The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)
chapter-412

Clang, clang!

Twice.

She blocked the incoming attacks.

Still, with every clash, she felt her joints creak. In fact, it had already been a few minutes.

‘A few minutes?’

She wasn’t mistaken. As mentioned before, Sama Ryeong’s body clock was very accurate. That’s why she herself was surprised.

Without realising it, she had already lasted this long?

It was as if a beam of white light had formed in Sama Ryeong’s eyes. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say she was in a trance. Her brain, which didn’t stop analysing, seemed to be heating up endlessly to the point of becoming white ashes.

‘His swordsmanship itself is simple.’

It was fundamentally different from the swordsmanship of the Central Murim. It didn’t have the sense of grandeur that came from being developed over numerous years. It also didn’t seem to be a sword technique from a different era that was modified, developed, or inherited across generations.

‘He seems to have reinterpreted a swordsmanship he encountered, and developed it in a more suitable direction for himself.

Although she used the word reinterpretation, in reality, the process must have been much closer to creation.

In other words, this meant that he was a Grandmaster with the ability to create his own sword technique.

This was the reason why she couldn’t feel any grandeur in his swordsmanship.

‘Moreover.’

It was closer to a guess, but she didn’t believe his sword technique was initially designed to be used against humans.

Clang!

Their swords met once again.

Now that she was somewhat used to the Black Knight’s ridiculous speed, she was able to mix in counterattacks of her own on occasion. Nevertheless, that didn’t mean the situation was any better.

‘I can’t land an effective blow.’

That damned black armour. She had no idea what metal it was made of. But one thing was clear, even the swordsmanship of Sama Ryeong, which could easily cut a diamond, couldn’t leave even a single scratch on that black armour.

But after a while, Sama Ryeong came to realise that it wasn’t the Black Knight’s armour that gave him that ridiculous defence.

‘Self Defence Rigid Ki.’

It was a technique that entailed emitting rigid ki from the danjeon like armour to increase the defence of the body. This was something that only experts who’d reached the peak could use, but the consumption was so high that even the experts were hesitant to use it unless it was an emergency.

‘The black ki is covering this guy’s entire body.’

It couldn’t all be rigid ki. However, if it was something similar to that…

For a moment, Sama Ryeong was terrified by that thought.

Clang!

“Kuk.”

She swallowed. The shock was so great that it felt like her internal organs were being flipped. As she didn’t manage to swallow in time, blood dripped from the corner of her lips.

As mentioned before, Self Defence Rigid Ki was a technique that consumed a lot of internal power. It wasn’t just the peak experts, even Masters who had climbed above the peak had trouble maintaining it for a long time. It was a technique that was terribly inefficient. That’s why Masters usually chose to only protect their vital points unless it was an emergency.

The Black Knight was different.

From the moment he’d appeared, he’d been spewing black ki from all over his body. That’s why she’d been mistaken. She hadn’t thought he’d be able to spew rigid ki like water.

‘This monster’s internal power doesn’t seem to have a limit.’

Fwoosh, for a moment, the Black Knight’s form seemed to grow larger. She felt a deep chill throughout her body.

This was dangerous. She couldn’t move. It wasn’t just a feeling. If she were to move recklessly, her body would be shredded like a rag.

‘He’s using rigid ki and intangible spirit ki at the same time.’

In doing this, he forcefully reduced Sama Ryeong’s countermeasures to one.

To only defend.

Clang!

“…”

A simple downward chop. No. It couldn’t even be called a chop. It was a crude movement that was similar to roughly swinging a club.

Nevertheless, the force behind it was tremendous. The ground around Sama Ryeong sank greatly, her waist and knees were bent almost to their limits, and her internal bleeding became worse. But she didn’t have time to cough out the blood. This was because three successive attacks bombarded Sama Ryeong.

‘This motherfucker…!?’

The third strike had been the most dangerous. She almost lost consciousness.

The Black Knight had changed the combat route.

Realising that he couldn’t easily overwhelm her with speed or skill, he chose to tie down Sama Ryeong’s feet first.

Then there was a series of simple downward chops.

Not once, but three times.

‘…now I know.’

The reason why the bad feeling didn’t disappear even after she’d gradually become more familiar with the Black Knight’s movements to the point of being able to occasionally counterattack.

This guy hadn’t been giving it his all. Was this some kind of test?

…If that were the case, then the results would be coming out soon.

Sama Ryeong realised that her body had reached its limit. She would not be able to block the next attack. Just as she faced the blade with a feeling of hopelessness.

A hint of light appeared behind the Black Knight. The Black Knight paused.

Ping-

With a sound similar to shaking glass, a beam of light shot towards the Black Knight. Its speed wasn’t very fast. The Black Knight began to swing his sword to block the beam of light, but suddenly he jumped away and avoided it as if he realised something.

“Huk…”

The pressure from the intangible spirit ki disappeared.

Feeling free, Sama Ryeong let out a breath. Nevertheless, she couldn’t let go of the tension that filled her entire body. Her body was already at its limits, so her current movements were basically being driven by her mental power instead of physical function.

Her ankles were in an especially bad state. She’d felt pain as if they’d been broken, but at that time she could not check because of the Black Knights consecutive attacks.

When she checked them, they were both swollen to the size of a young child’s fist.

“Huu…”

It was fine.

As long as her ankles weren’t cut off, then she’d be able to move around while ignoring the pain.

Sama Ryeong looked towards the source of the light. What she saw there was Daihad’s corpse. No. What she thought was a corpse.

“I wish he’d just let it hit him. Did he notice the danger of the energy beam?”

Daihad smiled as he spoke. He still lay like a corpse, half submerged in a pool of his own blood.

“Your upper and lower body were completely separated…”

As far as Sama Ryeong knew, a human could not survive such wounds. It might be possible for them to remain alive for a few minutes, but they certainly wouldn’t be able to talk like that.

“Ah. I’m clearly cut in two.”

“…but aren’t you still alive?”

“Isn’t it smart to leave a life support device on my power suit?”

Suddenly, the separated lower half of the power suit jumped up on its own and walked over to Daihad. Then, it connected itself to his upper half as if it was putting puzzle pieces back together.

Churk.

With a sound similar to something being connected, the cut sections of the metal wobbled like a liquid, before perfectly combining soon after.

Now, there were no cuts on the surface of the power suit.

Sama Ryeong watched speechlessly as Daihad calmly rose up from the ground.

“Mm. It’s uncomfortable inside here since my clothes are soaked in blood. It feels like I peed as hard as I can. The texture of the few pieces of internal organs is also like poop…”

“…”

“Why are you looking at me like that? Is it because I didn’t help you right away? That couldn’t be helped. At that time, the best thing to do was pretend I was dead and prepare for a surprise attack.”

“…that doesn’t matter.”

She replied with a sigh.

In any case, it was a relief to have the power of even one more.

The Black Knight was looking towards them from a short distance away. It didn’t seem like he was going to attack right away.

Why was that? Just as she was wondering about this, the Black Knight lifted his head to look at the black sky.

“You’re still alive.”

It was Jacob who appeared with his arrogant voice. Sama Ryeong muttered at him with a surprised expression.

“You’re alive. Even after a blow like that…”

“He doesn’t look so good.”

As Daihad said, Jacob was covered in blood. His robes were torn to the point where they could almost be called rags instead, and his neat hair was wildly disheveled.

“There’s another piece of good news.”

At that moment, she felt someone climbing up the steep cliff. It was Haspin, the devil with goat legs.

He climbed the cliff in an instant and then stood on the edge, looking around.

“A clear confrontation.”

It was his characteristic blunt voice. Grinning, Daihad asked.

“What’s your judgement of this situation?”

“I have a rough idea. I think the test will end if we kill that Black Knight.”

“Kuku. Good.”

Daihad looked up at the sky and called out.

“Jacob. I’m proposing that we cooperate to deal with that monster, will you accept it this time?”

“Of course…”

Jacob smiled arrogantly.

“I refuse.”

Even Daihad’s expression was bound to harden at that rejection.

“Even in this situation? I thought the Black Knight had hit you in the stomach, but maybe he hit you in the head instead.”

“Talk however you want. You lowly people. I have no intention of working together with anyone I don’t acknowledge.”

“You…”

Just as Sama Ryeong’s gaze sank.

“However, I won’t interfere with you.”

“…what is that supposed to mean?”

“That means the three of you should join forces and fight hard. I will move separately.”

With those words, he disappeared into the dark sky.

Did he run away? No. She could still feel Jacob’s presence. It was just obscured.

Nevertheless, Sama Ryeong still stood frozen, unable to understand what he’d said before he left.

It was Daihad who successfully interpreted them.

“He means a diversionary fight. While the three of us draw his attention, he will try to do something from his side.”

“…it didn’t sound like that at all.”

“Kuku. That’s just how crooked people talk. That man perfectly matches the criteria… Now, then.”

The eyes of Daihad, Sama Ryeong and Haspin turned to the Black Knight.

“Shall we start the second round?”

* * *

“I can’t understand why you put the Black Knight in this test.”

As she said this, Pale turned to look at Diablo.

Diablo’s eyes flickered like candles.

[…I heard that in the past, the World of Void was chaos itself. A time before the establishment of the Twelve Void Lords, when the existence of intelligent beings was rare.]

“Uh. Why are you suddenly talking about the past? I don’t want that.”

Ignoring Pale’s muttering, Diablo continued.

[A world filled with chaos and the law of the jungle. The living beings at that time didn’t even know about the nature of the world, they simply preyed on other beings in order to not die. It was the simplest yet brutalest battle for survival. One day, the first outsider appeared in this world.]

Corpse Ghost looked at Diablo with unreadable eyes.

It seemed as if he was concentrating on something he was hearing for the first time, or reaffirming what he already knew.

[It is unknown how that being, the outsider, was able to enter this world. However, he was able to bring a faint order to this world as a result. Then, instead of killing the losers, he taught them that there were other things they could do besides eat.

“Dominate.”

Pale chuckled.

[You could call it mercy.]

“That was the moment when the concept of Lords and territories were introduced to this world.”

[…I am an outsider. However, when it comes to the nature and mysteries of this world, I think I know a lot.]

“You’re more than qualified to say that.”

Despite Pale’s admiration, there was no change to Diablo’s tone.

[The King’s four Knights are all outsiders.]

“…”

[Of course, the real reason they came into this world is unknown. However, every time one of them appeared, the world underwent a huge change.]

“What are you trying to say?”

[…the White Knight was the one to teach this world about domination. If not for that, the World of Void would have certainly entered a path of ruin.]

“Hmm. Is that so?”

[It is. Clearly.]

His voice was filled with certainty.

[Every time a Knight appeared, this world was able to overcome a crisis. And now, this world has summoned another Knight. That means there is some role for him here.]

“…”

[If so, then what do you think is the role of the Black Knight, Lucid.]

He didn’t wait for an answer.

Diablo answered his own question.

[He is the Agent of Death.]

“…”

[The beings in this world do not know how frightening death is. When confronted by it, most of them choose to accept it without struggle. There are even several who forget their responsibilities and wish for death. The bodies strewn across this dump site are the perfect examples of this.]

“What the hell are you trying to say?”

[It’s simple.]

For a moment, it felt like a cold breeze was blowing across the hall.

[With such weak mindsets, it will be impossible for them to survive the coming game.]

“…game?”

[It seems there is something you don’t know. Did you not realise?]

For the first time, there was a hint of a smile in Diablo’s voice.

[The fact that the Rulers intend to use the World of Void as the battlefield for the Great Game.]

“…”

Surprise spread across Pale’s face.

“You, no way. The Demon God’s…”

Suddenly.

“You seem to be talking about something interesting.”

No one felt any signs.

No one sensed anything till the voice was heard.

However, it was a voice that all three of them knew, so they couldn’t help but freeze.

Because the voice belonged to someone who shouldn’t be there.

Corpse Ghost’s dull eyes turned to look behind Pale.

Standing there submerged by the darkness, was Lukas. No one noticed when he’d arrived there.

Tap, he slowly walked to the table.

His black eyes, which seemed even deeper than the darkness, turned to Pale, then Corpse Ghost,

“-if it’s okay with you.”

And finally landed on Diablo.

“Would you mind if I joined as well?”

(TL: Poor Mantis.)