World's Strongest Survivor-Chapter 53

Three Squad. The One Thing That Must Never Be Lost!

"Kuahahahaha!"

Even before the echo of the deafening roar faded, mad laughter rang out in all directions.

"Ugh!"

—Master!—

The martial art called Lion's Roar was something Seowoon had heard about often in wuxia novels.

He'd thought of it as nothing more than a technique that used internal energy to shout loudly and annoyingly. That conception was now shattered.

It shook his head, his chest, his stomach—and even more terrifyingly, it stirred the calmly resting internal energy in his danjeon into a frenzy.

As the internal energy surged through his entire body, the flow toward his legs also turned wild, of course.

Staggering and barely regaining his balance, Seowoon tried to block the sound with both hands over his ears while calming his energy to protect his body.

But the true Lion's Roar wasn't some light martial art that could be blocked by merely covering one's ears.

He could feel the strange resonance through his entire body—there was no way to stop it.

"Kair Barrier."

A faint golden shield shimmered briefly around Seowoon before fading.

Thanks to the Kair Barrier, which blocked physical attacks, he could endure it a bit.

He briefly considered that perhaps sound itself could be considered a physical force. Then, opening his subspace, Seowoon took out Cameron's necklace and placed it around his neck, sitting down cross-legged.

He had to stabilize his energy until this damn Lion's Roar ended.

If he kept moving without doing so, he might die from internal damage without even getting a chance to fight back.

"What kind of monster is that?!"

As he gritted his teeth and began stabilizing his energy, the abundant natural energy of Cloyd entered his body with his breathing, helping to calm the raging flow.

It lasted barely over a minute. During that time, the sounds of battle roared behind him—not far at all.

—Whoosh! Boom!

—Fwoosh!

—Craack!

As the Lion's Roar began to fade and its echo dispersed into the distance, Seowoon opened his eyes, preparing to dash out—only for a clearly deranged middle-aged man with wildly splayed red hair to fall in front of him.

Is this what madness looks like?

His eyes blazed so intensely that the expression "eyes shooting light" felt apt.

"A new one, eh?! Kuahahaha!"

Just hearing the man's laughter made Seowoon's body shrink involuntarily, recalling the overwhelming power of the Lion's Roar from just moments ago.

Behind him, four enemies had just arrived, eyeing the newly appeared man warily—while the madman stood directly in Seowoon's way.

Is this what they call a dilemma?

"Damn it, I've been way too lucky until now."

Now there was no choice but to fight.

No matter how he thought about it, his legs weren't fast enough to shake off that lunatic and run.

Who knew his failure to acquire a proper movement technique would come back to haunt him like this?

He glanced behind him and saw the four exhausted enemies in his view.

They too looked confused by the current situation.

One against four. Seowoon considered how much time they might buy him if he ran—but shook his head.

That lunatic grinning before him with mad joy had no intention of letting him go.

"Huu."

Taking a deep breath, he steadied his disrupted breathing.

He lightly bounced in place to loosen up his tension-stiffened body.

Only then did he realize just how rigid he'd become.

" Fist technique ,silent footwork, Ice Lance, Kair Barrier, Kair Resonance, Basic Barrier."

He mentally checked through the skills and tools he currently had.

At the same time, he began to forcefully erase the endless battle scenarios against the enemy running through his mind.

All those scenarios were defensive—only thinking about how the enemy might act.

"If I flinch, I lose."

As the white flame flow Technique surged through his entire body, Seowoon's gaze sank, becoming cold and emotionless.

The lunatic's expression shifted the moment he saw that gaze.

"How interesting! How fun! This world is so fun! Kuahahahaha!"

Just then, a voice called out from behind Seowoon.

"Hey! I know we're enemies, but how about teaming up for now? Against that lunatic..."

"Fine."

He responded without even looking back.

From now on, he couldn't afford to take his eyes off the enemy—not even for a second.

He could quickly sense through his intuition that the opponent's aura was shifting.

—It's coming!—

At the same time as Hamit's warning, he retreated backward.

The sight of the madman rushing toward him, head thrust forward with both arms dangling limply, was like watching a beast on the hunt.

—Kkakakang!

He blocked the sharp fist energy flying from the man's casually swung hand with his prepared guard strike, but his hand throbbed from the impact.

Gritting his teeth as the madman chased after him without pause, a surge of mana flared—and a chunk of flame brushed past him, heading straight for the enemy.

—Hwaruk!

The flames singed the ends of the madman's crimson hair and beard, but he emerged unfazed, wearing a crazed smile that refused to fade.

The madman stretched a hand toward his face, fingers half-curled—and in that moment, he looked enormous.

Like a massive tiger pouncing toward him.

Just as Seowoon poured all his internal power into his fists and prepared to step forward, a knight raised his shield and a warrior with a short blade rushed in from the side to take position beside him.

—Kang!

The warrior's blade struck the madman's fingers precisely as they flew toward Seowoon's face.

Could it really be that a human finger could make that kind of sound colliding with steel?

'Insane!'

Cursing inwardly, Seowoon threw his punch.

The warrior who had blocked the incoming strike with a powerful slash was sent flying, coughing blood—but this wasn't the time to be stunned.

The only thing he could rely on was the fist technique that had protected him all this time.

Punch.

He landed a full-force punch into the madman's chest—but something felt off.

He had braced for the recoil of the enemy's internal energy, but the impact felt soft, like punching through water.

He clenched his teeth and threw another punch.

The madman's hand cast a looming shadow over his face, coming in close—too late now to dodge or block.

—Tung!

His second strike slammed into the madman's chest.

'Kaier Barrier. Barrier.'

He cast two barriers at once.

Even then, he twisted his body as much as possible to avoid the approaching hand.

—Bbak!

Just as the madman's hand was about to touch his forehead, a knight glowing with a golden aura charged in with his shield, sending the man flying far away.

"Huff... Huff..."

Whatever technique the knight had just used, it drained him to the point that even his shield trembled with each breath.

The madman crashed to the ground and lay spread out, motionless for a moment.

Fortunately, in that time, the warrior took some kind of healing pill and tore a scroll to recover, returning to Seowoon's side.

"Are you... okay?" the knight asked, still gasping.

The warrior, eyes still fixed on the enemy, answered in a quiet voice, "What about you? Are you okay?"

"Of course not. I won't be able to use that skill again for a while."

As the madman began to rise again, the warrior's words trailed off.

The beast-like ferocity that had filled the man earlier had completely vanished—as if it had never existed.

Now he looked at the knight with wide eyes, like a child full of innocent curiosity, and spoke.

"What was that just now? It wasn't the secret art of Gyeoksantau, nor was it the essence of Pathong. Then what was it? How did I get blown away like that?"

Such pure curiosity and direct questioning from someone who had just been fighting to the death—there was no way this guy was sane.

But behind them, a teammate was furiously pouring mana into a staff, storing a spell.

If they could just stall for one more second, they had to try anything.

"It's the strongest skill I can use from Paido's arsenal. It's a deadly move that can obliterate a full-grown ogre weighing nearly a thousand kilos in one blow—but you're perfectly fine."

Despite the knight's bitter expression, the madman ignored it, folding his arms and slipping deep into thought.

"A skill? A technique? Are they different?"

Mumbling to himself, the madman continued pondering.

Watching him, Seowoon whispered,

"Why the hell did you clash with that lunatic?"

Anyone else might not have known, but there's no way Kichan, a seasoned warrior, would've failed to sense how dangerous that guy was.

That monstrous presence that sent chills down your spine—even just a whiff of it carried on the wind was enough to make your hair stand on end. There's no way someone like Kichan didn't feel that.

"You think I wanted to? We were scavenging for items when I sensed that aura and immediately pulled our team out of the city. That bastard followed us—it wasn't our choice! And of all people, it had to be the damn Lust Demon!"

Lust Demon.

There was no doubt—the martial artist clearly knew the man.

The four syllables he uttered were unmistakably the nickname of that madman.

"A famous expert, huh?"

"Famous? He's infamous! Countless experts have fallen victim to that pervert."

Just hearing the word "lust" was enough to guess what he meant.

'A fucking sex offender.'

Seowoon glared at the man with eyes full of contempt, but what the martial artist said next made his hair stand on end.

"He's a pervert obsessed with sodomy. If we lose here... we'll live with a shame we can never wash away. If you think you'll lose, take your own life instead."

'Sodomy... so that means...'

—It means your chastity is in danger, Master.—

"Ah..."

Hammit's blunt statement made Seowoon's legs go weak.

—Master! Whatever you do, don't let your lower body give out!—

Just then, the madman's expression twisted again, that same crazed smile creeping back onto his face.

"Kuhuhu... Hahaha! Khahahahaha!"

His deranged laughter echoed through the forest as he bent backward, cackling maniacally.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and get in here!"

Looking back, Seowoon saw a man in a shabby robe driving a long staff into the ground. At the same time, a translucent blue barrier spread out around him.

The martial artist and knight, already inside, beckoned Seowoon in.

Clutching his pounding chest, he stepped into the barrier—inside, the madman's lion-like roar no longer had any effect.

"This is..."

"His work. He's an alchemist."

Was it because of the dangerous opponent before them? The knight casually shared their team's information.

Or perhaps, more accurately, the appearance of a sodomy-loving pervert had created a rare moment of powerful solidarity among all the men present.

"If I'd had more time, I could've made an item to trap that lunatic!"

The alchemist, frustration written all over his face, pulled a potion from subspace and handed it to the martial artist.

The martial artist took a swig of the reddish potion, then passed it to the knight, who also took a drink before handing it to Seowoon.

Seowoon, caught off guard, received the sloshing bottle with some liquid still inside. The knight patted him on the back.

"Don't make that face. This might be Cloyd, but when it's time to help each other, we go all in."

For some reason, those words struck a chord deep in his chest.

Seowoon gulped down the potion. At the same time, a notification sound rang, and his body suddenly felt incredibly light.

—For a limited time, a powerful force surges through you. Your Strength stat has greatly increased.—

'Greatly?'

Checking the numbers, he saw his Strength stat had gone up by 20.

Seeing nearly a 40% increase, he threw away his prejudice against alchemists.

'So they're not just weaklings who make money off items.'

Just as the madman's maniacal laughter ceased, his eyes turned to their group.

"Try again!"

His joyful expression twisted instantly into rage, and he charged toward the knight.

At the same moment, the three of them leapt to attack him.

Ignoring both the martial artist's swift sword and Seowoon's punch, the madman's hand shot straight toward the knight's shield.

"I'll suck out every last drop of your life!!!"

At those words, a thunderbolt of realization struck Seowoon's mind, and a clear thought raced through him.

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