The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 191

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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 191
191
“Are you insane?! They said the Empire had the advantage!”
“Exactly!”
“Ah, we’ve been scammed!”
“Ah, hehehehe, then go ahead and sue!”
“Insane! Argh!”
“P-please, save me!”
“I want to go back!”
Never had chaos been so absolute.
Every player who had foolishly sided with the Empire was drowning in regret.
In fact, they were being slaughtered wholesale.
The war was now drawing to its inevitable conclusion.
When Count Zapin eliminated the Imperial Knight Commander and Lin eliminated the Imperial Vice-Knight Commander, the already-tilted balance of power shifted decisively in Count Zapin’s favor.
The Empire’s knights who had barely held their ground against the Abyss Knight now found that equilibrium shattered, and Count Zapin’s forces seized absolute victory.
It was only natural that the Empire’s players were being pushed back.
Unless one ranked among the absolute elite like Lin, Barmon, and Yuna, few players could stand against NPCs.
The rankers who had sided with the Empire—
Kaiser’s remnant forces had already been eliminated by Barmon and Yuna.
A considerable number had fallen to Ren and Kan as well.
Some called the twins traitors and other names, but what did they expect?
Both of them paid no mind as they slaughtered players indiscriminately.
Though victory had been seized,
Count Zapin’s inner circle remained anxious.
Because of a single existence.
One figure capable of reversing this hard-won victory in an instant.
“Marquis Kawen has remained invisible from beginning to end.”
“Where on earth is he?”
“Isn’t he at the Emperor’s side?”
“That would be most troublesome….”
Each voiced their concern, but Count Zapin shook his head reassuringly.
“No, Marquis Kawen has been entrusted to Jin-woo.”
“Jin-woo… you say?”
That he was formidable was now acknowledged by all.
But could he truly stand against Marquis Kawen?
Most doubted such a thing possible.
Count Zapin shook his head at their foolishness.
Still harboring doubts despite what they had witnessed.
Such a lack of faith.
“Are you not aware that the Abyss Knight, who faced all the knight commanders, serves under Jin-woo?”
“B-but just because a summoned creature is strong doesn’t mean the summoner is equally strong, does it?”
That was a fair point.
But.
“No, that Abyss Knight vouched for it himself. He said he had already been defeated by Jin-woo.”
“Ah—.”
“I think it’s best we simply trust and wait.”
Once Count Zapin spoke, the objections from his other closest advisors fell silent.
If that ominous Abyss Knight had said so himself.
Then it was possible.
For now, there was nothing to do but wait.
Everyone thought the same and waited.
Soon, something tore open in the empty air, and they could see someone emerging from it.
* * *
The moment Jin-woo and Marquis Kawen clashed.
I activated a skill first.
None other than the most useful skill for this exact situation.
“Individual Combat.”
A skill I had never used once since obtaining it.
I had acquired it upon my class advancement.
It had been a long time since I last used this skill.
What’s its effect, you ask?
Simple.
“Chamber of Truth.”
It was a skill that created a one-on-one arena where only the target and the caster could fight.
Without any interference from anyone else.
A space where only Marquis Kawen and I could exist.
To escape this space, one of us had to die without exception.
As this space unfolded, Marquis Kawen immediately furrowed his brow.
He had realized what kind of skill this was.
“Foolish. Walking into your own demise.”
“We’ll see whose demise it is.”
Seeing my refusal to back down, Marquis Kawen began to fight in earnest.
His already massive aura exploded outward exponentially.
An aura blade that could cut through anything materialized on his sword.
A blade only a Sword Master could obtain.
I gazed upon that blade with admiration.
Before my regression, in the distant future, I had obtained it myself.
‘It was incredibly difficult to raise my swordsmanship skill to Master rank.’
But now I was at the highest level, just before Master.
By this standard alone, I couldn’t draw an aura blade, but didn’t I have a similar skill instead?
I activated Dark Light Sword Technique, dyeing my blade pitch black.
A skill that produced virtually the same effect as Aura Blade.
Marquis Kawen had already experienced it before, so he knew its power well.
But he wasn’t worried.
His sword would render it utterly powerless.
With such arrogant confidence, Marquis Kawen swung his blade toward Jin-woo.
It seemed like a light swing, but the result was anything but.
Kwagagagagagagagaga!
As the aura shot forth as if grinding everything to dust, Jin-woo furrowed his brow and wielded the Typhoon Sword Isis.
An identical black tempest formed, and the wind from the blade met the aura in opposition, but Jin-woo’s sword wind was torn apart like paper.
And that wasn’t enough—the aura sought to devour Jin-woo entirely.
But I barely blocked the attack with Bahamut and furrowed my brow.
Wait, is this right?
‘This bastard is ridiculously strong?’
They said he’d be similar to Abyss Knight Demoros, but he’s stronger.
And not by a small margin.
I was certain just moments ago that wasn’t the case.
Seeing how considerably stronger he’s become since entering this place…
It must be.
“Krhehe, did I not tell you I had entered the Abyss?”
As he spoke, two horns began sprouting from Marquis Kawen’s head.
So that was it.
I thought Count Zapin was cheating somehow.
To think this creature possessed strength he couldn’t show to others.
This guy is far more rotten than I imagined.
I let out a small laugh.
Well, that makes sense.
‘He’s the mastermind who manipulated the Emperor like a puppet, after all.’
In a sense, he could be called the final boss at this point.
Right, he shouldn’t be weaker than an Abyss Knight that was only recently created.
That’s true.
So now, do I have a way to counter him?
Of course I do.
A finishing move I’ve held back just in case.
Space Severance—Dimensional Confinement?
Or perhaps Fusion Combat Technique?
No, both are wrong.
“Should I get serious too?”
At those words, Marquis Kawen began to sneer.
Now that he had revealed his demonic power, he believed there was no way he could lose.
That was only natural.
After all, he had been a Sword Master originally, and the power he gained by abandoning his humanity was truly immense.
Marquis Kawen cried out with a contemptuous laugh.
“Go ahead and try! This place will become your grave!”
At Marquis Kawen’s mockery, Jin-woo nodded.
The finishing move he hadn’t used until now?
It was none other than this.
[Jin-woo]
*Level: 156
*Class: God of War.
*Subclass: Creator.
*Titles: 『Irregular』 and 62 others.
*Combat Power—628 (340+288)
*Mana—968 (540+428)
*Creation—67 (10+57)
*Additional Stats—345
“Khh.”
So many additional stats had accumulated like this.
This was the finishing move I had been saving all this time.
I was afraid the game would become truly boring if I used additional stats.
So I had been holding back.
But I finally used them.
When 345, a number higher than my base Combat Power of 340, was added together.
The percentage increase began to skyrocket.
As my stats rose dramatically all at once, Marquis Kawen’s expression gradually filled with shock.
This was no ordinary increase.
It wasn’t even a stat that could be obtained through buffs.
Especially Combat Power.
Wasn’t it a stat with better efficiency than the combined numbers of typical strength and physique?
Marquis Kawen’s expression gradually hardened.
Had he become a demon like me?
But I detected no such sign.
How was this possible?
I couldn’t understand it at all.
Marquis Kawen stood speechless as he watched my transformed state.
Then I spoke.
“This isn’t even the end.”
And when I activated all manner of buff effects, Marquis Kawen’s expression filled with despair.
There was no way he could win this.
Seeing that expression on his face, I smiled with satisfaction.
Of course. How could I possibly win against this?
I examined my own stats as I thought this.
[Jin-woo]
*Level: 156
*Class: God of War
*Subclass: Creator
*Titles: 『Irregular』 and 62 others
*Combat Power—1,164.5 (685+479.5)
*Magical Power—968 (540+428)
*Creation—67 (10+57)
*Additional Stats—0
‘This is monstrous. Absolutely monstrous.’
Even I had to admit these stats were absurd.
And that was before factoring in the buffs.
It was only natural that I couldn’t overcome this.
No matter how much of a Sword Master Marquis Kawen had become, no matter that he’d abandoned his humanity to become a demon.
How could I possibly win against this?
That’s why I’d tried to avoid using it in the first place.
But it had come to this.
“Wait, just listen to what I have to say!”
“…Hmm.”
I looked at Marquis Kawen with a questioning gaze, and he cried out desperately.
“Why, why do you serve them with such power? Why not join me instead and savor absolute authority together? You have more than enough merit to deserve it!”
His appearance had transcended mere desperation and crossed into something repulsive, causing me to frown.
But I decided to hear him out.
Marquis Kawen seemed to mistake my silence for interest.
His words tumbled out even faster.
“Count Zapin is bound by his sense of justice—he’ll never properly reward you for your achievements! But I’m different! I’ll grant you absolute power! What do you say? Will you help me seize control of the Empire?”
It had come to this.
Anyone who knew Marquis Kawen would be shocked.
The moment his life hung in the balance, that haughty, dignified facade crumbled into pathetic begging.
Perhaps this was proof he’d truly abandoned his humanity?
I could listen no longer. I shook my head and raised my hand.
Marquis Kawen swallowed hard as he waited, watching my gesture.
I opened my mouth.
“You’ve said some interesting things, but my ears are rotting from listening.”
“…Ah.”
He understood the meaning immediately.
The moment realization struck him, Marquis Kawen let out a terrible scream and gripped his sword.
“Uaaaaaahhhhh!”
He swung his sword with all his might in a desperate frenzy, but to no avail.
It didn’t land at all.
Rather, Jin-woo sensed that Kawen had grown even weaker than before, and he chuckled softly as he gathered his skills to deliver the strongest attack he could muster.
Fusion Combat Technique.
He wove in Destructive Combat Technique, and layered it with Spatial Severance—Dimensional Confinement as well.
Six-Light Slash and Weapon Sphere too.
Every skill related to the blade was contained within it.
“Uuuaaaaaahhhhh!”
Marquis Kawen thrashed about wildly, swinging his sword like a madman, but sadly, not a single strike reached Jin-woo.
A war?
I thought it would be difficult.
But it was the opposite.
Even Marquis Kawen, who could be called the final boss, turned out to be nothing special.
Of course, if I hadn’t distributed all my stat points, it might have been different.
But I had.
“Let us not meet again.”
Jin-woo spoke those words as he swung his sword very slowly.
As if drawing a line.
Very slowly indeed.
Marquis Kawen attempted to block the descending blade.
But?
That sword, which severed space itself, was of a kind that Marquis Kawen could never defend against, and soon enough.
Six lines of crimson blood bloomed across Marquis Kawen’s chest, and he was cut by the blade.
Splurt.
“Kugh.”
A wound that any demon should be able to regenerate from.
But it did not heal.
As if his very soul had been severed, the wound refused to regenerate, and Marquis Kawen closed his eyes in despair.
A pathetic death befitting a vicious criminal who had plunged the Empire into corruption and decay.

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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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