Genius’s Godlike Game Broadcast

Chapter 205 : The Only Sword in the Universe (3)

The Only Sword in the Universe (3)

The strongest creep in the jungle, lash Duke, commonly known as Duke, lived up to his title by giving the best rewards.

Upon death, he granted all team members gold, boosting attack power and skill effects, and even letting them return to base quickly.

Furthermore, allied minions would also be empowered, not only increasing their attack power but even their range, making it possible for minions alone to topple towers while the buff lasted.

In the current situation, if PerG-Day's team got this buff, their victory was all but certain. Yet the commentators could not hide their concern.

"A solo Duke attack—is that really possible? This is the developer-certified strongest creep, you know?"

"High risk, high return. If you had to sum up Duke in one phrase, that's it. Tackling him solo, with no backup? The risk has to be borne by you alone!"

"First off, Duke is immune to all debuffs. That means his attacks are uninterrupted! And—it might be fortunate?—Master Lee doesn't have any crowd control, so it doesn't really apply!"

The commentators weighed the possibilities of Lee Gyeongbok's bold attempt. That was their duty, but also they were just as curious as gamers themselves.

"But the real challenge isn't Duke himself—it's the location where he spawns, right?"

"Ah, exactly. The swamp is extremely tricky."

"As soon as you enter, you're hit with a slow effect. It lasts until you get out, and it's also toxic, so you take damage over time and your defense is lowered!"

The place where Duke appeared was a swamp filled with poison—a place that was hard to endure both system-wise and in terms of player experience.

"So, you're already at a disadvantage even before the fight starts. Duke suffers no penalty, but the player feels like they're starting with a chronic illness!"

"Right. Just standing there drains your stamina! That's why I keep saying you need backup—to pour on the damage and end it quickly, for survival!"

"It's not just about damage output—even for consistent, stable damage, you need backup. Up to now, we've only talked about the swamp itself. But Duke also attacks directly! Damage is coming from both sides, so aggro ping-pong is essential!"

As the commentators explained passionately, wanggeom cocked his head.

"In summary, Purple's going solo—he has to deal with the swamp's dot damage and Duke's attacks at the same time? Even as I'm summing this up, I keep wondering, 'Is this even possible?' Isn't this just plain impossible?"

"But, surprisingly enough, I don't think it's entirely out of the question. I might be unsure for other champions, but if it's Master Lee—especially Purple's Master Lee—maybe, just maybe..."

"I agree! Master Lee's Cosmic Aura, and armor-ignoring damage, are the key! This armor penetration isn't a debuff, so it works on Duke!"

Duke, fitting his title as the strongest creep, had high stats across the board, including armor and magic resistance.

Since he was even immune to debuffs, nothing could lower those stats. But Master Lee's Cosmic Aura was an empowered skill, not a debuff type, so it applied just fine.

That was what the commentators saw as the potential key to success.

"Effectively, this will come down to a race against time! With Purple's mechanics, he can probably withstand Duke's attacks! All he needs to do is survive the swamp's dot!"

"But all of Purple's items right now give movement speed. Can he really hold out?"

"Honestly, even just surviving this would already be legendary! But isn't it Purple's charm that he always shows more than that? This is one to watch!"

Wanggeom looked at the excited commentators, then cleared his throat.

"It's time to see the results for ourselves! Purple is at the swamp now! Duke should appear any minute!"

No matter how it turned out—

A battle you couldn't look away from had begun.

* * *

A dark red mist hung over the swamp that was Duke's domain.

Lee Gyeongbok felt a chill at the threatening aura rising from within.

'So this is Duke.'

However, that threat was nothing compared to what lurked beneath the swamp.

He felt a pressure tightening around his whole body, and all his senses sharpened.

'Still, fighting a monster is more fun than fighting people.'

With a smile, Lee Gyeongbok adjusted his grip on his sword.

[〉 My lord! Are you really going to be okay?]

[〉 Whoa, soloing Duke for real... Then again, boss, you just might pull it off.]

[〉 Should I go instead of weed?]

[〉 No way! I should be supporting instead!]

No one outright opposed Lee Gyeongbok's decision, though his teammates couldn't help but worry.

His smile grew even broader.

"Just keep your lanes steady. I'll call out the buff timing, so don't miss it."

Ignoring their worries, he took a step forward. It was only a single step, but it was enough to rouse the lord of this lair.

The squishy swamp bubbled and then erupted like a volcano. Amid the spraying liquid, an enormous monster—serpentine and centipede-like—emerged.

'Looks doable.'

Lee Gyeongbok immediately rushed at Duke. The swamp's slow did make him feel heavy, but thanks to his items, it was manageable.

'So you won't even let me approach, huh.'

When Duke let out a roar, tentacles sprouted everywhere around the swamp, lashing out at Lee Gyeongbok.

Even as the tentacles filled his vision through the poisonous haze, he did not lose his smile. Instead, he simply steadied his breathing.

'This feeling... it's been a while.'

His heightened divine energy gathered information and sorted it. Of all the tentacles, he picked out only those that could actually threaten him, tracing their trajectories.

The optimal route to break through those paths clearly formed in his mind.

And Lee Gyeongbok had the skill to follow that route.

'No room for waste.'

He understood that this fight with Duke was a race against the clock.

After weaving through the mass of tentacles, he immediately activated Cosmic Aura. The green aura rising from his sword shone brighter than the toxic haze around him.

'If I dodge all attacks...'

Even as he slashed, his divine energy never stopped gathering data.

Tentacles he had dodged trailed after him, but none managed to hit.

'About five minutes left.'

His divine energy used the gathered information to calculate the limit before he would die from the swamp's poison.

Once that restriction kicked in, his senses sharpened even further.

'It's enough.'

After that, he entered a state of flow.

Neither Duke's acid breath nor the spines bursting from Duke's back could stop him. Still, his stamina bar was steadily dropping.

'Just a bit more!'

But Lee Gyeongbok actually waited for his stamina to fall even lower. Even when his red health bar shrank to a sliver, his offense didn't stop.

[〉 My lord!?]

[〉 No, he's going to die at this rate?!]

[〉 Boss!]

[〉 Aaagh!]

His teammates, who kept checking on his status, cried out in alarm. But Lee Gyeongbok only opened his mouth once there was just a crescent left on his health bar.

"Listen carefully."

He reversed his grip on the sword and stabbed himself. Yet, he did not die.

"The buff comes in 30 seconds."

The green aura that lingered on his sword seeped into his body. It was Master Lee's ultimate—Unity of Man and Sword.

The activation requirement—using Cosmic Aura 20 times—had long been met. But Lee Gyeongbok had waited for the right timing to maximize its effect.

'Now the real fight begins.'

He felt his body become lighter.

It was the effect of the ultimate, unity of Man and Sword.

Immunity to slows, and for every lost bit of stamina, all of his speed increased as an empowered skill. But most important was something else.

'About three seconds of leeway.'

For the duration of the ultimate, cosmic Aura was always active. Proof of that was the radiant green aura that enveloped not just his sword, but his entire body.

Having finished his calculations, Lee Gyeongbok launched his attack.

In the toxic mist, he flashed like green lightning. It would be unmanageable speed for a normal person, but not for Lee Gyeongbok.

[〉 My lord?]

[〉 What's going on? Why is the icon acting up?]

[〉 Huh? Is this a bug?]

[〉 Wait, he's moving himself?!]

Teammates who checked his movements on the minimap were shocked speechless.

But Lee Gyeongbok, focused entirely on Duke, didn't notice their reaction.

Duke's health dropped rapidly, and so did Lee Gyeongbok's.

It was as if the two health bars were racing each other to zero.

'I've got it.'

But Lee Gyeongbok was already certain.

At that, he spoke.

"Five seconds!"

A green flash ravaged Duke's body.

And just as he had said—

Five seconds later, Duke's massive form collapsed.

[Lash Duke has died!]

[The "Duke's Mystery" buff is granted to the team!]

The scarlet toxic haze dissipated with the system message flashing before his eyes.

At the center, Lee Gyeongbok stood, sword already sheathed.

His stamina bar was left with just a single tick.

[〉 Mylorrrrrd!]

[〉 Juenjang! Truly the best boss!]

[〉 Holy crap, he actually did it!?]

[〉 Purge, let's gooooooo!]

Lee Gyeongbok let out a soft chuckle.

He could feel the excitement of his teammates even through the chat window.

And their response wasn't just words.

[Eclipse meal money]

[GENOME house money]

[Skullkim body money]

[Skullkim clothing money]

Kill messages popping like fireworks.

"Very nice."

Lee Gyeongbok smiled brightly and pressed the recall button.

"Now, let's go win."

* * *

The second set was over.

It was break time between sets, but the Money Damas team couldn't rest comfortably.

It was as if they were at a funeral—all the team members sat, heads bowed with grim faces.

"Wow..."

"Two straight losses..."

"Soloing Duke... He actually did it...?"

"We're screwed..."

The team members muttered in blank disbelief. Donkak, watching, didn't feel at ease.

"Let's regroup. We need to think about our strategy."

At his words, eight eyes turned toward him in unison.

"Strategy?"

"Hyung, does that even matter now?"

"Boss, the ban cards are meaningless."

"That's what I'm saying... Even if we go all-in on bans, we can't stop him."

The number of champions Lee Gyeongbok could play had increased from three to four. With only three ban cards, they couldn't stop him.

"Honestly, it's basically over, isn't it?"

"I thought Uhwooper's confidence was just a meme or something..."

"But experiencing it firsthand, it's real science."

"Purple is simply on another level. We're just...props for his legend."

With the team's morale utterly crushed, donkak couldn't just sit and watch as team captain.

"Why's everyone like this? There are still three sets left! If we turn things around with this set, there's still a chance!"

He tried to keep his composure, but his voice trembled. He knew, deep down, their chances were slim.

"Hyung, do you hear what you're saying?"

His younger brother looked at him with pity.

"To make that happen, you'd have to beat Purple yourself—can you do that?"

"Well..."

"In the first set, he fended off a 3-man gank, and in the second, he beat JD one-on-one. Is that amazing? He soloed Duke on top of that..."

His brother trailed off with a self-mocking smile. The rest of the team didn't say anything, but their faces showed agreement.

Donkak closed his mouth.

He took a deep breath, steeling himself.

"You're right."

Everyone looked at him again. But this time, their eyes were a bit suspicious.

Unlike before, donkak's voice was steady.

"We're going to lose the next set. CrazySmurf...that's the end of that."

"Boss?"

"Sweetie?"

"Hyung?"

His sudden change in attitude startled them. But soon, they understood.

Donkak's expression was far from that of a loser.

"Purple is a genius—I know. I know better than anyone! It's impossible to beat him one-on-one. But!"

Donkak's voice rose.

"Are we just going to sit here? If we do, we're nothing but losers—losers who got completely stomped for three sets!"

He looked each teammate in the eye, continuing.

"Is that what you really want!? We're more than just a team. We're family! Are we just going to sit here and let ourselves be someone else's stepping stone!?"

His words made everyone's eyes widen.

"At the least! Let's land one solid counterattack! Even if we lose, we have to strike back at least once!"

With his rousing words, spark returned to his teammates' eyes.

"We can't just be sitting ducks."

"Yeah, let's show them we're different from the other teams."

"Otherwise, they'll just say we lucked into second place."

"We can't have that."

Hearing this, donkak smiled.

"Right, I know wanting to win it all is greedy. But just once, just once, let's take down Purple. Forget the other champs—if it's Barzan, we have a shot, right?"

Doing what the other teams couldn't—that was enough.

With that, donkak changed their objective.

"Let's stop his perfect record for the entire tournament."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the PerG-Day team waiting room.

Despite two wins in a row, the mood was subdued.

"Honestly..."

With a deep sigh, Lee Gyeongbok broke the silence.

"The finals are turning out to be way too easy."

His teammates nodded.

"I feel like they're scared out of their minds."

"I thought we'd lose at least once..."

"We prepared so hard, it might've actually backfired."

"If this keeps up, it'll end in the third set, won't it?"

Genome laughed.

"But honestly, the ganking was just too on point. That's why Money Damas's synergy—usually their strength—got completely broken."

Others nodded. Without Lee Gyeongbok's ganks, it would've been a tough match.

"Well, we don't even need to think about 'what ifs' now. The next game is probably the last."

"I feel the same. So on that note..."

Lee Gyeongbok glanced at his teammates.

"It's time to reveal our secret card."

The champion Lee Gyeongbok had secretly prepared for the finals.

It wasn't Master Lee.

"Right."

"I agree."

"If we went to all this trouble but never showed it off for the viewers, what's the point?"

"So, next set we do that?"

As Genome asked, Lee Gyeongbok smiled and nodded.

For some, this battlefield was deadly serious.

"But isn't it best to have fun to the very end?"

For Lee Gyeongbok, even the tournament was just part of the stream.