FVN Chapter 378: Gale Ironwood (3)
Chapter 378: Gale Ironwood (3)
After a frantic slugfest with Gale Ironwood, only after quite some time had passed was Kang-hoo able to fully grasp all of its traits.
If Celestial Assassin had sketched out the rough outline, then his probing battle had filled in all the colors.
‘It has its own buff, ramps up over time, then returns to baseline. A 30-second cycle.’
The first thing he identified was that Gale Ironwood had a self-buff that strengthened its physical power.
Over the course of thirty seconds it gradually reached a peak, then returned to normal.
Because of that, Gale Ironwood would unleash a furious assault as its buff approached its peak, then fall back when it was at its weakest.
It used time-wasting patterns.
For example, it would stay at range and extend its long branches to fire off a flurry of attacks.
Or it would throw sapling minions to grab Kang-hoo’s attention so he could not easily close in. During his probing, Kang-hoo also confirmed that Gale Ironwood had a clear weakness to fire. That judgment was rooted in its nature as a tree-derived hybrid monster, but he could not be certain without testing it.
When a surprise Fire Dragon Spear he threw mid-battle produced better-than-expected results, he was able to fill in the data.
‘Now I see why Master said Heaven-and-Earth Dragnet – Kill would be a good fit for this thing.’
The reason was simple.
Its body presented such a huge surface area to hit that, once he snagged it in Heaven-and-Earth Dragnet – Kill, finishing it would be easy.
Gale Ironwood would sometimes step on its own hanging branches and stumble, or have its arms tangle with each other...
Its abnormally long, oversized body had become a weakness. Of course, it still had destructive power enough to offset that.
So Kang-hoo concluded that trying to open distance against Gale Ironwood was an act of suicide.
The reason? Because when it focused that insane firepower into a long-range barrage with its extended arms, as it had earlier, the result spoke for itself.
If even his hidden skill, Immaculate Wall, could not endure and shattered, then he was better off not provoking that “nonsense” at all.
Celestial Assassin’s advice was sound, but Kang-hoo wanted to find a method of his own.
If he truly could not find any method, he could always feign defeat and lean on that advice.
But if it was not like that, he believed he had to find a way to have a plan of his own, no matter what.
Right now, he saw another path, and there was no need to forcibly follow Celestial Assassin’s strategy.
Crunch. Crunch, crunch.
He chewed a Mad Solarkium.
He had 21 left.
He had plenty of leeway.
These days, unless he was really pushed to the limit, Kang-hoo deliberately avoided taking Mad Solarkium.
He could feel that he was slowly building up a tolerance, making its pain-relief effect a bit weaker.
And the act of taking Mad Solarkium itself had turned into a routine, giving him a sense of growing dependence.
Of course, in moments like this, when he needed to go all-in and bring the battle to a decisive close, he took it without hesitation.
“.......”
Gale Ironwood stood about thirty meters away, quietly catching its breath.
It was just as exhausted by the barrage as Kang-hoo, and was quickly recovering with its body fully relaxed.
As a hybrid monster descended from trees, its recovery efficiency was excellent in this land blessed with strong earth energy.
In that time, Kang-hoo summoned Mumyeong and gave his order.
“Take as many of its attacks as you can for me. Even if it tears your body apart and you die.”
“As you w-... Yes, my lord.”
“Guess you can’t fix it in one go.”
Mumyeong’s attempt to speak formally and then correcting himself made Kang-hoo chuckle.
He had not intended it that way, but that slightly off, quirky response from Mumyeong loosened the tension in his combat-stiff body.
“Go.”
Tatatat! 【Illusion Arts】 【Shadow Step】 【Clone Technique】 system_end
Kang-hoo sent illusions, shadows, and clones in a single bundle flanking Mumyeong as he charged at Gale Ironwood.
At the same time, Kang-hoo instantly slipped into Stealth, erasing even his presence and hiding all trace.
As if it had already anticipated all of Kang-hoo’s little tricks, Gale Ironwood snorted and focused on Mumyeong.
Knowing that illusions, shadows, and clones were nothing but deception, it targeted only Mumyeong.
Kaaang! Taaang! Kaaang!
Gale Ironwood’s triple strike went after Mumyeong, but Mumyeong narrowly blocked the blows.
His body was shoved backward and his balance broken, but in the end he defended against the attacks.
In that gap, Kang-hoo took position at Gale Ironwood’s rear flank. The distance was not far—he settled at about fifteen meters away.
‘Five. Four.’
He counted the seconds in his head.
Right now was the peak of Gale Ironwood’s buff, when it was at its strongest. And yet one of its powerful attack patterns had not appeared.
As long as Mumyeong cleanly drew out this one attack, the scene Kang-hoo wanted would unfold.
Just then—
Kwaaaaam!
With a booming crack, Gale Ironwood threw a heavily charged blow at Mumyeong.
Apparently, seeing Mumyeong block its attacks fairly well just now had made it decide it needed to use more power.
In an ordinary battle, that would have been a no-risk choice, but right now Kang-hoo was biding his time, waiting for this very moment.
Pssst!
The instant Mumyeong took Gale Ironwood’s strike and dissipated—
【Abduction】
With its weight thrown forward and its balance broken, Gale Ironwood was immediately hit with Abduction from Kang-hoo.
Mumyeong had already dissipated and was gone. Considering that it was a being that would grow from level 1 upwards, this much was the best outcome.
Hurgh!
Caught off guard by the unexpected Abduction skill, Gale Ironwood flailed its arms wildly in mid-air as it was dragged forward.
Thud. Thud-thud.
Behind the dragged Gale Ironwood, Kang-hoo could see the “remains” of Mumyeong—every item he had been wearing, dropped as he dissipated.
He could just collect those later and put them back on him.
【Order of Nothingness】
The first option Kang-hoo chose to use on the defenseless Gale Ironwood as it hurtled toward him was to execute Order of Nothingness.
He was not aiming for the option that would burn away his and the target’s Dark Energy together.
That was a bonus—what he really wanted was the ability to seal the enemy’s Dark Energy-based skills.
Because Gale Ironwood had more Dark Energy than Kang-hoo, he was able to seal its skills for half the usual duration—thirty seconds.
It was a calculated move based on his insight that all of its barrage and combo skills were Dark Energy-based.
At the same time—
【Unfair Trade】
He temporarily sacrificed 1,000 points of Toughness and Magic Resistance and gained an orb that would nullify a single instance of each incoming attack.
Perfect insurance.
Thanks to that, he became a so-called “glass cannon,” where even a brush with a branch could injure him, but he did not care.
Stab!
Gale Ironwood came to a stop right in front of him, and Kang-hoo’s dagger, thrust with all his strength, stabbed into one of its eyes.
As a humanoid-type monster, it could not be free from pain.
Screeeech!
So Gale Ironwood writhed and groaned.
Fwoooosh!
At the same time, Kang-hoo released eighty percent of the Dark Energy inside his body in one burst.
From here on was the start of the combo he had meticulously planned.
【Dark Energy Ignition】
Dark Energy Ignition—if Dark Energy existed as a medium, he could spark flame from it anywhere.
Kang-hoo covered Gale Ironwood’s entire body with Dark Energy, then set that Dark Energy ablaze.
Fwoooosh!
Screeech! Uuurgh! Kreeeee!
Like pouring gasoline and lighting it, flames erupted from every part touched by Dark Energy.
Because Kang-hoo had expended no small amount of Dark Energy, the magnitude of the blaze was beyond imagination.
【Flame of Annihilation】
To that, he added Flame of Annihilation as a bonus.
Kang-hoo grabbed hold of Gale Ironwood’s torso and created a hellish inferno around it.
Even though the flames were roaring right in front of him, Kang-hoo did not have a hair singed.
It was thanks to the Flame Immunity skill he had gained earlier.
When it came to fire, Kang-hoo now had 100% absolute resistance—fire was no longer something to fear.
It was closer to something familiar, like air—ever-present around him, yet no burden at all.
‘In Life Handbook of a Villain Turned Savior, they often called fire-type ability users “fire incarnate.” That’s exactly what I look like now.’
Feeling himself as one with the flames, Kang-hoo laughed.
This raging heat that felt pleasantly warm to him must have been a hellish fire of agony to Gale Ironwood.
Waaaaaaaaagh!
Kang-hoo’s almost fully pressed-in position made it difficult for Gale Ironwood to even attempt a counterattack.
“.......”
Unlike Gale Ironwood, which was going berserk in pain, Kang-hoo wore a blank expression as he climbed onto its torso.
Then he shoved his dagger into Gale Ironwood’s mouth, which would not close, occupied as it was with spewing groans.
At the same time, he grabbed hold of the thing that had been thrashing about aimlessly left and right. Gale Ironwood’s tongue.
Graaagh!
When he yanked with all his might, Gale Ironwood’s tongue stretched out like an elastic band.
The next moment—
Stab!
He stabbed his dagger into the left tip of the tongue and pulled to the right. So he could cut it off in one go.
Shreeeek!
With a grotesque ripping sound—halfway between cutting and tearing—Gale Ironwood’s tongue was severed.
His finishing touch was a bit off, so the tongue did not come off completely; its tip still hung on in ragged strips.
So—
Slice!
He cut it once more.
Then Gale Ironwood’s bright red tongue, flopping like a freshly caught fish, lay in Kang-hoo’s hand.
His master had said the tongue had an important use, so he had already secured the loot he needed.
Grrrrrr!
From the moment it was engulfed in flame and one-sidedly brutalized, Gale Ironwood felt deep fear at its own situation.
Countless hunters had entered Hoeyang County over time.
Curiosity-filled hunters had not backed down even after seeing Gale Ironwood; they had actively chosen to fight it.
Each time, Gale Ironwood had ravaged those skilled hunters, pummeling them with fierce attacks.
Whether it was a chaotic melee or a drawn-out war of attrition, the final winner was always itself. It had believed this time would be no different.
But once it had become a single ball of fire, being burned whole, there was no answer to be found.
Of all the fire-type ability users it had faced so far, Kang-hoo’s flames were the fiercest.
The turning point of its defeat had been Abduction.
Humans who could wield fire usually kept their distance and hurled fireballs.
So even if they landed a hit, Gale Ironwood could douse the flames quickly or take less damage than expected.
But now it felt as if it had been laid alive on a blazing pyre, and it had no way to endure that. This was hell itself!
Grrrrr!
There was no future in giving up helplessly. Even as its body burned and melted, Gale Ironwood clung to its consciousness.
The enemy right before its nose.
They were mutual threats to each other. If it took a blow, it was also in the perfect position to return one.
Creak, creak.
Gale Ironwood’s obsession with revenge spawned a new branch from its trunk and rapidly grew it out.
Saturated with moisture, the newborn branch endured the raging flames and quickly hardened.
It happened to be just when Kang-hoo had cut off its tongue and was propelling his body backward, preparing to land.
Kang-hoo was still in mid-air, and without some special propulsion, he would not be able to change direction.
Patience created opportunity!
That was what Gale Ironwood believed.
The rapidly grown branch shot forward, its sharpened tip perfectly suited to aim for Kang-hoo’s heart.
The next moment—
Saaaa!
The newly grown branch, filled with power focused on a single point, trembled violently. It was an outburst of rage.
Kuwaang!
With a thunderous boom, Gale Ironwood’s strike hurtled toward Kang-hoo’s chest.
“......!”
Kang-hoo’s eyes flew wide open.
Gale Ironwood was certain it had succeeded.
Those eyes were the same panicked eyes humans always showed when struck by a blow they had not anticipated.
And then—
Pook!
The sound it had been waiting for rang out.
The sound you only heard when something sharp pierced flesh and muscle—the sound of death.