Chapter 79
In the middle of the Lone Bridge.
The bridge, wide enough for dozens of people to walk side by side, was filled with the corpses of numerous monsters that had been defeated from all sides.
The number easily surpassed a thousand.
This was the result of Bijang's efforts.
- Phew... Bijang is strong.
- Gave up his looks for power, huh? LOL
- Did he even gain any power? Seems like he just lost his looks. LOL
- Why the sudden jab? Why pick a fight?
- Wasn't talking to you... If you're offended, my bad... lol!
Bijang, who had proven his strength to the viewers, still scowled whenever he saw Seong Jihan.
With a nonchalant flick of his finger, he shouted, "Hey! Parasite! Throw me the spear!"
'...Do they have parasites in this world too?'
Despite Bijang's irritating comment, Seong Jihan casually tossed him the Thundercloud Spear.
Whoosh!
When he threw the spear, it returned to its original size, making it considerably heavy.
However, this wasn't much of a constraint for Seong Jihan, who already possessed substantial strength.
"Ha!"
Bijang, now in his giant form, caught the enlarged Thundercloud Spear and, with a serious expression, planted it on the Lone Bridge.
"Thundercloud Seventh Form, Heavenly Net Thunder Formation."
Rumble! Rumble!
Suddenly, lightning struck from the once somber sky, targeting the spear.
The Thundercloud Spear, planted on the bridge, lost its spear form and transformed into a massive chunk of lightning, which was then absorbed into the Lone Bridge.
During this time, with a smirk, Bijang warned Seong Jihan, "Survive if you can."
Zzzzt...!
Soon, lightning began to spiral around the center of the enormous Lone Bridge, illuminating the bridge with its glowing blue light.
Flash! Flash!
Bright clusters of light burst out from around Bijang.
Before they knew it, seven lightning spears were formed on the bridge.
This was Bijang's most outstanding martial skill in a battle against many.
The effect of Heavenly Net Thunder Formation was to dominate a specific area with electricity.
Meanwhile, Seong Jihan observed Bijang's show of strength with a somber expression.
'He can't control his power...'
'...Or doesn't want to?'
The lightning from the Heavenly Net Thunder Formation spread rapidly, even towards where Seong Jihan was standing.
Blue sparks flared up, showing no mercy, even if he was an ally.
It seemed as though they'd capture Seong Jihan the moment he showed any vulnerability.
'...Does he hate me even more now?'
Normally, he wouldn't have spread the Heavenly Net Thunder Formation where a player was.
This time, it was too much.
Even if Bijang disliked him, this act was overly hostile.
Yet, amidst these thoughts, Seong Jihan deployed a perfectly suited martial art.
Nameless Divine Arts, Divine Thunder Decree - Lightning Body
Zzzzt...!
Sparks began to rise from Seong Jihan's body.
The Lightning Body was essential to master the Divine Thunder Decree.
Soon, the lightning of the Heavenly Net Thunder Formation engulfed Seong Jihan.
[Accepting Heavenly Net Thunder Formation.]
[Your lightning energy is being enhanced.]
Bijang's malicious Heavenly Net Thunder Formation, instead of harming Seong Jihan, actually strengthened him further.
Then, Ariel's voice could be heard, [Master... This lightning energy opposes me. Summoning Eclipse in this state is unwise.]
"I'll have to summon you at the entrance next time. I see."
Although there was a drawback of not being able to wield the power of shadows that oppose the lightning, considering everything, the lightning from the Heavenly Net Thunder Formation was substantial.
It had, at a minimum, doubled his strength, optimizing the environment for using the Divine Thunder Decree.
-Why did Seong Jihan suddenly turn into Pikachu? Using Thunderbolt?
-His flashing is so intense, it hurts my eyes. LOL
-Guys, what's his gift?
- If you're curious, please subscribe to find out! Please ㅠㅠ
- If you're Korean, please get all your family and relatives to subscribe!!
Viewers are curious about the gift after seeing Seong Jihan, who became a Pikachu.
With a slightly more somber face, Bijang looked at Seong Jihan.
"Hmm... seeing you handle that amount of lightning energy, you're not a spy from the Wind Empire."
[Bijang starts to trust the player a bit more.]
'I wondered why he hated me so much. Was it not just because of how I looked but because he thought I was a spy?'
'In my last life, I was never suspected of being a spy...'
Seong Jihan couldn't help but be puzzled about why he had such suspicions.
[The first wave of invasion begins.]
Saaaa...
As the other side of the bridge was quickly engulfed in darkness, any doubts were set aside for now.
For now, he had to fend off the immediate enemy.
'I've almost used up this relic.'
An A-grade Otherworldly Relic was purchased to increase stats.
The relic was a higher grade than the C-grade horse sword that absorbed divine power before, but its absorption efficiency was worse than before.
This was because Seong Jihan's stats had increased significantly.
[You completely understand the Ortherwoldly Religion.]
[Absorbing all the power contained in the Otherworldly Relic.]
[Divine power slightly rises.]
[Item grade changes to F.]
In the end, the A-grade relic only increased the Divine power by 1 point and was downgraded to F-grade.
The average price of an A-grade relic is around 2.5 billion won.
Considering that he needs to raise Divine power by 3 to increase 1 Force, he'd need to spend at least 7.5 billion won for just 1 point.
7.5 billion won.
It might seem like an astronomical amount for ordinary people.
'It's so cheap.'
But from Seong Jihan's perspective, it was an incredibly cheap deal.
He wanted to spend all he earned on buying relics!
'But once I absorb a certain amount of divine power, I'll be told to buy higher-grade relics...'
The BattleNet system probably won't let him keep exploiting this loophole.
There'll likely be another limit, as before.
So, Seong Jihan bought three relics at a time.
Of the three relics he bought this time, two allowed 'understanding' just by holding them all day, enabling him to absorb Divine power.
But the remaining one didn't.
"Inventory."
Seong Jihan took out the A-grade Otherworldly Relic again.
[Otherworldly Relic - Shinjo's Toe Bone (A-grade)]
[On planets that worship Shinjo as the God, fragments of the bird's bones are considered valuable relics.
The toe bone is the least valuable among them.]
While the item description seemed simple, the bone Seong Jihan held was nearly as big as an average adult.
If this was the size of a toe, it was hard to imagine how large the actual Shinjo was.
'How can I use this bone?'
Seong Jihan decided to use it as a weapon.
While the toe bone was large, it was elongated enough to be used like a staff.
'If it doesn't work after one or two tries, I'll have to buy something else.'
Meanwhile,
"What's that toy-like... hmm?"
Bijang glanced at the blue bone Seong Jihan was holding, raising an eyebrow.
He seemed about to say something, but...
"Well, it doesn't matter."
He shrugged it off, folding his arms.
Meanwhile, at the forefront of the Lone Bridge, a troop clad in black armor marched in formation.
Thump! Thump!
With every step, the ground resonated.
It was an elite army with impeccable coordination.
From beneath their helmets, the faces that stared out were nothing but skeletal, devoid of flesh.
It was the Death Knight troop, the first-wave monster.
Along with them, from the cliffs beside the bridge, semi-transparent grayish ghosts flew.
The first wave invasion troops, the Undead Legion.
While the Death Knights stormed the bridge, ghost troops flew and attacked from the cliffs.
"Watch my back. Soldier."
The Gatekeeper glanced at the ghosts flying by his side and was about to charge towards the Death Knight squad.
However,
"Wait."
Seong Jihan stepped forward and stopped the Gatekeeper.
"You. What are you doing?"
"Gatekeeper, please intercept the enemies in the air. I will take responsibility for the front."
"You little... Have you gone mad?"
At Seong Jihan's words, the Gatekeeper's face turned crimson.
[The Gatekeeper is wary of the player.]
All the points earned after passing numerous tests seemed wasted in a flash.
However, Seong Jihan had a reason for doing this.
'At the Gold Rank, we can't even withstand the first wave.'
While the Death Knight squad was inherently stronger than the ghost squad, the soldiers guarding the cliff's edge were so low-level that they couldn't fend off the ghost squad.
To defend against this, the power of the players was essential, but Gold Rank players were almost equivalent to regular soldiers, so they weren't much help.
'If the cliff is breached, the Gatekeeper will destroy the bridge and self-destruct.'
If he can't even stop the first wave, how can he complete the Epic Quest?
It was more efficient for the Gatekeeper to intercept the airborne enemies while he himself blocked those on the ground.
The only question was whether Seong Jihan could fend off the Death Knight squad alone.
'That's easy.'
Seong Jihan was confident.
"Can't you step aside right now? How can a mere soldier stop the Death Knights!"
As the Gatekeeper yelled,
Instead of replying, Seong Jihan responded with action.
Nameless Divine Skill, Divine Thunder Decree - Striking Thunderbolt
The blue staff was imbued with the power of lightning at the tip of its toes.
Hoo~
Seong Jihan, taking a deep breath, shot the blue staff towards the sky.
Roar!
The energy of the Striking Thunderbolt from the blue staff, combined with the intensified thunder due to lightning energy, and soon a massive lightning bolt struck right in the center of the Death Knight squad.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The center of the Death Knight squad began to split apart under the destructive power of Striking Thunderbolt.
The lightning energy, ideal for breaking demons, was fully unleashed.
The Striking Thunderbolt annihilated half of the Death Knight squad, leaving not even a speck of bone dust.
Hiss!
Smoke rose from the blue staff stuck in the center of the Death Knight squad.
Seong Jihan with Thunder Body took steps towards the blue staff.
'Flashing Sky Thunder Steps.'
Flash!
In what seemed like an instant teleportation, Seong Jihan was right at the center of the Death Knight squad, where the blue staff was.
Despite half of the Death Knight squad still remaining,
With an utterly unfazed expression, Seong Jihan picked up the blue staff.
"Gatekeeper, is this proof enough for you?"
"Uh. Uhm! Who the hell are you...?"
"I'm not good at aerial combat. So..."
Swoosh!
Even before Seong Jihan could finish speaking, Death Knights, wielding their swords, charged from all directions.
Their strikes, proving their potency as formidable undead monsters, came down without any gap, threateningly.
However, Seong Jihan's prowess was most effective in close combat.
The Death Knights' sword strikes, though they never even reached the absolute domain, seemed endlessly slow and posed no real threat.
Towards the heads of such Death Knights, the blue staff, entwined with lightning, swung mercilessly.
Paaak!
In a single blow, the entire body of the Death Knight could not withstand the powerful lightning energy and disintegrated into a handful of bone dust.
Clang!
The armor, now masterless, lost its strength and crumpled to the ground.
The fearless Death Knights, oblivious to the remains of their comrade, charged continuously without end.
From a distance, it was hard to spot Seong Jihan among the swarm of Death Knights surrounding him.
However, as a bolt of lightning swiftly streaked through the sky, the encirclement was effortlessly shattered.
The power of the lightning was a perfect counter to the undead.
Bone dust flew around like desert sand, and piles of black armor accumulated on the ground.
"I'll handle the ground. What do you think?" Seong Jihan, standing atop a heap of armor, inquired.
Bijang blinked his large eyes and scowled.
Until moments ago, his expression had been one of sheer disapproval toward Seong Jihan.
But now, his lips curled up into a smirk.
"Hah! You're somewhat useful after all!"
With a swift motion, Bijang reached out to the sky, and dozens of lightning bolts mercilessly struck down.
Their target was the Ghost Army crossing the cliff.
In an instant, over half of the ghost legion disappeared.
Demonstrating the power befitting an Imperial Gatekeeper, Bijang chuckled, crossing his arms once more.
His gaze returned to Seong Jihan.
"Fine. Go ahead and have your fun."
[Bijang trusts the player a bit more.]