Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 82: Star, The Changgwi Cave (7)

‘Interesting,’ The Hongsal King thought. He could feel his blood boiling as a warrior, not a strategist.

It seemed that this human was the real deal, unlike the idiots who ruled over the third floor.

Woosh!

The joy in his eyes blazed up and became an itch to fight. He had entered the Changgwi Cave hundreds of years ago, but it was the first time the Hongsal King felt this emotion.

The Hongsal King wallowed in nostalgia. As the heir of the Prezia Family, he had experienced many battlefields and made a name for himself in Arcadia before he entered the Changgwi Cave. He felt like he was regressing to that time. Ever since he had set foot in the Changgwi Cave, he had found nothing but cowards with no sense of honor, so he had completely forgotten about the excitement from that time. Meeting the human automatically awakened his memory.

When fighting against a warrior, assessing their tactics and ability was an insult. For the Hongsal King, ruler of the second floor, suddenly going up against this human was a ridiculous decision from a strategist’s perspective, but he didn’t care. He smiled and called, “Seon.”

“Huh? Yes, sir!” Seon, who had been exiting the room with an agonized look, came to a halt.

“Come back, it seems I have to deal with this human,” the Hongsal King said.

Worried the Hongsal King would change his mind, Seon quickly came back to its position. Meanwhile, the Hongsal King reached his hand out to his courtiers standing beside him. “Bring me my weapon and armor.”

The courtiers hurriedly helped the Hongsal King put on his armor, which was made up of very heavy, thick metal plates. The red-colored plates looked like someone had poured blood over them, which made them look ominous. The moment the Hongsal King put on the helmet, the courtiers and guards could hear a low growl from under the helmet.

“What’s your name?” The Hongsal King spoke as if the human was right in front of him despite the distance between them.

The nearby guards bewilderedly looked at the Hongsal King, but he didn’t care at all. Chang-Sun spoke from a distance, where the guards couldn’t even see well. The Hongsal King chuckled. “I see. Your name is…Lee Chang-Sun, huh?”

Despite his chuckle, the energy around him soon became menacing.

“My name is Jin. I’m the heir of the Prezia family, the prestigious wizard and bloodline clan. I will become the king of the Changgwi Cave after I kill you. ”

Paah!

As soon as the Hongsal King was done introducing himself, he began to run and called out someone’s name. “Hyoong!”

Gray fog suddenly formed underneath his feet.

Thud!

Kiyaaah!

The Hongsal King leaped high, and at the same time, the gray fog slowly took the form of a gigantic beast, which had a deformed human head and a wounded tiger’s body. Immediately after the Hongsal King sat on the beast’s back, it lightly kicked off in the air, moving at least ten meters whenever it took a step forward. When it dropped in an arc, there was Chang-Sun right in front of them!

“His-His Highness has appeared…!”

“He has even summoned Hyoong…!”

“Everyone, run…!”

Changgwis fell into chaos and ran in every direction as Hyoong flew in their direction. Their formation broke down, and some even fell on the ground. However, they didn’t care and ran over their fallen colleagues because the Hongsal King and Hyoong were symbols of terror, which wiped out everything regardless of foe or friend upon their appearance.

[The second floor’s boss monster, the ‘Hongsal King’, has appeared!]

Chang-Sun thrust the Nameless Spear toward the Hongsal King, who was stronger than any other general-class Changgwis that he had gone up against until now. The Jigwi’s Aeon Fire twirled around the spear and enveloped the spearhead thickly.

Boom!

Rumble―!

The moment the Hongsal King dropped down and struck his greatsword against Chang-Sun’s Nameless Spear, an intense mana storm raged on the ground.

[The firestorm is raging!]

[The Hohwan Mama is raging!]

With Chang-Sun in the center, the red whirlpool soared up, and the black ghost energy was released in every direction from the Hongsal King. It looked like the world was divided into red and black. The storm’s impact was so strong that the Changgwis who failed to escape the storm’s radius were killed immediately.

[Acquired the Biwi factor!]

[Acquired the Biwi factor!]

…

Paah―!

Chang-Sun was hurled out of the firestorm and landed on the ground, the Jigwi’s wings aiding him to land safely. But Chang-Sun was still glaring at the raging firestorm and Hohwan Mama.

[The Additional Skill ‘Cruel Tiger’s One Eye’ has been activated, focusing on one area!]

Woosh, woosh, woosh!

A shadow appeared out of the mana storm, which Chang-Sun had been looking at. It was the Hongsal King slowly coming out of the storm, riding Hyoong. Due to his large helmet, it was hard to read his face, but Chang-Sun could see the Hongsal King’s crooked smile from his mouth, which wasn’t covered by the helmet. The Hongsal King lightly exclaimed. “Woah…! You can stop my attack that I combined with Hyoong’s energy?”

Unlike the other Changgwis that slurred the end of their words every time they spoke due to their ghost wails, the Hongsal King spoke clearly like a normal person—no, more clearly than ordinary people. His every word was mixed with thick mana, overwhelming the other party.

The Hongsal King usually wasn’t a Changgwi that spoke much. In fact, he was very quiet and often didn’t speak a word for a whole day, making his subordinates tremble in fear. Despite his quiet tendencies, he was surprised enough at Chang-Sun’s talent to admire it aloud. They exchanged attacks only once, but the Hongsal King realized Chang-Sun was the real deal immediately.

Even the Cheongsal King, one of the rulers on the third floor, couldn’t withstand the Hongsal King’s attack, and a mere mortal had done it even though Chang-Sun must have already used up a lot of his stamina while going up against the five generals, surprising the Hongsal King. On top of that, Chang-Sun was indifferent to the Hongsal King’s intrigued look and just faintly smiled because he had finally met an opponent that was worth fighting.

“You’re a warrior…no, a fighter. No, no, you’re a battle-crazed ghost monster.” The Hongsal King smiled crookedly again, a smile somehow similar to Chang-Sun’s, after seeing through Chang-Sun’s basis. That was all they needed. Once they figured out who the other was, all that was left to do now was to fight.

[The State ‘Cruel Tiger’ has changed to the State ‘Fierce Tiger’!]

[The Additional Skill ‘Fierce Tiger Dispatch’ has been activated, raging on the ground!]

Clang!

Boom! Boom, boom―!

Spreading the Jigwi’s wings as wide as he could, Chang-Sun sprung at the Hongsal King. The Nameless Spear Chang-Sun had thrust heated up, emitting steam in the air. Within seconds, the Hongsal King’s greatsword and Chang-Sun’s spear clashed countless times. Still riding on Hyoong, the Hongsal King pressured Chang-Sun, taking advantage of his height. But Chang-Sun moved more fiercely than the Hongsal King and plunged the Nameless Spear continuously.

“He-he can fight equally with His Highness…!”

“How can a human…!”

The Changgwis were all dumbstruck because they had always thought humans to be lowly creatures, nothing but their food source, and the Hongsal King was an absolute being, who always brought them victories. However, their belief was not only dwindling but even completely destroyed.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ is enjoying the interesting fight very much!]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ tells you to beat down the arrogant yokai, screeching!]

Whirl!

While the Hongsal King and Chang-Sun exchanged attacks, Chang-Sun suddenly pulled out his whip, moving like a viper quietly crawling through the forest to snatch its prey. He was acting more threatening than the time he pointed [White Sparrow Bow] at the Hongsal King.

“…Hup!” The Hongsal King hurriedly turned his head sideways, but Chang-Sun managed to claw the side of the Hongsal King’s helmet with the whip.

Hyoong charged Chang-Sun more fiercely to protect its owner from such danger.

Roar!

Chang-Sun quickly pulled out [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] with his left hand from his waist and blocked Hyoong’s jaws, which were about to bite his head off.

[The Skill ‘Lightning Web’ has been activated, raging on the opponent!]

Pzzz!

Boom―!

Lightning energy burst out of [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] and blew away half of Hyoong’s head, making it scream in pain and take a few steps backward.

Grrrr.

The Hongsal King was striking with his greatsword diagonally this time. Because his helmet’s bottom right part had been significantly cut out, Chang-Sun thought about counterattacking the attack.

[The Skill ‘Beast Senses’ has been activated, warning you of danger.]

A shiver went down his spine, so Chang-Sun hurriedly spread the Jigwi’s wings wide.

‘I have to avoid the attack!’ Chang-Sun thought.

Boom!

[The Skill ‘Windstalking Tiger’ has been activated, performing the Additional Skill ‘Lightness’!]

Chang-Sun quickly moved backward, and thus the Hongsal King ended up striking the ground instead, making it rise up.

Rumble―!

As Chang-Sun looked at the cracks on the ground spread over ten meters, his face hardened because every bone in his upper body surely would have shattered if he attempted to stop the Hongsal King’s attack.

“It’s disappointing. I could have killed you.” The Hongsal King clicked his tongue carelessly, but his eyes, which could be seen through the cut-off helmet, said otherwise. His eyes were glowing with the confidence that he could kill Chang-Sun anytime like this.

“Huff…! Huff…!” Chang-Sun panted hard.

[Your HP has fallen below 15%! You are advised to take a rest.]

He had kept on fighting with [Kalokagathia], but the authority wasn’t omnipotent. His stamina was almost depleted as he fought against the Hongsal King.

‘I feel like I’m clashing against a hard wall.’ Chang-Sun narrowed his eyes.

The Hongsal King was too strong for a creature on the second floor. In fact, Chang-Sun could be sure that he wouldn’t find a Changgwi like him on the third floor too, meaning he was an irregular. Therefore the current Chang-Sun couldn’t kill him.

[The remaining time is 3 minutes 28 seconds.]

‘What should I do?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

He was actually confident that he would be able to escape if he wanted to. Of course, the Hongsal King would hunt him down using any means necessary, but it wasn’t difficult to stall for three minutes. However, he didn’t want to because he would have to fight against the Hongsal King again after 24 hours anyway.

Chang-Sun might be in better condition later, but he didn’t know if he would be able to kill the Hongsal King then. Therefore he had to deplete the Hongsal King’s stamina as much as he could. If it wasn’t possible, then he should at least find out as much as possible about the Hongsal King’s skills. In fact, he didn’t even care to calculate that far.

‘Actually, this is fun.’ Chang-Sun faintly smiled.

In the same way as the Hongsal King, Chang-Sun was enjoying this fight. Every time their weapons clashed, Chang-Sun could feel joy rushing through his body. His body might have been tired, but his mind was very sharp, so Chang-Sun was about to fight with everything he had for the short time he had.

‘Then I would have to…’ Chang-Sun thought.

Zing, zinnng―!

At that instant, [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] roared as if it had read Chang-Sun’s mind, urging him to use it because it was so frustrated with the current situation. Chang-Sun chuckled and hung the Nameless Spear on his back after he had disassembled it, and then he brought [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] close to his right palm, holding it in a reverse grip.

“What’re you doing?” The Hongsal King frowned because he couldn’t understand Chang-Sun’s behavior. For a moment, he wondered if Chang-Sun was trying to harm himself after giving up the fight, but it didn’t seem right.

“Something interesting,” Chang-Sun spoke.

“Hmm?” The Hongsal King tilted his head in confusion.

At the same time, Chang-Sun stabbed his right palm deep with [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] and when he made a deep cut, his blood dripped down, making the tattoo covering his right hand and forearm shine. The tattoo flowed down to the tip of his fingertips and mixed with his flood, slowly taking the form of a sword.

Oooong!

The appearance of [Yuchang Sword] made [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] howl together.

“Howl,” Chang-Sun quietly ordered.

Swish, swoosh, swish!

Divine energy rose up from his hand, and shortly after, he could grab the awakened [Yuchang Sword], which was engraved with many letters, with his right hand.

“And roar.”

Woosh, woosh, woosh―!

Releasing the raging demonic energy, the slightly curved [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] revealed its true form and was held in Chang-Sun’s left hand. Divine energy and demonic energy, the two polar opposite energies that were supposedly unable to coexist, were mixed together with [Tiger Kill] and spread over the battlefield.

[The Double Sword Resonance is taking place.]

[The Additional Skill ‘Fierce Tiger’s Fang’ has been activated, revealing its fang!]

“You did say you’re about to do something drastic.” Looking at the sight, the Hongsal King fixed his posture. As he felt Hyoong tense up, he spoke, “It looks like the fight is about to really become interesting.”