Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Shepalt's Surprise Appearance
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At Geon-woo's words.
= You fools!
The black skull at the end of the staff flashed its deep green glow, glaring at the giant.
It was because the giant had missed the three jiangshi that had emerged from the dome and surrounded Marake.
Without those jiangshi's support, Geon-woo's [Growth] wouldn't have driven Marake to oblivion.
"Take it out on the kids, why don't you."
Geon-woo chided the black skull.
= You've known about my existence from the start?
The black skull turned its gaze to Geon-woo and asked.
"I'm pretty sensitive to evil spirits, you see. I've mastered a technique that controls souls."
= So that's how you noticed I was here.
"With a soul stuffed inside that skull head, how could I not?"
= Most people wouldn't. Knowing would be the weird part.
"That's just for idiots like Marake."
= Aren't you afraid of me? Why are you so calm—how do you plan to handle me?
The black skull asked, as if unable to comprehend Geon-woo.
"Fight right off the bat? Without even introducing yourself?"
= Why introduce yourself to a guy who's about to die? But seriously, are you sure you can handle me?
"What's so hard about it? I'll just do what I've been doing."
= What? Do what you've been doing?
"I've sized you up, and no matter how hard you try, you won't be able to do a thing to me."
= You're banking on that Indestructible of yours?
"And you think you can break my Indestructible?"
= Hmmm.
The black skull couldn't answer Geon-woo's sharp retort easily.
Marake had summoned the giant and still failed to crack a mere minion's Indestructible.
On top of that, hadn't this Geon-woo bastard calmly withstood the [Death] that even a duke-level like Marake had unleashed directly?
In this situation, the black skull couldn't confidently claim its own [Death] would yield better results.
"You'll find out once we clash. Hold on a sec."
Seeing the black skull falter without a reply, its green glow flickering, Geon-woo said that.
Then, following Dokryeong, Sulryeong, and Gwonryeong—who had supported the attack on Marake—he summoned Gongryeong and Sunryeong to the giant's battlefield as well.
In that way, the five jiangshi took positions with Geon-woo, encircling the black skull staff from six directions.
= What are you planning?
The black skull swiveled its head, checking Geon-woo and the jiangshi, and asked.
"Gonna give you the same experience Marake had."
Answering the black skull's question, Geon-woo unleashed Henesis's [Growth] mind power.
The [Growth] power extended from Geon-woo's hand like a searchlight beaming in one direction, piercing the black skull.
= You think a mere marquis-level power can take me down?
But even under Geon-woo's attack, the black skull showed no sign of threat, acting all leisurely.
That leisure, however, only lasted until the five jiangshi joined in after Geon-woo.
Pajijijik! Psss, pasasak!
= Th-this... Amplification?
The black skull was startled as the [Growth] power surging from six directions ground its skull body to dust.
And it quickly pinpointed the root cause of the phenomenon.
= No, wait! This is fusion. How can you fuse mind powers? I've never heard of a magic circle like this?
Even as nearly half its body disintegrated, the black skull was curious about how Geon-woo had fused the [Growth] mind power.
"You'll be recovering for a while, so use that time to puzzle it out. Who knows, you might figure something out."
Geon-woo just sneered at the black skull, refusing to satisfy its curiosity.
It had already caught on that he'd pooled strength with the five jiangshi—what more was there to reveal?
Kugung! Kuooh! Puuhwak!
"Ah, looks like that's over there too."
While he'd been locked in a staring contest with the black skull, the giant was collapsing.
With five jiangshi pulled away to face the black skull, leaving only four, the elite guard jiangshi had severed the giant's neck.
= What an unpleasant end. But we'll meet again.
"Yeah. Never thought I'd see an evil spirit my spirit control technique couldn't touch. And you seem unaffected by the seal spread around us too."
The evil spirit dwelling in the black skull had been beyond the reach of Geon-woo's Cheonnoe Bunsim Je-ryeong Gangsi-gong.
Moreover, that evil spirit apparently ignored the Tebrus school seal Marake had deployed.
In its current state, there was no way to capture the black skull's evil spirit.
= Hmm, feels like there's more going on, but I don't think you'll lose. Ah, those outside—I had no idea about them.
The black skull insisted it was uninvolved with Marake's seal or the movements beyond it.
And with that, the black skull's collapse accelerated rapidly.
"Hope next time I see you, you're in your true form. That's the only way we can have a proper go."
Geon-woo sensed the black skull could hold out no longer and bid it farewell.
No way to catch it now, so all he could do was promise a rematch.
Besides, with those forcing their way through Marake's seal, he couldn't afford to focus on the black skull anymore.
Pasussusu!
Ururung! Kwaddduk! Kwaddudduk!
As the black skull's last bone fragment scattered like ash and the upright staff crumbled to dust.
The Tebrus seal isolating the battlefield from the outside shattered, and the entire field flipped as if struck by a massive earthquake.
"Hmm? A familiar aura."
Geon-woo recognized who was shaking the ground as they breached the seal.
"You scum! Finally, we meet."
"Shepalt?!"
It was Shepalt, a marquis of the Demon Helpharis clan.
"What a pathetic sight. Sneaking in from behind like that's your big plan. Like a mangy hyena that got kicked. Where'd you toss that noble air from before?"
Shepalt emerged by breaking Marake's seal.
But what greeted him was Geon-woo's biting mockery.
It mocked him for watching Geon-woo and Marake fight, only showing up late.
"Hmm."
Shepalt, who had entered triumphantly, hesitated at the sight of Geon-woo and the elite guard jiangshi.
He had confirmed Tebrus's powerhouse had trapped Geon-woo.
And he'd waited until fierce clashes erupted inside the seal multiple times.
That should have inflicted heavy damage, whether on Tebrus's disciple or Earth's lowly scum.
Yet no Tebrus goons in sight, and the Earth guy glaring at him unscathed.
Something was seriously off.
Shepalt glanced at the gap in the seal he'd broken through.
Geon-woo clicked his tongue at the sight.
"Tsk. Unbelievable. Back on Earth, you acted all lofty and aristocratic, but now you look like a rat peeking from its hole."
Kurrurung! Kuguguguk!
Geon-woo mocked Shepalt like that while manipulating the earth to form a dome trapping Shepalt and himself.
"Hmph! Think I'll just stand by?"
Shepalt hurriedly drew up his power, shaking the ground in response.
It was Earthquake, the wide-area attack Shepalt favored.
"Grk, not bad?"
Geon-woo frowned, feeling his telekinetic hold on the earth tear under Shepalt's mana.
"You should give up. You can't block it with your skills."
Now Shepalt sneered at Geon-woo.
He had confirmed his superiority in earth-based combat.
Geon-woo's telekinesis softly enveloped and finely manipulated the ground, whereas Shepalt's Earthquake involved condensed, explosive mana operation.
When the two clashed, Shepalt had the edge.
It was like a builder trying to construct clashing with a demolisher.
"The mind power in it is unique. Vibration?"
Though Shepalt gloated over his advantage and mocked Geon-woo, Geon-woo focused on the mind power embedded in Shepalt's attack.
"Plenty have underestimated vibrations and paid for it. You see my mind power as a joke too?"
"Matchups exist, sure, but no mind power is to be taken lightly, whatever the type. However..."
"However?"
"No matter what mind power you've got, coming in here was the wrong choice."
With that, Geon-woo directed Sulryeong.
At his command, Sulryeong grew trees from the tangled mess of earth.
Dudududuk! Deudeudeuduk!
"Useless effort."
Shepalt tried to trigger another quake at the sight.
But.
Kakang! Piiing! Kagagakang!
Seomryeong struck from behind using blinks, and Gungryeong loosed arrows.
Then Ssangryeong followed with flashy sword strikes.
Shepalt couldn't find an opening to properly unleash Earthquake amid the relentless jiangshi assaults that gave him no breathing room.
In the meantime, Sulryeong's trees overturned everything around.
Kagagak! Kagak!
"These pathetic things dare!"
Shepalt blocked the jiangshi attacks with nimble movements unfit for his 3-meter giant frame.
But he could endure at most three jiangshi's assaults.
As Dokryeong's green poison mist rolled in, Shepalt's momentum crumbled in an instant.
"You cowardly bastard!"
"Shut your crap. You're the one who tried backstabbing—cowardly my ass! Hypocrite much?"
"Wh-what...?"
"Whatever! Just die here!"
Geon-woo ignored Shepalt's protests and passed his death sentence.
"Can't fathom what you were thinking, showing up so unprepared."
Watching the elite guard jiangshi charge at Shepalt, Geon-woo couldn't help but wonder.
The entrance was unexpected enough, but his follow-through was sorely lacking.
"Were you really banking on me and Marake beating each other bloody? Or just going off my level from Earth?"
That level would have seemed laughable back then.
But he should've considered Geon-woo's growth potential after ascending to a higher dimension.
That's why it had come to this.
"Puhwak! Kulk! Kulk!"
As Geon-woo pointed out his recklessness, Shepalt spat blood and staggered.
He'd been poisoned by Dokryeong's deadly venom.
"I-I definitely filtered out the mind power—how?"
Shepalt stared at Geon-woo with hollow eyes and asked.
"You don't get it? Your mind power canceled out Dokryeong's [Growth], but stripping the [Growth] doesn't make deadly poison any less poisonous."
"A mere normal poison harming my body? Kulk!"
Shepalt seemed unable to believe that poison stripped of mind power was killing him.
"Your [Vibration] scattered by Sulryeong's [Growth] is plenty neutralized too. Our Dokryeong's poison is that potent—even comparable to mind power."
"Th-that's ridiculous... Kulk! Kulk! Uweok!"
Shepalt's eyes widened in disbelief before he coughed up blood and doubled over.
Then Seomryeong's sword fell on his neck.
Seok! Tuduk!
"Kuhuhuhu. Fun, getting done in like this."
Yet Shepalt's severed head, tumbling to the dirt, rolled a few times, stopped facing Geon-woo, and spoke.
Geon-woo furrowed his brow at the sight.
"Not going down easy, huh?"
"A body ruling the spirit realm can't afford long excursions. So I made a clone."
"Figured as much? Guess I've just handed you my intel this time."
Geon-woo glared at Shepalt's head, displeased with the turn of events.
"I was too hasty this round. Something to reflect on."
"Calling it a rain check?"
"We were never on friendly terms anyway."
"Hm."
Geon-woo gave a short nod at Shepalt's words.
Shepalt's mind was linked to the clone's head, but he couldn't breach it.
Like the black skull's evil spirit he'd let go for lack of a way to handle it, Shepalt's mind was untouchable for now.
So once again, it was a deferral.
'I can't just dig into Henesis's [Growth]. Need to steadily refine Cheonnoe Bunsim Je-ryeong Gangsi-gong too.'
If there were many handling souls and minds like this, countermeasures were essential—that was Geon-woo's resolve.