Chapter 109

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 extremely effective for instant kills. Nothing could withstand fire.

After about 30 minutes, he arrived at the Lake of Blood.

True to its name, a lake dyed entirely in crimson greeted Sanghyun.

The thick, fishy stench rising from the lake left no doubt—it was someone’s blood.

"The blood of the dead is meaningless."

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 immediately slashed his left palm with his greatsword. The blade was so finely honed that a mere 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 me lose blood until I become anemic?"

Time 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 moment, 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 meters and a massive frame, 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.

This was the problem.

This was also the information Dokgo Yoon had blabbered about—the Blood-Drinking Sword, or ‘Pimakum’ for short.

He immediately 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 moment, the sight of Blood running on water felt like a scene from a martial arts film—almost beautiful.

Of course, admiration was short-lived.

Sanghyun initiated the attack by forcing Blood to make a choice with his Illusion Mediation 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 performed the summoning ritual,

but he was thrilled at the thought of tasting the blood of a living human for the first time 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 moment, Illusion Mediation activated.

The real became illusion.

The illusion became real.

"......?"

Blood’s expression twisted upon realizing his confident first strike had sliced through empty air.

Calling it a "rotted" look would be an understatement!

Sanghyun had perfectly seized Blood’s back.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Sanghyun immediately 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.

Thus, he laid the groundwork to maximize the destructive power of his next attack with Sage’s Whisper.

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.

Sanghyun seamlessly chained in Wrath of the Mortal.

At a glance, it seemed like nothing more than a light stab at the same 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... me?'

Meanwhile.

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 emerged. 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 moment, 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 immediately took a defensive stance.

The battle against Blood was now entering Phase 2.

Blood's attacks in Phase 2 were overwhelming.

Each time he swung his sword, crimson sword energy continuously shot toward Sanghyun.

As time 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 troublesome ones.

Due to the sheer power of the sword energy, there were even times when deflected strikes returned toward him.

When the relentless attacks momentarily 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 moment 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 harassment through extreme 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 become 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.

Sanghyun swiftly closed the distance.

As he changed his approach from a defensive stance, Blood did not back down and immediately clashed head-on.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In a flash, three powerful strikes collided, sending sparks flying.

But only for a moment.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Soon, a flurry of attacks aimed 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 becomes to create openings.'

'I must kill him. Dragging this out any longer will be troublesome.'

As Sanghyun and Blood fought with differing intentions, the relentless exchange of attacks continued.

At some point, they lost track of time, fully immersing themselves in the battle.

The only sounds that filled the battlefield were slight grunts, shallow gasps, and the wind being torn apart by their movements.

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 abdomen and sent him stumbling backward.

『Demon Bash』

At the same time, 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 outcome.

If Demon Bash successfully inflicted a guaranteed stagger every time, it would be utterly broken.

His opponent wasn’t some 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 something.

'Complete Summoning.'

Sanghyun saw through his intent.

He was absorbing surrounding energy while attempting to draw him in.

That could only mean 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 movement 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.'

Sanghyun decided to bet on the additional option of Back Step, which he had upgraded to level 5 through skill enhancements.

In the current situation, this was the perfect skill to use both as an emergency measure and for immediate 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.