I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 257

257

“Kuhahaha!”

As Shin-hwa twitched forward, Castillo began to inflate his entire body with all his might.

Castillo, an Awakened of the physical enhancement type, was an Awakened specialized in defense.

So much so that he was called a walking fortress. He was so sturdy and powerful that one couldn’t dare to attack him.

Previously, many Awakened, unaware of Castillo’s abilities, rushed at him only to fall helplessly like straw.

It was an established theory within the organization that once caught in Castillo’s signature ‘headlock,’ one could never escape unless their neck was broken.

However.

“Haaaat!”

Before Castillo could even take a defensive stance, Shin-hwa had already turned and was targeting his subordinates.

From the start, he had no intention of bothering with Castillo, who appeared to be a defense-type Awakened at a glance.

Pee-ping! Pee-ping! Ping!

Taang! Tatatang!

Flames and roars erupted from everywhere as magic bullet guns, various hidden weapons, and emission-type attack skills poured towards Shin-hwa.

With a diverse group of Awakened gathered, their attack repertoire was both varied and dazzling.

Ti-ting! Ting! Ting!

“Wow, f– What the hell is that?”

When Shin-hwa easily blocked the attacks with steel enhancement, the expressions of the crew turned ashen.

Initially, he considered using his liquid transformation ability, but he strategically conserved his magic, and it worked.

‘Although there are quite a few high-level Awakened mixed in among the pirates, they’re still rookies by my standards.’

The assessment was complete.

Except for Castillo, who seemed to be the leader, the rest were Awakened who might barely reach A-rank at best.

There was no need to waste time.

He could have ‘played’ with them as much as he wanted, but even that was a waste of time.

Paat!

Soon, Shin-hwa’s figure leaped forward in an instant and arrived right in front of them.

“Hiek!”

The flustered crew member screamed in surprise, mouth wide open.

They knew he was an extraordinary Awakened, but his movements were faster than they had anticipated.

“Too easy.”

Peo-eo-eok!

“Keoheok!”

Shin-hwa’s fist struck the center of the crew member’s lips with lightning speed.

It was obvious, but the mouth, not covered by the suit’s defense, was too vulnerable to attack.

The opponent knew it too and would never have been caught off guard under normal circumstances.

But Shin-hwa’s movements were one beat, no, two beats faster.

Wa-deu-deuk!

“Kkeueo-eo!”

The crew member gasped and collapsed forward.

Leaving that aside, he had no energy to hold on to his mind because both his upper and lower jaws were shattered in one blow.

‘Good trajectory.’

Shin-hwa quickly scanned the positions of the crew members who were standing awkwardly.

Even before showing any movement, a picture of the future was naturally drawn along with the expected path.

It was like running a mock battle simulation non-stop.

Numerous situations were drawn early on, and the optimal path and movement naturally came to mind.

The next moment.

Pa-a-at!

Shin-hwa, who had kicked off the deck again, dashed through the crew members like a shooting star.

Peo-eok!

“Eok…….”

Shin-hwa’s kick, loaded with magic and reinforced harder than steel, forcefully struck the crew members’ groins.

Pa-a-a-ang!

The left-hand gauntlet, filled with ample magic, emitted a high-powered shockwave forward using its compressive force.

Ppa-gak!

“Kkeuek!”

One of the crew members, struck directly in the center of his forehead, died on the spot with his neck bent backward.

An attack that would not have led to death if it had hit the lower part or other parts awkwardly.

But there was no error in Shin-hwa’s attack, which accurately analyzed and targeted the weak point, and the first death occurred.

“…….”

The eyes of the crew members who saw their colleague’s head dangling from his back, his neck stretched out like taffy, shook violently.

This was because it was not an unfortunate death in the midst of a chaotic battle, but a ‘crushing’ due to an overwhelming difference in power.

“Support the main ship!”

But they weren’t just taking it.

Seeing their colleagues struggling against Shin-hwa’s elusive attacks despite their numerical superiority.

Other Revengers crew members moved from the fast ships that were maintaining formation around them.

They didn’t use weapons.

Throwing weapons or emission-type attacks wouldn’t be of much help in the current situation where there was only ‘one’ opponent.

Rather, if they missed, it could result in so-called team kills, so everyone seemed to be aiming for close combat.

Pa-at! Pa-at!

Awakened with considerable leaping ability lightly jumped into the air, approaching in a parabola.

It was a logical choice for movement, but unfortunately, it was also the best condition for exposing weaknesses.

At the peak of aerial movement, ascending, descending, and evading all become difficult.

“……!”

Instead of the usual shout, Shin-hwa threw a fist into the air without saying a word.

At first glance, it seemed like a meaningless wave in the air, but.

“What is it?”

By the time one of them tilted his head, sensing something strange, the situation had already unfolded.

The Advancing Fist.

The explosive fist technique that detonated with a time difference engulfed them.

Because Shin-hwa unleashed the fist technique by emitting magic in a semi-circular shape, the range of impact was considerable.

Of course, the victims were caught completely off guard, unable to anticipate or sense the attack at all.

Kwakwakwakwang! Kwang! Kwakwang!

The bodies of the Awakened began to explode like fireworks in the air.

Shin-hwa’s attack points were so accurate that they targeted only their upper bodies with near perfection.

He sharply targeted the neck, face, and head, which were vulnerable areas that the suit could not protect.

The result was truly 惨澹 [cǎndàn – dismal/tragic].

Cheolpeodeok! Cheolpeok!

Flesh stained with blood poured down like snow from everywhere.

Everyone who watched their colleagues, who had been alive and breathing just a moment ago, fall apart, trembled.

An indescribable difference.

The sense of fear it created came to even A-rank Awakened without exception.

“Ah ah…….”

Backpedaling.

It was a natural reflexive action created by fear.

When Shin-hwa scanned the surroundings with murderous eyes, everyone stepped back as if they had made a promise.

If someone had seen this scene, it would have been such a ridiculous sight that they might have thought they were filming a skit.

To have dozens of Awakened retreating from a single Awakened!

It was an embarrassing situation, but the people involved didn’t even recognize such shame.

“Worthless bastards!”

Koo-oong!

Castillo, who had hoped his subordinates would take care of it, cursed and moved his position.

“Small fries can’t handle me. Just watch. Let’s end this with a one-on-one match, okay?”

Shin-hwa provoked first.

Even if other guys suddenly ambushed him from behind in this state, he was confident that he could endure it.

This is because the special suit protects not only the face but also the back of the head.

Besides, no one would be able to step forward boldly because of the fear that had spread like an epidemic.

Shin-hwa had experienced firsthand how much fear could render so many people helpless on the battlefield.

The Great Disaster.

In that horrific scene, Shin-hwa was able to see, hear, and feel the weakness of humans to the extreme.

That was no exception, even for EX-rank Awakened.

Once lost, the will to fight could not be easily regained, even by the world’s strongest Awakened.

“Are you all just going to watch?”

Castillo glared at his subordinates with a pathetic expression, but no one took a single step forward.

This was because they were confident that Castillo would not kill them recklessly even if they endured.

However, they had already learned from previous experience that if they didn’t endure and rushed at Shin-hwa, they would 100% ‘die.’

Everyone made a smart bet.

They intentionally chose to live long by lukewarmly disobeying their superior’s orders.

“You pathetic bastards, watch closely! I, Casti…….”

“What are you doing?”

Before Castillo could even finish his words, Shin-hwa’s face was already right in front of Castillo’s nose.

And.

Peo-eo-eo-eo-eok!

A sound that would have broken hundreds of bones long ago was heard from Castillo’s abdomen.

Some of the subordinates closed their eyes tightly just from hearing the sound.

“Oh……?”

“Keuhaha, is that all you got?”

‘This guy, is he not just a defense-specialized Awakened, but a wall itself?’

Shin-hwa was also surprised.

He had launched an immediate attack this time without giving him any leeway, thinking that a preemptive strike was essential.

But Castillo didn’t even groan; he just slid backward.

The only change was that a faint haze briefly rose from around his abdomen and then disappeared.

‘Crazy.’

Rather, Shin-hwa’s hand was numb.

It was the first time he had met someone so extremely tough.

On the one hand, he fully understood the confidence he had shown all along.

With this much durability, it was enough. Perhaps ordinary attacks wouldn’t even be able to scratch his body.

‘There is an immutable truth in the world of Awakened. There is no invincibility in the world. Achilles’ heel must exist.’

Shin-hwa was not flustered.

Surely, he must have a weakness.

But this kind of guy excessively packages his overwhelming physical abilities and acts as if he is a perfect being.

That’s the only way to quickly break the opponent’s will to fight and make them surrender.

It was a method that wouldn’t work for Shin-hwa, who had experienced all kinds of battles, including aerial warfare.

“Since today’s earnings were good! If you hand over just one useful artifact, I’ll just pass by the island. How about it?”

As expected.

Castillo’s voice, full of the 余裕 [yoyū – composure/余裕], of a strong man, as if doing a favor, was heard.

And.

Shin-hwa gave an appropriate answer.

“F*** You.”

It was a middle finger that best suited the current situation.

* * *

‘Found it.’

After exchanging blows for as long as 5 minutes, I finally found Castillo’s weakness.

The reason I used the expression ‘as long as 5 minutes’ is only one.

Because there hasn’t been a battle that has dragged on this long against one guy.

That alone was proof that Castillo, who was armed only with ridiculously defense specialization, was quite difficult to deal with.

Of course, the process wasn’t smooth, and his subordinates had intruded in the middle.

Of course, they all died.

After killing a few as an example, the small fries didn’t get involved anymore.

‘In the end, physical enhancement is the same as a suit. The connections and joints of the body are inevitably weak.’

First of all, one thing was certain: the parts of Castillo’s body that he had enhanced could not be touched carelessly.

It was really tough.

The Stellard Sword boasted a great defensive ability that it would only go in halfway.

On the other hand, there was also a weakness: his movements were slow, so his attack ability was lacking.

It was enough to say that I could avoid all of his attacks without using Transcendental Acceleration.

That was the end.

He was tough, but that was it.

That must be the reason why he was not a key executive of the Revengers but was chased out to be a pirate in this remote area.

I thought it was enough to do this with these guys who smelled of sweat, salt, and stale.

“Let’s end this now. You and me, going with one touch. Okay?”

“F*** you, you f***ing XXX!”

With an exclamation that needed a lot of filtering, my body and his body instantly merged into one point and then scattered.

And.

“Kkeuk!”

A final scream was heard.