Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 141

The moon was hidden this night.

The sky was covered with black clouds.

Not the usual rain clouds one might expect.

Artificial clouds made of mana.

The sticky mana, unique to the undead, coalesced into clouds, swallowing all light.

In the oppressive darkness, the only light came from crimson eyes.

The eerily shining eyes revealed the countless undead present.

Thwack! Crack!

Choi Hyun-seok casually extended his fist.

The skull of a skeleton shattered instantly from the ordinary punch, devoid of mana.

“The key is to conserve strength. We must reserve as much power as possible until the dominant entity appears.”

It was impossible to know how long this battle would last.

At least a few hours.

Perhaps the battle might continue for more than a day.

An ordinary person couldn’t fight for so long, but Choi Hyun-seok and Abelson were different.

For those who had transcended human limits, a long battle wasn’t a problem.

However, this battle wasn’t just about enduring.

“We must be especially careful not to deplete our divine power. Even if our stamina is low, we can still fight with divine power, but without it, we can’t do anything, even with stamina left.”

Their goal was to hunt the dominant entity.

Therefore, they had to endure while conserving as much strength as possible to prepare for hunting it.

“This dominant entity… Do we know how strong it is?”

“No!”

Abelson replied, smashing a ghoul’s head with her mace.

The ghoul’s crushed head slumped to the ground, ceasing its movements.

Ghouls were a step above skeletons, but they couldn’t withstand a mace imbued with divine power.

Abelson caught her breath and continued.

“In the five hundred years of fighting the demons, there are hardly any records of necromancy being used. Among them, the appearance of a dominant entity has only been recorded three times. The last time was 200 years ago.”

“It’s amazing that you know that, Abelson, considering how little information there is.”

“If we narrow the scope to battles immediately after the appearance of a dominant entity, there are even fewer records.”

“Are there any records at all?”

Suddenly, a rusty sword flew in from the side.

Abelson barely dodged the attack, almost throwing herself to the ground.

“One time!”

She shouted, swinging her mace at the enemy.

Clang!

Abelson’s eyes widened.

The enemy had blocked her mace.

‘This isn’t just a skeleton.’

Not all skeletons were the same.

Its crimson eyes were much brighter, almost burning.

Only then did Abelson realize what it was.

A Death Knight.

It might be a low-ranking Death Knight, but the fact that a Death Knight had appeared was significant.

‘High-ranking undead are starting to appear.’

The necromancy had been strengthened to the point where Death Knights, classified as high-ranking undead, were appearing.

That meant the appearance of the dominant entity was not far off.

“Do you need help?”

“I’m fine!”

Abelson’s mace glowed brightly.

She had to minimize the consumption of divine power, but being too conservative against a higher-level entity would be inefficient.

It was better to use a bit more power to deal with it quickly.

Crack!

The Death Knight couldn’t withstand the divine power-infused strike and shattered.

“Where were we!?”

“The records of the dominant entity’s appearance.”

“Ah.”

Abelson readjusted her grip on the mace and continued.

“So far, the dominant entity has appeared three times. Among those, there is only one record of dealing with it immediately after its appearance.”

“So, how strong is a newly appeared dominant entity?”

“I don’t know exactly. The records only state that four heroes worked together to defeat it.”

“Four heroes…”

Choi Hyun-seok’s brow furrowed.

‘That’s too vague. Even among heroes, their strength isn’t uniform.’

Choi Hyun-seok had met a few heroes before.

The range of heroes, equivalent to division commanders in the Demon King’s army, was broader than he thought.

Simply stating, ‘It’s at a level that four heroes can handle!’ was too ambiguous.

‘What’s certain is that it won’t be easy. Four heroes would be stronger than the current force here.’

Choi Hyun-seok, Abelson, Bobo.

Even if the three of them combined their strength, it would be difficult to compare to four heroes.

Bobo aside, Choi Hyun-seok and Abelson were clearly inferior in combat ability to heroes.

Could they really face a dominant entity that four heroes hunted together?

Choi Hyun-seok bit his lip.

A sense of unease washed over him.

The enemies before him had no fear.

The enemies, throwing themselves at him with hatred only for the living, were eroding not only his stamina but also his mental strength.

‘Hoo, let’s get a grip!’

Choi Hyun-seok focused his eyes.

‘The game has already started. I can’t give up and back down now.’

Choi Hyun-seok, who had fought countless battles, knew.

There was nothing more dangerous than a broken spirit.

Even if the enemy was strong, there was hope if the spirit wasn’t broken.

If one sought a breakthrough, they would somehow devise and find a way.

That was how Choi Hyun-seok had always won against enemies stronger than himself.

-Kill, kill the living…

-Kill… Kill…

Then, a voice that seemed to vibrate the air was heard.

A method of transmitting sound by vibrating mana, not through vocal cords.

‘Are those guys…’

Turning his gaze in the direction of the sound, he saw a group of skeletons wearing rusty armor.

It was clear at a glance that they were not ordinary skeletons.

Their eyes were burning brightly, and the mana they exuded was considerable.

“Abelson, what are those?”

“Death Knights!”

“Death Knights?”

“They are much higher-level entities than skeletons. Judging from the mana and form, they are bound by memories from their past lives, and their awakening is almost complete.”

“Explain it simply!”

“It’s a knight order that has turned into undead! Be careful, they’re dangerous!”

The last sentence made it clear.

Those who were knights in their past lives.

Knights who fought against the demons to protect humanity had become undead.

The rusty swords, once used to protect humans, were now merely tools for indiscriminate slaughter.

-Kill…!

As many as twenty Death Knights.

They rushed in all at once.

Choi Hyun-seok ran towards them.

He thought it would be dangerous if they attacked Abelson, so he planned to deal with them in advance.

Whoosh-!

The flying sword strikes were fierce.

It wasn’t just swinging swords; they were imbued with a significant amount of mana, which could cause serious injury even to Choi Hyun-seok if he wasn’t careful.

Nobilis

Form 1 – King’s Step

Choi Hyun-seok’s speed increased, leaving a long trail of purple afterimages.

The enemies’ swords only grazed the afterimages, never reaching Choi Hyun-seok.

“Hmph!”

Choi Hyun-seok thrust his fist forward with a shout.

Not just using his body as before, but also manipulating mana and demonic energy together.

Clang!

The helmet of the one he hit caved in, shattering its skull.

‘Easier than I thought?’

He had been a little nervous because they were knights.

But after actually clashing with them, the enemies weren’t that strong.

At this rate, he could handle them without overexerting himself.

[Level Up!]

He even leveled up after dealing with a few Death Knights.

“This is… high-quality experience!”

His eyes sparkled involuntarily.

Excited, Choi Hyun-seok began searching for and destroying the knights.

“Kuaaaaaaack!”

While he was engrossed in leveling up, a loud scream came from behind.

Turning around, he saw a familiar face.

‘Those guys…’

It was Niccolo’s hero party.

As they had been in life, they were gathered together as five.

Whoosh!

Ellis, with a gaping hole in her chest, raised her staff and launched flames.

Clang!

Niccolo, with flesh torn off here and there, swung his sword.

Following behind were Irfan, Yakubu, and Park Sang-min, all looking similar.

They were all screaming horribly as they charged.

Seeing them, Choi Hyun-seok grinned.

“You know what?”

Dodging the fireball, he simultaneously grabbed Niccolo’s sword and headbutted him in the forehead.

Crack!

Niccolo, his forehead shattered instantly, slumped down.

“I didn’t like you guys from the start.”

Choi Hyun-seok continued his attack without stopping.

He broke Yakubu’s neck, blew off Irfan’s leg, and then stomped on the fallen enemy’s head.

In that state, he kicked off the ground and stood in front of Ellis in an instant.

“Especially you… you know what I mean, right?”

At Choi Hyun-seok’s question, Ellis let out a high-pitched scream.

“Kyaaaaaaaa-!”

“This bitch is still causing trouble even in death.”

Choi Hyun-seok quickly snatched Ellis’s staff and roughly shoved it in.

Ellis, her eyes pierced, collapsed powerlessly.

[Level Up!]

The notification sounded particularly cheerful.

“Still, thanks for the experience.”

“Guaaaaa…!”

“Ah, Sang-min is left.”

Even though he was an undead, hurting Sang-min didn’t feel good.

“Sang-min, in your next life, choose your friends carefully.”

Choi Hyun-seok moved behind Sang-min in an instant and twisted his head.

Thud!

Sang-min’s neck twisted strangely, and his head was pulled off his body.

Choi Hyun-seok smiled bitterly.

“… Sorry. I didn’t mean to pull it off.”

He placed Sang-min’s head near his body and moved again.

“Guooooooo…!”

“Ha, what’s that now?”

Since when had it been there?

A giant undead, easily 5 meters tall [approximately 16.4 feet], was running towards him.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A roar echoed every time it stepped on the ground.

“Be careful! It’s a Dzeek!”

“Does it have any special abilities or weaknesses?”

“No! Its sheer mass, created by the aggregation of corpses, is its weapon!”

“Understood.”

The Dzeek’s appearance was extremely grotesque.

The body, made of countless bones and flesh, was enough to make one want to vomit just by looking at it.

Even Choi Hyun-seok, who had a fairly strong stomach, couldn’t help but frown.

‘Surprisingly, it’s not easy to attack big guys.’

Target the lower body to disrupt its balance and attack from blind spots.

Unless it had special magic or abilities, it was just a big sandbag.

Choi Hyun-seok fearlessly ran towards the Dzeek.

Soon, the distance between them closed, and the Dzeek swung its fist.

“Guwaaaack-!”

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes widened.

It was incredibly fast for its size.

‘How is it so fast!?’

It was too late to dodge.

Choi Hyun-seok protected his body with mana, bracing for the impact.

Thoom, Kwaaaaa-!

Choi Hyun-seok, hit by the fist, flew and crashed into a house.

The log house collapsed from the impact.

“Ah, I almost got one-shotted [killed in one hit].”

Choi Hyun-seok rotated his shoulder and stood up.

Thanks to bracing with mana, he didn’t suffer any major injuries, but he had been in danger of having all the bones in his body shattered.

“Guoooooo…!”

“Alright. Let’s go at it properly!”

Choi Hyun-seok ran out.

Seeing that, the Dzeek pulled its massive leg back.

‘It’s coming!’

Choi Hyun-seok widened his eyes and watched its movements.

The leg flew in with tremendous speed.

Between the bones and flesh that made up the leg, a human face could be seen.

“Aaaaaaa-!”

The face, as if screaming, narrowly brushed past him.

Choi Hyun-seok immediately twisted his body and gathered demonic energy.

Raidrun-style Combat

Form 1 – Initial Smash (初戰搏殺) [First Battle Slaughter]

He aimed his fist at the opposite leg, which was supporting the monster’s body.

Kwaaaaa-!

Chunks of bone and flesh fell off, and the monster’s massive body began to tilt.

“Geoooooo!”

The Dzeek struggled to regain its balance, but Choi Hyun-seok wouldn’t let it.

“I’m going to do it by the book!”

The basics of striking.

Hitting where you already hit.

He repeatedly punched the tilting monster’s ankle.

Eventually, the Dzeek lost its balance and fell to the ground.

Coooom…!

Choi Hyun-seok quickly climbed onto the back of the fallen monster’s head.

Then, he slammed his fist down on the back of its head with all his might.

Raidrun-style Combat

Form 7 – Shattering Blast (擊䂷炸波) [Striking Ruin Blast Wave]

A shockwave rang out, and soon the bones and flesh that made up the Dzeek’s head scattered in all directions.

He had predicted that the loosely woven body would be weak against the internal-shaking Shattering Blast, and he was right.

[Level Up!]

“That’s it!”

Another level-up notification sounded.

Choi Hyun-seok smiled pleasantly.

It felt like the growth that had been blocked for a while was finally breaking through.

‘This is an opportunity. It wasn’t just these guys who got stronger with demonic energy.’

For ordinary humans, this place with dense demonic energy would be a disadvantageous battlefield, but not for Choi Hyun-seok.

The denser the demonic energy, the better Choi Hyun-seok’s condition became.

He didn’t notice it, but horns were slowly growing from his head.

Even without intentionally transforming his body, his body was automatically reacting to the demonic energy.

“Let’s level up properly today.”

Before he knew it, his worries about the battle had disappeared.

Only the desire for leveling up filled Choi Hyun-seok.