Chapter 22.1: The Beginning of a Corps - 1

[You are fighting against a higher leveled enemy. The Rebellion skill 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 all ready now...'

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

Well, even a level 6 magician would've noticed their approach, so it would've been strange if Shino Rendu, who looked like a warrior, hadn't noticed them approach. It was pretty much impossible to hide, as well as ambush a higher leveled enemy!

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

It would however help in concealing his appearance, as well as making it difficult to perfectly grasp his attacks. Before he was the one taking the first hit, he acted without wasting any time. All of his sprint related skills had activated.

[By activating Intermediate Shadow Sprint, you become one with your shadow. Your sprint speed and your secrecy 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.]

'If I knew it would be like this, I would've summoned a Drake Horn Lance as one of them.'

Lee Shin Woo hadn't looked far enough ahead. If his plan was to execute a charging attack on his opponent as soon as he noticed him, then he shouldn't have summoned four Lightning Tooths; instead, he should've summoned a single Drake Horn Lance just in case.

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

"Let's go!"

"Heup!"

The hero who'd become undead, Shino Rendu, looked exactly like a human from a side view, but the moment he noticed Lee Shin Woo and Jin, there was a sudden 'kwang' sound from the floor! He had struck the floor and piles of rocks shot up everywhere, hiding 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.'

A red light went off in Lee Shin Woo's head. They could only win with a hit and run strategy! However, Jin turned directions at that very moment. Immediately after, Lee Shin Woo's head passed by a rock.

"He's throwing them!"

"Hoo...!"

It'd be great if he hit them, and even if he missed, he would cause Jin to dodge, which would reduce his speed, as well as the resulting force; was that his intent? That was the moment that Lee Shin Woo realized that their opponent retained his reasoning somehow, despite being undead.

If that's the case, then the last thing he needed to check was... The moment Lee Shin Woo gripped his sword, Jin knew what he was planning, and charged once more, dashing through the area covered in thick dust. It seemed as though they had instantaneously closed the gap, yet then they would seemingly be far away. It was because Jin had intentionally turned around.

'3, 2... Now!'

'Kuu!'

And in the next instance, Jin's steel covered legs momentarily stretched in a direction that they normally shouldn't be able to. Then, he kicked off the ground; Lee Shin Woo and Jin's bodies bent at a 90 degree angle and turned to the right. This was their intention from the start!

They launched towards the impact area like a rocket, and that impact area was where Shino Rendu was. He threw another rock at them, had missed due to Jin's charge, and tilted his head!

"Hit!"

Shino Rendu, who had belatedly noticed Lee Shin Woo, raised his arm, but at that moment, Lee Shin Woo's sword burrowed deep into Shino Rendu's head!

[Kuhaahk!]

After Lee Shin Woo had stuck his sword into the back of Shino Rendu's head, he gave it up. Lee Shin Woo's sprint skills, as well as Jin's frightening speed combined, resulting in the power that would blow away their enemy, regardless of if they were a level 6 elite.

"Good job, Jin. Nice drift."

"That guy's standing up!"

"He can't stand up."

What would be the point of filling the Lightning Tooth with mana if he didn't blow it up? Lee Shin Woo didn't give Shino Rendu, who was arduously standing from the floor, even a little bit of time as he immediately exploded the Lightning Tooth stuck in his head. And Shino Rendu emitted an awful scream.

[Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!]

"Tch, did I screw up?"

"You're sure you didn't kill him?"

Lee Shin Woo muttered, and Jin replied, stunned. However, immediately after, Shino Rendu dashed out of the explosion. Lee Shin Woo gazed at Shino Rendu and 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. It wouldn't have been strange if his bones crumbled and his rotten flesh was burnt.

However, the occipital region of his head was regenerating from the Lightning Tooth's explosion, as if time had been rewound. His bones, his brain, his blood, his skin, everything!

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

"He's even talking now."

What the hell was that unbelievable super regeneration that even restored his brain? The warning bells rang in Lee Shin Woo's head. He was sure that his regeneration didn't even compete with Shino Rendu's!

"Hoo."

Lee Shin Woo looked upon Shino Rendu, who stumbled while standing up, chuckled, and got back into position. He called another Lightning Tooth into 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, then I have no choice but to go with acid this time.'

His Acid element had grown substantially. If acid didn't work, then nothing else would work; he could just run away if it didn't work. In any case, it was clear that they were ahead of him in agility.

[Undead...! D-Die!]

In between, Shino Rendu had regained his posture, stretched out his right arm and charged at them.

His right arm was just as impressive as his super regeneration. It was his right arm that had struck the floor upon discovering Lee Shin Woo; if he exerted force into his right arm, it would temporarily glow with a red light, turning his arm gigantic.

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

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

...But when he thought about it calmly, Shino Rendu obviously wouldn't have died to one of the 12 generals if he were invincible.

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

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

Jin responded to the charging Shino by kicking off the floor himself. He was planning on using the same movement that they just used, but Shino Rendu smashed the floor with his fist, as if saying that he wouldn't fall for their scheme a second time. Pieces of stone surged in all directions! Was this a skill as well? Each and every rock possessed an unusual amount of force.

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

Jin responded so quickly that their connection temporarily became faint, breaking through the area the skill was in effect. Lee Shin Woo grit his teeth and gripped the Lightning Tooth in preparation for the coming collision. His goal was to not get hit while simultaneously lodging his sword into the back of Shino's head.

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

But before Lee Shin Woo's sword came into contact with his head, Shino stuck out his right arm, as if taking Lee Shin Woo head on; his stuck out right arm created an intense pressure on the surrounding area.

Despite not personally crashing into him, both Jin and Lee Shin Woo's bodies simultaneously felt his absurd strength! His physical strength was augmented by a magical force as well.

"Tch...!"

"Gguaaaaahk!"

Lee Shin Woo's body suddenly stopped midair. He momentarily thought it was a waste, and shot one of the Lightning Tooths that had followed behind him into the air.

Shino attempted to intercept this one as well, but the Lightning Tooth, filled with an abundant amount of mana, was able to disperse the pressure, and struck the middle of Shino's forearm. It softly cut through the arm as if slicing through cheese, as it was powered by an overwhelming amount of magic!

[Kuaaaaaaaahk! You bastarrrrrrd!]

"Heup!"

Shino cried out, and forcefully flailed his arm, but at that moment, the pressure that prevented Lee Shin Woo from moving was released! At that very moment, Lee Shin Woo stuck his Lightning Tooth into Shino's arm. It was a truly lightning like combo!

"Heut!"

Lee Shin Woo had succeeded in his attack, and the moment he retreated, Shino's arm cut through the air emitting a menacing piercing power. If he were hit by that, a part of his body would've been smashed to bits regardless of his defense; fortunately he 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. Lee Shin Woo, who had evaded the explosion by retreating, gripped his last remaining Lightning Tooth and pressed Jin to dash forward again. If he regenerated his arm, things would become difficult!

"Heuuup...!"

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

He had already activated his super regeneration, and his bones, as well as his muscles were beginning to heal starting from his shoulder. Lee Shin Woo, who thought that he would miss his chance to attack in just a few seconds, gritted his teeth and stretched out his sword.

[Kuahk!]

Shino Rendu attempted to hold Lee Shin Woo back with his left arm, which was tiny in comparison to his right arm, but unfortunately, his left arm wasn't able to stand up against Lee Shin Woo's Lightning Tooth. Immediately after sparks were emitted atop the blade, Shino's left arm flew into the air.

"Then... Rest in peace, Senior!"

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

Lee Shin Woo, gripping his sword, immediately lodged his sword into Shino's head. With a cracking sound, his head was cleaved in two.

Before his super regeneration repaired that crack, his previously summoned Melting Bone Double Axe which he had poured mana into and charged prior, precisely burrowed into the crevice. Even Lee Shin Woo thought that his control was hair-raising.

"Explode, the both of you!"

[Kahahk!]

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

"Hoo..."

"Huuu..."

Lee Shin Woo inspected Shino Rendu, who had fallen flat on his face, and sighed deeply. Jin also spoke as though he was sapped of all his energy.

It was a battle where they used all available means to win in such a short time. He had used up all four Lightning Tooths saturated with mana in an instant, and even the Melting Double Bone Axe as well!

[..., ...!]

But in exchange, it was truly that effective. Perhaps because Shino had lost both his arms and his head in one fell stroke, his super regeneration had slowed down, and the addition of Acid Poison following the explosion would melt away his body, even if those body parts were restored!

'We won.'

Lee Shin Woo smiled pridefully, and stretched out one arm into the air. The weapon he'd summoned and gripped was none other than the Drake Horn Lance.

Since he was his senior, should he give him a magnificent end? Screw that. Despite using up all of his weapons, he hadn't yet died and endured, so Lee Shin Woo had no choice but to completely end him.

"You're ready, right Jin?"

"Hoo... Ok."

As it was a short and intense battle, Jin was likewise pushing himself. He had been continuously turning his body here and there whilst pushing his concentration to the limit. 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. Were his vocal cords restored during that time!? Of course, there were several who could speak without vocal cords in this world, so it wasn't actually something 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 nodded his head and raised his lance high up into the air.

'Calling...'

With the mana (he'd stored a ton of mana into his Lightning Tooths, so he had about 80% of his mana left) he had remaining, Lee Shin Woo infused his mana into the tip of the lance, creating a dark blue lightning.

[I don't want to...]

"Thunder..."

[die... though.]

Why was it? The moment he heard that, Lee Shin Woo lost all strength in his body. He tried to figure out why, but his actions just came out as obviously illogical to him... Despite coming to that conclusion, he ultimately spoke like this.

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