Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 142

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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142
The Blue-haired Mage’s face contorted, genuinely displeased that I had referred to the Imperial Army as my allies.
She had been about to flee, but witnessing my cruelty toward my own forces had changed her mind.
I drew forth the life force coursing through my entire body and released an aura beam from my right hand.
She must have possessed some mastery, for she reacted before I could even fire. A colossal wall of seawater surged upward, blocking her path from my attack.
The overwhelming mass of water and aura beam collided in a violent explosion.
I continued unleashing aura at the water wall in an attempt to pierce through it, but she replenished the seawater endlessly—the barrier filled faster than it could be destroyed.
Realizing my power wouldn’t suffice to break through, I ceased my assault.
“Ha! How dare a brute knight like you challenge me in the sea? Where water exists, I am invincible!”
“Yet for all your boasting, you haven’t managed to harm me in the slightest.”
Those waves were formidable, but they posed no genuine threat to me—merely an irritation.
“Now the games end.”
As the Blue-haired Mage raised both hands, multiple tornadoes materialized. The towering waterspouts transformed into the shape of a sea serpent, resembling a dragon in its majesty.
On land, it might have been different, but here at sea, the Blue-haired Mage demonstrated overwhelming power.
I rose skyward to evade the assault and prepare a counterattack, but then I glanced behind me and changed my strategy.
I led the aquatic beast—the sea serpent—that pursued me toward the anchored Imperial warships, propelling myself through the air with each step.
I deliberately flew slowly enough to make an easy target for the sea serpent, but when I drew near the massive warship, I pivoted at a sharp right angle. Unable to turn its massive body in one motion, the sea serpent’s head crashed directly into the large warship behind me.
The side of the warship, larger than the sea serpent itself, shattered and collapsed, toppling into the adjacent vessels like dominoes and destroying them.
With things having come to this, I decided to simply eliminate the Empire’s naval forces.
“Evacuate! Evacuate now! Leave it to Aqua and flee!”
Soldiers scattered in all directions, but those aboard the massive warships were swept away by the currents.
I continued weaving between the vessels, and Aqua obligingly destroyed them all.
“Is the invincible mage truly this pathetic?”
“You wretched rat! Why won’t you come closer?!”
She fell for such a simple provocation so easily that I almost felt apologetic.
Moreover, she had destroyed her own warships in the process. The Blue-haired Mage possessed considerable power, but she lacked intelligence.
Twenty massive warships, countless smaller vessels, and every soldier aboard them—all sent to the depths.
Aqua’s strength waned as her power was exhausted, her face growing pale. While manipulating water might come easier to her than to others, her mana was certainly not infinite.
I propelled myself through the air toward her, now defenseless.
Aqua summoned one final surge of power, raising a colossal wave. I had drawn too close in my carelessness and was swept up in the cascading waters.
“Why won’t you die?!”
Waves assailed me from all directions. I remained still in the water, waiting for her strength to be completely exhausted.
Within the depths, water compressed into spear-like projectiles and hurtled toward me, yet they could not pierce my body.
I simply accepted every aquatic lance without resistance. The impacts were negligible—almost like receiving a massage.
Time passed, and the tempestuous seawater gradually lost its force, slowing to a gentle rhythm.
“Is it over?”
I rose above the water’s surface and walked leisurely across it, taunting her with each step.
“Aaaahhh!!”
Aqua clutched at her head in desperation, but her strength was spent—she could mount no further assault.
“Now it truly ends.”
I drew a long spear from my left palm.
And hurled it.
“Aqua!”
The great sword knight who had been sent flying by my earlier strike pulled Aqua behind him, blocking my spear with a blade wreathed in emerald aura.
But my spear shattered the great sword and pierced through his chest, continuing its flight. The light faded from the knight’s eyes as his lifeless body plummeted into the sea.
“Protect Aqua! All units, fire!”
The other soldiers retreated with the exhausted Aqua, while countless knights formed a barrier before me, unleashing a torrent of arrows and magic.
Surveying the surroundings, the place was already in ruins. I had only intended to capture the Blue-haired Mage, yet it was the Imperial Army—whom I hadn’t meant to harm initially—that lay devastated.
Arrows struck my body and ricocheted away.
Having no intention of annihilating the Imperial Army, I turned westward and sprinted across the sea.
As I raced across the water at tremendous speed, it erupted into fountains in my wake.
Running through the sky was exhilarating, but dashing across the sea felt entirely different.
A deafening roar echoed across the waters.
After running for some time, a water column several times thicker than the one Aqua had created rose from the depths.
And a colossal creature—dozens of times larger than a whale—surfaced from the sea.
It was massive enough to be called an island rather than a living being.
“What… is that…?”
I considered whether I could kill it, but defeating something of that magnitude seemed far from simple. Still, if it didn’t attack first, I had no intention of slaying a docile creature.
After running for over two hours, the Western Continent finally came into view. I headed toward the area where numerous ships were anchored.
To reach where Bae Na-young and Jae-in were, I needed to make contact with the Western Continental Alliance.
Since I had no intention of threatening them, I slowed my pace.
“Attack!!!”
Dozens of ballista bolts came hurtling toward me, rendering my reduced speed meaningless.
Heavy enough that even a Master struck directly wouldn’t die but would certainly sustain severe injuries—their tips were forged from mithril.
I deflected them with the back of my hand while continuing forward.
“Kill him! Slay the Eastern Continent dog!”
The Orc Commander roared at his soldiers with malice burning in his eyes.
A thunderous bellow shook the air.
Just before I could land, the same creature I had seen in the sea earlier emerged from beneath the waves, opening its maw wide to swallow me whole.
Rather than a mouth, it resembled a chasm opening in the sea itself, water draining into the void.
I had never understood why the Empire hadn’t crossed into the Western Continent during my battle with Aqua, but now the reason became clear.
With such a colossal guardian blocking the Western Continent’s entrance, mere wave manipulation would offer no salvation.
I kicked off the air and soared higher.
For all its size, the creature’s speed was sluggish.
The monster’s jaws snapped shut with a resounding boom.
I kicked off the air once more, propelling myself toward the land.
I launched myself toward the shore.
“Stop!”
I unleashed a lion’s roar infused with overwhelming pressure at the Western Continental Alliance forces attacking me, and every soldier collapsed to their knees.
In that moment, I landed, and a few knights who had endured the roar raised their trembling blades toward me.
“I am not your enemy. My name is Ji-seok, and I come from Earth. I was caught in the Empire’s magic and transported to the Eastern Continent, but I have since returned.”
“A tale the Eastern Continent dogs would fabricate!”
One of the knights steadied his trembling frame and thrust his blade toward me.
I caught the tip of the knight’s sword between my fingers.
“Summon Sono Rim or Carlton. They will testify to my identity.”
I spoke while pressing the captured blade downward.
The knight gripped his sword with both hands and resisted against my strength, but as the blade bent, he too could not endure and fell to one knee.
In that instant, the other knights moved to strike their swords at my throat simultaneously.
“S-stop! Lower your weapons at once!”
Carlton came rushing over.
“But this man came from the Eastern Continent….”
“Lower your weapons before he grows angry! This is a person of Grand Master strength! A distinguished guest from Earth, I tell you!”
As Carlton’s face went pale and he shouted, the knights finally sheathed their blades.
“Ji-seok! You are unharmed. The Gate malfunctioned so suddenly—I was deeply concerned.”
“Yes, when I exited the Gate, I found myself at the Empire’s Burwick Nest Port.”
“Those Empire bastards!”
Carlton ground his teeth.
“Did you see any other survivors? The reports indicate hundreds were pulled through.”
“I’m afraid I must disappoint you. I suspect I am the only one who survived in there.”
“…”
Fury blazed in the eyes of Carlton and the Alliance soldiers.
“Carlton, where are Bae Na-young and Jae-in?”
“That is… well….”
“What is it?”
“We believed you had been captured on the Eastern Continent, so Bae Na-young went to rescue you.”
“…Again? I told her to stay put if something like this happened. And Jae-in?”
I had overlooked her impulsive nature because she had been behaving so calmly of late.
“Jae-in is informing Earth of the situation and waiting at the Sleeping Fire Mountain Range.”
“So Bae Na-young went to the Eastern Continent alone?”
“…No. Followers of the Purple Goddess Church accompanied her.”
“What?”
“Hundreds of volunteers followed Bae Na-young. The numbers may have grown even larger by now. The force continued to expand.”
“Then she has already entered the Empire?”
“That is correct.”
“Wait… something doesn’t add up. It hasn’t even been a few hours since I was pulled through. Are you saying she crossed the sea with hundreds of troops in that time?”
I had crossed the sea at high speed, but for hundreds to traverse it would not be easy. Moreover, gathering that many soldiers would take considerable time.
“Pardon? No, it has already been a week since you disappeared, Ji-seok.”
“…I thought passing through the Gate was instantaneous, but it seems that was not the case.”
My head throbbed dully.
“I must pursue them immediately. Do you know their current location?”
“The last communication I received indicated they had landed in the northwest of the Exbrian Empire.”
“They weren’t defeated by that Blue-haired Mage, were they?”
“You encountered the Water Wraith Aqua! Did you kill her?!”
Carlton asked excitedly.
“No. I was about to finish her when the Imperial Army intervened.”
“Ah… I see.”
Carlton expressed great disappointment, but he couldn’t reproach me. After all, I was someone uninvolved in this war.
“The Water Wraith Aqua is certainly a powerful mage, but she alone cannot defend a coastline exceeding one hundred thousand kilometers. Our side also has someone who could be called virtually invincible at sea.”
Carlton pointed to the woman standing behind him, whose dark blue-black hair cascaded in wavy strands like seaweed.
“This is Undaria. She can command the sea’s monstrosities.”
She was taciturn and said nothing even upon seeing me.
Her scent was not that of a human. She carried a faint fishy odor.
“Because Undaria is here, neither side’s naval forces can move recklessly.”
“Ah, but I destroyed the Empire’s fleet.”
I gestured toward the allied warships visible outside.
“…Pardon? The entire fleet?”
Carlton’s eyes widened as he asked.
“I sank about twenty large vessels. For the smaller ones, I’d say hundreds went down.”
“You mentioned earlier that you were about to finish Aqua, correct? What is her current condition?”
“She had exhausted herself from overexertion. That was about three hours ago.”
“…Prepare for departure! We move immediately!”
“Today, at last, we can make that woman Aqua food for Charybdis.”
Undaria, who had remained silent until now, laughed sinisterly.
“Wait a moment. Aqua should have recovered by now, shouldn’t she?”
“She possesses a large mana pool befitting her master, but she is renowned for her slow recovery. Three hours wouldn’t have allowed her much restoration, so if you and Undaria go together, victory is assured.”
“I’m sorry, but I need to head north.”
“Don’t worry. You’ve already done much for us. I will express our formal gratitude later.”
“For now, please open a Gate leading north.”
I could run there, but I wanted to minimize the time as much as possible.
“Right now… it’s dangerous. Besides, didn’t you say a week had passed since you crossed through?”
“Ah, I destroyed that.”
“Pardon?”
Carlton asked, even more astonished than when I mentioned destroying the Imperial warships.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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