Chapter 279: Lee (2)
After another exchange where he was met with the same response, Kang-hoo immediately used Master of Manipulation to copy Lee’s skill.
【Master of Manipulation – Ship-Breaking Kick】
Thanks to that, he learned its name.
An extraordinary name.
Though it was limited to a single use, Kang-hoo temporarily inherited the memory and experience of the Ship-Breaking Kick.
Even if he couldn’t execute it as flawlessly as Lee, he could still implement it in a fairly usable form.
As Kang-hoo approached, mixing Shadow Step and leaps, Lee changed his attack style.
Since his previous tactics had been read, he deliberately altered his approach.
A Double Consecutive Kick.
Launching his body forward, he alternated between kicking with both legs—a threatening approach attack.Unlike his previous pattern, where he used attacks to keep Kang-hoo in check, this time, he twisted his tactics in the opposite direction.
However, there was one problem.
Boom!
Kang-hoo immediately used the Ship-Breaking Kick.
Although Lee had accounted for various countermeasures, he never imagined that his own skill would be turned against him.
“Guhk!”
Without a chance to react, he was caught in the shockwave of the Ship-Breaking Kick. It was an attack he hadn’t anticipated.
To think his opponent could copy and use his skill in the same way… Was that even possible?
Though he barely dodged the initial strike, the shockwave sent his body tumbling out of control.
He needed to regain balance and plant his feet properly, but failing to do so, he could only stagger.
In that moment—
【Lightning Dagger】
Kang-hoo hurled a dagger.
An attack imbued with a knockback effect.
Rather than a calculated strike, it was more of a probing move, thrown to observe Lee’s reaction.
But then—
Seeing the incoming dagger, Lee instinctively attempted to kick it away.
Bang!
The moment Lee’s foot touched the dagger, he was caught by its knockback effect and lost his balance, falling backward.
Since his legs were lifted high in the air as he was thrown back, they ended up stretching much further than intended.
A dull, throbbing pain surged up between his thighs—the knockback effect was stronger than expected.
Whoosh!
Kang-hoo launched another Lightning Dagger toward the fallen Lee.
Against a high-level opponent, he had to press his advantage the moment an opportunity arose. There was no room to hesitate.
Reality wasn’t a turn-based game.
No enemy would stand still and wait for him to finish his attack sequence. That only happened in stories.
Boom!
“Urgh!”
This time, Lee barely managed to block it by crossing his arms, but even so, his body, seated on the ground, slid back.
His rear scraped along the dirt, enough that his skin could have been torn raw.
Seeing Lee in a vulnerable state, Kang-hoo prepared to chain into Decapitation as he leaped toward his opponent.
For an enemy whose main weapons were his legs, being stuck sitting like this was an ideal opportunity for an attack.
As the distance closed to around two meters, Kang-hoo adjusted his angle, preparing to lunge.
But then—
“……!”
Sensing something off, Kang-hoo halted his attack stance and immediately used Clone Technique.
Summoning a clone in front of him, he was pushed backward by the recoil.
It wasn’t the usual way to use Clone Technique, but in this moment, it felt necessary.
And sure enough—
Whirr!
Despite being half-reclined on the ground, Lee suddenly spun both legs in a full 360-degree arc.
‘Pinwheel Kick.’
Named because it resembled a spinning windmill, it was a skill straight from the original work.
It was a heart-stopping moment.
The Pinwheel Kick struck the clone repeatedly under the chin, knocking it away.
since it was just a clone, it was fine. But if that had been his real body, his jaw might have been completely shattered.
However, because Kang-hoo had sensed something was off and responded preemptively, Lee had overinvested in his move.
Having propelled himself into the air with the Pinwheel Kick, Lee now revealed a critical opening.
【Fire Dragon Spear】
Kang-hoo summoned his heavy spear, layering it with the Fire Dragon Spear skill before hurling it at full force toward Lee.
Given the short distance and a clear target, it was the perfect moment to strike.
Whoosh!
A massive spear of fire cut through the air.
Thud!
“Arghhh!”
It embedded itself in Lee’s left thigh.
Since spears weren’t Kang-hoo’s main weapon, it didn’t fully pierce through, but—
It sank in at least half a palm’s depth, and the flames surrounding it caused Lee to writhe in pain.
‘He’s relying on his defensive trait.’
Kang-hoo ran a hand over his breastplate.
He hadn’t switched to a new one yet, so the Protection option should still block a single fatal blow.
Lee was a stylish boss—if he tried to fight him elegantly, he would fall into his pace.
So, he chose to fight dirty. He would stay as close as possible and disable Lee’s legs.
From the moment the spear embedded in his thigh, his strategy had already been decided.
‘If avoiding a hit is impossible, take it strategically.’
With that conviction, he lunged at Lee.
“Arghhh! Aaah!”
Bang! Boom!
Lee desperately raised his still-functioning right leg, launching a barrage of qi blasts.
It was fair to call it a Qi Combat Technique, given how frequently he used qi strikes.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
But because Lee was firing them indiscriminately, they were easy to dodge this time. They weren’t even threatening.
Failing to stop Kang-hoo’s approach, Lee quickly assumed a defensive posture to block the dagger strike.
Even if he got stabbed somewhere, he planned to avoid a fatal wound.
However—
Thud!
“Gaaaah…!”
“I’ve used my legs a bit too.”
Once again, his expectations were shattered.
Feigning a dagger strike, Kang-hoo suddenly extended his leg and kicked the embedded spear deeper into Lee’s thigh.
He was preemptively crippling Lee’s leg—his primary weapon.
Because of this, the spear tore deeper into the muscle, now sinking one and a half palms’ depth into the thigh.
Watching Lee’s face distort in agony, Kang-hoo pressed his advantage.
As Lee twisted in pain, his unguarded chest was completely exposed.
Kang-hoo put his weight behind his next move.
With Decapitation, he aimed his razor-sharp dagger straight at Lee’s heart.
But just then—
“…….”
Kang-hoo saw a sudden flash of violet light on Lee’s right leg.
It was clearly an effect linked to a skill. At the same time, he sensed a dangerously powerful attack coming.
In that fleeting moment—
Kang-hoo instinctively understood.
‘This is his ultimate move.’
Even while being overwhelmed by pain—
That bastard was using the crisis as an opportunity, setting up a perfect counterstrike.
Without Protection, this attack could have killed him instantly, without even giving him a chance to scream. That was how powerful it was.
But from the beginning, Kang-hoo had planned to take one hit strategically.
So, trusting in Protection, he ignored Lee’s kick and proceeded with his own setup.
【Severing Line of Distortion】
Papat!
He created the starting point of the Severing Line of Distortion to the left of Lee’s head.
And then—
Smack!
A loud crack echoed from beneath Kang-hoo’s chin. A noise that anyone would assume meant his jaw had been shattered.
【‘Protection’ has activated, nullifying the fatal damage inflicted by the enemy. The protection effect has been removed.】
‘Good.’
Protection had triggered.
The sound was deafening, but Kang-hoo himself felt absolutely no damage.
“……?”
A series of question marks filled Lee’s eyes.
Despite landing a decisive strike, nothing had happened. It was a completely nonsensical situation.
At that very moment, Kang-hoo was already pulling on the destination point of the Severing Line of Distortion, which he had placed to Lee’s right.
And the reason?
“Keuhhk!”
To strangle Lee’s throat completely.
This had been the plan all along.
With Protection removing the biggest obstacle to close combat, Kang-hoo could now mount Lee’s body.
Tighten!
“Krrk! Ghhhk!”
Kang-hoo pulled the starting and destination points as far apart as possible, stretching the Severing Line of Distortion to its limit.
【Distortion】
At the same time, he activated Distortion.
Even though the distortion activated along the line, its starting and destination points remained unaffected.
Had Kang-hoo been in a rush and grabbed the line directly, his hands would have been shredded on the spot.
The next moment—
Screech! Crack! Screech!
Lee’s throat and Adam’s apple, pressed directly against the Severing Line of Distortion, began to be sliced apart.
In this setup, it was no different from sawing his neck with a wire cutter.
“Ghhkk! Ghhk!”
Lee convulsed violently, unable to even let out a proper scream.
Not even the toughest boss monster’s grandfather could endure this level of agony.
Right now, Kang-hoo was pressing down with all his weight.
【Acceleration】
With the pressure of the line already maximized, he activated Acceleration.
At this point, it was like placing bricks on a saw blade and stomping down—the pressure was immense.
“Ghhkk! Ghhkk!”
Lee’s screams were filled with agony, but Kang-hoo remained utterly unfazed.
The blood gushing out of Lee’s throat splattered all over his face.
Given the sheer brutality of the situation, a Blood Shower was inevitable.
A grotesque sight.
But to Kang-hoo, that only made it more meaningful.
He was determined to defeat this mid-boss monster by any means necessary.
Initially, he had considered the fight risky and was prepared to retreat if things didn’t go well.
But in the end, the situation played out far better than expected.
From that point on—
Lee struggled desperately to shake Kang-hoo off before his throat was completely severed.
But with Kang-hoo pressing down hard on his chest while pinning his neck, it was impossible to shake him off.
Eventually, Lee’s neck surpassed its limit and was severed completely by the Severing Line of Distortion.
Not half-cut. Not dangling.
A perfect separation of head and body.
“Haa… Haa… Damn, I put so much force into that, my muscles feel stiff.”
Panting heavily, Kang-hoo grimaced at the soreness running down his shoulders.
He tilted his head left and right, just to be sure.
Thankfully, it was just mild stiffness, not a full-body cramp.
His level had increased to 276.
A jump of three levels. Considering that Lee had been a mid-boss monster, it was an expected reward.
“This was… thanks to Protection.”
Kang-hoo assessed the battle.
Without Protection, his strategy wouldn’t have worked in the first place. A rematch would have been impossible.
Either way, his objective was achieved.
He had made good use of the Protection option, meaning he could now replace his breastplate with the Mark of Corruption without worry.
And now, there was only one thing left—stealing one of Lee’s footwork skills, which had been unlocked upon his death.
“Now I’m even getting kicking techniques, huh?”
Seeing the skill steal menu appear before him, Kang-hoo chuckled.
In countless fights, he had never once relied on kicks.
Launching both legs high above the waist to attack? That was an entirely foreign concept to Kang-hoo.