Chapter 148 - Ancient Power (1)
1.
Hyrkan was holding onto a bone that was the size of a pencil. It started to expand to fill his hand. He shook his wrist as he held onto the thickened bone, and the bone immediately enlarged into a large spear.
“Hoo-ooh!”
After taking a short breath, Hyrkan got into his stance.
Javelin Throw.
He was aiming for an enemy that was very far away, so this was harder than it looked.
‘Hoo-ooh!’
The distance wasn't a problem. The problem was the fine control that was needed to do it. Moreover, there were external factors that interfered with his concentration.
There was a fierce battle going on in front of Hyrkan's eyes. At times, the battle came right up to his nose.
The Cursed slaves controlled by the Frost Knight was trying to break through the Skeleton Warriors to get to him. The Skeleton Warriors were trying to protect its master. The Skeleton Warriors got in the way as they fought the enemies that was trying to make a path towards Hyrkan.
Kah-ahng!
The rough sounds of steel clashing was an evidence of this fierce fight.
Kwah-jeek.
The sound of flesh, armor and bones being crushed didn't show any signs of dying down.
Koohng!
Whenever some large monster fell, a large sound was made, and it shook all the beings that had their feet on the battlefield.
Moreover, at times, some monsters got through the Skeleton Warriors. This was what had happened right now. A monster eventually had gotten past the efforts of the Skeleton Warriors. A monster with frozen arms was attacking Hyrkan. It had its arm, which was as sharp as a sword, up in the air as it approached Hyrkan.
As this was happening, Hyrkan had to aim and hit his target. It wasn't an easy task.
It shouldn't have been easy....
Shoong!
However, Hyrkan did it too easily. He did it effortlessly. The Cursed slave, which had bypassed the Skeleton Warriors, had almost reached him, yet Hyrkan had accomplished his task. He had true in his aim as he hurled the javelin.
Shweeeek!
The spear didn't fly in an arc. It traveled in a straight line.
At the same time as he threw his spear, he took a step forward as if he had intended to do it.
He shortened the distance with the Frozen Orc that was rushing him.
The gap had closed much quicker by him, and the Frozen Orc didn't hesitate to swing its arm towards Hyrkan's head. Hyrkan easily dodged the attack by lowering his head.
Puhk!
Then he lightly stuck out his foot to trip the Frozen Orc.
Koo-oohng!
The Frozen Orc fell forward, and it didn't even have the chance to turn its body around to look up at the sky.
Choo-roong!
The Crying Sword had severed its head with a single strike. The severed head rolled away.
Bbuh-uhng!
Hyrkan kicked the head as if he was playing soccer. Then he looked at the Skeleton Warriors with cold eyes.
Was this all the Skeleton Warriors could do?
This was the message he conveyed in his gaze. Of course, the look shouldn't have worked on the Skeleton Warriors, but one could see the Skeleton Warriors start to shift towards being more aggressive in their attack. Hyrkan tried to hold back a laughter when he saw this.
At that moment...
Koohng!
Until now, the Frost Knight had looked over the battlefield in a detached manner. No, he had looked down at it with a haughty attitude. Without unsheathing the enormous sword, the Frost Knight hit the ground with its sheathe.
Including the Bone Spear Hyrkan had just thrown, there were 7 total spears stuck in the Frost Knight's body.
It was embedded in its armor. It seemed the Frost Knight hadn't felt the need to move. It didn't pay an ounce of attention to them as the Bone Spears stuck in its body. It was treating the Bone Spears as if they were decorations for its armor.
The Frost Knight hit the ground ground again.
Koohng!
The sheathed sword hit the ground consecutively.
Boo-doo-doohk!
The Bone Spears stuck on its body froze, and it crumbled away.
Koohng!
The ground rang out for the third time. A crack formed on the sheath.
A crack shaped like a lightning formed on the sword sheathe, and the crack started to thicken.
Koohng!
The ground rang out for the fourth time, and it was the last time it rang out. One could see through the crack of the sheath, and a thick fog started seeping out.
The first to react to the fog was the Cursed slaves.
Boo-roo-roo!
They had been fighting, but they unconsciously started to shake. In such a tight battle, it was basically suicide to tremble like this!
The Skeleton Warriors didn't miss the opening created by the shaking enemies. The Skeleton Warriors didn't even need to think about their actions.
The only one that had to think was a single User.
‘It's coming.’
Hyrkan clenched his fist as if he had expected this. Clear droplets of liquid fell through his clench fist.
Clay Play!
However, it happened before Hyrkan could complete his summoning.
Poo-hwaht!
The Frost Knight's sheath broke into pieces, and the extreme cold that was sleeping within it for all these years exploded forth.
[The Frost Fog is spreading quickly.]
Hweeeeee!
The Frost Fog was so powerful that a System Warning was given. The Frost Fog ate up the battlefield in an instant.
Everything was frozen as all stood still. All kinds of sounds had been emitted from the fierce battle a moment ago, but the fierce scene of battle was frozen in place.
The unfathomable silence replaced the fierceness of battle.
It was as if one’s goose bumps had frozen by this sight.
The first one to disturb this scene was Hyrkan. Hyrkan had frozen in place with his fist clenched.
Boo-doohk!
He started thawing, and the ice started to crumble away.
When his fist appeared, it was like a domino effect. The ice around Hyrkan's body started to break away.
When the ice had all shattered away, Hyrkan opened his fist. A Phoenix appeared out of Hyrkan's hand.
To be precise, it was a level 170 Boss Monster called the Big Bird.
It had a massive body, yet the bird boasted even bigger wings. It had the power to send enemies flying with its terrifying wingbeats. It was the most difficult Boss Monster in the same rank category!
The Big Bird appeared with a body that was burning.
As soon as it appeared, it started flapping its wings. Accompanying its wingbeats, a wind of flame overtook the frozen battlefield. It melted the frozen time, and the battle started up again.
Hyrkan, who hadn't done anything up until now, started to run.
‘The 2nd Phase has started.’
This was the second problem posed by the Frost Knight. He pierced through the Frost Fog.
In the early runs in the past, numerous Users were unable to do anything against this attack. They suffered the attack with their eyes open. While the Users were frozen, they suffered blows from the Frost Knight's sword. He had just broken through the calamity faced by those Users.
The solving of this problem was good news. However, at the same time, it meant he would be posed with a new problem from the Frost Knight.
‘I have to do this immediately.’
Finally, Hyrkan summoned the two Skeleton Knights for the first time in this battle. When the Skeleton Knights appeared, the tide of the battle changed 180 degrees.
[The Special Ability 'Chivalry' has activated.]
[The Special Ability 'Commander' has activated.]
The tide of the battle turned overwhelmingly in favor of the Skeleton Warriors when the Skeleton Knights appeared.
On top of it all, the appearance of Big Bird Fire Golem had decreased the defense of the Cursed slaves. Since the Skeleton Warriors had gotten stronger compared to a moment ago, the Cursed slaves were helpless.
Moreover, the Skeleton Knights started to attack in a frenzied manner.
One of the Skeleton Knights was equipped with the Great Battle Hero's Sword. This particular Skeleton Knight was the definition of being overpowered.
Puh-uhk!
When the sword came down on the hardened skin of the Cursed slave, it didn't let out a sharp sound. It let out out a dull sound as the Cursed slave was broken into pieces.
Critical blow!
This was a more frightening sight then the enemies being sliced open.
The Skeleton Knights were making a path. When one Knight seemed to be slowing down, the Skeleton Knight with the Great Battle Hero's Sword took over to quickly clear the path. They were making a path towards the Frost Knight, and at the end of the road, the Frost Knight was standing there.
The Frost Knight was almost 4 meters tall. The Skeleton Knights were almost 3 meters tall. They stood facing each other.
At that moment, white bone started to encase the Skeleton Knight's body.
Bone Armor!
‘Just last 1 minute.’
Hyrkan activated more power, so the Skeleton Knights could face off against the enemy.
He summoned their horns. He didn't forget to activate the Madness Helm. The Skeleton Knights were encased in Bone Armor, and the tell-tale sign of the Madness Helm appeared as a horn on their skulls. The Skeleton Knights opened their mouths wide as they displayed their ferocious nature. They raised their swords at the same time to attack the Frost Knight.
Of course, the Frost Knight swung its sword to block the attacks.
It was a collision between swords.
Ggoo-roong!
It should have sounded like steel clashing, but it came out as loud thunderclaps.
Each attack had a huge effect on the participants. It was as if there were springs attached to the swords. Every sword swung by either the Skeleton Knights or the Frost Knight was bounced backward after the impact.
This was why the battle was slow.
Ggwah-roong!
After a single clash, one had to resist using one's strength. Then one had to attack after resetting one’s stance.
Ggwah-roong!
They once again attacked each other in terms of strength. Each strike made one take a deep breath twice.
This was how powerful these strikes were. They were exchanging blows that had all their strengths behind it. It was hair-raising to approach this melee!
‘Ok!’
It was a hair-raising display where one would be remiss to even stick one's hand in there. However, someone dared to push his body into the fray.
Hyrkan!
He had already moved behind the Frost Knight, and he sprung towards the Frost Knight's back.
Kwah-jeek!
Hyrkan's sword pierced the exact center of Frost Knight's back.
Choo-roo-roo!
At that moment, the Crying Sword let out a sad cry. It was as if it was lamenting that fact that it had met a crazy owner. It sounded as it was grumbling. However, Hyrkan ignored the grumbles as he worked against the Frost Knight's movements. He made a scar on the back plate of the Frost Knight's armor.
Then he immediately put a Bone Spear through the scar.
The Skeleton Knights and the Frost Knight had exchanged 7 strikes up to this point. The Frost Knight's sword had already crushed the Skeleton Knight's Bone Armor, and it had even dented the armor underneath it. After the 1 minute Hyrkan had wanted passed, the Frost Knight looked like a hedgehog.
The surprising part was the fact that the Frost Knight didn't pay any attention to Hyrkan during his work.
It was a loophole.
The Frost Knight didn't register any attacks on its armor unless it exceeded a certain threshold of damage. This was the loophole.
It had an innate arrogance and it was a near immortal. It died without knowing the pain of death, and this loophole was developed through these confluence of characteristics.
It was a loophole found through the sacrifice of over 10 Stormhunters guild members.
After finishing his attack using the loophole, he looked at his Skeleton Knights.
The Bone Armor hadn't held up. Moreover, the damage to the Skeleton Knight's defensive gears were quite significant.
However, the Skeleton Knights still showed the willingness to fight on. They showed Hyrkan that they could go on.
‘Thank you.’
The Skeleton Knights had performed well above expectation, so he thanked the bedraggled Skeleton Knights.
He put his thanks into motion. Hyrkan used the Bone Spears as handholds, and he started performing a job only he could do.
This was a job that couldn't be done by the Skeleton Warriors, Skeleton Knights and the Golem. He started the Armor Breaking, which was a job that could only be done by Hyrkan.
Choo-roong!
This time the Crying Sword let out a cry of joy. The Crying Sword was the best at taking off enemy's tough scales, leather or carapace. It was something the sword enjoyed doing!
The Crying Sword started to dismantle the Frost Knight's armor in a short amount of time.
It was the result of giving a master calligrapher the best possible brush to use.
As its owner did its job, the Skeleton Knights continued to fight hard until the end. At the two minute mark, a Skeleton Knight had lost its left arm. When the battle reached the 3 minute mark, they were in terrible shape. The demise of the Skeleton Knights looked inevitable. In the end, the Skeleton Knights had lasted three times longer than Hyrkan had expected.
Of course, Hyrkan was also working well above expectation as if to reward the earlier efforts of the Skeleton Knights. The Frost Knight's anger started to flow out of the cracked armor.
[The cold energy that can never be broken is flowing over you.]
[All Stats will be decreased.]
[You will suffer from terrifying frostbites.]
This freezing air pretty much repelled anyone close to the Frost Knight. Even the Ifrit's Essence wouldn't let one resist against this cold air.
Of course, one couldn't resist against the cold air using will power or stubbornness. If one unwisely choose to resist against it, the User would inevitably be frozen to death by the cold air!
Hyrkan had experienced this for the first time, but he was fully aware of the effect of this attack. Therefore, he put distance with the cold air. However, the Skeleton Knights froze over as they could evade it.
Hyrkan couldn’t continue watching his noble Skeleton Knights.
Koo-oohng!
When Hyrkan distanced himself, the Frost Knight erected an enormous ice wall. This wall completely cut off the Frost Knight from the battlefield.
This was different from the ice walls he had seen several times before. This wall looked to have been carved. There were shaped carved into the wall. It was as if various monsters, elves, dwarves and humans were trying to escape hell. This image was willing up the wall.
[The Wall of Agony has appeared.]
[The Frost Knight's power is recovering across the Wall of Agony.]
‘Third Phase.’
This was the third problem that was posed to him. It was the appearance of the Wall of Agony.
This wall boasted an incredible amount of defense. On top of it all, the wall had a special property that it didn't accumulate damage.
One had to break through it using a single blow.
As he looked at this door, Hyrkan took out a card he had prepared. He took out a single gem, and he gripped it.
Ddoohk ddoohk!
The gem that had melted in Hyrkan's hand dripped to the frozen ground, and a Golem was awakened.
The Earth Golem appeared in the shape of an enormous rhinoceros.
It was 5 meters long! The frightening part was the incredibly large horn that was as big as its body. The enormous horn was a weapon that was used to crush castle gates. It reminded one of a battering ram.
Cast Iron Rhinoceros!
It was a level 180 Boss Monster. It possessed a variety of nicknames. It was called the Slaughterer of Tankers. The Tankers hated this monster the most. The second nickname…… The most popular amongst the nickname was Tankerbell! It rang the Tankers like a bell.
It was a Boss Monster that gave out expensive Items. In terms of worth, it was within the top 10. Of course, the ingredients that came out from this monster was used to make Rare and Epic Items. At the very least, these ingredients were sold for 5000 gold.
However, it was well worth the money considering the attack it would perform.
“Go!”
As soon as Hyrkan's yell ended, the Cast Iron Rhinoceros charged towards the Wall of Agony.
Koong, kwahng, koong, kwahng!
The ground shook as it ran.
Koong koong koong!
It accelerated in a flash.
The Cast Iron Rhinoceros was running at incredible speeds. Its large body looked ungainly, but it was flying across the ground as swift as a swallow.
In the end, the Cast Iron Rhinoceros' horn collided with the Wall of Agony.
Ggwahhhhhhng!
All the sound up until this point couldn't compare to this sound. It swept across the battlefield.
For a brief moment, Hyrkan was tense.
‘Break through.’
He was most unsure of this part of the plan.
The Stormhunters guild had shown the level of attack one needed against the Wall of Agony.
That level…… It had to be a level 190 or above Magician or Striker. One needed to be equipped with Epic Items, and one also needed a full set of Buffs. On top of it all, one had to use a level 180 or above skill with burst damage!
If one considered these requirements, the Storm Queen Shir, Chev or Sinclair would be able to break the Wall of Agony.
However, Hyrkan couldn't produce such a large amount of damage in such a short amount of time.
This was the next best plan he could come up with. Since this was the next best plan, there was no guarantee that it would work.
Since he couldn't guarantee it would work, he couldn't help, but feel restless. He kept feeling the restlessness after he heard the huge boom.
[The Wall of Agony has fallen.]
However, when he heard the System Announcement, Hyrkan put on the same smile he had on in the beginning of the battle.
‘This is the finale.’
At that moment, Hyrkan was holding a pouch.
Each of this Bone Ingredients were worth 500 gold. These were made from the highest level Boss Monster available. The Bone Ingredients were from the Magma Giant, and it was the best Bone Explosive he could make.
Hyrkan ran towards the fallen Wall of Agony, and he threw all the explosives towards the Frost Knight.
Too-doo-doohk!
There were around 20 Bone Explosive thrown, and it rolled across the ground before they came to a stop beneath the Frost Knight's feet.
Kwah-gwah-gwah-gwahng!
The sound of the explosions were heard, and the Frost Knight's armor started to crack within this explosion.
In a flash, there weren't any Cursed slaves left. There was only the Frost Knight left, and there were no obstacles or barriers between them.
He had one Skeleton Knight, 17 Skeleton Warriors, two Skeleton Magicians, the Big Bird Fire Golem and the Rhinoceros Golem left. They all stared at a single opponent.
Hyrkan didn't even hesitate. He gave them consent.
“Kill it!”
There was only one problem left to solve.
2.
Once the armor came off, Hyrkan's damage dealing was overwhelming.
Even if the numerous Skeleton Warriors got a single blow in, it was as if several dozen Strikers attacking it. Powerful attacks were executed by the Golems, and the Skeleton Knights displayed their frightening capabilities. The Frost Knight also couldn't ignore the attacks from the Skeleton Magicians. On top of that, the power of the Bone Spears and Bone Explosives gave one goosebumps.
If one saw Hyrkan's battle, this person would describe it was as if a swarm of bullet ants in the Amazon jungle was attacking its prey. It was akin to the scary bullet ants that could take chunks out animal flesh that was several dozen times bigger than the ants.
Amongst this swarm of ants, Hyrkan was like a scorpion striking.
Since he had reached the last phase of the Frost Knight Raid, he decided to go all out.
[The Black Heart's effect has activated.]
Black Heart was the skill that he had acquired at a high cost!
It was a skill one used if one had a surplus of magic. He used the skill at that moment.
Hyrkan's physical ability was pushed well beyond the best Strikers in Warlord. His Strength stat was drastically increased, and this was the first time seeing Hyrkan with an overclocked Stat. Hyrkan started moving like a madman. The Frost Knight was fending off the small fries when Hyrkan saw an opening. He flew in on his target like a dart.
“Damn you!”
A despaired filled voice escaped the arrogant Frost Knight.
It happened as the despair-filled sound continued.
“This is the price for interfering with him. Your life isn't enough!”
Its voice changed into a curse.
It happened in an instant.
There was no warning. After the curse was put out, the Frost Knight's body exploded.
[The Frost Dragon's Curse has begun.]
The terrifying curse that had created the Frozen Kingdom swept over the battlefield.
This was the final act shown by the Frost Knight. There had been no signs that this last-ditch effort was coming.
The powerful curse froze the Skeleton Warriors, Knights, Magicians and the Golems.
It didn't end there.
Everything that was frozen started to crumble away. The Undead army, which had been filling the battle field, crumbled away into crumbs of ice. They were turned into piles of ice like a sand dune atop the frozen ground.
Of course, Hyrkan was also frozen in place. It was as if Hyrkan was an ice sculpture. If this Raid was being broadcasted live, the chatting window would be filled with groans.
As if to make this worse, the underlings in front of Hyrkan was starting to crack.
As they started to crack, they started being turned into a pile of ice shavings.
However, as everything was crumbling away, Hyrkan appeared once again.
[The Circlet of Purification protected you from the Frost Dragon's Curse.]
He had already switched his Item beforehand. Hyrkan spoke with a smile on his face.
“That's a wrap.”