The Only Enhancer - Chapter 149

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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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Episode 149
149 – Hunting, Not War (2)
Min-jun’s lips curved into a long, satisfied smile as he confirmed the power of his new blade.
Meanwhile, Elder trembled with fear, and the other Elder who had finished communicating also regarded Min-jun with an unsettling expression.
They had witnessed what had just befallen Elder and felt a sharp sense of caution.
Min-jun gazed at them both with indifference, and they spoke while cold sweat dripped down their faces.
-Helmaes, it seems we must fight with all our strength. You see it that way too, don’t you?
-Karus, you see it the same way as well.
Helmaes, the Elder who had been struck first, and Karus, the other Elder, agreed they must combine their strength. They had even summoned the third Elder who was not here, so they only needed to endure until then.
Of course, that much was entirely possible.
But winning—that was another matter.
It was humiliating enough that two Elders had to fight him together, yet even victory seemed beyond reach.
However, they had long since discarded such pride.
Survival. And ultimately, victory.
These were the crucial lessons they had learned while surviving the great war.
Warrior’s honor?
It mattered, yes, but survival mattered more.
The victor’s glory could only be achieved by those who lived to see it.
The second Elder, Karus, having grasped this truth, activated Transcendence just as Helmaes had, entering full power state.
As both transformed into their full power forms, Min-jun likewise drew a second item to match their intensity.
He draped himself in a cloak that shone brilliantly with golden radiance—an 8-Star item as resplendent as a burning sun—and then drew forth a shield that seemed to form a pair with his blade.
Three 8-Star items in total.
Even Min-jun had no intention of facing multiple Elders who had reached the very edge of Calamity Level 8 with merely a single sword.
-…This will be no easy battle.
-…We are warriors and Elders both. We should expect nothing less than a difficult fight.
The two Elders exchanged such words, their tension mounting.
Min-jun, observing the two Elders who held back, waiting to buy time, nodded slightly.
Just as he had anticipated.
They believed that once the third Elder arrived, they would have a real chance at victory.
Min-jun smirked at their transparent strategy and moved first.
So they thought he would wait patiently for their reinforcement to arrive.
―――!
Without the slightest warning, Min-jun appeared before them in an instant.
Yet the Elders, having prepared themselves, were not entirely caught off guard.
Though they had not anticipated Min-jun’s sudden appearance, Helmaes moved without hesitation, raising both arms.
With a metallic ring and a sharp clang, iron plates transformed into a colossal barrier, blocking Min-jun and Karus from view.
This should be sufficient to block the attack.
Or so they thought.
But what’s this? Before the iron armor could close, Min-jun’s sword Heomu had already pierced through Helmaes’s abdomen at that seam.
Squelch!
-Cough!
Helmaes, pierced through the abdomen, spat blood and staggered backward.
I had assumed Min-jun would activate Iron Wall the moment he arrived to block it, yet he drove his blade into my abdomen before I could even perceive the attack.
It was a sight beyond comprehension.
But how many things in combat could truly be understood?
Both Helmaes and Karus were exceptional warriors.
Despite the incomprehensible turn of events, neither dwelled on it—the moment Helmaes released Iron Wall, Karus immediately thrust his spear forward.
In an instant, the spear shot toward Min-jun’s head.
Even within the realm of transcendence, the spear hurtled with devastating speed, and realizing evasion was too late, Min-jun furrowed his brow sharply and quickly raised the shield gripped in his left hand.
CLAAAAAAAAANG!
A tremendous burst of sparks erupted as Min-jun was driven backward.
Though I had blocked it, my left shoulder holding the shield throbbed with a dull ache.
Certainly, facing Elders was no trivial matter.
The moment I showed an opening, Helmaes—already recovered from the abdominal wound—charged forward.
With two massive shields like iron walls affixed to both arms, he swung them with devastating force.
It felt as though a colossal blade were falling, not mere fists.
‘Have they resolved to abandon defense and focus purely on offense?’
That was indeed the correct answer.
Against the Phantom Blade and Void, defense held no meaning.
Both were undeniably formidable warriors, and I sensed it instinctively.
Defense alone could not sustain them for long.
From my perspective, it was irritating beyond measure, but it mattered little.
I didn’t believe I would lose.
As Helmaes’s assault bore down upon me, I simply retreated and evaded while simultaneously swinging Void.
Rather than block, Helmaes seemed determined to endure and press forward, accepting a long gash across his chest as he continued his assault.
BOOOOOM!
When the massive Iron Wall collided with my shield, a deafening roar erupted, and I was driven back once more.
Seizing that precise moment when I was pushed back, Karus gripped his spear and tensed every muscle.
Karus’s forearms swelled as though they might burst, while his waist, shoulders, and lats inflated with monstrous power.
As his upper body muscles ballooned to nearly twice their size, he channeled that overwhelming strength and his essence into a throwing thrust.
――――――――――――!
The spear didn’t merely cut the air—it tore and obliterated it as it hurtled forward.
It was a formidable throw.
Even I felt a chill run through me at such a devastating strike, yet my eyes gleamed with intensity as I beheld it.
Simultaneously, my cloak shimmered and faded, and in that instant, I vanished—the spear cutting through empty space in vain.
SCREEEEEECH!
Evading the throw that warped space itself, I reappeared directly before Karus.
The moment I materialized, I swung Void, and as I appeared, Karus raised his bulging arms in preparation, bracing for my blade strike.
Unlike Karus, whose arms were already raised in perfect defensive readiness, my blade—Void—moved with deliberate slowness.
It moved with such unhurried grace, yet why did it feel so inevitable?
Huo left multiple afterimages in his wake as he moved through the air, trailing phantoms and trajectories toward Karus’s arm.
Karus, who had been watching blankly, nearly tilted his head in confusion before a horrific sound jolted him awake as if from a dream.
Srrrrip.
When he regained his senses, a chilling sound accompanied Karus’s arm being slashed open.
Though the sword strike moved slowly enough that he should have easily evaded it, the moment he tried to block, his body refused to respond, and he could only stare blankly at the incoming attack.
In that state, Karus attempted to retreat without paying attention to his wounded arm.
That blade was too dangerous to block.
Acting on pure instinct, he tried to fall back, but that cursed sword began its slow, deliberate advance once more.
At the same moment, Karus’s body froze in place, and again he could only watch helplessly as the blade approached.
And then.
-Krraaaaaaah!
Helmaes, wielding an enormous iron barrier, desperately flew in to block the sword, barely managing to intercept it.
Though the barrier was impressively thick, Huo cleaved through it as effortlessly as cutting tofu.
But perhaps because of its considerable thickness, it mercifully wasn’t completely severed.
Srrrrck!
As Helmaes blocked the blade, both he and Karus retreated.
Meanwhile, as Min-jun attacked and Karus’s severed arm fell away, he radiated his energy in retreat, and a new arm sprouted from the severed surface.
Squelch squelch squelch!
-This is insane.
-This is no joke.
Both swallowed hard, an eerie chill reminiscent of the great war washing over them.
That sword Min-jun wielded.
They couldn’t identify it, but it radiated an ominous, terrifying presence.
At least to them, it did.
An unknown weapon naturally bred fear.
Watching the two Elders, Min-jun clicked his tongue with visible regret.
“Tsk.”
Even if they could regenerate, it had been an opportunity to sever both arms—a missed chance.
No matter how much they regenerated, it would consume their energy reserves.
Indeed, Karus’s energy had been significantly depleted from regenerating just one arm.
Though he still possessed considerable mana, regret was regret.
Watching Min-jun’s expression of disappointment, Helmaes and Karus felt their spines chill.
Had there been even the slightest mistake just now, the tide of battle would have turned decisively against them.
And if that had happened…
-We would have collapsed and lost.
-And Burnia, following after us, would have died without mounting any resistance.
Both observed the situation with cold clarity.
Warriors didn’t survive by abandoning their minds.
First priority was understanding that weapon whose abilities remained unknown.
Defense made the attacks grow stronger.
It wasn’t simply a matter of ignoring my defense.
It was as if… my attack power grew stronger the more I defended.
And beyond that.
-When I swung my sword, my body wouldn’t move. It felt like I was being deceived.
-A cursed blade, damn it all.
-It’s definitely a cursed sword.
Both of them narrowed their eyes in caution toward Min-jun, and Min-jun likewise furrowed his brow as he observed them.
The attacks weren’t ineffective, but with two opponents, it was proving rather troublesome.
Of course, that didn’t mean I was without options.
I still had far too many abilities left unused.
Min-jun drew upon his energy to harness the power of the shield.
The two Elders, seeing this, were already bracing themselves, pouring their strength into preparation before Min-jun could charge forward.
Helmaes restored his two colossal iron walls, while Karus regenerated his spear.
And the moment Min-jun vanished.
Helmaes moved as well.
Since there was no way to know where Min-jun would appear, he positioned himself to respond from anywhere.
And Min-jun appeared directly in front of Helmaes.
Without time to prepare, as Min-jun materialized before him, Helmaes immediately attempted to attack using his iron walls, but Min-jun pulled his shield backward rather than thrusting it forward.
Before doubt could even form at such an incomprehensible motion.
Whoooooosh―――!
A powerful pulling force erupted, yanking Helmaes toward him.
And with tremendous force at that.
Crash!
Helmaes, dragged and pulled violently as if caught by something, tumbled head over heels.
-Graaaah!
Though there was no damage, the overwhelming pulling force left him helpless, and in his frustration at being unable to do anything, he cried out.
And what remained was Karus.
Just as Karus, likewise gripping his spear, was about to thrust it toward Min-jun.
The shield shone once more.
Expecting another pulling force and bracing himself, Karus felt his spear being pushed away, and his eyes widened in shock as he lost his grip on the weapon.
After the pull came the push.
Having lost his spear, Karus desperately attempted to retreat backward to evade.
He tried to vanish along with a gust of wind by channeling energy into his wings.
But in that instant, countless afterimages stretched across the empty air.
The lingering shadows split into dozens of paths, all of them swinging toward Karus.
Hundreds, thousands of sword strikes moving with deliberate slowness.
And each and every one felt completely real as they slashed across Karus’s entire body.
Whoosh! Whoooosh!
Slash! Slash! Slash slash slash slash slash!
-Graaaaaaaaaaaaah!
The moment Helmaes saw Karus screaming in agony and attempted to take flight.
Min-jun smiled faintly and activated the seven stars hanging from his waist.
A deafening roar erupted across the heavens!
Colossal gravity crushed down upon him, and the final blade of Void cleaved through Karus.
As his neck was severed, his head dissolved into dust, and from Karus’s disintegrating form, Min-jun claimed the Orb of Evolution and the Demon Stone before turning to face the remaining Helmaes.
“Two more, then?”
With those words, the Elder and Burnia, who had arrived belatedly, could only blink in stunned silence.
-What… what in the world is this.

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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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