Chapter 148

That declaration signaled the start of the battle.

*Clang!*

Kang Yuseong raised the sword in his hand and struck, pushing back the Black Wind Unit.

“Form ranks!”

As the order to spread out their formation was given, the Black Wind Unit swiftly took their positions and deployed.

They were no pushovers either; in an instant, Kang Yuseong found himself surrounded.

*Thump-thump!*

And without a moment’s hesitation, the Black Wind Unit charged at Kang Yuseong.

*Whoosh!*

One Black Wind Unit member, wielding a dagger, sharply thrust it towards Kang Yuseong’s flank.

*Thwack!*

*Crunch!*

Kang Yuseong snatched the man mid-charge and drove his knee upward.

The man’s jaw violently snapped back, his eyes rolling up.

*Clatter!*

He had taken such a massive blow that the dagger in his hand clattered to the ground.

*Swish!*

But Kang Yuseong wasn’t finished.

With a swing of his sword, aimed at ensuring the man’s complete demise, the man’s chest was pierced, and a look of agony twisted his face.

*Gush!*

As Kang Yuseong withdrew his sword, a torrent of crimson blood violently erupted.

At that moment, another man from behind exploited an opening and lunged at Kang Yuseong.

*Squelch!*

However, the man’s head was caught in Kang Yuseong’s grasp and pulled in.

*Slam!*

Kang Yuseong showed no mercy.

Grabbing the man’s head, he slammed it into the ground as if to shatter it completely.

*Splatter!*

With a sound like a watermelon splitting open, the man’s head was utterly crushed, sending brain matter and fragments spurting out.

*Thwack!*

“Gah!”

Simultaneously, another Black Wind Unit member was sent flying backward, his chest caved in, crashing into the ground.

They relentlessly approached Kang Yuseong, but the only outcome was a gruesome death.

*Shhhring—*

Then, suddenly, a sound of grinding metal echoed.

*Swoosh!*

The remaining Black Wind Unit members clutched their throats, faces contorted in agony.

“Gasp, choke!”

*Thud!*

Kang Yuseong’s sword had instantly swept through, severing their necks.

*Clink!*

Kang Yuseong slid his longsword back into its scabbard and approached Major General Choi Dae-il.

“You can rest assured now.”

Choi Dae-il glared at Kang Yuseong, his brow furrowed.

“Who the hell are you?!”

A gentle smile appeared on Kang Yuseong’s lips.

“That’s not important, Major General Choi Dae-il. What’s important now is…”

*Crackle!*

Icy blue flames ignited in Kang Yuseong’s eyes.

“…!”

And facing that gaze, Choi Dae-il flinched, his body trembling.

The mind control had begun.

“…stopping those Chinese forces. Wouldn’t you agree?”

At Kang Yuseong’s words, Choi Dae-il remained blank-faced for a moment, then weakly nodded.

Kang Yuseong patted his shoulder and smiled.

“Then, I trust you’ll be faithful to your duty.”

He left through the door, leaving the dazed Choi Dae-il behind.

*Boom!*

“Ugh!”

*Clatter! Crash!*

Outside, a massive commotion was underway.

The Stardust Attack Unit.

They were holding back the elite Hunters of the Black Wind Unit.

*Slam!*

Among them, Gil Hyeok-jun was undoubtedly the most outstanding.

The two battle axes he wielded, one in each hand, weren’t just cleaving through enemies’ bodies; they were utterly pulverizing them.

Losing an arm or a leg was a minor detail.

Entire corpses vanished, causing even the most renowned Black Wind Unit members to hesitate and fall back, not daring to approach him.

“You bastards, did you come here without this much resolve? Heh heh, today I’ll send every single one of you to hell.”

Gil Hyeok-jun, radiating icy madness, flashed a chilling smile, and the Black Wind Unit members gritted their teeth.

*Thump—*

“Vanish!”

*Thwack! Swish!*

Gil Hyeok-jun charged forward with a furious, mad dash, pushing off the ground, and in an instant, several Black Wind Unit members were chopped into pieces and mangled by his axe swings.

“Attack Unit, clear the path!”

“Waaah!”

Following him, the Stardust Attack Unit members charged, plunging their swords and swinging their hammers, beginning to slaughter the enemies.

The Black Wind Unit was elite, but the Stardust Attack Unit was the elite of the elite, having overcome countless crises. They, who were once mere third-rate Hunters, had grown this strong.

There was no hesitation in their weapon swings.

When they needed to cut, they cut decisively; when they needed to retreat, they did so without a trace of greed.

That was the combat style they had learned by following Kang Yuseong.

If there was a target to kill, they took its life without fail.

It was precisely this aspect that made them feel so dangerous to their opponents.

Vicious and relentless.

The most dangerous and undesirable opponents to face.

That was the Stardust.

And they weren’t the only ones.

In fact, the 125th Black Wind Unit had been stuck, unable to advance, with the front lines stalemated for some time.

It wasn’t that the sudden attack by the North Korean armored division was effective against them, despite their modern weaponry.

Even now, the North Korean armored division still couldn’t inflict significant damage on them.

What was preventing their advance was a single person.

It was Kim Do-jin, who had been raining fire from the sky and spewing pillars of flame from the ground, utterly overwhelming the 125th Black Wind Unit.

He had grown even stronger since the conquest of Japan.

His power to control fire had become incredibly refined and more natural.

“Pour down, rain of fire! Rage, inferno’s blaze! Soar, hellfire’s surge!”

*CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!*

*Boom!*

From the sky, countless fireballs of terrifying power rained down, engulfing the 125th Black Wind Unit, while massive flames surged through their ranks, delivering a cruel death.

Even more terrifying were the powerful flames that fiercely erupted, tearing the ground asunder.

The moment anything was caught in those flames, people instantly incinerated and vanished, and even armored vehicles couldn’t withstand the extreme heat, their interiors becoming a complete oven, instantly killing the crew.

A terrifying power, something that seemed utterly impossible for a single person to wield!

Just as he continued to unleash his fiery power.

*Rumble!*

The sky, which had been dyed crimson by the soaring flames, suddenly darkened. Lightning flashed, and ominous black clouds began to gather.

*Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!*

And then, a fierce downpour lashed down upon the earth.

It was a powerful deluge, as if directly challenging Kim Do-jin’s inferno.

*Hiss!*

And it clearly had an effect.

Kim Do-jin’s flames began to rapidly diminish.

But even so, Kim Do-jin’s flames, created with Magic Chakra, wouldn’t extinguish easily, indicating that the enemy Magic User was also of considerable skill.

Kim Do-jin’s eyes gleamed sharply.

He adjusted his fedora for a moment and let out a cold laugh.

“So, you want to try this?”

He held his hand in the air and slowly waved it.

As he waved both hands, drawing increasingly faster, larger circles, red flames erupted in Kim Do-jin’s eyes, and immense Chakra Force began to surge from his entire body.

*Roar!*

As if his previous power was nothing, the force emanating from his entire being was terrifying.

In response, from the enemy’s side, it seemed spell enhancements were being cast, as an even more tremendous downpour intensified and lashed down. It was a terrifying spectacle, like a raging typhoon, sweeping away and obliterating everything in its path.

Could fire possibly ignite amidst this?

But Kim Do-jin was smiling.

“Fire that blooms in water. White Phosphorus.”

Water conquers fire.

Yet, the King of Fire once again overwhelms water.

That was White Phosphorus, the fire that blooms in water.

“Bloom!”

At Kim Do-jin’s gesture, a colossal flame surged upward.

The sight of the pale flame, rising against the terrifying downpour that sought to engulf it, was even beautiful.

*Whoosh!*

And as the White Phosphorus spread, the surfaces of armored vehicles and tanks, fortified with solid iron plating, began to melt in an instant.

It was even more lethal to humans.

The White Phosphorus devoured all life, consuming the pooling water as it pressed forward.

Although the storm intensified, as if the other side was struggling, the tide of battle had already turned.

The White Phosphorus, fire that consumed water, incinerated even the numerous puddles left by the raging typhoon, annihilating all life.

Kang Yuseong, who had been watching the scene, stared at Kim Do-jin from a distance with a dumbfounded expression.

“What kind of guy is that?”

Just how much further could he grow?

He had become an incredible being with unparalleled abilities.

‘And…’

He turned his eyes northward again.

There was something interesting in that direction.

A water (水) wielder.

‘I’ll gladly take it.’

*Whoosh—*

Kang Yuseong didn’t miss this opportunity.

Kang Yuseong could, to some extent, mimic Kim Do-jin’s abilities if he invested time.

However, he couldn’t acquire the abilities of a completely different Magic User on his own.

In that case, he had no choice but to plunder them.

Among the patterns visible in the distance, Kang Yuseong found one depicting surging waves and smirked.

“I’ll make good use of it.”

The immense power of water.

Kang Yuseong absorbed that pattern.

*Whoosh!*

Though invisible to others, the Chinese Magic User’s ability was copied and transferred directly to Kang Yuseong.

And Kang Yuseong was thinking of something else.

‘Ability Seal.’

Up until now, he had merely copied and acquired abilities, but by investing a tremendous amount of Karma Power, he could achieve the next level: true ‘Ability Plunder.’

That is, sealing the opponent’s ability while taking it for himself.

But he still lacked sufficient Karma Power.

The ultimate form of Ability Plunder was an incredibly formidable technique.

‘A pity. But that bastard will definitely die here.’

He had no intention of letting a Magic User like that escape alive.

Such individuals were precisely the ones who needed to be eliminated first.

Though currently overwhelmed by Kim Do-jin, if that individual had encountered a different attack unit…

*Whoosh!*

Kang Yuseong pushed off the ground and soared into the air.

Eliminating that individual was now the top priority.

As he charged into the heart of the 125th Black Wind Unit, which had been devastated by Kim Do-jin’s immense power, Black Wind Unit Hunters swarmed him.

*Clang! Clash!*

A fierce battle erupted, so intense that sparks flew dozens of times in an instant.

Their skill was considerable; even Kang Yuseong couldn’t cut them down in a single strike.

But Kang Yuseong didn’t just have swordsmanship.

‘Rage!’

*Rumble!*

The skill he had just plundered.

Though it was a very low level, the ‘Rapid Current’ ability, a power to control water, generated beneath the enemies’ feet and began to pull them in.

“Ugh!”

As the whirlpool formed, they panicked and tried to escape.

But the difference between a Chakra User and a Magic User became starkly clear in situations like this.

The reason Magic Users always held an advantage over Chakra Users, even when using the same Chakra Force.

It was because they utilized the immense power of nature.

Moreover, Kang Yuseong cunningly kicked all the enemies trying to escape the rapid current back into it, leaving them no choice but to be swept away and drowned by the swirling torrent beneath their feet.

‘This is good.’

A terrifying power that instantly created openings in the enemy’s defenses.

Kang Yuseong glared at the depths of the enemy formation and charged forward.

Experiencing the terrifying nature of this power firsthand only strengthened his resolve to kill the wielder.

As he charged, his eyes landed on a man.

A tall, sturdily built man.

It was Cao Xiong, the commander of the 125th Black Wind Unit.

And around him, countless water droplets floated.

*Thud.*

“Was it you? Playing with water.”

*Swish-swish-swish!*

As Kang Yuseong landed before him, numerous Hunters appeared, guarding Cao Xiong.

The smile on Kang Yuseong’s lips deepened.

“Oh, I see. This is…”

A cold light emanated from his eyes.

“…going to be even more interesting, isn’t it?”