Chapter 86

Chapter 86. Assault of the Eight Guardians (2)

─ Choi Cheolmin is pretty dangerous too.

─ You could call him a superior version of Sama Yun.

─ The Hero King of Monstrous Strength is probably boosting his Strength with a Constellation Skill.

The S-rank Constellation "Hero King of Monstrous Strength," Beowulf.

After countless heroic exploits, he became the king of a nation. Even in old age, he accomplished the feat of defeating an evil dragon.

Beowulf was one of the representative heroes of Northern Europe.

Because of his monstrous physical strength, Beowulf possessed a Constellation Skill that greatly increased a Contractor's Strength.

Thanks to that effect, Choi Cheolmin could display power at the very highest level.

─ Between Kang Yujin and Choi Cheolmin, who's stronger?

─ We'd really have to see them fight to know.

─ But Kang Yujin is at a disadvantage.

─ How?

─ This applies to Lee Hyeonje too, but Kang Yujin already received a Great Blessing from his Constellation.

─ Ah, right. He used it when fighting Daji.

─ That was last night, so twenty-four hours still haven't passed.

─ It's still morning, so there's plenty of time left.

─ Even once he can use it again, he'll probably try to save it for later.

─ If Choi Cheolmin receives a Great Blessing in this situation... Kang Yujin will definitely be pushed back.

He's strong.

Facing Choi Cheolmin, Kang Yujin thought to himself.

He's not someone I can take down easily.

Until now, Kang Yujin had fought and defeated other members of the Eight Guardians such as Jegal Geum and Lee Hyeonje.

But neither of them had been trying to kill him.

They had only rushed in to lightly subdue him, which had allowed Kang Yujin to exploit their openings.

This was the first time he was fighting an Eight Guardian in a true life-or-death battle.

"Kang Yujin."

Joo Minha whispered from behind him.

"I'll keep him in check with Magic Bullet-Type Magic. Please move together with Lee Jukheon and Seok Taejun and wait for an opening."

"Joo Minha..."

"Right now, you're the only one who can defeat that man."

Lee Hyeonje was busy fighting Yoon Miho and had no room to pay attention to this side.

They had to deal with Choi Cheolmin using only the people present here.

"I'm counting on you."

After saying that, Joo Minha signaled the others with her eyes.

Lee Jukheon and Seok Taejun immediately moved.

Then Joo Minha began raining down magical bullets.

"Huh?"

Choi Cheolmin looked slightly surprised.

Joo Minha's attack was more of a wide-area bombardment than he had expected.

"This much is nothing!"

Choi Cheolmin gripped his flail with both hands and swung it in a wide arc.

The magical bullets scattered in every direction.

"He deflected magic with a physical attack...!"

"You think I got rated SS-rank for nothing?!"

Choi Cheolmin shouted.

His attack brushed against Seok Taejun.

That alone was enough to make Seok Taejun cough up blood and collapse.

Lee Jukheon faltered at the sight.

Choi Cheolmin charged him.

"Ugh!"

Lee Jukheon's sword collided with Choi Cheolmin's flail and went flying.

As Lee Jukheon stared in shock, Choi Cheolmin raised one leg.

Lee Jukheon was sent flying backward by a kick.

"..."

Seeing his companions fall one after another in an instant, Kang Yujin clenched his fists.

"Joo Minha."

"Yes?"

"I'll handle him. Treat Seok Taejun and Lee Jukheon."

"Kang Yujin...!"

Ignoring her, Kang Yujin moved.

He charged toward Choi Cheolmin, who wore a confident expression as if daring him to come.

Then he swung his flail with all his strength.

"Ha!"

Choi Cheolmin laughed as if amused and swung his own flail.

It was almost as though he intended to knock Kang Yujin's iron ball away with his own like a billiards shot.

I noticed it while watching him fight Seok Taejun and Lee Jukheon.

Kang Yujin focused and moved his fingers.

Choi Cheolmin's flail doesn't have this function.

He pressed the button built into the handle.

The chain lengthened.

So...!

The extending chain avoided colliding directly with Choi Cheolmin's flail.

But this wasn't meant to land an attack.

"What...?!"

Kang Yujin concentrated on the sensations in his fingertips as he manipulated the flail.

Choi Cheolmin hurriedly tried to pull his weapon back.

That only made things worse.

The chains wrapped around each other, tangling both flails together.

"Damn it...!"

Choi Cheolmin pulled hard.

For a moment, Kang Yujin nearly lost his grip under that overwhelming force.

But he planted his feet and held on.

[A-rank Constellation "Flower-Tattooed Monk" leans forward in anticipation of the contest of strength.]

[B-rank Constellation "Hunter Favored by the Moon Goddess" looks forward to seeing how a clash of monstrous strength will end.]

A tug-of-war against the man said to possess the greatest physical power in the Capital Region.

Kang Yujin bit his lip and held on with everything he had.

Seeing that, Choi Cheolmin's eyes widened as he exerted more force.

Amazingly...

They were nearly equal.

[A-rank Constellation "Adventurous Sailor" gasps at the evenly matched contest of strength.]

[B-rank Constellation "Young Master Who Commands Goblins" judges that both sides possess almost identical Strength.]

This was Kang Yujin's first time fighting an opponent with physical strength comparable to his own.

It felt strangely fresh.

Of course, Choi Cheolmin felt the same.

The confusion on his face made that obvious.

[S-rank Constellation "Hero King of Monstrous Strength" roars at his Contractor to show some real power.]

[The Great Blessing of Choi Cheolmin's contracted Constellation "Hero King of Monstrous Strength" descends.]

[All of Choi Cheolmin's stats greatly increase for five minutes.]

A smile appeared on Choi Cheolmin's lips.

Certain of victory, he pulled with his newly enhanced strength.

But...

I expected that...!

Kang Yujin had already realized how confident Choi Cheolmin was in his own strength.

That was exactly why he had intentionally created this contest.

He wanted Choi Cheolmin to become fixated on winning through raw power.

[A-rank Constellation "Naval Commander Holding a Pitchfork" exclaims in admiration.]

Using the force of Choi Cheolmin's pull...

Kang Yujin kicked off the ground.

Anyone else would have lost balance and stumbled.

But Kang Yujin's physical ability and reflexes prevented that.

The distance vanished in an instant.

Choi Cheolmin, who had been thinking only about overpowering him, visibly flinched.

"...!"

Realizing what was happening, Choi Cheolmin quickly released his flail.

But it was already too late.

Circular Step.

Using the [Circular Step] Skill taught to him by Jegal Geum, Kang Yujin slipped toward Choi Cheolmin's side.

Thank you, Elder.

Jegal Geum had once belittled himself, saying that although he was one of the Eight Guardians, there were many Contractors in the Capital Region stronger than him.

And yet now, Kang Yujin was using the Skills Jegal Geum had taught him to fight SS-rank Contractors.

"You bastard...!"

Choi Cheolmin twisted desperately, trying to respond.

But at that moment, a magical bullet fired by Joo Minha streaked past his face and perfectly blocked his vision.

Even if magical attacks couldn't properly damage Choi Cheolmin, they could still obscure his sight.

From the final step of Circular Step... into a Stomping Step.

Kang Yujin slammed his foot into the ground to maximize the impact.

His right fist smashed into Choi Cheolmin's ribs.

He felt bones break.

And now...

There was no reason the follow-up combination that had worked on Lee Hyeonje wouldn't work on Choi Cheolmin too.

Kang Yujin twisted his body.

Hwaseong Sect Shoulder Crash.

A full-power body check using his upper body.

BOOM!

The impact tore through Choi Cheolmin's thick chest.

Blood burst from his mouth.

Yoon Miho, who had been completely overwhelming Lee Hyeonje, instinctively looked aside when she heard the heavy impact.

Choi Cheolmin got taken down.

After confirming him collapsing in the distance, Yoon Miho lost interest.

Useless bastard.

Although they were both SS-rank Contractors, Yoon Miho considered Choi Cheolmin beneath her.

She had already analyzed that she could defeat him even without preparing a specific counter.

I should finish Lee Hyeonje quickly.

With that thought, Yoon Miho increased the speed of her attacks.

"Ugh...!"

Lee Hyeonje bit his lip and tried to counterattack.

It was useless.

Against the blade enhanced by the concept of the holy sword Arondight, Lee Hyeonje's Four-Tiger Evil-Slaying Sword was powerless.

That was only natural.

It wasn't a sword designed for overwhelming physical attack power.

Blood already covered Lee Hyeonje's body.

Still, he had avoided any fatal wounds.

So he's still an excellent Contractor even without lightning.

Yoon Miho respected that.

But she didn't slow down.

At last, Arondight's power pierced Lee Hyeonje's shoulder.

"Ugh!"

"It's over."

To finish him, Yoon Miho aimed her next strike directly at his heart.

At that moment...

"...!"

A giant iron ball suddenly flew at her.

Before Yoon Miho could even register that Kang Yujin had thrown his flail, her body reacted automatically.

He threw something that heavy? Does he have strength on Choi Cheolmin's level?

She barely avoided the iron ball.

But in that moment, Lee Hyeonje widened the distance.

Yoon Miho frowned and checked everyone's positions.

The strong one and the swordsman are far away. The mage is treating the spearman.

She could chase Lee Hyeonje and kill him before Kang Yujin and Lee Jukheon arrived.

Considering their positions and speeds, it was entirely possible.

Focus on Lee Hyeonje.

Five seconds.

No, three would be enough.

Kill the heavily wounded Lee Hyeonje within three seconds.

Then immediately handle the remaining small fry.

Convinced of that, Yoon Miho concentrated.

One Point... Focus.

Yoon Miho's A-rank Skill [One Point Focus] shut out as much information as possible except for the target she needed to defeat.

In exchange, it pushed her physical ability and combat senses to their limit.

The instant the Skill activated, everything except Lee Hyeonje disappeared from Yoon Miho's world.

Thinking only about killing him, she tracked his movements with absolute concentration.

Then she derived the perfect slash he could never avoid.

Die, Lee Hyeonje.

Yoon Miho stepped forward.

At that moment...

She felt something hot against her back.

"...?"

She immediately understood what had happened.

But she couldn't understand why.

How is this bastard behind me...?

He had been far away.

She had calculated that Lee Hyeonje could be killed before he reached her.

Yet this man had closed the distance to her back in an instant, almost like a teleportation technique.

"Haha... How's that...?"

The man laughed.

"You turned your head because someone like me wasn't even worth watching, right? You kept your eyes only on Lee Hyeonje."

It was true that she had looked down on him.

Lee Hyeonje had been her greatest threat.

Kang Yujin came next.

She barely considered this man.

Still, just moments ago, she had merely checked his position and distance.

She hadn't intentionally looked away because she despised him.

But Yoon Miho no longer had the leisure to explain.

"I haven't been sitting around doing nothing either."

The man gripped the sword hilt with both hands.

"A high-speed thrust carrying the full speed of Shrinking Distance..."

"I was saving it for the day I stole a boss kill from Kang Yujin."

"But if the opponent is the greatest swordswoman in the Capital Region..."

"I suppose this is good enough."

Yoon Miho suddenly remembered something from the information she had received before.

This man named Lee Jukheon...

Had once been called the greatest swordsman in the central-western region.

"From now on, I'm the greatest swordsman in the Capital Region."

"...!"

Yoon Miho gathered her final strength and tried to counterattack.

But Lee Jukheon's sword moved faster.

Bright red blood erupted.

At the same time...

Yoon Miho's sword slipped from her hand and fell to the ground.