<Chapter 35. The Call of Death - 5>

"Tch, I thought I'd be able to kill two of them. What terrible timing."

Lee Shin Woo smiled bitterly. He'd only killed one of the undead heroes that had been hidden amidst the beasts, yet the Beast General was already coming to intervene. He couldn't even imagine how much influence Ethan Cruz had on the Beast General.

"Still, I can't just sit here and do nothing... Alright, let's retreat to Retadane."

"What about them?"

"Not yet. Seems like they're going to act once the heroes are fatigued."

Lee Shin Woo and Jin conversed and then began to move. The nearby remaining beasts gritted their teeth and charged, but once Jin began to sprint at full speed, there was nothing they could do to stop him.

Jin was so fast that he couldn't be seen, as lightning struck his surroundings. Jin ran wildly, as the beasts caught aflame and were split apart.

[Stoppppp!]

As they attempted to group up with Retadane, a boulder suddenly flew towards them. Lee Shin Woo threw his Breath of the Lightning God and broke it apart. Immediately after, a bear-shaped beast charged from in front of them.

[Lv7 Werebear Suranta Bennett]

[I can't allow you to face the Beast General in person! Be a good boy and...]

"I don't have time for that!"

[Keuk!?]

Lee Shin Woo charged without waiting for it to finish. The level 7 elite stretched its thick front legs and blocked his sword; it looked surprised.

[To think you could stop my strike head on!]

"Heuuup...!"

[This is... Lightning...!?]

Lee Shin Woo concentrated and the Breath of the Lightning God's lightning briefly intensified; it then spread across the bear's body.

Suranta wasn't an elite in name only. It responded by using its mana to activate a skill, which fortified its body. However, that was the worst decision it could make. When skills clashed head on, the one that was a higher level would triumph!

[H-How can this be? My skill is...!?]

The lightning enveloped its body and burned bright. The lightning ate through its fur and skin, as well as the skill. Suranta was shocked once it realized that Lee Shin Woo's lightning had essentially canceled its skill. Then, Lee Shin Woo grinned and lunged with his Breath of the Lightning God.

"Nice. Then... Rest in peace!"

[Kahak!]

Lee Shin Woo was even able to convert all the mana on the battlefield into lightning through his intense 'breathing', so doing this was just child's play. Then, using Bursting Thunder, he thrust with his lightning clad sword, splitting the bear in half. Although it was indeed a level 7 elite, Lee Shin Woo had easily taken care of it in less than 30 seconds!

[You have acquired 7,194,070 Perium.]

[You have acquired the Lv7 Werebear Suranta Bennet's front foot bone.]

Lee Shin Woo absorbed the bone immediately, but his Strength and Health only increased by 7 a piece. Once he saw how lousy its magic was, he figured it was weak, and it did seem like it was in the lower echelon of level 7s.

"Hoo. What's with the attitude? You were the same level as me."

'Are you going to go kill the Beast General now?'

"Let's think about that after I level up."

Even at this very moment, the Beast General was chasing after Lee Shin Woo. He could tell what state the battlefield was in based on how the Beast General was moving. Unfortunately, it wasn't Lee Shin Woo's style to fight him head on.

"Jin, run. That reliable old lady will protect us."

"Just make sure you don't say that in front of her."

Jin ran quickly, even as he grumbled. Now that the Beast General was coming for them personally, the surrounding beasts attempted to stop them, but... they weren't enough to stop Jin's sprint.

He was like a meteor as he shook off anyone following them and ran straight for Retadane! Retadane soon noticed them whilst crushing nearby beasts and yelled in surprise.

"Lee Shin Woo!?"

"Retadane, the Beast General is coming this way!"

"You really do the most outrageous things...! Please stay behind me!"

[Kuoooooooooooh!]

Lee Shin Woo successfully joined up with Retadane, and immediately after, the Beast General screamed and pushed aside the nearby beasts. It was obviously none other than the Beast General himself, but... Lee Shin Woo was somewhat doubtful when he finally saw him.

"That's the Beast General...?"

[So many annoying pests have gathered in one place! I'll round you up and kill you all!]

The giant undead yelled and charged. Its entire body was composed of bones. He couldn't believe it, it was a skeleton!

The higher level an undead, the more they resemble a human, so it made sense that Lee Shin Woo was suspicious, but... perhaps because it was a skeleton, it looked incredibly formidable! He thought it may be a stand-in or something to that effect, but when he checked the name, he confirmed that that wasn't the case.

[Lv7 Bone Werewolf - Beast General Jilun Pelta]

"It really is the Beast General..."

"Indeed. No one can even come close to his savagery and cruelty; the Tyrant of the Battlefield...! We should take him out while we have the chance!"

[Kuheu, what do we have here? It's the little lady of the Retadane house! What a joyous occasion. I'd always wanted to just eat you up!]

Once she saw the Beast General, Retadane's red eyes eerily lit up and she charged. She swung her flail with unimaginable force and her weapon was filled with a blinding light, her inherent magic.

[Kuhak! Keuk!?]

The flail cleaved through the air, and the giant bone wolf boldly took it head on. It opened its mouth wide and caught the flail. The moment they collided, the Beast General emitted a truly awful sound.

[Kuhak... How have you become so strong!?]

"It's funny when I look at you, still trapped in the past...! Keep yourself buried in the past and choke on it!"

"Buried in the past... Pfft."

Lee Shin Woo watched on, and acquired some useless information, like the fact that 'when Retadane starts fighting, she begins to say some really infantile things'! But...

'But her strength is real. Just by looking at her overwhelming physical strength and the magic within that flail will tell you how powerful she is. Moreover...'

Those were all her own abilities... They (the undead) were nothing compared to the power of light. Even now, Lee Shin Woo felt Retadane converting a portion of the mana that spilled out from her body into light. It was such a radiant light that most undead would shrink from her approach!

Most of the undead are maintained by darkness magic, but Retadane's light magic 'denies' the root of their existence and puts them in their proper place... In other words, she was trying to send them to their death. And the Beast General was no different.

[Keuk, this light magic...!]

"As the last light priest in the land... I will exterminate the undead!"

The Werewolf's fingernails, which emitted a blue light, and Retadane's flail clashed in the air a few times.

In terms of force, they were evenly matched, but whenever her weapon came into contact with him, the Beast General would become noticeably more tired. The Beast General, which wasn't able to reach level 8, wasn't able to deal with the light which covered the entire area!

[Alright... I admit, you're no longer a coy maiden anymore... Now that it's come to this, I'll fight you with my true form!]

"What? We're on the second phase already?"

In the end, the Beast General admitted that he couldn't let this go on, retreated, and gathered himself. For the time being, Lee Shin Woo watched their fight and attempted to analyze it. He couldn't help but feel disappointed after watching the Beast General get hit a few times!

"Lee Shin Woo, how long do you intend to just sit there and watch? You're the one who lured him over here."

"Of course I'll help. Haha. I was just looking for the right opportunity since it's so hard to keep track of your movements, Ms. Retadane."

Lee Shin Woo was done being a spectator. If he could, he would've waited until the Beast General showed the trick up his sleeve, but he couldn't just do anything when Retadane was staring at him and asking for assistance.

Moreover, Lee Shin Woo had been overlooking this, but with the continual expenditure of mana and stamina, Retadane would eventually get tired (as she wasn't undead, but a human being)! Even now, her breathing had become haggard, albeit slightly. If he took into account the fact that this was the opportunity Ethan Cruz was looking for, then he couldn't just let her be.

"Beast General, it's my turn!"

[Kuha. You're going to face me now?]

"You despoiled my senior's bodies! I'll take your life in exchange!"

Lee Shin Woo said, which was just as embarrassing as anything Retadane would say, and rushed forward. He let Retadane catch her breath and charged! He concentrated his mana into a Breath of the Lightning God, and the Beast General faced him while smiling, as if finding him ridiculous.

[In the end, you will all serve His Majesty... As proof, I'll take you first!]

At that moment, splitting sounds came from the Beast General's body as his bones broke apart. No, at least that's what he thought was happening. Then, the broken areas were repaired with new bones. Bone was tangled with other bones in a complicated manner, and the Werewolf began to grow! He was transforming!

[Kureureureureu... Kuhaaaaaah!]

He was already quite large, but he had grown in size by about two or three times. Sharply split bones sprouted from his back, resembling thorns.

They sprouted on his arms, down to the back of his hands, his stomach, and even all the way down to his legs! His entire body was covered in a bone armor, which made it difficult to even make out his original form. What Lee Shin Woo was sure of however was that the Beast General's strength had increased significantly!

[The strength of the 12 generals is absolute, and cannot be measured with mere levels! No matter how much you look at my level, or measure my magic, they're ultimately just numbers! I'll kindly teach you that lesson with your bodies!]

"Werewolf transformation... To think that you could develop that technique even further as an undead."

Retadane focused her light magic into her flail and gritted her teeth. Lee Shin Woo listened and had some idea of what she was talking about. Just a little while ago, Bisher Moon had explained this to him.

The Beast Tribe possesses a separate human and animal form, but by using magic, they can topple this balance. They would strengthen the animal's unique characteristics and temporarily increase their strength through the transformation technique.

However, high rank members of the Beast Tribe could go one step further and surpass their limits, further reinforcing their bodies or even awakening an unknown specialty that could not normally exist in this world. At the time, Lee Shin Woo had just wrote it off as them transforming into a fantasy beast, but...

[Thorn Wolf. That's my special ability... Keuk, keuk. Can you still stay that I'm still 'buried in the past' or what not? Fool. I gained a new body and became stronger than you could ever imagine!]

"Keuk...!"

He declared and launched a left straight at Lee Shin Woo. Lee Shin Woo calmly blocked the blow with his Breath of the Lightning God but was pushed by the Werewolf's ridiculous strength. To think that he would be pushed back, especially when Jin had increased the force with his charge!

[I'll skewer both you and your horse...!]

"Tch!"

He'd thought that the Beast General's transformation was over with, but the sprouting thorns continued to get larger and larger, and attacked Lee Shin Woo and Jin simultaneously!

They attempted to get away from him, but his Breath of the Lightning God was stuck between two of the general's fingernails. What's worse, nails sprouted up from between his fingernails as well, wrapping around his blade like vines. It was honestly quite disgusting.

If it were the average day, then he would've blown up the Breath of the Lightning God, or summon a new weapon to block the general's attack, but Retadane was watching him right now, so he couldn't show off his skills. If that's the case, then...

'I have to go with Bursting Thunder!'

Lee Shin Woo rapidly circulated his magic and focused it into his Breath of the Lightning God. He used his High Rank Mana Bone skill as a base to activate his Mana Acceleration skill, forming magic that would be effective against the general! He used High Rank Combat Sense as well in order to calculate the optimum course of action...!

"Heup!"

[Kuhak!?]

For a moment, the lightning reached its peak. The electric discharge burned the general's fingernails and thorns instantly, and the freed Breath of the Lightning God moved at blinding speed; cutting through all the thorns that had been coming their way!

He cut through dozens of thorns at lightning speed, which resembled exploding lightning. It had both goosebump inducing precision and destructive power, so no matter how many thorns came at him and obstructed his vision, he could cut them all down, so long as he moved optimally.

'Huh...?'

But at that moment, Lee Shin Woo realized something that was completely unrelated to Bursting Thunder.

'How was I able to see those thorns and cut them down all at once?'

Of course, it was likely due to his Combat Sense, as well as his connection with Jin, which amplified his reflexes, but that definitely wasn't everything. It felt like he could naturally perceive the thorns with something else before his senses picked them up. Yeah, as if he could see the right course of action beforehand...

[You're quite powerful as well...! I'll crush you!]

"I've had just about enough of you doing whatever you want!"

But before Lee Shin Woo could come to an answer, Retadane, who had caught her breath, took the opportunity to swing her light covered flail at the Beast General.

[Keuk!?]

"Don't leave me behind!"

'Stop talking like a guy who has been dumped by his girlfriend!'

The Beast General was shocked and attempted to retreat, but it was Lee Shin Woo's time to pay him back now! He was weak compared to Retadane or other level 8s, but his 'breathing', which utilized Mana Acceleration, converted the area's mana into lightning and stopped the Beast General for just an instant. That small span of time was enough for Retadane to get a direct hit on the Beast General.

[Kuhak!]

"That ability just now... That was good. Let's talk after we take him down!"

"Ok!"

Like Lee Shin Woo had done, Retadane had also analyzed Lee Shin Woo's fight with the Beast General while she was catching her breath, and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike. Now was the time to make use of that information for the two to push him back!

[Kuhu... You're trying to handle me, the Beast General, with just the two of you!?]

The Beast General used the force behind Retadane's strike to retreat and activated an ability to restore his bones. Then he shouted bravely, but on the inside, he felt that he was in danger; if things went wrong, then he might die before their plan was even set into motion.

And thus, the battle between the strongest hero duo and one of the 12 generals began.