Chapter 118

The battle between Seong Jihan and Hojo.

From anyone's point of view, the odds were clearly tilted in favor of Hojo, the leader of Phoenix Corps.

While Seong Jihan had indeed showcased his incredible performance up till now, he was just a player who had recently reached the Gold rank.

On the other hand, Hojo was a formidable mid-boss reigning on 'Lone Bridge', a map that's even used in the Diamond League.

In defense map strategies, the standard approach was to just leave the task of dealing with Hojo to Bijang.

When their clash began:

– Uhm… Do you think Ji-Han can win?

– How can he even think of defeating Hojo? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ But Bijang might help if he just holds on for a bit.

– Yeah, I noticed earlier that Bijang became unexpectedly friendly towards Ji-Han. He probably won't abandon him

– As long as Ji-Han doesn't get killed by Hojo before that~~^^7

– That seems tough ㅋㅋㅋㅋ.

The viewers naturally expected Bijang to intervene in their battle.

And so did Seong Jihan, who had challenged Hojo.

'I've already been acknowledged.'

Originally, Seong Jihan had intended to face Hojo to gain Bijang's recognition, but he somehow absorbed the lightning, getting acknowledged beforehand.

So, he didn't really need to fight Hojo, but seeing the Phoenix made Hojo rush at him leading to the battle.

Before clashing with Hojo, Seong Jihan organized his thoughts.

'I should hold him off for a while, and once Bijang comes to help, we can jointly defeat him.'

He couldn't ignore Bijang, who had become friendly thanks to the Phoenix Flag.

However,

Things didn't go as expected.

"This… This lightning… What on earth…!"

Zzzzap!

The powerful lightning from the Phoenix device shot out, and Hojo hastily used his sword to block it.

He managed to deflect the main lightning bolt, but the residual lightning flowed into his hand and arm, charring them.

"Why… Why is it so strong!?"

His skin melted instantly, even the blood, flesh, and bone beneath it disintegrated.

Thanks to the Giant race's rapid regeneration ability, his disappearing arms and hands were instantly regenerated.

But Hojo looked confused.

The physical strength of the Giant race isn't this weak.

It wasn't a direct hit from the lightning, so it was surprising that residual current could do this much damage.

"I wonder."

Seong Jihan, seemingly curious himself, aimed the tip of his spear at him.

Flash!

Another bolt of white lightning shot towards Hojo.

"Kuk…!"

He hurriedly tried to block it.

Compared to the retreating Hojo, Seong Jihan's Striking Thunderbolt grew even more powerful.

'Using Divine Thunder Decree is so effortless.'

With the addition of the rare stat "Thunder Seal", and the merging of the Thundercloud Spear, he could use the Striking Thunderbolt as easily as a basic skill.

By this point, the exploration seemed over.

'Let's see how far I can go.'

As if just starting, Seong Jihan consecutively cast Striking Thunderbolt.

Rumble!

"Ugh!"

Hojo's sword danced brilliantly trying to block the lightning.

But he couldn't stop all of Seong Jihan's Striking Thunderbolt that was cast with full force.

Direct hits from the Striking Thunderbolt enveloped him.

Fwoosh!

The affected parts of his body immediately went up in white flames.

In no time, the burning flesh turned to dust.

The giant's body parts broke off, falling to the ground.

"I can't… believe this…"

Fwish~

Thanks to his regeneration ability, Hojo recovered his limbs.

But he had already lost half his fighting spirit.

Just one bolt of that lightning was enough to send parts of him flying, how could he possibly continue the fight?

Seeing Hojo, who couldn't muster the courage to charge, Seong Jihan remarked:

"Are you an undead?"

"You… What nonsense are you spouting?!"

"Considering how weak you are against lightning, you seem like an undead."

It's an extreme weakness of the undead: Divine Thunder Decree.

Added to this are the Thundercloud Spear and the powerful white flames of the Phoenix that's also effective against the undead.

The power thunder emitted by Seong Jihan was no different from the ultimate weapon against the great undead.

"It doesn't look like an undead at all from the outside…"

Its appearance was just like Bijang, resembling a giant.

There was no feel of the unique deathly aura of the undead.

When regenerated, it returned in its full flesh and blood form.

Except for its ridiculous weakness to the lightning, there was no evidence that it was undead.

Was that why?

Hojo strongly denied Seong Jihan's guess.

"What nonsense are you talking about! I'm an undead!?"

"Well, we'll know if you die."

Nameless Divine Arts, Divine Thunder Decree – Lightning Body

Sizzling…!

Seong Jihan's body slowly became transparent, and white lightning rose on his body.

The Lightning Body that equates himself with lightning.

Its appearance was a bit different from when he usually used it.

"There's no need to stick to the basics."

There's no need to merge with just the energy of thunder in Lightning Body.

Absorbing and integrating the White Flame of the Phoenix would be more effective against the undead.

As Seong Jihan's body became transparent, white flames began to rise.

"Cough…!"

Hojo shuddered slightly.

He instinctively felt that this power was his nemesis.

Swish! Swish!

Denying that sensation, Hojo fiercely swung his blade towards Seong Jihan.

The giant's blade strike, which disappeared and regenerated several times, was still powerful.

Hojo's great blade swiftly touched Seong Jihan's head.

"This, this can't be!"

Bijang, who was watching the battle from behind, hurried forward, but it was already too late.

It seemed like Hojo's great blade would split Seong Jihan's head in half at any moment.

But…

"Ugh!"

The great blade couldn't proceed any further from Seong Jihan's forehead.

Sizzling…!

"Ugh!"

He couldn't overcome the lightning emitted by Seong Jihan in his Lightning Body state.

As Hojo approached Seong Jihan, his whole body seemed to be on fire.

"This… is impossible…!"

He was extremely vulnerable to the lightning conducted through the great blade.

The giant's arm disappeared and regenerated repeatedly, seeming to let go of the great blade at any moment.

Then…

Boom!

The Thundercloud Spear thrown hastily by Bijang from behind struck Hojo.

Sizzle!

Although it was also a lightning-attribute weapon, Bijang's Thundercloud Spear didn't pierce Hojo as easily as Seong Jihan's did.

Instead, the lightning from the Thundercloud Spear was absorbed into Hojo's armor and disappeared without any effect.

"This is what it should be… How?!"

Seeing this, Hojo shouted in frustration.

The Thunderbolt thrown by Bijang, the owner of the Thundercloud Spear, was blocked by the armor.

Why was he so defenseless against this human?

"Amazing, isn't it?"

Thunk!

The White Flame of the Phoenix pierced through Hojo's body in one go.

Unlike Bijang's attack just a moment ago,

The white spear pierced the giant's heart without any resistance.

"Why am I so weak against him?"

Hojo couldn't answer Seong Jihan's question.

Whooosh…!

With his heart pierced, Hojo burned to ashes in an instant.

And as if to confirm Hojo's death,

[Special Achievement, 'Defeat Hojo.' has been cleared.]

[Achievement points 10,000 rewarded.]

[Special Achievement, 'Defeat Hojo Alone.' has been cleared.]

[Achievement points 30,000 rewarded.]

Achievement messages popped up, and only the blade and armor of Hojo, who lost its master, fell onto the cloud bridge.

"...."

Bijang, who was hurriedly coming to assist Seong Jihan, was speechless upon seeing the scene.

"Hojo…is he dead?"

Bijang couldn't comprehend the situation.

Hojo, the great leader of the Phoenix Corps.

Bijang, also of the giant clan, knew better about Hojo's strength.

One of the five strongest warriors of the Wind Empire.

He wasn't the type to fall so powerlessly to Seong Jihan.

– Why did Hojo die so quickly?

– Wasn't he originally harder than the final boss of this map?

– Yeah, his damage is high and his regenerative ability is insane; it's a common strategy to just let Bijang deal with him.

The viewers watching Seong Jihan's broadcast were equally shocked.

In the defense map, 'Lone Bridge', even though Hojo appeared as a mid-level boss, his patterns were tricky and his regenerative abilities were extreme, making him tougher than the final boss from the player's perspective.

Thus, players usually let Hojo fight with Bijang, saving their energy to face the final boss.

However, that powerful being was easily shattered by Seong Jihan's spear.

– Whoa… Was Hojo really an undead? Then he's weak to holy power?

– No, I don't think so? From the experiments before, he had strong resistance against both holy and elemental magics.

– Right, he handled the lightning Bijang threw just fine earlier.

While it wasn't unusual for Seong Jihan's game to have unexpected turns, defeating Hojo this time was especially incomprehensible.

Why did Hojo show a perfect compatibility only with Seong Jihan?

"What… how did you do that?"

"Well, if I were to guess, Hojo seemed vulnerable to the Phoenix's flames. He couldn't resist the combined power of the Phoenix's white flames with the thunder."

"The leader of the Phoenix Corps is weak to the power of the Phoenix… That's peculiar."

Seong Jihan, who unexpectedly dominated, thought the Phoenix's white flames were the variable.

The combination of White Flame, Divine Thunder Decree, and Thundercloud Spear.

Though these have extreme compatibility against the undead and their combined effect was impressive,

it was unnatural for a strong foe like Hojo to disappear as if he had a weakness.

"Secure the divine beast!"

On the other hand, the Phoenix Corps, having lost its great lord, didn't mention anything about Hojo and were singularly focused on capturing the Phoenix floating in the sky.

"Charge!"

Thud thud thud thud…!

From the other side of the cloud bridge, a cavalry unit charged in perfect formation.

Watching them, Bijang chuckled as if he found them amusing.

"What audacity! Charging without Hojo?"

Thump! Thump!

With that, Bijang walked in front of Seong Jihan.

"You rest for a bit."

Holding his spear, he single-handedly charged at the Phoenix Corps.

If the game had proceeded normally, Bijang, after battling with Hojo, would be exhausted.

But, thanks to Hojo being easily subdued by Seong Jihan, Bijang was in prime condition.

Bang! Bang!

Swinging his massive Thundercloud Spear like a club, Bijang instantly decimated the cavalry unit.

The Phoenix Corps numbered in the hundreds, but against the narrow bridge terrain and Bijang's overwhelming strength, they were helpless.

'He fights well.'

As Bijang said, their charge was futile against the giant.

Every time Bijang swung his Thundercloud Spear, which was as big as a small telephone pole,

"Arghhh...!"

Members of the Phoenix Corps couldn't withstand the attack and fell off the cliff.

Given the difference in strength, it made sense to give up the charge.

"Secure the divine beast!"

The black spear soldiers seemed to have lost their minds, focusing only on the divine beast and relentlessly charging like moths to a flame.

"Have they gone mad?"

Boom! Boom!

Even as Bijang mercilessly flung the spear soldiers away, somehow, the black spear soldiers continued to find openings, attempting to approach Seong Jihan.

However.

Even if they got close, it was of no use.

Compared to Hojo, their capabilities were considerably weaker.

Chiieeek!

They were all easily pierced by the Phoenix's White Flames, turning into dust and disappearing.

Chiieeek!

'These guys also disappear like Hojo…'

It's peculiar how those who bear the name of the Phoenix are the weakest to the flames of the Phoenix.

He didn't understand the reason for this, but for now, he considered them as experience points.

As he was about to eliminate all the Black Spear Soldiers,

"Wait a moment!"

Among the Spear Soldiers who were recklessly approaching him, one of them suddenly seemed to come to his senses.

Startled, he urgently said, "This… this can't be… Please spare me! I will tell you everything!"

'Finally, it happened.'

It was an event that usually occurred as the second wave, the assault of the Black Spear Soldiers, was nearing its end.

The 'Black Spear Soldier who regained his sanity'.

This was an essential event that always took place before the final boss battle.

Through his confession, the weakness of the final boss of this map was revealed.

Using this information to target the boss's vulnerability while defending the bridge was the ultimate battle.

'This… seems easier than I thought.'

Seong Jihan waited for him to speak.