World's Strongest Survivor-Chapter 54

Three Squad. Martial arts that cannot be given up.

The madman, shockingly, grabbed the shield blocking his hand and crushed it.

"If that bare hand grabs my body, there'll be nothing left of me!"

Gripping the crumpled shield tightly, Seowoon and Kichan charged at the man who was breaking the knight's stance.

Naturally, Kichan swung his blade toward the pressure points clustered across the body, while Seowoon took a wide step and threw a punch aimed at the madman's Myeongmun acupuncture point.

Even with his back grabbed, even as a razor-sharp blade soared toward his heart, the madman didn't flinch and stayed focused on the knight. But then, his body hesitated.

The instant he sensed a fierce energy targeting his Myeongmun, he dropped the shield and quickly twisted his body to retreat.

Watching the madman retreat for the first time, Seowoon became certain.

A flash of inspiration had struck when he heard the word "vital essence."

A martial art that absorbs another's life force, just like his own.

But unlike Seowoon, the madman needed to replenish Yang energy—a demonic martial art.

And a pervert who enjoyed lustful pleasures with men.

As these disparate clues merged into one coherent theory, Seowoon murmured with conviction:

"Myeongmun, Huiyin, Baihui. Aim for those three points. Those are the weak points."

Still bewildered by the madman's sudden retreat, Kichan gave Seowoon a confused look.

He had many questions, but the madman's reaction alone told him that Seowoon wasn't just spouting nonsense.

Even the knight seemed to understand—he must've trained in martial arts too, recognizing the three acupoints Seowoon mentioned and the term "vital point."

"Myeongmun can't be struck unless you get behind him, and Huiyin is difficult unless he opens his legs for you. That only leaves Baihui..."

But whether the madman, now aware of the danger, would expose that opening was unclear.

The madman glared at Seowoon without charging recklessly, lost in thought.

Among all his vulnerable pressure points, the fact that Seowoon had gone straight for Myeongmun bothered him.

Just as the madman opened his mouth to speak to Seowoon, the group began passing around another potion.

"You don't have to take this... There are side effects," said Kichan after taking a sip.

Seowoon hesitated as he reached for the potion.

"Side effects?"

"In 10 minutes, all stats will drop by 30% for 6 hours."

Grimacing, Seowoon swallowed the gray liquid.

The energy of the Berserker begins to spread. For the next 10 minutes, all stats (excluding special stats) are doubled.

Ding! After 10 minutes, all stats will decrease by 30% for 6 hours.

Ten minutes. That was all the time they had left in this desperate battle for their purity.

Once Seowoon drank the potion, the alchemist and mage also steeled their resolve and gulped down unknown potions.

The alchemist, face bitter with resolve, pulled out a yellow gem several times larger than his fist and crushed it in one blow, unleashing his magical energy.

It was a risky move, sure to result in a loss—but nothing was more important than purity to him now.

For the first time, the hastily assembled party rushed the madman.

As his thoughts were still in disarray, the enemies charged in. The madman scowled and dashed forward, red hair flying.

Double stats—the effect was truly astounding.

With all their stats temporarily surpassing 100, the world looked different.

The madman's movements, once blindingly fast, were now easier to follow. What seemed like an opening before was now clearly a defensive stance covering all attack routes.

The first to reach him was the knight.

Holding the crushed shield, the knight charged head-on, with Kichan closely on his heels.

Seowoon, not to be left behind, followed while keeping his form hidden behind the two.

Clang!

The madman bent his five fingers like claws and smashed the shield. The knight's charging form came to a sudden halt, as if the scene itself had frozen.

Screeeeech!

With a grating metallic sound, the knight's shield was torn apart by the madman's hands.

In that moment, Kichan leapt over the knight's body and swung his blade.

It looked like three blades instead of one as he left afterimages, slashing down toward the madman's head—but the madman had already raised his arms to protect himself.

Just as the weapon struck the madman's arms with a metallic clang, the alchemist activated his spell. The shattered yellow gem in his hand lit up and flew toward the madman, forming a net around him.

"Calisium!!"

The alchemist shouted the trigger word. Five shards of the yellow gem fired beams of light, forming a net that trapped the madman.

"Hmph!"

The madman scoffed dismissively and stomped the ground.

As the net of light distorted and wavered, for the first time, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

Seven versions of Seowoon split apart and surrounded him from all sides. His gaze darted, trying to find the real one.

One was already behind his back. Two were at his sides, one at the front, and one above, all throwing punches at once. The madman, now slightly dulled, raised his arms to guard his head and Myeongmun.

That's when a shadow darted between the knight's legs.

Cold sweat ran down the madman's back.

Thunk!

The madman's face went pale as one of Seowoon's clones, leaping high and aiming a punch at his head, was pierced clean through.

Seowoon's bandage-like weapon, Hammit, wrapped around his arm, had changed into a pointed gauntlet, and its spiked end was now stained with fresh blood.

As the madman broke free from the glowing net and shot upward, hundreds of jagged stone spears erupted from the ground to meet him.

"Haa... haa..."

From just a single clash, the knight had lost his shield, and blood poured from a sharp wound on his arm.

"Urgh!"

Behind the knight's ragged breathing came the sound of the warrior coughing up blood, clutching his chest.

Five holes had been punched into his torso, and blood continued to leak from them.

Among them, only Seowoon had emerged from the clash without injury.

And yet, his expression was far from pleased.

'Too shallow.'

If the thrust had gone just an inch deeper, the enemy would've been finished. But that single inch was missing.

He quickly tore a scroll and healed the two men's wounds to some extent, but even they couldn't hide their grim expressions.

Because the madman—clothes in tatters and expression cold as ice—was now staring them down.

As their desperate assault had failed, morale plummeted, and Seowoon broke the silence.

"It's not that bad. We did deal critical damage."

He muttered it like it was to himself, but there was no way the knight and warrior didn't hear him.

The madman deflected or dodged the spells flying toward him, shaking the ground and freezing the area—but his gaze never once left Seowoon.

'There's no retreat for me either.'

Losing here didn't mean just falling behind—it could be worse. If Kichan and Rael did their part, they might avoid total failure.

But the humiliation he imagined at that warrior's words—Seowoon would rather die than let that happen.

As the magician's spells began to dwindle, the madman started walking toward them again.

-Crunch!

The knight raised a fresh shield confidently, but after just two of the madman's strikes, he collapsed backward, coughing blood.

The warrior who had managed to slash the madman's leg and make him bleed was also sent flying again—five new holes now in his chest.

Even Seowoon's attack, split into eight clones, couldn't pierce the madman's vital points. The monstrous energy swept through, instantly wiping them out.

As Seowoon withstood the overwhelming pressure and lunged again, the madman's hand finally wrapped around his throat.

"Khk!"

His breath stopped, and all strength drained from his body.

Even so, he clenched his teeth and kept throwing punches and kicks, activating two barriers at once.

Even while dangling from the enemy's grip, he never stopped resisting.

But the madman didn't budge, like an adult indulging a child's tantrum.

-Thunk!

Just then, spikes of stone shot up from the ground, piercing the madman's side and limp arm.

It was a spell Seowoon had seen before.

'No way...'

He turned toward the familiar mana signature—and there was Rael, riding his airboard, eyes bloodshot.

Naturally, behind him came Kichan, running with a hardened expression.

'Those idiots!'

That thought flashed in his mind, but there was no time to say it.

—Vital points only: Mingmen, Huiyin, Baihui. Anywhere else is useless.

As Kichan nodded and lightning surged from his staff, a bolt shot toward the madman's back.

-Crackle!

"Hup!"

The madman forcefully expelled the current trying to burn his body, then glanced backward. In that split second, Rael raised more stone spikes.

This time, the madman had no choice but to throw Seowoon aside and evade.

A spike aimed right at his Huiyin—and he grimaced.

Thanks to the time Seowoon had bought while dangling, the knight and warrior managed to get back on their feet after using the last of their healing items.

"We're out of recovery items now."

Hearing that, Seowoon's face fell.

"Doesn't matter now. Recovery or whatever—it's over if we fall. Less than three minutes left."

Once their short buffs ended, there would be no future for them.

If they couldn't retreat or take their own lives, they'd carry the shame of this moment for the rest of their lives.

As Kichan charged with lightning in both hands, the other three rushed in too.

Kichan didn't even manage to strike the Baihui before being knocked back, vomiting blood.

A perfect example of a one-second mistake.

And once again, the madman shattered the sharp earth magic rising from below with just his bare hands, twisting his body mid-air to evade.

At the same time, the knight's body glowed gold as he slammed into the madman.

That proven skill knocked the madman back—but the knight fell like a puppet with cut strings, neck broken.

Then the warrior charged with a fierce blade glowing with inner power, barely grazing the Baihui, but it wasn't enough.

Even as he was flung back, the madman's agile movements etched themselves into everyone's eyes.

"Kraaaah!"

Spraying blood, the warrior flew back. Meanwhile, Seowoon, still bearing the bruises on his neck, used a body-shifting technique to stretch his form and rush in again.

But the madman's fingers turned red, aiming precisely for Seowoon's core.

Seowoon, who never intended to block the attack to his heart, met it head-on with his fist.

-Crack!

A sickening crunch—his fist and arm bent at unnatural angles.

Again, the madman grabbed Seowoon by the neck. This time, Seowoon couldn't even resist—just dangled helplessly.

"How did you know my vital points? No one knows the true essence of my martial art."

Even as his throat was crushed, Seowoon's cracked voice managed to answer the question.

"You... you and I... have learned the same martial arts!!!"

As Seowoon shouted, his hand began to glow with the resonance of Khaier's Echo.

At that moment, as the ripple of emotion spread across his crazed face once again, the enemy tilted his head in confusion.

A strange notification rang in Seowoon's mind, warning that his physical defense had dropped by 10%.

Only then did the enemy notice something off and looked down at Seowoon's broken arm.

The bizarre gauntlet the enemy had been wearing had somehow turned into a bare hand.

A strange suspicion rising, Seowoon glanced at the enemy's other hand—and saw it was clutching a whip tightly.

Tracing the end of the whip with his eyes, he realized—it was sprawled out right beneath his own feet.

Just as the enemy sensed that something was wrong, Seowoon shouted:

"Hamit!!!!"

—Shlick!

The whip that had been lying underfoot suddenly raised its head like a snake and pierced straight through the madman.

Soaking up the last of Seowoon's internal energy, the whip shot upward through the enemy's perineum, exited through his crown point (baekhoe), and impaled him completely.

Thud.

Seowoon collapsed to the ground alongside the enemy, his whole body trembling.

All strength left him, and a crushing sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him.

The time of the side effects had begun.

Yet even in that moment, a tremendous life force surged.

It was nearly identical to the energy of Namsagwang.

Despite the fatigue and the intense pain burning in his throat, Seowoon gathered the last of his mental strength and opened his Qi Absorption Gate.

As the absorption began, a roar exploded from Seowoon's mouth.

"Kuaaaaaaah!!"

His voice cracked and barely emerged, but the scream thundered out as if defying the world itself.

Then, belatedly, Seowoon turned his attention to Kichan.

Lifeless eyes.

A body growing cold.

As he looked upon him, a notification popped up:

Ding! Teammate's Over Time is almost up. To revive them, place your hand on the teammate and activate Resurrection Hand.

Following the message, he placed his hand on Kichan. It began to glow faintly, and a minute later, the light of life returned to Kichan's eyes.

"Puhah!!"

Kichan jolted upright, gasping for breath.

"Hyung!"

As Rael, who had been casting healing magic on Seowoon's badly damaged throat, finally pulled his hand away, Seowoon could breathe easier. He touched his neck gently, checking the damage.

His physical injuries were nearly healed, and even the internal injuries that couldn't be treated with magic were now suppressed thanks to the enormous life force he had absorbed.

He turned to look at the now-transformed madman—turned into a box—when he saw a knight and a martial artist struggling to their feet.

Just moments ago, they had all fought together to protect something precious, but now, in the blink of an eye, they were enemies.

As they stared at each other, rapidly calculating the remaining strength on both sides, the knight spoke first.

"We did fight together... Is there really a need to fight today and risk falling behind?"

Of course not. Seowoon also had no desire to go all-out with them today.

But there was one thing he absolutely could not yield.

Seowoon's and the opposing martial artist's eyes met at the box.

A silent stare passed between them, their gazes burning with fierce desire.

"I don't want to fight either," Seowoon said, "but that box... I can never give up."

The moment he finished speaking, Kichan and Rael instinctively stepped back and assumed battle positions.

The martial artist stared at the box for a long while, then shook his head.

"That treasure's more dangerous than it's worth. Didn't they say treasure brings disaster? We'll withdraw."

After a long internal debate, he finally announced his retreat, warily backing away while keeping an eye on Seowoon's team.

Once they disappeared from sight, Seowoon let out a sigh and approached the box.

The demonic energy absorption martial art of the Left-Way Sect could be acquired by safer means, so he could afford to let that go.

But there was a martial art in that box he could not give up.

'It better be in there.'

If luck wasn't on his side, the technique he so desperately wanted might not be in the box at all.

[T/L: Read extra Chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]