Chapter 501: The Wound
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 501: The Wound
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
The ice continued to shatter. The frozen cage Celicia had reinforced with magic couldn't impede the withered old man for even a second.
He remained seated on that old prayer mat. With a mere shudder of his shoulders, the surrounding ice instantly disintegrated. The countless flying shards became like thrown concealed weapons, tearing through the cold wind as they shot toward the two of them.
Celicia’s eyes flickered. The sharp ice shards ground to a halt just inches from her. As one who possessed the Divine Blessing of the Blizzard Goddess, these shards were still under her control.
He’s intentionally shattering the ice to drain her stamina... No.
As a Crowned, Indra King didn't need to overthink things when facing the two of them. To him, his previous action was likely as casual as an ordinary person brushing dust off their shoulder.
Does an ordinary person care if the dust they brush away happens to endanger a passing insect?
Of course not.
And now, Indra King had raised a hand. That was his true opening move!
"Get ready to bolt."
Just as Celicia was pondering how to counter this move, she suddenly heard a voice—lowered intentionally through Fighting Spirit so that only she could hear it.
"I’ll find an opening."
The voice remained steady, as if the predicament before them was something its owner was well-accustomed to. However, Celicia could clearly detect a hint of grim resolve within it.
Of course he was resolved. When facing a genuine Crowned, if one didn't have the courage to risk their life, how could they ever find that incredibly slim chance of success?
Before Celicia could say anything, the solid back in front of her had already charged forward.
*
Though he hadn't hesitated, Muen couldn't help but feel a trace of bitterness in his heart.
He and Celicia had been cautious enough throughout this journey. They had hidden, used various moves, deployed all sorts of items, and conducted numerous probes.
They had gone through immense hardship, unraveling the layers of deception one by one to finally reach this place, thinking they would finally see what they wanted to see.
But no one could have imagined that those people would be insane enough to station a Crowned here!
Perhaps he should have realized it a bit sooner; after all, he knew the relationship between Indra King and those people.
But hindsight was 20/20, and nothing he said now could change what had already happened.
Therefore...
He had to risk his life again.
Muen gave a soft sigh. His downcast eyes suddenly snapped open, and within his azure pupils, there was no longer a trace of fear or hesitation.
Yes, it was time to put his life on the line again.
But... it was just risking his life. Wasn't he already used to such things?
You, Indra King, want to reclaim your dignity through me? Well, there’s a long line of people who want to kill me to save face, and you haven't even reached the front yet!
Thump!
A low rumble echoed within Muen’s body.
It sounded like the distant, ancient tolling of a bell.
The Alchemy Core instantly ramped up to maximum output. His back felt scorching hot, as if it were about to burst into flames.
The Mana throughout his body began to converge toward his back; he even stopped maintaining his Illumination Spell.
But right then...
Thump.
A second low rumble sounded. The second Alchemy Core began to operate without reservation.
Back in the Lost Homeland, his second Alchemy Core had already been unsealed, but this was the first time he was pushing it to its absolute limit.
Consequently, an even more terrifying Time Dilation was applied to his body. Sixty-fold... seventy-fold... eighty-fold! Everything around him slowed down further. The flying ice shards now looked like prop bullets in a slow-motion film.
The more extreme Time Dilation placed an even heavier burden on Muen’s body. Every joint let out an overwhelmed groan under the force of his fully contracted muscles.
Muen gritted his teeth. A precious Magic Stone he had hidden in his mouth shattered, replenishing his rapidly depleting Mana in a crude fashion as he charged straight at Indra King.
The changes in his body seemed to happen in stages, but in reality, it all occurred in an instant—especially under the Time Dilation of the Eternal Clock.
Thus, when Muen flashed in front of Indra King, the old man’s hand had only just begun to rise.
"Eh?"
Indra King’s dull eyes flickered. He seemed to sense some sort of interference that caused his movements to slow down slightly.
The interference was broken in an instant, but Muen was already before him.
So close.
Indra King remained expressionless as he lightly turned his palm over.
It was just a single palm strike.
In an instant, the entire space seemed to freeze. The massive pressure made Muen feel as if he had been plunged into the deep sea, ten thousand meters down. Terrifying pressure crushed his body from every direction once again.
Indra King was clearly just sitting there, a skinny figure beneath tattered robes, yet at this moment, his silhouette seemed to magnify infinitely. That hand also grew to an infinite size, gradually suppressing him within its reach. No matter how fast he was, there was nowhere to run.
But Muen had already charged into his face—how could he possibly be thinking of running?
Indra King frowned slightly.
From the sensation in his palm, he felt that what he was suppressing wasn't just a person, but other foreign objects as well.
He looked up and saw that those objects were...
Several expensive Alchemy Bombs.
Boom!
The deafening explosion nearly pierced his eardrums, yet it was instantly crushed by an invisible force. It vanished like a fleeting spark, failing to cause even the slightest ripple.
But in that moment where Indra King was slightly distracted by the expensive Alchemy Bombs...
A blade light flared once more.
It was like the first light of dawn rising from endless darkness.
Within the pure white blade, the active Living Spirit let out an excited hum. A holy radiance blossomed from it, like the Karmic Fire that burned sinners.
The acceleration gained from Time Dilation was forcibly broken by Indra King’s unreasonable "Force," but that was enough.
In the instant Muen’s figure stalled, the blade in his hand had already swung out.
The infinite Stacked Force accumulated in that moment transformed into a single, concentrated line of blade energy.
Blood splattered.
Only a few drops.
Indra King silently lowered his head.
On his palm, which was already covered in scars, a new wound was now clearly visible.
It was incredibly jarring.
Muen was also stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting that he would actually succeed. However, he still grinned and spat:
"Damn, why is the wound so small? I thought I could take your whole head off."
Indra King remained expressionless.
But Muen could clearly feel the storm-like killing intent erupting from that withered body!
"No way, no way... are you actually flying into a rage out of shame?"
Muen continued to utilize his peerless taunting ability—the kind that even an Evil God couldn't stand:
"How does it feel to be bitten by an ant? Didn't you want to get your dignity back? Heh, looks like instead of getting it back, you’ve lost even more of it. I’m really looking forward to the news spreading... the great Indra King, actually wounded by a martial artist who isn't even Fourth-Tier. I wonder what the world will..."
BOOM—
His words were cut short, shredded by a howling, violent wind pressure.
Though his palm was injured, the momentum of Indra King’s strike did not falter. In fact... it became even more ferocious.
Visible to the naked eye, the space in front of Muen began to show signs of distortion, like a transparent membrane being crushed by external force. Although the palm hadn't even touched Muen yet, the terrifying power caused his vision to go black.
He only had time to cross his twin blades in a defensive posture before his chest.
But the pure white twin blades were meant for offense and possessed almost no defensive capabilities. Their peerless sharpness and Alchemy Domain were useless here; he essentially had to tank it with his physical body.
He lost all sensation in his arms. He didn't know if the bones were broken, but his chest had caved in to a visible degree. The sound of his ribs snapping was like burning bamboo, popping repeatedly.
As Muen was sent flying backward, his throat turned sweet, and he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood mixed with bits of flesh from some unknown organ.
He really did fly into a rage.
The intense pain and severe injuries made Muen’s consciousness blur, but he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
This was the price he had to pay for his taunting. But fortunately, Indra King’s rage-fueled attack did indeed create a loophole to exploit, didn't it?
In that case, the ever-intelligent her would surely...
"Foolish."
The cool voice was as steady as ever. Simultaneously, Muen felt himself crash into a soft embrace. Gentle Mana probed into his body, helping him expel the external forces that were still ravaging his form.
The pressure from Indra King eased significantly as another person shared the burden, but Muen’s heart, which had just settled, leaped into his throat again. Ignoring his injuries, he snapped his head back:
"Why are you still here? Didn't you understand what I meant earlier?"
"Do I need to listen to you?"
Celicia’s face was cold, her voice icy. "What is your status to be ordering me around?"
"It wasn't an order, I meant—"
"Shut up!"
The sudden rise in her voice made Muen’s words falter. He stared blankly at Celicia, realizing that although her beautiful face remained unchanged even in the face of a life-and-death crisis, he could detect a flicker of genuine fury deep within her lake-like eyes.
Is she... angry?
Celicia was also looking at the wretched, blood-soaked Muen in her arms, her full chest heaving slightly.
Utterly foolish. A martial artist who isn't even Fourth-Tier actually dares to charge a Crowned head-on. Do you think you’re a cockroach with tenacious vitality, able to keep bouncing around after being swatted a few times?
With guts this big, no wonder you dare to go around flirting and fooling around everywhere.
Celicia took a deep breath, quickly suppressing the emotional fluctuation. She returned to her cold, frozen indifference.
"You wounded him just now?" Celicia suddenly asked.
"Yeah," Muen gave a weak, bitter smile. "But the wound isn't big. It doesn't even count as a superficial injury."
"..."
Unable to worry about anything else for the moment, Celicia narrowed her beautiful eyes, her gaze landing on Indra King’s palm.
It was just as Muen said; the wound was negligible. At most, it was the kind of thing that might scare a small child. It didn't even qualify as a flesh wound.
However...
A glint flashed deep in Celicia’s eyes, as if she had realized something. Her pale blue pupils, which were a very similar shade to Muen’s, suddenly grew profound.
"Hold me tight," she said coldly.