Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: The Stone Sentinels
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Surprisingly, the statues that had been facing forward were now turned toward the altar.
It seemed they had turned around while I was examining the sword.
I was curious about the cause of this strange phenomenon, but I had no intention of investigating.
'This feels incredibly ominous... Surely they're not targeting me, right?'
I cautiously sidled to the side.
Just in case the knight statues were simply looking at the altar.
But that hope was shattered to pieces.
Scrape! Shhhk!
Every time I took a step, the menacing statues changed their direction.
Moreover, they weren't just spinning in place anymore; they now shot out crimson glares from their eyes.
"Hey, are you kidding me? This is hundreds against one. Talk about unfair. Come at me one at a time!"
I shouted, but of course, it was completely useless.
Creek! Craaack!
The things began to perform strange movements in unison.
This is like...
"Are they... warming up?"
Amazingly, the knight statues were loosening their bodies while glaring at me.
I let out a hollow laugh, having never been in a situation like this before, but their movements soon ended.
Soon, they all drew their stone swords in the same posture.
Grrrrrind! Clunk!
But perhaps because the weapons were so old, the blades wouldn't come out of their scabbards.
They seemed to be pulling quite hard, but all I could hear was a scraping sound.
"That's it! Their weapons are too old to be drawn!"
Cheering inwardly, I launched a surprise attack with the Black Dragon Sword at the nearest statue.
Swish—!
As the subtle gray aura shot out, the statue raised its weapon, scabbard and all, in a defensive stance.
However, Heaven-Severing Flash was a technique powerful enough to slice through steel like pudding.
It held a power that couldn't be blocked by a mere stone club.
Of course, the statue's weapon wasn't just a simple lump of rock.
Clang! Craaack!
It seemed to withstand the first impact without issue, but on the second, it snapped in the middle.
Seeing this, the other statues simultaneously put down their stone swords.
Then, they suddenly plunged their hands into their own abdomens.
A moment later, each of them was holding a new, gleaming sword.
"I should have beaten them up when they were unarmed!"
Though dumbfounded by the rather bewildering scene, I finished off the first one completely.
I unleashed Heaven-Severing Flash repeatedly, blowing its head off.
But an even more surprising thing happened next.
"Hmph!"
As I was about to pass by the dead one, I reflexively rolled on the ground.
A terrifying killing intent had stimulated my senses.
Whooosh!
Sure enough, the broken stone sword, scabbard and all, grazed the top of my head.
"Whoa! What is this?"
Amazingly, the statue was moving perfectly fine without its head.
But, on second thought, this was a natural outcome.
A moving statue was nonsensical from the start, wasn't it?
So it would be just as ridiculous for it to be immobilized just because its head was gone.
'Right. I shouldn't be thinking about this with common sense.'
Quickly composing myself, I kicked the statue's torso and rammed a Heaven-Severing Flash into its abdomen.
Thud-thud-thud!
The fortunate thing was that, perhaps because its head was gone, it had completely lost its sense of direction.
This makes it easy to deal with.
"I can just toss it over there."
Slice! Crack!
I dodged an attack from a nearby statue and swiftly cut off its head.
Then, I kicked it toward the center of the group.
Clang! Thud!
And then something amazing happened.
The statues started getting battered by the attacks of their comrade, which couldn't distinguish between friend and foe.
'This might not be as hard as I thought.'
I smirked and darted around the outer edges of the chamber.
I had to keep moving as much as possible to avoid being surrounded.
But this trick was soon neutralized as their tactics changed.
Sssss! Thump! Thud!
"What's this now?"
The statues' skin began to half-melt, and they soon started to merge into one.
A moment later, the hundreds of statues had become two giant knight figures.
In that moment, I was reminded of the Tetra Manus I had seen in the Forest of the Dead.
They weren't on horseback and didn't have four arms, but their intimidating presence was even greater than back then.
"I think... I'm screwed."
One would be bad enough, but two of these Four-Armed Knight-like things...
Even having perfected Heaven-Severing Annihilation, they were clearly not going to be easy opponents.
If I tried to take one down, the other would support it from the side.
'This is troublesome.'
I didn't want to, but I had no choice but to face them.
There was no way to escape right now.
Kaboom! KABOOM!
"Blocking the entrance is a dirty move!"
I expressed my displeasure while dodging the attack of the one that came at me.
Of course, that didn't make these lumps of rock open up an escape route.
While frantically running away, I looked for an opportunity to counterattack.
I wanted to get the one actively attacking and the one blocking the entrance to line up.
That way, I could use Heaven-Severing Annihilation without them being able to coordinate.
'But why are they so smart?'
However, such a situation almost never occurred.
Perhaps because their coordination was more skilled than I expected, no opportunity arose.
But then, another surprising thing happened.
KWHAAANG! THUD! Ch-ch-ch-ch!
The statue at the front struck the wall right next to the altar, and something shiny poured out.
Hidden gold and jewels were accidentally discovered.
It wasn't a huge amount, but it was enough to fill one of the chests I'd seen in the Bronze Tyrant King's tomb.
"Ooooh! I knew I smelled money. My instincts are never wrong!"
I let out a cheer, forgetting that the giant statues were targeting me.
But for now, I didn't have the time to collect the treasure.
With enemy attacks pouring down, it would be difficult to move something so heavy.
But who am I?
A true man who makes the impossible possible.
Wasn't I a man of influence who once dominated an era?
"Still, I can't lose the treasure!"
Swoosh! Claaaaang!
Unleashing Heaven-Severing Demonic Moon, I deflected the giant statue's attack far to the side.
If I had left it alone, the pillar-like sword would have struck the chest.
I couldn't let those beautiful works of art be smashed.
Tat-tat-tat! Clunk!
I quickly closed the lid and lifted the treasure chest.
Its considerable weight made it difficult to balance, but a mere hardship like this couldn't break my will.
"Woohoo!"
Kaboom! Thud!
The giant statue's attacks rained down continuously, but I hopped around and dodged them all.
Thump!
After moving the chest to a safe spot behind the altar, I deliberately ran to the opposite side.
Finally, I was able to protect the treasure from the statues.
"Ah! But don't misunderstand and think I'm some guy crazy for money. It's just that I'm the type to enjoy a little adversity."
The opponent couldn't hear me anyway, but I shrugged and bantered nonchalantly.
There's a saying that if you have even a little leeway, you should use it to the fullest.
Who on earth would say such a thing, you ask?
"This great man, of course!"
I swung the Black Dragon Sword left and right, awakening my Demonic Soul.
With a strange sound, numerous gray orbs spread out in all directions.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!
However, the Heaven-Severing Myriad Spirits I unleashed today had a distinctly different feel from usual.
The battle with the Four-Armed Knight had unexpectedly taught me many things.
The small enlightenment I gained from it extended even to Heaven-Severing Myriad Spirits.
I felt that now I could perfectly combine the fourth form of the Heaven-Severing Nine Harmony Sword, Heaven-Severing Myriad Thunder, and Dark Chain Kill.
'There are no more incomplete techniques.'
The gray orbs that spread in all directions began to surround the giant statue.
Before, they would have shot out chaotically, but now there was a distinct pattern.
Instead of firing them off quickly as I pleased, I adjusted their direction and spacing so they would converge naturally.
'Yes. This is it. Naturalness.'
Forcing subtlety into swordsmanship only created a sense of disharmony.
I applied the enlightenment I gained while perfecting Heaven-Severing Annihilation to Heaven-Severing Myriad Spirits.
As a result, the gray orbs deployed perfectly without the slightest loss of energy.
Having seized control of the space, I thrust the Black Dragon Sword forward, my eyes gleaming.
Heaven-Severing Myriad Spirits.
Cra-cra-cra-cra-crack!
Hundreds of gray orbs rushed toward the giant statue, setting off a chain reaction.
Their power continued to amplify as they did.
"An opening."
At that very moment, I shot toward the opponent like an arrow.
The first statue was hit the most by Heaven-Severing Myriad Spirits, but it wasn't my target.
My target was the statue in the rear, the one blocking the entrance and playing a supporting role.
The Black Dragon Sword was aimed at that one.
'Heaven-Severing Demonic Moon is enough for this one.'
Swish!
Since its body was already sealed by Heaven-Severing Myriad Spirits, the sword strike landed squarely on the giant statue's neck.
As befitting a technique fully fused with assassination arts, the sound of it cutting through the air was faint.
But its power was anything but faint.
CLAAAAANG!
Struck by the powerful aura of Heaven-Severing Demonic Moon, the giant statue shuddered once and stopped moving.
A moment later, its head rolled weakly to the side.
'Good. Now if I just provoke it a little in this state?'
I approached the headless one, launched a sword strike, and quickly dodged away.
Suddenly, a battle to the death began between the two statues.
CRASH! CRAAASH!
They unleashed tremendous sword strikes at each other.
"Go get 'em. Go get 'em. Go get 'em."
Keeping a safe distance, I wiggled my butt and sent them my heartfelt cheers.
A short while later, the movements of the one whose head had fallen off came to a halt.
It seemed its combat power had decreased since it couldn't see.
'Time to wrap this up.'
Exuding a menacing glare, I began to approach the last statue, which had turned its head.
"I'm the one who defeated Tetra Manus. How dare some old stone statue challenge me!"
Swish! KRA-CHING—!
Augmented by the profound power of the Demonic Soul, my sword strike finally pierced through the opponent's chest.
Then, as if its very existence was being denied, more than half of the statue's body crumbled into dust.
"But can statues even get old?"
Who cares? I won, and that's what matters.
Shrugging my shoulders, I whistled and walked toward the altar.
It was to retrieve the treasure chest I had placed behind it.
Then, I happened to look up at the altar and stopped in my tracks.
The three-dimensional magic circle that had enveloped the sword was gone.
"Ah, I can't resist this."
I climbed onto the altar and reached for the sword floating in mid-air.
Perhaps because the magic circle had disappeared, there was no resistance at all.
Clasp!
But, just as my hand passed through the black mist and grasped the hilt...
—Kekeke! You've finally come.
A voice like a thunderclap from a clear sky echoed through my mind.