NOVEL NEXT Chapter 88
Chapter 88
*Swoosh!*
A sword imbued with the maximum sword ki struck at Heaven-Slayer Star’s vital point.
Less than a third of stamina remaining?
Gone.
『Heaven-Slayer Star Defeated!』
『Enemy Fortress Stamina -20』
The damage from the sword ki, enhanced through the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, was trustworthy.
Considering that inner ki was neither infinite nor unlimited, if this level of return seemed strange, then one should think about the current reality where most don’t use it.
-Heaven-Slayer Star was cut down in a 3v1!
-Wow!
-Will he really win????
-That guy is done for. Seriously, using a powerful attack right there? Damn, he’s like a cancer to the Orthodox Faction.
-Tried to send off two hits in one go and got himself killed, lol.
“Excessiveness leads to failure. Of course, if he hadn’t been greedy, I would’ve just kept evading until he became desperate.”
From the moment it became 2 versus 1, Sojun got more relaxed and began dodging NamgungClanStoreOwner’s attacks while reading and responding to chat.
-Ah, is that how you gaslight?
-The confidence to keep evading, wow.
-Always showing and proving, can’t argue with that, lol.
“Ah.”
*Clang!*
NamgungClanStoreOwner lamented after his attack was blocked. It wasn’t much different from the day before when he faced the same obstruction by Heaven-Slayer Star.
“Got PTSD?”
JustOneCoin commented.
“No.”
Instead of surrounding Sojun from front and back, they stood side by side.
It was too dangerous to be separate now. The enemy swordsman had already proved, several times, that their blade was unavoidable and powerful, even if slow.
Naturally, JustOneCoin believed that with two people, they could create other variables or escape. But that would only be possible after learning martial technique beyond level 6.
The reason is a basic skill difference.
“We really can’t do anything with pure combat alone.”
Shrugging his shoulders, JustOneCoin judged, while his partner grumbled beside him.
“I wonder where he’s been rolling around.”
They weren’t relentlessly pushing as they had yesterday, but Sojun was succeeding in his attacks steadily.
Yet they failed at every attempt since Heaven-Slayer Star’s death.
“If only we had known martial technique, we might’ve lasted a bit longer.”
A sword pierced JustOneCoin’s chest as he analyzed until the very end, depleting his stamina and turning him into a corpse.
“Now it’s 1 versus 1.”
『JustOneCoin Defeated』
『Enemy Fortress Stamina -20』
* * *
“We won the first round, everyone.”
It hadn’t been a long fight. He and the enemy both wanted to settle things as swiftly as possible rather than drag it on.
The result was his victory.
After handling the enemy, Sojun swiftly occupied the central point and entered it.
Stamina and resources were being restored.
-Wow
-He won 3 to 1
-Is he a boss monster or what, lol?
-Wasn’t it an advantage to be able to use martial technique alone?
-Not considering the Heavenly Demon Divine Art penalty?
-Without penalties and traits, he would’ve finished them earlier without even getting hit.
Enemies prevented recovering health, so he needed to finish quickly.
“Yes, without penalties, if it was just swordplay, I wouldn’t have been hit at all.”
『’WhoAmI?’ donated 50,000 won!』
『ShinHayun Slayer!』
“Banned.”
-Lol
-Oh geez
-If you don’t like those comments, maybe you should control your narcissism first?
-Even if it wasn’t a huge disadvantage, winning 3 to 1 still justifies the ego, lol
-Why all this beating-down talk for fighting multiple opponents? Isn’t the Streamer’s skill higher than three rankers?
-What are you saying, lol, is the difficulty 3 times just because it’s 3 to 1? lol
His stamina nearly full, Sojun got up from his seat.
“Don’t argue, I’ll clear things up about fighting multiple opponents for you.”
Sojun calmed the feisty chatters and simplified his explanation.
The more people, the stronger you become; however, the growth isn’t directly proportional, and most interested were aware of this.
Of course, this only applied in “For Justice” where team-killing was possible.
In systems where skills and chaotic actions only affect enemies and not the team, the difficulty of connections wouldn’t significantly drop.
-Oh, so that’s how it is in For Justice.
-It’s different.
-Why watch For Justice streams without knowing this?
-It’s because we love the Streamer-nim~
-Mocking the originals who have watched since the Assassin’s Dawn Sect.
-So the Streamer, you’re not as good as three rankers combined?
“Well, I didn’t mean I’m not worth three rankers combined. Obviously, I’m better.”
Sojun only explained the features of multiple combat and didn’t imply he had lower skills than three rankers combined.
-??? Lol, well, he didn’t deny it.
-It’s true.
-It’s not entirely unbelievable.
Huh?
That reaction wasn’t expected.
Why were they so quickly acknowledging this?
Usually, consonant-filled reactions with implied disbelief should flood in but now, surprisingly, viewers were accepting of it, somewhat confusing Sojun.
Luckily, the expected chats began appearing shortly after.
‘Phew.’
-Stop the nonsense.
-Couldn’t have won without Heavenly Demon’s Supreme Step yes or no?
– Level 6 creates a gap.
-Then what about Green Forest? They also start with passive traits.
-The Assassin Sect also applies basic passive traits
Having confirmed that his stamina and resources were fully replenished, Sojun left the point and headed to the center.
“Well, we’ll see who’s right after level 6 fights. Don’t you think?”
-It’s true, lol.
-So where are you going now?
-To the enemy fort?
-Re-spawning soon might make entry-blocking slightly tricky, lol.
Viewers expected Sojun to head for the enemy fortress.
The reason being he always initially headed to the center, defeated opponents, then proceeded.
Fighting as they re-spawned, keeping them from exiting while using chat to direct teammates to face soldiers topped his primary pattern.
Piling up sustained damage from holding all three points and collecting damage for each soldier taken down expedited victories, which was why Sojun preferred this approach.
Unexpectedly, Sojun began capturing soldiers in the center.
“With a clean hit, I don’t need to use resources and only take three attacks.”
Entering the Battlefield where Orthodox and Demonic Cult soldiers clashed, Sojun adeptly targeted soldiers with less than their full stamina, stabbing them efficiently amidst the chaos.
『Enemy Fortress Stamina -5』
『Enemy Fortress Stamina -5』
『Enemy Fortress Stamina -5』
Demonic Cult and Orthodox Faction soldiers had differences in armor, but it wasn’t easy to distinguish solely by outfit.
Instead, their badges were color-coded; Demonic Cult’s red, Orthodoxy’s blue, allowing simple color-based distinction.
『Enemy Fortress Stamina -5』
『Enemy Fortress Stamina -5』
『Enemy Fortress Stamina -5』
-What are you doing?
-Why suddenly take out minions? Not your usual move.
Sojun focused intently on capturing soldiers—one by one.
Even amidst skirmishes, he meticulously avoided punishment and effectively aimed for vital spots.
“Why, you ask? To end the game quickly.”
No one believed him.
-Then just go to the fortress, lol.
-He’s trying to speed up because he’s scared, giving props, lol.
-He must think it’s a tough match?
Of course, no one believed him.
* * *
“We actually lost.”
Heaven-Slayer Star spoke inside the fortress.
A slain player had two options.
Observe their surroundings from where they fell, then join once a teammate revived them.
Or decide there was no hope and head to the fortress while maintaining their deceased state.
The latter system facilitated communication among the dead.
“Oh, what’s the rank 2 guy doing? Lost because of you.”
NamgungClanStoreOwner and Heaven-Slayer Star opted to wait at the fortress.
While the resurrection waiting time was short—less than a minute—the two were rather impatient.
Remaining left them far from each other, resulting in communication discomfort.
“Yes, yes. I apologize. Didn’t expect him to parry while spinning like that.”
Who had eyes on their back to anticipate being surrounded and having that orchestrated? It was impossible.
“Alright.”
StoreOwner accepted. It seemed to just be a vented statement.
“You’re quite collected.”
“Well, you too. I figured you’d be shocked after losing.”
“Indeed. Losing 3 to 1, but I don’t feel too upset.”
Heaven-Slayer Star nodded as he spoke.
“I suppose pure skill wasn’t enough.”
He wasn’t going to make excuses that the opponent used Martial Techniques or received advantages in outnumbered situations.
It was clear they failed to defeat one with three.
NamgungClanStoreOwner contemplated in his mind.
‘To what extent can I win 3 to 1?’
Perhaps lowering the rank by about three tiers would make it feasible.
This meant that the streamer and he had a difference of three tiers or more.
Despite “For Justice” being a game for veterans, he was undoubtedly a top-tier player, making this result nonsensical.
There was an excuse.
“Bear in mind it was pure physical skill; it’ll be different once we hit level 6.”
Losing in terms of pure combat skill was understandable.
Even if “For Justice” placed emphasis on combat prowess, it was still a game.
“That guy can’t play the game well, after all.”
“True.”
Good at fighting and controls, bad at the game.
“Always forcing through with physicality, so game skill isn’t essential, I guess.”
While he might seem adept at the game, it wasn’t true at all.
There hadn’t been one streamer so carelessly playing games.
“So what’s this beggar doing?”
20 seconds to resurrection.
Soon after saying this, JustOneCoin was summoned to the fortress.
“What were you up to?”
“Watching him closely. We can’t waste time.”
“Why?”
“He’s grinding levels with all his might right now. Can we win if we rush to the center the moment we respawn?”
While making quick work of tidying the situation at the fortress, he asked.
Though JustOneCoin was a seasoned player, his skills paled compared to the two others.
“We should engage once we reach level 6. Until then, we need to close the gap.”
“Doesn’t seem likely.”
JustOneCoin expected this, and agreed without any hesitation.
“Then it can’t be helped. Let’s minimize the gap, reach level 6, and fight. Let’s split. StoreOwner, head to the higher ground while I and Heaven-Slayer Star move toward the point soldiers.”
They scattered immediately post-resurrection.
At that moment, none realized how significantly slower the rate of the fortress’ stamina depletion had become right after their resurrection.