Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 227
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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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227. Übermenschen (3)
“What is this…?”
The sudden appearance of Shin Chang and Fist King left the Übermenschen and Chinese hunters bewildered.
They were shocked when they saw the magical bomb trap. They had never anticipated their opponent would prepare such a thing.
But that wasn’t the end—Fist King and Shin Chang appeared. They instinctively sensed that things had gone terribly wrong.
Wang Tao, who had been charging forward, quickly widened the distance with sharp instincts. Blood Prince Temur also held his axe while displaying a peculiar smile.
“Good. We made it in.”
“…We arrived earlier than planned.”
Following Fist King’s voice, Shin Chang, who gripped his spear, turned his head slightly to speak.
“Still alive, I see.”
Han Hye exhaled a deep breath of relief.
“Welcome. I really thought we were done for.”
If even five or ten more seconds had passed, Temur and Wang Tao would have closed in from both sides. Despite having teleportation at our disposal….
I couldn’t guarantee we could have evaded their relentless charges repeatedly with teleportation alone, lacking spatial awareness as we did.
Pop—!
Pop—!
After a brief lull, three more figures appeared before us. They were the vanguard, healer, and mage of Saebyeokbit.
Since we didn’t know the internal situation, we sent Shin Chang and Fist King first, then staggered our arrivals to protect the coordinates.
“We’ll guard the rear.”
The vanguard of Saebyeokbit, quickly assessing the situation, repositioned to protect the Dragon Guild members.
Though only three of them, their presence was reassuring beyond measure. With Saebyeokbit’s vanguard, Kim Han-chul, myself, and Choi Chul-gi covering the rear, we wouldn’t simply be overwhelmed.
“Are you the Space Mage?”
Fist King, whose massive frame rivaled Temur’s and whom Han Hye had initially perceived as a towering wall, turned with a fierce grin.
He appeared even larger in person than in photographs or videos. His face looked even more menacing.
“Yes.”
Han Hye smiled fiercely in return. That hardly mattered. With this fearsome giant on our side, we couldn’t ask for a more dependable ally.
Fist King glanced around briefly, his savage smile widening.
“Quite a few rabble here. Well, you did say they came from China.”
It was Fist King who shattered the brief silence.
“Shatter the Sea.”
He drew his fist back lightly, then thrust it forward. Yet the roiling mana and the result were anything but light.
-Boom!
The air itself tore apart. And before his extended punch, something ripped through the atmosphere and surged forward.
Enemies in its direct path hastily scattered left and right, but the attack’s speed was extraordinary.
Dozens were caught in the shockwave from Fist King’s strike—those hit head-on had their bodies burst apart, while those caught in the periphery were hurled through the air.
It was a moment that left everyone’s jaws agape.
“Fist King! We finally meet!”
Among them, one remained unflustered—Blood Prince Temur himself. He was the one who had been hoping to fight Fist King.
He charged toward Fist King with a double-bladed axe as tall as himself slung across his shoulder. The collision was instantaneous.
-Crash!
When Fist King’s gauntlet and axe collided, a sound like an explosion erupted. Fist King emerged victorious.
Temur was flying backward, axe still in hand.
‘Insane. He sent Temur flying like that?’
I clearly remembered the moment our blades had clashed just moments ago. Because of that, Fist King appeared even more formidable.
‘Certainly, the highest tier is still far away.’
I had achieved impossible growth. By utilizing the Subspace and consuming elixirs, I had consistently discovered Hidden dungeons.
However, the Advance Team members hadn’t necessarily gained fewer opportunities than I had.
While they might have discovered fewer Hidden dungeons, they had received far more support in other ways.
The Advance Team members from each nation were those carefully cultivated by their respective countries since the Gate incident.
‘Perhaps they’ve consumed more elixirs than I have.’
Those who had been active since the early days of the Gate incident had received substantial support in elixirs and items from their governments.
It couldn’t have been otherwise back then. The world thought it was ending. Moreover, the accumulated experience was different.
“Ahahaha! Fist King is the best!”
At that moment, my thoughts were interrupted. Temur, who had just been sent flying, burst into wild laughter.
Even though he’d been driven back thirty meters and crashed messily into his Übermenschen comrades….
He was brushing off the dust and gripping his axe again. His eyes blazed with competitive spirit. Fist King saw this and grinned widely.
The two giants charged toward each other once more.
“Kill them! Nothing changes! We must kill them all!”
As if that were a signal, combat resumed. Both sides were in the same situation. No one here had any intention of fleeing.
Especially the Übermenschen and the Chinese assassins. What happens next isn’t immediately important. We must capture the enemy and achieve our objective.
“…Stay alert.”
“Yes.”
Shin Chang gently pushed my body backward and adjusted his spear grip.
The purpose of coming here was to protect me, Choi Chul-gi, and Yong-yong while capturing enemies.
Even if we captured the Übermenschen, it couldn’t deal a significant blow to the Dragon Guild. I had no intention of recklessly engaging either.
Rather, acting recklessly in this situation would only be a burden.
“That bastard’s been a while.”
Shin Chang grinned fiercely as he looked at Wang Tao.
“Have you been well?”
“…You damn bastards!”
Of course, Wang Tao was not. A mixture of bewilderment at how things had gone wrong and fury toward Shin Chang, who had humiliated him in the past, blazed in his eyes.
Shin Chang’s and Wang Tao’s spears became entangled.
“Here they come!”
The situation didn’t end just because Shin Chang and Fist King had joined forces. The Übermenschen and Chinese assassins remained.
All of them were high-level Awakeners exceeding level 50. Carelessness was forbidden.
“Hold the line! Counterattack comes next!”
Reinforcements from Chulbyeok and Saebyeokbit hadn’t arrived yet. Setting aside Shin Chang and Fist King, who could operate independently, we first had to endure this assault.
* * *
-Clang!
Hidden blades flew from all directions. There were those shooting arrows from a distance. That wasn’t all. They hurled poison bottles as well.
I habitually tried to block with Subspace, only to realize it wasn’t working.
I could parry each attack individually, shield myself with barriers, or incinerate them with my flames. But none of those options came easily.
My spatial sense had vanished.
-Whoosh!
Even the flames I normally wielded relied heavily on my spatial sense. There was no way around it.
Because I could perceive spatial coordinates clearly without seeing them, using my flames had always been effortless.
Now I had to rely on my eyes, predict the trajectory slightly, and then unleash my flames. It demanded far more mental effort than usual.
And that wasn’t even the worst of it. There were countless assassins, but also Übermenschen. And mages.
-Whoosh!
I left the incoming spells to Min-jae. The situation resembled my battle with the Previous Previous Master.
Together with Saebyeokbit’s mage, I intercepted the incoming spells and launched counterattacks. Fortunately, the outcome differed from that encounter.
-Boom!
Watching the spells detonate in the sky, Saebyeokbit’s mage marveled.
“That’s impressive!”
“It’s nothing! Compared to last time….”
Min-jae trailed off, maintaining his concentration.
“It’s child’s play!”
Indeed. Most of the spells the Übermenschen deployed were being intercepted. Min-jae didn’t merely defend—he launched counterattacks as well.
The magical battle with the Previous Previous Master had clearly benefited Min-jae greatly.
Why, hadn’t we always said there was nothing better than real combat for advancing swordsmanship? Magic seemed to follow the same principle.
In extreme circumstances, one recognizes one’s limits. And back then, our very lives had hung in the balance.
“I’m going!”
“It’s dangerous!”
“I’m fine!”
I wasn’t simply standing idle either. Fist King and Shin Chang continued their battle at the front, but we were surrounded on all sides.
Enemies were breaking through and closing in. Even with Han Chul and Saebyeokbit’s vanguard present, neither the old man nor I intended to passively accept protection.
-Boom!
The old man released the Dragon Scale Piercing Spear he’d been charging, and I bounded toward the opposite flank, swinging my blade.
Lacking spatial sense was a significant handicap, but direct combat wasn’t fundamentally compromised.
Moreover, against ordinary high-level assassins or Übermenschen, I held a statistical advantage.
I drove my blade into an opponent who staggered from my strike, but he rolled across the ground and evaded.
“Die!”
In that moment, two assassins rushed at me from both sides. Without my spatial sense, my response was slightly delayed compared to usual.
Instead, I possessed Severance at S-rank.
In place of my vanished spatial sense, I used Severance as a shield. I kept it primed to activate instantly in my blind spots.
-Screech!
Severance unleashed without sight. The two rushing assassins were instantly torn into pieces from all directions. Beyond dismemberment into five parts—more like seven.
I lunged forward and stabbed the one who’d rolled away to escape. Numerically, we were clearly at a disadvantage. I had to whittle down their numbers methodically.
Masked Chinese assassins blanketed the area in all directions. There seemed to be more of them than Übermenschen. It was bewildering to encounter so many high-level rogues.
With a nation approaching 1.5 billion in population, what else could one expect? Especially when awakeners received treatment akin to social elevation.
—Chinese parents who exposed a nine-year-old child before monsters to awaken them.
There was a reason why there were so many high-level hunters. So I didn’t push myself too hard.
“Han Hye, fall back a bit!”
“Got it!”
It was crucial that we maintained our formation. If anyone became separated, enemies would swarm from all directions.
Since I was their target, they kept glancing at me even while engaging the others.
“Die!”
Whether it was the Übermenschen, the Chinese, Han Chul, or Saebyeokbit’s vanguard—they all rushed at me the moment they saw an opening.
Every so often, throwing knives came flying.
—Whoosh!
I actually sustained wounds on my arms and legs. Without spatial awareness, I couldn’t sense the throwing knives coming during combat.
Lee Shin-hee’s healing came immediately. Saebyeokbit’s healer cried out.
“Poison…!”
“It’s fine!”
The poison coating was expected, so there was no problem. I was wearing the Ten-Thousand Poison Fox’s heart. I had poison resistance skills, and no matter what poison they prepared, I had nothing to fear.
The enemies’ reaction confirmed it. After being hit by the throwing knives a few times, they seemed to hesitate.
“It’s not working! We have to kill them directly!”
“Damn it…! Even A-rank poison doesn’t work?”
It had become a topic of discussion during the Garden of Mist incident, so they knew about poison resistance, but they apparently thought A-rank poison would be effective.
What I hadn’t mentioned back then was that we possessed the Ten-Thousand Poison Fox’s heart, an S-rank item.
‘This is why you can’t reveal all your information.’
The martial arts novels I’d read recently weren’t wrong about hiding thirty percent of your true strength. It was wisdom left behind by those who had walked through countless life-or-death situations.
Though I hadn’t expected the Übermenschen and China to come this far.
‘At this rate, we’re fine.’
Soon, Chulbyeok and Saebyeokbit, who were waiting nearby, would join us. We didn’t have large numbers due to maintaining secrecy, but holding out would become much easier.
Shin Chang and Fist King were gaining the upper hand against Temur and Lei Chuang.
Shin Chang was in a one-on-one with Lei Chuang, but Fist King, while facing Temur, was even reducing the enemy’s numbers when he had the chance.
It was probably because Lei Chuang was stronger than Temur.
‘If time just keeps flowing…’
The Hunter Association would have identified the situation immediately, so additional reinforcements would be coming. If things continued this way, we could annihilate the enemies without any problems.
It was then that the enemies’ behavior changed.
‘Why aren’t they attacking aggressively?’
After the first ambush failed and the poison didn’t work on me, the enemies actually became passive. As if they were only pretending to attack.
Lei Chuang was also defending against Shin Chang, and Temur, who had charged so eagerly before, was the same.
“Hahahaha!”
He was still laughing, but there was no aggression in it. From that, one thing became clear.
“These bastards are buying time, aren’t they?”
The question that followed was natural.
Why?
There was nothing to gain for them by dragging out time.
“Huh?”
That’s when I sensed something wrong. Even amid the chaos, there were those observing from a distance. They stood scattered in the distance, as if constructing an encirclement.
Six locations, two people each—and suddenly they swung their blades at our allies. Six Chinese assassins fell simultaneously.
“What, what is this?”
The Chinese hunters panicked, but the masked figure shouted.
“Don’t worry! Keep your eyes forward!”
Then those positioned behind inserted black rod-like objects into the bodies of the dead Chinese assassins. That’s when the transformation began.
The rods darkened, and soon the corpses transformed into dark powder that dissolved into the barrier.
[The Dark Night Barrier’s Reinforcement Rod has absorbed sufficient blood.]
[The Dark Night Barrier strengthens by one level.]
[Dark Night Barrier target designation.]
[One skill of Martial Artist Victor Sorokin is sealed.]
[One skill of Lancer Kim San is sealed.]
“This is insane….”
It seemed we weren’t the only ones who had prepared insurance. They too had completed their plan and prepared additional contingencies.
I had never heard of a Dark Night Barrier Reinforcement Rod from Chun-bae.
‘What is that?’
-That’s something I’m unfamiliar with. Perhaps they discovered a hidden element where they obtained the Dark Night Barrier scroll….
I had no time to blame Chun-bae. The barrier had been erected simultaneously with their assault. Even knowing about it wouldn’t have made it easy to counter.
Of course, the one who appeared to be the leader of those assassins seemed to have known about it.
‘This is a serious problem.’
The reinforcement rod or whatever it was had already vanished, seeping into the barrier. There was no obvious way to undo the reinforcement.
If they had sealed Shin Chang and Fist King’s skills, our plan wouldn’t proceed as intended.
‘Wait.’
Amid my confusion, something flashed through my mind. A barrier meant controlling space itself.
If that were the case….
Then perhaps I had a solution.
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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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