I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 223 : White Castle (6)

The combat strength of the [Liberation Corps], which Do Sang-jun had cultivated while dedicating his life, was considerably powerful.

The executive level was filled with powerful individuals ranging from at least B+ to A-rank.

The quality of the combat personnel was also excellent.

It was truly an organization formed with the wishes and grudges of those marginalized from the world's order.

Because of this, the surprise felt by the executives who were struggling against young cadets was enormous.

"Damn it, this is impossible!"

Kim Han-seop, a swordsman who perfectly wielded a massive two-handed sword while exchanging sword strikes with Lee Yu-jin.

He was shocked by the fact that he could not surpass her in strength, technique, speed, or characteristics.

Bwoong!

Lee Yu-jin effortlessly received and deflected his downward slash that seemed like it would split anything, then struck below his collarbone with Dragon Head Fist, which protruded her middle finger.

"Kuk!"

Penetrating Scene flowing through the colliding swords, and the strike to the area below the collarbone.

The two overlapping attacks completely stiffened him.

Seogeok!

Using that opening, Lee Yu-jin's sword diagonally cut through Kim Han-seop's armor.

"Kraak!"

The special armor that could easily block a barrage of cannons and machine guns was cut clean through, leaving a long wound on his body.

Then, retreating and lightly parrying a horizontal slash, Lee Yu-jin spun around once and launched a flying strike that cut his hair.

'Frighteningly strong!'

In terms of sword weight or length, in any aspect, he had the advantage in compatibility.

But confronting her now, the girl before his eyes was toying with him as if such compatibility meant nothing.

'Her dignity as a swordsman has already reached a certain level. Is this really the power of a mere cadet?'

She was flexible yet fierce, resolute, and dazzling.

'They said she's the granddaughter of the Sword Saint, indeed blood doesn't lie. This is a talent different from Sword Warrior...'

His thoughts went only that far.

Kaang!

"Damn it!"

He wasn't even given time to leisurely admire.

'I need to defeat her within 30 exchanges.'

Lee Yu-jin was already looking beyond that realm.

Kwon Seung-yeon was competing with Lim Jang-hoon, a fist user of the strong body technique lineage.

'What a disgusting body. It seems twice as bulky as Park Gang-jeong-sunbae. Is that a human or a gorilla?'

Kwon Seung-yeon made a revolted face.

It was a muscular body that seemed beyond the reach of even roiders who injected drugs without regard for risk, put in maximum effort, and had innate skeletal advantages.

Whiririk!

Kwon Seung-yeon, who flew up into the air as freely as a feather, maximized her weight.

"Hiyaaaah!"

With a shout drawn from the pit of her stomach, Kwon Seung-yeon launched a straight punch toward Lim Jang-hoon.

Ppaaaak!

A terrifying sound occurred as their fists collided.

"Kheuk!"

Surprisingly, it was Lim Jang-hoon, not Kwon Seung-yeon, who was slammed into the ground.

'Damn, he's disgustingly strong.'

Kwon Seung-yeon retreated while rubbing her tingling wrist.

Whether her attack utilizing the characteristic 'Weight Control' to its maximum would succeed depended on whether her body could withstand the impact created by her weight.

The fist energy she could now manifest, muscles and flexibility honed through hellish training with Su-hyeon, and finally the mana in her body which had improved dramatically since before entering the academy acted as a kind of cushion, making it possible to endure even such massive impacts.

"Ku, keuuk."

On the other hand.

Lim Jang-hoon, whose wrist had severely twisted during the collision of fists, making his right fist practically unusable, backed away in a manner unsuited to his bulky frame.

"What kind of sorcery did you use! How can such a small frame produce such a fist energy...?"

"Small is a bit harsh. I'm quite tall actually."

Kwon Seung-yeon, confident in her advantage, grinned and rotated her right arm in circles.

"Shall we continue?"

Kwajijik!

Tentacles swung toward Seo Jun-seong were pushed back by telekinesis and struck the innocent floor.

'Muscular tentacles protruding from his back.'

They looked somewhat like giant snakes, eels, or loaches.

"Disgusting."

Though each tentacle boasted an output exceeding that of a powerful crane.

To Seo Jun-seong, they were nothing more than meat lumps waiting to be tenderized.

Swiuk.

Seo Jun-seong raised his index and middle fingers upward.

Kwagwagwagwa!

Metal balls controlled by his telekinesis rotated fiercely and moved freely like drones, grinding the tentacles.

"Kraaak!"

"The nerves were connected."

The man who had been screaming in pain created new tentacles from his back.

"Smaller than before."

With emotionless, cold sunken eyes, Seo Jun-seong asked.

"How long can you regenerate those tentacles?"

Kim A-yun's opponent was a doppelganger user.

What's more, each entity showed independent behavior, and the doppelgangers had considerable combat power.

Originally, he would have been a strong opponent who could easily produce dozens of people's worth of combat power alone.

But in front of Kim A-yun, even such numbers held little meaning.

Pajijijik!

"Aaaak!"

Electric whips, electric sparrows, and electric hamsters wielded by Kim A-yun electrocuted the doppelgangers one by one.

"Damn it!"

While the doppelgangers scattered here and there, unable to defend or too slow to evade the attacks, being shot down one by one.

'Is it there!'

Kim A-yun spotted an entity being protected by other doppelgangers.

"Haah!"

Pajik!

A stream of lightning extending from her hand penetrated the man's body.

"Keoeoeoek!"

However, even after the man collapsed with convulsions, the doppelgangers did not disappear.

"How naive, miss! Did you think I would be so obvious!"

Looking at the two doppelgangers approaching and mocking her, Kim A-yun created a large electric chain with a "pajik-" sound and wrapped it around herself.

"Uaaaak!"

The doppelgangers, electrocuted so badly that bones were visible, collapsed and disappeared.

"Then I'll just have to catch all the doppelgangers."

Kim A-yun said in a calm voice with deadly intent.

"......."

The doppelgangers were momentarily embarrassed and closed their mouths.

"Well, that's not wrong."

"Damn it! These bastards are too strong!"

Seo Jun-seong, Lee Yu-jin, Kwon Seung-yeon, Kim A-yun.

Not only these four, but also Kim Ho-su, Kang Geon-woo, and Choi Min-a were showing skills equal to or one step ahead of their enemies, pushing back the executives of the [Liberation Corps].

Especially in the case of Choi Min-a, she showed a fierce appearance, moving like a slime to avoid attacks and pouring powerful attack magic on a woman, not allowing even breathing room.

But just one person.

Hwang Ji-su was struggling against the opponent's strong power.

Jjeojeojeok!

Cha Seung-yong, a were-falcon who avoided the ice lances created by Hwang Ji-su, lowered his altitude and charged at her.

"Tsk!"

Kwaaaang!

The hastily created ice wall shattered like thin ice, but Hwang Ji-su, riding an ice wolf, managed to narrowly escape his trajectory.

'Incredible power.'

Cha Seung-yong was an executive boasting the second strongest combat power within the [Liberation Corps] after Do Sang-jun.

The extraordinary flight ability unique to hawks, kicking techniques that maximized sharp claws, and steel-hard feathers.

None of his weapons were anything but threatening.

'Those feathers seem to have cold resistance too.'

There was no sign of discomfort in the way he freely flew through the cold air that had settled like fog.

'Strong.'

Hwang Ji-su bit her lip and fired a massive ice dragon.

"Hmph!"

Cha Seung-yong, who avoided the ice dragon with superior speed and flight ability, flew in with bullet-like speed, leading with blade-like claws.

'Above? No, below!'

Bwuung!

Hwang Ji-su, who narrowly avoided the claws by arching her back, slid across the frozen ground to evade the following additional attack.

"Huu."

'That was dangerous. If I had gone up, I would have been caught by the opposite foot.'

If her choice had been wrong, her body might have been cut into several pieces by those claws.

It was literally a moment where life and death crossed paths.

Looking back.

The days spent at the academy, worrying about rankings like first or second place, how trivial and cute they were compared to this moment?

The instructors, Squad Leaders, and Captains she had met so far had all walked this tightrope countless times before reaching their positions.

Therefore, all the more.

'There's no reason why I can't do it.'

Hwang Ji-su clenched her molars.

'I can't show a pathetic sight.'

Hwang Ji-su, who glanced at Su-hyeon fighting Do Sang-jun, crossed her hands and drew up cold energy.

'If long-range attacks don't work, I'll catch him directly and freeze him.'

Sometimes there are enemies that can't be defeated by fighting safely.

Hwang Ji-su prepared a powerful strike, betting her life as the stake.

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"I can't believe it."

Do Sang-jun gave a hollow laugh.

"That mere first-year cadets could be this strong. Something that hasn't happened before and won't happen again."

"I don't know about the future, but you're right about the past."

Su-hyeon traced the blade of his Moonless Sword, which hadn't lost a single edge, with his finger before sheathing it.

"Haha. What a pitiful state I've become."

Do Sang-jun self-deprecated.

His mane had been cut in several places, his skin was slashed.

And his claws, as many as three had broken.

Meanwhile, the damage Su-hyeon had sustained was at most claw marks on his shoulder.

"It's frustrating. That the plan I created with my best effort is being thwarted like this."

"Frustration, is it? Do you think you're in a position to feel that?"

"Why not? What's so wrong about liberating one disgusting prison like this?"

Do Sang-jun chuckled.

"And for that, you joined hands with Ma-in? I wonder if you believe that's what your wife, what your families would have wanted."

"You know quite a lot. Just who the hell are you?"

"I have many secrets, no less than you do."

"You damn bastard. Don't be glib."

Do Sang-jun's expression turned vicious.

Kwang!

As his foot stomped the floor, the thick ground was deeply dented.

"You think you know everything? How laughable! It's you who doesn't know!"

"What don't I know?"

"I'll tell you! The hideous truth about White Castle that even the Execution Force members don't know!"

Do Sang-jun spread his arms and shouted.

"Here, they continuously extract the magical power and energy from Ma-in to use as industrial energy! They charge mana stones with energy, utilize it for research, and experiment! A humane facility? Proper treatment? What bullshit!"

"......."

Do Sang-jun's bloodshot eyes turned to Su-hyeon.

"Knowing that, can you proudly defend a place like this? Where my wife, someone's family, is being exploited!"

To his question mixed with a cry of anguish, Su-hyeon answered in a toneless voice.

"I know."

"What?"

"I said I know."

"Knowing that, how dare you!"

"I don't see what the problem is."

"......What did you say?"

"Isn't it normal for prisons to make inmates work and such?"

To Su-hyeon, who knew the settings of Edge of Gate well, it wasn't such a shocking truth.

"What, should they just provide free meals?"

"You bastard, to say such things!"

"Exploitation? Isn't it just another form of making prisoners work on railroad construction? It's not life-threatening. And they try to treat them as humanely as possible. I think that's a decent effort."

"What a bastard."

"Isn't the world kind of fucked up originally? Compared to foreign detention facilities, it's a place of tremendous progress, as you must know."

Su-hyeon slowly walked toward the wounded lion.

"Of course, I also sympathize with parts of your indignation. There are aspects I find unfortunate as well."

However.

"You've crossed the line too far. They won't listen to your voice? So you decided to commit such acts that would cause countless citizens with ears to listen to die?"

Su-hyeon slowly drew his Moonless Sword.

"Not even just rescuing family members, but what's the intention behind opening it wide for anyone to escape? To let them go out, kill innocent citizens, and destroy cities? Is that the alternative you thought of? Is it better than maintaining this White Castle?"

Su-hyeon's voice mixed with frustration and irritation.

"People like you who always babble about revolution, punishment, liberation, are always like that. In the end, you only use and harm others to vent your personal anger, yet you pretend otherwise."

"You bastard."

"Are you angry?"

Su-hyeon asked Do Sang-jun, who was growling.

"I'm angry too."

"You, I will definitely kill you."

"Sure. Try if you can."

Su-hyeon, who had somehow arrived right in front of him, said.

"Let's cut the fucking bickering and just let the winner have his way."