Chapter 48: Echidna (4)
"I knew it! So, you really are a demon!" Reynald exclaimed. He glared at Oh Kang-Woo and clenched his sword even tighter after hearing Kang-Woo refer to himself as a demon. "For the suffering citizens of the Arnan Empire! For the crying children! I, Reynald von Arnan, will punish you!"
Golden mana spurted out of his body. His fluttering golden hair made it seem like a scene from a film.
The middle-aged man with a shield and the dwarf with a hammer stepped forward.
"Haha! All right, Reynald! What's a demon when we've defeated a demonic dragon?"
"Kekeke, you'll have to treat me to barrels of black beer after this, kid."
The dwarf and the middle-aged man said their piece while looking at Reynald, who was burning with a desire for justice. Meanwhile, the brown-haired woman gazed at Reynald with blushed cheeks.
The elf beside Reynald sighed and said, "Sigh, you seriously are a piece of work. We're going against a demon. Are you sure you can do this, Reynald?"
"It isn't a matter of whether I can do it or not! I have to do it!" Reynald declared and raised his sword toward the sky.
'Damn, man. Nice fucking lines,'?Kang-Woo thought.
He looked in disbelief at Reynald, who was burning with passion. Kang-Woo felt embarrassed just by looking at him.
'Why are they acting like this? Are they high on something?'
Kang-Woo couldn't understand the reason for their fervor.
"Haap!" Reynald took a powerful step forward and swung his sword, aiming for Kang-Woo.
A stream of golden sword energy shot toward Kang-Woo at an incredible speed, and Kang-Woo swung his black blade at it.
Boom!!
The golden sword energy was cut in half and exploded in mid-air, causing the ground around it to be upturned as if a bomb had gone off.
'This isn't an attack that I can just block.'
Kang-Woo frowned. He had gotten caught in the explosion. He hadn't been expecting the sword energy to explode when he cut it in half.
"Having equipment sure is nice."
Normally, he would've been hurt a bit by such an explosion. Nevertheless, Kang-Woo didn't receive any damage thanks to the Epic-grade equipment that he'd rented and the expensive Gargoyle Armor he had obtained from Mun Yeong-Ho. Kang-Woo thought with satisfaction that he had made the right decision to acquire the equipment.
Then he turned his gaze toward Reynald's party.
Kang-Woo said, "Okay, since they attacked first..."
It was his turn to strike back.
Whiiir.
'Authority of Explosion.'
Black smoke gathered in Kang-Woo's hand, forming a sphere of demonic energy that caused explosions. Then he clenched it lightly.
'Scorching Rain.'
This was a technique that he had invented by modifying the Authority of Explosion, which only made explosive spheres.
The sphere, which was as big as a basketball, was split into smaller spheres the size of billiard balls. Kang-Woo lightly swung his hand and threw the small spheres at Reynald's party.
"I'll block them!" the middle-aged man shouted. He ran to the front and raised his shield. "Iron Wall!"
A blue barrier appeared in front of his shield.
Despite that, Kang-Woo just smirked and said, "Fall."
Boom!!
"Kurgh!!"
The dozens of balls flying toward the middle-aged man changed their trajectory and fell straight to the ground instead. The bombs exploded, and the shockwave sent the middle-aged man flying backward.
"Hans!" Reynald shouted the name of the middle-aged man. Then he glared at Kang-Woo. "How dare you!"
'You were the one who attacked me first, dumbass,' Kang-Woo thought.
If someone were to see this situation, they would probably think that Reynald's party had been ambushed. Kang-Woo couldn't believe how enraged Reynald was.
"I won't forgive you!" Reynald yelled.
"I won't forgive you either, man," Kang-woo replied.
It seemed like Reynald had forgotten that he had attacked first, and Kang-Woo didn't like Reynald's attitude at all.
Kang-Woo stomped the ground and dashed toward Reynald.
"Arnan Imperial Sword Technique, First Movement! Blade Storm!" Reynald shouted.
'Why does everyone shout the names of their techniques?'?Kang-Woo remarked inwardly.
Judging by the name of Reynald's technique, it seemed like a wide-area attack.
'Then I'll get through it with the minimum amount of defense.'
With a sharp gaze, Kang-Woo used the Authority of Invulnerability.
Crash!
Just as its name indicated, Reynald's technique was a wide-area attack that created a storm of blades. Kang-Woo lowered his stance to charge through the attack and then used the momentum to kick Reynald's stomach.
Smash!!
"Kurgh!!"
"Reynald!"
"You bastard!!"
Upon seeing Reynald get pushed back by the kick, the dwarf and elf attacked Kang-Woo. Nonetheless, Kang-Woo casually leaned back and dodged the three arrows flying in his direction. Then he extended his hand toward the dwarf.
'Authority of Shattering Air.'
Boom!
"Kurggghhh!"
The dwarf was hit with a compressed demonic energy bullet, and the blast flung him backward with blood spurting out from his mouth. Kang-Woo walked toward the dwarf to finish him off.
"Fire Blast!"
At that moment, flames were shot toward Kang-Woo. The brown-haired woman with a staff had launched a magic attack at him. The attack was a bit too powerful for Kang-Woo to bear with just his equipment, so he gave up on attacking the dwarf and fell back.
"Arrggghhh!!" Reynald, who had been flung backward after being kicked in the stomach, stood up and once again charged toward Kang-Woo.
He exuded a surge of golden energy, and his surroundings shook like there was an earthquake.
'He's strong. I'll give him that,'?Kang-Woo thought while watching Reynald charge over.
Reynald was stronger than Mun Yeong-Ho. He would probably be able to defeat a Buer all by himself.
"Haap!"
Clang! Clang!
Kang-Woo and Reynald clashed. Their black and golden energies entangled with each other in midair and dealt a huge amount of destruction to their surroundings.
"Haaaap!"
Boom!
The golden sword energy exploded once again, pushing Kang-Woo backward.
"Fuuu! Did you see that, vile demon?!"
"..." Kang-Woo scowled.
It appeared that he didn't like the fact that he had been pushed back.
'This would've been a bit dangerous if I hadn't already achieved my Fifth Awakening.'
Reynald was more skillful than Kang-Woo had initially thought. Just based on pure power, he might even be stronger than Kang-Woo currently.
'It's no wonder he was able to defeat a dragon hatchling.'
Kang-Woo clicked his tongue while thinking of Echidna, whom Reynald had driven to the brink of death.
'But...'
Kang-Woo had a sharp gaze.
Reynald was certainly strong.
'But that's all.'
Kang-Woo charged toward Reynald and shouted, "Blade Slash!"
"Kuh!"
After hearing Kang-Woo's shout, Reynald raised his sword and took a defensive stance. However, unlike his shout, Kang-Woo lowered his body and dealt a low kick to Reynald's thigh.
Smash!
"Gaaaaahhhh!!" Reynald screamed in pain while grabbing his right leg at the spot where he'd been kicked.
"Y-You vile demon! Y-You clearly said 'Blade Slash'..." Reynald looked at Kang-Woo in disbelief.
'No, you're just stupid.'
Only an idiot would tell an opponent what attack they were about to use. The only exception was if it were an attack that required an incantation to use. Otherwise, it was best to hide as much information from the opponent about the attack as possible.
"R-Reynald!"
"Ugh... A-All of you, run! He's too strong!"
"We can't do that! How could we just leave you behind?!"
"Just go!" Reynald shouted with tears flowing from his eyes.
"Stop being so damn overdramatic," Kang-Woo said.
After seeing Reynald's party act as if they were in the middle of a movie, Kang-Woo laughed and walked toward them.
"You..." Reynald glared at him intensely.
Kang-Woo continued approaching Reynald while calmly taking in his anger.
'Well, the fight is already over.'
For a warrior, their legs were their lifeline. It was still possible to fight even if they lost an arm or had fractured ribs, but an injured leg was a whole other story. A warrior who couldn't move from his spot was nothing but an idiot carrying a weapon.
"Kurgh. H-Hurry up and run!!" Reynald yelled again.
He wasn't stupid enough to be unaware of the issue with his current condition, so he kept begging his party members to run away. Reynald knew better than anyone else how powerless a warrior that couldn't move from his spot was.
'Let's finish this.'
Kang-Woo raised his blade, which was created with the Authority of Blades, and stared at Reynald with his eyes sunken.
There wasn't any compassion or anger in Kang-Woo's eyes. To him, a battle had always been nothing more than a means to survive. Adding emotions to such an act was a luxury he could not afford.
"P-Please wait!"
"Reina...?"
At that moment, the brown-haired woman came running and embraced Reynald.
She shouted at Kang-Woo while crying, "I-I beg of you! Please let Reynald live! If he dies, the citizens of Arnan will lose all hope!"
"..."
"And... he's the person that I love."
"Reina..." Reynald murmured.
Reina caressed Reynald's cheek with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry for confessing in such a way, Reynald. B-But... I thought I wouldn't get another chance to say it."
She turned her head toward Kang-Woo and said, "I'll give you my life. I-I'll do anything you ask! So, please! Let Reynald live!"
Kang-Woo had kept his mouth shut while listening to Reina's plea. Then he burst into laughter. "Enough of this shitshow.”
Kang-Woo walked toward Reina and Reynald.
"What? If he dies, the citizens of Arnan will lose all hope…? Do you expect me to give a shit? What does that have to do with me? First of all, you guys are the ones who attacked me first. Would you let me live if our roles were reversed? Huh?" Kang-Woo said calmly. "No, right? There's no way you would. All of you brandished your weapons. If you were prepared to kill, you should have also been prepared to die."
Kang-Woo extended his hands toward Reynold and Reina, who were in an embrace. Then he activated the Authority of Explosion. Strong demonic energy began gathering around the palm of his hand.
While watching the pair tremble in fear, Kang-Woo said, "Save the pity show for TV, dickheads."
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