Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 43

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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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Chapter 43.
Choi Soo-ho’s face had gone ashen.
“How… how is he not falling?”
The thorn barrage had stopped, but the Chain Sickle’s rotation never ceased.
Whoosh-whoosh! Clang!
His attacks were landing cleanly.
Yet Ha Gyeong’s advance showed no sign of slowing.
‘Bearable, though.’
The Chain Sickle’s force was considerable.
Its unique trajectory made it difficult to intercept.
But Ha Gyeong was deflecting each blow with precision.
He’d strike the flat of the blade.
When it angled sideways, he’d sidestep half a pace in the opposite direction.
Repeating this, it looked as though he were walking forward while getting hit.
And that was where Choi Soo-ho’s confusion began.
“Truly a broken artifact.”
But the truth was different.
The Tyrant’s Bracelet had already stopped working.
Ha Gyeong had merely healed the holes the thorns punctured.
Then he’d cut off the artifact’s activation.
This drastically shortened the cooldown.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Zing!
Choi Soo-ho’s attacks came in rapid succession.
Now that they were closer, he’d shortened the Chain Sickle’s reach.
The rotation sped up accordingly.
Ha Gyeong allowed one blow through.
Crack—!
The blade bit into his left arm.
Had he not raised it, it would have caught his head or neck.
A merciless attack, every inch of it.
Ha Gyeong dropped the Karambit.
Then he simply grabbed the chain.
Choi Soo-ho’s visible panic was unmistakable.
“Wh-what?”
Ha Gyeong wound the chain around his arm and pulled.
Choi Soo-ho was dragged steadily closer.
The attacker thrashed, trying to escape.
The struck man walked forward with measured steps—an odd reversal.
Ha Gyeong clenched his fist and spoke.
“The old saying holds: a mad dog needs a beating.”
“Damn it all!”
“You’re still not thinking straight.”
Shhhhhh!
A pale gray aura grew steadily brighter.
Ha Gyeong’s arm trembled violently.
An enormous amount of Mana and Abyss Energy poured in.
When the limit approached.
Ha Gyeong pivoted sharply.
A hook with full rotational force from his lower body.
He threw it while pulling the chain gripped in his left hand.
Boom—!
Jagged ripples spread outward from Choi Soo-ho’s back.
The Boom Heaven Fist’s energy had pierced his body.
Normally, both fighters should have been hurled in opposite directions.
But they remained locked together.
Ha Gyeong hadn’t released the Chain Sickle.
Remarkably, Choi Soo-ho still gripped the handle.
“Krrgh! Y-you… I’ll do this dance with you as many times as it takes!”
His condition looked dire, but his spirit hadn’t broken.
Ha Gyeong was unmoved.
If once wasn’t enough?
Then twice. Then three times.
He’d just keep pounding until it was done.
Ha Gyeong gathered all his strength.
‘Still have plenty left. Exhaustion is far off.’
Abyss Refinement must have reached Stage Four—that was the only explanation.
But the moment he prepared to deploy Boom Heaven Fist again.
Choi Soo-ho released the Chain Sickle and retreated quickly.
“Choke on this!”
He unleashed countless bundles of thorns once more.
Shuu-shuu-shuu-shuu-shuk!
A hail of spikes.
Ha Gyeong used the blade to shield his face.
He advanced step by step.
With the Karambit sheathed, he couldn’t parry the thorns.
Instead, he pressed forward stubbornly.
Relying on Reactive Mana Armor and his sturdy frame.
Choi Soo-ho screamed convulsively.
“Please just die! Drop dead!”
But his voice alone couldn’t stop Ha Gyeong.
When Ha Gyeong reached arm’s length, he finally sheathed the Chain Sickle.
A fist glowing pale gray hung loosely at his side.
Ha Gyeong stared at Choi Soo-ho in silence.
Then he grabbed the upper part of his opponent’s armor with his left hand.
He spoke softly.
“Do you know why I’m doing this?”
“N-no. You bastard.”
“Answer well and I’ll let you live.”
“… You’re pinning me down to pummel me.”
“Correct. You understand after all.”
Ha Gyeong raised his fist.
Choi Soo-ho flailed and cried out.
“W-wait! What are you doing?”
“What?”
“You said you’d hit me when I got a solid blow in. Would a man break his word so easily?”
“Slow, aren’t you? I never said I wouldn’t hit you. I said I’d let you live.”
“Oh…”
Realizing his mistake at last.
Choi Soo-ho’s voice trailed off.
Then he suddenly thrust both hands forward.
“Aaaah! Take this!”
A multitude of spikes erupted, then began converging into one.
A massive drill-like formation slammed into Ha Gyeong’s chest.
Crash-bang!
The impact was surprisingly fierce.
This seemed to be Choi Soo-ho’s hidden trump card.
The Reactive Mana Armor flared crimson.
It vibrated as though it might pierce at any moment.
But Ha Gyeong’s expression didn’t change.
‘If I don’t completely destroy him, he’ll just get worse.’
[Reactive Mana Armor Activated]
[Impact converts to Mana]
Thanks to Choi Soo-ho’s blow, Ha Gyeong’s Mana recharged.
The Boom Heaven Fist in his fist burned blood-red.
An overwhelming power radiated from it.
Choi Soo-ho’s eyes shook violently.
If he took that hit, death would be mere inches away.
A truly bone-chilling moment.
“I… surr…”
Choi Soo-ho hurried to speak.
Ha Gyeong immediately understood what he was trying to say.
He was desperate to surrender before taking the blow.
Of course, Ha Gyeong had no intention of granting him such a merciful defeat.
“Quiet! You’ve enjoyed running your mouth—time to pay the price.”
“What kind of bull—”
Shriiiiek! Boom—!!
Choi Soo-ho’s outcry was cut short.
The Reactive Mana Armor-enhanced Boom Heaven Fist detonated.
Unlike before.
Ha Gyeong aimed not for the face.
His entire head might disappear.
So he slammed the breastplate instead.
If he kept it to the armor, as before, there was at least a chance of survival.
A blow calculated with the rules of combat in mind.
Though the result was still gruesome.
“Ggghhh…”
Choi Soo-ho’s eyes half-rolled back as he coughed blood.
The Boom Heaven Fist’s power had shredded his breastplate to tatters.
Perhaps for that reason, he hadn’t lost consciousness.
Eyes bloodshot, glaring up at Ha Gyeong.
The venom in him hadn’t dulled.
But Ha Gyeong simply looked down at him in silence.
‘Used too much force in one shot.’
Normally that blow should have been fatal.
But mercy had come at a cost—a moment of rigidity.
His Mana had run low, leaving the Abyss Energy uncontrolled.
So he just stood there.
And Choi Soo-ho couldn’t even attempt resistance.
“U… uhhh…”
Mere groans escaped him as his eyes averted.
The sheer pressure Ha Gyeong radiated had shattered his fighting spirit.
‘Didn’t expect this outcome, but it’s not bad at all.’
It felt like truly breaking the Raiders Guild.
Consider it.
Relentlessly pushing forward.
Then two savage punches, thrown without hesitation.
And now, standing over the opponent, forcing him to his knees, looking down in silence.
The very pinnacle of tyrannical dominance.
Presently, Choi Soo-ho raised a trembling hand toward the referee.
“I… surrender.”
The referee crossed his arms to signal the match’s end.
The commentator gripped the microphone and cried out passionately.
―The results of the Close-Combat Dealer Ranking Tournament are in! The ultimate champion is the Immortal Tyrant, Ha Gyeong! Congratulations!
Roaaarrr!
A sound like torrential rain, and a wave of intense heat washed over the Arena.
Ha Gyeong released Choi Soo-ho.
He looked slowly around the crowd.
The spectators were united in one voice.
They were clearly impressed by his performance.
He smiled faintly and waved.
‘Strange feeling.’
At first, he’d thought such rankings worthless.
He had a destiny he must fulfill, after all.
Yet the cheers and applause from the crowd stirred something in his chest.
As though joy were being forcibly injected into him.
Ha Gyeong felt an inexplicable unease.
‘I won’t let this make me complacent.’
Enjoy the moment, but briefly.
He steeled himself to return to his ordinary life as quickly as possible.
* * *
After the Ranking Tournament.
Ha Gyeong couldn’t leave his house for nearly a week.
“Like an army of journalists…”
His residence resembled a besieged medieval fortress.
Front gates and back gates alike.
Reporters camped densely around the property.
Despite having already given interviews to several media outlets, it made no difference.
John, sprawled across the Training Ground, sat up suddenly.
“That’s because you gave them all standard answers, bro.”
“Why is that a problem?”
“You didn’t tell them what they wanted to know. Like your friction with the Raiders Guild. Or what’s next for Axis Prime.”
“There’s no need to disclose such matters.”
“Exactly why they’re still here. Trust me, they’ll breach the fence again tonight.”
John flopped back down and pointed at the wall.
Ha Gyeong’s house was a mansion in Seoul’s outskirts.
The total area was 7,000 square meters.
It had a main building and a separate annex.
A luxury estate equipped with a Training Ground, garage, garden, walking paths, and a pond.
CCTV and alarms surrounded it, yet they couldn’t stop intrusions.
What could you do about people scaling the walls outright?
Ha Gyeong found himself muttering.
“Can’t exactly beat them senseless and chase them off… Wait. Why not?”
“Oh! Making an example of them? Nice. Want me to do it?”
“You’d get deported. Didn’t you say you haven’t naturalized yet?”
“Man, honestly, the naturalization exam is insanely hard. You think you could pass it? Who wrote the Records of the Three Kingdoms?”
“Kim Bu-sik?”
“How do you even know that? The guy lived a thousand years ago!”
“Most people learn it in school.”
“…Damn. Korean education is ridiculous.”
John shook his head with an aggrieved expression.
Then he began fiddling with his phone.
If anything, he looked like a textbook case of adult ADHD.
Ha Gyeong sighed briefly.
Then forced himself to sit up.
Training was best for clearing a cluttered mind.
He picked up the metal rod he’d left in the corner.
John asked.
“Bro, why’d you even take that as a prize?”
“Because I’ll have a use for it eventually.”
Ha Gyeong had received several perks for his participation in the Ranking Tournament.
One of them was the ability to choose his championship prize.
So he’d selected the punching machine used in the qualifying rounds.
A metal rod 1.5 meters long and 5 centimeters in diameter.
Its name was the Resonance Baton.
Contrary to John’s assessment, it was actually quite useful.
Ha Gyeong recalled the moment he’d hit his maximum score.
‘It let me use Kin Predation.’
The Resonance Baton contained vast quantities of Abyss Energy.
The impact would amplify it continuously.
Pound it hard enough, and at the crucial moment it’d function as a battery.
Ha Gyeong struck the Resonance Baton with Boom Heaven Fist.
Shhhh! Boom—!
To blow off some steam.
He swung again.
Just then, the alarm sounded.
Whee-whee-whee-beep!
“Huh?”
A shadow flickered past the window.
Ha Gyeong rushed outside the Training Ground.
Near the wall, he spotted someone sprawled on the ground.
His expression puzzled, he spoke.
“Moon Jung-hoon? What are you doing here?”
“Haha! You weren’t answering calls. I’ve tried reaching you several times.”
“And?”
“Isn’t showing up unannounced acceptable between us?”
Ha Gyeong laughed helplessly.
Moon Jung-hoon’s response had been completely unexpected.
‘Oblivious. How’d he ever become a journalist?’
Tearing Open the Gate
Author |
Moraetop
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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Editorial Department
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This book may not be reproduced or used in any form or manner without the written permission of Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dreambooks.

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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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