SFRW-Chapter 232

Ch. 232 Sword God From The Ruined World

Seven now.  

That was the number of Heavy Mountain that had fallen to Seo Do-jun’s hands.  

“This place is really… terrifying.”  

Not just any monsters, but as many as seven Heavy Mountain.  

And these were just the ones they’d encountered while moving for three days – it was impossible to guess how many more of these creatures actually existed on this planet.  

“Judging by the Heavy Mountain we’ve seen so far, most planets wouldn’t last half a year against them.”  

At Kusak’s words, Veronica immediately responded:  

“That’s exactly why things ended up like this.”  

Veronica frowned as she scanned their surroundings before fixing her gaze on Seo Do-jun walking ahead.  

Seeing Seo Do-jun effortlessly cut down every Heavy Mountain they encountered with single strokes of his sword, the entire group felt an unparalleled sense of security at his immeasurable power.  

They were even starting to think that Seo Do-jun alone might be capable of killing Barhaut.  

“But isn’t this place strange? How can there only be monsters and no other lifeforms?”  

The others had also been wondering about this during their three days here, having seen no other living creatures besides monsters.  

“I heard Rebley’s planet was like this too.”  

Rakun said while glancing at Choi Kang-soo walking beside him.  

“Rebley?”  

Choi Kang-soo tilted his head in confusion until the Divine Sword scolded him, reminding him it was where they’d first met.  

“That place had a much more oppressive and unpleasant atmosphere. If this place feels like a dying world, that one was… like hell itself, I guess?”  

Especially.  

Choi Kang-soo instinctively looked up at the sky.  

Checking whether eyes like Rebley’s might be floating in the air.  

“Anyway, both places are clearly unpleasant. No humans live in either.”  

“We can’t definitively say no humans live here yet.”  

Since it wasn’t exactly wrong, Choi Kang-soo didn’t bother arguing with Kusak’s comment.  

After walking some more distance –  

Just as Seo Do-jun’s figure disappeared, a massive explosion sounded in the distance.  

“Eighth one…”  

Just how many damn Heavy Mountain lived in this cursed place?  

The group could only click their tongues as they watched Seo Do-jun return with complete nonchalance, as if he’d just stepped on an ant.

***

Tidus, with his massive bat-like wings, blinked in shock upon discovering the Heavy Mountain he’d painstakingly raised had mysteriously vanished.  

“Where did they all go?”  

Kantos Sector 1.  

This was land where Heavy mountains were kept at regular intervals, fully prepared to be deployed anywhere at Barhaut’s command.  

Tidus, with his goat-like face bearing only a left horn, began frantically searching Sector 1 when no Heavy Mountain were visible anywhere.  

Nothing.  

No Heavy Mountain anywhere.  

“They couldn’t have left the sector without my permission… Did Lord Barhaut send them to Earth himself?”  

But was there any need to send all 13 Heavy Mountain to Earth?  

Transporting even one required considerable energy expenditure, so even Barhaut would find it difficult to send more than five at once currently.  

“They couldn’t have fought each other… Huh?”  

Frowning in complete bewilderment at the situation, Tidus suddenly noticed unfamiliar traces.  

Small footprints.  

In his distracted state he’d missed them earlier, and since no living beings besides monsters existed here, he’d had no reason to pay attention.  

“How many are there?”  

Tidus’s face hardened more than ever as he examined the footprints.  

As administrator of Kantos Planet and overseer of Heavy Mountain production, he immediately recognized the footprints belonged to uninvited intruders.  

This was understandable – Kantos was one of the Guardian Planets Barhaut valued most.  

Thus even those enjoying Barhaut’s trust couldn’t enter freely.  

Meaning the footprint owners were intruders who’d sneaked in, not authorized visitors.  

“Did they kill the Heavy Mountain?”  

Who could it be?  

The ability to instantly eliminate 13 Heavy Mountain – such formidable monsters – wasn’t common.  

As a dimensional conqueror, Barhaut had countless enemies, but few possessed both the capability and audacity to invade a Guardian Planet like this.  

Barhaut never allowed anyone potentially threatening to survive.  

“How dare they invade my domain?”  

Tidus spread his wings wide and levitated.  

His eyes glowing redder than ever, he began flying swiftly in the direction of the footprints.

***

“That one’s small too?”  

Hyun Joo-yeon remarked while observing the Heavy Mountain before them.  

At some point, the Heavy Mountain had shrunk to nearly half their original size.  

Correspondingly, the parasite-like monsters they spawned had decreased in number and noticeably weakened in ability.  

It was clear now.  

The size of a Heavy Mountain greatly affected the number and strength of the monsters it spawned – Deambsi, Utidum, Herutun, and Cradiam.  

“Let us handle this one.”  

As Choi Kang-soo cracked his knuckles and stepped forward, Hyun Joo-yeon, Gloria, Shinjo and Grichuk promptly drew their swords.  

While massive Heavy Mountain were challenging opponents, these smaller ones were manageable for them.  

Grichuk moved first.  

Darkness coalesced before him as a shadowy warhorse emerged.  

Having absorbed the Black Knight’s essence, Grichuk had gained several new abilities – summoning shadow steeds being one.  

Neighhhh-!  

Though appearing as mere shadows, these warhorses could rear up like real horses before charging straight at the Heavy Mountain.  

The sight of the shadow steed charging at incredible speed with Grichuk atop it, swinging his enlarged greatsword with bulging arms, was truly picture-worthy.  

And it wasn’t just for show.  

Grichuk’s terrifying swordsmanship could bisect dozens of charging monsters in single strokes.  

Plunging into monster hordes and mercilessly cleaving through them, Grichuk looked every bit the knight of legend.  

Watching Grichuk’s overwhelming display, Choi Kang-soo raised his Divine Sword almost mockingly.  

If Grichuk had absorbed the Black Knight’s essence, Choi Kang-soo had absorbed crystallized divine power.  

‘No matter how strong he’s gotten, I’ve absorbed an outer god’s divine power intact!’  

Whoooosh-!  

Brilliant white light erupted from Choi Kang-soo as luminous wings sprouted from Mute’s armor.  

The light wings first seen on Rebley’s planet were now an ability he could manifest at will.  

『Originally, Seraph should have obtained Desion’s power…』  

The Divine Sword viewed Choi Kang-soo unfavorably for having gained Desion’s immense divine power through Seo Do-jun’s help.  

A true Holy Knight should gradually cultivate divine power through excruciating endurance and steadfast faith.  

Yet Choi Kang-soo had wielded divine power from the start through the sword’s power, and now consumed an outer god’s power – how could such an unfair holy knight be acknowledged?  

Moreover, as an ego sword containing Mute’s will, the Divine Sword inherently rejected Desion’s divine energy.  

Ignoring the sword’s sarcasm, Choi Kang-soo headed opposite Grichuk.  

His flight-capable combat prowess was truly marvelous.  

Combined with the sword’s potent purification abilities against evil entities, the explosive white light from each swing dealt devastating damage to monsters.  

“Light and darkness, huh?”  

Kusak remarked while observing the starkly contrasting pair.  

“Now that you mention it. One’s a pure white holy knight, the other a dark black knight. Quite the unique combination for comrades.”  

As Veronica said, holy knights and death knights fighting back-to-back was nearly unheard of.  

“Kassal was so impressive we temporarily forgot about them. But seeing this… our combat power is truly tremendous.”  

At Veronica’s words, Seo Do-jun smiled faintly.  

Indeed, Choi Kang-soo and Grichuk had grown remarkably reliable – capable enough to entrust with any task.  

“There’s no opening for me to join.”  

At Hyun Joo-yeon’s comment, Shinjo quietly sheathed his drawn sword.  

Though they’d performed creditably as comrades on Earth, since leaving the planet Hyun Joo-yeon and Shinjo had barely contributed.  

At least Gloria had improved by learning various skills from elves in Valitao.  

And her abilities proved especially valuable in forest environments.  

In contrast, Hyun Joo-yeon and Shinjo currently couldn’t significantly aid Seo Do-jun in either capability or role.  

“Sigh…”  

Shinjo’s quiet sigh of frustration prompted an identical sigh from the similarly distressed Hyun Joo-yeon.  

Choi Kang-soo and Grichuk competitively hunted monsters while approaching the Heavy Mountain.  

Though only half the size of those Seo Do-jun had faced, it remained enormous.  

“…Where am I supposed to swing my sword?”  

Choi Kang-soo muttered while observing the mountain-like creature.  

Its sheer size made identifying attack points impossible.  

“Uncle just slashes downward from above…”  

Briefly considering mimicking Seo Do-jun, Choi Kang-soo ultimately shook his head.  

The vast skill gap would make such attempts mere foolhardiness.  

Unwilling to look ridiculous, especially before Kusak, he carefully analyzed the Heavy Mountain for weak points.  

Grichuk, however, acted differently.  

Having repeatedly witnessed Seo Do-jun destroying the core at the Heavy Mountain’s center, he knew the strategy.  

The challenge was reaching that deeply buried magic core.  

Without hesitation, Grichuk created shadow swords midair.  

Now capable of manifesting dozens of blades like his shadow steeds, he sequentially hurled them at one spot.  

Boom-! Boom! Boom-! Boom! Boom! Boom!  

Each shadow sword exploded on impact, gradually carving a massive hole.  

Watching dozens of blades penetrate the same spot, Choi Kang-soo frowned.  

“Brute force method… but effective.”  

Though reluctant to admit it, Grichuk knew exactly how to hunt Heavy Mountain.  

Rather, while Seo Do-jun had explained the method, executing it was key – where Choi Kang-soo had faltered, Grichuk had found a straightforward solution.  

“I should’ve done it first.”  

Though capable of creating light swords, Choi Kang-soo could only watch, having missed his chance.  

After dozens of shadow swords bombarded one spot, the deeply buried magic core was finally exposed.  

As Grichuk launched the final blade –  

Craaack-!  

The shattered core triggered a massive explosion that blew the Heavy Mountain apart.  

Having defeated the creature, Grichuk summoned his shadow steed to rejoin the group.  

His knightly bow to Seo Do-jun like a returning warrior made Rahf sigh more wistfully than anyone.  

‘If only the soul chains hadn’t broken, Grichuk would still be my loyal Black Knight forever…’  

Though bitter, Rahf knew it was irreversible and tried not to dwell further.  

“Next time I’ll get one.”  

Having learned from Grichuk, Choi Kang-soo vowed to personally defeat the next Heavy Mountain.  

True to his word, when they encountered another, he single-handedly hunted it perfectly.  

“Are there no more giant ones like Brother fought? These are just stunted juveniles.”  

As Choi Kang-soo boasted, the group chuckled – until:  

“Found you!”  

An unfamiliar voice rang from above.  

Thud-!  

“…Ugh!”  

Amid startled reactions, a bizarre creature crashed violently to the ground.