Spear Heaven and the Sword King were more than capable of reducing Grout to a mere damage gauge. Despite recognizing this, they were aware of the challenge they faced.
‘It hurts quite a bit.’
Ben had sustained significant injuries, having met a formidable opponent after a long time. Named NPCs with superhuman strength had exceptional natural healing abilities, but they were still confined to human bodies.
‘Hmm…’
Barad felt the discomfort in his left wrist. They both understood the current situation better than anyone. They had clearly overwhelmed Grout in the first exchange. They would unleash their full strength again in the second exchange. However, this second exchange would be weaker than the first. Herein lies the problem: what about the third exchange? The fourth exchange?
And crucially, “Friend, Help Me” was a skill with a limited summon time.
‘We will grow more exhausted, while our enemy becomes more resilient.’
The Sword King, Spear Heaven, and the guild Bright Future exchanged glances. At that moment, they understood.
‘We have to kill him without giving him time to recover.’
‘Attack simultaneously.’
Group attacks have many advantages, such as overwhelming the enemy quickly. However, the clear disadvantage was that everyone would be exposed to wide-area attacks. The current situation was extreme enough to warrant such risks.
[Barad’s HP is at 70%.]
[Spear Heaven’s HP is at 63%.]
This was proof enough. Grout did not miss their simultaneous movements. The advantage of having limitless vitality was the absence of fear and dread of death. Grout knew how to swiftly diminish the enemy’s forces.
Their simultaneous attack began.
Boom-!
Crash
Thud
Slash-!
Grout, who was enduring the relentless impacts with his entire body, was undoubtedly taking hits. However, having planned this, he smirked through his flowing blood.
“Is that all?”
“…!?”
Indeed, the recent concentrated attack had reduced Grout’s HP from 75% to 32%. But then.
[15% HP is restored.]
[13% HP is restored.]
[16% HP is restored.]
[Grout’s HP is restored to 64%.]
Grout healed once more with an almost grotesque level of regeneration. The blood he had shed coalesced around him. Hundreds of small bead-like objects scattered around in 0.2 seconds.
Popopopopop-!
The HP of those whose bodies were penetrated by these beads dropped rapidly. The problem was this:
[Stunned for 4 seconds.]
Grout moved according to his plan. They needed to inflict damage faster than Grout could regenerate. Assuming the total damage needed was 100, there was an easy way for Grout to reduce that number: take them out one by one.
If that happens, the total amount of 100 will be lowered to 90, 80, and 70.
In a stunned state, Bark could see the demon Grout right in front of him.
Grout’s sword pierced Bark.
Puuuk.
[HP drops below 93%.]
“…!?”
He was known as a top-tier tank in Korea.
But Grout’s attack power defied common sense.
A light stab from his sword caused a loss of a staggering 7%.
Furthermore.
Puu, Puuupuk, Puuupuupuk-
“Ha ha ha ha!”
Grout laughed.
Four seconds of stun time.
In that time, he estimated he could kill both outsiders.
Their total damage, which was 100, would be reduced to 80.
With that, they would be further from killing him.
[HP drops below 43%.]
[HP drops below 34%…]
At that moment.
Crack!
[Growing Tanker]
[You have encountered an opponent far stronger than yourself.]
[Your defense momentarily increases in proportion to your opponent’s strength.]
[Your defense becomes infinite for 2 seconds.]
Bark grabbed his sword with both hands. He was a growing fighter and a growing tank.
Grout didn’t know, but Bark’s key trait was that his defense increased the stronger his opponent was.
“Oh?”
Grout was somewhat impressed. The outsider who had seemed insignificant now exuded a different aura.
What was he relying on? Temporary infinite defense?
Such a thing was meaningless.
At that moment.
“Didn’t you notice the shadow behind me?”
The shadow. In the Kingdom of Goyard, there was a woman known as the King’s Shadow.
She always stayed by the King’s side, hence the name.
It was Bella.
Swish-
Bella appeared in an instant and slashed Grout as she passed by.
[You have taken 21,301 damage.]
It was only 60-70% of Barad’s damage.
Bella, not stepping in further, watched from the shadows.
To protect the king in case of an emergency.
Thus, she also evaded Grout’s stunning attack.
Additionally, the genius Bella had an advantage that even Barad didn’t possess.
She had faster legs and a lighter body than Barad.
A genius in swordsmanship.
She demonstrated a swordsmanship she had created herself.
A swordsmanship that maximized her own advantages.
[Like the Wind]
[Temporarily increases movement speed and attack speed by three times.]
Swish-!
Grout couldn’t respond. She swirled around him quickly from all directions.
When he tried to defend, her unpredictable sword slashed him endlessly.
And Grout didn’t realize.
How many seconds had passed.
Her attacks were too fast for him to even count the time.
Additionally, Sword King Barad had a passive skill that reduced the duration of status effects by 40%.
Swish-
Bella followed him into the air after striking him upwards.
Grout’s back tingled with fear.
“Excellent, Bella. You’re growing every day.”
The king protected by the shadow.
Barad, who overcame the status effect faster than others, was waiting for Grout.
‘Dangerous…’
The king and his vassal had faced death countless times together.
Just by looking at each other’s eyes, they knew what the other intended, what the other needed.
Grout urgently absorbed the blood droplets.
In that moment, it manifested.
“The Swordsmanship of the Sword King.”
The power that strengthens Hyun-soo, the Cry of the Sword.
However, the Cry of the Sword is not suitable for single targets.
Hyun-soo’s Cry of the Sword involves indiscriminately slashing with exactly 48 blades within a radius of 20 to 35 meters.
The same goes for Sword King Barad’s technique.
Except his slashes extend up to a radius of 60 meters with 102 blades.
The issue is, it counts as a wide-range attack that extends 60 meters forward.
But Barad compensated for this.
[Roar of the Sword]
He rebirthed it anew.
Kiiiiiing-
“Ku, kuhahaaa!?”
Grout suddenly screamed.
The Roar of the Sword, an upgraded version of the Cry of the Sword.
This power, which briefly paralyzes the enemy’s will, changed to feel like the sound of scraping metal.
Moreover, this scraping metal sensation applies at more than five times the intensity, shaking the enemy’s will.
In that state, it pours out.
[Blades will be indiscriminately swung within a radius of 3 meters.]
Exactly 102 blades.
Those blades swirled within the narrow 3-meter space.
“Die.”
An overwhelming pressure surged, directly affecting Grout who was absorbing the blood-red orbs.
Crash-crash-crash-crash-crash-crash-crash-!
[Grout’s HP recovers to 66%.]
[Grout’s HP drops below 53%.]
[Grout’s HP recovers to 62%.]
[Grout’s HP drops below 48%.]
[Grout’s…]
Grout was engulfed in fear. Even though he was recovering transcendently, his HP kept plummeting.
[Grout’s HP drops below 11%.]
[Grout’s HP recovers to 19%.]
Boom-boom-boom-!
“Kuhahaaa!”
Grout felt the greatest fear he had ever experienced in his life.
At that moment, Grout, whose eyes seemed about to roll back, opened them wide.
[Dramatic Recovery]
[Instantly recovers 30% of HP.]
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
Everyone was unaware of Grout’s additional ability.
Despite his body being in ruins, Grout endured, surrounded by thousands of floating blood droplets.
Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-
They pierced through everything around like claymores gone wild.
“Ugh!”
“Kyah!”
“Kugh!”
The HP of the members of the Guild Bright Future plummeted to below 30% in an instant.
Even the HP of the two legends dropped below 45%.
“You wretch…!”
While they struggled to recover from the damage, Grout targeted Bella.
He wanted to bring despair to Barad.
The method of that despair was this: killing what he cherished most.
Bella, also in pain and unable to gather her senses, became his target.
Pook, Pook, Pooouk-, Sugaak!
Grout ravaged her madly.
However, Bella’s eyes showed no hint of wavering.
Perfect chivalry.
Even in the moments of being slashed, falling, and in pain, she did not falter.
Grout laughed maniacally at her.
“Kuhahahak!”
Because she was dying.
[Bella’s HP drops below 20%.]
She appeared unwavering, but inside, she was engulfed in fear.
‘I don’t want to die.’
A newly acquired life.
She wanted to see him become king. At that moment, Grout released her in the air.
[Bella’s HP drops below 10%.]
As Bella fell, Grout sent a blood sword slash towards her.
Sugaak-!
Bella knew. This single attack would kill her.
“Bella!”
Barad urgently reached out and shouted.
Bella closed her eyes.
‘I’m going to die.’
At that moment.
[Pull]
Her body was rapidly pulled somewhere.
“…Are you okay?”
When she opened her eyes, the second king she served was there.
“Go get treated.”
As a knight, Bella should have said, “I will still fight.”
However, seeing his expression made her think differently.
There was confidence and determination in his expression.
‘When did you change so much…?’
Hyun-soo, who had placed her down, began to walk.
Watching his back, Bella was impressed.
A great power was emanating from him.
[Fate is activated.]
***
[HP drops below 30%.]
[You are afflicted with a severe status condition.]
[It’s hard to maintain your balance.]
[It’s difficult to move.]
The members of the Guild Bright Future heard almost identical notifications.
“Ugh…”
“Khh…”
“Ouch…”
They tried to stand, but couldn’t.
Nel’s face turned pale as she watched the scene unfold.
‘No…’
[Barad’s HP is at 34%.]
[Spear Heaven’s HP is at 41%.]
Even Spear Heaven and Barad couldn’t move.
In contrast.
[Grout’s HP is at 44%.]
Grout had already recovered through Dramatic Recovery.
‘If Grout rushes at everyone now…’
They would face total annihilation.
Indeed, Grout intended to kill Bella first and then move on to the others.
At that moment, Hyun-soo used Pull to rescue Bella.
‘Hyun-soo…?’
Nel looked puzzled.
They needed a way to reduce that 44% of Grout’s HP.
Without that, confronting Grout now would be futile.
Hyun-soo activated a skill as he walked forward.
His presence changed completely.
[Rampaging Sword]
[Increases basic attack power of the sword by 341% with a 20% chance.]
Then, as he gradually increased his running speed, Hyun-soo shouted.
“Belia!”
[Judgment Time]
[Increases damage against evil by 132%.]
A holy light enveloped Hyun-soo’s sword.
He knew it was still far from enough.
[This is a moment of crisis.]
[If you don’t stop Grout now, you might face total annihilation.]
Hyun-soo pushed off the ground and leaped.
He confronted Grout in mid-air.
“You’re insane, boy.”
Grout sneered at Hyun-soo, who soared with his coat flapping.
It was inevitable.
Grout had figured out what Hyun-soo intended to do.
Previously, this attack had been attempted 12 times and blocked 10 times.
It was the same now.
Moreover, Grout’s HP was at 44% at this moment.
Hyun-soo was merely buying time.
However, Hyun-soo twisted his lips.
“You will die by my hand.”
He had a new power.
(Fate)
Active Skill
Grade: Legendary
Level: None
Mana Cost: 2,500
Penalty: None
Effect:
· Since the level is low, the success rate drops exponentially.
· There is a 5% chance of successful activation.
· You borrow the power of those you’ve met or crossed paths with, among those with whom you’ve formed a high affinity.
· You can use the power of those connections as if you were them, for one time.
· Something special might happen.
A custom-made skill just for Hyun-soo.
It was similar to “Friend, Help Me.”
You can borrow the abilities of those with whom you have a high level of affinity, but only once.
[The first use will have a 100% activation rate.]
[You have chosen Ben’s Ghost Step.]
The key point is this:
[You will walk like the real Ben for a moment.]
[Like a ghost.]
Grout’s eyes widened in surprise.
For an instant, a phantom of Ben appeared behind Hyun-soo.
It was an immense power that even Hyun-soo could not fathom.
Moreover, Hyun-soo’s level of Ghost Step was only 1.
[Ben’s level of Ghost Step will be applied to you.]
[You can use Ghost Step at +7 levels.]
The phantom was absorbed into Hyun-soo’s back.
However, Grout laughed.
“Kuhahahaha! How amusing, how very amusing! You still think you can win!”
[Grout’s HP is at 61%.]
He had somehow recovered even more. Hyun-soo knew it too.
No matter how briefly he became like Ben, he couldn’t reduce Grout’s HP from 61%.
But what if there were two ghosts?
“You’ve gained strong power, Hyun-soo.”
Chill-
Grout turned around.
Behind him stood Ben, and in front of him was Hyun-soo.
Furthermore, Hyun-soo’s sword was now imbued with the power of Rampaging Sword and Belia’s buff.
In this moment, he had become equal to the real Spear Heaven.
Grout felt as if his surroundings had gone silent.
Hyun-soo didn’t know either. He didn’t know how many times he could walk per second.
But one thing was certain.
They could reduce Grout’s HP from 61%.
Both of them spoke simultaneously.
“Ghost Step.”
“Ghost Step.”
Two ghosts walked.
And Hyun-soo had already confirmed the final story notification and its reward.
[If you kill the demon Grout, you can obtain the Ring of the Blood Demon.]
The reward was surprisingly a legendary-grade artifact.
Moreover, it was a cheat item that could restore HP, just like Grout.
Cliche Novel 