NOVEL WEB Chapter 141
Chapter 141
A Clean Strike.
It landed perfectly.
As proof, system notifications appeared before Suho’s eyes.
[Shadow Restraint has been activated.]
[Shadow Bleed has been activated.]
[Shadow Penetration has been activated.]
Normally, activating Shadow Penetration had complex conditions, but the shadowy floor of Ferry of the Restless Spirit was an exception.
This was a place where darkness far outstripped light.
Moreover, Hex’s specialty lay in assassinations and long-distance attacks using arrows.
Thus, when his formation activated, he instinctively concealed himself in the darkest and shadiest spots.
Knowing this better than anyone, Suho had targeted Hex first.
And that wasn’t all.
Whooosh! Boom!!
A blinding burst of white light.
[‘Exorcism’ has been triggered by the effect of Holy Enchant.]
The grudge warriors, created from the Return of Resentment, were ghost-type monsters with an evil attribute, just like the resentment warriors.
No matter how much they resembled human forms, monsters were still monsters.
Thus, the exorcism effect of the Holy Enchant was remarkably effective.
Whoosh……
Twitch…… Twitch……
Hex’s grudge warrior, whose head had exploded due to the exorcism effect of the Holy Enchant, writhed on the floor, scattering ashen smoke.
And then.
[You have defeated Hex Hood.]
The life in it was snuffed out.
“One down.”
At that moment, the grudge warrior of Alex, realizing too late that he’d been played, brandished a massive shield as he closed the distance to Suho once more.
As soon as Suho landed, he took flight again.
He leaped higher than ever before, reaching all the way to Ferry of the Restless Spirit’s ceiling.
Hovering in mid-air, Suho looked down.
At the end of his gaze was a dumbfounded bull who had lost its target and wandered aimlessly.
“Yeah. It’s just a cheap replica, after all.”
Grudge warriors were said to be created by borrowing the deepest rage of the target, but that was limited to replicating only appearances and some actions.
Just as a replica could never surpass the original, a shoddy grudge warrior could never fully recreate the real finesse of Alex, America’s iconic shield-bearer.
“If this were the real Alex, he would’ve tried to grab my ankle the moment I leapt into the air.”
So Suho decided to judge the counterfeit that was too poor to even be called a replica.
Suho drew his sword to his waist and swiftly launched it.
[Cloud Slash has been activated.]
Slaaash!
A radiant streak of light descended onto the foolish bull’s head.
The bull raised its head belatedly, but that was its last gesture.
The moment it raised its head, its body was neatly split in two, as if measured with a ruler.
[You have defeated Alex Morgan.]
The system notification appeared.
Suho brushed it aside and landed back on the ground.
Then, he turned his gaze to a bewildered woman who didn’t know what to do.
It was the grudge warrior mimicking Saintess Isabella.
The replica of Isabella was flustered, unable to decide what to do after her two companions were slaughtered in an instant.
“Tsk, tsk. You’d like to use healing or buffs, but since they were cut down with a single stroke, there’s nothing you can do.”
Swish!
Suho swung his sword and severed her head.
[You have defeated Isabella Mikhail.]
Only one fake replica remained.
Suho turned his head.
At that moment.
Whooosh!!
A massive fireball surged toward Suho.
Boom!!
An explosion reverberated through Ferry of the Restless Spirit.
The skill landed directly.
The remaining fake replica, the grudge warrior of Suzuki Endo, thought so.
And her assumption was correct.
There was a dark figure within the flames, and it was undoubtedly Suho. However.
Swish!
The sound of a slice.
The sound came even before the sword did.
And when Suzuki recognized it, a long cut had already formed along the center of her forehead.
Simultaneously, the flames split apart, revealing Suho’s dignified figure, unmarred by a single scorch mark.
At that moment, Suzuki’s body split diagonally.
[You have defeated Suzuki Endo.]
Simultaneously, the flames vanished.
Suho was unscathed.
No special action had been taken.
It was merely thanks to the Holy Enchant’s protection effect that he was shielded by a divine barrier.
This had been expected from the start.
The grudge warrior imitated Suzuki, known as both a grand mage and a witch, but it could only replicate her appearance, not her unique magic.
Thus, although the fake Suzuki’s flames appeared intense, they were in fact imbued with an evil attribute, mere ashen resentment.
And resentment with an evil attribute had no effect on Suho.
Watching the dissolving figure of Suzuki turn into smoke, Suho murmured.
“I’ll cut you down for real next time.”
He was sincere.
Suho recalled the time when he had been poisoned by her creation, All Poison.
It had been excruciatingly painful.
A hell he never wanted to experience again.
Hence, Suho vowed.
When he met Suzuki again someday, he would take revenge on her with a poison deadlier than All Poison.
In that sense, the replica he’d just killed had been laughably weak.
If it were the real Suzuki, she wouldn’t have just stood by, casting ill-fitting fire spells as things went awry.
“She probably would’ve summoned a massive amount of acid and splashed it everywhere.”
That was just the kind of person she was.
Finally, Suho shifted his gaze to the Spokesman of Resentment.
The being’s purple eyes still gleamed, but somehow, they looked pitiful.
Suho spoke while looking at it.
“Why are you just standing there pretending to be shocked? Bring out the next phase, or I’ll end this right here and now.”
– Grugh……!!
The Spokesman of Resentment clenched its teeth.
With those words, its purple eyes flashed, and its entire body began to stir as though it were set ablaze by resentment.
[The Spokesman of Resentment is greatly enraged.]
[The Spokesman of Resentment absorbs the power of the dead lingering in Wraith Dock.]
Slaaaash!
The stirring being began to absorb the grudges of nameless dead settled on the floor of Ferry of the Restless Spirit.
Its body grew larger, and the shrouded form it once had transformed into a majestic armored appearance, akin to that of a Death Knight.
The sword was nowhere to be seen.
It was only natural.
Since the creature had a mage’s attributes.
The creature, now transformed into its Phase 2 form, raised its hand.
Then an astonishing sight began to unfold.
The transformed Spokesman of Resentment started multiplying endlessly, as if it were performing a cloning technique.
Moreover, each clone of the Spokesman of Resentment held different weapons, unlike the original.
They were the final creation of the Phase 2 Spokesman of Resentment—its all-powerful “Grudge Warrior Legion.”
Suho nodded and raised his sword.
“So this is the famed Crusader’s Army Formation Technique.”
This was the signature skill of the Crusader, the holy knight player.
It was none other than the “Army Formation” skill.
Using its own power, it could summon and control soldiers who looked identical to itself.
That’s how it earned the nickname “Crusader.”
When the holy knight player used Army Formation, countless holy knights were summoned onto the battlefield.
Hence, Suho’s target was precisely that Army Formation skill.
Though he felt a little sorry for the Crusader, with that skill, Suho would more easily unlock the second authority of Vampire Blood.
Finally, the prepared Grudge Warriors charged at Suho all at once, with no one lagging behind.
– Graaaargh!!
The force bearing down on him was truly ferocious.
Fine.
At least they’re better than those fake traitors from earlier.
With that thought, Suho rearmed himself with skills.
[Blessing has been activated.]
[Holy Enchant has been activated.]
A halo of white light surrounded him.
The first Grudge Warrior charged at Suho, swinging its weapon.
Bang!
A heavy impact.
The first Grudge Warrior wielded a hammer.
Suho blocked the incoming hammer with his Blood Sword.
He grinned and complimented the creature.
“At least as a boss’s minion, you’re a bit better.”
– Grargh!!
The Grudge Warrior raised its hammer again.
In that brief moment, Suho etched a bright, white sword mark under the creature’s raised arms.
Slaaash!
Light exploded.
[Exorcism is triggered by the effect of Holy Enchant.]
– Kraaaargh!!
The first Grudge Warrior burst into ashes and scattered.
Although it was the direct subordinate soldier of a Phase 2 boss monster, there was no exception.
“Next.”
Suho swung his sword toward the next Grudge Warrior.
***
How much time had passed?
Suho, who had been at the entrance of the boss room, had now moved to the farthest end of it.
And there, the Spokesman of Resentment, who had lost everything, was cornered.
There were no surprises.
Nothing remained on the path Suho had traveled.
The Grudge Warrior Legion, which the Spokesman of Resentment had poured all its strength into creating, had splendidly turned into Suho’s experience points, leveling him up twice.
Pointing his sword at the defenseless Spokesman of Resentment, Suho spoke.
“There’s nothing left, is there?”
– …….
The Envoy remained silent.
Right.
This should be enough.
Thank you.
For squeezing out every last drop of your strength to nourish my level.
And with that, Suho slashed at it without any further taunts.
[Severing Steel has been activated.]
[Exorcism is triggered by the effect of Holy Enchant.]
Two skills were triggered.
A long, white sword mark appeared on the creature’s body.
Boom!!
A huge, white explosion erupted along the engraved sword mark.
[You have defeated the Spokesman of Resentment.]
[The Gate has been conquered.]
[The MVP of the Gate conquest is ‘Ahn Suho.’]
[Bonus experience is awarded for MVP selection.]
[One bonus stat point is awarded for MVP selection.]
[You have leveled up.]
[All stats have increased by 1.]
[You have gained 1 bonus stat point.]
The Spokesman of Resentment had been defeated.
Simultaneously, system notifications flooded in, and a towering cross as tall as the defeated Envoy appeared in its place.
A massive cross.
It was a memorial—a tomb and tribute for the unnamed dead submerged beneath the river.
Suho gazed at the cross for a moment, then reached out to touch it.
And he prayed sincerely for them.
Although this was a false model battlefield created by the system, Suho knew that some Gates were exact replicas of places that actually existed somewhere in another dimension, so he prayed for them, just in case.
At that moment.
[You have prayed for the unnamed dead.]
[The Spokesman of Resentment offers you a small gift.]
[You have learned Army Formation (A).]
Skill acquisition: Army Formation.
Hearing the notification, Suho slowly raised his head and began to exit the Gate.