I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 185

185

Jeong Man-chun approached, moving in a line that targeted my left side.

Seeing him move like this without any particular conversation, it seemed they definitely had a pre-arranged plan suited for combat.

‘Slow.’

Clearly, he was the Black Cross Clan’s de facto number three, a skilled close-quarters combatant, yet his movements were easy to track.

Was Jeong Man-chun less skilled than he was known to be?

Or had my level and skill increased dramatically in the meantime through several growth spurts?

Jeong Man-chun’s movements were so clear that I was surprised myself.

His attack, which targeted my weakness, was like slow motion.

I waited.

And after giving him enough room to commit, when a gap appeared in Jeong Man-chun’s defense…

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

I used my right arm, transformed into an iron club, to strike the back of his head.

In conjunction with this, I also succeeded in avoiding Jeong Man-chun’s gauntlet attack by abruptly twisting my body to the left.

Thud!

Whoosh!

Jeong Man-chun, who had collapsed after being struck in the back of the head, quickly got up and retreated.

Still, like a veteran who had experienced all sorts of hardships, his reaction after being attacked was quick.

“Kang Shin-hwa, how are you here?”

“You’re just realizing that now?”

“…Damn it.”

Jeong Man-chun’s face turned ashen as he finally recognized my identity.

Lee Chang-woo, who was behind him, also had a darkened expression.

“Even if there are no external intrusions, how can the headquarters’ management be so lax?”

“Dumbasses.”

Jeong Man-chun gritted his teeth.

He must be blaming his subordinates for not properly inspecting and searching me when I came down to the basement.

“After sending you and your brother to the afterlife in order, I plan to send Joo Cheon-ho along as well. So, prepare to wait in front of King Yama [the judge of the dead in East Asian mythology] first.”

“Fuck you, you son of a bitch!”

“I’ve heard that ‘fuck’ talk twice in the last few days. Alright, I’ll fuck you up real good, so come on.”

I flicked my sharply raised middle finger back and forth at Jeong Man-chun.

“Unlike those other idiots, I won’t be taken down so easily!”

Jeong Man-chun, provoked, began to approach at a furious speed.

Creak. Creak.

At the same time, my right leg was restricted again.

Unless it’s restricting my whole body, this level of handicap is just a light sandbag for me.

“Haaap!”

Jeong Man-chun shouted.

Judging by the fact that he was aiming for my right abdomen, it was definitely a coordinated attack with Lee Chang-woo.

And that wasn’t all.

Weeeeng.

He was using his artifact, the Shield Stone, to create a thick defensive barrier in front of him.

‘He intends to only hit the opponent unilaterally without getting hit himself.’

It’s an obvious ploy, but a repertoire that’s hard to avoid.

But I had a way to counter that method too easily.

Flash.

It was the Blink Ring.

Did Jeong Man-chun know and miss it, or did he forget it because he was too overconfident?

Using the Blink Ring, I easily got behind Jeong Man-chun.

His heavy shield was clearly a guardian protecting the front, but it didn’t apply to the rear.

Swish!

Without hesitation, I stabbed the blade, which I had pulled out a little longer than usual, deeply into Jeong Man-chun’s waist.

This area is surprisingly vulnerable because it is often folded and unfolded when wearing a suit.

Thwack!

“Kuaaaa!”

With a crisp piercing sound, Jeong Man-chun’s scream erupted. Jeong Man-chun’s blood was on the drawn blade.

‘He has the skills of an S-rank, but it’s not a skill honed while facing higher-level Awakened beings.’

After two exchanges with Jeong Man-chun, I was able to finish my assessment of him.

His talent and ability themselves were indeed of S-rank, but he lacked too much tempering.

In other words, he was full of only tricks that had been strengthened by tormenting lower-ranked people or civilians.

He had a strong tendency to disregard movements that must be considered important in life-or-death battles.

Above all, it wasn’t just one or two gaps, but Jeong Man-chun himself was full of them.

‘There was a reason why he couldn’t become a famous Awakened being in his past life.’

They say you can recognize a promising tree from its sprouts. Jeong Man-chun was a guy with clear limitations.

How did such a guy get an artifact with high utility value like the Shield Stone?

The conclusion was that such an artifact was an excessive luxury for him. So I should take it.

‘Let’s finish this.’

Having calculated how to deal with Jeong Man-chun, I kicked off the ground again and leaped forward.

There seemed to be no need to drag it out. Giving him time felt too generous.

Clang!

Soon, in the middle of the long passage on the second basement floor, I and Jeong Man-chun clashed.

* * *

Meanwhile.

“My body restriction is….”

Lee Chang-woo was bewildered by Shin-hwa’s appearance, as he was not at all affected by the suppression, even though he was restricting Shin-hwa’s body here and there throughout the battle.

From the beginning, he didn’t seem to care whether his hands, feet, or other parts were controlled.

Rather, he was throwing reverse attacks at Jeong Man-chun, who was aiming for that part, inflicting serious damage.

‘I’ve never seen Man-chun get beaten so unilaterally.’

The situation was serious.

Jeong Man-chun, who was called a skilled infighter enough to be recognized by Joo Cheon-ho, was not working at all against Shin-hwa.

As the second-in-command of a group, having such thoughts made him feel both self-reproach and shame at the same time.

Really, Jeong Man-chun seemed to be nothing more than a child in front of Shin-hwa.

Despite making so many attacks, Shin-hwa did not allow Jeong Man-chun to land a single blow.

Even though he had a handicap called body restriction.

“……”

Lee Chang-woo’s eyes began to turn cold as he sensed the aura of defeat hanging over Jeong Man-chun.

As things stood.

Unfortunately, it seemed that he would have to consider a way to bury Shin-hwa along with Jeong Man-chun as a sacrifice.

He was thinking of using his psychokinetic power to twist and collapse the surrounding terrain to crush Shin-hwa to death.

‘Sorry, Man-chun.’

Lee Chang-woo, who was quick to calculate the situation, immediately went into action.

It was a scene of cold-blooded judgment that Jeong Man-chun was completely unaware of.

Meanwhile, at the same time.

“Hap!”

When Shin-hwa, who had suddenly stepped back, threw a punch into the air.

“……?”

Jeong Man-chun tilted his head.

In fact, he was also wondering if he was taking a break after being unilaterally beaten up.

“Haa, haa.”

He involuntarily gasped for breath.

The battle, which Shin-hwa thought was nothing, was a series of complete defeats from beginning to end.

Jeong Man-chun felt even more fear than when he had faced Joo Cheon-ho in practice before.

‘I’ve never seen a guy fight like that with Chang-woo hyung’s body restriction on him.’

This was Jeong Man-chun’s overall assessment.

A guy who was lower in rank and even had a handicap was pressuring him.

That was Shin-hwa’s current situation, and it was also a shameful self-portrait of Jeong Man-chun himself, who was being unilaterally beaten.

Right then.

Crack!

“Kuaaaa!”

Something unexpected happened.

With a time difference, Shin-hwa’s Advancing Fist activated, completely breaking Jeong Man-chun’s right arm.

It was meaningless to specify the range from the wrist to the shoulder bone.

It was completely shattered into powder, making it impossible to even move anymore.

‘Until the Advancing Fist becomes widely known, I’m going to get hit a lot by this kind of pattern.’

Shin-hwa rushed towards Jeong Man-chun without any sign of joy.

It was an expected result.

The reason why the Awakened beings of the world fear Shin-hwa is that every time the information about the battle is ‘updated.’

Because he brings and presents a completely different repertoire of attack methods.

That was also the reason why Park Hyung-san and Jeil Construction, Mok Jin-woo and Shin Jung-ah were defeated.

Because no one could clearly predict the range and breadth of Shin-hwa’s talent.

Thwack! Pow! Thwack!

The attack continued, relentlessly targeting only Jeong Man-chun’s right arm, or the left side from Shin-hwa’s perspective.

When one arm was restricted, he attacked Jeong Man-chun’s injured area with attacks using both legs.

When one leg was restricted, he used Transcendental Acceleration to move as if sliding and only hit one spot.

As a result.

“You son of a bitch! Cowardly bastard! Where the hell are you supposed to move so persistently in that direction… Cough! Cough!”

Jeong Man-chun, unable to withstand Shin-hwa’s fierce attack any longer, vomited dark red blood clots.

The durability of the suit had long been reduced to 0, and the damage he had taken with his whole body had accumulated too severely.

Not only that.

The Black Cross Clan members who arrived at the scene out of sync all lost their lives to Shin-hwa’s Wilson attack.

In their haste, they rushed in and were caught in Wilson’s explosion, dying a miserable death.

It was truly a scene of massacre.

Above all, the existence of the Blink Ring, which could easily target Jeong Man-chun’s front and back, was fatal.

It was thanks to Shin-hwa’s clean handling, who had known from the beginning that the Shield Stone only defended the front.

“Cough! Cough!”

Jeong Man-chun, who had knelt down, gasped for breath, constantly spitting out blood.

It was now the limit, and it was over.

He had no strength left to squeeze out and fight.

“You… you look like some kind of killing machine….”

It was Jeong Man-chun’s honest assessment of Shin-hwa as he faced death.

Even if you have received a high degree of training, gaps tend to occur when you make emotional attacks.

Shin-hwa, as if watching a killing machine designed to kill and dismantle people in a movie, relentlessly attacked his weaknesses and thoroughly destroyed the core pillars.

And once an area was injured, he broke it so badly that it was impossible to recover, to the point where it was really annoying.

That’s why Jeong Man-chun’s right arm was dangling helplessly like a paper doll in the wind.

“You are terribly unskilled to face me, Jeong Man-chun. It’s disappointing even with a mental helper behind you.”

“Fuck… Don’t humiliate me.”

“A noble death is too good for a guy like you. Farewell.”

Shin-hwa slammed his clasped hands down on the crown of Jeong Man-chun’s head, who had sensed his impending death and lowered his head.

Thwack! Crack!

Soon, with a heavy sound as if something was shattering, Jeong Man-chun spewed blood from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears and collapsed.

It was an unquestionable death.

But there was one thing Shin-hwa missed. No, it may have been that he thought he could miss it rather than missing it.

The next moment.

Rumble! Rumble!