Chapter 55: 2 vs 1
Chapter 55: 2 vs 1
Ji-woo initially aimed for the Demon Ape’s neck but decided not to do it, considering the possibility that the Dungeon owner’s defense was more robust than the beast’s. The short sword might not be able to penetrate it. There were other concerns too. That was, if he cut off the head first, Az’kal would probably tighten his grip on reflexes and kill Do-cheol. So, he chose to cut off the hand instead, practically saving the leader of Team 3, and at the same time, probing the Demon Ape’s endurance and armor.
Ji-woo hit the nail on the head. One side of the short sword became blunt after the clash. He changed the position of the short sword in hand into a reverse grip.
Meanwhile, the other hunters, who look in awe, ask Yu-jin about Ji-woo.
“Did you know that hunter?”
“H-How come Team 3 have a hunter capable of cutting that Demon Ape hand?”
Yu-jin just stared at the back of Ji-woo that wore the Red Crimson armor, ignoring the question. At first, she was sure the one in front of her was Dong-hyun. But, after pondering for a moment, she realized she didn’t know Dong-hyun that well. She wasn’t so sure about the height. On the other hand, she couldn’t think of anyone who wore the Red Crimson armor other than Dong-hyun. After all, artifact items and weapons were usually bound to the hunters through Mana. Unless the owner died, it could not get fully used.
“I…, probably?!” Yu-jin didn’t know what to say and went along with their concurrence.
The hunters cast a puzzled look at Yu-jin, hearing a vague answer. They all then stopped the discussion and focused on the fight between the two. Now, they still haven’t escaped the danger yet.
Ji-woo didn’t care about the hunters behind him. He also tried not to speak because apart from the height, he really had a different voice from Dong-hyun.
Az’kal turned grim while holding his right upper arm, which got injured because the hand got cut off. He couldn’t accept being hurt by someone weaker than him.
How come someone without Mana could contest him, the Demon Ape?
“Outrageous!”
Az’kal instantly burst out of his Mana presence. Making the hunters that close to him feel suffocating and kneel down.
Boom–
Az’kal dashed toward Ji-woo at full speed, launching a double punch with his left arm.
Ji-woo dodged the attack by ducking his head and twisting his left leg to hit the left side of Az’kal’s face with the back foot.
Bang!
Az’kal was thrown and bounced a few meters away. The ground and several dry trees got crushed on his way.
Ji-woo approached the Demon Ape’s severed hand and kicked it toward Yu-jin. He slowly walked over and confronted Az’kal, who got slumped on the ground.
Yu-jin and the other two B-rank hunters were still gaping at the sight of the Demon Ape getting hit with ease. When the hand landed in front of them, they jolted in surprise. It was pretty huge as it was basically part of a six-meter tall creature.
“This…,”
“Don’t just standstill. You two, get the team leader out of this hand. I’ll bring some hunters lying there, over here.”
“Ah, right.”
Yu-jin and the B-rank hunters tried to squeeze out their remaining strength to move the fingers from the Demon Ape’s severed hand. Meanwhile, another B-rank hunter carried his teammates, who were still alive and unconscious. He kept them away from the battle of the Red Crimson hunter and the Demon Ape.
On the new battlefield, Ji-woo crossed his arms in front of him. He then pointed the tip of the short sword with a reverse grip at Az’kal, who was leaning on the ground in pain.
Az’kal spat some black blood from his mouth and then looked at Ji-woo with anger. He had already suffered considerable damage just by losing one hand coupled with a powerful kick in the face.
An existence strong enough to fight against several B-rank hunters got reduced to a miserable state with only two strikes.
Unbelievable!
“You think it’s over!?” Az’kal spoke with a smirk, despite the injury.
Ji-woo narrowed his eyes and answered indifferently. “I know there is another one coming here.”
Boom–
There was a loud banging sound that got heard by the hunters around the area.
Ji-woo looked behind Az’kal and saw another creature attacking with a double strike to his left. He could easily dodge the incoming attack. But…,
“Hmm!?”
Ji-woo didn’t expect Az’kal to be able to move and clutched his leg, preventing his escape. Inevitably, he had to take the hit while blocking with his left arm.
Bang!
Ji-woo got thrown some distance to the ground, and the impact shook the surroundings.
Hhss, Hruagh–
“I was wondering why you took so long. On the way, while searching, I found many corpses of Smilodon scattered on the ground and then arrived at this place. What happened?”
Az’kal tried to get up with a battered body.
“Ukn’zal, forgive me. It is my fault.”
Az’kal lowered his head slightly. The one in front of him was another Demon Ape, who had the same physical appearance as him.
However, Ukn’zal wore an Armoire Sphere armor that was more majestic than Az’kal’s. It made him look powerful and more terrifying than all the creatures in this Portal Gate dungeon.
Kaboom!
An explosion occured from where Ji-woo got thrown. All the chunks of dirt and rocks flew everywhere. Thus, causing a cloud of dust in that place.
Ukn’zal and Az’kal quickly turned their gazes in the direction where Ji-woo had fallen.
“Oh my. Didn’t expect to be hit by a weakling.”
Ji-woo emerged from the cloud of dust with steam all over his body. His mouth also emitted hot fumes as he spoke. He then looked back at the two Demon Apes and grinned devilishly like before.
“Heh, come. Bring it to me!”
Ji-woo gestured his hand to the two Demon Apes and taunted them to attack him simultaneously.
Ukn’zal didn’t strike immediately after looking at the state of Az’kal. Moreover, still being able to survive his double punch meant this existence was a strong one. He didn’t want to underestimate Ji-woo.
“Try to recover your strength and attack when the opportunity arises. I’ll buy you some time to rest.”
Ukn’zal knew he might not be able to kill Ji-woo alone. But, he still had the confidence to fight Ji-woo on an equal footing or overpower him a little bit. So, in order to kill Ji-woo, he needed Az’kal to regain some of his power and catch Ji-woo off guard.
Ukn’zal did not like to beat around the bush with powerful enemies. To him, as long as he could kill anyone who interfered with his mission to protect the Dungeon. Whichever method got used, it didn’t matter.
Boom–
Ukn’zal burst out his Mana presence and charged at Ji-woo with full speed. It was faster and powerful than Az’kal.
Ji-woo dodged the Demon Ape’s four-armed attack with ease and let it land on the ground as he jumped as high as Ukn’zal’s head and hit with his knee in the face.
Ukn’zal fell backward and hit the ground hard. His nose was bleeding, oozing black liquid, but it wasn’t enough to defeat him. He got back up and started throwing swift punches like auto-firing from a machine gun.
Ji-woo didn’t dodge the attacks and instead chose to retaliate by returning the blow. He matched the speed of four arms with just two of his hands.
The surrounding ground shook and crumbled.
Even Dong-hyun, who was far away from the fight, could feel the thrill of a fierce battle.
However, far from being fierce, it was actually a one-sided fight between Ukn’zal and Ji-woo.
Every time the blows collided, only Ukn’zal get suffered, causing his knuckles to bleed somewhat. He didn’t expect Ji-woo could match him and even be superior in terms of physical strength.
Ukn’zal clenched his teeth and continued throwing punches despite the pain.
Ji-woo’s smile gradually disappeared from his face. He was starting to feel bored. Also…, his body heat was too high right now. This situation was the same as during the Red Gate incident.
Az’kal, who already recouped his a bit of strength, saw the opportunity and quickly appeared behind Ji-woo.
“Fools.”
Ji-woo moved forward swiftly, dodging Ukn’zal’s attack and launching a straight kick into the Demon Ape’s abdomen.
Ukn’zal got thrown far to the ground.
And then…,
Within seconds, Ji-woo turned around and returned the short sword position from the reverse grip to the usual one.
Az’kal was shocked and immediately put up a defense with his four arms.
Haa!
Shessh, Zhessh–
Ji-woo slashed at Az’kal mercilessly. Even though the cut wasn’t deep, he did it so many times that there were many slash marks on the Demon Ape’s body. Even the armor had a few scratches on it.
Az’kal endured Ji-woo’s barrage of slashes until he was kneeling on the ground with so many cuts and drops of black liquid all over his body.
The two edges of the short sword also became blunt and cracked in the end.
Ji-woo stopped his attack and looked at the dying Az’kal with an icy cold gaze. He subsequently turned again towards Ukn’zal, who collapsed on the ground.
“I told you beforehand to strike together. And this is the result of not heeding my advice.”