Child of Destiny

Chapter 1637 Competition at the Center of the Plagued Lands (Part 5)

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After exchanging a couple more blows with the group, Shin felt that he seemed to have gotten his fill. He felt that it was now time to settle this and wrap it up.

He glanced at Lambert, who remained calm despite the 'mad' state on the surface, before mumbling to himself. "Do I need to push him a little more before he is willing to show his true colors?"

He had been fighting with the group for quite some time now, but he still had not seen any kind of reinforcements coming to cover them. It felt like they were forcefully holding him down in this place and stubbornly trying to take him down on their own.

Their team was supposed to be one of the core points of this net formation covering the entire 2-kilometer region, so their roles should be one of the most crucial ones.

But despite all of that, no one had noticed that they had not moved from their location up until now.

The other 'points' should have noticed that the core link was out of formation up until now, yet no one had come to assist this group even after quite a lot of time.

Shin could only think of two reasons.

The first case was this group being an independent 'point' which could move wherever and whenever they wanted. It was more likely the case given the 'true' strength that this group possessed.

The other case was because of some accidents that happened that affected the entire formation, which was why their absence was not noticed by the other 'points' of the formation.

Shin quickly linked this with one of the pieces of information that he had overheard from them earlier. It was about the communication network being sealed within the entire region, and the only means to contact anyone was with the help of that special sphere that Lambert and others had mentioned earlier.

Regardless of these cases, Shin knew that the lack of communication was one of the main reasons why no one had appeared to assist this group up until now.

He then concluded. "Something must have happened at the core areas of the plagued lands where these guys have found a chieftain-rank Plagued Monster."

Having these thoughts, Shin finally came to a decision. "I wanted to play with them a for a little bit more, but I think joining the chaos at the core areas is more interesting."

He then suddenly halted his tracks and swung the [Yamato] to block the ambush of Night Hound from behind.

Clang! Clang!

After that, he kicked the ground and leaped in the air while twisting his body for a spinning roll to dodge the incoming strikes from Night Hound and Ricky, which targeted the back of his neck and legs respectively.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The heavy sword and daggers flew past his body with the slightest margin before Shin suddenly kicked the two and pushed them back.

When he landed on the ground once again, Lambert suddenly fell from the sky and slammed his war axes at him along with his meteor-like momentum.

Shin quickly raised the sheathed [Yamato] in the air as his breathing shifted back to the Great Dominator Technique. Through this breathing technique, he utilized his connection with the Earth Element to connect himself to the ground.

The Earth-Elemental Mana seemed to have been sucked into his body as a transparent barrier appeared around Shin.

He used another version of the 'Eclipse Pulse' Skill, but he matched it with the elemental power of earth, which was reflected with the yellow glow that the barrier had alongside the earthen features that it possessed.

'Four Symbol Scripture: Divine Yellow Dragon – Guardian of the Earth'

Swoosh!

Boom!

Not long after, Lambert slammed his war axes on the earthen barrier, causing a powerful impact.

The barrier shook and cracked but did not collapse, which showed how sturdy its defensive capabilities were.

But Lambert did not stop there as he started hitting the barrier again and again with his war axes, even using a series of skills to thoroughly destroy it.

But before the barrier could collapse, he suddenly sensed an immense threat, forcing him to stop and retreat.

Snap!

Not long after, he heard a snap coming from beyond the barrier, which reverberated in the air and was followed by the explosion of the earthen barrier.

Shin activated the follow-up skill of 'Eclipse Pulse', the 'Eclipse Counter', to detonate the barrier with the accumulated damage that it had endured.

'Four Symbol Scripture: Divine Yellow Dragon – Revenge of the Earth'

Bang!

The fragments of the barrier were sent in every direction along with the explosion that the barrier caused, which then spread a violent ripple in the surroundings.

"That was close," mumbled Hun as saw Lambert barely able to escape from the explosion.

At the same time, Lambert closely locked his gaze at the center of the explosion with a grim expression. He could feel that Shin was planning to do something, especially when the latter decided to wrap this up.

He could not exactly tell what Shin was thinking at that time. But the shiver that ran down his spine earlier when he saw the dangerous glint from Shin's eyes told him that the latter was planning to do something.

He could not shake off this feeling and planning to use his true strength due to this. When this thought crossed his mind, he finally decided. "Third Formation!"

"Eh!?"

"Huh!?"

The others were somewhat caught off guard when they heard his command. They looked at Lambert with confused gazes, but still executed his orders regardless.

Ricky and Night Hound, who were supposed to resume attacking Shin, quickly halted their steps and changed their respective direction.

Ricky headed to where Hun and Magnolia were located to protect them while Night Hound entered stealth and hid in the darkness.

Meanwhile, Hun and Magnolia adjusted their positions, matching the movements of their teammates.

As the marksman, Hun retreated a little to create more distance. After all, his class was under the Sniper Class, which relied on distance and powerful shots to suppress his opponents. Now that he no longer needed to protect Magnolia, he could now focus on his main job.

Magnolia, on the other hand, quickly adjusted her position and ran behind Ricky to hide under his protection. With him defending her, she no longer needed to be too cautious about her surroundings.

She then quickly raised her magic staff and cast a series of spells and prayers to buff everyone on the team, especially Lambert, who would be the sole frontline for this formation.

"Tsk! What a sharp instinct," commented Shin as he walked out from the settling cloud of dust and dirt. "Unfortunately, I have lost my interest to the rest."

Right after he said those words, his figure suddenly flickered and sprinted toward the direction where Ricky and Magnolia were located.

He was thinking of getting rid of the rest of the members of the group and provoking Lambert in the process. If the latter finally revealed his true powers, then Shin might stay here a little longer as it was quite rare to find a decent 'sparring partner'.

But if Lambert refused to do so, then he would leave and head to the center of the net formation and look for the location of the chieftain-rank Plagued Monster.

Swoosh!

"You're not going anywhere," said Lambert as he charged toward a certain direction to intercept Shin.

"Can you catch up to be, though?" said Shin provokingly as he transformed into a streak of light that cut through the air.

'Slayer Skill: (Modified) Moonlight Steps'

Shin used the skill twice to further increase his speed, leaving Lambert in dust and almost reaching where his target was.

Whoosh!

Ricky quickly positioned himself in front of the incoming light and activated a special skill that could counter spiritual or ghost-type beings in incorporeal form. The skill might not have any damage, but its effects were quite special.

Shin was hit by the skill, forcing him to exit his untouchable form.

Whoosh!

At the same time, Night Hound suddenly appeared behind Shin while activating one of his ambushing skills, the 'Flickering Stab'.

But despite the perfect timing of Shin getting hit by Ricky's special skill and Night Hound's unexpected ambush, they still failed to catch their target.

Instead, Shin countered immediately after.

Shin ducked forward and low, dodging the 'Flickering Stab' directed at his back and letting the daggers fly past over his head.

He then suddenly extended his legs outwards before unexpectedly spinning. His legs swept on Night Hound's legs, who was caught off guard and got tripped in the process.

Night Hound found himself rolling in the air, giving him the familiar unpleasant feeling.

That was when he found Shin suddenly facing him sideways with his signature sword-drawing stance.

Night Hound got a bad feeling about this and used all his defensive skills to reinforce his defense and boost his reaction speed. He knew that it was impossible to dodge the incoming attack given his awkward position in the air, so he could only rely on his ability to block whatever was coming with his daggers while trusting Magnolia to keep up with the burst of damage that he would be facing.

Click!

Right after Shin pushed the [Yamato] with his thumb and slightly revealed the blazing blade through the gap between the sword guard and the sheath, a sudden dread enveloped Night Hound's body.

"F*ck!" he could only curse as Shin shifted with the 'Solar Breathing Technique' and entered the 'Divine Constellation Possession' almost at the same time.

Then while applying the principles of Sharp Sword, Swift Sword, Killing Sword, Illusionary Sword, and Slaughtering Sword, Shin pulled the [Yamato] out of its sheath and swung the sword multiple times.

Shing!

'Jade Kirin Scripture: Quick Draw – (Blazing) Flash Requiem'

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Despite Night Hound's enhanced senses and boosted reflexes, he was unable to respond to the series of slashes that cut through his body within an instant.

He could only watch his Health Bar drop sharply as his body was set ablaze by the gorgeous flame surrounding Shin's sword.

Even Magnolia along with her timely healing, could not save him as his Health Bar was emptied within an instant.

Realizing that it was useless to continue healing Night Houd, Magnolia shifted with another spell and started praying. She was planning to use the sacred skill 'Resurrection' to revive Night Hound.

"Hah!"

At the same time, Ricky stepped forward slammed his shield on the ground, and summoned a thick barrier that protected him and Magnolia.

He wanted to attack Shin, who was only a couple of meters away from him. But he knew that his priority was to protect Magnolia, and she could deal with the rest.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

At the same time, a series of gunshots rang from the distance, planning to suppress Shin and preventing him from going anywhere.

Shin twirled the sword to deflect the magic bullets and melted them with the Eternal Flame surrounding it.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Solar Breathing and Boundless Ocean Techniques intertwined as Shin utilized them simultaneously to control the powers of Eternal Flame and Primordial Waters. In the process, he also released the Divine Constellation Possession, maintaining the balance between the two elemental powers.

Instead, he used the fusion possession of Blackie and Whitie, the 'Chaos Slasher', to the [Yamato] to match the opposing elements and followed the principle of duality.

After gathering enough elemental powers with the sword, Shin suddenly swung it forward, releasing all the accumulated energy without restraint.

He used one of his in-game skills as a model to create this powerful sword technique.

'Myriad Transformation Swordsmanship: Eclipse Slash'

Swoosh!

As the sword wave was released at almost point-blank range, the barrier protecting Ricky and Magnolia shook violently before multiple cracks appeared on its surface.

Due to the intertwining hot and cold temperatures caused by the 'Eclipse Slash', the barrier became somewhat brittle and easier to destroy.

Even if the barrier still managed to survive in the end, Shin just needed to strike it hard to make it collapse completely.

But to make sure that he could destroy it with a single strike, Shin used the 'Judgement Form' and 'Summit Shaper Possession' along with the Great Dominator Technique to thoroughly crush it.

Bang!

Not waiting for the others to respond, Shin quickly disappeared and appeared behind Magnolia, who was in the middle of praying.

'Phantom Swordsman Skill: Phantom Steps'

Shin was 'spat out' by Magnolia's shadow, getting ready to strike her.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Swoosh!

But a series of gunshots rang once again as they surrounded him from tricky angles. They moved as if they were alive, avoiding Magnolia as they flew in the air.

Ricky also moved as he circled Magnolia and appeared between Shin and the Holy Mage, intercepting once again.

But before anything could happen, Shin's figure suddenly turned illusionary and swiftly dashed forward like a ghost.

'Slayer Skill: (Modified) Moonlight Steps'

Using the last charge of the skill, Shin passed through Ricky and Magnolia's bodies while also dodging the incoming bullets.

He then appeared before Magnolia, who was in the middle of casting the 'Resurrection' Skill.

With a swift turn, Shin suddenly struck with the [Yamato], throwing a series of blazing stabs that drilled holes in Magnolia's body.

'Four Symbol Scripture: Celestial Vermillion Bird – Pheonix Feathers'

Shu! Shu! Shu!

Then, using the combined forces of 'Heart Seeker' and 'Flash of Life' Skills and converting them with the help of Reality Manifestation, he ended everything with a final stab that struck accurately at Magnolia's heart.

'Four Symbol Scripture: Celestial Vermillion Bird – Pheonix Talon'

In such a short time, he had killed two members of the opposing party.

...…