Chapter 377 |
At a slight distance, Tarachin and the orcs of the Black Hill Tribe were dumbly watching Jinhyuk’s actions.
‘Was this what they meant when they said they’d strike the enemy from behind if we bought them time?’
They hadn’t been informed of every detail of the plan, but they were told that a trump card capable of flipping the battle was prepared, should the situation turn disadvantageous.
‘Really, he is a fearsome one.’
Tarachin swallowed his dry saliva.
At the time he had suggested this war, there was no certainty.
But now, as he watched what Jinhyuk was doing right before his eyes, his doubts swiftly vanished.
That was no human.
Something wearing human skin.
***
“Really sorry about this. This is 100% my fault. Can you overlook it just this once?”
“You’ve already committed a sin worth tearing you to pieces for, and now you spout such nonsense with such casualness! Do you even know how vital that object is to us…!”
“Huh? Was breaking a mere accessory such a grave mistake? Can’t you accept an apology?”
“Is that what you call speech!”
Sloth inflated with anger in his throat.
It was, without question, the most intense emotional outburst he had shown since taking on the sin of sloth.
Even if he hadn’t made a pact with Guntapheor, he would have felt emotion to this extent.
“Is that so? An apology is useless, you say? Then I guess I’ll just have to burn it to a crisp.”
Jinhyuk brought ‘The Flame of the Beginning’ right up to the Holy Grail.
Whoosh!
The ferociously raging flame seemed ready to engulf the Holy Grail at any moment.
“Wait, just wait! Calm down!”
“The artifact of the great devil…!”
“We must stop that man immediately!”
The zealots hurriedly flocked around Jinhyuk.
Still, it was already too late.
The flame that had risen already touched the Holy Grail.
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
“Keiii!”
As if expressing the agony of being burnt, a terrible scream emanated from the Holy Grail.
[‘The Holy Grail of the Antichrist’ has been desecrated!]
[All residents affiliated with ‘The Sect of Wraiths’ have their stats reduced by 10%!]
[The godly rank being of the Demon Realm, ‘Guntapheor,’ is greatly infuriated.]
[Affection from dark attribute deities decreases.]
One red status window after another appeared.
The blazing Holy Grail was emitting a light more brilliant than ever before.
“Put out the fire right now!”
It didn’t take long for all the followers to fall into panic.
Sloth felt disconcerted by this unexpected development.
Thus, the power of his ‘Stride of Apathy’ weakened significantly.
… Now is the moment!
“Cheon Yuseong!”
“Yeah, I’m already on it!”
“Here I go!”
In sync with Jinhyuk’s signal, Cheon Yuseong and Theresa vaulted in one direction.
Fast and concise.
The surprise attack capitalizing on the shortest distance produced effects as splendid as its advantages.
[Unique Ability ‘Song of the Sword’ triggers!]
[Unique Ability ‘Blessing of the Stars’ triggers!]
Different abilities.
But after syncing up several times, they knew how to use each in combination to create synergy.
Mixed with Cheon Yuseong’s sword strikes.
The light seeped into Theresa’s offerings.
[The ‘Two Souls’ of Sword Unity (劍身一體) blossoms!]
“Kraaaagh!”
“Aaaaaah!”
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
With a single strike, scores of zealots’ bodies were cut down.
It seemed fitting to say they split a mountain.
And utilizing the opening the two had created.
Jinhyuk began to move in earnest.
“You cur!”
Feeling the crisis, Sloth activated his power again.
As he stepped, the grey fogs grew thicker.
However, Jinhyuk was quicker than the full activation of the ability.
Kwaang!
Sloth was knocked to the ground by a direct hit from Jinhyuk’s leg.
“Kuaagh?”
An appalling agony shook his abdomen.
How long had it been since he last felt pain in a life accustomed to inflicting it?
However, that shameful moment was over.
“How dare you, dirtying my body with your foul feet.”
Petrification.
The ability to turn an entire orc into stone was activated.
“…My, my body is?”
Jinhyuk’s pupils quaked.
The petrification turning him to stone had rapidly spread up to his calves.
“Please, no. This cannot be.”
Jinhyuk frantically thrashed his body.
“Kuhahaha! You foolish one! If you’d observed the combat more, you wouldn’t die in such a pitiful manner… This is all because you took lightly the Seven Deadly Sins.”
“…And you thought that?”
Jinhyuk, who had been playing every sort of act, suddenly chuckled lightly.
[Unique Ability ‘Nihilism’ triggers!]
The unique ability of ‘Nietzsche’ that sealed all powers and skills.
The kick to the abdomen wasn’t for the sake of simply striking.
The purpose was to shake a meridian, where magical power was concentrated.
Nihilism’s proficiency wasn’t quite there to suppress the opponent’s ability entirely on its own, but when used in conjunction with a meridian hit, the shortcomings were filled.
Of course.
“The petrification… it stopped midway? How is that possible…?”
Unaware of that fact, Sloth was in a state of bewilderment.
It was the first time that his ability had failed to properly activate.
“The mysteries of the East… or should I say that?”
Jinhyuk shrugged.
Having learned a thing or two about meridians from his master, he naturally came to know much about the body.
Where to hit for a more effective outcome. Which meridian could hinder or aid the flow of Ki and so on.
Thanks to this, he was in a position to fight without concern for ‘Stride of Apathy.’
‘I have to decide the battle while the meridian is suppressed.’
Normally, it would be half a day, but for a monster like Sloth at most 15 minutes was the limit.
15 minutes.
That would be the decisive time for this battle.
“Huff…”
Jinhyuk steadied his breath.
In ordinary times, he would have met such a formidable foe only in the upper layers.
No matter if he was restrained by subjugation, the disparity in prowess wasn’t any less.
…’Power’.
If one were to define the Seven Sins, those single words would suffice.
If that’s so…
[Unique Ability ‘All Phenomena Sharing (萬祥共有)’ triggers.]
He, too, must face the opponent with fitting countermeasures.
The memories and abilities of comrades with whom he shared high camaraderie came to mind along with Jinhyuk’s body.
[You have selected the ability of the ‘Ancient Kind ‘?’ (Sweet Potato).]
Kukukukukuku!
At that moment, a massive wave surged along Jinhyuk’s body, engulfing the area.
Fier.
A privilege only usable by the dragon race covered the area.
Zzzt, zzzt!
The chilling pressure transmitted through the skin.
The mental dominion of Fier was such that any fair target could be rendered utterly unable to move a finger.
“A dragon man using Fier. What exactly… what are you!”
“I’m a dragon? That’s a bit disappointing. See, look. No tails or horns.”
“This isn’t the time for your jokes.”
Sloth managed to shake off the pressure of the Fier and thrust his staff forward.
Along with a void, grey magic circles formed.
Their numbers were easily surpassing 30.
“Whether you’re whatever race, it will suffice to crush you with overwhelming power. If you thought I only had a single ability, that would be a grave mistake.”
Boom!
What followed was a downpour of grey, like carpet bombing.
“Kraaaaah!”
“High priest!”
“Squeak! Everyone, get away!”
“If you’re nearby, you’ll be dragged in!”
An area-wide attack that didn’t discriminate between friend and foe.
With unimaginable firepower converging, the temple grounds started transforming into a field of destruction.
“Is that where you are?”
Sloth accurately found Jinhyuk’s position from within the murky smoke.
He was not seeing with his eyes but tracking the minute flow of magical power.
Kwaang! Kwakwakwak!
Grey flames exploded at the place where Jinhyuk was.
Yet, Jinhyuk, who moved short distances through ‘Shadow Extreme Murder,’ did not succumb to Sloth’s attacks.
“You scurry away quite adeptly!”
“Away? Hardly.”
It was right at that moment that Jinhyuk got behind Sloth.
“You seem to be gravely mistaken, but Shadow Extreme Murder isn’t for fleeing or dodging.”
It was a skill aimed at perfectly timing an attack on the opponent’s weak point to cut off their breath.
Shadows interlocked, creating a blind spot in the vision.
Thump!
The dagger, heated crimson from ‘Tomb of Swords,’ pierced through Sloth’s neck.
A long stream of blood spurted with a gruesome sound of flesh being torn.
“Kraaagh!”
Still, despite receiving a wound that would have been fatal for a common person, Sloth continued to move energetically.
His unique apathy was effective even in avoiding death.
“Stubborn indeed. Should I have slashed the throat rather than stabbing?”
Jinhyuk clicked his tongue.
“Yes. Continue to act so leisurely.”
“Loser’s rant. Spare me the monologue if it’s dull and only makes me sleepy.”
“Kekkek… no, that’s not why I spoke. Just as you had a secret card prepared, our great Demon King also made preparations for such circumstances.”
Sloth’s lips twitched.
Then, letting out black liquid through his sharp teeth, he then drew a large rectangle in the air.
“And what does that mean?”
“It means nothing special. Only that while you are here acting so lofty, the place you hold dear is being turned into a sea of fire.”
Through the rectangular black box, what was visible was the Giant’s Fortress.
It was a stronghold owned by Jinhyuk.
Boom!
A massive explosion occurred at the Giant’s Fortress.
A saintly being with unimaginable power swung a sword larger than its own body.
Kijaziel.
Eden’s battle commander, who had been grinding his teeth in search for the Fallen King’s Crown…
…had taken the field in person to accomplish that goal.
Moreover, the number of Eden’s war troops following him was too many to count.
“This, if the union between the Demon Realm and Eden is known, it might be quite troublesome?”
“It’s simply cooperation because our interests align for the moment. That guy is merely a chess piece. The Demon King said if he wants to hunt down a loach like you, such preparation is necessary… at first, I was sceptical, but now I see his profound intention.”
With Kijaziel stepping forward, indeed, a stronghold of mid-scale would be left without a trace.
For Jinhyuk to stop this, he needed to return to the stronghold immediately.
“But if you rush while fighting me, your life will be in even greater danger.”
Bound to fight with a massive shackle on.
So.
“What will you do now?”
When humans are driven into a corner, they usually make an excited blunder or give up, resigning themselves to their fate.
Of course.
Jinhyuk did not fit into either of those categories.
“I too… had anticipated that you’d target our stronghold.”
A stronghold is the base of that power.
Naturally, there’s no intention to give it up easily.
“That’s why I’ve arranged for dependable allies there.”
***
“Huff…”
With short, white-dyed hair and red eyes.
[Special ability ‘Nine-Tailed Fox’ – ‘Fox Fire’ initiates.]
Nine tails emerged from Andrea’s back.
“The master commands. Now, repulse all intruders.”
T-bone astride a ghost warhorse stepped out beyond the gates.
Ancient soldiers also mounted on ghost steeds followed him.
“Mooogiii!”
“Kyaaa!”
“One of the Four Heraldic Beasts, and here I am doing nothing but defending… the other guys would laugh their stomachs awry if they heard this.”
Sweet Potato, Havelian, and the Maliang Black Crane were also gearing up on top of the fortress ready to face the foes.
Now, the prologue of the proper Stairway War begins.
So.
“Now what will you do?”
Jinhyuk threw the question out there.