Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: The Descent of the King
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I've completed ten years of enthronement ten times. And perhaps Seonheon won't fall.
Then, what should we do?
A creaking sound echoed through the space we stood in, cracks slowly spiderwebbing across it.
From those cracks, a chorus rang out. Thousands, tens of thousands of voices singing as one, fervent with fanaticism.
The pristine walls were fracturing because of that fervent chorus, laced with palpable madness. "— The King comes! The King comes! The one and only in all the heavens. The true King who brooks no second comes!" "— Destroyer of the Earth! The Sole One! Sovereign over all creation! Be eternal and undying!" "— The manifested omnipotence clad in dragon robes and crown. A voice like thunder, eyes harboring flames." Slowly, the walls enveloping this space crumbled away. The chorus grew ever clearer. "— The Commander. At one step, heaven and earth tremble; at a glance, all things kneel!" The other hunters hardened their expressions at the overwhelming chorus. But I just muttered that I wished this racket would end soon.
"So, can't you make a grenade out of a pinecone or something?"
Some infamous fatass from around the world had supposedly done something like that.
"Don't get all tense for no reason..."
As I started to say more, the walls surrounding our space finally collapsed. "— Prostrate and acclaim! Offer tribute and bow your heads! Before the one you now face, render all courtesy and honor that all things in the world can offer!" "— Announce afar and gaze upon! Salute and admire, bow and prostrate! The one you dare resent is the great King whom all in Gonsalok revere and deeply bow to!" "— That name, so sacred it feels profane even to utter!" ⟨ Naryun ⟩ Every word connoting reverence erupted endlessly with the symphony. The interminable aria stretched on, then gradually faded.
Then, lightning crashed from the heavens.
Where it struck stood a massive chariot carved from red gold, white jade, ivory, and ebony. Thankfully, it wasn't some modern tank with thick armor and cannons—it was an ancient chariot drawn by horses.
Eight horses pulled it: dark blue coats, white manes, breathing sparks of lightning from their maws.
And atop it stood a man.
"You who face Us—why do you not observe propriety?"
His voice boomed, and the hunters staggered. His crushing presence nearly buckled their legs.
Whether the others collapsed or pissed themselves standing, I didn't care. What mattered was how strong this bastard we had to fight was.
Staring at him, I couldn't help but blurt out in disbelief.
"Fuck, why does a prick like that need bodyguards?"
Before... ten years ago by my reckoning, so the name escaped me, but I'd fought one of his guards.
That fucker was stronger. Hell, it was like a wolf guarding a tiger.
"Your vessel feels a bit empty."
Naryun, King of Gonsalok, fixed his gaze on me.
"Ah, so you're that Yoo Chan-seok or whatever. Because of you, my loyal vassals have met their ends."
"No need to be so grateful. You'll see them soon. Have a drink in hell when you reunite."
I gripped my spear and said it.
"Such spirit. I see they rated you highly. My vessel is empty, you say?"
"It's the truth."
Strong, but far from complete. I grinned.
An entity we could never beat in his original state.
Naryun, the core of Gonsalok, had grasped true immortality beyond the half-baked undeath of lesser undead. I knew it.
Burn the concept of death with Paradox Flame, and that's what happens.
True immortality is a double-edged sword—I hadn't tested it on myself, but I'd tried it on sparrows and deer a few times as experiments.
He was supposed to be unkillable.
Not like other undead who overcome death and revive—he'd obtained immortality where death couldn't even reach him.
"Looks like we did a damn good job."
But not anymore. His true immortality was gone, replaced by the incomplete undeath of common undead.
Just a one-time revival after overcoming death. Kill him again, and he's done.
"Because you ruined one of the feats We accomplished."
Yeah, even if we'd failed to protect Seonheon, we'd have faced Naryun—and lost for sure.
But now? It's possible. At least we can kill him. No chance versus low chance is worlds apart.
"So, you think you have a shot? It draws scorn unbidden."
With thunder, the horses pulling his chariot neighed in unison, muscles rippling.
"Here you will die, and your nation will meet the same end as countless others. Writhe and despair."
"Shut your corpse mouth, you talk too fucking much."
At that, Jang Tae-seok gripped his tonfa in both hands.
With a heavy engine roar, he launched like a human cannonball at Naryun's chariot.
"What fly is this?"
The majestic human shell Jang Tae-seok struck the composite sloped armor and ricocheted, tumbling across the ground.
"Hey, musclehead. You can't win solo."
Did he think that monster shell was just for show? I wrapped my spear in Paradox Flame and steadied my stance.
All ten of us had to go all-out, hammering like mad, just to find an opening.
Four massive pillars erupted from the ground. The others would need time to figure out what they were.
I called it immediately.
"1 o'clock pillar—Lee Se-eun! 5 o'clock—Choi Yeoreum! 8 o'clock—Sung Si-hoon! 11 o'clock—Kang Hoon! Smash them in three minutes or we're all dead. Everyone else, on the corpse king!"
"Ha, you're quite the piece of work."
I'd barked orders in a rush, but true to their title as Korea's top hunters, they reacted swiftly.
As four smashed pillars, the rest charged Naryun.
From his chariot radiated crimson crossbeams in a ⊽ shape, slowly rotating clockwise.
Immense power—brushing it meant losing a limb.
"You can all sense the mana levels!"
Lightning occasionally struck from the sky. But mana gathered first, making it easy to spot.
"Hya."
Naryun urged his chariot forward. The horses stamped and charged, neighing.
The crossbeams persisted as countless mana bolts scattered everywhere.
Ordinary hunters would die without knowing what hit them. But not this crew.
Dodging swirling mana bolts and spinning beams, four hunters demolished pillars while the rest assaulted the speeding chariot.
"Fucking tough."
What the hell was it made of? That damn chariot looked impressive, but its durability was insane.
We pounded it relentlessly, yet it held firm.
"What's that black flame doing?"
Sung Si-hoon asked me. Having seen it burn kinetic force before, he wanted Paradox Flame to do something.
"Without it, we can't keep up with the chariot's speed."
Only because Paradox Flame clung and burned did we match pace.
"So focus."
Taking it solo was brutally hard.
"Pillars incoming again. We need a dedicated pillar squad."
Assign the ones who'd just succeeded—prep for drops.
"Other hunters, restrict Naryun's movement while the four handle pillars."
The four needed full focus to barely smash on time.
"On the ground...!"
As charging Naryun pointed his curved sword at Jeong Oh-hoon, sinister red light flashed from the blade. A wide black mire formed under Jeong Oh-hoon's feet.
I analyzed the mana flow and amount, then shouted.
"That'll spawn four more times under feet! Long duration!"
Minimal movement—stack up to five mires overlapping. Otherwise, the whole field becomes quagmire, no footing.
It didn't just grab ankles.
"Yoo Chan-seok, how do you...?"
I snapped at Mugunghwa Team Leader Kim Chae-hyun's question.
"Ask after! No time now!"
Head spinning, and she's asking that? Massive mana gathered on the chariot, unleashing a gigantic lightning slash at us.
"I got this."
Han Sang-ah drew her sword and swung at the oncoming bolt. The wave-like lightning sucked into her blade upon contact.
As if her sword were a lightning rod.
She sheathed it fully charged, the scabbard trembling violently. With her next iaido draw, the now-obedient lightning whipped Naryun's chariot.
The eight divine steeds neighed in panic.
"Good, at least that attack's sealed."
"Any lightning, I'll counter as much as I can without overdoing it."
I nodded to Han Sang-ah. Meanwhile, Jeong Oh-hoon pulled gear from his subspace, firing something into the ground.
Bubbling foam hardened into a barrier. Deflating capsules shot wires that wove into nets.
Naryun's chariot smashed through, but slowed slightly.
That sliver mattered. In this fight, that deceleration decided if we landed a big hit.
In the gap Jeong Oh-hoon bought, five more strikes hammered the chariot.
"Did we all promise or something?"
Like proving experience and skill, our individual attacks converged perfectly.
On one wheel. Shatter it, and the chariot's like a man with severed Achilles—no good.
"Ground again. Careful. If targeted, back off far—stack mires max."
Why were these guys following me so obediently?
I realized with an "ah." Right—my stunt in Seoul before. Totally forgotten.
Guess that's why they saw me as de facto leader now. Lucky break.
If they'd whined about orders or informal speech, this tough spot would've been exhausting. ```