The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 225

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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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Chapter 225

Episode 225.

Crash! Bang!

Every time sword clashed against sword, explosive roars erupted.

Jihad, who was standing far back, frowned at the fragments flying in all directions along with the thick dust.

-Ugh…! It’s hard to keep my eyes open because of all the flying debris.

-Rizariza…

-They’re going to smash everything to pieces!

All he could do now was stay back so as not to get in the way.

Even from quite a distance, the destructive power he could vividly feel against his skin told him the level of the battle currently unfolding.

Charlie clenched his fists at this.

-…Indeed, power befitting an Eternal Knight. To think I cannot be of help to my master at such a moment – there is no greater humiliation for one who serves as my master’s sword.

Having to watch from afar in such a situation was too humiliating for someone with the pride of a knight.

Seeing this, even Jihad, who had been complaining constantly, gulped nervously.

-We can win this, right…? I think this is the first time I’ve seen Owner struggle this much. Are my eyes playing tricks on me again?

-Hmm…

Normally Charlie would have firmly trusted Dohyun and told him to believe, but this time no suitable words came to mind, so he let out a groan.

Then he glanced at the fight between the two.

Bang! Crash! Craaash!

Both clashed swords without giving an inch, clashing again and again.

[You are in a state of Seven Strikes stacked.]

[Maximum stack reached. All amplification values are at maximum.]

[If used within 1 second, you can continue the fierce assault.]

It had been quite a while since he had stacked up to ten strikes.

Each time a maxed-out Fierce Strike came down, it flew toward the surrounding walls and left deep dents in the floor.

Even so, neither of them retreated even slightly.

They were pressing forward like massive waves, as if trying to devour each other.

A battle that was nothing short of textbook slugging.

At first glance they seemed evenly matched, but Charlie could tell.

‘…Master is being pushed back.’

That Dohyun was barely managing to counter.

Like an acrobat walking a tightrope, he was somehow maintaining the precarious offense and defense.

One mistake and he would be devoured in this fight.

[Using Parrying to deflect the attack.]

[On cooldown.]

[On cooldown.]

If he hadn’t used parrying every time the cooldown was up, even keeping up would have been impossible.

But even that wasn’t perfect.

[Failed to perfectly deflect the attack, unable to completely negate damage.]

[Taking reduced damage.]

[Health is below 50%.]

‘Damn, this is the first time I haven’t been able to deflect perfectly in this place.’

His health had already dropped to 50% due to the gradually accumulating reduced damage.

Meanwhile, that guy still looked perfectly fine.

Unlike other bosses, his health bar wasn’t even showing, so there was no way to tell how much it had decreased.

…No. Had it even decreased at all?

He didn’t think he’d ever seen a message about health being depleted, or seen any blood.

‘No, that guy is still a boss in the end. If I keep hitting him, he’ll die eventually.’

Dohyun caught his momentarily wavering mind and steeled himself.

The massive dragon he had seen in Demroc, the lich who had been an archmage – they had been strong and tough enough to make him lose his fighting spirit.

But in the end, he had defeated them.

Just like the Bound Draconic Abomination of the Iron Blood, if he kept beating this guy, he would eventually fall.

‘If only he didn’t have the Guardian Deity’s protection, this would be manageable…’

Even though there was physically natural small pushback, since there was no knockback, whether he stabbed with his sword or tried to push, the enemy wouldn’t budge, making it even more difficult.

It felt like facing a massive rock.

Moreover, that rock wasn’t falling but continuously trying to crush him.

This was the worst matchup for Dohyun.

It made impossible one of Dohyun’s greatest advantages – distance control through psychological warfare. At the same time, it was also a familiar fighting style.

Bang! Crash!

‘Ugh, this really feels like fighting Kukkudakkukku.’

The brilliant strategy of diving into ultra-close range and forcing a brawl – the best physical fighter Dohyun knew.

Samchicken, Kukkudakkukku’s fighting style was exactly like this.

In such cases, the best strategy would be not to give him what he wanted and dodge instead…

[Using Lightning Movement.]

Crackle- Zap!

The moment he created distance, the guy immediately kicked off the ground and used a charge skill.

[The Forgotten King, ‘Decaying Corpse of the Forgotten King’ uses ‘Crushing Charge’.]

A skill that launched forward like a spring and delivered a powerful strike along the charge path.

As a hero-grade skill from the knight class, its instantaneous speed was beyond imagination.

And the advantage of that skill came after that.

[You have been hit by the shockwave of Crushing Charge.]

[Movement speed greatly reduced for 5 seconds and movement skills cannot be used for 2 seconds.]

If you were even slightly touched by the drill-like shockwave surrounding that sword, you had no choice but to stop and continue fighting.

It was a skill Kukkudakkukku had been extremely envious of.

-Damn! Doesn’t Berserker have something like Crushing Charge? If I just had that, I could block those damn movements… Just wait. I’ll change classes and come back.

-A Berserker becoming a Knight… There’s no class less suited than that.

-What did you say? Just finish your sword training instead of picking fights again.

He constantly talked about how his win rate against Dohyun wouldn’t be like this if he just had that skill.

And it was something Dohyun somewhat agreed with too.

After fighting frequently and reading his psychology and patterns to some extent, he had started winning easily at some point.

If Kukkudakkukku had just one skill like that, it would have become quite troublesome.

Of course, it was such an absurd hypothetical that he had lightly dismissed it…

Bang! Crash!

“Damn, get away from me!”

-…

Even as he fought desperately, the guy showed no signs of detaching like a leech.

If he used a movement skill, it would follow and block him.

Even if he used backstep, he’d eventually be caught up to.

He couldn’t even push it away.

[The Forgotten King, ‘Decaying Corpse of the Forgotten King’ uses ‘Royal Smash’.]

[Be careful.]

‘Crazy… even Royal Smash?’

Even the legendary skill Royal Smash!

Seeing the flashy effects erupting, Dohyun gritted his teeth and threw himself to the side.

Flash-

—!!

At the same time, he felt brilliant golden light engulf his back.

A legendary knight skill that dealt massive damage over a wide area. As the knight’s one and only area attack, its power was beyond imagination.

Seeing the floor half-destroyed, Dohyun gulped nervously.

[Due to prolonged exposure to ice techniques, the Forgotten King ‘Decaying Corpse of the Forgotten King’s movement becomes extremely slow.]

[The target’s rank is too high.]

[The slowing effect is dispelled.]

‘I survived because of the ice energy. If that guy had been just a little faster, I would have been swept away.’

The ice energy momentarily slowed the guy’s movement, causing his focus to miss.

If not for that, the ring’s barrier would have activated immediately.

Given this situation, questions naturally arose.

‘…Is this really meant to be cleared?’

A mid-tier level Eternal Knight whose life force is questionably depleting, using Guardian Deity’s blessing and Royal Smash?

This doesn’t make sense from the start.

If it weren’t for Dohyun, the game would have been over long ago.

‘Why is a knight using Guardian Deity’s blessing in the first place? A dealer using tank skills is cheating!’

Though he himself used skills from all sorts of classes, making it quite hypocritical, Dohyun was furious.

He was just quietly(?) taking his test.

He felt wronged about why this randomly opened hidden piece that deleted his test had such ridiculous difficulty.

At least it was fortunate that the guy seemed to lack reason, just using skills and swinging attacks like a beast following instinct.

If he had reason too, the level difference would have been enough to turn him into mincemeat long ago.

‘Let’s calm down.’

Dohyun forced himself to settle down and think calmly.

He couldn’t just give up like this.

Even Demroc, who ultimately failed to clear the hidden stage, eventually received a recommendation letter and met the Emperor, but Dohyun was different.

Dohyun hadn’t passed all the tests – his test had been deleted.

‘I don’t know how I’ll be handled if I fail here.’

So he had to definitely catch that guy and clear this ridiculous hidden stage.

He absolutely had to get a recommendation letter and meet the Prince.

‘What moves do I have left? Should I use that?’

The combination of Thunder Dragon Descent and Darkness Cloak that served as the finale when fighting Berjhe.

It was his greatest technique, but Dohyun shook his head.

‘If I use that, there’s no way back.’

A skill that could only be activated by forcibly using God’s Tears.

Even then, he could only use it briefly, so it had to be saved for the very last moment.

He couldn’t use it on a guy who still looked perfectly fine.

‘Backstab and Lightning Movement don’t work. I already used Sword Aura’s slash. Then what else is there?’

Thunder Dragon Descent and Guardian Deity’s blessing were already in use, and even that powerful slash didn’t work.

Movement skills were completely ineffective, and naturally Rising Dragon Kick wouldn’t deal damage either.

The knockback effect of Fierce Slash was practically nonexistent.

[Unable to continue attacking, the stacking state of Fierce is dispelled.]

Moreover, the stacks were dispelled while avoiding Royal Smash, so he had to build them up again.

There was simply no way. Even the special effects of items were all buff-type.

…Should he give up then?

‘…No. If I don’t have teeth, I’ll fight with my gums.’

No, he had absolutely no intention of giving up over something like this.

Skills don’t work? Item effects are ambiguous?

So what if they are.

Then he’d have to desperately make do with his body to reach even a little bit, wouldn’t he.

Giving up could wait until after that.

“Hss… Huu…”

Dohyun lowered his head and regulated his breathing.

He could feel sounds concentrating on his momentarily enhanced hearing. The sound of blood flowing, minor ambient noise, and even Jihad’s surprised breathing.

All his senses became sharp. It was the same sensation he felt when fighting the Iron-Blood Demon Dragon.

The sensation Dohyun felt when entering a state of extreme concentration.

-Why are you honing swordsmanship when it’s a game? That’s a ridiculous question. It’s because I want to see the end of the sword.

-…Well, your swordsmanship is impressive. But you seem more obsessed with swordsmanship than skill combinations. Wouldn’t it be better to research skills more?

One day, in response to Violet-Flavored Auntie’s question, Sword Master had said this.

-The number of skills is ultimately limited to 13. Even if they increase later, there’s still a clear limit.

-But swordsmanship is different. The infinite swordsmanship I display is not a skill, but my own skill deployed with my own power.

Swordsmanship was the only path to the summit.

Since modern people couldn’t train magic with their own power, training martial arts was the only answer.

Dohyun was momentarily tempted by Sword Master’s conviction-like creed.

Certainly, when it came to swordsmanship alone, even Dohyun was no match for Sword Master.

His swordsmanship, having devoted everything to the sword, had already transcended the realm of martial arts to a level that could be called a skill.

-…That. Can you teach me too?

To Dohyun who asked cautiously, Sword Master grinned and answered.

-As much as you want.

Thwack!

-But there’s not enough time to teach you everything. Kaiser, I’ll teach you only one swordsmanship technique.

[Forgotten King, ‘Decaying Corpse of the Forgotten King’ uses ‘Rushing Strike’.]

The Forgotten King charged forward, thrusting his drill-like sword.

He could see the entire process at a glance.

Which direction the sword was rotating, what the stride of his feet was like, how his shoulders moved, where he was aiming to thrust.

Even where that guy’s red eyes were looking.

-Using this means you’re facing an enemy with stronger power than you. I don’t know if using this will guarantee victory, but… I’m confident in you.

Recalling Sword Master’s words, Dohyun took one step forward.

Then he slowly extended his sword.

Very slowly, a thrust so slow and powerless it felt light.

But the moment it met the destructive Rushing Strike that seemed to pierce through everything.

Softness overcomes hardness .

Dance of the Willow.

Rustle-

-…Huh?

-My goodness!

The Forgotten King’s sword lost its center and wavered.

The Rushing Strike that met Dohyun’s gently moving sword was swaying left and right according to Dohyun’s will.

Like a willow swaying.

Even as it scattered softly and lost its center, the Forgotten King somehow thrust forward with overwhelming physical ability, but,

[Using Parry.]

[Perfect parry successful.]

Dohyun wasn’t one to be hit by a blind attack that had lost its center.

Having succeeded in a perfect parry for the first time, Dohyun grinned and turned his body, taking a step.

Then the guy’s tilting body collapsed helplessly,

Thunk.

-No matter who the opponent is. You’ll definitely be able to land one hit.

Dohyun’s sword pierced the shoulder of the kneeling guy as if it were completely natural.

Then blood spurted from the guy’s body.

It was the first time he had successfully landed a proper strike.

Then, at the same time, a message appeared.

[You have dealt complete damage with pure power, not skills.]

‘Finally landed one hit.’

Just as Dohyun was grinning at seeing the message that he had finally dealt damage.

Swoosh.

“…!?”

The man who had stopped abruptly raised his head and stared intently at Dohyun.

In the strange atmosphere, just as Dohyun flinched, the man slowly rose to his feet while still pierced by the sword.

Then, for the first time, he used both hands to calmly grip his sword.

Saaaa-

The atmosphere suddenly changed.

The joy of landing a blow on him was brief, and when a strange tension swept through his entire body.

Ttiring-

A message appeared with a cheerful notification sound.

[You have proven your qualifications as a Knight.]

[Conditions met. The Forgotten King’s trial begins.]

[You have been recognized for your swordsmanship by an opponent of higher rank than yourself.]

[The path to signature swordsmanship opens.]

[Signature Swordsmanship Quest ‘The Forgotten King’s Swordsmanship’ has been generated.]

[Withstand the Forgotten King’s sword.]

“…What?”

A completely unexpected message had appeared.

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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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