Chapter 255 ༺ Tates Valtazar (4)༻
༺ Tates Valtazar (4)༻
Sixth Style Shura
x Sun Compression
“Who cares about rebirth and revival of the mythology or whatever. Life is valuable. Don’t you dare destroy it just because you want to.”
Hearing that, Tates thought once again how this man had such a good heart that was the pure opposite of him.
“It’s only because you think as such that you have the right to fight against me! Come, Korin Lork!”
They swung their spears at one another using the same technique.
Tiger’s Gust: Great Demonic Spear of Wind.
It was a simple sweeping attack that focused only on the pure strength of the attack, and was therefore the most destructive move out of all the Six Ways of the Spear.
– Kwaang! Tates was the one that was flung back from the clash. Korin’s body, which had already been amplified by the Precepts, now had the explosiveness of a bomb embedded within.
He was like a dynamite that could explode the surroundings.
“Aya~”
Despite receiving that explosive attack from the front, Tates didn’t seem all that fazed.
Soon, Korin vanished from his sight.
Immediately upon realizing that, Tates swept across with the spear.
Spinning Heaven: Rotating Demon Spear.
It was a move that allowed one to defend and counter an enemy attack, but Korin was using not the spear but his Silver Arm for the attack.
Airgetlam with the power of the Sun compressed inside was heading straight towards Tates.
– Kugung!
The heat from the compressed Sun shoved the entire dimension away from it. The layer of aura that Tates put up to defend was pushed all the way back into the World Tree, twisting and disintegrating the tree on the path.
Block, defend. Sweep, parry.
As a result, everything in the radius around the two of them had been chopped off. It was unavoidable as each sweep of the spear was snapping branches and giving off a shockwave equal to that of a 100-storey building collapsing on the ground.
With his lips distorted into a smile, Tates said to the man in front of him.
“I haven’t even used my Shura yet. Work a bit harder. Wasting your energy everywhere is never gonna be enough to beat me. Bring out more of what’s inside.”
His spear was still spinning. After blocking Korin’s attacks several more times in its rotation, the spear was accelerating even more.
Paang!
Eventually the force behind the spin was enough to push Korin’s spear back. Korin widened his eyes as the backlash from the failed attack of an immense amount of aura crushed his internal organs.
Forcing down the mouthful of blood that was about to escape his mouth, Korin took a step back.
Ultimately, however, it was a bad decision for him.
<Ominous Snake>
The Spear of Light slithered forth and opened its mouth wide open like a serpent. Korin didn’t have time to pull his spear back to parry the incoming spear.
“Huhp…!”
He therefore had to rely on his fist instead. Korin smacked the side of the spear to deviate it away from him, but it came at the cost of blood splashing from his fist.
Even Tates was surprised upon seeing that, but the look of surprise was soon replaced by a faint smile.
Without stopping his fist, Korin continued with Eight Trigrams. He held his wrist against the shaft of the spear and did a spinning kick at the opponent.
When that too was blocked, Korin intertwined his leg against the enemy’s to lock his legs… and jumped closer.
The two were now too close for spears to be a threat. Although that was a penalty that applied to both of them, there was a fundamental difference in their equipment.
Silver Arm Airgetlam. With the Sun compressed into it, the arm was the undisputed king of strength across the mythology.
But before the Silver Arm that blazed its surroundings was able to reach Tates, Tates’ palm was already on Korin’s chest.
“Did you think you could beat me in close combat without spears? Don’t forget your essence, spearman.”
Korin flinched. This situation; this technique was—
Eight Trigrams: Three Heavenly Palms
Three palm strikes immediately landed on his vitals. Gasping for breath Korin stumbled.
‘Did he copy my skills? No, he probably knew it already…!’
The enemy was a true monster who had repeated hundreds of years of continuous strife. His experience was one that Korin would never be able to reach even if he were to train for the rest of his life.
He was too far forward.
Tates was too overwhelmingly powerful and the original game was serving no use.
Was this really winnable?
“Hah…”
While still gasping for breath, Korin smiled. It was a derisive smile at himself.
It wasn’t a matter of whether he could win or not – it was a fight he had to win at all costs. Even if he had to bet everything on the line.
– Grit!
Faster and even more precise… His spear rapidly headed for Tates’ neck but was half a step too far to reach it.
‘He became quicker?’ Tates thought to himself.
It was perhaps more accurate to say that it had become sharper than before. After seeing Tates’ immaculate control over distance several times, Korin seemed to have had a better grasp, and his attacks were becoming closer than before by a tiny yet meaningful margin.
It was a great display of perceptiveness and besides—
– Kwaaaaang…!!!
The spear was starting to cry out. The shaft of the spear, crafted using the finest material – the Unbreakable Stone – was screaming out from the sheer amount of power compressed within it.
“You compressed both Aura and the Sun into the spear, huh.”
That was a tremendously inefficient move. Despite the ridiculous amount of energy he would have from the Precept, there was still an end to to everything.
He was already simultaneously using Shura and Sun, which both consumed a ridiculous amount of energy, and yet he was forcing them sealed in his spear.
‘That spear itself provides immense pressure.’
The strength behind the spear was so incredible that it couldn’t possibly be blocked from the front.
Despite knowing strength alone wouldn’t be enough, Korin was pushing himself through the limits, but it wasn’t for vain. Tates also had to increase his output to match Korin’s attacks.
“I see. You’re telling me to give it my all… huh. Splendid indeed.”
Tates grinned and awakened the power of his Aura Core and the Spear of Light.
Sixth Style, Shura
x Vanquishing Light – Areadbhair
His abundant aura bloomed into a shape.
Along with the increase of his physical abilities thanks to Shura, the Spear of Light also began to give off an ominously white light.
When Tates pointed that spear forward, light emerged from the speartip and barely missed next to Korin’s temples.
– GOHHHHHH…!
Nothing remained behind the path of the Vanquishing Light – even the distant clouds of other planets were cracked open.
“I’ll die if that even touches me,” grumbled Korin.
“The same goes for yours. Well, I’m not a fan of scattering and wasting energy around though.”
They pointed their spears at their foes once again. The spears with so much power condensed inside that they could destroy heavens and the earths clashed gently, but that alone was enough to shave away at the World Tree and dissipate the nearby clouds.
Despite having that much power, and despite having the powers of gods, they still relied on swinging their spears around.
Ominous Snake—
Ominous Snake—
Their wrists twisted in the same unique way. Korin had to react to Tates’ attack that could come from any direction like a pouncing serpent.
Naturally, Tates was both faster and more skilled with the same technique. What mattered therefore was Korin’s ability to predict his movements and move accordingly.
Read the opponent’s mind and retaliate.
– Kagagagak!
The moment they collided, the spears tried to push each other down in Lan Na Zha.
— Clockwise Na Zha
— Anti-clockwise Na Zha
– Kwagagagak…!
The two compressed spears rotated around one another as the force lost its sense of direction and destroyed the surroundings instead.
Tates widened his eyes.
‘This guy…’
He was becoming more and more enlightened with the spear.
The outcome of a battle wasn’t simply decided by strength and technique. What mattered was the ability to react on the fly against attacks that transformed a thousand times every minute, and the only way that was possible was through prediction of the opponent’s movements.
It was a concept that normal people couldn’t grasp.
Just like the Domain, it was hard to measure and was more of an unmeasurable concept. Only through countless battles of life and death would one be able to realize and develop that fighting instinct.
The ability to overwhelm every opponent came from that ingenious instinct to respond to every situation on the fly.
Korin Lork had that with him.
It was an ability that separated him from the previous players who had nothing but strength up their sleeves, and that was what allowed him to close the otherwise-unbreachable gap that existed between him and the pioneer of spearmanship.
He was getting closer and closer.
Ominous Snake: Secret Arts – Distorted March
For a split moment, Tates couldn’t read the path of the incoming spear. Unable to catch up to the speed of Korin’s growth, he ended up allowing a deadly move but—
— Lan Na Zha
The spear missed its target. Tates twisted himself with half-a-foot of gap between him and the spear, and managed to divert the energy of the enemy’s attack sideways and push the spear down.
“I have my fair share of experience, you see.”
What allowed him to suppress that ability to basically foresee the future was his overwhelming amount of experience. Such speed and ability, Tates had already experienced several times while killing Erin Danua 99 times.
“Run as much as you like. I’ll overtake you soon enough.”
Flinch!
A chill ran down his spine hearing the arrogant claim of the young man.
I knew it, Valtazar thought to himself.
This was the man.
This spearman truly was his destined contender.
Until now, he had repeated 99 battles.
He saw numerous players looking for the most efficient route and monopolizing all the hidden pieces.
They were strong. They were unarguably powerful, but none of them were able to win the acknowledgement of Lia Fail, the world nor Tates Valtazar himself.
They were powerful but at the same time weak.
Although they were big, the willpower sitting at the core of their hearts were small. They were selfish, egotistic and pathetic creatures who thought they knew everything.
After 99 battles against people like them, Tates was starting to feel discontent. Were these worthless people with a peaceful mind really my contenders? A hero?
He couldn’t possibly acknowledge them. There was no way that such people could mark the beginning of a mythology.
They didn’t have dignity.
– Swish…!
– Kagang…!
Power, technique, experience, steps, pacing of breaths, distance control, spearmanship, fists, kicks, runes, aura, mana… Everything was being tested to its limit.
Diving into the gap of the rotating spear, one of them would strike with a fist, while the other would block and kick the opponent away.
Despite using up so much strength, aura and mana… and although their energies were being depleted with every passing second, neither of the spears were losing their sharpness.
– Kagak! Kagagak…!
With every clash, Tates could feel that Korin was growing. Chasing after the pioneer called Tates Valtazar, he was getting closer and closer to his shadows.
Was I being caught up? Me?
“Kuhuhuhu…!”
That baffling realization wasn’t enough to erase the smile on his face. He became more talkative in his joy.
“Do you know how many of the 99 Park Sihu’s were mages?”
“I don’t care…!”
Korin was busy trying to catch up, and didn’t have the leeway to respond to his nonchalant question.
“Around 80. 80 of them chose magic! And the rest? They were just pathetic idiots that tried to use swords just because it looked cool…!
“What about the ones that chose magic?” he continued. “It might have been a wise decision for them, but all of them were the same. They were all afraid of fighting.
“They hated clashing! Bleeding! And getting injured! They were meagre brats that wanted to oppress enemies from a safe distance and be praised for being fabulous by their surroundings!”
Korin asked back, “What’s wrong with wanting to receive some attention!? What are you trying to say?!!”
“You are the only one!” Tates yelled. “Only you…! Have chosen to actually fight! To collide and bleed! To proceed forward with your life on the line! Regardless of injuries!”
A hundred players there had been, and yet only one of them was a true ‘warrior’.
“How could it not be endearing?” Tates continued. “In front of me, there is finally a warrior that is trying to catch up to me even at this moment! How could I, as a Danann…! And as a spearman, possibly hate such a warrior!”
“Don’t fall for me! I don’t swing that way!”
They clashed.
Testing each other to their limits, they grew and tried to either close or extend the gap between them.
– Kwagagak…!
Branches of the World Tree were being sliced behind them. Even the branch crumbling beneath them and all the fragments of the tree served as a footing for the two to advance at one another.
Sun and the Light.
Shura and Shura.
The explosiveness of their overwhelming potential threatened to disintegrate each other’s bodies with each collision.
To fight,
To fight,
And overcome him.
And shake him off.
<Sum Compression>
<Vanquishing Light>
Their overwhelming attacks clashed and offset one another. In the midst of that energy and firepower, the two people ran straight into the center of the explosion and saw each other doing the same.
When they got close to the point that their speartips could reach each other, the two spearmen moved in the same manner.
A stab.
The fastest and the strongest stab.
Harmonizing the mind, spirit and the body—
Combining the aspirations, Domain and the truth—
They embedded their minds into the spear.
Penetration of Every Creation
A whole-hearted stab that nothing can block.
Korin pushed forth with his strongest spear, and the response from Tates was—
— Penetration of Every Creation.
““……!!!!””
The two of them were shocked, but soon came to an understanding.
‘Every river led to the same sea,’ it was said.
Just like how rivers would reach the same ocean regardless of where they began, it was not a coincidence nor a miracle that the two spearmen reached the same truth.
It was that they both had the same thoughts when it came to the ‘strongest attack’.
– Ka…!
– Kang…!
The spears collided, ripped each other’s palms and bounced out. Left empty-handed, the two of them still did not stop.
Even without a spear—
Even though their arm muscles were torn apart; even though it felt like their bodies were being sliced to pieces and their hearts were beating like there was no tomorrow—
The two spearmen did not stop.
Until they killed each other; until they saw the ending.
Forward.
Fearless of being injured.
Forward.
Pacing their feet, they controlled their balance.
Forward.
And closed the distance – going forward, following the closest trajectory to the enemy’s heart.
Eight Trigrams: Mixed Origin
Eight Trigrams: Fanged Fist
The deadly punches were blocked by each other’s defense. While glaring at one another with little gap between them, they said to one another.
“We should still end with a spear, should we not?”
“How rare that we have reached the same conclusion.”
They grabbed whatever weapon that was near them that could kill the other person.
Korin picked up the Spear of Light,
And Tates picked up the Red Spear.
Shura, Aura, as well as the mana for the Sun and the Light were all depleted.
What would decide the fight now was their spearmanship.
A frontal collision where no blocks, dodges or petty tricks could come into play.
Ominous Snake: Extreme Arts –
Ominous Snake: Extreme Arts –
The pinnacle of stabbing in Six Ways of the Spear, the Venomous Dragon rearing its head into the Domain.
It was the quickest spear that prided in its immaculate speed. Their spears collided in the Domain as the aftershock of the clash destroyed and disintegrated everything nearby.
‘I’ll continue with the second Rearing Head. Let’s see how far we can go…!’
Tates retrieved the spear for a second Rearing Head as a smile of victory creeped up his lips. He quickly activated the second Rearing Head of the Venomous Dragon but it was then.
– Swish
Korin’s spear moved gently and naturally like it was normal. The moment it collided against his spear—
<Final Move of the Six Ways of the Spear – Void>
– Kwack!
– Kwagagak…!
The spear penetrated through his neck, chest and shoulder.
A consecutive attack within the Domain – within the world of suspended time. The attack broke through the obvious common sense that one had to retrieve the spear to follow through with another stab.
There was zero void between each attack, and it was a move that Tates knew all too well. Despite knowing it, he still couldn’t comprehend how it was possible.
How was Korin Lork using Erin Danua’s Void?
Korin Lork
Named Hero
Successor of the Void
From the very beginning, Korin had been a user of the ‘truth’ acknowledged by the system. He had two of the strongest ‘truths’ of Penetration and Void.
“Don’t you dare think it’s over…!”
Tates continued with the extreme arts of Ominous Snake. Korin, who had come to a momentary stop due to the aftereffect of Void, could not dodge the incoming spear.
Stab!
The Red Spear in Tates’ hands stabbed slightly above where the heart was. Due to the stabs of Void hitting him before, Tates couldn’t keep the spear straight and it missed the heart.
However, the same applied to the opponent’s attacks.
This wasn’t his first time seeing the Void – in fact, Tates had seen it countless times.
It was an incredible skill that allowed several stabs to happen at once, but it came at the cost of reduced accuracy. Although there was a crack in his ribs, his collarbone was crushed and one of his arms was unusable… everything was fine as long as he wasn’t dead.
They simultaneously retrieved their spears. Both of them were in tatters. Although their spears had barely missed each other’s vitals, they were bleeding a ridiculous amount that would have left most people dead.
“It’s not over yet!”
Neither had enough strength for another stab, which left only one option that was both strong and threatening.
The attack that rotated endlessly before using the force of the spin to suppress the opponent–
Spinning Heaven
Spinning Heaven
They began slicing each other. The turbulent movement of the spear began slicing and cutting each other apart all the while avoiding each other’s spears to an eccentric degree.
Only after countless slices and drops of blood… did Tates get pushed back all the way until he was leaning on the trunk of the World Tree before eventually coming to a stop.
“…”
“…”
What decided the fight was the set of three wounds from the Void. Despite the problem with accuracy, the three consecutive stabs had already reduced Tates’ body to tatters.
On top of that, there was Korin’s [Regeneration of Tenacious Warrior] that let him recover his wounds in real-time albeit by little. That small difference was what allowed him to stay half-a-step forward.
“I won.”
While bleeding from all over his body, Tates looked at the warrior gazing at him.
After 99 victories, he finally met his enemy on the 100th time. Seeing Korin declare his victory, what Tates felt wasn’t that of humiliation, but that of relief.
“Yeah… Seems like it.”
It was the end of a wonderful fight that didn’t leave behind a single regret.