Chapter 412. Sky Bridge (2)

They went higher and higher still, towards the sky beyond the clouds. Led by Yunael, the detachment unit quickly soared. The frantic battlefield where soldiers fervently killed each other began to look like a herd of ants, and even this scene became obscured by clouds as they went higher. Only when the flowing clouds appeared to be white glaciers floating in the deep blue sea did the Will-o’-the-Wisp’s Wind stop rising in a straight line through the air. No one said a word on the way; they all stared straight ahead with a hardened expression. Soon after, the Will-o’-the-Wisp’s Wind reached the target point and stopped flying the detachment members one by one.

Then Yunael, taking the lead, reorganized the team so that the other members surrounded her in a spherical formation. Meanwhile, Yunael exhaled and inhaled to steady her breath. Their destination was right below them.

“Location confirmed. The formation has also been completed.” With the preparation done, the Will-o’-the-Wisp’s Wind wrapped around Yunael’s body and said, “Please let me know when you’re ready.”

It was now time. Yunael looked around her before answering. The Celestial Lights, her Seven Star team members, and the League members all shone with the same light. Yunael looked at each of them in the eyes and sucked in a deep breath. What else did she need to say? Today, right at this very moment, they were going to put an end to this war.

“I’m ready.” Yunael nodded vigorously. “Let’s go.”

When the order came, the Will-o’-the-Wisp’s Wind spread their power. The air current flowing around gradually gathered in a spiral. Then it accelerated, and the atmosphere began to fluctuate violently. Amidst the fiercely roaring currents, Yunael heard the Will-o’-the-Wisp’s Wind shout something sharply; at that exact moment, their power went off suddenly.

Swiiiiiishhhhh! Currents seemingly sharp enough to cut through skin at the slightest touch dove down in unison. In the dark sky, the clouds caught in the sudden gusts of wind scattered, and a hole formed straight through. Soon after, the ground that had been obscured came into their view. What looked like a swarm of ants returned to their original size in an instant, and they descended like a bolt of lightning flashing in the blue sky and striking the earth without mercy.

It all happened in a flash—for the Demon Empire and Abyss, whose attention were all focused on humanity and the Cassiubia League charging at them head-on. Involuntarily, they looked up to see a group descending perpendicular upon the Sernitas’ Sky Castle. Soon after, a strong air current spread around the drop point like a ripple. Thanks to the Will-o’-the-Wisp’s Wind, who had accelerated to the maximum and applied a sudden brake at the end with all their might, everyone, including Yunael, was able to land with pinpoint accuracy. However, their mission wasn’t over yet just because they had landed safely.

The detachment unit landing on the Sky Castle consisted of only about a dozen members. If their enemy attacked with great strength, they would all be swept away at once. Of course, since there were the Seven Star members, they would be able to hold out a little, but it would only be for a short time. They were literally in the middle of enemy camp, where they were surrounded by enemies on all sides. Therefore, they needed to finish this mission as soon as possible, and everything unfolded as they had predicted.

The great demons from the Demon Empire and the Seven Chasms stared blankly at them for a moment, but quickly regained their senses. The great demons shouted, “How dare they sneak up on us like this…!”

The Seven Chasms also shouted, “They’re trying to pull a trick. Kill them!”

Then they all quickly turned around and charged at the detachment unit. With enemies coming from all directions, the detachment unit hurriedly raised their weapons. They had gotten into a spherical formation with Yunael at the center the moment they landed.

The others had only one mission: fight the incoming enemies to buy time until the task was completed. While those outside the formation got into place, the rest of the League members also sprang into action. The Kobalos tribe were among the League members that formed the detachment unit; they willingly complied with Yunael’s request for Chi-Woo’s sake. The Kobalos’ elder had made a vow quite recently to serve Chi-Woo as their lifelong benefactor. They were ready to sacrifice their lives like a candle at any time if it was for Chi-Woo, who had freed their tribe from the cycle of eternal torment.

“Hurry, hurry…!” Yunael urged the Kobalos’ elder, who was sweating like pouring rain, and then she suddenly inhaled and turned around because she heard a sound. When she looked toward her back, left, and right in turn, her expression distorted. “They’re already…!”

Their enemy had arrived faster than expected.

“They’re coming!” Ru Amuh shouted at the top of his lungs as he saw a group of enemy soldiers rush towards them like a herd of angry buffalos. The next moment, the detachment unit and the enemy soldiers violently collided. Yunael watched as they were pushing and getting pushed back, and she raised her spear. ‘Please…!’ All the while, she was praying inside her mind.

* * *

Once revived from the ruins and allowed to prosper, Shalyh was returning to its pre-transformed state. It was now faster to count the standing buildings than the collapsed and broken ones. The battle, which had briefly entered a lull, started anew after Chi-Woo got up. For Bael, she still wanted her opponent to fight her sincerely, but after the battle restarted, she no longer controlled her powers since from the moment Chi-Woo stood up, Bael had sensed an unknown threat. She hoped that her opponent was finally going to face her properly now, but that wasn’t it.

Chi-Woo just stood in place as if he had used up all his energy; no matter how she looked at it, he looked like he was barely holding on. Nevertheless, Bael was captivated by an indescribable emotion; it was a primitive feeling, like what a dwarf would feel when facing a giant for the first time in their life. By then, Bael was also going out of her mind. In fact, Bael no longer had any choice but to kill Chi-Woo since the Sernitas didn’t respond to her, and she simply hoped that her opponent would show his power in earnest before he really died. Determined, Bael attacked fiercely with the intent to kill—all the while harboring the two conflicting desires for her opponent to show his real skills and for him to quickly collapse.

However, Chi-Woo didn’t live up to any of her hopes. He didn’t fight properly, but neither did he collapse. No matter how hard she hit him and sent him flying back, he crawled back up like a roly poly that stood up no matter how many times it was toppled. Frankly, Chi-Woo should have collapsed much earlier. While he possessed La Bella’s holy relic, the Core of Balance, the base of his body was that of a human. This meant that there was bound to be a limit. In fact, it was safe to say that he had reached his limit the moment he received a fatal injury from Bael. He should’ve died a hundred times already. There was only one reason Chi-Woo had survived so far.

By the will of user Asha’s will, 1 Blessed Luck will be consumed (62->61).

‘Deterrence’ will be activated on user Choi Chi-Woo.

It was all thanks to Asha. Steam Bun, who was created in the beginning with Liber, gained immortality by accepting Kabal. Later, Steam Bun received a new name from Chi-Woo and became part of Liber by becoming his third star. And Asha was now invoking the will of the World that they had inherited through Blessed Luck, an ability that they shared through Chi-Woo’s sharing ability.

A hero was basically invincible in a world where the World was alive and well. They demonstrated stronger combat power than anyone else, did not die easily, and miraculously found an opportunity to turn the table in the midst of a crisis. Liber’s World was so fragile right now that all she could do was prevent Chi-Woo from dying and allow him to hold on. Moreover, Deterrence couldn’t go on indefinitely. As it was triggered only through Blessed Luck, there was a limit to how much it could be used.

However, Bael did not know any of these internal circumstances and was approaching the verge of madness. “Why…!” She kicked Chi-Woo hard as he was rising up again and cried out, “Why on earth…!” She shouted with all her might as she watched Chi-Woo fall while scattering blood all over his body. She had to give up on revenge and kill him, but even that wasn’t working out the way she wanted it to. Nothing was going her way. Bael couldn’t comprehend it with her common sense. At this point, she had no idea what was going on anymore—if something was wrong with her, or if it was something about this world. Bael’s terrifying scream slowly stopped.

She became hopeful when she saw Chi-Woo remain buried under a pile of rubbles with no signs of movement. Perhaps, finally…! “Ha…haha….” The corners of Bael’s mouth began to twitch. However, it soon twisted into a grimace when Chi-Woo’s body wriggled, and he stood back up again. Bael didn’t even know how many times it’d been.

“Please…stop now..!” Bael trailed off mid sentence and gritted her teeth. She was one-sidedly beating him up, yet it sounded like she was begging him, and she didn’t like that. Instead, she changed her mind. ‘All right. Show me what you’ve got and get up again. I’ll pull your neck out this time, and let’s see if you can get up then.’ Bael now completely abandoned her pride and conflict about her existence. Overcome with frustration, she screamed and rushed toward Chi-Woo like an evil spirit.

Bang! Her eyes became big as saucers. After slowly lowering her head and looking around, she blinked blankly. Before she knew it, she was stuck in a relatively intact wall with her body sprawled out. Even before she could blink, she was attacked without her knowing…?

“What…” Bael let out a shrill yell, but soon calmed down. Chi-Woo came up to her again and stared at her with a dark expression. He cracked his neck from side to side and turned it slowly. As she watched him, she felt a strange sense of disharmony between the man from before and the man she was staring at now. Honestly, she had found it impossible to understand him since she first fought him at the last gate; it was difficult for her to admit defeat when she should be superior to him in strength and skills. However, she was pushed back by his attack just now.

She didn’t know what had happened, but her opponent had taken advantage of her attack and counterattacked. “…What is it?” She glared at him for a long time and quietly said, “Are you going to sincerely fight now? After all this time?”

Chi-Woo didn’t reply. He stopped stretching his neck and smiled blandly at her.

* * *

Chi-Woo realized that he was standing. He knew that Bael had attacked him, and that he had flown far away, but he had no memory of anything after that. He seemed to have lost consciousness for a brief moment, and it was amazing that he was still standing.

—Did you sleep well?

He heard a familiar voice.

—If you’re awake, open your eyes, punk. It’s not over yet.

Chi-Woo tried to look around, but groaned; his body wasn’t listening to him.

—Well…you’re in really bad shape.

Still, his hearing seemed to be fine, as he could faintly hear someone’s voice.

—How about it? Can you do it?

Chi-Woo nodded slowly, but without hesitation.

—Good. We don’t have time, so listen carefully. Your opponent is stronger than you. You can’t defeat her by strength. So in short, you can’t rely on brute force. That left countering strength with softness…

As the speaker continued, Chi-Woo’s eyes opened little by little; his hazy mind gradually became clear. Only then could Chi-Woo figure out who had been talking constantly to him.

—In order to implement this logic in practice, you need to know how to control movement with stillness, but…

It was Philip. Yes, it was Philip.

—But you don’t understand a thing I said, right?”

Philip looked at Chi-Woo as he stood still and smiled; Chi-Woo was in complete tatters, but even in this state, his eyes were still burning with fighting spirit. It was not the eyes of a man with defeat in his mind. Chi-Woo wasn’t being overconfident. Philip finally found out the reason for his confidence after taking control of his body for a short while when Chi-Woo was unconscious.

—Then, it’s fine even if it’s just this once. Do what I tell you to. If it’s you right now, I’m sure you can do it.

‘If it’s me…right now…?’ Chi-Woo barely managed to tilt his head. He wanted to ask what Philip was suddenly talking about.

—What are you doing?

However, he wasn’t able to do so.

—Go. Now.

As soon as Philip’s words came, Chi-Woo’s body ran automatically. It hadn’t been listening to him, but it was now moving as if someone was pulling him along.

—Stab the opponent’s shoulder once.

The ghost-busting club that stretched out from his glove thrust toward Bael. Already on high alert, Bael evaded his attack and tried to close their distance to attack.

—Swing in the direction of her movement. Don’t try to follow her, and if she comes within your range, swing your club.

Chi-Woo’s stab immediately changed into a horizontal cut. He swung exactly in the direction Bael was coming from. Bael clicked her tongue and was forced to withdraw.

—Follow her right away and swing from bottom to top.

When Chi-Woo rushed towards her and swung his club upwards, Bael leaned back and narrowly evaded his attack.

—Pretend to go in one more time and take a step back to defend your head. Diagonally.

Chi-Woo kicked the ground but quickly stepped back and raised the club at an angle over his head. He felt a sudden shock from his club; Bael had jumped forward and attacked him. This was an opportunity.

—Good. Now put some weight into it like you’re going to swing right.

Chi-Woo was about to swing the club after deflecting Bael’s attack, but—

—When the opponent attacks, move your arm 360 degrees in the opposite direction and raise it as much as you can.

He stopped mid-direction.

—Now!

Almost at the exact moment that Bael flung her body to one side and hit the ghost-busting club with her other arm, Chi-Woo suddenly turned in the opposite direction. Bael’s mouth dropped. She was swept into the opponent’s movement in an instant and had unintentionally accelerated Chi-Woo’s rotation. While rapidly spinning, Chi-Woo raised the club with all his might.

Bammm! He felt a heavy impact from his grip.

“Ah…!” Bael’s eyes slowly rolled back as she screamed, and her severed forearm soared into the air. Watching the scene play out, Philip folded his arms and grinned. All he had done was give Chi-Woo a few words of advice. Save for the moment Chi-Woo lost his consciousness, Philip hadn’t interfered with Chi-Woo’s body at all.