Chapter 122: Uninvited Guests (3)

[We urgently request support! We simply cannot handle this monster on our own…!]

[Lieutenant Ricard Chang is fighting, but he’s no match for the enemy.]

[Supply corps hit from the flank in an ambush. Few in number but… they’re strong!]

[At this rate… we’ll be annihilated in no time! Immediate reinforcements needed…]

It was chaos erupting simultaneously.

Hundreds of status messages flooded Xue Hua’s vision along with live footage.

“What the… how did this happen…?”

Xue Hua couldn’t help but shake and utter these words.

It was inevitable.

The spectacle unfolding was a mirror showing their entire plan being shattered.

The landscape of the forest was being redrawn by a vampire who had appeared out of nowhere.

It was where Lieutenant Ricard Chang was.

Feeling the anomaly, the commander of the first company, Teng Chao, was quickly approaching this way, but Xue Hua had a gut feeling.

The mission had already fallen apart beyond repair.

Grinding.

The sound of grinding teeth resonated in the tent.

With things having come to this point…

Right, having come to this point, she had to achieve a feat comparable to the capture of elf prisoners.

Xue Hua looked at Jin Hyeok with eyes brimming with killing intent.

He must be killed.

This man, right here.

Eliminating the enemy standing in the way of the Middle Kingdom Guild would surely make Lord Nangong Chun overlook this blunder.

She didn’t need much time to decide.

[Xue Hua uses Level 9 ‘Poison Fog’!]

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the tent filled with a haze of grey smoke.

She had used a poison that paralyzed the limbs through the respiratory system.

But…

The expanding smoke stopped right in front of Jin Hyeok.

More precisely, in front of an almost transparent wall that unfolded around him.

“A barrier…?”

“I knew you used poison techniques. Of course, I’d be prepared for something like this.”

Information about the opponent had already been gathered through his ‘Gluttonous Eyes’.

Predicting how she would react when cornered was part of his plan.

What remained was…

“Just deal with the rest out there for about 5 minutes. After that, leave the situation to me.”

Jin Hyeok spoke to the elves.

“Understood.”

“We can hold out for that long.”

Sylvia and a Ranger nodded and exited the tent.

The A-class individuals had left with the deputy commander, so there shouldn’t be much danger.

Jin Hyeok returned his gaze to Xue Hua.

Name: Xue Hua

Sex: Female

Age: 25

Level: 28

Strength: 16 Agility: 26 Stamina: 25 Magic Power: 33 Inner Power: 57

Available Stat Points: 0

Coins: 51,558

Occupation: Poison Master (毒術士)

Unique Ability: ‘Thousand Poisons’ (千毒)

Skills: Lv9 ‘Poison Fog’, Lv8 ‘Intermediate Assassination Technique’, Lv8 ‘Poison Infusion’, Lv7 ‘Detoxification’, Lv7 ‘Extreme Poison Extraction’, Lv6 ‘Defensive Qi’, Lv5 ‘Poison Barrier’

[Copying condition: Fighting poison with poison (以毒制毒). If you successfully detoxify a poison used by Xue Hua with a more potent poison combination, you can copy one of her skills. However, if you detoxify the most powerful poison she has, you can copy her unique ability.]

Fighting poison with poison…

Jin Hyeok smirked as he went over the copying conditions once again.

Though it seemed simple, the actual condition was incredibly challenging.

It meant he had to gain the upper hand using poison against an opponent who specialized in poisons.

Most would not even think to attempt it.

But…

That’s for ordinary folks unfamiliar with the Tower.

‘I can do it.’

He wasn’t an expert in poisons yet, but climbing to the top of the Tower, he had encountered many formidable poison users.

Masters who practiced a level of poison technique so astonishing it wasn’t even comparable to Xue Hua.

For him, such a copying condition wasn’t even difficult.

‘I’d better aim to copy the unique ability then.’

While the skills weren’t bad, the best option was to acquire the ‘Thousand Poisons’ ability.

To do this, he needed to scratch her just enough.

“So, I heard you were deeply knowledgeable in poisons, but was that all just empty talk? It seems a low-level barrier was enough to hold it off.”

“Are you… saying my skills are sub-par?”

Xue Hua’s atmosphere intensified at Jin Hyeok’s words.

Good.

She had taken the bait.

“Well, not necessarily. But I had high expectations. It crossed my mind that I could probably take on the entire Middle Kingdom Guild single-handedly with this level of performance.”

“How dare… To make such arrogant claims again. Fine. Since it has come to this, let’s have a real fight.”

Xue Hua dispelled the poison fog.

At the same time, an atrocious energy began to rise, incomparable to before.

[Xue Hua activates her unique ability ‘Thousand Poisons’!]

[Thousand Ultimate Calamity Poison (千亟天禍毒) blooms!]

An extreme poison that destroys organs throughout the body via the magic circuits, rather than the respiratory system.

Thousands of mucus-like filaments manifested in the shape of threads were explosively shot towards Jin Hyeok.

They were fast.

Moreover, this wasn’t something a barrier could stop.

‘…She’s using that one, as I expected.’

As predicted, Xue Hua brought out the most vicious and effective poison she possessed.

Even a 10-meter class large creature couldn’t survive half a day with just 1mg absorbed of this extreme poison.

Of course, a person wouldn’t last even a minute.

However…

‘As long as you know the type of poison in advance, you can always detoxify it. Especially when it’s connected to the flow of magic.’

Jin Hyeok willingly allowed himself to be hit by her attack.

Kwakwakwakwa!

Threads woven like a spider’s web brushed over Jin Hyeok’s entire body.

Bright reddish lines stretched across his skin.

Soon, the reddened lines started to bulge like inflating balloons.

“Ha! You’re caught!”

Xue Hua smirked with a sly smile.

With the poison’s effect taking hold, it wouldn’t matter if her opponent was even the most agile ranker.

Even holy knights and healers who had completed their second class advancement staggered in the face of this poison.

But…

“Hmm. I’ll cut off the magic circulations for now. From here, if I release the flow about 1% at a time…”

The person who should have been writhing in pain and despair was just muttering to himself calmly.

“Please… Can you at least show some tension? Do you not realize the situation you’re in?”

“Huh? My situation?”

Jin Hyeok tilted his head in confusion.

“Kuh! Fine. It seems you’re ignorant about this, so let me explain what happens when you get hit by the Thousand Ultimate Calamity Poison. First, your blood vessels swell, and you start losing sensation from the tip of your right leg…”

“My leg seems to move just fine though?”

Jin Hyeok lightly moved his right leg.

Shuffling-shuffling.

From his toes to his calf, up to his thigh and pelvis.

His muscles danced a tap dance.

“Huh? Why is this…?”

Hmm…

“Is your poison a bit weak?”

“What, weak poison! You’re saying that about the elite art!”

“If not, then not. Why all the noise? It’s actually not that effective, to be honest.”

Jin Hyeok casually jested, and Xue Hua’s face contorted even more menacingly.

“…Even if you survived the paralysis by sheer luck, you cannot escape the next symptom.”

Even if the first round of paralysis was survived by a fluke, there was no escaping the second.

The second stage of symptoms spread through all the magic circuits in the body.

“Yawn. I’m not getting my hopes up, but I do wish you were right this time. The experience is there, somewhat spicy but doesn’t quite make you sweat. Like using only half the amount of hot chicken sauce?”

“Let’s see how far your nonchalance gets you.”

Xue Hua laughed coldly, looking forward to the scene to come.

However…

The result was the same, once again.

The victim, who should have been collapsing in a pool of blood, was instead smiling peacefully.

There was only one reason for this.

Could it be…

“Are you telling me to believe… that you detoxified the Thousand Ultimate Calamity Poison?”

For a melee combatant, especially one not from China but a Korean ranker, to have such a deep understanding of poisons was ridiculous.

If the other commanders had been there, they would have burst into laughter at such nonsense.

However, meaning the rival had calculated every blood vessel, magic circuit, and amount and type of poison flowing through them, completely neutralizing the attack.

Though it was an absurd story, there was no other explanation when faced with him being unharmed.

“I’ve created a more vicious poison by mixing [Blood Demon Qi] with your poison. I managed to neutralize your poison by flowing it out appropriately.”

He said it, and it sounded grand.

But to be honest, he still didn’t know much about anything like Jingmai or Tianzhu points or where they were located.

It was just easier to memorize and learn with his body as it came.

Ultimately, this was all a result of the efforts he’d acquired through numerous trials and errors.

And at that moment.

[You have acquired the skill ‘Thousand Poisons’ (AA)!]

[Thousand Poisons]

Difficulty of Acquisition: AA

Description: An innate ability to handle a thousand poisons, allowing for immediate effects from deadly poisons to latent ones that gradually worsen symptoms. You will also gain a certain level of ‘Detoxification’ due to the extensive knowledge of poisons.

A notification appeared before Jin Hyeok, signaling the success of the copy.

Another ability was now in his hands.

Moreover, an innate ability with endless potential.

Of course, when you get a new ability, it’s only natural to use it right away.

“It seems you’re not very familiar with poisons, so let me teach you a lesson this time.”

Watch carefully.

How poisons are meant to be utilized.

“…!”

Xue Hua tensed, preparing for the attack.

In a battle with poisons, it was a constant struggle between poisoning and detoxification.

The side that used more advanced poison techniques would win this confrontation.

‘Don’t panic. Stay calm.’

As a descendant of one of the few remaining poison clans in China, she had been educated as a genius practitioner from a young age.

She directly experienced countless poisons, researched them while seeking rare poisons across the land.

She was confident that she would not be outdone by even the mightiest veteran when it came to poisons.

But that vain expectation…

“Cough!”

Blood dripped from Xue Hua’s mouth.

When was the poison used?

When did the poisoning take place?

Even the type of poison employed…

She couldn’t determine any of it.

“What on earth… are you…?”

With a brief sigh.

Boom!

Xue Hua’s body collapsed.

＊＊＊

Damn it.

…Damn it!

“How could things go wrong to this extent!”

Teng Chao, who had been in charge of the center of the elf village, was now sprinting like a madman along the forest path.

At some point, all communication with the other company commanders and platoons had been cut off. On top of that, they’d lost more than 30% of their forces due to the pursuit by the crazed elf in a pink dress wielding a magic wand.

It was the worst-case scenario.

But if he could somehow meet Xue Hua and reorganize their formation…

There was still a chance to turn around this desperate situation.

However…

By the time Teng Chao had barely reached the main camp…

He had a gut feeling that something had gone terribly wrong.

Tents were burning all around.

In the tent where the company commander should have been, he saw Xue Hua lying in a pool of blood.

Of course…

He also saw the figure of a veteran eagerly awaiting his next prey.

“You’ve gone a long way. What will you do? You’ve come to a dead end.”

Jin Hyeok slowly stood up.

Title: Chapter 122: Uninvited Guests (3)