Chapter 76
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Kraken Subjugation
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The Kraken swung its massive tentacles, trying to smash the humans charging toward it.
But the humans weren't as feeble as the Kraken had imagined.
Kwaaaang!!!
A dozen knights wielding heavy shields moved in perfect unison, blocking the Kraken's attack.
Yeah, try dodging this one.
The Kraken immediately coiled its tentacles, attempting to grab and hurl the humans away.
If not for the old man charging in while unleashing an overwhelming wave of murderous intent.
"I've spent a long time preparing to kill you. Don't even think about leaving here alive."
One of the continent's greatest swordsmen.
The living legend of House Mielephon, Osberg Mielephon—his sword, infused with immense power, flashed for an instant, carving a massive gash into the Kraken's leg.
It's him! The dangerous human who scarred my tough flesh just recently when I rampaged here!
-Kiyaaaaak!!!
Caught off guard by the ferocious counterattack, the Kraken shrieked and writhed its entire body.
It was a bigger blow than expected.
My body shouldn't be this weak.
Last time it rampaged, it had only taken superficial scratches, never a wound this deep.
The Kraken now felt the threat to its life from this ancient being's speed and ferocity.
On the other hand, it concluded that killing that one human would end all resistance.
So, it cleverly set a trap.
It thrashed about as if losing all reason.
Creating the illusion of an injured creature unused to pain, thus immune to such wounds.
In truth, the old human, Osberg, seized the opening, using the knights to pin down the Kraken's movements before slipping in for another strike.
But the Kraken had been waiting for exactly that.
In an instant, the Kraken shook off the knights, and all eight of its legs converged on one point, forming a red orb in midair.
The Kraken's primary attack was mental in nature, but as a Sea King species, it had more than one trick.
The energy mass gathered in a flash and expanded furiously.
It was one of the Kraken's hidden moves: the high-heat breath.
However, few knew the Kraken could even use high-heat breath, making it a perfect blindside attack.
One step forward.
The swordsmanship I wield, Nameless Sword, also allowed for instantaneous acceleration.
It suited the current situation perfectly.
Lazing around would mean someone turning to ash in a heartbeat from that high-heat beam.
The moment I saw it twisting its legs oddly, I realized the Kraken was preparing its high-heat beam.
Even a Sword Saint couldn't shrug off an unprepared attack like that—it could be fatal.
That's why I had to step up now.
I darted through the gaps between the knights in a flash.
My speed built rapidly, and my vision seemed to warp and pull forward in an illusion.
I rarely accelerated to this extent.
No matter.
I explosively compressed my aura, then launched skyward without hesitation, plummeting straight toward its tentacles.
There were eight spots to sever.
One per leg.
The high-heat beam condensation points were all different, but this level of acrobatics was child's play after doing it countless times.
"Young man?!"
The Sword Saint's startled voice echoed as I broke through.
Ignoring it, I spun like a top mid-fall, leaving eight afterimages before landing.
The lingering sword-aura afterimages finally scored wounds on its tentacles, making the beast flinch violently and distort the high-heat beam's formation.
It seemed baffled, unsure what had just hit it.
Hunting Kraken wasn't a one-off for me, and with it weakened—its power and speed diminished—I could handle it easily.
Having its trap breached in an instant, the Kraken roared in fury, gaping its massive maw to swallow me whole.
At that moment, as its mouth revealed hundreds, thousands of pristine white teeth...
Muyoung, the shadow spirit wolf leaping from my shadow, materialized hugely and slammed into its body.
Kuwoong!!!
Black mist enveloped and burst past it.
It couldn't land a solid hit, but it was enough to stagger the beast for a moment.
"Blocked the beam, and its weak points are wide open."
I accelerated again in a flash, ripping into its vulnerable skin before jamming half a dozen hidden items from my pocket into it.
Then I retreated swiftly.
"Luna, I've torn open the wounds—activate the next device."
At the same time, a blue mist-like fog rapidly spread from afar, forcing the Kraken to stagger back.
Instinct told it not to touch the mist, but averting its gaze for that brief moment would cost it dearly.
The Sword Saint carved another massive gash with a heavy sword aura.
Simultaneously, the blue mist seeped into the wound, halting regeneration.
"Kraken-specific platelet dissolver."
The wounds refused to heal, and the high-heat beam nodes stopped recovering too.
Its enormous eyes locked onto me with rage and resentment.
But I didn't stop, relentlessly exploiting its blind spots to carve more wounds, keeping it from focusing elsewhere.
On land, without water's aid, it was agony for the Kraken.
"Humans aren't appealing prey for Kraken."
Sek!!
-Kkieeeek!!!
"Yet you only attack human ships for two reasons."
First, when there's truly nothing else to eat. Second, for fun or stress relief.
"I don't think you attacked that ship because you were starving."
In other words, this damn squid tore apart and sank the ship carrying my parents and little sister out of boredom.
"So I'll rip you apart and kill you my way."
-Grulk?!
Sensing the chill, the Kraken shrank back in terror.
"Don't expect an easy death."
"What the hell... what was that speed just now?"
"Wasn't he an Expert...? I couldn't even see him..."
The Kraken wasn't the only one shocked.
These were the main assault team—mostly mid-to-high Experts, with even Master-level knights mixed in.
Yet not a single one had properly tracked Leon's instantaneous breakthrough.
Momentary acceleration.
It was unbelievable that such acceleration came from a mere teenage boy.
When he first said they'd prepare for three days then hunt the Kraken, they thought the kid was just bluffing.
They planned to play along until supplies ran low, then scrap the operation and withdraw.
But the Kraken appeared exactly as he predicted.
Enormously weakened, just as he said.
And for some reason, its mental attacks didn't work at all.
Even the Magic Tower's immunity artifacts couldn't block Kraken's mental waves this perfectly.
But now, it was all unfolding before their eyes.
"Captain... that was sword aura, wasn't it?"
The hallmark of a Master: aura blade, sword aura.
"No. It looks similar, but it's different from a true aura blade."
Subjugation Unit Captain Beren stared at Leon with eyes wide as if they might tear.
"But..."
"Yes. It's similar yet lacking... and still doesn't fall short at all..."
The subjugation force's strongest asset was undoubtedly Sword Saint Osberg Mielephon.
But considering the age gap between Osberg and Leon, this defied all reason.
Everything was proceeding exactly as Leon said, and he was demonstrating horrifying power without holding back.
When Osberg insisted on bringing Leon into House Mielephon's fold, spittle flying, they hadn't believed it. But to this extent...
Sea King species, the ocean's calamity: Kraken.
That Kraken was now utterly toyed with in the hands of a boy just entering his mid-teens.
No, more than that—the existence of Leon himself was too alien.
The Kraken was an unknown entity, deemed unkillable.
Yet at mid-to-late teens, Leon relentlessly exploited gaps that even seasoned swordsmen couldn't, ravaging its body.
Such battle sense and style were impossible without overwhelming experience.
For whatever reason, Beren found himself thinking that perhaps the true monster here, greater than the Kraken, was that boy.
He moved boldly as if knowing everything about the Kraken, dodging its supersonic strikes with acrobatic precision, and ceaselessly tearing into its weakened spots.
That wasn't talent.
When Osberg first told that story, Beren hadn't fully believed it.
No genius could do that. It wasn't in the realm of talent, he'd thought.
But with the impossible truth unfolding before him, his mind reeled, unsure whether to believe.
"A genius in the literal sense—a heavenly disaster."
Talent like a calamity from the heavens.
There was no other way to describe it.
Where the hell had this monster suddenly crawled out from?
Of course, the Kraken had more power left. Its immense regeneration meant preparing for a prolonged battle.
But as the second device activated, Beren realized how meaningless his thoughts were.
"Captain, its wounds..."
"Aren't regenerating?"
The Kraken's flesh, inhaling the spreading mist, healed at an unprecedentedly sluggish rate, as if recovery was blocked.
Noticing, it desperately whipped all its tentacles to tear the boy apart.
Leon had just leaped into the air, and the Kraken tried to snatch and shred him as he fell.
But the moment Leon twisted the Electra in his hand...
His foot kicked off an invisible wall in the air, accelerating instantly and evading the supersonic tentacle tips.
Creeeeak!!!
Then came eight streaks of light.
Leon weaved through the faster-approaching tentacles, severing them in a flash, then precisely exploited the opening from Sword Saint Osberg's attack.
Sensing danger, the Kraken frantically shielded its wounds.
But as if that was never his goal, Leon carved a rifling-like gash into one massive tentacle mid-fall, then gouged out one of the Kraken's eyes.