Artifact-Devouring Player Chapter 34

34
“My basic swordsmanship will be thoroughly tested.”

I stared at the Death Knight.

As befitting his name as the Knight of Death, his eyes were filled with a coldness deeper than the abyss.

In the previous life, many close range players died trying to attack him because of the Silent Swamp.

The situation where you can’t use all your skills momentarily was something that was expected, but hard to get used to.

In the worst case scenario, you need to play a hand that can at least be on par with your opponent, but that arrangement was not sufficient.

So, it became standard practice to only subdue the Silent Ground Dungeon before the Death Knight.

In fact, there was a restriction that only level 120 and below could enter, so everyone faithfully followed the rules.

Of course, the player system has lowered the hurdle for dungeons that have not been cleared even after a sufficient amount of time has passed.

The level that can be accessed gradually increases. This is the form of self-difficulty adjustment, but it was before the appropriate ‘adjustment’ was made.

“Phew.”

Perhaps because he felt that he had encountered a formidable enemy, he automatically tightened his grip on the greatsword.

Sang-Hyeon consciously shook his shoulders and relaxed his strength again.

There is a logic to the paradox of power for prosecutors.

The point is that the more force you put into your sword to kill your opponent, the worse the organic nature of your attack becomes.

It was similar to the logic of hitting in baseball, and in reality, that tendency was strong. The more force you use, the more difficult it is to hit the opponent, and it is not easy to land an effective hit.

‘Be careful, as the Silent Swamp spreads, the Death Knight’s attacks will be twice as strong as usual.’

Sang-Hyeon realized an important fact again. The skill name is not called the Swamp of Silence for nothing. If you fall into it wrong, you die.

Tutatatat!

The full sprint has begun.

Like it or not, if you don’t fight, you can’t win. Memories from your old life are also tangled and if you don’t fight, they won’t come to mind easily.

Ugh… … .

The Death Knight, seeing Sang-Hyeon rushing towards him, aimed the sharp end of his long, one-handed sword at Sang-Hyeon.

‘Not yet.’

I thought he would act ungentlemanly(?) from the start, but he was wrong. This is a head-on confrontation.

Bang!

The swords clashed directly against each other without any hesitation, creating wild sparks.

“… … !”

… … !

At almost the same time, Sang-Hyeon and Death Knight both made surprised expressions.

Sang-Hyeon was surprised to see the Death Knight not being pushed back even after receiving a maximum critical hit of 600% damage.

The Death Knight was surprised by the damage from the upper body, which was heavier than he had expected.

It was a power on a different level from the countless uninvited guests I had faced while guarding this dungeon.

Of course, the surprise was short-lived, and Sang-Hyeon continued his offensive.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

He harassed the Death Knight with a speed battle based on the Demon Bash skill. He spared the knockback burst.

Full charging was not possible.

If you prepare a full charge that absolutely requires waiting time in front of a Death Knight, you will end up as a headless corpse.

Ugh… … .

Shallow groans continued to burst out from the Death Knight’s mouth as he withstood Sang-Hyeon’s fierce attacks.

Although he was a confident Death Knight in a sword-to-sword fight, Sang-Hyeon’s attacks had the heavy power to crush his opponents.

More than anything else, my hands clenched to block the attack felt cold at every moment.

This was because, thanks to the contract between the Goddess of Luck and Sang-Hyeon, a critical hit was ‘surely’ achieved with every attack.

The Death Knight, who was unaware of this, had no choice but to conclude that the damage from Sang-Hyeon’s basic attack was enormous.

‘Ha, that kid is really stubborn.’

Sang-Hyeon frowned at the Death Knight’s defense, which was more solid than he had expected. The defense was excellent.

If we continue in this way, wasting stamina, it will not be to our advantage.

‘I guess I should loosen up a bit too?’

There was a need to provoke an offensive.

As Sang-Hyeon also made his attacks in a restrained manner, it seemed that the Death Knight had no intention of counterattacking easily.

There are more variables in a dogfight where people grab each other by the hair than in a fist fight where they raise their guard and fight.

Sang-Hyeon intentionally caused instability by releasing the center of gravity of the body that was adjusted to the golden ratio.

Phew!

At that moment, the Death Knight took the bait. He unlocked the locked door and went on the offensive again.

‘It’s an inevitable temptation for the inspector Naburangi who has no choice but to passively equip himself with an aggressive disposition!’

As expected of a Death Knight who specializes in offense rather than defense, he pushed his body forward and struck with his sword.

Skang!

“Ugh!”

A heavy shock was delivered.

At the same time, the red energy in the Death Knight’s eyes began to burn brightly like the sun.

A brief precursor phenomenon just before the Silent Swamp is activated. A sort of warning.

What’s scary about the Silent Swamp is that it seals the opponent’s skills and causes the Death Knight to dash.

It is very difficult to block because it suddenly attaches like Sang-Hyeon’s full charge while you are unable to do anything.

Woohoo.

A swamp of silence appeared in the shape of a black shadow. It felt like looking at a sinkhole.

At the point where the swamp was already being created, the Death Knight’s body was being thrust forward. It was a sign of a dash.

‘If you don’t know, you’ll suffer, but if you know, it’s a different story!’

『Back Step』

Sang-Hyeon immediately fell back.

The backward movement of Sang-Hyeon, who had fallen before reaching the shadow of the swamp, was surprisingly precarious even for him.

『Full charging』

And at the moment when his body fell back to the back step, Sang-Hyeon was already preparing the next skill.

Love liquid!

The Death Knight’s sword slashed with a dash, cutting through the air above the Silent Swamp.

Originally, it was a position where Sang-Hyeon should have been, and it was an attack that could not be avoided because the skill was sealed.

The result of Sang-Hyeon’s advance notice and action was different. Rather, it was Sang-Hyeon who took the opportunity to attack.

“How about this?”

Shhh! Shhh!

Khuu… … !

The trick worked.

Anticipate the dash and retreat first, then draw the opponent in and counterattack using a dash technique.

The Death Knight lost his left arm in vain due to Sang-Hyeon’s creative and unexpected combination.

It was fortunate that I instinctively turned my body to the side, otherwise my neck would have been blown off.

Kkuddukk.

The Death Knight was frozen due to the full charge effect. Since it was an unexpected hit, skill resistance was not properly applied.

『Psychedelic』

Sang-Hyeon immediately threw down the gauntlet.

When you’re dealing with a complete enemy, opportunities to counterattack don’t come often.

Sang-Hyeon thought that this might be his first and last chance.

The complacent thought that another chance might come is of no help in the heat of battle.

Ugh… … .

Sang-Hyeon aimed for the most certain method to kill the Death Knight, who was frozen and unable to move.

『Knockback Burst』

It was a knockback burst using the Greatsword of Fighting Spirit. It also used 54 mana, doubling the basic firepower.

Phew!

Wow!

The knockback went in properly.

It was to the extent that the Death Knight’s back and waist were bent like a bow as he floated in the air.

Tata tatata!

Sang-Hyeon didn’t just stare blankly. He was already following him when the knockback burst succeeded.

Kwung! Boom! Boom!

And when the Death Knight, who had been rolling on the ground violently, barely managed to grab his sword and raise his body.

『Demon Bash』

He launched a series of Demon Bash attacks targeting the Death Knight.

The stiffness was a secondary effect, the real goal was the despair effect caused by the accumulation of pressure.

Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!

Even while being beaten by Sang-Hyeon, the Death Knight tried to activate the Swamp of Silence again.

This is also the reason why Death Knights are so tricky to deal with.

Even while being pushed back by an offensive, variables are secretly created.

Once silence is established, the Death Knight will throw all his might into cutting down his opponent without hesitation.

“Will it work?”

『Back Step』

Sang-Hyeon fell right behind.

Even though it was a situation where despair would have arisen if I had entered Demon Bash just one more time, I did not take the risk.

If you get caught in the Silent Swamp right before Demon Bash activates, the skill will be interrupted.

Then, the tower you built with so much effort will instantly turn into a sand castle.

“Damn.”

It was fine until I fell back to the back step, but at the last minute, my toes unfortunately got caught on the edge of the swamp.

Sang-Hyeon’s plan to counterattack with full charge went awry.

However, it was not the case that the sword could not be used at all, only that skill use was blocked.

Sang-Hyeon used the stone protruding slightly above the ground as a stepping stone and flew with all his might.

The stats I’ve been steadily raising so far were to allow me to use my body properly in situations like now when skill use is blocked.

‘bad.’

The jump was good, but there was no good place to put the sword.

This is because the position of the sword and the attack path of the Death Knight overlap.

In that case, there is a high chance that the counterattack will be in vain, and it will immediately give the Death Knight a chance to counterattack.

“How about this?”

Phew!

Sang-Hyeon created a form where his body was floating in the air and he swung his greatsword downwards, slamming it into the ground.

And using this as a support, he rotated his body and changed direction momentarily, stretching out his legs.

Back kick.

It was a finishing move that Sang-Hyeon had previously enjoyed using, and it was particularly effective at targeting the area under the chin.

Boom! Bam!

There was a clear sound of a bone breaking. If you lifted your chin and heard it break, it would be obvious where the problem was.

If it was a normal person’s kick, it wouldn’t even crack the bone, but the problem is that Sang-Hyeon’s strength is 250.

To this extent, it was a strength that could be thought of as that of a giant bear or other wild beast.

Moreover, since he utilized psychedelic skills, his attack accuracy was perfect 100%.

Dalgrak. Deulgeureok.

The entire lower part of the Death Knight’s face, crushed to powder below his nose, dangled.

Because my neck was suddenly thrown back for a moment, I missed the chance to counterattack, and in the meantime, the swamp of silence subsided.

The Death Knight’s neck was left bare thanks to the blown jaw, and Sang-Hyeon didn’t miss the opportunity.

『Knockback Burst』

The knockback burst that had been unleashed by scraping up all the mana hit the Death Knight’s face instead of his body this time.

Crunch!

At that moment, the Death Knight could see.

The forward view that had been clear until just now had changed to a rear view. Even the positions of the sky and the ground had been swapped.

The broken neck was hanging down behind his back, attached to a few loose muscles.

Kwaaa… … .

I thought it was unusual from the start, but it was truly an incredible force.

The Death Knight felt ashamed of himself for being relentlessly pursued and defeated without even a single clear opportunity.

It was a belated self-reproach.

And the more he acknowledged it, the more miserable he became because of the difference in power and strategy between Sang-Hyeon and himself.

“Whew. That was really close.”

Sang-Hyeon let out a sigh of relief. The method of countering while disabling the Silent Swamp and Dash worked.

This was a method that should have been decided in one or two tries.

If you failed at first, the Death Knight, having learned the counterattack pattern, would never give you the same chance.

Toouk.

Soon, an artifact ring fell onto the dying Death Knight.

As soon as I picked it up, a peculiar effect appeared along with a pleasant indication of platinum grade.

“Mana reflux?”