Chapter 136

Yoshii and Kang Yuseong.
Their staredown didn’t last long.
Flash!
The Tsukuyomi Attack Unit, surrounding the Japanese Expeditionary Force, began its assault.
Clang!
A deafening crash echoed from one side, sparks flying.
A fierce battle had begun, swords clashing against swords, axes against axes.
Whizzing!
A torrent of arrows rained down on the Japanese Expeditionary Force.
These arrows were far more potent than bullets.
Infused with Chakra Force, they pierced through the armor worn by the expeditionary members, causing casualties to mount.

“Don’t fall back! Hold the defensive line!”
The expeditionary force, momentarily pushed back by the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit’s intense pressure, fell into disarray, but their commanders swiftly brought order.
Indeed, only a highly capable attack unit would have dared to launch an expedition into Japan.
At the same time, the Stardust Attack Unit moved quickly.
Squad 1, led by Gil Hyeok-jun, shielded the expeditionary force from the raining arrows with sturdy defenses, while Squad 2, led by Baek Myeong-han, engaged the charging Tsukuyomi Attack Unit in close-quarters combat.
And at some point, Kang Yuseong had vanished.

Whoosh!
He appeared in a distant spot.
Right in front of the Japanese Hunters who had been firing arrows.
“Argh!”
The Hunters fell helplessly as Kang Yuseong suddenly appeared before them and brought his sword down.
Some tried to draw daggers from their waists to fight back, but Kang Yuseong’s sword instantly pierced their throats.
As Kang Yuseong moved among them, slaughtering, numerous bursts of flame suddenly appeared in the distance, flying towards them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The small flames struck the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit’s Hunters, who then collapsed one after another.
It was Kim Do-jin.
Kang Yuseong let out a small laugh, then struck down the remaining Hunters.
With this, the Japanese Expeditionary Force would be able to catch their breath, if only for a moment.

But at that moment, Kang Yuseong’s gaze sharpened.
He turned around and saw several men approaching him.
Each of them exuded a fierce aura.
They were clearly formidable warriors.
Yet, Kang Yuseong showed no sign of perturbation as he looked at them.
Hum—
Instead, his sword let out a low hum.
The quiet cry of a sword that yearned for blood and beckoned death.
Kang Yuseong responded to the sound with a cold smile.

Whoosh!
He instantly lunged at one of the men and thrust his sword upward.
Clang!
Though the attack was blocked, it delivered a tremendous shock to the man who parried it.
“Ugh!”
Perhaps not expecting such power, the man staggered backward, pushed away.
Then, his eyes widened at Kang Yuseong, who had suddenly appeared before him.
Crash!
Kang Yuseong’s kick slammed deep into his chest.
Snap!
A grotesque sound of ribs shattering echoed as the man flew backward and crashed to the ground.
Crimson blood continuously gushed from his lips.
Beyond recovery.
A renowned Hunter in Japan had been instantly killed by a single blow.

“If you want to stop me…”
Kang Yuseong looked at the Japanese Hunters with a chilling expression.
Thud!
Then, before anyone knew it, he grabbed one man by the neck and slammed him straight into the ground.
The man’s head burst open, and he slumped lifelessly without even a proper scream.
“Someone stronger should have come. Don’t you think?”
At Kang Yuseong’s words, the men faltered.
In truth, they were SS-rank Hunters.
Five such individuals had surrounded Kang Yuseong.
It was a huge blow to their pride, but it had been Yoshii’s order, so they had approached the fight lightly, only to have two of them fall in an instant.

Whoosh!
At that moment, Kang Yuseong vanished from their sight.
The men frantically searched their surroundings, eyes wide, but Kang Yuseong was nowhere to be seen.
Slice!
Then, an eerie presence brushed past them.
Afterward, one man clutched his throat.
Another gripped his chest as if tearing at it.
And yet another trembled violently.
The three men, in their own ways, were desperately fighting against the death that had suddenly descended upon them.

Clang—
Kang Yuseong’s sword glinted brilliantly under the cold moonlight.
“Gurgle!”
Thud! Crash!
Simultaneously, the three men collapsed to the ground.
Kang Yuseong had moved among them like lightning, severing their lifelines.
Kang Yuseong noticed Yoshii watching him from below and grinned.
The strongest enemy, and the final enemy, was there.
Flash!
Kang Yuseong plunged downward.
Shing—
His sword hummed softly once more.
And, gleaming, it flew towards its prey.

Clang!
But at that moment, the sword, which had been flying with such momentum, stopped mid-air.
And something even more surprising occurred.
Crack—
Suddenly, a strange sound emanated from the middle of the sword, and it snapped in half.
Kang Yuseong frowned.
The tip of the blade had been aimed precisely at Yoshii’s glabella.
Yet, the sword had stopped as if colliding with something less than ten centimeters from his forehead, then shattered.
Kang Yuseong threw the broken sword to the ground.
Clatter!
Drawing another sword, Kang Yuseong did not approach Yoshii so easily this time.
Instead, he reactivated Thieving Eye.
It wasn’t overexertion, as his accumulated Karma Power had significantly advanced the activation time of Thieving Eye.
As Thieving Eye activated, something appeared above Yoshii’s head.
However, Kang Yuseong’s brows furrowed slightly.
More than ten patterns had appeared, but all but two were obscured by a dense blackness.
This meant that his current Thieving Eye level couldn’t penetrate them.
Of the two visible patterns:
One was of a fierce-faced devil holding something in its hand, and the other was a shield emblazoned with a grotesque ghost mask.

‘So that was the barrier.’
Kang Yuseong nodded, looking at the shield pattern.
He didn’t know what it was, but seeing it block even a sword infused with Chakra Force, it seemed to be an incredible defensive technique. However, that wasn’t what he needed right now.
Kang Yuseong cast his gaze not on the shield, but on the devil’s pattern.
It was a pattern that exuded a powerful force.
‘From now on…’
Flash!
A deep green light flared in his eyes.
‘It’s mine.’
The devil’s pattern transferred.
[“Devil’s Wrath” acquired.]
[When Devil’s Wrath is activated, it affects all living beings within a fifty-meter radius.]
Kang Yuseong smiled as he read the description.
‘This is incredible.’
As incredible as it was, it was also a considerably dangerous ability for the user.

Having instantly stolen the ability, Kang Yuseong attacked Yoshii with a new sword.
He knew there was a strange barrier surrounding the man, but his attacks showed no hesitation. Rather, he unleashed a relentless offensive, as if determined to shatter the barrier with sheer force.
Clang!
Sparks continuously flew from the barrier encircling Yoshii.
As Kang Yuseong attacked him with all his might, a look of bewilderment appeared on Yoshii’s face. One might expect him to consider a different approach if his defenses weren’t being breached, but Kang Yuseong simply kept hammering at the barrier.
‘If it blocks, I’ll just break it.’
That was Kang Yuseong’s thought.
His assault was so fierce that Yoshii waved both hands, summoning nearby troops to his side.
The Tsukuyomi Hunters began to confront Kang Yuseong.
They, too, were SS-rank individuals possessing great power.
But before Kang Yuseong, who had already surpassed them, they couldn’t put up any meaningful resistance.

Clang!
Thud! Thud!
A Hunter who blocked Kang Yuseong’s downward strike was pushed back violently.
Clang!
And with the second attack, he staggered, then dropped to one knee.
Kang Yuseong didn’t miss the chance and immediately brought his sword down.
Thwack! Slash!
The man tried to block with his weapon, but it split in half, spraying blood.
Kang Yuseong’s sword had shattered the weapon and cleaved the man in two.
The men surrounding Yoshii were scrambling to stop Kang Yuseong.
And the tide of battle suddenly turned, with the Japanese Expeditionary Force finally beginning to push back the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit’s Hunters.

Boom! Boom! Boom!
Numerous fireballs rained down, completely shattering the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit’s formation, and through the gaps, the assault team entered, striking down the Tsukuyomi Hunters.
The fireballs, precisely targeting the weak points of the enemy formation, were devastating for the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit.
If even the slightest opening appeared, the relentless fireballs would force them to expose even larger gaps, and even when there were no openings, they were powerless to resist the formidable attacks that persistently created weaknesses.
This was the power of South Korea’s strongest Magic User.
It was the ultimate power a Magic User should possess, and precisely because of it, the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit was forced to retreat.
Furthermore, a massive man wielding a ridiculously enormous greatsword and exploiting every opening made things even more troublesome.

“Hwaap!”
Crash!
When the greatsword came down, a violent boom echoed as if a colossal boulder had fallen, and anyone struck by it literally turned into a bloody pulp and vanished.
Even those standing nearby, merely grazed by the greatsword, witnessed a horrifying sight of bones shattering and organs rupturing, forcing even the bravest Tsukuyomi Attack Unit members to stumble backward.
Moreover, the leadership was in the same predicament.
Yoshii, who should have been controlling the entire situation, was completely constrained by a single individual, and he, too, seemed on the verge of collapse.

But at that moment, an even deeper crimson glow erupted from Yoshii’s eyes.
Sorcery.
His true power was about to manifest.
“The Master is with us! Do not retreat!”
At this sight, the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit trembled and cried out loudly.
They knew that the Master, Yoshii’s power, was only just beginning.
Hiss—
At that instant, a swirling black aura rose from behind Yoshii, then unfurled like a peacock’s tail, revealing dozens of shadowy arms. Though they swayed like shadows, they were distinctly corporeal.
As these arms spread, a black aura diffused outward, like a shroud of darkness.

“Ugh!”
Simultaneously, the Japanese Expeditionary Force’s Hunters, who had been fiercely attacking the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit, suddenly buckled at the waist.
Conversely, a blood-red glow streamed from the eyes of the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit’s Hunters.
“Hehehe! Power surges!”
It was a completely different scenario from before.
The Tsukuyomi Attack Unit, having gained immense power, began to push back the Japanese Expeditionary Force, while the expeditionary force, drained of strength, struggled to defend themselves.

But at that moment, Kang Yuseong grinned.
Flash!
At the same time, dozens of arms unfurled from behind his back as well.
“Gasp!”
This time, it was the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit’s Hunters who buckled at the waist, and the Japanese Expeditionary Force regained their strength as if nothing had happened.
Yoshii stared at Kang Yuseong, his eyes wide.
Kang Yuseong grinned and said,
“The game has to be fair, doesn’t it?”
Devil’s Wrath.
The two individuals, having activated the same skill, stood facing each other.