Chapter 109. Subjugating Arioc (2)
Arioc was the first to launch a serious attack.
Boom!
He stepped forward hard enough to crack the floor beneath him.
Then he swung his sword with enough force to split Kang Yujin from head to groin.
Kang Yujin used [Circular Step] to evade while circling around Arioc’s flank at the same time.
Bang!
Kang Yujin’s fist collided with Arioc’s forearm.
Arioc’s arm was protected by thick armor, but the moment Kang Yujin’s fist struck it, the armor crumbled like a brittle snack.
“Gauntlets imbued with the power of a Saint!”
Arioc shouted with interest.
He had immediately recognized the nature of the [Saint’s Iron Fist] equipped on Kang Yujin’s hands.
“With gauntlets like those, even your fists can damage me!”
Ordinary physical attacks did not work properly against high-ranking demons, beings of Demonic nature.
But with the [Saint’s Iron Fist] adding Divine Power damage, even a physical blow could injure them.
However...
“But it isn’t enough to make me feel pain!”
Arioc moved his massive body.
The sheer force of that motion forced Kang Yujin backward.
Arioc’s swordsmanship was powerful and fast.
It was completely different from Lee Jukheon’s or Cheon Sangwoon’s style.
If that hits me, I won’t just lose an arm or leg. I’ll get crushed outright.
Kang Yujin kept using his skill to evade Arioc’s attacks.
Boom! Boom!
Arioc’s strikes smashed one object after another inside the audience chamber.
His attacks looked wild at first glance, yet there wasn’t a single real opening.
“How long do you plan to keep running away?!”
“Who knows.”
If there was no opening, then he could create one.
Kang Yujin deliberately exposed a small weakness.
Thanks to all the real combat experience he had accumulated, he had finally learned how to do something like this naturally.
Arioc attacked that opening without hesitation.
It was the kind of strike that carried absolute confidence, as if he didn’t care whether it was a trap.
Kang Yujin once again used his skill to slip around to Arioc’s flank.
Then he threw the same punch.
Thud!
Arioc blocked with his forearm again.
But the armor around that arm had already been shattered, forcing him to take the strike directly against bare flesh.
Kang Yujin could see Arioc’s skin breaking down under the Divine Power.
And yet...
“I already told you!”
Arioc roared.
“It isn’t enough to hurt me!”
He swung his forearm in the same motion.
Kang Yujin crossed both arms and defended with [Protective Gang Qi].
Even with the skill active, the impact was enormous.
He was shoved far backward.
Even as he slid away, Kang Yujin calmly observed Arioc.
Is he the same as Phenex?
Was the Divine Power generated by the [Saint’s Iron Fist] simply too weak?
Or was Kang Yujin’s own physical attack power still lacking?
Either way, his strikes weren’t dealing meaningful damage.
Arioc’s skin seemed to melt slightly, but it regenerated almost immediately.
This won’t work.
This was different from his battle against Baphomet.
Baphomet had also been a high-ranking demon, but Phenex and Arioc stood on an entirely different level.
Their defense and regeneration were incomparable.
Ordinary punches, even while wearing the [Saint’s Iron Fist], were not enough to deal effective damage.
Then...
Kang Yujin raised his right hand.
And pulled the Durandal Replica from his inventory.
“Hmm?”
Arioc stopped moving and stared at it.
“A spear carrying the aura of a Saint. Its degree of manifestation seems far higher than those gauntlets.”
Arioc bared his lion-like fangs in a grin.
“Interesting! Come, then! Show me what you can do!”
As if inviting him to attack, Arioc spread both arms.
Kang Yujin stared at him and kicked off the ground.
He gripped the spear-modified Durandal Replica with both hands and thrust it toward Arioc.
But Arioc easily knocked the spear aside with his sword.
“Hahaha! Your spear technique is far worse than your fists!”
It was an accurate assessment.
Kang Yujin had barely trained in spear techniques.
If they were judged purely by technique, Seok Taejun was probably better.
The weapon was fairly useful when thrown at a huge target.
But in a close exchange against a human-sized opponent, it wasn’t particularly effective.
So the spear really won’t work.
Even while thinking that, Kang Yujin continued thrusting.
Eventually, Arioc’s massive hand caught the shaft.
“Hmm. This one is quite hot!”
Arioc had grabbed the section directly connected to the body of the Durandal Replica.
Apparently, the Divine Power inside the replica was much stronger than that of the [Saint’s Iron Fist], because blood began pouring from Arioc’s hand.
“You should put down this little toy!”
Arioc pulled with overwhelming strength, trying to wrench the spear away.
Kang Yujin tightened his grip.
But the spear was ripped from his hands in an instant, and his body staggered forward.
At that exact moment, Durandal appeared in Kang Yujin’s right hand.
Losing the spear and allowing his stance to collapse had been intentional.
From a low angle that was difficult for Arioc’s huge body to react to, Kang Yujin swung Durandal with all his strength.
Whoosh!
With the sound of air being sliced apart, Arioc’s left hand flew through the air.
“Not bad.”
Having lost his left hand at the wrist, Arioc spoke slowly.
He watched the human called Kang Yujin retreat and create distance, then continued in a cold voice.
“That is an impressive holy sword. You had something like that as well?”
He didn’t know its exact name, but it was obviously a legendary holy sword.
Otherwise, Arioc’s wrist would never have been severed so helplessly.
“But you were foolish, human warrior.”
Blood continued to pour from the stump.
Arioc didn’t care.
It was an injury that would heal soon enough.
It wasn’t enough to significantly alter the battle.
“If you had pierced my heart or severed my neck, perhaps you might have had a chance. But with your surprise attack, all you managed to cut off was one wrist.”
That must have been the limit of Kang Yujin’s technique.
“So what will you do now? Surprise me again and aim for my heart or neck?”
"..."
Kang Yujin didn’t answer.
Arioc continued.
“Now that I know you possess such a holy sword, I will no longer allow you to catch me off guard.”
Arioc didn’t possess Phenex’s absurd regenerative ability.
If that holy sword dealt a serious wound, Arioc really could die.
Now that he knew Kang Yujin possessed such a powerful weapon, he couldn’t afford to allow even the slightest attack through.
“No matter how desperately you struggle to catch me off guard, it is useless. This is the difference in power between you and me... between demon and human.”
“Who knows.”
Kang Yujin muttered briefly.
It sounded like empty stubbornness, and Arioc let out a sigh.
“Victory cannot be won through luck, human warrior named Kang Yujin. Victory and defeat are decided by skill.”
To prove his words, Arioc stepped forward and raised his sword.
He intended to crush this human with his full power.
Then he would take that holy sword as spoils of war and present it before the Demon God Assembly.
Kang Yujin possessed a finishing move.
His Awakening Skill, [Shatter Everything].
So far, beginning with the dinosaur-type undead, Kang Yujin had destroyed countless gigantic monsters with a single strike from [Shatter Everything].
But even this seemingly invincible finishing move had limitations.
The problem was that the skill was ultimately based on physical damage.
It required him to strike the target’s absolute weak point with exact precision.
If something interfered with that, the skill could not activate properly.
For example, the Jiaolong he had fought at the Han River had been covered in slick mucus.
It had been difficult to use [Shatter Everything] because his fist might slide off.
Demons were similar.
The barrier of Demonic power surrounding their bodies interfered with [Shatter Everything].
That was also why he hadn’t been able to use it against Phenex.
The [Saint’s Iron Fist] could neutralize part of the Demonic barrier.
But it couldn’t completely erase the barrier of a high-ranking demon like Phenex.
There was no way [Shatter Everything] could strike with perfect precision through that remaining interference.
Kang Yujin had known that.
That was why he hadn’t even attempted [Shatter Everything] against Phenex.
But...
Ever since that battle, Kang Yujin had repeatedly reviewed everything that happened.
Phenex had survived even after being split in half by Durandal.
Of course, Phenex’s regeneration surely had limits.
If someone could repeat the same thing several times, he would eventually die.
But doing that against Phenex was anything but easy.
If Cheon Sangwoon, Durandal’s original owner, were still able to fight, perhaps he would have had a chance.
Giving Durandal to Lee Jukheon was another possibility, but Lee Jukheon himself didn’t seem confident.
It would also be difficult for Lee Hyeonje’s [Forbidden Thunder] to kill Phenex.
The same applied to the other Eight Guardians.
In other words, there was currently no power in the Capital Region capable of defeating Phenex.
Except for one.
[Shatter Everything].
Then what should he do?
After thinking about it, Kang Yujin came up with one possibility.
And he sought guidance from Jegal Geum.
Protective Gang Qi...
The [Protective Gang Qi] skill taught by Jegal Geum drew out internal energy and wrapped it around the user’s body.
When Kang Yujin asked for guidance, Jegal Geum first made him practice this skill.
After training without rest for an entire day, Kang Yujin discovered that he could surround himself with an astonishing amount of energy.
Even he was surprised.
After seeing that, Jegal Geum warned him not to use [Protective Gang Qi] that way in actual combat.
If he expelled that much qi at once, his stamina would be exhausted in an instant.
He needed to regulate it properly.
He said I’d run dry quickly because I haven’t accumulated internal energy over many years.
After Kang Yujin completed his training in [Protective Gang Qi], Jegal Geum said he should now be accustomed to drawing out the energy lying dormant inside his body.
Most Contractors of the Hwaseong Sect fought by using these martial arts skills to draw out their biological energy.
That was why Lee Sion, despite not being particularly large, could exert enormous physical strength.
But without a deep reserve of accumulated internal energy, one’s stamina would be exhausted rapidly.
And because Kang Yujin already possessed tremendous physical strength, he had never learned skills that drew out qi in this manner.
However, after acquiring [Protective Gang Qi], Kang Yujin finally learned how to draw the biological energy within himself to the surface.
And that allowed him to move on to the next stage.
“Do not worry! I will send your companions after you soon enough!”
The lion-headed demon charged with a roar.
Kang Yujin stared directly into the overwhelming assault.
Then he threw Durandal from his hand.
“Fool!”
Arioc knocked Durandal away with his sword.
At the same time, Kang Yujin used [Circular Step] and slipped toward Arioc’s flank.
“The same trick again!”
Arioc shouted mockingly as he raised his blade.
He had already seen Kang Yujin circle toward his flank along the same trajectory several times.
There was no reason for him to fall for it again.
Arioc’s blade came down to split Kang Yujin’s head as he moved toward the side.
[Great Blessing descends from your contracted Constellation, ‘Nameless King’!]
[All your stats increase greatly for five minutes!]
Circular Step... Double Step!
One more time.
This time, Kang Yujin moved along a smaller circle.
He was certain.
The chained footwork that had caught Cheon Sangwoon off guard would work against Arioc too.
And his certainty proved correct.
Arioc’s sword cut through empty air.
"...!"
Kang Yujin saw Arioc draw in a sharp breath.
But it was only surprise at being momentarily caught off guard.
Arioc still didn’t feel any real danger.
Kang Yujin wanted to shatter that confidence.
He clenched his fist.
Divine Power was not the only force capable of erasing a Demonic barrier.
Any power that transcended the physical laws of the Material Realm could, by a similar principle, break through the laws of another world that wrapped around a demon’s body.
In other words...
internal energy could do it.
The biological energy dormant inside Kang Yujin’s body became the role of internal energy, a force that did not originally exist in the Material Realm.
But unlike [Protective Gang Qi], he did not wrap it around his body for defense.
Instead, he gathered it into the fist extending toward his enemy.
Concentrated it into a single point.
And released it in an instant.
A skill Jegal Geum had developed in his attempt to reach the level of an SS-rank Contractor, but had ultimately been unable to use himself because of the limitations of his own body.
Its name was [Heavenly Splendor Great Thunder].
The instant Kang Yujin’s fist punched through the armor and struck Arioc’s torso, all the qi he had drawn from his body erupted like lightning.
“OOOOH...!”
Arioc’s mane stood on end.
The armor covering his body shattered under the violent surge of energy.
Even the Demonic barrier wrapped around him was swept away.
“It’s over.”
Keeping his fist pressed directly against Arioc’s torso, Kang Yujin twisted every joint in his body at once.
The kinetic force created by those joint movements was amplified through [Fa Jin] and transmitted into his fist.
Without even swinging his arm, he generated devastating impact from the point of contact.
This was the two-hit combination he had completed through relentless training.
A technique created specifically to kill a Demon God-class demon.
And then...
Kang Yujin’s Awakening Skill, capable of destroying anything, erupted.
