Chapter 126

BOOOOOOM!

A blade strike that soared toward the skies, met by Baekho’s head-on rush tearing right through it!

“What on earth is this! A brand-new ability from Drill Sarge just BURST onto the field!”

“Unbelievable! He’s executing blade techniques with only one arm, and it’s THIS destructive? It feels like he could slice the whole world to pieces!”

“My mouth is wide open and it just won’t close. Facing two S-rank summons! No, with Mermaid joining the fray on top of that, and Drill Sarge is standing his ground without a hint of fear. I am truly blown away.”

“Wow……”

“Whoa……”

“He’s completely lost it.”

The Korean spectators, the English spectators.

Each and every one of them watched the bout with breathless looks.

Among the crowd were undoubtedly top global rankers.

So this is what a high-tier ranker clash looks like. The matches leading up to this were honestly just child’s play.

What’s visible is already mind-boggling, but every single one of those abilities has precise, micro-level management woven into it…… The disparity in class is utterly ridiculous.

Will a day ever arrive when I can battle like that? Even before that, can my own summons ever attain that tier?

JinuGod, JinuGod. I kept hearing that name…… Turns out the guy is just an absolute beast.

A contest that elevated your own skill just by observing.

That was the showdown between Baek Jinwoo and Rachel.

“ROOOOOAAAR!”

Even before Baekho’s onslaught, its energy radiating Slaughter exactly as the ability’s title promised, Drill Sarge displayed not a single crack in his stoic expression.

Even if those talons shredded him to ribbons this very instant, his resolve was absolute: he would execute everything he had studied.

The sole regret was—

Not even a tenth of the true might manifested.

It couldn’t be helped.

He had only achieved mastery over three stars up to this point, and even that was a barely functional tier of competence.

But what if the World Annihilation that Aso had introduced to Daesung were unleashed?

The moment it triggered, Baekho or the golden dragon alike would be torn into thousands of fragments.

Confronting a divine martial art wielded by a prodigy, classification meant nothing.

S-rank, whatever.

It was simply the conclusion.

That was exactly why Aso had been targeted with a balance patch.

SNAP, CR-CRACK!

Drill Sarge poured every bit of vitality he possessed, but Baekho brushed it all aside and narrowed the gap.

This is my limit.

The edge of Drill Sarge’s lips curled up ever so slightly.

My master.

Even so, I held the line pretty well, didn’t I?

Rolly’s charges should be quite nicely accumulated by this point, so you absolutely have to claim victory.

And I am sorry I couldn’t endure any longer.

Just as Drill Sarge stared at the colossal white tiger countenance rushing toward him with jaws terrifyingly wide, and slowly lowered his eyelids—

FWOOOSH!

A dragon-shaped cascade of fire surged straight into that open throat.

Storm Dragon Arts.

Hidden technique.

Blaze.

A portion of the heat gathered through Chain up to this moment burst forth as Blaze.

Stormy?

Drill Sarge’s eyelids snapped open in astonishment at the blistering warmth pressing against his flesh.

Standing ahead of him with a majestic posture, staff dug firmly into the terrain with a sharp thud, Stormy was protecting him. When had she even arrived?

Fwoosh, FWOOOSH!

Stormy, exhaling embers from her actual form, appeared to be communicating precisely this:

If you wish to claim Drill Sarge, you must pass through ME first!

Golden dragon?

Big deal!

I am a Burst Dragon!

“Hah.”

At that identical instant, Baek Jinwoo observed the clash progressing from a distance, his features contorted in a grimace.

No choice.

To secure a flawless victory, he required more time.

Drill Sarge had performed admirably, but not even ten minutes had elapsed yet.

That was why he had been forced to deploy Stormy.

Graciously, precisely as she had practiced repeatedly, her precision was flawless.

Straight into Baekho’s throat. Ideal positioning.

“ROOOOOAAAR!”

Baekho, which had been pressing forward as though it would Slaughter everything in its path, writhed in torment.

Even if you are S-rank, there is nothing you can do against this.

Perhaps not as game-breaking as Devour.

But Storm Dragon Arts was immensely broken in its own right.

Furthermore, the critical weakness of beast-type entities was typically the interior of the mouth.

The thinnest layer, closest to the brain.

And beasts are inherently terrified of fire.

“Ramba.”

“Y-yeah.”

Ramba murmured in the softest tone imaginable.

Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish-swish!

She was rotating her staff so frantically her arms became a blur.

“Just hold on a bit longer.”

It was time to begin forming a choice.

Enter the fray after Drill Sarge and Stormy were both dismissed, or select the perfect instant and dive in.

If achievable, I want to draw out the golden dragon’s breath technique before I venture forward.

The Ascension Breath he had witnessed previously.

That execution was devastating.

No matter how swift Rolly was, if he absorbed an ability that preposterous directly, he would dissolve in a single blast.

Please.

Baek Jinwoo commenced directing Stormy from afar.

Please, just endure a bit longer, you two.

“Ha.”

A hollow chuckle finally slipped from Rachel’s mouth.

They were completely persistent.

She had deployed Baekho’s ultimate move, and he countered it utilizing a Burst Dragon shaman?

Drill Sarge was still breathing on top of that.

Rachel sensed the scenario drifting away from her control.

She pondered simply wiping everything clean with a breath execution, but then the golden dragon would be unable to utilize its full capability.

Baekho by itself isn’t sufficient to handle JinuGod. He is a bit too daunting for that.

Naturally, she still hadn’t utilized one card up her sleeve.

One summon she hadn’t displayed yet.

She couldn’t deploy it now.

It was her ultimate fortress, potent enough to potentially finish JinuGod in a singular strike.

She needed to preserve it for when she was standing directly in front of him.

“Oh no!”

Rachel twitched.

Before she realized it, Storm Dragon Arts: Shift had assumed the form of a Phoenix and was slamming into the golden dragon.

More accurately, it was attempting to force its path into the golden dragon’s jaws.

Truly incredible management.

Get a grip.

Rachel clamped down hard on her lip.

Apologies, but, JinuGod.

You might have been a myth in 「Battle of Summoners」, but the top ranker in this actual world is ME.

CRUNCH!

The golden dragon casually deflected the torrent of embers away.

Since it was merely a solitary Dragon Burst altered via Shift, the potency itself was negligible.

Rachel preserved her focus.

The unwavering certainty that she was the premier summoner on earth.

“Apologies, but this is where it concludes.”

Stormy’s options were exhausted, and Drill Sarge possessed no MP remaining to contest.

Now was the hour to wrap this up with standard strikes.

“KRAAAAAAHHH!”

The golden dragon’s spike, thrashing furiously, lunged toward Stormy’s core.

Drill Sarge bounded off the dirt and lashed his edge, and Stormy conjured another torrent of heat, but it was futile.

THUD!

“……!”

The spike impaled Stormy’s core.

Yet she didn’t shriek.

“Cough!”

Even as a spray of crimson erupted from her lips, she maintained her intent.

Dumbass.

Simultaneously, she shaped the words silently, mocking Rachel.

Master Jinwoo’s deception succeeded.

That Blaze she had hurled at Baekho earlier?

It was nothing beyond roughly five Dragon Burst charges compressed together.

It only appeared catastrophic because it had detonated inside Baekho’s throat.

Which signified?

She still retained roughly twenty charges preserved via Chain.

Drill Sarge!

Precisely as Stormy signaled with her gaze—

LEAP!

Drill Sarge, who had been feigning being thrown backward by the talons, dredged up every remaining drop of vitality he held and propelled himself at the golden dragon’s skull.

Concurrently, at the base of the spike that was pinning Stormy’s core—

NOW!

He plunged his blade in.

“KRAAAAAAAAHHH!”

The golden dragon wailed.

And through that vulnerability, every Dragon Burst Stormy had retained exploded as Blaze.

FWOOOOOSH!

The embers penetrated the golden dragon’s skull and began to scorch.

What the HELL!

Rachel was terrified.

How was this achievable?

She couldn’t even begin to grasp the dynamic.

What were these entities, roaches? She destroyed and destroyed and they just wouldn’t vanish?

How did they persist in executing critical strikes this devastating?

That one even had her core ruptured!

At this juncture, weren’t THEY the S-ranks?

Draaain!

The golden dragon’s health bar plunged drastically right before her eyes.

This will not do.

Ultimately, Rachel threw down her final wager.

“JUST PERISH ALREADY!”

With rage painted across her expression, she propelled the golden dragon into the skies.

KABOOOOOOOOM!

The golden dragon, previously compact, commenced expanding to a monumental scale.

Alongside it, Rachel’s form drifted up into the air space.

The unmistakable marker of an approaching Ascension Breath.

Stormy is finished regardless, and Drill Sarge is irrelevant at this juncture.

Fssht!

Right on schedule, the form of the Burst Dragon shaman pinned on the spike dissolved.

Entirely unsummoned.

Then it was flawless.

I merely target Baek Jinwoo all the way over there and it is finished.

SHAAAAAAAA!

The golden dragon ascended to the atmosphere.

Its trajectory: Baek Jinwoo at the distant fringe of her field of vision.

Drill Sarge clung powerlessly to the spike, blade still wedged in, but she disregarded him and surged forward.

Baek Jinwoo remained stationary with a startled expression on his features, and the Wind Fairy was rotating her staff like a person possessed.

That concealed Assassinate entity was likely right beside him.

Gale Slaughterer, was it?

Most likely.

Wind Fairy, Storm Dragon Sorcerer, Drill Instructor…… All entities that had been hit with balance patches.

And among altered entities, the sole Assassinate-type remaining in Rachel’s recollections was Gale Slaughterer.

The Wind Fairy wasn’t rotating her staff at empty space, so it was an absolute certainty.

“Apologies, but it is finished. JinuGod.”

Wager you didn’t anticipate me taking flight up here, did you?

Panic all you desire. It will not assist you.

Ascension Breath possesses a colossal area of effect.

SNAP!

The golden dragon’s maw ripped open.

There was no occasion to pause.

Her rival was JinuGod.

Grant him an inch and there was no forecasting what he’d manifest.

And then—

“KEEEYAAAAAAAAH!”

Golden Dragon!

Ascension Breath!

A golden luminescence on a completely distinct plane from every assault prior swallowed Baek Jinwoo, Ramba, and even Drill Sarge.

SHAAAAAAAAAAA!

Resembling a nuclear detonation, the golden dragon’s Ascension Breath vaporized everything inside the beam!

FLASH!

Ramba disintegrated without even offering a proper opposition, and the shockwave even dismissed Drill Sarge, who had been holding onto the spike.

“A-AAAAAH……! AAH!”

“A-Ascension Breath! The identical preposterous technique she showcased against Yoshida Hikaru in the semifinals has erupted once more!”

“At this juncture, even someone of Baek Jinwoo’s caliber can’t do anything against this……”

“Regrettably, that is the reality. Is there any living entity that could endure that beam? Truly appropriate for an S-rank……”

The analysts’ intonations were heavy with sorrow.

“Ah……”

“No……!”

“DRILL SARGE!”

“That entity is literally a moving apocalypse…… How do you overcome THAT?!”

The South Korean spectators gripped their heads with both hands, shouting in agony.

“WAAAAAAH!”

“YEAAAAAAAH!”

“Rachel! Rachel! Rachel!”

“Golden dragon! Golden dragon! Golden dragon!”

“Breath! Breath!”

In the meantime, the English crowd was going completely ecstatic.

There appeared to be no turnaround.

The breath assault was dissipating, and within that smoke-filled void, nothing seemed to persist.

Baek Jinwoo had put up a finer resistance than the other Five Emperors, but just as it appeared he too would fall short against Rachel—

Fwip!

Something manifested from empty air beside the golden dragon.

SLASH!

A razor-sharp tool severed the golden dragon’s neck cleanly through.

In a singular strike.

“……Huh?”

Rachel’s jaw dropped, caught completely off guard by the strike she never anticipated.

“How……?”

Her eyes widened, and she immediately glanced downward.

Through the drifting layers of smoke below, she could discern the outline of a man looking up at her.

JinuGod……

Within that breath assault, his protective shield still gleamed without a single tremor.

What?

How was this possible?

Rachel’s mind reeled with bewilderment.