Leveling with the Gods
chapter-538

Side Story 14

The world turned black.

In an instant, a sensation of being swallowed by total darkness enveloped him.

Kwaang!

A flying spear pierced through Son OhGong's side.

At that very moment,

Son OhGong's eyes turned golden.

Swish!

Clang, clang, clang!

He blocked the spears flying towards him with both hands.

Blood gushed from his palms, and his forearms trembled from the brute force he had exerted.

"I... managed to block it..."

Just as he felt relieved,

Fwhaaa!

The spear he held in his hand disintegrated into dozens of fragments, speeding towards Son OhGong.

"Damn."

Kaboom!

The spears exploded.

In the midst of the storm of sharp Arcane Power, Son OhGong crossed his arms to protect his vital points.

Sizzle, sizzle.

Wounds appeared even despite the magical protection of his body.

Son OhGong squinted his eyes and looked at YuWon, who was moving away in the opposite direction.

"Is this how you want to play?"

Son OhGong felt quite confident in a long-distance battle.

After all, he had the ability to create clones and the Ru Yi Bang, an item that had no distance restrictions.

"Let's do it."

Son OhGong wasn't the type to run away after taking a hit.

Once he started, he finished it.

If he couldn't master this distance, he couldn't be the victor.

Bang!

The Ru Yi Bang flew and passed behind YuWon.

It wasn't just one.

The number kept increasing, soon surpassing hundreds.

'It's starting to be difficult to dodge them even knowing they're coming.'

With his nearly infinite Arcane Power, Son OhGong could control thousands of clones.

The power of the Ru Yi Bang wielded by the clones couldn't compare to the original, but each of them had a strength equivalent to an average Ranker's ability.

Personally, YuWon found this form of Son OhGong much more challenging.

If he approached, he wouldn't have to worry about the clones, but at this distance, the advantages of the Ru Yi Bang and the clone technique were maximized.

'If the number increases...'

Keee-ing.

Light emanated from YuWon's eyes.

'I'll have to increase my pace.'

[The function of "Eyes of Foreknowledge" increases.]

[The ability of "Eyes of Foreknowledge" increases.]

Shoulders back, assuming a throwing stance, he set into motion.

Seeking Son OhGong's real body.

Dodging the staves.

And at the same time, creating a path to throw his own spear.

And in the next instant,

[The power of "Tartarus" is infused into "Nir."]

["Nir" activates.]

Keee-eeeee-ing.

The power of the same attribute, the Arcane Power of Tartarus, saturated the tip of Nir's spear.

Higher, even higher.

YuWon's eyes, who had jumped upward, scanned the ground.

Among the hundreds of Son OhGongs, YuWon's eyes located the only real body.

And he was...

'It seems you've given up on running away.'

Without trying to dodge the spear, he stood still with fixed legs, looking YuWon in the face.

It was a smart choice.

No matter how much he was Son OhGong, there was no way he could dodge YuWon's spear with Eyes of Foreknowledge at its maximum.

Regardless of the path he took to evade it, YuWon's spear would chase and hit him precisely.

It was better, as Son OhGong had done, to prepare to block the spear from the beginning.

Krrroooowww.

[The power of the Giant is infused into your right arm.]

The arm wielding the spear swelled.

The power of Gigantification was maximized, increasing the force with which he threw the spear.

Whoosh!

The spear with greater power headed straight.

Son OhGong's eyes, watching the spear, shone with a golden color.

At the same time, judging by his sharply sharpened fangs, it seemed he was also using Yokai Power.

Kuaauu!

A black spear attack cut through the woods.

The repercussions of that Arcane Power, absorbing the surrounding sound and light, even affected the place where YuWon stood.

Crack-.

The giant trees in the forest created by Vishnu lost their vitality and cracked.

The power that Dark Arcane Power possessed is corrosion.

Watching as the trees, losing water and vitality, gradually turned into dust was not very pleasant.

Kuaauu-.

The Arcane Power tsunami created by the spear attack began to gradually subside.

Faced with the desolate sight before his eyes, YuWon looked around.

'The opponent is Son OhGong.'

YuWon now recognized who he was fighting.

'It can't end like this.'

If the opponent were someone else, he wouldn't have launched such an attack during a simple fight.

After all, this attack had the power to cut off the opponent's breath.

However, Son OhGong was different.

He was immortal and had a life force more resilient than anyone else.

Unlike Hercules, who had high endurance and defense, this guy rose after taking hit after hit thanks to his immortal characteristic.

"Ugh... pffft-."

Exactly, like now.

Son OhGong staggered as he stood up.

Judging by the blood covering his body, he didn't seem to be okay, but his expression was completely contrary to his state.

"I can't keep this up." He murmured with regret while smiling. His eyes shone with an even stronger fighting spirit than before.

Now that he had shed blood, it was the true beginning.

'I see.'

It couldn't be said that he had gained the advantage just by inflicting unilateral damage.

The opponent was Son OhGong. His greatest strength was not any ability but his tenacity to fight as if he were going to die, even when he couldn't die.

"Sometimes you seem to have the characteristic of a Berserker."

"Berserker? Why?"

"You get stronger when you bleed."

The real Son OhGong appeared after he bled.

A hot vapor erupted from Son OhGong's mouth as he focused his attention.

And in the next moment...

Bang!

With an explosive sound, Son OhGong's new form appeared before YuWon's eyes.

Kaboom!

Crash!

The tree behind YuWon broke and fell backward.

YuWon's eyes, who dodged the punch, caught the trajectory of the Ru Yi Bang.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Swoosh!

The area and length of the Ru Yi Bang swinging faster than the wind changed freely.

One change followed by another change.

And Son OhGong's technique to freely control the heavy Ru Yi Bang with one hand mixed with the Golden Cinder Eyes, quickly clouding his vision.

Bam-.

Son OhGong's fist struck YuWon's stomach.

Just for a brief moment.

At that instant, the impact was transmitted.

[Hundred Steps Divine Fist]

Zzzap!

YuWon's body was thrown backward.

Fortunately, the impact wasn't too strong.

[The 'Blessing of the Sea' resides in your body]

[The 'Blessing of the Sea protects you from the 'Hundred Steps Divine Fist']

Kaggg-.

He thrust his sword into the wooden pillar and focused.

Although the Blessing of the Sea protected him, a small part of the impact reached him.

Hundred Steps Divine Fist was quite a powerful technique. It wasn't a technique of Son OhGong, but it wasn't the first time he had seen it.

'Hundred Steps Divine Fist. Is it a technique he learned on the Celestial Floor?'

Could he have even mastered Tathagata's techniques?

Son OhGong's skills had increased more than he thought.

The guy who was terrible at Martial Arts despite his perfect handling of Ru Yi Bang now also had Tathagata's techniques.

Not in vain did he shorten the distance.

'Is this a close-quarters combat this time?'

Swoosh-.

YuWon retrieved Nir, which had returned to his hand, and unsheathed his sword.

This was, so to speak, the second round.

[The power of the giant is infused into your whole body]

['Heavenly Demon Spirit' controls the 'Giant’s Flame']

Fwoooosh-!

The figure of a giant appeared behind YuWon.

YuWon, with the fire sword held high and armed with the power of fire and the giant, challenged Son OhGong.

Although he seemed excited, Son OhGong was rational.

No, the more excited Son OhGong became, the more rational he became.

There was nothing more foolish and stupid than getting carried away in a fight.

Perhaps that's why.

The more rationally Son OhGong thought, the more trapped he felt.

'What is this?'

Boom!

Fwoooosh!

The fire giant's sword cut through the trees.

Dodging the fire sword reminiscent of Surt, Son OhGong felt a chill down his spine.

It would be useless to just step back a little.

Sizzle, sizzle-.

Golden Rays filled the sky.

When they all fell at once, Son OhGong had no choice but to escape using the Flying Nimbus.

Kwaaaang, boom!

The rays fell incessantly.

The moment he approached to dodge them, the fire giant swung its sword again.

Kwaaah!

Fwoooosh, fwooosh!

The burning trees fiercely ignited.

Although he trusted his resistance to fire, this was a different case.

'That bastard. They said he ate Surt's Heart...'

The power of fire was extraordinary.

Even with the power of the Golden Cinder Eyes, if he enveloped himself in those flames, he couldn't avoid getting burned.

And besides...

'If I try to keep the distance...'

Kwaaaang!

Son OhGong moved the Flying Nimbus quickly to dodge the Rays.

It was a very small difference.

If he let his guard down for a moment, he would be hit by a Ray.

One or two wouldn't be a problem, but receiving Rays of this power one after another would be fatal.

In that case...

'What do you want me to do?'

If he approached, YuWon's sword would attack him along with the giant enveloped in Surt's flames. If he maintained medium distance, he would throw Rays, and if he moved away completely, he would throw a spear similar to Gungnir.

YuWon's abilities were superior at all distances.

'It's the first time in a long time that I've had such a frustrating battle.'

It was a strange feeling.

It was as if he were fighting against several people, not just one.

And those people were even Surt, Zeus, and Odin.

Even for Son OhGong, fighting them all at once was impossible.

While Son OhGong reflected, seeking a solution...

Flash!

A bright flash appeared before his eyes.

"Uwah!"

Kwaaaang!

A spear made of condensed Arcane Power narrowly missed Son OhGong's head.

Thanks to quickly lowering his head, he managed to dodge it, but the difference was so small that it gave him goosebumps.

Veins bulged on Son OhGong's forehead, who had been relieved.

Escaping like this was not to his liking.

"Win or lose, this annoys me!"

Son OhGong turned his body, and his Flying Nimbus began to fly toward YuWon.

It was an impulsive choice, but it was the best option for Son OhGong.

After all, the longer he wasted time running away, the more cornered he would appear.

Kyaaaaaaaa!

Riding the Flying Nimbus and aiming with the Ru Yi Bang, Son OhGong lunged forward.

He combined the speed of the Flying Nimbus with the strength of his hand wielding the Ru Yi Bang.

His best weapon was, after all, the frontal charge.

And just at the moment when he was about to throw himself into YuWon's arms and make his final move...

Kiiik-.

The Flying Nimbus, advancing rapidly, suddenly slowed down and stopped.

The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, had stopped in the midst of the battle.

"Hey...."

It couldn't be otherwise.

"This is a trap...."

Beeeeeeeh-.

The view that spread before his eyes was a situation that even Son OhGong couldn't avoid weakening.

Beeh-.

Beeeeeh-.

Beeeeeeeh-.

A loud and annoying bleating resonated in his ears.

The power of "them," boring and terrifying, that he thought he could already forget.

[The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young]

Shub-Niggurath. Her offspring had appeared again in this forest.