The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 181

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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 181
181.
Thud-. Thud-. Thud-.
The Underworld trembled.
Jin-woo gestured to the souls who had received bodies.
“Fall back.”
“We wish to fight alongside you!”
“We are sinners. We betrayed the Master of Soul and Abyss. We will pay the price for our sins.”
The inhabitants of the Underworld, whose loyalty to Jin-woo had reached its peak, took battle stances.
“You’ve only just obtained bodies. It’d be a shame to see them destroyed.”
At Jin-woo’s words, the souls looked at him with moved expressions.
“To think you care for us so deeply…….”
“Please, only call upon us!”
The souls obediently withdrew.
Their loyalty was so high that they reacted sensitively to his every word.
‘It would be a waste if they were destroyed, but that doesn’t mean I won’t use them.’
Jin-woo had no intention of refraining from borrowing their strength.
‘I didn’t craft bodies for the Underworld’s souls merely to clear a Quest.’
He was planning to borrow their strength at a more opportune moment.
‘I need to verify something.’
How uniform the skeletons he’d created on a large scale truly were.
And he was quite curious about how effective they would be against a strong opponent like the Successor of a new god.
“Skull King.”
“Yes.”
“Lead these souls and fall back.”
“Yes!”
At Jin-woo’s command, Skull King and the Underworld’s inhabitants began to retreat.
The moment Skull King withdrew, the aura felt from beyond grew even more intense.
Crack-. Crack-.
The tremors grew stronger, and cracks began to form in the ground.
Crack-! Crack-!
It was a natural disaster incarnate.
Ice Elz swallowed hard.
“It comes.”
“You’re free to withdraw as well, Ice Elz.”
“No. I wish to remain here.”
Ice Elz spoke.
There was no other reason.
She simply wished to see Jin-woo’s Crafting once more from this close vantage. As with Boros, whenever Jin-woo received inspiration, he immediately set to Crafting.
Wherever he stood, the moment he gripped his Hammer, that place became a forge.
She wanted to learn that.
“I have the skeleton the Successor created for me, so I’ll be fine!”
Roar-!
-The Master of Soul and Abyss summons you.
-The Master of Soul and Abyss bears malice toward the new god and its Successor!
“Rightfully so, their anger.”
The Master of Soul and Abyss harbored considerable fury toward the new god and its Successor who had taken root in the Underworld during his absence.
His plan to make Jin-woo his Successor and grant him his own powers could very well fail.
For this reason, the Master of Soul and Abyss stood ready to aid this battle with all his might.
-The Master of Soul and Abyss expects much of you.
“You may have your expectations.”
Jin-woo replied.
“Has everyone withdrawn?”
“Yes. All have been withdrawn.”
Skull King, who had returned, stood beside Ice Elz.
“Now.”
Jin-woo slowly rose to his feet.
“Let me confirm.”
The Phantom Blade and the Frost Bone Crescent Moon Blade.
‘I’ve made new armor as well.’
It was time to test the equipment he’d crafted.
“I’d like to see what kind of Successor this new god has.”
Step-. Step-.
The Successor of the new god approached from far away, tearing through space.
Long flowing hair.
Light, agile armor.
And eyes of fathomless darkness.
A crown adorned his head, making it clear at a glance that he was the new ruler of the Underworld.
‘Interesting.’
Shaaaa-!
‘He’s deliberately revealing all his power.’
This was a kind of greeting—a new god’s Successor greeting an old god’s Successor.
“At last we meet.”
Jin-woo nodded as he regarded the new god’s Successor.
To become the new ruler of the Underworld.
“That much is necessary.”
Shaaaa-.
“As expected.”
Jin-woo walked toward the new god’s Successor.
A Soul Refinery.
And the key to Unique Job Awakening lay within reach.
“You are the final puzzle.”
Jin-woo too released his Aura.
“Sacred Proclamation.”
-Sacred Proclamation is declared!
Jin-woo spread his domain in the truest sense.
Shaaaa-!
Jin-woo released power far more intense than the Aura the new god’s Successor was emitting.
Power colliding with power.
Crack-. Crackle-crackle-crackle-!
The moment the two titans’ domains collided, brilliant red and blue lightning erupted.
Boom-.
“Ugh-!”
Only Lerankal and two Underworld smiths remained on this ground.
The three souls were forced to their knees by the pressure from the collision of Jin-woo and the new god’s Successor.
It was a shockwave so intense that rising to their feet was nearly impossible.
“Ugh-.”
Their posture was like that of forced genuflection. It was the very behavior an apex predator imposed upon its prey.
Of course, Jin-woo stood unblemished.
He waited calmly for the other to speak.
“So you are the Successor chosen by the Master of Soul and Abyss. I confess, I did not foresee it—your defeat of Boros.”
-The Aura of Severance wraps around your body! Health decreases. Movement speed decreases. Health regeneration decreases.
-Mana is severed.
-Your health continuously decreases.
-Your mana continuously decreases.
-Your vision is restricted.
Countless.
Countless debuffs spread through his Aura.
‘There were numerous restrictions from the moment we entered.’
Laws so powerful that Boros could not fly through the sky and could scarcely move without permission had permeated this Underworld.
“And to think you would summon me directly. How amusing.”
-You have encountered Uroald, Successor of the God of Bone and Death!
-You have received a new Quest!
Jin-woo was currently in a state of having cleared the Underworld Liberation Quest.
However, because he had conquered it in a completely different manner, a branching point had emerged.
-You have received a Chain Quest!
Chain Quest.
-Defeat Uroald!
-New rewards will be stacked!
Uroald, the Underworld’s boss, stared at Jin-woo.
Then, despite having spread numerous Restrictions and debuffs, he saw Jin-woo standing unaffected and applauded.
“Truly, you are worthy of being the Master of Soul and Abyss’s Successor.”
Uroald brought his two fists together with a sharp crack.
“Aura. O Souls.”
Uroald, backed by the God of Bone and Death as his patron, wielded a power similar to Jin-woo’s own.
Dark Energy.
Of course, he was not a typical Necromancer who created and summoned Familiars; he used Dark Energy and souls in a different manner.
Shaaaa-.
“All the souls I have absorbed become my power.”
Tremendous force surged.
‘The type that grows stronger through soul absorption.’
Jin-woo snapped his fingers, and First and Pur materialized.
Boom-. Boom-.
Shaaaa-!
“This is new.”
This was his first time fighting another Necromancer.
Of course, neither Jin-woo nor Uroald could properly be called orthodox Necromancers—both were variant types—but Jin-woo found the prospect quite intriguing.
‘A Necromancer of a different school from me.’
He would fight differently and employ different Skills.
‘There may be much to learn.’
Jin-woo was quite pleased by this prospect.
“First, Pur.”
Shaaaa-.
The summoned First and Pur moved with entirely different patterns than before.
After their battle with Boros, both Familiars had yearned to recover their wounded pride.
“He’s stronger than Boros.”
“All the better.”
“We will take our rev-enge.”
That their opponent was stronger than Boros was welcome.
After all, they too had changed considerably.
Shaa-.
Crack-!
Uroald moved first.
First and Pur simultaneously swung their weapons in time with Uroald’s swift advance.
Pur was the first to make contact.
Drawing forth every ounce of power from the Frost Bone Crescent Moon Blade, which she wielded for the first time, she unleashed it.
It was a fierce blow, infused with the regret and despair of her defeat at Boros’s hands.
Bang-.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-!
With a tremendous roar, the Frost Bone Crescent Moon Blade collided with Uroald’s fist.
From the collision of both attacks, shockwaves and sonic booms spread outward. The impact was so great that Jin-woo, standing at considerable distance, staggered backward.
“!”
Uroald’s expression flickered with surprise for a moment.
“I intended to shatter it.”
In the first exchange, he had restrained himself to gauge the opponent, but Uroald had unleashed well over seventy percent of his power.
Yet the Frost Bone Crescent Moon Blade remained intact.
“This time is different.”
Then First’s Phantom Blade was unleashed.
Crack-!
Uroald spun and blocked the Phantom Blade with his remaining hand.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-!
“……!”
Both attacks were far heavier than anticipated. Faced with two weapons that exceeded his expectations, Uroald stepped forward instead.
“Then I shall break those first.”
Shaaaa-.
“O Souls.”
He began extracting more souls and absorbing them.
Snap-!
At that moment, Jin-woo snapped his fingers again.
Shaaaa-.
“There is one more.”
At Jin-woo’s gesture, a tiger bounded forth from the shadows.
“The tiger.”
A snow-white tiger.
Boros, the white tiger, inserted himself between Uroald and First and Pur. First and Pur naturally stepped back, while Uroald’s brow furrowed.
“Boros.”
Boros’s power radiated unmistakably from the tiger.
“You’ve made that tyrant your Familiar?”
It was not merely making him a Familiar.
“You’ve restructured him. In your own way.”
Uroald clenched both fists.
Shaaaa-.
Black Aura enveloped his entire hands.
“But did you truly preserve all of his power?”
The tiger was clad in Pure White Leather Armor. But beyond that, no other equipment was visible.
“You should not have interrupted that flow. It was a warrior’s battle.”
Uroald swung his fist with all his might.
Screeeee-!
This was a devastating blow the tiger could not withstand.
It was the kind of strike that would annihilate even a Heroic-tier undead if it landed cleanly.
Abyss: Black Flame River
The tiger’s annihilation seemed certain as the fist extended like rays of light.
Yet.
Whoosh-.
From the start, the tiger had no intention of meeting him head-on.
Crack-. Crackle-.
With tremendous speed, it retreated backward, evading Uroald’s strike. Uroald immediately pursued the retreating tiger.
He knew it would dodge.
Then he would simply be faster.
“I’ll chase you down.”
Screeeee-!
Uroald closed in on the tiger instantaneously.
Escape was impossible.
Slash-.
Or so it should have been.
“……How?”
Yet the tiger was already behind Uroald.
“Rrooaaarrr-!”
Its enormous claws came crashing down upon Uroald.
Crackle-!
Uroald parried lightly and immediately resumed pursuit of the tiger.
Yet the tiger evaded his assault once more.
“You were hiding your speed?”
That couldn’t be right.
If it were…
“Are you…… faster than me?”
Uroald unleashed another barrage of attacks.
Meanwhile, First and Pur read Uroald’s movements. The tiger was currently teaching them everything.
Uroald’s speed, his power, his techniques. And the precise timing at which he would react to anything.
Screee-!
It was teaching them by the thinnest of margins.
“Hm.”
Watching the tiger evade by the width of a hair for a second time, Uroald understood.
“That movement.”
That singular retreating speed transcended even him.
“Only in this backwards movement do you surpass me.”
The tiger did not exceed Uroald in attack power, defense, or any other stat.
Yet in one thing alone.
This backward retreating speed was faster than Uroald’s.
Because of this, the tiger could unsettle Uroald.
The initiative rested entirely with the tiger; Uroald could not act proactively.
“It matters not. If your attacks cannot reach me.”
Then I need only ignore you.
Uroald attempted to push forward, ignoring the tiger.
But.
Crackle-!
The tiger’s strike found Uroald’s back.
“Nngh.”
An unavoidable, devastating blow left Uroald startled once more.
“Grrrowl-.”
The tiger snarled as if laughing.
Jin-woo smirked as well.
“Of course I was hiding power.”
He’d hidden speed; why would he not hide force?
“Damn you. Damn you all!”
‘That’s enough.’
Uroald now recognized how formidable the tiger’s attacks truly were.
‘Then.’
Shaaaa-.
First and Pur.
‘Time for synergy with the two Familiars.’
The tiger had disrupted Uroald’s timing. Now, Uroald held back no longer. If he were deceived again, he would simply crush everything with his full strength.
“Do not evade.”
Smash everything to dust!—
Shaaaa-!
“I will expend souls!”
The core of his strength lay in souls.
Using the souls he’d absorbed as a sacrifice, he amplified his power.
Shaaaa-!
The absorbed souls erupted from his hands, ablaze.
“Ten Stacks.”
Boom-. Boom-. Boom-boom-boom-boom-!
Intense power surged from Uroald’s entire being.
Simultaneously, the ground beneath him shattered.
Thud-!
Black Flame Divine Strength
Planting his feet, he gathered all his power into that fist.
And released the energy in a single, deafening blow.
“Try to evade!”
“Grrrowwwl-!”
In that instant, the tiger retreated to the side.
And beyond it—
“An opening.”
“Per-fect-ly vis-i-ble.”
Perfect timing.
A gaping opening.
Precisely agitated, precisely exploited.
Jin-woo’s plan for the tiger executed flawlessly.
“!”
Uroald tried to retreat.
But it was too late.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-!
The two Familiars’ devastating blow struck Uroald squarely.
“Ugh-.”
A blow laden with spite and fury.
Uroald’s entire body shook; blood seeped from the corners of his mouth.
And once more the tiger moved.
‘The tiger shakes; First and Pur strike.’
Hit and Move.
‘Excellent.’
First and Pur seemed quite pleased with the new Familiar’s movements and speed as well.
Uroald, having taken a direct blow, shook his head sharply.
“You are not to be underestimated.”
Uroald abruptly released power far more intense than before.
“I shall establish law.”
Shaaaa-.
He pointed a finger at Jin-woo.
“Rules of Restriction.”
That formidable power that had hindered Jin-woo from the moment he entered the Underworld.
That terrible law now began to fully unfold.
“Kneel.”
Shaaaa-!
In an instant, the air around them trembled.
Crack-! Crackle-crackle-crackle-!
The ground shattered and Uroald’s rules affected all living things.
“……?”
Yet Jin-woo stood unblemished.
The dark Aura enveloping Jin-woo gathered wholly at his feet.
“Why. The Master of Soul and Abyss’s power should not be able to withstand this…….”
Uroald communed with the God of Bone and Death.
Shaaaa-.
In that instant, Aura poured down upon Uroald’s head.
It seemed as though he had received a blessing.
“I shall verify.”
He focused power into his eyes.
“……What?”
He beheld Jin-woo. Rather—
More precisely, he was not seeing Jin-woo himself.
“Beyond the Master of Soul and Abyss, there are more……?”
Behind Jin-woo, alongside the Master of Soul and Abyss—
Countless. Truly countless gods stood behind him.
“How many gods are supporting you……!”
“Is one insufficient?”
Jin-woo smiled.
“As for you.”
Jin-woo snapped his fingers, and the tiger rushed forth at tremendous speed.
“You have only one.”

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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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