Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Chapter 76

A cascade of black lights struck Minsung like thunderbolts, forcing him to crash to the ground.

Miho jumped to meet him, and she drove her fist straight into his abdomen.

Minsung’s eyes widened as blood spilled from his mouth.

“Let’s continue the fight on the ground now.” Miho, her gaze ablaze, brandished both hands.

[Skill: Beast’s Claw]

Miho attacked Minsung incessantly, affording him no respite whatsoever. She knew that even a brief pause could mean losing track of him. I can’t afford to miss this opportunity!

Suho’s sudden display of power had left her bewildered, but she snapped of her daze. The opportunity to capture Minsung was too great, and if she failed, he was bound to escape given his incredible speed. She intensified her attacks, prompting the villain to defend and face the onslaught head-on.

Speed was undoubtedly in Minsung’s favor, but numerous Shadow Lancers ceaselessly harassed him, bridging the gap between them.

What are these lancers doing here? How is this possible? What connection does that human have with the queen bee? Countless questions filled Minsung’s mind. As he glanced at Suho, who was attacking from the opposite side, a flood of complicated emotions finally overwhelmed him. “What the hell is your relationship with the queen bee?”

Logically, Minsung’s focus should have been on Miho, who was stronger than Suho. However, he was beyond reason. Eventually, he realized the nature of this intense emotion—jealousy.

“Why did the queen bee entrust her lancers to someone like you? I’m her favorite worker bee! Lee Minsung! Not you!”

As Minsung’s furious attack obliterated everything in his path, Miho urgently deployed her defense skills. “Argh! Suho, hide behind me!”

However, instead of stepping back, Suho boldly surged forward.

Good heavens. Miho doubted her eyes.

Minsung’s spear clashed fiercely with Suho’s sword. The villain’s speed was overwhelmingly faster than Suho’s. But despite the ferocious attacks, Suho simply absorbed them with his bare body whilst continuing his assault, and Miho was astonished by his incessant and formidable attacks.

Was he a tank instead of a summoner? Miho no longer knew or cared anymore.

Little did she know, Suho’s ability was making him look like a tank.

[Skill: The level of “Pain Tolerance” has increased!]

[Physical Defense +60% → +80%]

Great! This way, I can endure longer. Suho’s body was burning, but his mind was ice cold. He glanced at the status window, checking his HP and MP as he fought.

Up against such a formidable enemy, he couldn’t afford to deplete his MP with mana-draining skills. Also, boosting his size with Giant’s Armor against a swift opponent was suicidal, and amplifying his speed by invoking Gray’s Divine Possession had its limitations. It required him to fight while conserving mana meticulously because he was infusing magic power into every attack even without using skills.

In the end, there’s just the Iron Body Technique left...

The most destructive choice was undoubtedly the Iron Body Technique. However, the technique also consumed mana in real-time, and to land hits on such a fast enemy, he needed to immobilize the opponent first.

Suho shouted at his lancers, “Bind his feet! Tear apart his wings and attack his legs!”

However, the Shadow Lancers were torn apart instead.

“Such insignificant creatures!” Minsung screamed as he held the head of a lancer before decapitating it, revealing a gaping hole.

But Suho used his mana to bring back the Shadow Lancers. Their torn bodies began to transform into black steam, reassembling once again.

Minsung was deeply shocked by the sight. “Unbelievable! This is something even I can’t do!” The petty jealousy he possessed welled up from his heart. “Why didn’t the queen bee grant me this regeneration ability? Was she afraid I would become too powerful?”

He was gravely mistaken about the origins of the power, but his jealousy was growing uncontrollably. But some reason returned to him momentarily as he remembered something about Arsha’s lancers.

Wait... I couldn’t attack her lancers before, but now I can. Does this mean... “Oh, I see! I’ve completely broken free from the queen bee! Gathering my own army was indeed the right move!” Minsung erupted into laughter, his face filled with ecstasy. He charged toward Suho and his lancers without hesitation.

However, as he raced forward, Minsung saw the vast shadow looming behind Suho. It looked like a colossal beast was gazing down upon him with disdain.

[Querehsha is observing Lee Minsung.]

Before that majestic gaze, he had unknowingly become a small and pitiful insect, trembling in fear. It felt like time had momentarily stopped, and when it resumed, the enormous shadow was nowhere to be seen.

Was I seeing things? Regardless of what he saw, Minsung decided to escape immediately. After all, the mission’s purpose has been accomplished. His attention shifted to Taegyu, who was shooting arrows at the ghouls in the distance. I don’t know how the ghouls poisoned him, but...

He was certain that Taegyu was struggling with the poison. Currently, he was suppressing the venom with mana, but it was only a matter of time before it reached its limit.

Losing all the ghouls I’ve gathered so far doesn’t matter. If I can make Taegyu into one, that’s all that counts! The thought of an S-rank hunter becoming his worker bee excited him, but he wasn’t aware of Secretary Oh’s betrayal.

Minsung wrongly believed that it was his royal jelly Taegyu was becoming addicted to. Yes, let’s escape for now! No one can detoxify Taegyu’s poison anyway. I’ll hide and wait until he succumbs to the addiction!

“I won’t let you escape!” Suho and his Shadow Lancers chased after Minsung.

“You think you can catch me?” Minsung, seizing the momentary opening, suddenly turned back toward Suho. “I better deal with you before I leave!” He unleashed a formidable beam of mana.

“Oh no!” Miho rushed desperately from behind.

But when Suho opened his eyes, he saw that Taegyu had taken the brunt ofMinsung’s attack instead of him.

Minsung was bewildered by the unexpected turn of events. “Taegyu, you bastard...”

“Yeah, it’s me. You wretched coward.” Taegyu chuckled as he stared at the villain as blood gushed from his mouth. His hands were firmly holding Minsung’s spear piercing his abdomen.

No matter how hard Minsung tried, he couldn’t dislodge his spear.

Even without the use of mana, Taegyu still possessed the physical strength of an S-rank hunter.

“What the hell are you thinking? You’re not trying to die along with me, are you?” Minsung said, emitting a fearsome aura.

“What if I am? The reason you’ve become whatever you are now is because of me, isn’t it?”

Minsung’s body momentarily froze.

Locking eyes with his bloodshot gaze, Taegyu chuckled and muttered, “That’s why I have to take responsibility. We’re supposed to be friends, after all.”

Their relationship had only been strained for the past two years. Before that, they were like true brothers.

But how did it come to this? What’s so great about magic? What is so great about awakening? Why would someone born with everything envy someone like me... As the royal jelly was attempting to invade his brain, Taegyu knew everything was about to come to an end. His suppressed mana suddenly surged with tremendous force.

“I can’t stand the sight of a friend being beaten by others. So why don’t you let me kill you instead?”

“You’re the one who’s going to die!” Minsung roared and attacked Taegyu with his other hand.

But Suho wedged between them in the blink of an eye, severing Minsung’s arms simultaneously with his swords. “You talk too much.” He had been waiting for Minsung’s feet to be bound to unleash all of his strength against him.

[Skill: “Iron Body Technique” has activated.]

The power of Ammut, who raised an insignificant goblin into the Monarch of the Iron Body, traveled along Suho’s arm, transforming it into a deadly blade. His colossal hand attacked as if he was crushing a tiny insect to death. His attacks were relentless, unleashing ruthless violence upon Minsung.

“Unbelievable...” Minsung couldn’t even scream properly, and he had no choice but to bear the full brunt of all the attacks. Why am I getting owned by some punk like this?!

It would have made sense if an S-rank hunter like Taegyu was beating him up, but the idea of being brutally attacked by an unknown rookie was something he couldn’t accept. To add insult to injury, every single attack Suho landed was excruciatingly painful.

And worst of all, Taegyu was witnessing Minsung’s desperate state up close. He looked like he was mumbling something, but the villain couldn’t make out what he was saying.

Minsung struggled but rose to attack Suho one last time.

Suho’s fist charged forward to meet the attack, and so did the countless Shadow Lancers.

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