Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 179

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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One-Strike Kill Swordmaster Episode 179

Episode 179. Puppet Master (2)

* * *

Kugugugu-!

Heavy vibrations traveled up from my feet through my entire body.

Alleys and rooftops, even building crevices.

Puppets poured out from every conceivable location, instantly covering the streets.

Like a massive tsunami swallowing everything in its path, an endless horde of marionettes came rushing forward.

“Damn it….”

A guard from the Ruin Guild unconsciously spat out a curse.

The personnel guarding the auction house numbered only thirty.

This was a measure that stemmed from Gaon’s judgment.

If there were too many people unnecessarily, there would be a greater risk of being controlled by Batu, making the battle even more troublesome.

‘But who would have thought the enemy numbers would be this massive.’

Thousands versus dozens.

By anyone’s measure, it was a hopeless ratio.

No matter how elite the personnel guarding the auction house were, they couldn’t help but feel suffocated before such overwhelming numbers.

‘Moreover….’

The enemies were marionettes that felt no fear of death.

Soldiers that moved solely according to Batu’s commands, without pain, fear, or hesitation.

Even with severed limbs or pierced hearts, they would keep charging until they completely lost function.

‘Can we really stop this with barely thirty people?’

Doubts arose about Gaon’s judgment.

But there was no time to voice complaints. The enemies were already approaching.

Kugugugu-!

The sound of footsteps rushing toward the auction house grew louder and louder.

The army moving like one giant swarm had already taken on a grotesqueness that transcended human categories.

“Prepare yourselves.”

Just then, Gaon’s resolute voice rang out.

That cold tone awakened everyone’s spirits.

Ttiring-!

〔Sub Stat: Command·Leadership is manifesting.〕

Gulp-.

Everyone swallowed nervously in the tension.

The Ruin Guild guards gripped their weapons tightly, and the Wintershield mages began drawing up their mana.

The next moment.

Swish-.

Gaon suddenly extended his right hand forward.

“…?”

All eyes focused on that unexpected action.

No one could understand what it meant to extend just a bare hand in such a situation.

But then.

Something strange suddenly happened.

Kwaaaaa──!

The puppets running at the front suddenly began tumbling down.

As if they had tripped over something invisible.

‘What…?’

Selena and Biyolf, who were watching this scene, simultaneously showed bewildered expressions.

It was clear this was the result of Gaon’s action.

After all, the puppets had fallen in succession the moment he extended his hand.

‘Could it be… magic?’

This was the thought that naturally arose in Selena’s mind.

The power to interfere with targets from a distance was usually the domain of magic.

However, there was one strange point.

‘I didn’t sense any mana from The Protagonist…?’

But right now, there wasn’t even time to harbor such doubts.

Every second was critical in this battle situation.

* * *

〔Active Skill 【Formless Sword 】 proficiency has risen from ‘Lowest ‘ to ‘Low ‘.〕

I had knocked down the puppets en masse with the Formless Sword.

Thanks to that, my proficiency had increased dramatically.

From 3% to 10%.

From Lowest to Low .

What had been a limp seaweed had now evolved into the form of a fairly solid rod.

However, there was no time right now to carefully observe that change.

I left the rod in the middle of the battlefield and commanded Isaac beside me.

“Now, Berillov.”

“…Yes!”

Woong-!

As soon as my words ended, Isaac Beriloff deployed the spell he had prepared.

Zzzeeeong-!

A cold chill spread outward.

The fallen, tangled puppets were covered in white frost and froze solid without uttering a single scream.

A suddenly born ice wall .

The marionettes became entangled and began falling, and their formation instantly turned into chaos.

Woong, woooong──!

Selena Servich didn’t miss that opportunity.

Massive mana swirled following her fingertips.

The air heated up.

Blazing heat rose up, and red mana surged like a storm.

And then.

“…「Flowing Fire」!”

Kwarrrr-!

Selena’s incantation, shouted with all her might.

Along with it, a massive wave of fire began to engulf the puppet horde.

Kwaaaaaaaa-!

Acrid smoke and burning smells filled the air, and the street instantly transformed into a sea of flames.

A crimson tsunami swept in all directions, swallowing hundreds of marionettes in one gulp.

“Excellent!”

Professor Biyolf let out a cheer.

“See! Empty carts make the most noise! Those bastards are just numerous but not as impressive as I thought… Huh?”

Thud-.

At that moment, Biyolf’s words were cut off.

The forms of the puppets were revealed through the flames.

Charred flesh writhed and dripped down, and grotesque silhouettes flickered within the fire.

Normally, they should have already become incapacitated and collapsed.

However, the puppets that knew no pain did not stop. Even when driven to the brink of death, they only dragged their burning bodies forward with tenacious persistence.

A horrific scene that could only be seen in zombie movies unfolded before their eyes.

But that was only the beginning.

“Th-that is…!”

Someone let out a cry mixed with horror.

Slither-!

Creak, crack, squelch-!

The melted puppets stuck together with each other.

As if invisible hands were sewing, the writhing flesh was stitched together.

Soon, the marionettes had transformed into the shape of monsters that could no longer be called ‘human’.

【Lv. 75】

【Lv. 79】

【Lv. 74】

Grooooooar—!

A hideous roar that could never be produced by human vocal cords echoed through the air.

Beyond the flames.

From between the expressionless puppets, monsters reminiscent of rag golems and chimeras began to emerge.

“Wh-what the hell is that…?”

Right.

This was Puppet Master Batu’s true ability.

He didn’t simply stop at controlling marionettes.

The skill to reassemble damaged puppets on the spot and reborn them as new forms of monsters.

Those ‘collections’ were killing machines designed from the beginning with this situation in mind.

Of course.

That said, there was absolutely no need to worry.

“Professor Biyolf.”

“…!”

Startled-!

At my call, Biyolf immediately responded.

Still, the Chihuahua professor had grown quite a bit in patience now.

In the past, he would have screamed asking if it was time every 10 seconds.

“Now it’s your turn.”

“…Understood!”

Whooooooo-!

Along with his answer, tremendous magical power began to burst forth from Biyolf’s body.

The gray sky of Dawnguard slowly began to fluctuate.

The hazy fog that covered the entire city.

Above the always gloomy and dark sky, something massive slowly rose.

“…「Apocalyptic Sun」!”

Biyolf’s shout echoed through the air.

The twilight hour when the red sunset was disappearing beyond the western horizon.

A small sun revealed itself in the heart of the Dark City.

* * *

In the past, content I had mentioned when facing the Inverse’s ‘Living Armor’.

The most traditional method of severing the link between summoned creatures and their master was to sweep everything away with overwhelming magical power.

‘Simple and crude, but a reliable solution.’

However…

The situation now was completely different from then.

Puppet Master Batu’s ‘threads’ had a different form from ordinary links.

A massive web with countless strands intricately tangled together. A network woven as densely as a spider’s web.

In such a structure, it would be difficult to completely remove all the threads with indiscriminate magical bombardment alone.

Rather, the remaining connections with only some severed would be irregularly reconstructed, making the situation even more complex.

This was especially true in the current situation where the number of marionettes reached thousands.

‘Moreover…’

Above all, there was a separate decisive problem.

‘…Right now, Pean is tracking Batu’s main body.’

But what if we severed the link here?

The clue for tracking would completely disappear.

The traces of magical power that Pean was relying on, and even the minute signals. All of this would be completely cut off.

Hastily severing the connection before that would be nothing short of shooting ourselves in the foot.

‘In other words.’

We had a completely different purpose for casting 「Apocalyptic Sun」.

Whooooooo──!

The more intense the light, the deeper the shadows become.

Beneath the melted flesh golems and grotesquely clumped puppets, clear and deep shadows were cast.

The shadows layered upon the ground created a vast realm of darkness.

And…

【Lv. 84】

Slither-.

A level window swimming like a fish beneath the black shade was visible.

Shadow Knight Roren.

One of the most irregular beings in this world setting, and an anomalous existence that transcended the limits of levels.

He finally moved.

Swoooosh-!

The moment Roren burst out from the shadows, his sword flashed and a purple aura stretched out.

Crash-!

A perfect ambush.

With a single horizontal slash, over ten puppets were simultaneously cut down.

Clean and efficient movement like a scythe cutting through a wheat field.

The moment the enemies discovered him and turned to counterattack, Roren’s figure had already seeped into another shadow and disappeared without a trace.

Swoosh-! Swish-!

One-sided slaughter continuing in the heart of enemy lines.

Appearing, then disappearing.

Cutting, then hiding.

Reappearing to strike again.

It was the perfect assassin’s tactics, utilizing the infinite pathways of shadows.

The puppets fell into chaos. They couldn’t predict where the attack would come from, and when they tried to counterattack, Shadow Knight Roren had already moved elsewhere.

It was as if darkness itself had come alive, moving and hunting down enemies.

The overwhelming presence was so incredible it was hard to believe it was just one person’s performance.

─Lord Gaon, are thirty men really sufficient?

Before the battle began.

I suddenly recalled the question that Ruined Guild Master Lea de Karayan had asked me.

She had expressed deep concern about facing thousands of puppet legions with a force of only thirty men.

‘But, Karayan.’

I glanced to the side.

‘Numbers are meaningless to us.’

Adelia von Goldhart was staring blankly at Shadow Knight Roren’s battle.

While the Wintershield Expedition continuously poured out magic, Shadow Knight Roren was single-handedly sweeping through the enemy lines.

She couldn’t help but be mesmerized by that overwhelming combat power.

“Ah.”

A small gasp escaped from Adelia’s lips.

It was an original technique rarely seen anywhere. Shadow Knight Roren’s unique and creative fighting style completely captivated the genius swordsman’s attention.

And.

Naturally, to the ‘genius’ Adelia’s eyes, this unfamiliar combat method served as entirely new enlightenment.

Each movement came to her as a fresh shock.

Swoosh, swoooosh-!

Every time she gained new inspiration, constellations began to be carved into her Meteor Sword one by one. And spirit swords began to rise behind her back in succession.

One, two, three….

What had started as just a few blades had somehow increased to ten.

The boundary of numbers gradually became meaningless.

‘Only thirty men, you asked?’

Wrong.

Not only, but a full thirty men.

The Wintershield Expedition, Shadow Knight Roren, Adelia von Goldhart, and myself.

Even just these seven would be sufficient to face the Puppet Master’s legion.

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