Chapter 68

“Huuuh… huuuh… huuuh…”

Was this the fourth time, or the fifth? It didn’t really matter. What mattered was that Langdajal, realizing the zombies he’d sent after the wolves weren’t returning, had personally led his subordinates to pursue them.

—KWOOAAAH!

Actually, for Jun-sang, this was a good thing. It was far more efficient to take out the “core” enemies like Langdajal than to slaughter hordes of zombies that offered almost no experience points. The only problem was that Langdajal was much stronger than he’d anticipated.

Langdajal’s hands were shackled by long chains, each connected to an iron ball nearly a meter in diameter. His upper body and arm muscles were abnormally developed, making his head appear much smaller in comparison. Two short, thick legs supported his massive frame, as if rooted to the earth. Langdajal was a monstrous being with such a grotesque physique.

Huuung… huuung… huuung…

The strange sound of the two iron balls whistling through the air filled the surroundings. These massive, spiked iron balls, often called morning stars, possessed enough power to tear Jun-sang’s arm muscles to shreds with just a graze. He hastily used a healing potion and relied on his regeneration ability for continuous healing, but the agonizing pain still left him panting.

“Huuuh… huuuh…”

Jun-sang, who had foolishly charged into close combat after seeing the weapon’s form, was now struggling to find a way out of this predicament. But before he could even finish his thoughts, Langdajal attacked again. Like a flail, a massive iron ball arced through the air, hurtling towards Jun-sang.

“Tch!” He clicked his tongue and quickly dodged to the side, but this time, another iron ball, with the momentum of a charging dump truck, flew directly at him. The sheer pressure was overwhelming, making it impossible to even consider facing it head-on. Moreover, the attack was aimed at where Jun-sang had moved to avoid the first iron ball, making it difficult to dodge immediately. Indeed, his initial arm injury was due to being caught in this pattern at close range.

“Hmph!” As the giant iron ball approached, Jun-sang sharply inhaled and activated Shoulder Charge. His body lunged forward like a blur, escaping the path of the charging iron ball.

—CRASH!

The iron ball that Jun-sang dodged shot out like a cannonball, smashing a massive rock and then shattering large trees behind it into splinters. Its destructive power was more akin to a siege weapon! Jun-sang could easily guess why this Langdajal was the vanguard leader. If Scout Leader Grunwal’s infiltration failed, Langdajal’s role was to smash through Iberia’s city walls themselves.

After dodging the two iron balls, Jun-sang immediately charged towards Langdajal. However, with a flick of Langdajal’s arm, the two iron balls that had fallen to the ground rose like living snakes, targeting Jun-sang’s back in succession. Jun-sang was about to throw a punch at Langdajal but had to hastily leap away as the chains connected to the iron balls rattled like coiled rattlesnakes. As the distance closed, Langdajal gripped the small handle connecting the iron ball and chain like a mace and aimed directly for Jun-sang’s head.

“Tsk…” There was no solution in simply dodging. The wolves and spirits were currently keeping Langdajal’s subordinates in check. Given the significant numerical disadvantage, pulling back even one would result in the wolves being instantly overwhelmed.

“I have to… use that.” Up until now, he had endured most situations with his bare hands, but unless he could block those two damn iron balls, he would remain on the defensive. Jun-sang finally made a decision.

First, Jun-sang created some distance from Langdajal. Then, from his inventory, he pulled out the demonic weapon he had kept sealed until now. As the dark, massive double-edged axe finally appeared, the surrounding grass and trees, corrupted by its intense demonic aura, instantly began to wither.

A dark demon hungering for blood. Its name was Bloodsucker!

“Huuuuh…” Jun-sang took a deep breath, gazing at the dark entity that sought to tempt him, then slowly reached out. And, the moment his hand finally grasped the axe handle—

KWOOOOOSH!

Something red, surging like a tidal wave, dyed Jun-sang’s vision. It was hot. The hand holding the axe handle was incredibly hot! The scorching sensation traveled up Jun-sang’s veins, instantly igniting his entire body.

“KWOOOOAAAH!” Jun-sang couldn’t withstand the sensation of his blood instantly vaporizing and exploding within his veins, and he roared loudly. Right now, he felt as if he could smash and burn everything in the world! Bloodsucker’s demonic power tried to awaken the instinct of destruction dormant within Jun-sang’s body and mind.

But then, two refreshing currents of energy, flowing from somewhere, began to calm the raging blood. This was the power of the Seal of Protection that Jun-sang was wearing.

“Huuuh…” As Jun-sang barely managed to suppress the destructive instinct awakened by Bloodsucker with the power of the Seal of Protection, he saw a giant iron ball hurtling directly towards him. However, to Jun-sang, who had awakened the forbidden power of Blood Burst and wielded the demonic weapon named Bloodsucker, it no longer appeared as a terrifying weapon to be feared. Jun-sang raised Bloodsucker and swung it directly at the incoming iron ball.

CLANGGGGG!

It sounded like a giant bell ringing. No, it was like the scream of a massive glacier breaking apart, tearing the air and echoing everywhere. Blood streamed from Jun-sang’s ears and eyes as he was hit by the incredibly powerful shockwave at point-blank range. But that was only for a moment. The flowing blood instantly vaporized, like a drop of water on a hot frying pan, vanishing without a trace. This phenomenon wasn’t confined to his ears and eyes; white smoke began to billow from Jun-sang’s entire body, as if he were on fire, forcing him to one knee.

His head was ringing, his ears deafened, and his vision blurred.

“Ugh… Open… Healing Potion.” Jun-sang barely managed to steady his trembling body from the after-effects of using Bloodsucker, consuming a healing potion to replenish his depleted vitality.

However, Jun-sang was the lucky one.

—GROAN…

The iron ball, which had collided directly with the dark demon Bloodsucker and generated a massive shockwave, bounced off from the intense impact and struck its owner, Langdajal, directly in the upper body. Struck by this powerful blow, which combined Bloodsucker’s Blood Burst magic with the immense kinetic energy of the iron ball, Langdajal’s entire left upper body was blown away as if hit by a giant cannonball, giving him no time to react. No matter how absurdly monstrous he was, this was a fatal injury with no hope of recovery.

“Huuuuh…” The moment Jun-sang, having recovered from the after-effects of Blood Burst, straightened his bent knee and stood up, Langdajal’s massive body began to topple backward like a rotten tree.

THUD!

And finally, as Langdajal collapsed and breathed his last, Jun-sang put Bloodsucker back into his inventory. “Hmph…” Its power was immense, but the after-effects were too severe. While it had the advantage of increasing power proportional to the life force consumed as he grew stronger, even for Jun-sang, who had endured considerable pain through endless training, these after-effects were simply too difficult to bear. The fact that his legs were still trembling spoke volumes.

As Langdajal fell in a gruesome state, his subordinate monsters showed clear signs of panic. After a moment of hesitation, one of the monsters suddenly turned and began to flee. Of course, Jun-sang had no intention of letting them escape. While zombies were merely a nuisance and offered little benefit, Langdajal’s subordinates were different.

Jun-sang quickly extended his left hand and used Telekinesis. The fleeing monster flipped over and fell, as if grabbed by the scruff of its neck.

“Tsk.” Was it due to the after-effects of using Bloodsucker? Or was it because the power of his telekinesis was still insufficient to pull such large monsters in instantly? It was unclear which, but Jun-sang immediately dashed forward and activated Shoulder Charge, slamming into the back of the monster that was struggling to get up.

—KEUK!

Its spine instantly shattered and its organs turned to pulp, the monster shrieked and rolled on the ground.

“Huuuh… huuuh…” His hands and feet were still trembling, but this was manageable. Jun-sang turned around and approached the faltering monsters. The monsters exchanged glances, then let out a roar and charged at Jun-sang simultaneously. Perhaps his seemingly exhausted appearance had emboldened them.

“Huuuh…” Jun-sang took a deep breath, then dodged a spear-like attack from a charging monster and activated Counter.

—KECKL!

Jun-sang’s immediate punch shattered the monster’s jawbone and twisted its neck back, and the monster, unable to withstand the impact, lost its momentum and flipped over, rolling on the ground. As Jun-sang began to pummel the monsters, the wolves, who had been injured and on the defensive, once again targeted the monsters’ backs. Langdajal’s subordinates couldn’t hold out for long and soon became mincemeat, collapsing on the ground like their leader.

“Huuuh…” With all of Langdajal’s subordinates finally defeated, Jun-sang stretched his limbs and lay on the ground, gazing at the already dark night sky. How much time passed like that? When his body, which had felt so heavy, finally felt somewhat lighter, Jun-sang slowly rose. The three wolves, who had been guarding their defenseless master lying on the ground, immediately turned to him.

“Good job. Go rest.” Jun-sang stroked the heads of the injured wolves one by one, then activated Recall to allow them to recover from their injuries. Only then did he dismiss the updated quest information from his sight and begin collecting the loot.

“Hmm…” The first item he picked up was Langdajal’s massive mace.

Item Info

Name: Langdajal’s Shackle (R)

Level Requirement: 10

Type: Weapon

Grade: Rare

Attack Power: 35-40

Effect: Critical Damage +40%

Seed: 4 slots

Description: The shackle that bound Langdajal’s right arm. It would be difficult to even move this, let alone use it as a weapon, without considerable strength.

The fact that it hadn’t broken even after directly clashing with Bloodsucker demonstrated its excellent durability. As he picked up the left shackle, a new message immediately appeared:

Set Item Equipped.

Among items, there are those that form a single set. Completing a set grants corresponding set effects. The currently completed set items are as follows:

1. Langdajal’s Fury [Detailed Info]

2. Seal of Protection [Detailed Info]

-For set item information, check the detailed info.

Jun-sang slowly checked the detailed information.

Set Item Info

Langdajal’s Fury The fury of Langdajal, the giant imprisoned for a thousand years, roars across the world. -Components 1. Langdajal’s Shackle (R) [Detailed Info] 2. Langdajal’s Shackle (L) [Detailed Info] -Set Effect 1. +200% Attack Power when destroying facilities. 2. Grants “Shatter” effect on hit.