Chapter 225
Chapter 225
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 225
>Chapter Title: Forgotten King's Swordsmanship
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Boom! Crash!
Every time their swords clashed, a thunderous roar akin to an explosion erupted.
Jihard, standing far back amid the thick dust and scattering debris, furrowed his brow.
-Ugh...! The debris flying everywhere makes it hard to even keep my eyes open.
-Rijariza...
-They're just gonna smash everything to bits!
All they could do was hang back to avoid getting in the way.
Even from this distance, the raw destructive force prickling their skin vividly illustrated the battle's intensity.
Charlie clenched his fist.
...As expected of an Eternal Knight's power. To be unable to aid my lord in a moment like this—it's the ultimate shame for one who wields his sword.
Being forced to watch from afar in such a situation was utterly humiliating for a knight.
Seeing this, even Jihard, who had been grumbling nonstop, swallowed hard.
-This... we can actually win this, right...? I've never seen the boss struggling this much before. Or is my eyesight messing up again?
-Hmm...
Normally, Charlie would have staunchly affirmed faith in Do-hyun, but this time, no such reassurance came to mind, and he let out a low groan.
He glanced cautiously at the fight.
Crash! Boom! KABOOM!
Neither yielded an inch, their swords clashing again and again.
[Seven Strikes has 10 stacks.]
[Maximum stacks achieved. All amplifications are at maximum.]
[Use within 1 second to chain Fierce Strikes.]
It had been a while since the stacks had maxed out.
Each time the fully stacked Fierce Strike Slash came down, walls shattered and the floor cratered.
Yet neither showed the slightest retreat.
They surged at each other like tidal waves, ready to devour one another.
It was textbook pile-driver combat.
At a glance, it seemed evenly matched, but Charlie knew better.
'...The lord is being pushed back.'
Do-hyun was barely holding on.
Like a tightrope walker, he maintained a precarious balance in their exchanges.
One mistake, and he'd be swallowed whole.
[Parry used to deflect the attack.]
[On cooldown.]
[On cooldown.]
Without Parry off cooldown, even grazing blocks would have been impossible.
But even that wasn't perfect.
[Failed to fully deflect the attack. Damage not completely negated.]
[Take half damage.]
[Health below 50%.]
'Damn, first time I haven't parried perfectly here.'
The accumulating half-damage had already whittled his health to 50%.
Meanwhile, that thing still looked fresh as ever.
Unlike other bosses, no health bar appeared, so there was no telling how much it had lost.
...Had it lost any at all?
He'd never seen a health drain message or even a drop of blood.
'No, it's a boss. It'll die if I keep hitting it.'
Do-hyun steadied his dizzying mind and refocused.
The colossal serpent dragon from Delrock, the great sage lich—they'd been overwhelmingly tough and sturdy, enough to crush his will to fight.
But he'd felled them in the end.
The Iron Blood Wyrmspawn had fallen the same way. This thing would too, if he kept pounding away.
'Without that Guardian God's Blessing, it'd be manageable...'
There was some natural physical pushback, but no knockback meant stabs or shoves did nothing. It was brutal.
It felt like facing a massive boulder.
One that wouldn't budge and kept pressing down relentlessly.
This was Do-hyun's worst matchup.
It nullified one of his biggest strengths: psychological distance control. And it felt eerily familiar.
Boom! Crash!
'Ugh, feels just like fighting Kkukku.'
The pinnacle of physical prowess Do-hyun knew: diving in ultra-close to force a dogfight with that ridiculous strategy.
Exactly like Kkukku Dak Kkukku's style.
The smart play was to deny it and evade, but...
[Thunderstep activated.]
Crackle—Ta!
The moment he created distance, it kicked off the ground and charged with a dash skill.
[Forgotten King, '?? King's Rotten Flesh' uses Surging Strike.]
A spring-loaded lunge stabbing a powerful blow along the path.
A hero-grade knight skill, its burst speed defied imagination.
And its true strength came after.
[Hit by Surging Strike's shockwave.]
[Movement speed greatly reduced for 5 seconds. Cannot use movement skills for 2 seconds.]
Even brushing the drill-like shockwave around the sword meant getting locked in place.
A skill Kkukku had envied greatly.
-Aw, man! Don't berserkers have something like Surging Strike? With that, I could've shut down those twitchy moves... Just you wait. I'm gonna job-change and come back.
-A berserker becoming a knight... No class change could be more mismatched.
-What the hell, man? Just finish your sword training already—why you picking fights outta nowhere?
He'd worn that line on his sleeve: one skill like that, and his win rate against Do-hyun wouldn't be like this.
Do-hyun had somewhat agreed.
After fighting often and reading patterns and psyche, wins had gotten easier.
Give Kkukku that one skill, and he'd be a nightmare.
Of course, it was absurd, so he'd brushed it off...
Boom! Crash!
"Aw, back off already!"
-......
Even frantic counters couldn't shake it; it clung like a leech.
Movement skills? It followed and sealed them.
Back grabs? It caught up anyway.
Couldn't shove it off.
[Forgotten King, '?? King's Rotten Flesh' uses Royal Smash.]
[Be careful.]
'Crazy... even Royal Smash?'
A legendary skill, no less!
Do-hyun gritted his teeth and dove sideways as flashy effects burst forth.
Flash—
---!!
Blinding golden light engulfed his back.
A knight's legendary AoE nuke—their one true area attack, its power beyond imagining.
Seeing the floor half-destroyed, Do-hyun swallowed hard.
[Prolonged exposure to frost aura greatly slows Forgotten King, '?? King's Rotten Flesh'.]
[Target's rank too high.]
[Slow effect canceled.]
'Frost aura saved me. A bit faster, and I'd have been swept.'
The frost had briefly slowed it, throwing off its aim.
Otherwise, the ring's barrier would've triggered instantly.
In this mess, a question was inevitable.
'...Is this thing really meant to be beaten?'
An Eternal Knight at mid-boss level, questionable if it even had health, using Guardian God's Blessing and Royal Smash?
That alone didn't make sense.
Anyone but Do-hyun, and the fight would've ended ages ago.
'Why does a knight even have Guardian God's Blessing? A DPS using tank skills is bullshit!'
Hypocritical, sure, since he himself mixed skills from every class—but his outfit was bursting at the seams.
He'd just been taking the test obediently(?).
The hidden piece's difficulty, after the test got deleted and this popped up uninvited, was infuriating.
At least the thing lacked reason, acting on beastly instinct with skills and swings. Small mercy.
With intellect, the gap would've turned him to mincemeat already.
'Calm down.'
Do-hyun forcibly steadied himself and thought calmly.
He couldn't just flop here.
Even Destroyer, failing the hidden stage, had gotten a letter of recommendation and met the emperor—but Do-hyun wouldn't.
His "pass" was the test being deleted, not cleared.
'Who knows what happens if I fail here.'
He had to nail this absurd hidden stage and bag that thing for sure.
He needed that letter to meet the prince.
'What options do I have left? Use one?'
The Thunder Dragon Descent and Darkness Cloak combo that capped his fight with Berze.
His ace—but Do-hyun shook his head.
'No fallback after that.'
A skill forced by God's Tear, usable only briefly—save for the absolute last resort.
Not on something still looking pristine.
'Back grabs and Thunderstep don't work. Sword Aura Slash already used. What else?'
Thunder Dragon Descent and Guardian God's Blessing active, yet even that mighty slash failed.
Movement skills ignored, Dragon Ascent naturally useless.
Fierce Strike Slash knockback negligible.
[Failed to chain attack. Fierce Strike stacks reset.]
Dodging Royal Smash had reset them too; had to rebuild.
No way out. Item effects all buffs.
...Give up?
'...No. If no teeth, fight with gums.'
Hell no to quitting over this.
Skills not landing? Item effects meh?
So what.
Break through with sheer grit—that's how you bridge the gap.
Quitting could wait.
"Huuu... haa..."
Do-hyun bowed his head, regulating his breath.
His honed hearing sharpened, sounds converging: blood flow, ambient noise, Jihard's startled gasp.
All senses crystal clear. Like against the Iron Blood Wyrmspawn.
The hyper-focus Do-hyun entered in crises.
-Why hone swordsmanship in a game? Ridiculous question. To reach the sword's pinnacle.
-...Your skills are impressive, sure. But you obsess over swordplay more than skill combos. Shouldn't you study skills more?
To Bora-hyung's question one day, Sword Emperor had replied:
-Skills cap at 13, eventually more, but limits exist.
-But swordsmanship has none. My infinite techniques aren't skills—they're my power-made uniques.
Swordsmanship was the path to the pinnacle.
Modern folk can't forge magic from scratch, so martial arts was the way.
Do-hyun had been tempted by Sword Emperor's near-conviction.
Do-hyun paled against him in pure swordplay.
The man's blade, devoted wholly to the sword, transcended martial arts into skill territory.
-...Can you teach me that?
When Do-hyun cautiously asked, Sword Emperor grinned.
-Anytime.
Ta!
-But no time for everything, Kaiser. I'll teach you one technique.
[Forgotten King, '?? King's Rotten Flesh' uses Surging Strike.]
The Forgotten King lunged, sword drilling forward.
Do-hyun saw it all: sword's spin, footwork stride, shoulder twist, aim point.
Even the red glow of its eyes' focus.
-Using this means facing stronger foes. No guarantee of victory... but I trust you.
Recalling Sword Emperor's words, Do-hyun stepped forward.
Then slowly thrust his sword.
Excruciatingly slow, feathery weak.
But as it met the devastating, piercing Surging Strike.
Soft overcomes hard.
Willow's dance.
Swish—
-...What the?
-My god!
The Forgotten King's sword lost balance, wobbling.
Do-hyun's gentle blade nudged the Surging Strike aside per his will, swaying left and right.
Like willow branches in the wind.
Even off-balance, its overwhelming physique drove the stab onward, but
[Parry used.]
[Perfect parry successful.]
Do-hyun wouldn't eat a blind attack.
First perfect parry; grinning, he pivoted with a step.
The teetering foe crumpled powerlessly,
Stab.
-No matter the opponent. You'll land that one hit for sure.
Do-hyun's sword pierced the kneeling foe's shoulder, as if inevitable.
Blood spurted.
First solid hit.
Then, the messages.
[Dealt pure damage with skill-less strength.]
'Finally landed one.'
As Do-hyun grinned at the confirmation,
Swish.
"...!?"
The halted foe raised its head, staring fixedly.
Do-hyun flinched at the eerie vibe; pierced, it slowly rose.
Then, for the first time, gripped the sword calmly with both hands.
Whoosh—
The atmosphere shifted sharply.
Joy from the hit fleeting, tension swept Do-hyun as
Ding—
A cheery alert brought messages.
[Knightly qualities proven.]
[Condition met. Forgotten King's trial begins.]
[Acknowledged by swordsmanship from a higher-ranked foe.]
[Path to Signature Swordsmanship opens.]
[Signature Swordsmanship Quest: 'Forgotten King's Swordsmanship' generated.]
[Receive the Forgotten King's sword.]
"...What?"