Chapter 37

His intention was to launch a surprise attack to neutralize the large, slow boss before it could fully assume its stance.

However, as Jun-sang rapidly charged, the boss, with a slow motion, nudged the tip of its axe that was resting on the ground. It seemed like a minor movement, but as a result, the axe rose in a semicircle towards Jun-sang. It wasn’t something to ignore just because it wasn’t the blade part. As the wide portion cut through the air and rose, Jun-sang, far from a surprise attack, found his vision obscured, making approach difficult. And as he hesitated for a moment, the boss fully stood up, gripping the axe handle with both hands.

“Tch.”

As Jun-sang, now stopped, frustrated that his initial charge had been rendered useless, clicked his tongue, the boss stepped forward with one foot and brought the axe down on Jun-sang with both hands. With red lights emanating from its eyes, this powerful attack, thrown down with the full weight of its massive body, possessed such overwhelming force that the targeted prey would be unable to move, even knowing it was under attack.

However, Jun-sang was not prey. Rather, he was a being fit to be called a predator.

“…”

Jun-sang, closing his mouth and holding his breath, dodged to the right, watching the axe’s lightning-fast strike. With immense wind pressure, the huge axe cut through the air and smashed into the ground.

CRASH!

The moment the axe hit the ground and stopped, Jun-sang extended his left hand and pressed down on the axe handle. Using that point as an axis, he spun his body like a storm, channeling all that force into his right fist, aiming for the boss’s hand holding the axe handle.

CRACK!

Jun-sang’s hook, imbued with the full power of his body and the added momentum from his rotation, utterly crushed the boss’s right hand that was gripping the axe handle. But Jun-sang’s attack didn’t end there. Without losing the rotation of his body, he spun a full circle, this time aiming the back of his left fist at the back of the boss’s left hand, which was still holding the axe handle. This attack also succeeded brilliantly.

THWACK!

But perhaps it was due to a significant loss of rotational force from the first blow? The boss’s hand, though its bones were broken, wasn’t completely crushed. The boss, having taken damage to both hands in quick succession, finally shifted its center of gravity backward from its axe-swinging posture, attempting to retreat. But Jun-sang’s relentless assault wouldn’t let the boss go. This time, it was a low kick aimed at the boss’s knee.

WHUMP!

Jun-sang’s dark military boot, cutting through the air, accurately struck the boss’s knee.

THUD!

But the boss’s knee, supporting its massive frame, held firm despite receiving Jun-sang’s attack directly. Jun-sang continued to throw hooks with his right hand, but the boss had already completely shifted its weight backward, so his punches merely cut through empty air.

Jun-sang, having instantly crushed both of the boss’s hands, forcing it to drop its axe and retreat, attempted to follow up with additional attacks on the retreating boss. But at that very moment, the black energy emanating from the boss’s body enveloped Jun-sang.

HISSSSSS!

“Gah!”

The moment the black energy touched his skin, an intense pain, incomparable to when he first entered the cave, shot through him. Immediately, a thick haze, like smoke, rose from the affected skin, and regeneration began. But the burning pain didn’t subside, forcing Jun-sang to groan and falter.

However, the black energy’s effect wasn’t just to harm the vitality of the contacted opponent.

Hiss-hiss-hiss…

The boss’s injured hands seemed to be engulfed in the black energy, and its broken fingers began to regain their form. That’s right. The true purpose of the black energy was to absorb the opponent’s vitality and use it to restore the boss’s body. Jun-sang had no choice but to bite his lip at the sight of his efforts to break the hands being undone. Even though he had taken the axe, unless he could deal with this black energy, he would only be sacrificing his own vitality to the boss.

The way to suppress this black energy? It was fire.

Jun-sang surveyed his surroundings while preventing the boss from picking up the axe again. Confirming that the three wolves had almost defeated the undead summoned by the boss, Jun-sang gave them an order.

“Attack those black bastards!”

As the command fell, the wolves, who had been rushing towards Jun-sang to help him, collectively changed direction and charged towards the armored monsters wielding giant zhanmadao. The armored monsters, who had been chasing the Will-o’-the-Wisp, began to mill about in confusion as the huge wolves charged them. Seizing the opportunity, Jun-sang recalled the Will-o’-the-Wisp to himself.

The boss waited for its body to recover for a moment, then took a step forward with a thud and began to approach Jun-sang again. Its intention was likely to pick up the axe, but Jun-sang now had the Will-o’-the-Wisp to block the black energy.

Pop-pop-pop!

The black energy extending towards Jun-sang erupted with fierce sparks the moment it touched the Will-o’-the-Wisp, and Jun-sang surged forward again into the newly revealed opening. The boss leaned back and swung its right fist widely at Jun-sang. It was a violent punch, enough to make one sick just watching it.

But Jun-sang did not dodge the punch that was crushing the air as it flew. No, he even extended his right fist and struck the boss’s fist!

CRASH!

Fists clashed with a powerful roar, and the shock forced both Jun-sang and the boss to recoil.

“Ugh…”

Jun-sang grimaced at the impact transmitted through his fist, but this clash was his victory. The boss hadn’t fully focused its impact on Jun-sang’s fist, and as a result, the finger section that met Jun-sang’s fist couldn’t withstand the impact and shattered.

—GRAAAHHHH!

Injured again, the boss, unable to control its rage, let out a roar, spewing black energy in all directions. But the busy Will-o’-the-Wisp intercepted all of those attacks before they could reach Jun-sang. Jun-sang grimaced, waiting for the shock transmitted through his fist to subside. But before his regeneration was complete, the armored monsters, having heard the boss’s roar, ignored the clinging wolves and charged towards Jun-sang.

“Damn it…”

Jun-sang was annoyed the moment he saw the two large armored monsters rushing towards him, wielding their zhanmadao. His eyes caught sight of… the boss’s axe, abandoned and stuck at an angle in the ground. He couldn’t explain why he thought of it. He just instinctively reached out his hand the moment he saw that axe.

And,

The moment he finally gripped the axe handle!

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, Jun-sang’s vision began to turn red.

“Aaaarrrgh!”

It wasn’t just his vision turning red. An unknown energy flowed from the hand gripping the axe, beginning to heat the blood flowing within Jun-sang’s body. The absurd sensation of all his blood in his veins boiling and vaporizing at once made Jun-sang feel as if time had momentarily stopped. That sensation traveled up his veins, attempting to invade his reason, but a refreshing aura once again spread from the two accessories Jun-sang was wearing, blocking that ominous and fatal sensation.

“Gah…”

In Jun-sang’s eyes, momentarily losing his grip due to the sudden burst of sensation, two armored monsters, who had somehow appeared right in front of him, were captured, ready to bring their zhanmadao down on him. It was a moment of dire peril… but for some reason, Jun-sang felt no fear towards the armored monsters that were charging at him, spewing red light from their eyes.

“…”

Jun-sang almost instinctively swung the axe in his hand. And as if by magic, the giant axe, held in Jun-sang’s hand, tore through the air and met the two zhanmadao.

CLANG!

And in an instant, fierce sparks flew, and the giant zhanmadao wielded by the armored monsters shattered like glass, scattering into the air. Jun-sang, channeling the momentum from swinging the massive axe, rotated his body and swung the axe horizontally at the armored monsters again. The armored monsters instinctively tried to block Jun-sang’s swinging axe with the handles of their zhanmadao, whose blades were now broken.

But,

That was never going to work from the start.

CRUNCH!

The massive axe crushed the armor worn by the two monsters, and the armored monsters, unable to withstand the absurd power of the axe, split apart like firewood, utterly destroyed. Jun-sang, having instantly dispatched two armored monsters, dragged the axe on the ground and turned his gaze towards the boss. But the boss was just staring blankly at Jun-sang, as if it couldn’t comprehend the current situation.

Why was that? Jun-sang felt as if this massive boss was terrified of him.

Thump…

Dragging the axe on the ground, Jun-sang took a step towards the boss. The boss flinched and took a step back.

“Heh heh…”

Jun-sang somehow found himself amused. A frightened boss? Where else could he witness something so entertaining? Jun-sang was about to take another step… but a sudden wave of dizziness caused him to stumble and collapse.

“Ugh…”

Jun-sang, dropping to one knee and collapsing to the ground, let go of the axe.

Then,

An immense, burning pain, as if his entire body were on fire, began to tear his senses apart.

“AAAAHHH!”

Only then did Jun-sang realize. The white smoke rising from his body as if it were on fire. But even in a situation where his sanity was about to snap from the pain, Jun-sang’s brain analyzed the cause and finally found the answer. It was that axe. The axe the boss was holding was the answer to all of these phenomena. He had no way of knowing the exact principle, but that axe was a demonic object that absorbed the user’s vitality and, based on that, allowed them to exert immense power. For a normal creature, even swinging it for a brief moment could be fatal, but the boss had been offsetting that drawback by absorbing the vitality of other creatures through the black energy it emitted from its body. The fact that Jun-sang could endure this much was because he had regeneration.

The boss hadn’t retreated out of fear. It was simply waiting, knowing that Jun-sang would self-destruct.

Thump.

As Jun-sang collapsed, emitting white smoke from his entire body, the boss stepped forward and approached. This was an action meant to deliver the final blow to Jun-sang, whose vitality was already depleted by the axe.

However, Jun-sang still had cards left.

“Red Potion.”

As the designated command was executed, Will-o’-the-Wisp was unsummoned, and in its place, the Healing Potion, which had never been used before, was equipped in the card slot.

“Open Healing Potion.”

And with Jun-sang’s subsequent command, the Healing Potion rapidly began to replenish Jun-sang’s depleted vitality. Jun-sang slowly rose to his feet.

“Open Crushing Blow.”

This time, the Shoulder Charge card was removed, and the Crushing Blow card took its place. As Jun-sang, who had thought he didn’t even have the strength to move a finger, rose to his feet, the boss flinched and stopped its approach. Jun-sang lunged at the boss.

WHOOSH!

The boss’s left palm swung at Jun-sang as if swatting a fly, but Jun-sang lightly ducked his head, dodging the attack with minimal movement. He then stuck close to the boss’s side and extended his fist, unleashing a devastating liver blow. The boss staggered and was pushed sideways by Jun-sang’s fist burrowing into its side.

“Open Will-o’-the-Wisp.”

The Healing Potion was unequipped, and Will-o’-the-Wisp was summoned again, causing the black energy emanating from the boss to disappear with fierce sparks. And the three wolves, who had been suppressed and unable to move by the malevolent aura Jun-sang had been emitting until now, finally seized the opening created by the Will-o’-the-Wisp and lunged at the boss. The boss, flustered by the combined attack of the three massive wolves, waved its hands, but Jun-sang’s fist, having approached unnoticed, slammed into the boss’s knee.

THWACK!

Unable to withstand the continuous barrage of blows, the boss lost its balance and collapsed. With the boss’s legs immobilized, Jun-sang finally activated Crushing Blow.

HUMMM… HUMMM!

As power began to gather in Jun-sang’s body, even the illusion of space warping began to occur.

One second,

Two seconds,

And three seconds.

Jun-sang sent the wolves back, then unleashed his gathered power towards the immobilized boss.

CRASH!

With a violent explosion that shook the cave, thick dust scattered. And within that dust, the boss was seen collapsing weakly to the ground, its entire left upper body having vanished.

“Hah… hah…”

The aftermath of using a full-charged Crushing Blow once again afflicted Jun-sang’s body. White smoke began to emanate from his body, which was heated like an overheated car engine, as regeneration began. But that was only for a moment. A gentle white light enveloped his body, healing his overloaded form.