Chapter 92 – The Beginning of a Corps (1)

[You are fighting a higher leveled enemy. Rebellion increases all stats by 10%! All stats increase by an additional 5% because of your partner. All effects are shared with your partner.]

Good. I'm ready...

Lee Shin-Woo gripped his sword and glared at the zombie. Unfortunately, he couldn't approach from behind without him being alerted and attacking. The moment they got close enough to recognize their enemy, the zombie... Shino Rendu also noticed them.

Well, even a level 6 mage would've noticed their approach, so it would've been strange for Shino Rendu, who looked like a warrior, to miss them. It was pretty much impossible to hide from and ambush a higher leveled enemy!

Especially because Shadow Sprint isn't a perfect stealth skill.

However, the skill would help conceal Lee Shin-Woo, as well as make it difficult to perfectly perceive his attacks. Before Shino Rendu could attack, Lee Shin-Woo activated all his sprint-related skills without pause.

[By activating Intermediate Shadow Sprint, you become one with your shadow. Your sprint speed and your level of stealth increase. It has become more difficult for your opponent to grasp your form.]

[You have activated Low Rank Twin Horn Charge. The force of your charge increases. The moment you ram into your opponent with your horns, your destructive power increases overwhelmingly.]

I would’ve summoned a Drake Horn Lance if I knew things would pan out this way.

Lee Shin-Woo hadn't looked far enough ahead. If he knew he was going to execute a charging attack as soon as his enemy was alerted, he wouldn’t have summoned four Lightning Tooths; it’d be better to have a Drake Horn Lance ready instead.

However, he didn't have enough time to unsummon one of his Lightning Tooths and replace it with a Drake Horn Lance right now, and it would be a waste of mana. He patted Jin whilst taking a mental note of not making the same mistake in the future.

"Let's go!"

"Hah!"

While Shino Rendu had become an Undead Hero, his profile was no different from that of a human. The moment he noticed Lee Shin-Woo and Jin, he stomped on the ground with a loud thud, causing shards of stones to shoot up all around him to obscure their view of him.

Lee Shin-Woo could tell that Shino Rendu's physical strength was much higher than his own after seeing that move.

Fighting him face-to-face is risky.

Alarm bell went off in Lee Shin-Woo's head. Their only hope of winning the fight was to employ a hit and run strategy! Jin turned directions at that very moment, and Lee Shin-Woo felt a rock missing him by a hair.

"He's throwing the rocks!"

"Hoo...!"

Hitting them would be ideal for Shino Rendu, but even if he missed, he would be forcing Jin to dodge and thus slowing Jin down, which would in turn lessen the power of the charging attack. Was that the intent? Lee Shin-Woo realized then that their opponent had retained his reasoning somehow despite being undead.

If that's the case, the last thing I have to check is... The moment Lee Shin-Woo gripped his sword, Jin understood what he was planning and charged once more, dashing through the area covered in thick dust. Instantaneously, they closed the gap, but then Jin made an abrupt turn, putting distance between them yet again.

'3, 2... Now!'

'Kuu!'

Jin's steel-covered legs momentarily stretched in an unnatural direction before he made a leap; Lee Shin-Woo and Jin's bodies bent at a 90 degree angle and pivoted to the right. This had been their intention from the start!

Like a rocket, they launched towards where Shino Rendu was. The Undead Hero threw another rock at them, but missed due to Jin charging and tilting his head!

"Hit!"

Noticing Lee Shin-Woo belatedly, Shino Rendu raised his arm in response, but Lee Shin-Woo’s sword was already buried deep into his head!

[Kuhaahk!]

Lee Shin-Woo let go of his sword then. When combined, his sprint skills and Jin’s frightening speed resulted in a power that could blow away any enemy, even a level 6 elite.

"Good job, Jin. Nice drift."

"He’s standing up!"

"He can't stand up."

What would be the point of filling the Lightning Tooth with mana if Lee Shin-Woo didn’t blow it up? Without giving the Undead Hero stubbornly staying upright even a moment to recuperate, Lee Shin-Woo detonated the Lightning Tooth stuck in his head immediately. An awful scream escaped Shino Rendu’s skull.

[Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!]

"Tch, did I screw up?" muttered Lee Shin-Woo.

Stunned, Jin replied, "You're sure you didn't kill him?"

Immediately after, however, Shino Rendu dashed out of the explosion. Lee Shin-Woo was speechless. He didn't think he would be able to instantly kill an undead who was once a hero, but...

He's regenerating, too.

It happened immediately after the burrowed Lightning Tooth burst into a lightning explosion, which should’ve burnt his rotten flesh and broken his bones. However, the occipital region of his head was regenerating as if time had been rewound. Every part of him was recovering, including his bones, his brain, his blood, his skin, and everything else!

[Kuhahk...! U-Undead...!]

"He's even talking now."

What the hell was that unbelievable regeneration power that even restored his brain? The warning bells in Lee Shin-Woo's head intensified. He was sure that his regeneration couldn’t even compete with Shino Rendu's!

"Hoo."

Lee Shin-Woo looked at the man struggling to stand up and chuckled, getting back into position. He called another Lightning Tooth to his empty hand and summoned a new weapon from Bone Armory to fill in the gap—the Melting Bone Double Axe.

If lightning doesn't work, I have no choice but to go with acid.

His Acid element had grown substantially. If even his acid didn't work, nothing else would; he could always run away then. In any case, it was clear that Shino Rendu was ahead of him in agility.

[Undead...! D-Die!]

Shino Rendu had regained his posture, charging at them with his right arm extended, which was just as impressive as his super regeneration. It was what he had used to hit the ground upon discovering Lee Shin-Woo; it glowed temporarily of red light when he put power into it before growing to a gigantic size.

That in turns gave him supernatural strength, proving his authority as a hero.

The same goes for his supernatural regeneration. He's got both strength and regeneration, so he's pretty much invincible. Are all the other heroes this monstrous?

...Obviously, Shino Rendu wouldn't have died to one of the twelve generals if he were invincible.

There was probably a limit to his strength, and there would likewise be a limit to his regeneration. Lee Shin-Woo's goblin fire didn't dim. No, it actually blazed even more than before.

If I fight a strong foe and defeat him... I'll grow even quicker!

Jin responded to the charging Shino by kicking off the ground himself. He was planning on making the same maneuver from earlier, but Shino Rendu then smashed the ground with his fist, as if saying that he wouldn't fall for their feint a second time. Pieces of stone surged in all directions!

Is this a skill as well? Lee Shin-Woo wondered. Each and every rock was flying with great momentum.

"Tch... You thought that would work!?"

Jin responded so quickly that their connection temporarily grew faint. He escaped the area where the skill was in effect. Lee Shin-Woo gritted his teeth and gripped the Lightning Tooth in preparation for the coming collision. His goal was to dodge the stones while simultaneously lodging his sword into the back of Shino's head.

[I won't...fall for that twice!]

Before Lee Shin-Woo's sword could come into contact with Shino’s head, Shino reached out with his right arm to face Lee Shin-Woo head-on. The arm was asserting an intense pressure on the surrounding area with its presence alone.

Both Jin and Lee Shin-Woo could sense the absurd strength without crashing into him! And Shino’s physical strength was further augmented by a magical force.

"Tch...!"

"Gguaaaaahk!"

Lee Shin-Woo suddenly stopped midair. This move might end up being a waste, but he shot one of the Lightning Tooths trailing after him at Shino nonetheless.

Shino attempted to intercept the sword, but filled with an abundance of mana, the Lightning Tooth broke through the pressurized air and struck the middle of Shino's forearm, cutting through it as if it were slicing through cheese. The attack was unstoppable powered by an overwhelming amount of magic!

[Kuaaaaaaaahk! You bastarrrrrrd!]

"Hmph!"

Shino cried out and forcefully swung his arm around. For a moment, the pressure that prevented Lee Shin-Woo from moving was released! Seizing the opening, Lee Shin-Woo thrust the Lightning Tooth in his hand into Shino's arm as well. It was truly a lightning-like combo!

"Hah!"

While Lee Shin-Woo retreated after landing a successful attack, Shino’s arm cut through the air with a menacing piercing power. Lee Shin-Woo would’ve been smashed into bits no matter how he defended himself had he been hit by that; fortunately, Shino had attacked after Lee Shin-Woo was quite a distance away.

"Explode!"

[Kuaaaaaaahk!]

The two Lightning Tooths simultaneously exploded, and Shino's arm broke into pieces. Outside of the range of explosion, Lee Shin-Woo grabbed the last Lightning Tooth and urged Jin to charge forward again. Things would get difficult if Shino was given the time to regenerate his arm!

"Hyaaaah...!"

[You undead bastards...! You hateful...!]

Shino had already activated his super regeneration, and his bones, as well as his muscles, were beginning to heal starting from his shoulder. In a few seconds, the window for attack would close. Lee Shin-Woo gritted his teeth and raised his sword.

[Gah!]

Shino Rendu attempted to keep Lee Shin-Woo back with his left arm, which was tiny in comparison to his now destroyed right arm. Unfortunately, his left arm wasn't able to stand up against Lee Shin-Woo's Lightning Tooth. As soon as the blade crackled with lightning sparks, Shino's left arm flew into the air.

"Rest in peace, Senior!"

"Did you really have to say something like that!?"

With a tight grip around the hilt, Lee Shin-Woo immediately buried his sword into Shino's head. There was a crack. Then Shino’s skull was cleaved in two.

Before Shino’s super regeneration could repair that crack, the Melting Bone Double Axe Lee Shin-Woo had summoned and charged with mana precisely burrowed into Shino’s crevice. Even Lee Shin-Woo himself thought that his control was hair-raisingly impressive.

"Explode, the both of you!"

[Kahahk!]

The final bombs blew up. Lee Shin-Woo and Jin weren't able to dodge the ensuing explosion completely, and were swept away by the blast. However, it wasn't as bad as having their head blown off.

"Hoo..."

"Huuu..."

Shino Rendu had fallen flat on his face. Lee Shin-Woo inspected him and sighed deeply. Jin also exhaled as though he had been completely drained.

They had used all available means to defeat their opponent quickly. Lee Shin-Woo had used up all four Lightning Tooths saturated with mana in an instant, and even the newly summoned Melting Double Bone Axe as well!

[..., ...!]

His attacks ended up being effective. Shino’s super regeneration seemed to have slowed down due to him losing both his arms and head in one fell swoop. Moreover, even if he managed to restore his missing body parts, the Acid Poison following the explosion would melt them away!

We won.

Lee Shin-Woo smiled proudly and reached into the air, summoning and grabbing the Drake Horn Lance.

I should give him a magnificent end since he was my senior… Screw that. He’s still enduring despite all the weapons I’ve used against him. I have no choice but to end him completely.

"You're ready, right Jin?"

"Hoo... Okay."

Jin had been pushing himself in the short and intense battle as well, making sharp turns and concentrating more than he had ever done. As a result, he had sustained damage in various places on his body. If he weren't undead, he would've fallen over already. Likewise, if it weren't for Steel Heart, his lumbar vertebrae would already have been broken.

"Good, then."

[Did you say... Senior?]

But then, Lee Shin-Woo heard a voice that made his body feel cold. Has his vocal cords been restored!? Of course, there were several beings who could speak without vocal cords in this world, so it wasn't actually that surprising.

[Yeah. I'm a...hero...]

"No, you're undead."

[Undead... I'm undead...]

Let's finish it here. It would be better to finish it here than let things get out of hand, right? Lee Shin-Woo raised his lance high up into the air.

Come…

After putting a ton of mana into the Lightning Tooths, he now had about 80% of his mana left. Lee Shin-Woo infused all his remaining mana into the tip of the lance, creating a dark blue lightning.

[I don't want to...]

"Thunder..."

[...don’t want to die.]

For some reason, Lee Shin-Woo lost all strength in his body the moment he heard that. He tried to make sense of it, but his body was already doing what he believed to be illogical... Ultimately, he stopped to speak to his undead senior.

"...Do you want to live, even at the cost of living on as an undead?"