibi moved as if it were alive, embedding themselves all over the Sharkrai's body.
It was a perfect harmony of direct and curved shots.
"Kiaaaak!"
The Sharkrai King roared in agony. It seemed to be using some strange ability, turning its entire eyeballs black, but it didn't matter.
It was already over.
Thump!
"Kraaa!"
The Sharkrai King's speed increased as the color of its eyes changed. But it couldn't even last thirty seconds before it began to slow down and then stopped moving altogether.
"Kiik! Kiaak!"
The Sharkrai King's condition was bizarre. One side of its body had wounds that were rotting away, another side had skin melting off, and from yet another, black blood flowed. The Sharkrai itself clutched its chest, panting heavily.
"The poisons are taking effect now. You're really tough."
The reason the Sharkrai was in this state was because each of the twelve hidden weapons contained a different poison.
And they were all lethal poisons that acted instantly upon contact with a wound.
"Kaaaa..."
Contrary to its powerful entrance, the sight of the Sharkrai King, poisoned by twelve different toxins, was pathetic. It was on its knees, trembling uncontrollably.
"Hmm..."
I looked around and saw that Hans, Pilo, and all the soldiers were frozen like mannequins. They seemed to have lost their minds after witnessing such an incredible sight.
Shuk.
Since it was the king of its kind, I felt it was my duty to end its suffering. I changed Agnes into a sword.
"Farewell."
Shaak!
Using my internal energy, I severed the Sharkrai King's neck in a single stroke.
Clink.
A small, transparent orb popped out from the severed head of the Sharkrai King and bounced off my shoe.
"An orb?"
You have acquired a Fragment of a Shattered World.
As I picked up the orb, a dry female voice echoed in my ears, and the world was filled with white.
"Where am I..."
In an instant, I was in a pure white room I had never seen before. The room was cracked and torn in places, like a broken windowpane.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, the orb from the Sharkrai King floated up and flew to the left.
Crack!
As the orb seeped into a crack in the wall, the hole vanished as if it had never been there.
"What in the world is this..."
You have contributed to the restoration of the world.
Analyzing your aptitude to provide a reward.
The same female voice I heard before spoke again.
Reward selection complete.
The Eye of a Future that Shows Death has been selected.
Replaying your first death.