novelraw Chapter 10 : Chapter 10
Chapter 10 : Chapter 10
Chapter 10. One-Swing Sweep, Blood-Dyed Mountains and Rivers
—Grrr! Bark bark!
As the integrated riders charged at the hobgoblin rider like a pack of dogs, a black shadow from 《Assassination Directive》 began to envelop the eyes of the alpha dire wolf integrated with the hobgoblin.
Crack!
With a chilling sound, the wolf’s neck twisted grotesquely, trying to bite the hobgoblin on its back. The hobgoblin’s response was swift and brutal.
Crunch!
“Traitors will be executed.”
It split the wolf’s head in half with its greatsword. With the wolf’s eternal silence, the shadow of 《Assassination Directive》 lost its grip. Yet, the wolf’s massive body remained upright, sustained by unbroken integration. Though its head was split, it didn’t collapse, its control merely shifting to the hobgoblin.
Both 《Swarm》 and 《Assassination Directive》 were second-tier awakening skills, neither fully overpowering the other. While 《Assassination Directive》 had an edge in compatibility, victory required more moves.
Slash!
The hobgoblin rider cleaved a nearby goblin rider in half. The goblin and wolf died—but didn’t.
Swish!
“Your strength will become mine.”
‘The dead riders’ power is being absorbed into the hobgoblin through 《Swarm》!’
More precisely, the starlight in their corpses, freed from 《Assassination Directive》, fueled the swarm. In a swarm where all were one and one was all, as long as any member lived, their starlight strengthened the leader, keeping the swarm’s total power intact.
My plan to weaken the hobgoblin by cracking its swarm had hit a snag. A bitter laugh escaped me. Could you even call this a low-star entity?
The issue was awakening skills. Blessed by constellations, they let humans wield power beyond their rank—but the same applied to monsters.
‘If the hobgoblin kills all the betraying swarm, we’ll face a four-star monster with the swarm’s full power.’
“Se-hee.”
“I know.”
Sensing the need for a variable, I called Yoo Se-hee. She understood her role and activated her awakening skill.
《Lamp of Life》.
Flash.
Florence Nightingale, the Lady with the Lamp, summoned her spirit treasure—a lamp that spread light to preserve allies’ lives.
Hwaaak!
As the lamp’s life-sustaining light illuminated the training field, the hobgoblin’s greatsword, cloaked in faint starlight, spun like a windmill.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
With fierce gusts, thick starlight trails tore through the betraying subordinates like tofu. It was the manifestation of the rare skill
But unlike before, the starlight from the dismembered goblins and wolves didn’t flow to the hobgoblin.
‘As expected.’
Though reduced to lifeless fragments, the 《Lamp of Life》 deemed them alive, preventing their starlight from escaping 《Assassination Directive》’s hold. Normally, the lamp’s effect applied only to allies, but with 《Assassination Directive》 temporarily making the goblins allies and my constellation’s blessing allowing Yoo Se-hee to extend the effect to ambiguous allies, the lamp bound their starlight.
—Hmph?
Noticing the lack of absorbed power, the hobgoblin seemed puzzled but focused on killing the still-moving traitors. Its greatsword carved through flesh, sending blood spraying.
Even without new power, the hobgoblin remained formidable. Against its
Then, the aura from Park Seong-cheol’s Three-Foot Sword enveloped the goblin riders. Realizing the lamp’s effect on them, he applied his sword’s power to them too, enabled by the constellation’s blessing.
The riders grew slightly faster and stronger.
“Use chariot and maneuver tactics! Avoid the front, target the blind spots!”
Park Seong-cheol deployed his rare skill
This slowed the riders’ losses, but…
‘…It’s still not enough.’
The gap in star rank was undeniable. The hobgoblin outmatched them in speed and strength. Even maintaining a safe distance, its sudden bursts closed the gap, felling riders one by one.
While the monsters served as meat shields, we needed another move.
‘The way for the weak to defeat the strong has always been tools and strategy.’
My tool of choice was poison. Having recovered some stamina after using 《Sky Severing》 and 《Shrinking Earth Village》, I unleashed another awakening skill.
《Toxic Zone》.
From Blundel, the herbalist who accidentally annihilated a village mistaking poison for herbs, this area-of-effect skill, blessed by the Dark Constellation, had lethality rivaling a second-tier awakening skill despite being first-tier, due to its lack of friend-foe distinction.
‘This should work against a second-tier 《Swarm》.’
Ssssss!
A black poisonous mist spread from me, enveloping the training field. Without distinction, it threatened allies too, but that wasn’t an issue.
《Light of Purification》.
Hwaaak!
Yoo Se-hee’s second awakening skill, derived from Nightingale’s contributions to hygiene, augmented her lamp, purifying toxic substances targeting allies.
Only the hobgoblin rider was affected by the 《Toxic Zone》.
—Cough! Using poison? Cowardly humans!
The hobgoblin vomited blood, its
Normally, all within the 《Toxic Zone》 would be poisoned, leaving no room to offload it, but Yoo Se-hee’s lamp, treating the goblins as allies, purified their poison, creating space within the swarm to absorb some of the hobgoblin’s.
Though it couldn’t redirect all the poison, it was enough for the hobgoblin. Sensing deeper poisoning would be fatal, its greatsword’s starlight blazed brighter.
Kiiiing!
Slash!
The greatsword swept in a wide arc. The riders dodged, but it was futile. The
‘What?’
Though the wolves, still integrated, kept the riders combat-capable, their movements were clumsier without intact necks.
Kiiiing!
As the hobgoblin gathered
Shwiik! Shwiik!
Clang clang!
The hobgoblin paused gathering aura to block the blades.
I saw my chance.
‘A gap!’
My stamina was nearly depleted from 《Toxic Zone》, but drawing on my allies’ strength via 《Swarm》, I unleashed another skill.
《Sky Severing》.
Slash!
The spatial slash severed the hobgoblin’s sword arm, sending it and the greatsword flying with a fountain of blood.
Clatter!
“Huff… huff…”
I was at my limit. Another skill would cost a life. Maintaining 《Toxic Zone》, I left the rest to my allies.
“Finish it!”
At Park Seong-cheol’s command, the remaining riders charged the disarmed hobgoblin.
Thud thud thud!
Blades and arrows pierced its body. Though it should’ve died, its eyes blazed with life.
—Graaah!
A red gleam of madness flashed in its eyes.
《Frenzy》.
The hobgoblin’s third awakening skill, following 《Integration》 and 《Swarm》—a destiny awakening skill, as it hadn’t reached full four-star rank. Unlike the goblin champion’s first-tier 《Berserk》, 《Frenzy》, a third-tier skill blessed by a constellation, was far more potent, its power growing with injuries.
Though it would die after using a destiny skill, it was practically four-star until then.
‘A monster using a destiny awakening skill?!’
Slash slash slash!
The hobgoblin grabbed a whip from its waist with its remaining arm, infusing it with aura to shred its betrayers. Chaotic wave patterns lingered in the air as goblin and wolf remains fell.
“Traitors… execute…!”
Focusing on the living riders, the whip’s aura exploded with each strike.
Whack—Boom! Whack—Boom!
The riders’ numbers dwindled rapidly. We couldn’t act rashly, anxiously waiting for 《Frenzy》 to end.
But it didn’t die.
“It should be dead by now!” Jin Yu-seong shouted.
“Maybe because of 《Swarm》?” Yoo Se-hee replied.
The lingering 《Swarm》 connection delayed its death.
I realized, and the knowledge spread through 《Swarm》.
“Then we have to kill all the riders to kill it?” Jin Yu-seong asked.
“No, my 《Lamp of Life》 is keeping them alive. As long as they’re alive, it won’t die,” Yoo Se-hee said.
“Damn, are we screwed? …Or will it die soon?”
“It’ll die—after it kills us.”
“What do we do? Only three riders left!”
Another fell. Two remained. Once they were gone, we were next.
‘How do we handle this?’
—Bark.
As I pondered, the wolf I rode whimpered, sparking an idea. One rider remained.
No time left.
I transmitted my thought to the wolf, which let out a long howl.
—Awoooo!
Though a two-star via 《Transcendence》 without
‘Got it.’
It would’ve been impossible against an intact 《Swarm》, but 《Assassination Directive》 had cracked it, letting me slip in.
The last rider fell. The hobgoblin’s gaze turned to my tamed wolf, its primary obsession target gone.
But I was faster.
Zzt zzt—Crack!
Destruction is easier than creation. Using
Slash!
As 《Swarm》 collapsed, the hobgoblin’s dimmed whip swung.
“Now, release them!” I shouted.
Yoo Se-hee excluded the riders from 《Lamp of Life》. Death claimed them instantly, and the whip struck our wolf.
—Yelp!
A fatal blow, but 《Swarm》 kept it alive.
“Seong-cheol!”
“Got it.”
Confirming enough death had accumulated in his Three-Foot Sword’s aura, Park Seong-cheol unleashed a new awakening skill.
《One-Swing Sweep, Blood-Dyed Mountains and Rivers》.
The white aura melted the corpses within its range into red blood, dyeing the aura crimson. Shaaa! It condensed into the sword, forming a blood-red blade.
Swish!
A light swing unleashed a crimson dragon of blood, engulfing the hobgoblin as it raised its whip.
—Graaah!
It frantically whipped to escape, but it was futile. Requiring accumulated death, 《One-Swing Sweep》 matched third-tier power, shredding everything like a blender.
If used from the start, even the hobgoblin’s full swarm wouldn’t have withstood it.
The hobgoblin’s screams ceased.
Hwaa!
The blood dragon vanished, leaving nothing behind but a thick scent of blood carried by the mountain breeze, proof of its existence.
The loss of skill-acquirable byproducts was regrettable, but it was the only way to kill a near-four-star hobgoblin.
Something remained, though.
“Look, the greatsword’s still there!”
The arm and sword, severed by 《Sky Severing》, lay outside the blood dragon’s range.
As I moved to check it—
Whine.
A whimper reminded me of the fatally wounded wolf.
“I need to heal it…”
Just before activating Hannah’s awakening skill 《Healing: Cure》—
Hwaa…
《Transcendence》 ended. The converted general awakening skills reverted to destiny skills, requiring a life to heal the wolf.
“…”
My gaze on the dying wolf grew complicated.