Possessing Nothing
chapter-390

Juwon did not give any word to the Spear King, who was showing off his axe spear. The Spear King, holding his axe spear forward, measured the distance between himself and Juwon.

The Spear King did not favor exquisite weapons. Unlike Lee Sungmin, who wielded a spear made from dragon bones, he did not own even a single spear forged from orichalcum.

To the Spear King, weapons were disposable items—easily used and always ready to break or dull.

Even with a large axe blade attached, handling the spear was not a concern for him.

True to his nickname associated with spears, he was confident in his mastery over the weapon; even if it bore an axe blade, it was a spear in his hands.

He was aware that different uses required different approaches. If it had an axe blade, then one must utilize it as such.

The Spear King leaped into the air, dropping down over Juwon’s head. With full force, he brought the axe down onto Juwon.

Faced with the Spear King’s fierce attack, Juwon’s response was simple. His muscles bulged and thickened as his arm rose.

Crunch!

The axe wielded by the Spear King sliced through Juwon’s arm. The Spear King did not intend to stop there. The Spear King’s target was Juwon’s body.

Just as spears were expendable to the Spear King, Juwon used his own body as a disposable asset.

His body, nearing immortality, would regenerate in an instant, even if broken or cut.

The Spear King, rather than being startled by Juwon sacrificing an arm, kicked off the air to leap backward before Juwon’s clawed hand could tear through his abdomen.

Holding the axe spear with both hands, he swept it downwards. The axe blade, engulfed in qi, stirred up a tempest.

Woosh!

Juwon lifted his right foot, striking the ground. The tempest dissipated with a single step.

Maintaining a slight distance, the Spear King charged again. The axe blade, blade parallel to the ground, moved horizontally.

Crack.

The Spear King’s axe tore deeplydeeply tore through Juwon’s side.

“I intended to split you in two….”

No protective qi was present. Juwon’s body was merely enormously resilient, with bones so solid and muscles so tough.

No blood flowed from the wound. The Spear King saw Juwon’s face from up close.

He recognized the emotions in Juwon’s eyes. Not joy. Not tenseness.

Boredom, weariness.

To Juwon, this very moment of the fight seemed trivial. The Spear King’s eyebrows twitched.

“Really?”

Is it not fun to fight me? The smile disappeared from the Spear King’s face.

He withdrew the axe spear lodged in Juwon’s side and stepped back. Sparks of Qi flew from their clashing fingers.

Juwon was engulfed in an explosion. Within it, he did not waver.

Standing amidst the flames of Qi, Juwon stared at the Spear King, who silently drew another spear.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make it interesting now.”

A smile flickered on Juwon’s lips within the flames. The Spear King took a deep breath, gathering his internal power.

The spear in his hand, as always, felt heavy. Yet, his feet felt light. The Spear King’s foot stretched forward.

Space seemed to collapse. With a single step, the distance between him and Juwon closed. Within the flames, Juwon grinned, baring his teeth.

As Juwon burst out from within the flames, swinging his fist, the spear had already been thrust forward.

Whoosh!

Juwon’s fist tore through the air, emitting a terrifying noise.

The Spear King’s spear crossed diagonally with Juwon’s arm, piercing his shoulder. It went deep but did not pass through entirely.

That was enough.

The long spear split into two. The Spear King, wielding the short spear with his left hand, drove it into Juwon’s right knee.

He did not push the spear all the way through. The short spear remained lodged between the regenerated joint.

The Spear King had hoped that Juwon would stagger a bit but found that Juwon was not so easily bested. With his gruesomely transformed leg perfectly balanced, Juwon swung his left fist.

KWAANG!

The wave of brute force, unadorned by any finesse, crashed over the Spear King. With a severed breath, he drew a new spear. His warily prodded spear collided with Juwon’s powerful strikes.

Juwon extricated thea spear that had penetrated his knee and shoulder. In his grasp, the withdrawn spear easily shattered.

Such a fragile spear had pierced through his body. With an admiration for the Spear King’s prowess, Juwon began his transformation into a beast.

From deep within Juwon, a crunching noise echoed, his swelling physique soon cloaked in grey fur.

To fully unleash his power upon transforming was the greatest compliment Juwon could offer his formidable foe.

Aren’t you entertained?

The Spear King did not voice the question. Upon completing the transformation, Juwon stood as a towering werewolf.

A werewolf.

From his agape maw, the cry of the beast leaked. The Spear King, gripping a newly drawn spear in both hands, felt a shrill sensation.

His skin crawled, his heart beating with fervor. Such a thrill of battle was what the Spear King cherished.

The reason he had wielded his spear all his life was to savor this feeling, more abundantly, for longer.

‘Yes, more…’

He found it endearing.

The Spear King, realizing his body was airborne and his innards shaking, clenched his teeth and grinned.

Blood welled up from his throat, spraying through clenched teeth. He had been hit. But how?

This curiosity, too, was dear to him. The anticipation of joy to come made his body quiver more than the pain.

Fast in midair, the Spear King flipped himself over. From the full moon above, a monster was dropping.

The forest shook violently. Juwon looked down at his feet. The Spear King was gone. Juwon did not bother to look for him.

His senses, sharpened and expanded beyond limits, allowed him to perceive what his eyes could not.

The incoming spear from a blind spot was no different. Juwon stepped back twice.

The space where Juwon had just stood burst open.

“Sigh.”

Swallowing blood, the Spear King examined his left side. Thankfully, his bones hadn’t broken.

An instinctive protective aura had blocked Juwon’s attack. He was lucky.

‘Or perhaps he didn’t intend to kill me.’

“Do you wish to continue playing?”

The Spear King asked, studying Juwon. He had somewhat figured him out.

The most challenging part about him wasn’t his near-immortal regenerative ability but the poison in his claws. Yet, Juwon had not used this poison.

“I relish a good fight.”

“Don’t speak of cowardice, you bastard. What kind of fight is it when you keep regenerating after being beaten to death?”

With a spit of blood, the Spear King smirked. Juwon laughed heartily at his words.

“Just as you possess what I do not, I too hold that which you lack.”

“Oh, is that so?”

The Spear King forced a laugh, slightly lifting his foot. Despite sustaining minor internal injuries… his foot was still light. All was well. After assessing his condition, the Spear King smiled wryly.

___

Teresa reached out with trembling hands. Standing at the center of the magic circle, she took a deep breath and surveyed her surroundings.

The forest was filled with observation eyes and summoned demons laid by Scarlett and Lloyd. Teresa could see every landscape being observed by the observation lens and summoned demons from here.

Monsters unlike any other that she had seen were advancing toward where Lloyd and Scarlett were waiting.

Focusing on one of the fiends, Teresa gripped her rosary. Her body was enveloped in a blinding holy power.

Holy power burst from the magic circle, striking the undead Teresa had targeted.

Her aim had been the Death Knights. While her holy power strongly affected all supernatural beings, Death Knights and Liches were particularly vulnerable to it.

[Well done.]

Scarlett sent a telepathic message. Teresa swallowed hard, checking the location where she had sent her holy power through the magical circle.

The scattered Death Knights’ armors turned to ash and floated away.

“…God…”

Teresa closed her eyes tightly, whispering a prayer. There was no point in seeking divine intervention here. Teresa knew all too well that the souls of the Death Knights who had perished in this world would not receive an answer from a god in another world.

Still, she prayed for their salvation, fully aware that even if banished with holy power, the souls of the Death Knights would not be salvaged but would instead return to the hands of the Demon King.

“How about over there?”

“Still…no one has come.”

“The Queen will arrive soon.”

Scarlett warned in a stiff voice. Teresa swallowed hard and checked the video footage.

Just as Scarlett had said, she could see the Queen walking directly towards them.

“Sh…should we attack?”

“Well… She’s walking quite leisurely right now. No need to provoke her unnecessarily, right?”

“But, if we continue like this, the Queen will arrive.”

“Yes, that’s likely.”

The distant explosions sounded like they had detonated right before them. Teresa screamed and covered her ears.

“Sorry, sorry. That was a bit loud, huh?”

“Are you, are you okay?”

“Of course, I’m fine. Do you think a Lich’s magic could do anything to me?”

Fearing the worst, Teresa turned her head. She locked eyes with Scarlett in the video, who was making a “V” sign towards the observation lens.

“See?”

“…Yes…”

“Don’t be too scared. We’ve made all the preparations we can. Apart from that vampire queen, the monsters attacking this forest aren’t much to worry about.”

“Okay… I understand.”

“Don’t cry out of fear. I’ll finish up here as quickly as possible and come to assist you… How about the others?”

Scarlett had laid out observation lenses and familiars but had no time to check them herself.

She was busy confronting the invading goblins and Liches. Thanks to ample preparation, repelling their headstrong advance wasn’t too tricky.

“Lloyd… he’s pushing back the Death Knights. It doesn’t seem like he’s struggling.”

“Don’t worry about him. Lloyd’s quite skilled. What about the major players?”

“Baek Sogo and the Black Dragon are fighting the vampires.”

“How does it look?”

“I’m not sure… but both of them don’t seem to be having a hard time.”

“What about the Spear King, that crazy old man?”

At Scarlett’s question, Teresa looked around. But no matter how much she checked the videos, she couldn’t see the Spear King anywhere.

“I can’t see him…”

“It’s unlikely that the old man is already dead. He must have destroyed the observation lenses and familiars in the heat of battle. See, there are videos missing, right?”

“Yes.”

Teresa confirmed the videos that had gone dark and responded, gripping her rosary tightly. She fervently wished that none of those fighting in the forest to avert the apocalypse would die.

“What about Sungmin?”

What should she respond?

Teresa glanced back. Lee Sungmin had been on the other side of the lake since before the assault began.

What was happening behind the thick trees was also unclear to Teresa.

However, she vaguely sensed that something terrible and ominous had occurred.

Therefore, Teresa did not want to know what had happened there.

“…He’s waiting.”

“Always so heavy on his butt. I guess he’s waiting because he’s confident?”

Scarlett grumbled and extended her hands, which were already inscribed with runes. The space tore open, and hundreds of swords created by magic were launched. They collided with the Liches’ magical barriers, causing explosions. This preparation wasn’t the only trick up her sleeve. If she just directed her magical power, the magic would detonate instantaneously. With a simple wave of her hand, a barrage of magic spells was fired.

‘It’s manageable.’

The resistance from the Liches and goblins wasn’t significant.

Thanks to sufficient preparation, intercepting the incoming enemies wasn’t too difficult as long as she stayed in this place.

In fact, Scarlett found things easier than expected. The enemy’s main forces were being tied down by the Spear King, Baek Sogo, and the Black Dragon.

The reinforcements hovering around were being intercepted by Teresa with long-range holy magic.

‘Lee Sungmin alone can’t handle the Queen.’

This plan wouldn’t have worked if the Queen had initially led the charge. They would have been defeated completely without even managing to put up a proper fight.

This was the reason they were able to resist to this extent. While the Queen was thus preoccupied, they had to quickly reorganize their forces on this front.