Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 74
The effect of becoming Querehsha’s priest immediately manifested.
Thanks to Kandiaru’s blessing, Suho was not only immune to poison but could now manipulate it freely and even use it offensively.
And.
‘If I can control it freely… then this should be possible, right?’
Suho extended his hand towards Baek Miho and Im Taegyu.
Paaaat!
[‘Blessing: Toxic Art’ is being used.]
“…!”
Baek Miho and Im Taegyu’s eyes widened.
The poisonous mist from the exploding bees began to dissolve as soon as it touched the light emanating from Suho.
“A detox skill?!”
“Hunter Sung Suho, are you a summoner or a healer?”
Baek Miho asked with a confused expression. None of Suho’s abilities so far had indicated he was a healer.
However, Im Taegyu’s eyes lit up, thinking it was a fortunate turn of events.
“If that’s the case, you should have said so earlier! Can you detoxify the poison affecting me as well?”
Im Taegyu had been unable to use his mana because he was suppressing the poison that Secretary Oh had administered to him.
The healer from the Reaper Guild had failed to detoxify it, but if Suho possessed a special skill, it might be possible.
However.
Ding.
[Unable to detoxify poisons that have not been ingested.]
“Hmm.”
It was a failure.
It seemed the poison affecting Im Taegyu was not “Lee Minseong’s Royal Jelly” but Arsha’s version.
‘I should have taken a sip of Arsha’s poison earlier.’
It was too late for regrets.
“I can’t detoxify it at the moment. Let’s deal with those guys first.”
Shushushushushuk!
Arrows suddenly rained down from all sides.
Corrupted ghouls that had been hiding burst out and attacked Suho’s group.
“I’ll handle the ghouls!”
Baek Miho leapt forward, slamming her fist into the ground.
Bang!
Skill: ‘Provocative Tremor.’
A circular wave of mana spread from her fist embedded in the ground.
The corrupted ghouls, as if bewitched, turned and charged at Baek Miho.
With a fierce aura emanating from her entire body, she fought them off.
Seeing her, Im Taegyu joined in, engaging in close combat alongside her.
The problem was that each of these ghouls had familiar faces.
They were like younger brothers who had followed him since the founding of the Reaper Guild.
Now, he had to kill them with his own hands.
“Lee Minseong! What do you want?! What is it you’re trying to achieve by doing all this?!”
Im Taegyu shouted furiously, directing his anger at Lee Minseong, who was likely watching from somewhere.
Then.
[All I want… is for everyone to return to their rightful places.]
Lee Minseong’s voice echoed from all around as if he were embodied in the countless bees.
“Lee Minseong!”
Im Taegyu, face twisted with anger, looked around, shouting.
“Where are you?! Stop hiding and show yourself!”
At that moment.
Bzzzzzz—
[I am…]
The bees swarming the area merged into a single figure, forming the shape of a human.
[…not hiding.]
Step.
Lee Minseong, now fully human, descended to the ground, and the area fell silent as if time had stopped.
“Lee Minseong!”
Im Taegyu’s shout met with an emotionless gaze from him.
“I’ll take care of him!”
Im Taegyu clenched his teeth and charged at Lee Minseong.
Baek Miho, who was fighting ghouls, called out urgently.
“It’s dangerous alone!”
But Im Taegyu didn’t stop.
He believed he could knock Lee Minseong down with sheer strength, even without skills.
That was the difference in level.
The gap between S-rank and A-rank, which Lee Minseong had always envied.
However.
[Arrogant fool.]
Lee Minseong scoffed as he dispersed back into countless bees.
Paang!
Im Taegyu’s fist struck only air.
Lee Minseong reformed behind Im Taegyu in human form.
Whoosh!
Im Taegyu, with remarkable reflexes, spun around to strike again.
But Lee Minseong dispersed once more.
“You bastard!”
Whoosh—pound, pound, pound!
A rapid exchange of attacks occurred in mere seconds, repeating the same outcome each time.
Gasp.
Im Taegyu suddenly realized he was surrounded by dozens of Lee Minseongs.
“What the…?!”
The multiple Lee Minseongs charged at him simultaneously.
Then, from each of their hands, long, sharp lances emerged as they began to resemble queen bee lancers.
Swish! Slash, slash, slash!
With each encounter, Lee Minseong transformed more into a queen bee lancer, and Im Taegyu, taken aback, narrowly evaded the relentless attacks.
[Impressive.]
[Even suppressing your mana, you’re this capable.]
[A broken S-rank is still an S-rank, is that it?]
Lee Minseongs jeered at Im Taegyu from all directions, mocking him as they continued their onslaught.
[Young Monarch.]
In the midst of this brutal melee, Beru looked at Suho.
“Yes.”
Suho, who had been observing the situation without stepping into the fight, nodded.
Then, looking upward, he muttered.
“They’re all illusions.”
More precisely, they were all mimicries.
An underling like Lee Minseong didn’t have the power to create queen bee lancers like Arsha.
If he could, the ghouls Baek Miho was fighting wouldn’t be ghouls but lancers.
Those ghouls were clearly failures—creations mimicking queen bee lancers that Lee Minseong had tried and failed to make.
And the lancers Im Taegyu was facing were probably just illusions made of bees.
“Beru, where’s the real Lee Minseong?”
[Apologies, but the bees are moving chaotically and disrupting my senses.]
Beru had been flicking his antennae incessantly, trying to track Lee Minseong’s true location.
“Then we’ll have to make them stop moving.”
Suho looked up at the swarm of bees filling the sky.
Then he smacked his lips.
‘I wonder what these taste like?’
Having just devoured a swarm of Querehsha’s insects, even these bees seemed like a delicacy.
At that moment.
[‘Title: Nemesis of Insects’ buff effect activates.]
…!
The frenzied bees recoiled in shock, visibly trembling.
They instinctively recognized Suho as their predator, their survival instincts kicking in.
[Title: Nemesis of Insects]
A title given to the predator of insects. All stats increase by 40% when fighting insect-type monsters.
Suho crossed his twin swords.
From *Rakan’s Fang* in his right hand, an immense aura of killing intent surged forth.
[‘Skill: Contempt for the Weak’ is being used.]
Hwaaak!
…!
[‘Effect: Fear’ has been triggered.]
[All targets’ stats decrease by 50% for 1 minute.]
*Rakan’s Fang* had a debuff skill that instilled fear in weaker opponents.
Combined with the *Nemesis of Insects* effect, it created an incredible synergy.
Wind gathered around Suho’s twin swords.
[‘Skill: Storm Slash’ is being used.]
Whoosh—
‘It’s stronger than usual.’
Suho felt the immense power of the vortex even himself.
Twisting his body, he swung both swords in a grand windmill motion.
Kuwaaaaaa—!
The fierce storm engulfed all the bees filling his vision in one sweep.
Even the lancers pressing down on Im Taegyu were caught in it.
[You have defeated a Corrupted Hornet.]
[You have defeated a Corrupted Hornet.]
[You have defeated a Corrupted Hornet.]
[You have defeated a Corrupted Hornet.]
…
Countless bees were shredded like they were caught in a grinder.
System messages flooded in.
And then.
[‘Skill: Storm Slash’ level has increased.]
Suho had grown even stronger.
‘What the… how is this even possible?’
Im Taegyu, having narrowly escaped the storm’s range, looked back at Suho with a stunned expression.
‘Wasn’t he a healer?’
Nothing about him now suggested he was a summoner or a healer.
What kind of summoner or healer could wield such a powerful offensive skill?
Im Taegyu felt like the reality he knew was shattering.
In truth, the synergy of the title buff and item debuff effects had exponentially boosted Suho’s power, but Im Taegyu couldn’t know that.
“Where’s Lee Minseong? What happened to him?”
Regaining his senses, he anxiously turned to where Lee Minseong had been.
All the clones had been swept away by the storm.
In the place where the storm had passed, breaking the fleeting silence, Beru shouted.
[Found him!]
Swish!
Before Beru’s words had even settled, Suho’s sword lashed out into the empty space.
Slik!
The space shattered, as if it had been glass.
Crack, crack!
Kwarurung!
It began to break apart.
[Heh. You found me, huh.]
Beyond the hidden space, fierce eyes glared at Suho.
And stepping out through the fragmented void, Lee Minseong appeared.
But his appearance…
[The Queen’s Lancer]
‘Not corrupted.’
Suho’s eyes shone.
Was it because the material was an A-rank hunter?
For the first time, an uncorrupted lancer appeared, unlike the corrupted ones they’d seen before.
A humanoid soldier clad in full armor.
He exuded a powerful aura that surpassed any lancer they had encountered thus far.
“So much for not hiding, you were tucked away quite well.”
[It’s unbecoming for a king to meddle in the affairs of servants.]
When Suho taunted him, Lee Minseong smirked dismissively.
And he was right.
‘…He’s strong.’
Tingle.
From the moment Suho faced him, his senses screamed a warning.
‘The strongest beast I’ve encountered yet.’
But.
‘…Still far weaker than the dead monarchs.’
Having faced *The Monarch of Plagues*, Suho’s spirit wasn’t broken by Lee Minseong’s overwhelming presence.
However, Baek Miho and Im Taegyu were different.
“T-this can’t be…”
“How did Minseong gain such power…”
This was the ultimate soldier bee crafted with all of Queen Bee Arsha’s might.
The energy emanating from this combatant, born purely for battle, filled them with despair.
Especially Baek Miho, who had a highly developed sense of instinct, felt Lee Minseong as an enormous threat.
But for S-rank hunter Im Taegyu, it was humiliation.
“Damn it. If only I could use my mana…”
No matter how strong Lee Minseong had become, he would have been confident facing him under normal circumstances.
But now, it was impossible.
Then.
Suho spoke casually to the pair, who were frozen in fear.
“Let’s work together.”
“…What?”
“Huh?”
“What are you looking at me like that for? Or should I just run away?”
The thought of retreating and calling other hunters vanished at Suho’s words.
“Our setup is terrible right now, so let’s not split roles into tank and dealer. Let’s all charge at once.”
Suho’s plan was simple.
“He’s slippery, so we need to tear off his wings first, then keep hitting until he’s down.”
[Heh.]
Lee Minseong sneered at Suho.
[You think you can face me with just the lot of you? You plan to challenge the future Monarch of Insects?]
“Oh, the Monarch of Insects?”
Suho smirked, genuinely.
Licking his lips.
“Didn’t taste that great.”
…Chill.
Why?
Lee Minseong suddenly felt an unsettling sensation from Suho.
[*The Monarch of Plagues* shakes his head, muttering about being entangled with a fearsome foe.]
“I wonder what your poison tastes like.”