Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Marake's Death
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The sounds of brutal physical impact—Crunch! Crack! Crunch!—echoed through the air as Geon-woo's elite warriors clashed head-on with Marake's berserker undead in a savage contest of raw flesh against bone. Marake had strictly forbidden his creations from utilizing any extraneous magical energy or protective auras, and Geon-woo had followed suit, commanding his five elite jiangshi to rely solely on their overwhelming physical force.
"You absolute worm! Your skills are not bad at all!" Marake shouted, his eyes widening in genuine admiration as he witnessed the jiangshi holding their own against his specialized berserkers. "But your success is fleeting. How much longer do you think your rabble can possibly withstand the weight of Death?"
Marake’s confidence remained unshaken, for even if his undead were not drawing on active spells, they still carried the inherent burden of the Death mind power they were born with. Every collision transmitted a wave of entropy into the jiangshi, a physical shock designed to rot them from the inside out. He was utterly convinced that victory was imminent; his berserkers embodied the power of a Duke, a level that mere Barons should find impossible to overcome, even with the assistance of the rival Growth aura.
Crack! Crunch! Boom! Boom!
"Crush them into the dirt!" Marake bellowed in excitement, noticing that the faint aura of Growth clinging to the jiangshi was finally beginning to fade. However, as the seconds ticked by, Marake witnessed a sight that defied every law of necromancy he knew.
The jiangshi, despite their spiritual defenses having supposedly crumbled, were not rotting. Instead, they were aggressively snapping the limbs of the berserker undead with terrifying precision.
"This is impossible! Their minds and defenses should have failed by now! How are they still standing?!" Marake shrieked, unable to comprehend how bare flesh could endure the touch of Death and counterattack with such devastating results.
"The art of the jiangshi was originally perfected to halt the decay of corpses and transport them across vast distances back to their ancestral homes," Geon-woo explained calmly, his voice steady amidst the carnage.
"The most fundamental requirement of their creation was to prevent any form of physical damage to the remains. In the end, the jiangshi originated from a foundation of absolute, enhanced durability, and through centuries of constant evolution, they have reached this current, perfected form."
Geon-woo gestured toward his elite warriors as they continued their methodical dismantling of the berserkers. "What they have attained is the state of being Indestructible, a physical trait that exists on par with your mental mind powers. To be precise, it is a form of state preservation or fixation that is far beyond the scope of simple durability."
"And you truly believe that will let them withstand my power forever?" Marake challenged, grinding his teeth in a fury that was quickly turning into panic.
"Not just that," Geon-woo replied with a cold smirk. "They are also far tougher than your mindless berserkers will ever be."
While the two leaders argued, the energy from the trees summoned by Sulryeong continued to spread, reducing Marake’s lesser undead to harmless powder upon contact. Marake scanned his rapidly deteriorating surroundings and let out a series of choppy, manic bursts of laughter. The tide had turned, and he knew he had to resort to his ultimate measure.
He thrust his black skull staff forward, and a violent vortex of dark energy erupted, but rather than targeting Geon-woo, the black whirlpool began to suck in Marake’s own disciples. Their screams filled the air as they were dragged into the mid-air vortex, with only the three strongest marquess-level students remaining behind to form a triangular formation around the center.
"You talk of being indestructible? What nonsense!" Marake roared. "Prepare yourself for my ultimate creation, infused with every shred of power I possess!"
From the black vortex emerged a nearly twenty-meter-tall behemoth with three pairs of massive arms. The giant was flayed of its skin, revealing writhing dark-red muscles, and its skull was adorned with the three faces of the disciples it had just swallowed whole. The monster immediately charged, intent on pulverizing the elite jiangshi in its massive grasp.
Sunryeong and Changryeong were caught in the giant's squeeze, and bone-cracking sounds filled the clearing. But Geon-woo remained undisturbed, for he knew that the cracking bones weren't coming from his jiangshi, but from the giant's own hands as they failed to crush their targets.
Geon-woo ordered his warriors to keep the giant occupied while he himself closed the distance to Marake. He kicked off the air, his aura erupting as he moved with a speed that startled the necromancer.
"The Tebrus school's primary tactic is to overwhelm the enemy with sheer volume," Geon-woo mocked. "But your numbers game is worthless against me. Look around you—your immense army has melted away, and your final giant is flailing about helplessly against my elite guards."
Marake could no longer ignore the truth. "This Indestructible trait... is that truly the root of your power?"
"Exactly," Geon-woo confirmed, drawing his sword. "It is the foundational trait born from the very origin of the jiangshi. Everything in this world has a root, and my warriors have cultivated theirs to a degree you cannot comprehend. Now, why don't you experience it yourself? I’ll even help you."
Geon-woo charged, and the two clashed in a blur of steel and dark energy. Every time Marake’s staff blocked the sword, a cloud of corrosive Death energy engulfed Geon-woo.
"Corrosion and dissolution," Geon-woo noted, standing utterly unscathed within the black mist. "Your corrosion is overwhelmingly potent, but I am the master of a body that embodies only the advantages of the jiangshi. My own indestructibility is in a realm far above yours."
Marake panicked, realizing he was facing the pinnacle of this ancient art. "Just die already!" Geon-woo suddenly roared, explosively unleashing a torrent of Growth mind power that was amplified by Sullyeong, Dokryeong, and Gwonryeong, who had encircled the necromancer in perfect synchronization.
Marake’s body began to disintegrate into powder along with his robes. He reached out a hand toward Geon-woo in a final, futile gesture, but his bones were bared before his entire form scattered like dust on the wind. All that remained was his black skull staff standing alone in the dirt.
Geon-woo gazed at the skull atop the upright staff and spoke to it as if it were still a living person.
"How about that? It stings quite a bit, doesn't it?"