Chapter 150: Annihilation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 150: Annihilation
To Seo-un’s party, the sight of the skyscrapers exploding and collapsing floor by floor looked like it was happening in slow motion.
The white Hellfire, which had been shattering the buildings as it fell, finally swallowed the entire upper section of the skyscraper Seo-un had been clinging to.
—Rumble!
The summoned Hellfire obliterated more than half of the forty-story building before vanishing, leaving nothing behind but scorching, oppressive heat.
Hellfire was known as the ultimate fire magic of the 8th Circle. Even though it had been cast from a scroll, its destructive power was truly formidable.
Despite being a considerable distance away, several layers of the party's barriers melted instantly. The ice magic Juriel had cast in all directions also partially liquefied, barely managing to shield the group from the searing thermal wave.
“Seo-un hyung!”
Gi-chan was the first to dash forward.
Li Lingwei’s legs gave out, and she slumped to the ground as she watched him run. She hurriedly used wind magic to clear the smoke that drifted like a thick fog, obscuring their vision.
Juriel gripped her staff with trembling hands, whispering a frantic prayer to herself.
“He’ll be okay… He’ll be okay…”
As Gi-chan sprinted toward the wreckage, a black silhouette emerged through the wind-swept smoke.
“Hyung?”
Gi-chan didn’t dare approach recklessly. He raised his staff, staying on guard, until a welcome voice reached his ears.
“Got any spare clothes?”
In an instant, Gi-chan’s eyes grew red with relief. He rushed toward Seo-un and pulled him into a crushing embrace.
“Hyung!”
“Hey, come on… Hey!”
Seo-un, currently stark naked and flustered, couldn't return the hug and tried to shove him away.
“I’m not into guys, so back off.”
Only then did Gi-chan realize Seo-un was completely bare. With a flushed face and a runny nose, he stepped back and handed over the spare clothes he had stored in his subspace.
Tight black jeans, a black short-sleeved T-shirt, and a black leather jacket. No sooner had Seo-un finished changing into the all-black outfit than the two women rushed toward him.
Seo-un’s face instantly turned crimson as both women threw themselves into his arms at the same time.
“Um, if you could let go for a second…”
However, feeling the slight trembling of their bodies, Seo-un couldn't bring himself to say more.
After they had held him for a long while, the two women finally pulled away, their faces flushed as their emotions settled.
“You scared us to death!” Li Lingwei grumbled, frantically checking Seo-un’s body for injuries.
Juriel, still clutching his arm tightly, spoke with eyes that were still moist. “How did you survive Hellfire? It’s practically the strongest fire magic in existence.”
“Since my fire resistance reached 99% after obtaining Hellfire, it just felt like a warm bath.”
Juriel’s jaw dropped at Seo-un’s casual explanation.
The 8th Circle was a realm every mage dreamed of—the highest level a human could realistically reach. The 9th Circle, recorded only in ancient history, was an impossible stage for anyone except those chosen by the heavens. As for the 10th Circle, it was considered a myth found only in legends. Thus, the 8th Circle was the realistic pinnacle of magic.
It was only natural to be shocked when Seo-un described Hellfire—the apex of 8th Circle fire spells—as merely "warm."
“Hyung… Hellfire is the strongest fire magic of the 8th Circle,” Gi-chan added, emphasizing the gravity of the spell.
Seo-un tilted his head. “This thing? It’s nothing compared to Meteor.”
“Well… that’s because the scale is different. Even in the same circle, one is a massive area-of-effect spell while the other is focused individual magic.”
“Regardless, thanks to my fire resistance, I didn't take much damage. More importantly… that was a pretty elaborate trap.” Seo-un’s eyes narrowed as he looked up at the half-collapsed building. “I never imagined they would use the mages casting Khartz as bait.”
Juriel’s expression darkened at Gi-chan’s remark. “The fact that they can go this far might mean the magic is almost complete. Besides, a Hellfire Scroll… In this game where farming is impossible, the only place to get one is…”
As her voice trailed off, Seo-un walked over to the Helper hiding nearby, who was still reeling from the shock of the explosion. The moment doubt filled the Helper’s eyes as he looked up at the approaching man, Seo-un spoke.
“Summon the vending machine.”
The Helper nodded and summoned the interface, reading through the items one by one.
“…Hellfire Scroll. It costs 350 coins and comes in both installation and instant-cast types. Next is…”
As they listened to the list of remaining items, the faces of Seo-un and his party twisted in frustration. The vending machine in this game contained many items that could make one’s head spin. Spending 350 Blue Coins on a single one-time-use scroll was not an easy decision to make.
“Roy Miller.”
There was no one else but him who could make such a cold decision and lead this operation so systematically.
“He probably thinks it’s much more profitable to spend Blue Coins if it means he can wipe out Beverly Hills.”
Strictly speaking in terms of coin count, she was right. If the price of the coins wasn't human lives, Seo-un would have moved the same way. A few hundred Blue Coins could potentially yield hundreds of thousands of coins in return. Even if you added up all the coins Seo-un had accumulated through his rapid gains, it wouldn't even come close to ten thousand.
But hundreds of thousands of coins in one go? It was enough to make anyone lose their mind.
“We have to kill him quickly, or it’ll get dangerous. There’s no telling what else that guy will pull.”
Until now, Seo-un had always been the one setting traps and hunting prey. That was why he could tell at a glance that the enemy’s trap was a masterfully crafted lure.
“He’s a guy who’s used to these kinds of strategies.”
It takes one to know one. No matter what game he played, as long as it was against other people, Seo-un’s favorite playstyle was baiting. From a third-party perspective, it looked easy to avoid, but actually baiting someone and profiting from it was never as easy as it sounded.
“He’s a man who has spent most of his life on the battlefield,” Juriel explained. “He’s especially famous for strategies that lure enemies into traps to overturn unfavorable situations.”
Seo-un nodded instinctively. “Let’s move and find a player who can contact the Madman of the Battlefield. We’re heading to the third target location.”
Originally, he had planned to defend this place, leave the rest to the Madman, and go find the shelter where his aunt might be. However, now that he had confirmed they were setting traps using the very places they needed to protect as bait, he realized the situation was worse than he thought. He had to stop Khartz even faster.
If even a single Meteor fell on Beverly Hills, the damage would be beyond imagination.
Running across the roofs of the cars that packed the roads, Seo-un’s party moved at maximum speed, discarding their Cloaks of Stealth to reveal themselves. At this point, it was more important to run into any player—friend or foe—so there was no reason to stay hidden.
When they were a few kilometers away from the third Khartz casting site, the sounds of an intense battle reached them.
—Boom!
—Roar!
—Bang! Bang!
“Kill them!!”
“Don’t push back!”
“Defend it at all costs!”
Hearing the fierce sounds of the battlefield, Seo-un’s party immediately threw themselves into the fray. The situation at a glance was a stalemate. With reinforcements for both enemies and allies pouring in from all directions, it seemed both sides were staking their lives on this fight.
Several figures stood out on the battlefield. Barrus and Skus were pushing back enemies at the front lines, and Senrurk could be seen in the middle, busy commanding.
In addition, that bastard Roy Miller was fighting hard, leading a small strike team and hitting various spots before retreating. Even against a Sword Emperor like Barrus, Miller would avoid direct confrontation; whenever he saw a moderately strong enemy, he would quickly break through with his strike team, take their head, and retreat. His movements alone showed how accustomed he was to war.
Quickly assessing the battlefield, Seo-un channeled his Immortal Demonic Energy and equipped the Black Dragon Scale Armor Set from his subspace. As soon as he used Yoseonsul, long blonde hair flowed out from his helmet, and his physique grew about half a size larger.
The moment his brown eyes, visible through the helmet, turned blue, he opened the team voice chat.
Leaving those words behind, Seo-un leaped into the battlefield, wielding Hamit, who had transformed into a Bastard Sword. He kicked a mangled car, sending it flying toward a clumsy Sword Emperor who was just about to finish off a knight.
—Slash!
The knight, who had instantly sliced the car into several pieces as it cast a shadow over him, twitched his lips as he saw the blonde, blue-eyed knight.
—Clang! Clang!
Seeing Seo-un holding his own against Aura using only the Sword Qi rising like a haze over his Bastard Sword, the knight poured out a series of heavy attacks. It was only natural that the knight’s movements became larger, fueled by the illusion that he could slice through this barely-holding enemy with his Aura at any moment.
—Clang!
The moment Seo-un’s sword was pushed upward by the knight’s upward strike, the knight’s lips twisted into a smirk.
—Skree!
As the knight lunged for his chest, Seo-un twisted his body, barely blocking it with his shoulder. The clumsy Aura-clad sword couldn't pierce the armor and was deflected.
—Thud!
At that moment, Seo-un slammed his other shoulder into the enemy’s chest. The knight’s eyes sparkled as he was pushed back.
“That’s no ordinary armor!”
Though it looked like average armor due to Yoseonsul, the Black Dragon scales didn't actually become ordinary. A Sword Emperor wouldn't miss the value of armor that could deflect Aura. Greed filled his eyes as he began to charge at Seo-un once again.
Amidst the enemies swarming from all sides and the barrage of magic flying through the air, the fierce battle between Seo-un and the knight continued. The knight began to grow anxious as Seo-un, who was making up for his inferior skill purely with item stats, slowly began to damage his armor.
In the midst of that struggle, the situation Seo-un had been waiting for finally occurred.
The enemy players filling the front lines suddenly split apart, and Roy Miller, along with his strike team of eight, rushed toward Seo-un.
I’ve been waiting for you, you son of a bitch!
The moment he saw Miller rushing in from the side and swinging a War Hammer, an Aura Barrier erupted from Seo-un’s Bastard Sword. Instantly pushing back the enemy’s sword with overwhelming strength, Seo-un pierced the knight’s heart in a single thrust.
—Boom!
As he blocked the enemy’s War Hammer while the knight was still skewered on his sword, the knight’s body disintegrated and flew in all directions.
Roy Miller’s expression crumpled as he saw Seo-un suddenly transform and reveal his true strength. Just as he tried to retreat, his strike team surrounded Seo-un and attacked all at once.
—Whoosh! Fwoosh!
At that moment, flames erupted from Seo-un’s shoulders and instantly spread around him.
—Clang!
The man who had blocked Seo-un’s Yeomhwa by emitting a red light from his entire body and casting a defensive skill quickly parried Seo-un’s follow-up attack.
“Aaargh!”
The man glanced at his strike team members, who were rolling on the ground in agony as the flames clinging to them wouldn't go out, and looked for a chance to retreat.
This guy is dangerous.
The fact that he had hidden his skills to lure him in was enough for Miller to judge that facing him head-on wouldn't end well. Conversely, Seo-un, who had even used Immortal Demonic Energy to lure him in, had no intention of letting him go.
Seeing the man repeatedly retreat and strike the ground with his hammer, Seo-un, who was chasing him, called out to Hamit.
Hamit!
The moment Hamit returned to his original form and coiled around Seo-un’s hand, an Aura Barrier extended from Seo-un’s fingers.
“You?!!”
The startled man swung his hammer at Seo-un just as he struck the ground for the third time.
—Clang!
The moment Seo-un struck the man’s hammer with his fist instead of Aura, he wasn't pushed back. Instead, the man’s body flipped and was sent flying backward violently.
It was a skill he had pre-selected by spinning the wheel on his way here. Drawn right after the Hand of Ha-mil, Skill Mirroring was a skill that could reflect an opponent’s skill if it was neutralized by a frontal attack.
Catching up to the man who was flying back as if caught in a storm, Seo-un reached out toward the back of the man who was barely trying to regain his balance.
—Screech!
Even then, the man blocked the Aura with a defensive skill. However, though he blocked the Aura amidst a shower of sparks, he was slammed into the ground, and Seo-un continued to press him down, dragging him along.
After being ground against the asphalt for a long time, the man flipped his body and swung his hammer to knock away Seo-un’s Aura. Miller, who had barely managed to stand up, had fine cracks spreading like spiderwebs across the back of his armor.
“Who are you?”
Confusion was clear on Miller’s face as he looked at the knight who had a completely different face but used Jin Seo-un’s techniques exactly. Seo-un had no intention of playing along with an enemy who was trying to buy time.
—Whoosh!
As Yeomhwa filled his vision, the man gritted his teeth and swung his War Hammer. The flickering Yeomhwa was split in half, missing him but incinerating the players around him. Among them, some managed to block it with skills, but most barely survived by tearing Recovery Scrolls and extinguishing the Yeomhwa with ice-attribute magic.
Players who were even slightly slow to react were instantly charred black and eliminated. Due to the Yeomhwa that didn't distinguish between friend and foe, players began to move far away from the two of them.
As Seo-un’s Blood Bone Claw pressured the man, the man’s brow furrowed deeply. Sensing Barrus’s presence rapidly approaching from afar, the man realized he couldn't win, clamped his mouth shut, and used Blink.
The moment the man’s figure instantly moved to the rear, Seo-un reacted. He had already predicted the man would Blink through his Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils, so he had been watching the man’s energy.
Unlike Barrus, who looked around the crowded battlefield in confusion after the man vanished, Seo-un turned in one direction and began to run through the enemies.
“St-stop him!”
“We can’t! Just clear the way!”
—Slash!
Wielding ten streaks of Aura and scattering Yeomhwa that erupted like an explosion, there was no way for even a swarm of players to stop Seo-un. The path opened quickly, and Miller appeared in the distance.
Miller, who was just receiving healing magic and buffs while scanning the battlefield through his Eye of Distortion, turned his gaze toward the sudden commotion. His eyes widened.
Seo-un, charging with his blonde hair fluttering and surrounded by Yeomhwa, looked like a demon from hell.
“Damn it!”
—Bang! Bang! Bang!
Before the man could even gain speed, Seo-un’s attacks poured down. With his left eye stained blood-red, a deep smile spread across Seo-un’s face as he pressured Miller. By maintaining Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils while focused on the man, he could clearly see the man’s next move as if he were reading his thoughts.
Not long after he began overwhelming the man by repeatedly neutralizing his One Shot of Shooting skill, the battlefield began to stir violently. The balance had been broken just by the withdrawal of the man and the entry of Seo-un’s party.
Li Lingwei’s mass-slaughter capability was second to none. Her poison techniques, specialized for annihilating many weak enemies, were dominating the battlefield in an instant.
“Who the hell are you?!!!”
Seo-un’s Aura finally pierced into the chest of the shouting Miller. As he used the Muryeong Phantom Step he had been saving for a decisive moment to strike the man’s opening, fresh blood sprayed from the man’s mouth.
“Just die.”
—Rip!
The moment the five streaks of Aura that had pierced his chest spread wide along with Seo-un’s fingers, the man’s body was torn apart, and his life came to an end.
“Ev-everyone retreat!” someone shouted. “Survive until the Meteor falls! That’s the only way to get the coins—”
—Crunch!
The man giving the orders couldn't finish his sentence as his head was split open, helmet and all, by Barrus’s sword.
“Wipe them out!”
The Madman, having seized victory, did not let the enemies escape. Thanks to his relentless pursuit and slaughter of the fleeing enemies, almost all of them were annihilated, except for a few who escaped through teleportation.