NOVEL NEXT Chapter 227
Chapter 227 – The Final (7)
“There’s no escaping today.”
Clearly, the enemy had become stronger. But Riena was determined to completely subdue him by any means necessary. It was crucial to eliminate this particular foe; if she didn’t, all the data accumulated by the bugs could potentially link up again elsewhere.
To sever that chain, she needed to capture the newly established assassin.
“…!”
The problem was that the enemy’s heightened skills were no small matter. With the clash of their attacks, the ground around them cracked, structures crumbled, and the air trembled, yet the assassin managed to deflect Riena’s sword, boosted by her full power.
‘This guy… couldn’t be learning from me, could he?’
She clenched her teeth, realizing he had learned from their encounters. Just as the hybrid creatures had acquired the data from the Empire’s knights through battle, the assassin was concurrently enhancing his skills via his duel with Riena.
She knew that if this continued, she would be at a disadvantage.
Although she had also shown superhuman growth and finally surpassed her limits, the sheer effort and resources the enemy dedicated to his growth still outstripped hers.
“How dare you!”
In a fit of rage, Riena unleashed her divine power in the form of a cross-shaped strike. The assassin, in turn, crossed his two swords and unleashed his magic power forward.
‘That’s Riena’s cross slash.’
Junyung, who had been watching with his fists clenched, recognized it. The technique the assassin executed closely resembled Riena’s favored skill.
He had trailed her this far.
‘So it’s impossible to just crush him with brute force?’
Seeing the equalized powers, she glared at him with cold eyes.
With the skill gap narrowing, another approach was necessary. In a duel between those with similar abilities, the most crucial aspect is creating subtle variables that the opponent wouldn’t anticipate.
However, those variables come with risks. Only those willing to take risks and attempt different strategies could earn the right to victory.
‘…There’s no reason to hesitate.’
She glanced up at the sky, a faint smile creeping onto her face.
In fact, taking risks and throwing herself into battle was almost her forte. Her awakening had only recently occurred; before that, she had been just an ordinary knight.
Even then, she had proven herself by facing bosses stronger than herself while taking risks.
“I’ll acknowledge your strength. But now, we must start over, right?”
Smiling, she pointed her sword at the assassin. He seemed to sense something had changed in her demeanor and approached with greater caution.
He clearly wanted to prolong this battle as much as possible. The longer it lasted, the more data he could gather to grow himself and his kin.
‘I’ll finish this in one blow.’
However, Riena had no intention of playing along with that tune. Instead, she aimed to end this fight with a single strike.
“—!”
In the end, the first to charge was the assassin. He anticipated that she would block his attack and then counterattack, just as he had expected up to now.
“What the hell is he doing?”
But Riena, having already made her decision, shattered that prediction with her actions. Even Rihir, who was watching, was stunned by her shocking and unexpected move.
Instead of blocking the enemy’s strike, she closed in, aiming to initiate her own attack.
“You wouldn’t be able to do this. If you could, you wouldn’t have fled your colony.”
At the moment when one of her wings was severed by the enemy’s sword and she felt the intense pain, she thrust her sword into the assassin’s chest, where a void of emotion lay.
Confident that the enemy, who only learned through thorough calculations, would never anticipate such a move, she acted swiftly.
Being a being that only knew how to destroy and hate, the creature, incapable of understanding sacrifice, was easily overcome by the determination of a person willing to stake their body, heart, and life for something greater.
“–, —!”
Through the embedded sword, Riena’s divine power began to swirl violently within the assassin’s body.
He couldn’t flee as before. Though he had succeeded in regenerating despite the destruction of his body, this time, the divine power spread throughout him like poison, starting to destroy everything.
“Foolish girl! Don’t think it’s over! Instead, that action will lead to your demise!”
The assassin, whose body was nearly completely burnt, collapsed heavily to the ground, but Rihir’s resistance, fused with the bugs, was still ongoing.
‘Is this really happening?’
The ground trembled as if a great earthquake had struck. Surprised, Riena looked around, realizing the ground was splitting around Rihir’s throne, buildings were collapsing, and allies and enemies alike were being crushed.
[Now it begins.]
Rising like a massive caterpillar, Rihir emerged from the completely destroyed building, his body sprouting many roots.
Simultaneously, the cracked ground began to float slowly upward towards the sky.
‘No, I have to stop this…’
Riena realized the bugs were attempting to flee to wherever they could to cling to their tenuous lives, but she, clutching her severed wing, was in a weakened state.
There was no way to stop the rampaging Rihir.
If she let Rihir escape now, it would be just a vicious cycle. It would mean repeating all the struggles and bloodshed that had come before.
Moreover, as the bugs continued to adapt, they would soon wreak even more havoc on the world in far stronger and more wicked forms.
[The strong survive. You’ll see who is stronger.]
The defense barrier, which had been blocking this area, opened up, and Rihir began to lift the earth, ascending into the sky. He believed that once he rooted himself in a new place, he would quickly regain his strength and surely emerge victorious.
“As if you could draw closer to the sky, how foolish.”
“…Huh?”
But in that moment, as something appeared in the sky, the situation took a turn.
Riena chuckled, looking down at the bewildered Rihir, who was now staring down the barrel of a gun.
“Yeah, I knew it would come to this.”
There were places that urgently needed his assistance.
But Junyung, who had sensed this moment and waited for it, directed his mouse towards Rihir, who had revealed himself.
*
“—, —!!!”
The horrific creature, a fusion of man and bug, screamed and rampaged.
However, I ignored it and clicked my mouse, unleashing a hail of lightning. Every time the lightning emitted from my gun, the ghastly creature’s body ignited as chunks of flesh flew apart.
“Impressive endurance.”
Feeling no pity, but rather delight, I fired all the lightning and then pulled out a machine gun.
Just like the lightning, the machine gun proved effective as I swung my mouse, and every bullet sent the creature’s body tearing apart in real-time.
At the same time, the creature’s ascent halted and began to plummet to the ground.
It had only risen a few meters, but the weight of that descent was substantial enough to vibrate the entire screen.
As long as Riena was safe, that was all that mattered. Fortunately, she appeared to be fine, lying on the ground, looking exhausted, but clearly with her eyes wide open, breathing heavily as she gazed skyward.
“–, —!”
When I pulled out a chainsaw, the creature, alarmed, squirmed beneath the debris, trying to scream.
It was useless to reason with it, so before it could make any more noise, I plunged the chainsaw into its last remaining body, attempting to disintegrate it.
‘Wow, how resilient. Is it still alive?’
The chainsaw obliterated the weakened creature’s form. Now reduced to nothing but chunks, the creature still thrashed, crawling toward its brethren.
Shocked by such relentless determination, I pulled out a hammer for one final blow.
Smashing the largest chunks first, I finished the job.
After that, the creature no longer moved and turned into cold pieces of flesh, rolling across the ground and the rubble of the crumbled structures.
“…—.”
It was then that Riena, having regained some strength, staggered to her feet. What she saw was the completely devastated scene of ruins. With a blank expression, she mumbled something, and I could guess what it was about.
Yet even though I delivered the final blow, the true architect of this situation was undeniably Riena.
If she hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to expose the enemy’s vulnerabilities or capture the imposing assassin.
‘It’s not time to rest yet.’
Riena had fulfilled her role admirably, but unfortunately, there was still work left for both the remaining foes and me.
The remnants were a problem. While the leaders who could be called bosses were dead, the minions remained, attacking us from all directions.
‘I have to wipe them out, even if it means using force.’
The remaining minions were those born from the infection that led the expeditionary forces attacking the elves to retreat. Additionally, there were leaders from other factions directing troops to assault our vacant stronghold.
Fortunately, none of them appeared to be as threatening as the assassin. However, bugs were capable of evolving into just as dangerous foes, so I made the decision to eliminate every last one of them.
“I’m glad to have reliable allies.”
In that sense, the increase in trustworthy allies was a boon. With a weak smile, I began to fill the vacant players in the game for an all-out war.
They were not the Tribe of the Grassland. They were the people of the Kingdom of Baruk, who had completely allied with us.
Some among them were Rihar, but they were also my followers, inspired by me. I intended to give these recognized individuals a chance to gain the strength they needed to fight.
“—…–!”
The newcomers who entered the game displayed exactly the same reactions as the Tribe of the Grassland had faced in the past, marveling at their situation.
This wasn’t particularly unusual, as even other races like dwarves and elves had undergone similar experiences.
With the reinforcements now bolstering our ranks, I believed we could bring this brutal conflict to a close.
‘The deed is done. There’s no choice but to seize the opportunity.’
It was always my nature, but after going through these events, I felt that struggling and wracking my brain to find some solution was more appropriate than remaining passive.
This was precisely such a moment. Even though the entire world was embroiled in the calamity of bugs, I wanted them to see this moment as a chance with my assistance.
An opportunity to reshape the existing order and march toward a new world where we could unite against a common enemy.
My desktop now had a village. Chapter 228