Chapter 151: Outside. Battlefield of the Gods (7)
“Kuhk!”
Cain’s face twisted in agony as he stumbled back, trying to create distance.
“You said you didn’t believe in gods! I heard you weren’t an apostle!”
“I’m not an apostle. I told you, this is just something I received.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
Cain shouted angrily.
He couldn’t accept Taesan’s words.
In his world, Cain was the greatest warrior. He possessed a strength unmatched by any across all nations, and even emperors couldn’t speak freely in his presence. Everyone he met bowed to him, their eyes filled with reverence.
No matter how many excellent warriors gathered, none could defeat him, and even natural disasters paled before his might.
He took pride in this.
He believed that no one in his generation could defeat him, and even among past generations, he was among the strongest.
But even he had not been able to receive an apostle’s contract until now.
An apostle’s position was to guard the side of a god for a lifetime. Even warriors deemed greater than him had sometimes failed to attain the position of an apostle throughout their entire lives.
He had barely managed to secure the contract as a special exception to defeat Taesan.
But Taesan’s words were different.
He claimed not to believe in gods and that the gods had simply shown him favor.
Cain could never accept that.
“That’s an insult to us!”
“Insult or not.”
Taesan didn’t care.
Cain, displaying intense emotions, brought his sword down.
Though the position was forced upon him, it was still an apostle’s strike. It was a force that was hard to deflect or evade.
Taesan swung his sword.
Clang.
Their swords clashed as Taesan twisted his wrist. Taesan’s sword deflected Cain’s, aiming for Cain’s chest.
“Hmph!”
It was a predictable counterattack, so Cain smirked and pulled back, raising his sword.
Cain’s sword hilt aimed for Taesan’s head.
Clang!
The pommel collided with Taesan’s sword.
Slice.
Cain’s wrist was cut.
“Wha-?”
Cain grabbed his wrist and backed away, his face full of bewilderment.
“How?”
He was sure he had avoided Taesan’s counterattack and launched his own. And Taesan had blocked his attack.
Yet suddenly, his wrist was cut.
Though he couldn’t understand it, Taesan seemed to know it would happen and immediately charged at him.
“Kuhk!”
Cain gritted his teeth and swung his sword.
Once again, their swords clashed.
[You have activated Counter.]
Just as before, Taesan deflected Cain’s sword. Cain smoothly gathered his strength and counterattacked. Taesan was forced to defend.
Slice.
[150 damage to Cain.]
Just like before, a wound appeared on Cain’s wrist.
Taesan shook his sword.
“Now the damage indicator appears.”
It hadn’t shown up before. Reflecting on it, he realized that damage indicators only appeared when he attacked entities directly related to gods, like the angel during the fight with Baekgweseta, but not ordinary people.
‘So, is the damage judgment attempted only on those directly involved with gods?’
“This, this is…”
Cain couldn’t understand it.
He should have been at an advantage, but he was the one getting injured.
Cain’s face twisted with rage.
“…You’re using foul sorcery!”
Cain believed Taesan was using some form of magic or black magic instead of swordsmanship.
It was a misunderstanding that Taesan found frustrating.
“This is my swordsmanship.”
“Don’t make me laugh! As if such swordsmanship exists!”
“Believe what you will.”
This was Taesan’s swordsmanship.
It was the swordsmanship he had developed in front of the God of Swords, which the ghost had confirmed.
[You have activated Strong Attack.]
Clang!
“Ugh!”
Cain’s arm was pushed back. Until now, their strength had been similar, but suddenly there was a stark difference, causing Cain to panic.
Taesan immediately closed in and swung his sword again. Cain hurriedly steadied himself and blocked the attack.
It was Cain’s best move, but it was exactly what Taesan had been aiming for.
Clang!
Cain’s arm was pushed back again.
The Strong Attack could continuously activate if timed correctly to hit or block the opponent’s sword.
Clang!
Cain was helplessly pushed back. The sudden increase in strength doubled the gap between them.
“Kuhk!”
Taesan’s sword grazed Cain’s neck. Cain retreated, clutching his neck.
Blood flowed from his fingers, but Cain couldn’t afford to pay attention to it.
“This… this thing!”
[You have activated Acceleration.]
Swish!
Taesan’s sword brushed past Cain’s sword and slashed his body.
Cain’s once splendid armor was now torn and tattered, resembling trash.
Taesan swung his sword.
“It’s annoyingly durable.”
It felt like facing an adventurer from the labyrinth. A normal person would have died from these wounds, yet Cain seemed to still have some fight left in him.
“Is that also the power of an apostle?”
Moreover, the wounds inflicted by Taesan were slowly healing.
It seemed difficult to take him down with such minor attacks.
[It’s strange that your attacks are landing at all.]
The ghost chuckled. Though Taesan had received the apostle’s power, he was only using a portion of it. From the ghost’s perspective, who had seen many apostles, Taesan’s apostle power was lacking in many ways.
Yet Taesan was overwhelming his opponent with sheer force.
[But you need to finish this soon.]
“I know.”
The apostle power had only three minutes left.
He had to end it in one decisive blow.
Taesan took his stance. Cain had enough time to prepare, but he was too confused to do so.
“This, this… what…”
He couldn’t comprehend it.
Powers beyond his understanding kept emerging.
But there was no time for contemplation. Even now, Taesan was swinging his sword at him.
“Kuhk!”
Clang!
Cain belatedly focused on defense. He crouched like a turtle, blocking with minimal movement.
Taesan intended to break through that defense.
[You have activated Consecutive Attack.]
Clang!
“Ugh!”
A strong vibration traveled through Cain’s sword to his arm.
Cain’s grip on his sword loosened momentarily. Taesan ducked under Cain’s arm and slashed upward. Cain, unable to hold his sword properly, hurriedly blocked the attack.
[You have activated Leap.]
Crunch.
An unprecedented force imbued Taesan’s sword.
Cain lost his grip on his sword.
The golden sword flew far away, and Cain watched in despair.
A swordsman without his weapon was worthless.
Taesan’s sword pierced Cain’s chest.
With a push, Taesan drove Cain into the wall.
“Kuhk!”
[1989 damage to Cain.]
Similar damage messages appeared in succession. Taesan pulled out his sword.
“It’s my win.”
The divine aura surrounding Cain gradually dissipated. His body and soul couldn’t withstand the divine power anymore.
Simultaneously, the duration of Taesan’s apostle power ended.
As the overwhelming power left his body, he felt a slight sense of fatigue.
“I can’t let this become a habit.”
The knowledge, information, and power that had entered his mind, surpassing human comprehension, were all attractive.
If he became addicted, he might sell his soul to become an apostle.
Rakiratas had probably granted him the apostle power with that in mind.
Taesan composed himself.
The excitement and heat subsided. When he looked at Cain, he saw him laughing weakly.
“Ha, ha…”
The power that had filled Cain’s body was gone.
“To think I would meet such an end…”
His words trailed off.
Cain died just like that.
[Your Soul Power has activated. Your Health has permanently increased by 500, Strength by 85, Agility by 88, and Intelligence by 97.]
[Your Soul Power has activated. Your ability Sword Mastery has increased by 3%.]
[Your Holy Power Mastery has increased by 4%.]
[Your Awareness Mastery has increased by 3%.]
Additionally, the proficiency of various skills increased.
He also acquired a new skill.
[You have defeated a god’s apostle. You have acquired the special activation skill [Apostle Slayer].]
“Do you get ‘God Slayer’ if you kill a god?”
The ghost didn’t respond clearly. He just mumbled ambiguously.
Taesan, treating it as a joke, looked at the system window.
[You have dealt with the last follower of the God of Ornate Swords. The God of Ornate Swords has been exiled from the battlefield of the gods.]
[The labyrinth gods are pleased.]
[The God of Swords smiles quietly. He is very satisfied with your actions.]
A powerful force escaped through the rift in the sky.
It was probably the God of Ornate Swords.
It was over.
Taesan was the only one left on the battlefield of the gods.
[Special Quest Success]
As the success message appeared, the world began to crack. The space started to break down as if a mirror world was shattering.
[Returning to the labyrinth.]
With the shattering world as the backdrop, Taesan re-entered the labyrinth.
It was finally over.
Taesan sheathed his sword.
“This really was a quest that only I could clear.”
[Probably so.]
Cain had acquired the power of an apostle.
If not for Taesan, Mantra might have granted apostle power to deal with any labyrinth beings that threatened the battlefield.
Or he could have descended himself to kill them.
Only Taesan, with the apostle power, could have defeated Cain.
Moreover, Cain was strong on his own.
Though he couldn’t put up much resistance against Taesan, his swordsmanship was never low-tier.
Objectively, Cain’s strength was comparable to an adventurer in the early 40s of the labyrinth.
An adventurer at the level of conquering the 30th floor wouldn’t have been able to defeat him.
[It was probably Mantra’s swordsmanship. Even the skill level of his swordsmanship was quite high. It was just that his proficiency was low, making it easier for you.]
The ghost seemed to think so too.
[He had no idea how to counter your swordsmanship, making it simpler.]
“That’s one of the greatest advantages of my swordsmanship.”
Anyone facing it for the first time couldn’t find a strategy. That was a characteristic of Taesan’s swordsmanship.
The speed of his strikes would suddenly double.
His strength would also suddenly double.
In the case of Counter, it was even more extreme.
The ghost muttered in disbelief.
[So Counter changed like that? Isn’t this swordsmanship designed to be unstoppable?]
[Special Activation Skill: Counter]
[Mana Consumption: 5]
[Proficiency: 39%]
[Counterattacks against the opponent’s attack, dealing greater damage. Counters even attacks that cannot be countered.]
[Condition: Advanced Swordsmanship [Ability Sword]]
[Condition 1. When you attempt to counter after blocking the opponent’s attack but fail.]
[Condition 2. When the opponent attempts an attack within a certain time after a failed counter.]
[If both conditions are met, you can attack the opponent, ignoring their attack and defense. Critical hits are not possible.]
Due to the Ability Sword’s effect, Taesan could use Counter more actively.
The variable of failing to counter could be somewhat controlled by Taesan, and since the subsequent attack was a guaranteed hit, it was enough to throw the opponent into confusion.
It had worked perfectly on Cain.
He had blocked Taesan’s counter and tried to attack.
But when Taesan ignored his attack and struck him, Cain was so flustered he couldn’t launch a proper attack.
While the damage itself wasn’t significant, it was a skill that could introduce a major variable in a fight.
“Still, it’s not easy.”
The risk of having to fail the counter was high. Also, the guaranteed hit condition required him to initiate an attack, making it not a 100% success rate.
“It’s good though. Feels like playing a card game.”
Taesan muttered. Meeting conditions and drawing out effects was similar to a card game.
“By the way, when will I get my reward?”
Despite returning to the labyrinth, nothing had changed for quite a while.
But as soon as Taesan finished speaking, the system window appeared.
[Many gods question the decision of a few gods.]
“Question?”
Before he could ponder it, the windows continued to appear.
[The God of Choice has intervened.]
[The God of Proof has intervened.]
[The God of Victory has intervened.]
[The influence of the Demon God has decreased.]
The areas of influence decreased in sequence.
[The influence of the God of Strife and Death has decreased.]
[The influence of the God of Swords has decreased.]
[The influence of the God of Magic has decreased.]
Taesan paused.