Chapter 245
Chapter 245
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 245
>Chapter Title: The Awakened Disaster
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>Boom! Bwoom! Kwang!
Pshoo-shook—Pyoo-shook—! Pook!
Countless spells detonated, and arrows rained down like a storm.
Each time explosive firepower lit up the dark sky, arrows blanketing the heavens could be seen plummeting to earth.
“Shield!”
“Uooo!”
The priests at the rear combined their powers to form a barrier over the tanks.
[Sacred Barrier activated.]
[Unaffected by attacks from those judged as allies.]
Thanks to that, the tanks bravely held aggro and rampaged, some even activating duels to forcibly pull it.
A spectacle closer to war than a raid.
-Crazy……
-Wow…… What a sight, for real.
-Holy shit! Getting to see this live! I’m so lucky!
-God Leon!! Lion Heart King, we believe in you! Pride of Britain!!
Chats flooded the live broadcasts nonstop amid the overwhelming barrage.
[Viewers: 91.41 million]
[Viewers: 84.31 million]
[Viewers: 100.34 million]
Multiple streams run by the Top 10 Guilds.
Every single one saw viewer counts skyrocket, with some even breaking 100 million.
‘Good, this was the right strategy after all.’
‘Drain its health first like this, then send in the melee forces.’
‘Maybe I should even thank Harrington. My reputation’s gonna soar after this.’
As the raid progressed smoothly under everyone’s watchful eyes, smiles crept onto their faces.
At this rate, it looked like a massive success.
But after 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and then 20 minutes into the raid.
[The colossal disaster opens its eyes.]
[The disaster’s eyes open, revealing some hidden information.]
[The submerged health bar is revealed.]
[Health: 56,735,308 / 60,000,000]
“……Huh?”
“60 million……?”
They realized they’d been gravely mistaken.
[The disaster’s eyes swallow those touched by the light.]
[Warning! Avoid contact with the light.]
Keeeeng—
The moment hundreds of eyes snapped open, flashing eerie red light.
Fwaaash—!
Kwaaaang! Aaak! Kuaaa!
Vision turned red, blood spraying up like fountains in protective camouflage.
Staring at the waves of blood surging from every direction, they gaped in stunned silence.
“……What the hell.”
“My God…….”
Something had gone terribly wrong.
That instinctive thought flashed through their minds, but it was already too late.
The real horror came after.
Kuaaaaaah—!!!
Users grimaced and clamped hands over ears at the deafening roar.
That was when the disaster moved.
Simply shifting its massive body shook the ground, then it leaped into the air and crashed back down.
Kwaaaang—!!
“Kuaaaak!”
“Keuk!”
The shockwave hit like a missile blast, sending every tank flying.
Those nearby got off lucky with just being flung back, but anyone in range retired in one hit.
Tanks who’d urgently retreated looked up, faces blank.
“……Hey, it’s about to jump again?”
“Crazy…….”
“R-Run!”
The disaster was already repositioning.
It even started repeatedly leaping and falling like an eel, then began swimming through the air as if the sky were an ocean.
[Geo has died.]
[Leoneura has died.]
[Basterid has died.]
…….
[Rasag has died.]
Swimming with its massive maw agape.
That alone swallowed countless high rankers helplessly, dooming them in its jaws.
Kwagagaga—
“Tanks, what are you doing! Grab aggro!”
“Aggro? You lunatic. You try grabbing it, asshole!”
“Duels or whatever, if it swallows you, you’re dead! What aggro!?”
Aggro? Tanking?
Those concepts were long gone.
No tank could hope to stop that rampaging colossal disaster.
There was one place that might’ve had a shot, but……
“When’s Aegis Guild getting here!?”
“Damn it, that’s why I said start the raid after Aegis arrives…….”
“No, forget Aegis, no one could tank this.”
Seeing the frontlines crumble like dominoes into piles of corpses, even that felt uncertain.
This was no longer a battlefield.
Just a rampaging giant deep-sea beast and microbes fleeing it.
[Leucera has died.]
[Bezirad has died.]
…….
[Daisor has died.]
“My God…….”
“They want us to take this down?”
The nonstop death messages whirled in a frenzy.
The scene below, surrounded by mountains of corpses, was a catastrophe beyond words.
In a single instant.
In a mere dozen seconds, half the raid force was wiped.
-Crazy……
-What the hell is this?
-Instant-kill pattern……? What kind of instant-kill has this range.
No wonder the live chat exploded.
The chat filled with shock proved just how hopeless the scene was.
But these were high rankers in the raid.
Even in the chaos, they found a lifeline.
“The eyes! Places where the eyes are closed are safe!”
“What!?”
“That light from the eyes marks its movement path!”
“Okay, everyone start tailing it!”
Tailing.
Chasing only behind the boss, no matter how it moved or rampaged.
A term familiar to any gamer who’d run a few raids.
Especially for high rankers like them.
Snap, snap.
Tadadot.
“This way! Over here! Get out, that spot’s dangerous!”
“If you can’t keep up, just stop and die! Don’t move and trigger the light.”
“Okay, positions secured. Everyone, quickly regain aggro!”
Despite facing a boss they’d never seen, they skillfully latched onto its tail.
Of course, many rankers died or took fatal wounds in the process, but they ultimately formed a stable formation.
“Whew…….”
“Insane.”
“Man, my hands are sweating buckets, seriously.”
Only then did the masters wipe their dry lips and relax a bit.
But they’d barely earned the right to call it a fight.
The outlook remained bleak.
They had no clue how to tackle it.
‘Instant death on light touch? Talk about insane difficulty.’
‘We barely grabbed aggro, but even that’s tough. We’re not holding aggro—we’re just chasing its ass without getting spotted…….’
‘Lucky break if that Aegis guy shows up, though…….’
‘At least the rear eyes are still closed. Dodged a total disaster there.’
In that moment, they recalled the message when Kaiser entered.
‘Hold on. Didn’t only half the eyes open?’
‘If this is half…… what happens when they all open?’
‘Then if Kaiser dies…….’
……The other half—their only lifeline—would open.
They gulped, watching the tanks diligently tailing it.
If those eyes opened too……
‘Raid fails…….’
‘Guaranteed.’
Alarms blaring in their heads, they desperately glanced at the temple entrance.
Even amid the catastrophe, that spot remained untouched and intact.
‘How long since Kaiser went in?’
‘Right before raid start…… about 20 minutes?’
‘……Wait, 20 minutes survived?’
That’s when they noticed something off while piecing it together.
Per the info from Arthur and the other challengers, the Forgotten King didn’t recover or reset.
Meaning relay fights in the exact state from the previous opponent.
‘Arthur triggered phase 2, so Kaiser’s in phase 2 right now?’
Even Arthur lasted only minutes after phase 2 hit.
But Kaiser?
Already 20 minutes in. And still holding.
A beat later, viewers caught on too.
-Huh? Guys. Come to think of it, no Kaiser death message?
-Half the eyes still closed too.
-……So Kaiser’s still fighting the king?
-What? 20 minutes in?
-No way……?
An eerie silence unfit for the battlefield settled over chats and the scene.
The broadcast instinctively panned to the temple entrance.
-……No way Kaiser takes the king?
One chat broke the hush.
-Nah, just 20 minutes?
-“Just”? Arthur did phase 1 for an hour. Got one-shot the second phase 2 started.
-Oh……. Wait, 20 minutes in phase 2 means he’s basically matching it?
-Crazy……. Kaiser, is he a real god?
Chats poured like a burst dam, ignoring the raid entirely.
Filled only with talk of Kaiser.
Astro, who’d held back per Kaiser’s advice to conserve strength from afar, could only laugh dryly.
‘Heh, what a guy.’
Hiding his presence, yet stealing the spotlight as the sole hope upon mere mention.
‘Typical—things always blow up when he shows.’
Grumbling like he was fed up, but the light in his eyes on the temple was pure anticipation.
‘Looks like those guys reached the tomb too…… Guess I’ll focus on my own task.’
Astro smirked faintly and turned.
He pulled out a chair that boosted mana and health regen, plopping down.
They seemed to have it handled, so per the guy’s advice, he’d recover his strength diligently.
* * *
‘Never seen a king this insane…….’
The thing was straight-up mad.
Not an insult—just the perfect description, nothing else fit.
Thud! Kwaaaang!
[Perfect parry failed.]
[Some damage taken.]
‘Damn…….’
Do-hyun’s brow furrowed as he blocked the endless sword strikes.
Even barely deflecting them was overwhelming.
He rarely failed parries, yet lately he’d hit too many tough foes.
All because of this king’s broken power balance.
Grraaa— Grra—!
Tap! Tak!
Unable to hold, Do-hyun fell back, and Pain led the undead legion to tear in like wild dogs.
Movements like well-trained hounds.
But the king brushed them off like nothing and charged.
-Charlie! Time earned, now!
-Got it! Thanks!
-Liza!
Charlie and Eliza took the toss like a relay, grabbing aggro.
-Kuuk……!
-L-Liza!
But they could only clash for mere seconds.
In that gap, Do-hyun finished recovering and leaped back in.
A white lion followed, leaping onto the Forgotten King’s sword, then lunged fangs-first.
Boom! Kwang!
Krraaaang—
The two lions tangled fiercely, blizzard winds deflecting their strikes.
Fangs and claws were razor swords, the blizzard an iron shield.
Amid it, Do-hyun danced swords with the Forgotten King.
No, not just Do-hyun.
“Charlie!”
-Yes, my lord!
-Pain, you too, hurry!
Tap!
Do-hyun had Charlie and the undead legion.
A nonstop flurry of biting and tearing.
[The Forgotten King activates Executioner trait.]
[Critical hit damage doubled.]
[Targets critically wounded by Executioner cannot be knocked back for 10 seconds.]
[The Forgotten King activates Northern Lion’s Swordsmanship trait.]
[The Northern White Lion and blizzard rage.]
‘Traits are all a pain…….’
And that was just the start.
Combat Instinct let it fight in any stance or situation, Sharp Senses detected even blindside attacks.
A boss blanketed in combat traits, like it was born for battle.
That’s why Do-hyun was pushed despite numerical superiority.
‘Good thing I completed the Song of the White Lion.’
Same swordsmanship.
Naturally, the original— the king’s— was stronger.
Do-hyun was losing raw power, but he’d never taken a critical hit.
Exploiting numbers aggressively?
[The True Song of the White Lion responds to the caster’s will.]
Krraaang!
‘So this is what it means for swordsmanship to hold ego.’
No— the difference between one with ego and without.
Do-hyun didn’t even need to swing; his will alone moved the white lion and blizzard as desired.
Cheat-level performance.
It enabled defense in impossible angles, attacks in untenable spots.
[The Forgotten King activates Lost Ego trait.]
Meanwhile, the king’s Lost Ego meant no ego in its swordsmanship.
That gap closed the distance.
And gave certainty.
Do-hyun smirked.
‘This’ll work.’
In the thick of it, he leaped back far.
The king stomped to pursue, but the will-responsive lion and blizzard blocked its view.
Shuu—
Do-hyun regulated his breath and assumed stance.
A posture utterly different from before.
His resolute gaze held no tremor.
From there, one step forward.
[Reverse Heaven Art]
[First Form: Beginning activated.]
Advancing infused the blade with mountain-like sturdiness.
Towering.
Sensing something off?
The king halted its wild swings through the blizzard.
Eyes met, and Do-hyun grinned.
“Charlie, Jihad. Get ready.”
-Ready? For wha…… Oh!
-Understood, my lord.
As Jihad caught on late, Charlie assumed position.
Prepping their newly acquired skill.
Do-hyun glanced aside too.
[Reverse Heaven Art Second Form: Break available.]
His new Reverse Heaven Art second form.
And in the skill slot, replacing Bleed—a radiant golden skill.
[Executioner God’s Cross available.]
Legendary skill, Executioner God’s Cross.
Confident it’d land, Do-hyun curled his lip.
‘Let’s see what you can do.’
His eyes gleamed fiercely.