Chapter 100: Total Annihilation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 100: Total Annihilation
The strategy meeting concluded, and the black barrier vanished.
A female mage, a male mage, and a witch dressed in traditional Japanese miko attire took up positions in the far rear. In the center, three shield-bearers—including a female knight—formed a sturdy line, their forms bulked out by thick, heavy armor.
In front of them stood Subaru and Hashio, their arms crossed with practiced arrogance. Even at a glance, it was a well-balanced formation.
“We’ll let your side choose the battlefield,” Hashio said, his tone suggesting he was granting a great favor.
A list of maps appeared before Seo-un. He selected a circular arena, reminiscent of the Colosseum. Instantly, their surroundings blurred and shifted.
As the team members looked around, the sensation of teleportation still lingering, a notification rang out.
[Ding! There are players who wish to spectate this battle. Do you permit spectating?]
“We don’t mind, though it might be a bit embarrassing for your side,” Hashio provoked, immediately hitting the permission button.
Seo-un smirked. “We can’t be the only ones to enjoy the sight of you getting utterly crushed.”
The moment Seo-un pressed the button, players began to manifest in the arena’s spectator stands one by one. Among them were several faces Seo-un recognized.
There was Jeong Su-hwa from the Korean government, accompanied by agents in black suits. Opposite them sat the Resistance members, including Jeong Su-hee. Figures from China appeared as well, along with a significant number of foreign players from all over the globe.
“Quite a few players are paying attention. It seems they all came to see you. They’ll be quite disappointed by the waste of a trip once they realize how pointless this was.”
Seo-un clenched his fists as he listened to Hashio’s snide remarks. There was no need to endure it any longer. Soon, he would drive his Blood Bone Claw and Boundless Fist into that very face. Instead of replying, he simply savored the pleasant rush of adrenaline.
[10 seconds until the start of battle.]
With the announcement, a countdown appeared on the translucent barrier separating the two sides. The moment the final '1' turned to '0', the two formations, which had looked similar until then, moved in opposite directions.
Hashio’s team maintained their ground, preparing for a magical exchange, while Seo-un’s side broke formation and charged straight at the enemy.
A smirk began to form on Hashio’s face as he saw their coordination crumble, but his eyes soon widened in disbelief.
The single, young martial artist suddenly split into five. Then, the numbers multiplied until an uncountable horde of him swarmed toward them. It was impossible not to panic.
“W-What is that?!”
“It’s not an illusion-type spell!”
The female mage holding a staff shouted as she watched the clones, which now filled her entire field of vision, manifest spears of blue mana.
“Don’t panic! They’re just phantoms! Prepare your spells! Shielders, hold your ground!”
Several clones were swept away as they dodged the incoming magic.
“See! They’re just clones after all! Stay behind the line and prepare for the ones coming!”
Just as Hashio issued the order, his confidence returning, the two sides collided. Like a wave crashing over pebbles, the overwhelming number of Nam Sa-gwangs swamped Hashio’s team.
“Aaaargh!”
The arm of one of the three shielders protecting the mages flew into the air along with a blood-curdling scream.
“It’s Aura!”
Subaru, who had been slicing through the clones as if they were mist, rushed toward the Nam Sa-gwang who had manifested his Hand Aura. In that split second, the head of the knight whose arm had been severed hit the ground. It was a clean, natural execution.
Clang! Clang!
Even as the Hand Aura extending from Nam Sa-gwang’s hand clashed with Subaru’s flaming sword, the remaining clones continued to throw Hashio’s team into absolute chaos.
“It—It’s not a phantom...!!”
A mage, pushed back by another Nam Sa-gwang who had bypassed the shielders, couldn’t even finish her sentence before her head was crushed, her body collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut.
—Pull back!
As soon as two enemies were dead, Gi-chan’s order came through. Simultaneously, two Nam Sa-gwangs quickly retreated from the melee. At that moment, Gi-chan’s golden staff cut through the air.
Vvvvvvvvvvvvving!
A sharp, vibrating sound pierced their ears. As the sound rose to an ultrasonic pitch, a blue film flickered in and out of existence around Hashio’s formation.
“Damn it! It’s an Anti-Mana Wave!” the female mage cried out, staggering.
The witch staggered as well. She had been chanting fervently with her eyes closed, clutching a crystal ball, but the shock turned her face deathly pale.
Once again, Nam Sa-gwang multiplied like a plague, swarming Hashio’s party like a tide. The difference this time was that Li Min, Jin Long, and Li Lingwei were hidden among them.
“P-Poison! Detoxification magic!” the knight protecting the mages let out a desperate cry.
“You can’t use magic until your mana stabilizes! Drink a detoxification potion!”
“Y-You idiot! How can we in the middle of a fight—”
As the knight spoke, a trail of blood trickled from his eyes and ears, and he collapsed. The sight of him sprawled on the ground, limbs twitching in convulsions, was chilling.
With the second knight down, the mages were left almost completely defenseless. Subaru was occupied with Nam Sa-gwang, and Hashio was equally busy dealing with Seo-un, who had also transformed into Nam Sa-gwang.
All that remained were the female knight, the weakened witch, and the female mage.
—Hey, Nam Sa-gwang. If you don’t finish that guy off quickly, the women who are supposed to be your share will all die.
—Kill them! This guy is much more interesting right now.
It was impossible for the two weakened casters and the lone female knight to handle the six members of Seo-un’s team. As Juriel and Gi-chan rained down magic while a poisonous mist filled the air, the three women were forced to their knees in no time.
The female knight, who had held out until the end thanks to her high magic resistance, was eventually poisoned by Li Lingwei. The swords of Jin Long and Li Min pierced through the gaps in her armor, and she collapsed to the floor.
The spectators were stunned by how quickly the situation had tilted. Not only the Korean players but also those from Europe jumped to their feet in astonishment.
“H-How can there be such a massive gap?”
“I’ve never even heard of skills like those!”
Only the Chinese players watched the scene with composure.
“The difference in power is more distinct than I thought.”
“Even if they’re all Crowns, it was expected that there would be a qualitative difference compared to the Japanese players who only look for low-difficulty games.”
“Even so, Subaru’s items are impressive enough to bridge that gap.”
The man who had previously faced Seo-un replied indifferently to the woman who had taken off her sunglasses to film the fight.
“I saw this coming from that man’s relaxed demeanor. Those islanders were never his match to begin with. That man has completed an extremely low number of rounds. Before long, the power of Asia will be reorganized around him.”
“Isn’t that going too far? No matter how I look at it, that young martial artist’s power seems more overwhelming. He’s the one perfectly pinning Subaru down with that Hand Aura.”
The man shook his head, his eyes fixed on the battlefield.
“Foolish. Recruiting such a person into his Quad is entirely that man’s ability. Do you think a person of that caliber would join the Quad of someone they didn’t respect?”
The judgment of Bai Lun, a player and the head of the Chinese government’s ability user management team, was accurate. As a veteran who had experienced Cloyd 122 times, he was correctly identifying Seo-un’s true capabilities.
“Most guilds wouldn’t even be able to show their faces in front of that squad. Even a guild like Asia Seal would be easily handled by those eight, no matter how many truckloads of members they sent.”
Bai Lun significantly revised his plan to recruit Seo-un. A man who had built a regular squad of this level would never join a guild they were trying to create.
In contrast, players from other countries were shouting that they had to recruit Seo-un at any cost. The agents beside Jeong Su-hwa also looked at her with shocked expressions.
“T-Team Leader! That man is...”
“Don’t say another word. Not if you don’t want to make an enemy of him.”
Despite her sharp dismissal, the man couldn’t give up. “But to normalize the current situation...”
“This is an incident you and Kim Chi-sang started in the first place. Because of that, the relationship has soured to the point where we should be grateful he isn't our enemy. Do you really have the guts to spout nonsense in front of him now? Go ahead, if you can handle the consequences.”
“...”
The man fell silent as he watched Seo-un toy with Hashio, driving him away from his teammates.
“You bastard!!”
The transformation and cloning techniques had vanished as Seo-un’s Immortal Qi ran dry. Hashio was now facing Seo-un in his original form.
Clang!
Hashio had commissioned the best alchemists and artisans to craft the strongest sword in Japan using Mithril brought from Cloyd. Seeing Seo-un smirk while blocking the Black Blade Masamune—a weapon with top-tier options and twice-enhanced with stones—with his bare hands, Hashio’s face contorted.
Squelch!
The sword Hashio held with both hands wavered and went limp.
Thud.
Seo-un smiled brightly as he dropped a chunk of flesh he had torn from Hashio’s shoulder onto the ground.
“My mistake. I meant to pull it, but I ended up tearing it.”
Seeing Seo-un laugh while saying he had accidentally torn his shoulder, Hashio’s reason, which had been paralyzed by rage, finally returned. A terror greater than anger woke his senses.
Too much was at stake in this battle. But the shadow of defeat in this 'unloseable' fight was already unmistakably dark.
Instead of using his right arm, which wouldn't move, Hashio dropped the sword in his left hand and threw a coin at Seo-un. The moment Seo-un instinctively caught the coin, a notification rang out.
[Ding! A request for a draw has been received. Will you accep—]
Clink!
Seo-un tossed the coin away before the notification could even finish.
“Your tricks are top-notch, just like a typical islander.”
“L-Let’s talk for a moment! It won’t be a bad deal. We, Japan, will use our full strength to support Mr. Jin Seo-un... Aaaaaargh!”
Rip. Splash!
His arm was torn away, and the blood that had been dripping in droplets suddenly erupted like a fountain. As Seo-un closed the distance and ripped off his dangling right arm, a scream finally burst from Hashio’s mouth.
Seeing that face contorted in pain and hearing that scream felt like a years-old blockage in Seo-un's chest had finally cleared. With a satisfied smile, Seo-un spoke.
“I wanted to hear that. That scream. Every time you acted all smug, I wanted to tear you apart like this.”
Crack!
Before he could even pick up his dropped weapon, Hashio’s left arm was also torn away. The faces of the spectating players turned pale. Even for those who had experienced Cloyd, where death was common, the sight of someone tearing a human body apart with their bare hands was not something they saw often.
“Ugh! P-Please... My words... Listen to my proposal...”
Crunch!
Hashio’s head was shattered before he could finish, and his miserable form collapsed. Hashio’s blood splattered onto Seo-un’s face as he finished him off in the corner of the arena.
The sight of him grinning with blood on his face made the spectators' skin crawl. The shock was several times greater for the Korean agents.
“What was it you said we should do?”
At Jeong Su-hwa’s question, the agent remained silent, his mouth shut tight. Jeong Su-hee, glancing at Jeong Su-hwa, shook her head.
“They’ve touched a man like that; they must be shitting themselves now.”
“We aren't exactly on friendly terms with him either, are we?”
“Still, we’re better off than those people sitting over there. At least our goals are somewhat aligned.”
“I don’t know. Recalling our last meeting, it didn’t seem that way.”
Jeong Su-hee, making eye contact with Jeong Su-hwa, stood up.
“Are you leaving already?”
“The match is already decided. That guy who covered himself in money will hold out a bit longer before he’s finished too. There won’t be any upsets.”
Following her, the Resistance players disappeared from the arena.
Screeeech!
Subaru’s sword shrieked under Nam Sa-gwang’s storm-like attacks. As his sword—which was coated in Aura and had been enhanced multiple times so its durability wouldn't lose to any weapon—began to scream, Subaru’s agitation grew.
He poured out every skill he had learned. He even used 4th Circle magic, but his opponent didn't allow a single hit. Subaru felt increasingly desperate, as if he were fighting a wall with no end in sight.
Looking around, he realized he was the only team member left. He couldn't understand how the enemy team hadn't suffered a single casualty, and how they were now standing there with their arms crossed, watching his fight with this martial artist.
Clang! Crack!
Finally, the moment his sword failed to withstand the enemy’s Hand Aura and snapped, the Aura lunged toward his body. Habitually, he activated a defensive skill and threw himself into the attack.
Trusting his armor and his defensive skill, he swung his broken sword, but the enemy’s form blurred.
Thrust!
“Ugh!”
A groan escaped his lips along with an unfamiliar pain. A small gap existed where his arm and shoulder connected. The thinned Hand Aura had pierced that gap with pinpoint accuracy.
The Aura that entered his body exploded like dynamite, ravaging his insides. In the moment he felt dizzy from the immense pain—
Thwack!
His head exploded, and thick blood and brain matter leaked out of his helmet along with bits of flesh.
Seo-un clicked his tongue at the sight.
“Tsk, tsk. Those are all items that should have been recycled... How messy.”
“Phew. If I hadn't done this, he would have held out for a few more hours. It’s a good thing there was a small gap in the armor. This armor is truly sturdy. It blocked almost all my energy even when I struck it with the Heavy Water Technique. It’s a tempting piece.”
Seo-un’s expression brightened at Nam Sa-gwang’s words. If it was armor that even Nam Sa-gwang acknowledged, its value was bound to be beyond imagination.
“Good work. That’s a gift... well, that sounds weird. It’s your share.”
Looking at the female knight who was barely clinging to life while bleeding out, Nam Sa-gwang sent out a blast of Aura and ended her life.
“I have no interest in spoiled fruit.”
As the team members shrugged at his firm preference, a notification rang out.
[Ding-ding-ding! All combat has ended. The winning team is Jin Seo-un’s Squad. Moving to the waiting room to begin the execution.]