Chapter 83
The thunderbolts flickered among the clouds, splitting into hundreds of branches and spreading out in all directions.
Rumble— Crack! Boom! Bam!
The next moment, the thunderbolt and lightning struck the mast violently. Lee Shin felt a sense of guilt for releasing the thunderbolts irresponsibly. He felt a burden to capture all the thunderbolts and lightning that had run amok.
Lee Shin’s mana had already been all warmed up, and it immediately shot into the sky.
Swoosh—!
Lee Shin began to capture the fragments of white thunderbolts one by one with a mesh net, pulling them in. This skill was an application of the principle of Lightning Rod.
Lee Shin had shot his mana to where the thunderbolts were and absorbed them and pulled them together into one place.
When the thunderbolts were gathered into a circular shape and emitted a loud thunder, another wave of thunderbolts were detected in Lee Shin’s mana senses. This strong power of thunderbolt burst past the challengers and rushed toward Lee Shin.
[Thunderbolt]
From the moment Lee Shin detected the thunderbolt shot by the dragonian, Lee Shin changed the flow of his mana and summoned all his thunderbolts and stuck them down onto the dragonian’s thunderbolts.
Baaaam! Boom!
A massive collision occurred above the sea. And as a result of the violent shockwave, the sea was pushed apart in all directions. Most of the ships around them were swept away by the impact and capsized, and many people were injured by the fragments of the thunderbolts that were scattered around after the collision.
Due to the great skill gap between Lee Shin and Vuela from other challengers around them, the damage was not limited to just that. The damage was becoming uncontrollable due to the limitations on the sea.
“Everyone! Try to move toward the large ship as much as possible! Don’t get caught up in their fight!”
“That would be impossible! If we move this way, we’ll be attacked by those pirates over ther—”
“Hey you idiot! Don’t you think it would be safer to stay next to the pirates more than staying next to those two?”
“Yes, yes sir! Understood!”
One side was crowded with pirates who were shouting that they were the navy, trying to sink the challengers’ ships. On the other side, the two challengers from different dimensions, Lee Shin and the dragonian, were fighting like crazy, not paying attention to what was going on in their surroundings.
“Ugh, why do they both have to be thundermancers.” Vuela blocked the incoming pirate cannonballs and muttered as he was hit by a sudden surge of water.
Vuela wondered where this monster species came from. Just by sensing the dragonian’s mana, it was clear to Vuela that he was several levels above him in terms of ability and skills. Vuela wondered if he would be able to withstand the dragonian to some extent if he used the Berserker’s ability.
Just the sight of them and the thought of fighting the dragonian were enough to make him feel pressured.
‘Still…’
Vuela’s gaze then shifted from the dragonian to Lee Shin. No matter how much of a monster the dragonian was, Vuela did not think that he would be able to beat Lee Shin.
Swoosh—! Thud!
Vuela, who had just cut off the cannonballs coming in from the east, activated his mana, setting aside his brief thoughts.
‘I just have to take care of these pirates.’
Vuela said to himself that he should at least be able to avoid hearing any complaints from Lee Shin when he returned after ending the fight with the dragonian.
“Bring the ship closer to that pirate ship! We are going to switch our strategy to hand-to-hand combat.” Vuela shouted at the challengers who were on the ship.
Yeah! Whoooo!
Vuela, who had become the leader of the remaining large ship, shouted and the crew cheered in return.
Lee Shin found himself getting a little excited by the battle that was unfolding before him. That was because Lee Shin considered this battle with the dragonian a fierce one, something he had not experienced for a long time.
Even when Lee Shin encountered the Master of the Gold Magic Tower on the fifteenth floor, he was not too excited or nervous. Even though the Master of the Gold Magic Tower was once Lee Shin’s master, that relationship had ended a long time ago. Therefore, besides the fact that he was meeting his old master after a long time, there was nothing interesting or surprising, especially not in terms of the magic used.
However, things were different now. It had been a while since Lee Shin had fought against such a powerful thundermancer. Unlike the initial psychological warfare to suss out the level of the opponent, the dragonian was now wholeheartedly engaged in this battle.
[Lightning Chain]
Lee Shin’s thunderbolt extended like a chain and bound the dragonian’s arms, but the thunderbolt that lay within the dragonian’s claws was able to cut through the Lightning Chain as if it were nothing.
‘Is his physical ability also exceptional?’
Even so, it did not matter to Lee Shin. It was something that Lee Shin had already been expecting, upon noticing that the opponent had the blood of a dragon.
The dragonian jumped onto the deck of the ship and began to suck in the surrounding thunderbolt vigorously by stretching out both of his arms. The lightning energy gathered into a sphere in the middle of the deck, and it did not take long to reach a radius of several meters.
[Shadow Space]
As soon as Lee Shin saw the magic of the dragonian, he called out four of his trusted subordinates.
“Ahn Jin, and Decan, rescue anyone who has fallen into the sea, whether they are humans or other species. That does not matter,” Lee Shin ordered.
The two subordinates nodded and disappeared.
“Warrie, keep an eye on the pirates,” said Lee Shin, looking at Warrie.
“Yes sir!” Warrie replied.
“May, you protect this ship,” said Lee Shin, looking at May.
“I got it!” May replied.
This massive vessel had to be protected at all costs. Even if Lee Shin and his group managed to defeat the dragonian, they needed a ship for everyone to survive on the open sea. They still had to find the treasure island, but there was no way they could take this many people on just any ship. They needed a big one.
[Psychokinesis]
When Lee Shin extended his arm, the part of the mast where the dragonian was standing crumpled and broke apart.
Lee Shin did not want to let the dragonian take his time gathering his lightning energy. He swung the broken mast around, toward the dragonian.
Pizzz—!
However, due to the dragonian’s compressed lightning energy, the mast melted away into nothing. Even though Lee Shin’s attack had failed, he was not disappointed. Lee Shin’s attack was enough to distract the dragonian for a moment.
[Thunderbolt Explosion]
The dragonian’s thunderbolt exploded without any warning. The aftermath of the clashes of series of thunderbolts between the two challengers created residual lightning energy that permeated through the atmosphere. Lee Shin tried to mix the residual lightning energy into the air as it exploded to disrupt the dragonian’s concentration.
Baaam!
Pizz—!
The expression on the dragonian’s face changed momentarily due to the explosion that occurred in front of him. The lightning energy he had gathered also dispersed due to the explosion.
Although the dragonian acted like Lee Shin’s attack was not a big deal, it was easy to tell from his expression that Lee Shin’s attempt had succeeded.
“You’re showing off some cute skills,” the dragonian said, looking at Lee Shin.
“Well, that’s too bad if you consider this some cute skills,” Lee Shin replied.
Lee Shin smirked and activated his black mana. At the same time, the sphere of lightning energy, which had stopped growing, began to rotate.
[Devouring Thunderstrike]
The jaws of the onlooking challengers dropped as they witnessed this scene—it was as if the sun was brought closer to them.
“If you can block this, I’ll acknowledge you,” said the dragonian, looking at Lee Shin.
With those words, the dragonian threw the lightning energy sphere at Lee Shin. Lee Shin found his words ridiculous. What was he to acknowledge Lee Shin? Besides, Lee Shin did not come all the way here just to get the acknowledgment of such a guy.
Pizz—!
Black energy currents started to flow through Lee Shin’s body and shot up into the sky. The Devouring Thunderstrike was a shot that could be seen as a legacy of the God of Destruction, capable of destroying and swallowing up everything that stood in its way.
To be honest, Lee Shin knew that it was foolish to confront such magic head-on. If Lee Shin were to avoid direct confrontation, he could evade the magic with minimal damage, but Lee Shin did not want to do so. Perhaps the opponent knew that Lee Shin would not avoid it.
The sphere of lightning energy was shot toward Lee Shin in a straight line. At the moment Lee Shin saw the thunderbolt that sought destruction, Lee Shin could sense the opponent’s will and determination.
The dragonian had been, all this while, forging ahead step by step, unshaken even by numerous setbacks; his footsteps were not in vain.
Lee Shin could feel the dragonian’s despair, along with his will to survive from his lightning energy sphere. If Lee Shin were to avoid that will and determination, he could easily be victorious; but he would be doing so not with a sense of relief for Lee Shin, but regret.
Lee Shin thought that if the dragonian were to give his full power, it would only be polite as an opponent to do the same.
[Dark Thunder]
The Dark Thunder was the most powerful magic that Lee Shin could manifest at the moment. On this battlefield that was filled with negative emotions such as pain and despair, and the suffering of countless people, it was even more powerful.
Crack! Baaam! Boom!
Amidst the thunderbolts constantly flashing above the dark sea, a black lightning bolt appeared. The next moment, the black lightning stuck down upon the sea.
Craaack! Baaam! Boom!
The black lightning bolt was so marvelous that it felt unreal, otherworldly. It was both magnificent and subtle, grand and yet mysterious. Upon seeing the manifestation of his own magic, Lee Shin could not help but smile in satisfaction.
It was a collision of two outstanding magic spells—a collision between an intense accumulation of lightning energy with a spectacular thunderbolt. The collision was so powerful that the resulting sound of thunder almost shattered the eardrums of everyone present.
Lee Shin was aware that if he was distracted for even a moment, he would die. If he hesitated even once, his whole body would be engulfed in that lightning energy and burn to death. However, such a thought thrilled Lee Shin.
As Lee Shin watched his opponent’s thunderbolt magic, it seemed like the inspiration that had been sleeping in Lee Shin’s mind awakened one by one. This feeling was something that Lee Shin had not experienced in a long time. It was as if the vitality that had been forgotten while Lee Shin was cultivating other abilities had come back to life, and the dragonian probably felt the same way as well.
The next moment, black cannonballs rained down from the sky. Lee Shin felt a thrill running through his body. It was a movement that awakened Lee Shin’s senses that had been stagnant for a while.
The fact that the magic the dragonian had cast with desperate will and determination was shattered was no longer important. Lee Shin waited in anticipation for the next attack that would further ignite his racing heart.
Lee Shin’s mana surged toward the surrounding ships.
[Psychokinesis]
Moments ago, the shockwave from the collision of the two great manifestations of magic was so intense that almost all the ships capsized. Only three large ships managed to withstand the impact, and even the ship where Lee Shin was was on the verge of sinking.
Crack— Creakkk!
Lee Shin held the surrounding ships together with his psychokinesis so strongly that his hands started to tremble. He pulled the large tilting ship and the smaller ships nearby toward one another using his psychokinesis.
Lee Shin was thankful that May’s magic had cushioned the impact; otherwise, the deck of the ship could have fallen into pieces a long time ago.
Crunch—!
Lee Shin clenched his teeth hard and exerted all his strength on his jaw, to the extent that the veins on his forehead popped up. Holding dozens of ships around him and balancing this giant ship was an incredibly difficult task that would cause one’s head to throb. If Lee Shin could go back in time to just a minute ago, he would for sure.
“Arghhh!”
“It’s gonna fall! We’re all going to fall!”
“No, please don’t! Please!”
“Mr. Lee Shin!”
Despite the desperate cries of the challengers around him, it was not easy for the ship to regain its balance and the ship was about to tip over.
‘Darn it! Was it too much?’
Considering how rapidly his mana was depleting, it was probably best to give up at this point. However, at that moment, the seawater on the side where the ship was about to sink suddenly surged into the sky; and the ship regained its balance in the opposite direction.
Wooosh— Baaamm!
“W-w-what was that?”
“Why did an explosion suddenly happen in the sea?”
The surge of seawater subsided and a familiar face of a challenger with a slightly complex expression stood on the railing.
“You displayed that kind of magic just a while ago and then put on a shameful performance after, huh?” said the dragonian, looking at Lee Shin.
“Huh...? What are you doing?” Lee Shin asked with a confused look.
The dragonian had come to the other side of the ship without making it obvious and used his magic to raise the waves and adjust the balance of the ship. Even while using psychokinesis, Lee Shin had remained vigilant of his surroundings. However, the dragonian did not attack.
If the dragonian had launched another attack with all his might, it would have been impossible for Lee Shin to save all the challengers. For the first time, Lee Shin saw the dragonian up close and realized that the dragonian was much larger than Lee Shin had thought.
The dragonian was easily 1.5 times the size of Lee Shin. The sharp eyes of the dragonian scanned Lee Shin.
“My name is Endo Di Verrier Maltaria Forskerianta. But you can just call me Endo,” Endo, the dragonian, introduced himself to Lee Shin.
“... My name is Lee Shin,” Lee Shin introduced himself as well.
“Yes, I already know. A wizard who handles both death and thunderbolts… You’re the first human who can handle thunderbolts to the extent of being my equal. No, wait, you’re the first from the entire species,” said Endo.
Endo’s tone of voice was pretty stiff, but his words were sincere.
“Weren’t you here to kill me?” Lee Shin asked Endo.
“At first, yes. And that thought still hasn’t changed,” Endo replied, looking at Lee Shin.
“Then why didn’t you? It was a perfect opportunity to kill me just now,” said Lee Shin with a confused look.
“It was just a gesture of respect for a skilled thundermancer. I won’t be so kind next time,” said Endo.
After saying those words, Endo turned his body.
“Did the gods order it?” Lee Shin asked, looking at Endo.
Endo’s footsteps stopped at Lee Shin’s question.
“No… it’s my will,” Endo replied.
Did Endo’s voice contain hesitation?
Lee Shin’s gaze followed Endo’s back as he returned to his ship. During this time, many pirate ships had escaped.
Although a few of the remaining ships could still be seen, they were mostly damaged and so they were unable to escape. However, the damage on Lee Shin’s side was also significant.
“What are we going to do now?” Vuela asked.
Vuela was upset that he was not able to capture the leader of the Eastern pirate fleet and bring his head to Lee Shin.
“We have to clear this stage, of course,” Lee Shin replied, smiling at Vuela.
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