Chapter 100: Star, The Ice Crystal (7)

Chapter 100: Star, The Ice Crystal (7)

“Argh!” Hong Gi-Nam screamed as he was blown back. His light armor had been shattered, its fragments scattering into the air. He had suffered a hideous, soot-covered abdominal wound that resembled the bite of a vicious beast.

‘How on earth...?!’?Gi-Nam thought, unable to understand what was going on.

He had many enemies; thus, to prepare for potential ambushes, he had paid a renowned blacksmith on the black market a fortune for his armor. Acquiring it had certainly not been easy, considering he had been on a waiting list for over a year, but it had been worth the wait. After all, no other armor he had found could match its durability and Effects. Nevertheless, Chang-Sun shattered Gi-Nam’s armor with his sword as if it were made of glass.

Gi-Nam was sure that his armor’s durability had not reached zero yet, as he had been meticulously taking care of it every day; the only possibility was that Chang-Sun’s sword was more exceptional than his armor.

Zing, zing!

Despite its amazing attack, [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] roared loudly in disappointment and anger after failing to kill Gi-Nam with a single strike.

‘He’s using demonic energy! This is unbelievable!’ Gi-Nam thought in shock.

Gi-Nam particularly feared the black demonic energy enveloping [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth], which had revealed its true form. While living as a demonic being, Gi-Nam had met many talented demonic beings, but none of them had such exquisite demonic energy!

Everything he knew about demonic energy had been overturned by the demonic energy of [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth]. The demonic energy Gi-Nam knew was dark, grim, sinister, and impure like sewer water, but the energy he was seeing before him was clearer and purer than divine energy. It resembled an abyss that could stir up fear within people’s hearts. Gi-Nam could not believe that Chang-Sun controlled such pure demonic energy...

Without anyone’s knowledge, Chang-Sun had likely signed a contract with an ‘absolute evil’ type Celestial, becoming at least their bishop or apostle. Otherwise, it would be impossible for people to not find out Chang-Sun used demonic energy when he practically dripped with it.

‘He fooled the whole world!’?Gi-Nam screamed mentally, realizing he had to flee.

If Chang-Sun had been hiding his power the entire time only to reveal it now, that would mean he was very confident he could win while leaving no witnesses. Considering how those with evil-type energy were vulnerable to anyone with higher-level evil-type energy, he had to get away from Chang-Sun.

Pah―!

However, the problem was that Chang-Sun wasn’t done attacking Gi-Nam even if he wanted to run away.

[The Title ‘Jigwi’s Phantom Body’ has been applied!]

[A firestorm rages!]

Using the Eon Fire to its fullest extent, Chang-Sun tenaciously gained ground on Gi-Nam. The blizzard and cold weather, which had been blocking Chang-Sun’s view and slowing him down, were no longer able to bother him, as the Dungeon’s environmental restriction only caused the Eon Fire to resist more and become fiercer.

“Howl,” Chang-Sun commanded, holding [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] in his left hand and forcefully slitting his right palm. His blood sprayed into the air and mixed with the Eon Fire. Then, the [Yuchang Sword] revealed its azure blade, falling through the air toward Gi-Nam.

Clang!

Gi-Nam hurriedly swung his dagger upward in an attempt to stop the [Yuchang Sword], but his blade shattered into pieces above his head.

‘D-Divine energy, too?! How on earth...?!’ Gi-Nam thought, feeling as if he would faint.

Chang-Sun could handle divine and demonic energy at once? From what Gi-Nam knew, the two energies were antithetical, so they could never be mixed together. Despite that, the divine energy used by Chang-Sun was just as pure as his demonic energy.

The fact that Chang-Sun could easily shatter a dagger forged from [Gon-oh Iron], which was as difficult to obtain as [Cold Iron], made it evident that Gi-Nam would undoubtedly be in a great deal of trouble if he did nothing. He and his subordinates could end up being the ones to have their heads slammed into the snowfield of ‘Yeti Hill’, not Chang-Sun.

Pah!

Slash―!

Just then, the [Yuchang Sword] slashed diagonally through the air and cut off Gi-Nam’s left arm, causing a fountain of blood to spurt out. Gi-Nam screamed loudly in pain, “Arrrgh! Blood Wolf! You fucking bastard! Come out now! Do you think you’ll be safe if I die?!”

Watching out for incoming attacks, Gi-Nam tried to get as far away as possible, yelling at the top of his lungs using his mana.

Clang, clang, clash!

.

After reading the message, Gi-Nam looked up and saw the Blood Wolf Group mercenaries closing in on Chang-Sun. Ui-Jeong, the Blood Wolf Group leader, was taking the lead, smiling viciously with anticipation.

This time, a question appeared in Gi-Nam’s mind: Even if he disregarded the Black Ghosts, why was Chang-Sun standing still when the Blood Wolf Group mercenary troop was right in front of him? Anyone would think Chang-Sun was at a disadvantage, and that he should have run or tried to turn the tables. However, Chang-Sun continued to stay still, seemingly waiting for the Blood Wolf Group mercenaries to approach.

“No...!” Gi-Nam belatedly cried, springing forward in Chang-Sun’s direction to thwart his scheme. However...

~

[A detonator has been activated.]

[An explosion has been triggered!]

~

Boom! Boom, boom―!

Rumble―!

“Argh!”

“Urrrgh! My arm! My aaarm...!”

Several explosions suddenly erupted across the snowfield. Gigantic pillars of fire soared into the air at random intervals, blowing up several of the Blood Wolf mercenaries. Most of their bodies were instantly blown to pieces. Even the mercenaries who escaped the blast radius were engulfed in flames, forcing them to roll across the snowfield. However, the Jigwi’s Eon Fire that consumed them was made of spirits, and could not possibly be extinguished with ordinary snow.

Ding!

Ding!

[The level of the Skill ‘Explosive Thunder’ has increased!]

[The level of the Skill ‘Explosive Thunder’ has increased!]

[The level of the Skill ‘Lightning Web’ has increased!]

...

[The level of the Skill ‘Intermediate Trap Installation’ has increased!]

...

[The level of the Skill ‘Intermediate Rune Engraving’ has increased!]

A constant stream of messages appeared before Chang-Sun. He had created Fire Bolts by combining the [Explosive Thunder] and [Lightning Web] Skills he had gotten from the Jigwis’ nest, then buried them in the snowfield like landmines using [Intermediate Trap Installation] and [Intermediate Rune Engraving]. The time for them to ‘shine’ had finally come.

Through his proficient use of the Concealment and Stealth Skills, Chang-Sun had not only hunted the assassins, but also installed a large trap across the snowfield. The Blood Wolf Group mercenaries had been unaware of that fact as they leaped into the fray, and ended up being blown away as a result...

However, Chang-Sun was not yet finished.

“S-Snow...!” Gi-Nam suddenly cried. He had been running forward to stop Chang-Sun, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw a white tsunami rushing down the ridge. It was an avalanche, and by its size alone, it was clearly unstoppable.

[An avalanche has begun to spread over the battlefield!]

“Ruuuun!” Gi-Nam cried, turning back and running frantically in the opposite direction. The Players from the Blood Wolf Group mercenaries turned as pale as the snow around them, and quickly followed suit.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh―!

However, the avalanche was far faster than the fleeing Players, descending quickly and devouring them whole.

1. The raw is ‘???’. It refers to a kind of iron mined from a place called Gon-oh (??) that existed in China during the Xia Dynasty.