Go Hyeon-woo quickly rushed away.
The next moment, a massive stone pillar came crashing down.
Fatty embraced the pillar he had driven down and aggressively pushed forward.
The floor was furiously torn up with his charge.
A collision would be like getting hit by a moving train.
However, Go Hyeon-woo did not step out of Fatty’s path but stood still to face him.
As the distance between them closed, he wrapped a gust of wind around the tip of his blade and struck at the pillar.
There was no significant effect.
It was only natural that this did not slow Fatty’s charge at all.
In such a tense moment, Go Hyeon-woo took a large step to the side and dodged the body attack.
The sharp sound of cutting air reached Go Hyeon-woo’s ears, signaling danger.
He quickly realized that these were darts shot by Skinny.
He immediately used his footwork to dodge some and deflected the unavoidable ones with his magic sword.
And then continuing his footwork, he moved swiftly forward.
Fatty’s pillar came crashing down behind him.
It was a massive, all-out attack, bound to leave some openings.
Go Hyeon-woo spun around to counterattack but then retrieved his sword and retreated.
He backed off because Skinny was covering Fatty with poisoned darts.
A mocking laughter seemed to echo from somewhere.
At that moment, Fatty regained his stance and lifted the pillar before swinging it down with force.
Go Hyeon-woo tilted his body back and forth to avoid the stone pillar, then wrapped a gust of wind around his blade and struck back.
This movement of his slightly shifted Fatty’s trajectory, though the deviation was barely noticeable.
Go Hyeon-woo continued to murmur thoughtfully while fending off or dodging the relentless attacks.
He occasionally swung his sword but only managed to tap the pillar playfully.
Go Hyeon-woo widened the gap from the descending pillar once more.
However, instead of advancing with a physical attack as before, Fatty stopped and asked in a slow and thick voice.
“Why not…. fight properly…”
Even in the midst of this, Skinny’s poisoned darts continued to fly toward him.
After parrying the incoming darts, Go Hyeon-woo responded,
“I cannot approach this battle casually. I am still not used to this new technique, so it seems I need some practice.”
His hesitation to launch a significant counterattack was partly because the combined assault of the two enemies left hardly any openings, but he also wanted to test a new technique he had improved.
This improved technique incorporated insights and minor revelations that he gained from the mentoring sessions and observing the Dharma statue.
Wrapping the wind around the tip of his blade was an attempt to get a feel for the technique in his own way.
“Practice; how long will you keep… doing it?”
“It ends now. I am ready now.”
Fatty silently nodded his head.
Then with his arms bulging as if they were about to burst, he lifted the pillar high in the air and swung it with all his might.
The air tore with a booming sound.
The swirling pillar filled the view with a gray haze.
Despite this, Go Hyeon-woo remained calm and collected.
With every step he took, the stone pillar narrowly missed him as it swung by.
Then suddenly, Go Hyeon-woo heightened his momentum.
A gentle breeze circled around and then coiled itself around the blade.
And as he thrust it forward,
The stone pillar seemed to halt just inches from the blade.
The next moment, Go Hyeon-woo shifted his sword sideways as if pushing it, and the pillar swung to the side in response.
To the onlookers, it appeared as though Go Hyeon-woo was simply stirring the air with his sword and that caused the huge stone pillar to slide aside.
Despite Fatty’s terrifying strength, the stone’s considerable weight could not help but be redirected erratically.
As the movements grew larger, so too did the gaps in his defense.
There was a vast opening that even Go Hyeon-woo could exploit with a follow-up move after blocking the incoming darts.
A flash of light grazed Fatty’s neck.
A thin red line marked Fatty’s neck, and his body staggered greatly.
Before he fell, he gathered his last strength to stand up and looked directly at Go Hyeon-woo and said,
“You, a remarkable… warrior…”
And then with his eyes wide open, he collapsed to the side with a thud.
The stone pillar that just lost its owner made a heavy sound as it rolled downward.
“Your attacks were also quite impressive. It was a good battle.”
Go Hyeon-woo paid his last respects to Fatty and then positioned his magic sword beside him.
Clang! A couple of poison darts struck the blade, causing his brow to furrow slightly.
“Must it really be so, even in the heat of battle?”
Couldn’t there be time to pay respects to a worthy opponent?
Without delay, Go Hyeon-woo stepped forward towards the barbarians.
Spears and poison darts flew together, but when they came in contact with Go Hyeon-woo’s sword, they shattered pointlessly midway.
Like a wolf darting alone into a flock of sheep, Go Hyeon-woo plunged into the midst of the barbarians and started ruthlessly swinging his sword.
He carved his way through the crowd and soon fixed his gaze on one spot.
He spotted a swift and slender shadow moving quickly.
Go Hyeon-woo sliced through everything blocking his path and pursued the skinny figure relentlessly.
Skinny tried to escape with nimble movements, but with Go Hyeon-woo determinedly chasing after him alone, there was no way out. Googlᴇ search 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✶𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲✶𝗻𝗲𝘁
It was even more so now that Fatty who had been a sturdy wall had fallen.
The distance between them closed in an instant, and Go Hyeon-woo caught up right behind Skinny.
He easily swatted away the poisonous darts that were fired in a hurry.
“You should be ashamed of yourself for running away until the end.”
The blade pierced through Skinny’s chest and emerged out the other side.
Go Hyeon-woo swung his sword forcefully against the ground to shake off the blood from the blade.
Then he suddenly noticed a small box sparkling next to the fallen Skinny.
[Feathered Serpent Temple Random Box (D)]
After taking the box in his arms, Go Hyeon-woo looked around slowly but the barbarians hesitated and didn’t dare to charge at him.
And when he thought about it, ever since he had slain the two mid-bosses in the last dungeon, their momentum had waned as well even there.
A brief lull followed.
But it did not last long.
Go Hyeon-woo raised his eyes upward at the strange sound.
The golden barrier that had enshrouded the temple was melting away.
Although he did not know what was happening inside, the fact that the well-maintained barrier was coming down almost certainly meant that the priest was having a tough time.
For Go Hyeon-woo, this was good news; for the barbarians, it was a disaster.
“Protect the priest!”
“Ignore that man; the priest comes first!”
The barbarians tried to swarm into the temple like a flood, but a breeze-like gentle sword wind swept through them.
And it mercilessly tore apart everything within its range.
Go Hyeon-woo stood resolutely in front of the devastation he had created.
“You shall not pass before you defeat me.”
The priest leaned against the wall and slowly slumped to the floor.
A blade with its upper half gone was deeply embedded in his chest.
Now, only the priest, I, and the shriveled corpses remained in the central room.
When the effects of the ritual were drastically reduced by the depletion of the living sacrifices, even the priest who once boasted formidable resilience started to take damage.
He seemed to have no strength left to resist, but I stood a little distance away and just watched the priest blankly.
He asked as if he felt puzzled.
“Why didn’t you finish me off?”
“I’d like to, but something feels off.”
Some bosses have a “final struggle” pattern right before they die, and this Feathered Serpent Priest was a good example. He appeared defenseless while secretly looking for an opportunity.
I walked across the central room and picked up a wooden spear dropped by the barbarians.
I threw it and it flew and stuck deep.
The priest’s face contorted.
“Stop dragging this out and bring out whatever you’ve got hidden. We have a long way to go.”
“Shall I throw this again?”
The priest’s body brightly lit up and he abruptly stood up.
It seemed as if he wasn’t rising on his own but rather someone was pulling him up.
His sturdy frame deflated like a balloon losing air and his once firm skin wrinkled and sagged.
In front of the emaciated priest, whose bones were now visible, a highly compressed golden ball appeared.
It looked similar to the energy balls he had been firing off until moments ago, but the power was incomparably greater.
After pouring everything into casting his final spell, the priest’s body collapsed back to the floor.
He clung to a shred of life. He wanted to see me fall before he did.
“As you wished… I have done it. Now, try and…”
The golden ball targeted me and flew towards me.
Its speed was not particularly fast.
However, when I casually stepped aside, the ball halted mid-air, then turned and flew at me again.
I dodged again, and it changed direction once more to pursue me.
It was like a magic missile with homing ability.
—Whirrrrrr whirrrrrrr, whirrrrrrr—
Moreover, each time it changed direction, it picked up a bit more speed.
I had a decisive speed advantage thanks to my Thief’s Step and Overheat, but the energy ball which I initially evaded with ease gradually began to catch up with me.
As I frantically ran around the room, the priest let out a low chuckle.
It must have been amusing for him to see me struggling as if my life depended on it.
Moreover, he’d find even more amusement knowing that whatever I did, my future was to be hit by the energy ball.
Meanwhile, I quickened my pace and thought to myself,
I’ve gained quite a bit of speed.
After changing directions numerous times, the golden ball almost looked like a beam of golden light.
Now, even at my top speed, it was becoming difficult to evade.
Feeling it was enough, I stopped running away.
And I stood with my back against the wall.
Seeing this, the priest’s wrinkled face broke into a grin filled with delight. He was thinking that I had finally given up.
Just as the golden ball was about to strike me.
I lightly extended my hand forward.
[‘Distortion’ activated.]
[Cooldown Time: 23:59:59]
The trajectory of the ball that was about to touch my fingertips twisted dramatically and, unable to keep up with its momentum, crashed into the wall.
The priest’s eyes bulged as if they were about to burst.