Chapter 109: The Blood-Drinking Sword - (4)
The cave section was easily cleared.
Scorpion and venomous spider-type monsters were highly sensitive to ground vibrations and wind.
So, throughout the journey, Sanghyun skillfully used Rising Airflow and Cold Blast to lure them out.
Once they revealed themselves,
He swiftly took them down with his fire-based skills, which were extrely effective for instant kills. Nothing could withstand fire.
After about 30 minutes, he arrived at the Lake of Blood.
True to its na, a lake dyed entirely in crimson greeted Sanghyun.
The thick, fishy stench rising from the lake left no doubt—it was soone’s blood.
"The blood of the dead is aningless."
There was only one reason why Blood had yet to appear.
It was not a monster, and no living human's blood had flowed into the lake.
Ssssskk!
Sanghyun imdiately slashed his left palm with his greatsword. The blade was so finely honed that a re graze caused blood to gush out.
"Savor the irresistible scent of blood. Believe it or not, this is expensive blood. My worth exceeds a hundred billion."
Sanghyun held his greatsword, waiting for Blood to appear.
Was it because there wasn’t enough sacrificial blood? He kindly added another wound to his palm.
"Damn bastard… is its goal to make lose blood until I beco anemic?"
Ti passed, yet Blood still did not appear, causing Sanghyun’s brow to twitch.
This strategy was exactly what Dokgo Yoon had once described on his broadcast.
Had he, at the last mont, added his own imagination and turned it into an entirely different novel?
It wasn’t impossible.
Dokgo Yoon had a flair for exaggeration, arrogance, and a trashy personality.
Just then.
GOGOGOGOGO.
From the center of the lake, a man covered in blood-red water began to rise, resting a greatsword on his shoulder.
It was an entrance reminiscent of a concert performance, complete with a full 360-degree spin.
"This won't be easy."
With a height easily exceeding 2 ters and a massive fra, a battle of endurance was out of the question.
Monsters of this type often had high stamina, making a speed battle essential.
Moreover, the Blood-Drinking Sword that Blood wielded had a slightly different activation condition when he held it.
[When wielded by Marquis Blood Blade, every strike landed on an opponent restores 2 HP.]
This was the problem.
This was also the information Dokgo Yoon had blabbered about—the Blood-Drinking Sword, or ‘Pimakum’ for short.
『Over Psychedelic』
He imdiately entered an awakened state.
Against Blood, avoiding attacks was just as crucial as dealing damage.
No matter how much he chipped away at Blood’s health, if he allowed repeated hits from the Pimakum, it would all be in vain.
FWASH! FWASH!
Blood kicked off the blood-red surface, charging toward Sanghyun.
For a brief mont, the sight of Blood running on water felt like a scene from a martial arts film—almost beautiful.
Of course, admiration was short-lived.
『Illusion diation』
Sanghyun initiated the attack by forcing Blood to make a choice with his Illusion diation skill.
"Hmph."
Blood scoffed upon seeing two Sanghyuns splitting apart.
During the separation of the real body and illusion, it was obvious which one was the fake.
He didn't know how this human had perford the summoning ritual,
but he was thrilled at the thought of tasting the blood of a living human for the first ti in ages.
The true body moved with controlled precision, while the illusion acted to deliberately distract.
Blood accurately pinpointed Sanghyun’s true body. Without hesitation, he swung the Pimakum.
At that mont, Illusion diation activated.
The real beca illusion.
The illusion beca real.
"......?"
Blood’s expression twisted upon realizing his confident first strike had sliced through empty air.
Calling it a "rotted" look would be an understatent!
Sanghyun had perfectly seized Blood’s back.
『Weakness Amplification』
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Sanghyun imdiately activated Weakness Amplification and executed a flurry of basic attacks, stacking four stat boosts in an instant.
‘Going all in from the start.’
His resolve was firm.
『Sage’s Whisper』
Thus, he laid the groundwork to maximize the destructive power of his next attack with Sage’s Whisper.
『Crushing Blade』
Then, he unleashed the critical strike—Crushing Blade.
The sheer amount of energy concentrated in an instant caused the greatsword to tremble violently under the strain!
The determination, will, and sheer killing intent imbued in the blade were overwhelming.
THWACK!
"Grrgh…!"
Sanghyun’s full-powered strike stabbed into Blood’s left lower back.
Despite wearing thick black armor and possessing skin that surpassed human limitations in toughness,
against Sanghyun’s insane damage output, it was a losing battle.
SHRRRRIP!
The greatsword tore through flesh, ripping apart both muscle and skin.
Blood winced as a sharp pain surged from his left side.
Had his nerves also suffered damage? Moving his left waist felt unnaturally heavy.
But the bigger problem was that this was far from over.
『Wrath of the Mortal』
Sanghyun seamlessly chained in Wrath of the Mortal.
At a glance, it seed like nothing more than a light stab at the sa wound.
"GRAAAAAAH!"
But Blood felt excruciating pain. Over 20% of the damage from the previous attack had been focused into a single point.
Even if the impact had been external, it would have been devastating.
But now, with an existing wound left vulnerable, it was sheer agony.
"Damn it!"
CLANG!
Blood swung the Pimakum with all his might, forcing Sanghyun backward.
Even so, he still possessed incredible strength and had managed to push Sanghyun away in one move.
‘That landed well.’
Sanghyun was satisfied.
From the beginning, he hadn’t expected to end the fight in a single blow.
Not when his opponent was clad in heavy armor.
In fact, I had thought that just breaking part of the heavy armor would be beneficial, but it had pierced even deeper than expected.
Moreover, the result produced by the Mortal's Wrath exceeded expectations in damage, which was highly satisfying.
Since it could concentrate 25% of the damage inflicted over the last five seconds into a single point, its lethality appeared even greater.
'Is this... ?'
anwhile.
Blood's face turned ashen as he lost over 40% of his health in an instant from Sanghyun's unexpected attack.
Fear and terror.
Emotions he had never thought he would experience suddenly erged. A sense of dread that he might actually die took root.
"This feeling... I cannot accept it."
Blood bit his lips tightly, and his previously darkened pupils turned blood-red.
At that mont, the blood that had surged up like a waterspout from the crimson lake began to converge around Blood.
'He's fast.'
Realizing the situation, Sanghyun imdiately took a defensive stance.
The battle against Blood was now entering Phase 2.
Blood's attacks in Phase 2 were overwhelming.
Each ti he swung his sword, crimson sword energy continuously shot toward Sanghyun.
As ti passed, rather than diminishing, the amount of sword energy he unleashed only grew, a truly shocking sight.
'Doesn't he ever get tired?'
Ever since Blood had begun unleashing his sword energy in earnest, Sanghyun had been solely focused on defense.
He barely managed to block the attacks with defensive maneuvers, occasionally using an updraft to deflect the more troubleso ones.
Due to the sheer power of the sword energy, there were even tis when deflected strikes returned toward him.
『Tempest Strike』
When the relentless attacks montarily eased, Sanghyun seized the opportunity to counterattack with Tempest Strike.
Ssssskt!
The knockback effect generated by Tempest Strike sent Blood flying backward.
For Sanghyun, this was a crucial mont to catch his breath and regain his lost tempo.
'Damn bastard. Since he never retreats, I couldn't even use Will of Charge and had to throw it straight into the trash.'
Sanghyun had hoped that once Blood started retreating, he could exploit the opportunity with Will of Charge, but it hadn't worked out.
He realized that giving Blood even a little distance would only result in continuous harassnt through extre sword energy barrages.
Currently, Blood could regenerate his health through the Blood Lake without even sustaining injuries.
The longer the fight dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would beco for Sanghyun.
'Rather than a stable fight minimizing variables, I should opt for a riskier, high-stakes battle.'
He had analyzed enough.
He had gauged the difference in power.
When facing a stronger opponent, it was better to create unpredictable variables rather than relying on straightforward tactics.
That way, he could find unexpected openings.
『Brave Charge』
Sanghyun swiftly closed the distance.
As he changed his approach from a defensive stance, Blood did not back down and imdiately clashed head-on.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In a flash, three powerful strikes collided, sending sparks flying.
But only for a mont.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Soon, a flurry of attacks aid to cut the opponent down, paired with relentless dodging, filled the air with the sound of slicing wind.
'The more he dodges, the easier it becos to create openings.'
'I must kill him. Dragging this out any longer will be troubleso.'
As Sanghyun and Blood fought with differing intentions, the relentless exchange of attacks continued.
At so point, they lost track of ti, fully imrsing themselves in the battle.
The only sounds that filled the battlefield were slight grunts, shallow gasps, and the wind being torn apart by their movents.
Then.
Sanghyun noticed Blood's evasive maneuver, his center of gravity shifting excessively to one side.
Sanghyun wouldn't miss such an opening.
Thud!
"Guh!"
With a kick much faster than a sword, he struck Blood’s abdon and sent him stumbling backward.
『Demon Bash』
At the sa ti, he chained it into Demon Bash.
It wasn't just one hit, but a flurry of consecutive strikes poured out in an instant.
However.
//s_win
//win_h ◎ Stagger, Status Resistance!
◎ Stagger, Status Resistance!
//e_win
"Tch."
They had all been resisted.
It wasn’t an unexpected outco.
If Demon Bash successfully inflicted a guaranteed stagger every ti, it would be utterly broken.
His opponent wasn’t so low-level monster but a boss monster with extraordinarily high stats. The result was only natural.
Then.
Blood, who had slightly withdrawn, pointed the tip of his sword at Sanghyun, attempting sothing.
'Complete Summoning.'
Sanghyun saw through his intent.
He was absorbing surrounding energy while attempting to draw him in.
That could only an one thing: a Complete Summoning. Especially if it was being used suddenly after not being used before, the likelihood was even higher.
Since it was an unfamiliar movent and technique, responding with Recovery carried significant risks.
If Recovery failed by bad luck, he would be helplessly pulled in and skewered to death.
'In that case.'
[...(omitted) While moving, you beco temporarily immune to Complete Summoning status effects.]
Sanghyun decided to bet on the additional option of Back Step, which he had upgraded to level 5 through skill enhancents.
In the current situation, this was the perfect skill to use both as an ergency asure and for imdiate response.
Kwaaat! Ssshat!
One trying to pull in.
One desperately trying to escape.
Their respective strategies and counters intersected at a single point in the blink of an eye.
And then.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, one of them found their eyes filled with question marks, unable to form words.
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