I tamed the First Rank Chapter 116
- HoshiMiya
- Apr 4
- 8 min read
The explosion did not stop at one time. It continued in a chain reaction, blasting Hyeon Gyu-ha.
What the Gong Tae-seong ejected was an extremely compressed flame. It was only the size of a fingernail, but when it exploded, it became a firestorm of overwhelming power that could easily devour a single-family home.
It didn’t stop at just the explosion. The place where Gong Tae-seong lured Hyeon Gyu-ha was between the buildings that were built in layers. The walls that were caught in the explosion collapsed, the main beams tilted, and the roof collapsed. Hyeon Gyu-ha was in the middle of it all.
“Kieeee.”
The monsters who were caught in the explosion kept screaming in their final moments.
“Tch.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha gritted his teeth and maintained the barrier that shook with each impact of the explosion. Flames raged everywhere, and his vision was blurred by the smoky dust from the collapsing buildings.
'Should I open my eyes first?’
When the explosion had subsided somewhat, Hyeon Gyu-ha took a step forward to push away the dust. As soon as he felt something hit the force field, another chain of explosions began to occur.
Hyeon Gyu-ha realized that compressed flames that would explode with even the slightest shock were spread out like landmines everywhere.
He tried to figure out the flow of mana, but it wasn't easy because the dungeon had an unusually high concentration of mana.
'I thought about it quite a bit.’
He laughed softly. It was a trap that had been carefully calculated and designed to hunt me down. A vast palace with many buildings that would collapse from the impact of an explosion, a dungeon with a high concentration of mana that was difficult to track.
If you move rashly, another series of explosions will occur. Gong Tae-seong's sword, completely unharmed by his flames, will fly in without missing a beat.
Hyeon Gyu-ha pressed his forehead with his palm. The headache caused by the rapid depletion of mana from flying hundreds of kilometers at full speed from Hoeryong to Seoul had subsided somewhat. It was time to squeeze out mana again.
Explosives scattered everywhere like mines. I've already experienced a dungeon with a similar boss.
'It was a dungeon with the Judgement of Paris as the background, right?’
Hyeon Gyu-ha admits that the flames of the Gong Tae-seong are several times more powerful than the explosion of the Golden Apple that appeared as the boss monster. But that is not the problem.
Hyeon Gyu-ha decided to repeat the strategy he had used back then. You can't move even a single step because there are landmines scattered everywhere? Then just blow them all up.
Hyeon Gyu-ha raised both arms high, wrapping himself in thicker layers of force field to protect himself. Then, in one breath, he slammed the weight down onto the floor.
The compressed flames that had been densely packed exploded all at once, and the world was dyed white.
Could this be the middle of a battlefield where hundreds and thousands of bombs exploded at the same time? Everywhere you looked was being consumed by pure white flames. As if to prove that the nickname of the Emperor of Fire was not an empty one.
If it hadn't been for the protection of the station master, a loud noise that would have ruptured all of our eardrums shook the heavens and earth, and the white flames that burst out fiercely swept in all directions. The heat of the flames and thick smoke swirled around like a storm.
Kururung! Thousands of rooms were burning, collapsing, and burning down one after another. Countless monsters were blown to death without leaving a body behind.
Even in the midst of the layered force fields, the shock from the explosion continued to strike. His vision was dizzyingly shaken. No. Hyeon Gyu-ha spat out a sip of the blood that had suddenly risen up inside him and corrected himself. It was because my headache had started again. But it didn’t matter. This level of penalty doesn’t bother me.
Hyeon Gyu-ha narrowed his eyes and looked ahead. He liked the flow of flames, not mana. The smoke and white flames were so thick that he couldn’t even see in front of his nose, but there was a way to find Gong Tae-seong. Gong Tae-seong was not harmed by his own abilities. So….
'I found it.’
The area where the flame concentration is the weakest.
Kwagagagagak! The invisible blade that emerged from the sword of the dead split the ground and dashed forward fiercely, cutting the demon's hand in two. The flames and smoke from the sword pressure cleared, revealing a gap that gave a glimpse of Gong Tae-seong.
Just before the energy released split the void in half, a black flame shot up. The black flame, completely different from the white flames he had used so far, grew in size while consuming even the formless energy.
Hyeon Gyu-ha furrowed his brows. It seemed like he had a hidden plan.
“What is that?”
“Avīci hell.” (refers to the lowest and most severe of the Buddhist hells, a place of incessant suffering.)
Was it the hellfire of Avīci? Hyeon Gyu-ha finished his thoughts and kicked the ground. As he pulled back the force field, the smell of blood from the monsters who had exploded and the pungent smell of flesh burning hit him. Without paying attention, he swung his sword in an instant, striking the air.
Gong Tae-seong leisurely moved his sword covered in black flames. Even a sword that wasn’t even an artifact would melt without being able to pierce through this flame.
Kaaaaang! Swords clashed. The blades did not melt in the fire of hell, but the swordsmanship was torn apart. Gong Tae-seong furrowed his eyebrows.
Suddenly, what Hyeon Gyu-ha had in his hand was not the sword he had been using until now, but the sword that cut through mystery, the Balisarda (a weapon that appears in an epic poem written by an Italian poet).
"You really are carrying around a lot of artifacts."
"There's a use for this."
Aside from the fact that he possesses the artifact, his innate combat sense that allows him to quickly judge which weapon will be used as a counter in an urgent moment is what is most threatening. Even though he knew this, Gong Tae-seong's face hardened fiercely.
In an instant, sword strikes were exchanged and sparks flew from the blades. As the hellfire intensely heated their surroundings, Balisarda cut through the flames, filling the air with a chilling cold.
Gong Tae-seong's forearm glowed once, and the power of the artifact was imbued into the blade. Woong-woong-woong. The ominous wails of resentful spirits spread.
Clang! Gong Tae-seong blocked Hyeon Gyu-ha’s sword that was slashing down from the upper left. A heavy force was applied from above to below. Clang. The blades scratched each other, making a creepy sound. Hyeon Gyu-ha twisted the corners of his mouth at a close distance where he could feel his breathing.
"You, is that Kenmyōren (a legendary Japanese weapon)? You Japanese sword-wielding bastard."
"Fuck. It's because of compatibility. I'm sick of Choi Jin-hyuk's bullshit, so shut up."
The Japanese Yokai Sword, an artifact from the Japanese battlefield that could draw out tens of thousands of vengeful spirits, and the Hellfire that was also introduced to Japan. As he said, it was a perfect combination with him. However, Hyeon Gyu-ha coldly laughed at him.
"Compatibility can be overcome with effort."
He liberated some of the Turkish artifacts without taking out Zulfikar and placed them on the common Italian artifact, Balisarda.
[Partially releases the bound artifact 'Successor Padishah's Eternal Conquest'.]
Gong Tae-seong paused. He had heard from the Narsha Guild member who witnessed the battle at the time about how Hyeon Gyu-ha had handled the power of the artifacts he had liberated while hunting the 'King Who Respects Every Blade of Grass'. However, it was different now.
The pressure that weighs down on the Balisarda as it gains strength is second to none, but this eerie, haunting sound of the blade making a buzzing sound.
"Is this how you do it, bringing only the souls of those who died on the battlefield?"
“.....Crazy guy.”
I was so shocked that I couldn't say anything else. This, he's saying this was the first time he used this technique after seeing someone else's?
Just because you possess an artifact related to the battlefield, it doesn't mean that anyone can easily draw out the vengeful spirit and use it as power. If that were the case, dealers would have been after it without exception.
Gong Tae-seong chewed on the curse words with his teeth. Effort? What kind of nonsense is that?
It wasn't effort, but an innate and overwhelming talent that allowed him to skillfully use artifacts while squeezing his mana while running from Hamgyeong-do to Seoul, whether it was the Gaema Plateau or somewhere else.
Gong Tae-seong summarized this in one word.
"You're like a monster."
“Correct that to a rat.”
“Shut up!”
He swung his blade fiercely. The Balisarda that bounced off spun around in the air and stabbed him in the abdomen. At the same time, flames blazed beneath his feet, engulfing Gong Tae-seong. If his flames were connected to the flames, he could teleport at close range.
In the blink of an eye, Gong Tae-seong disappeared from Hyeon Gyu-ha’s sight and appeared behind him with a blazing flame. Gong Tae-seong’s hand, which was about to draw Kenmyōren, stopped.
Balisarda, who was clearly facing forward, was aiming for his neck at the back at some point.
"I've seen this skill before, do you think I'd miss it?"
“…….”
A cold sweat ran down the back of Gong Tae-seong's neck, which was not affected by the heat of the fire. For the first time, he thought that he might lose.
A red murderous aura flickered in Hyeon Gyu-ha's eyes as he looked at him.
The gate was open on the rooftop of a certain apartment building. Jang Beom, who had grabbed In Yoo-shin’s arm, created a wind and reached the rooftop in one go. The guild members guarding the gate had been withdrawn by Gong Tae-seong in advance, so the area was quiet.
"8-seya. Is this the right place?"
8-se, who had been quietly sitting in the pouch, wrinkled his nose.
"Yoo-shin-ah. Don't you trust me, Hyung?"
"If you were in my shoes, would you believe me, Hunter Jang?"
"Unn, I won’t believe. But how does that hamster know where Papa is?"
"Gyu!"
8-se nodded, saying, "Here we are." Then he jumped down from the pouch and waved his front paw as if to bid me farewell.
“Are you going to wait here?”
“Squeak!”
"Okay. You're probably scared of the dungeon, so it's better for you to wait outside. You have to hide well."
Jang Beom stopped In Yoo-shin, who was about to jump into the gate.
"Papa and Gyu-ha are fighting, do you think you’re going to be okay if you go inside? If they're fighting at the entrance, you'll be in trouble the moment you enter."
As he spoke, Jang Beom made a gesture of cutting his neck with his thumb. In Yoo-shin also hesitated. It was a valid reason.
"Then what should I do? I can't just wait for Gyu-ha to come out."
"Papa might come out."
“It’s Gyu-ha-ssi.”
"Oh. Turns out he's in the same category as Jun-su"
Jang Beom shrugged and put the bracelet he took out from the inventory on his wrist.
"It's a shield core, so come here and stick to it."
As mana was poured into the core, a purple transparent membrane spread out in a circular shape and surrounded the two people.
"The range is narrow, so stay close behind me. Should I hold your hand?"
"No."
In Yoo-shin stood behind him, putting his hand in his pocket in case someone grabbed his hand. Jang Beom, who had a smirk on his face, walked ahead.
A feeling of dizziness flashed through his head. In Yoo-shin, who had passed through the gate, opened his eyes wide in shock at the sight before him.
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
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