Chapter 122

The opening was akin to a light exploratory jab.

Just a casual swing of the fist.

Yet the result it produced…

Bang!

…was anything but light.

Could this truly be called a mere jab?

Boom! Bang! BOOM!

The force resembled cannon fire.

Each powerful strike clashed against the other’s guard, unleashing relentless, deafening shockwaves with every collision.

BAM!

However, even as these cannon-like blows landed, neither of the fighters seemed to sustain any damage.

Despite being completely unarmed…

Every time their fists connected, it sounded like they were striking something resilient, akin to tightly compressed tires.

Huff—!

Perhaps bored with the light exchange, Maximus took the initiative to press the attack.

Thud!

The mere shift in his movements exuded an overwhelming pressure, like the oppressive weight of a storm.

A single graze from that fist could spell death for anyone.

Logic dictated that one should dodge or flee in the face of such might.

Crack.

But unfortunately, his opponent had no intention of avoiding it.

Ihan stood firm, receiving the terrifying blow head-on, responding with his own punch and advancing further.

The ground caved beneath his feet as he braced his entire body, standing unyielding.

And so—

BOOOOM!

He took the punch without a guard.

“?!”

Maximus was astonished.

Not only because his opponent neither dodged nor blocked, but also because—

Thump!

“…It hurts.”

Ihan’s punch struck Maximus squarely in the side, hitting with precision and immense force.

Heavy.

It felt as though a massive hammer had smashed into his ribs.

Had an ordinary person taken the blow, their organs would have ruptured entirely.

“You don’t look hurt at all,” Ihan quipped.

“Haha, trust me, it hurts. This is embarrassing. You took my punch with ease, yet here I am whining like this.”

“…‘Took it,’ you say.”

Ihan allowed a faint, bitter smile.

Though he had endured it using his Diamond Body, the struck area still tingled painfully.

Was this what it felt like to take a bull's charge square in the chest?

‘It’s heavy.’

Even his Diamond Body, capable of deflecting swords, spears, and even arrows with ease, couldn’t entirely mitigate the impact.

Pain aside, it was absurd.

‘This man withstood it without any technique.’

While Ihan had to activate a defensive skill to endure the punch, Maximus had absorbed the blow with nothing but his raw physique.

It hadn’t been a light jab; it was a full-force strike meant to knock him down, yet Maximus simply brushed it off, feigning mild discomfort.

It was, quite literally, an insane body.

This must be what people mean when they speak of an “invincible form.”

‘In a past life, someone once said that even a world champion’s punch is nothing more than a massage to a bear-like beast.’

A sudden example came to mind.

And Ihan found the comparison fitting.

Just as a lion or bear would perceive human fists and kicks as mere flailing, ordinary attacks were meaningless against this man.

Only absolute strength would suffice.

A single, full-powered strike—

Not a light jab—

‘But one decisive blow.’

If that’s the case…

How would he react to this?

Ihan extended his fist once again.

‘This is fun! It’s insanely fun!’

Maximus felt a massive thrill coursing through him.

The weight of Ihan’s punch was one thing, but the fact that someone had withstood one of his own blows so nonchalantly?

‘It felt as though I struck solid steel armor.’

No, perhaps it was even harder than that.

Would you believe him if he said his own hand hurt more than the opponent’s body?

It was nothing short of extraordinary.

Whatever it was, his opponent had clearly mastered some mysterious technique.

A skill that momentarily made his body as unyielding as steel plate.

Wasn’t there a rumor about a martial artist who could make flowers bloom with their sword?

In other words, the mysterious techniques had only just begun.

‘Heh heh heh!’

Maximus couldn’t contain his excitement, nor could he suppress his laughter.

The strength of his opponent was undeniable, and their techniques were both foreign and fascinating.

A truly formidable foe!

But for that very reason…

‘It’s all the more valuable.’

This is what a duel should be.

A clash akin to a trial, an intense battle against an uncertain outcome.

Through it, one could feel truly alive.

‘Show me what else you’re hiding!’

Thud.

Maximus advanced once more, toward the opponent who could take his full strength—

No, perhaps the opponent who might even gift him defeat.

And yet again—

Whoosh!

Bang!

“??”

This time, Ihan delivered something beyond expectations, exceeding all anticipation.

…Maximus’s mind spun.

His opponent’s fist hadn’t even touched him.

“It’s called [Mountain-Crushing Strike].”

“!!”

“It’ll probably disorient you.”

With that courteous warning, Ihan delivered another light one-two punch.

It was the same straightforward movement as before, punches that could easily be blocked.

BOOM!

But once again, Maximus failed to block and took the full brunt of the attack.

An invisible strike.

The sensation of being struck by a ghostly hand, disorienting and confounding!

Ihan’s strikes, imbued with disorienting force and ghostly power, mercilessly toyed with Maximus.

Feeling as though he had been bewitched, Maximus realized that his senses had been thrown into complete chaos.

‘Is he projecting shockwaves? Without regard for direction?’

The strikes came from everywhere—front, back, left, and right.

Clang!

“…Fascinating. How exactly do you pull that off?”

The strikes even came from above and below.

A technique that completely defied physical laws, launching attacks from all directions.

Maximus could only gape in astonishment.

“I’ll teach you later.”

“Haha, how unsporting.”

BOOM!

Maximus was sent flying.

++++

Mountain-Crushing Strike

A technique that, in some ways, forms the basis for Hundred Steps Divine Fist.

While the latter simply extends power in a straight line, Mountain-Crushing Strike demands precise, meticulous control over force.

Whoosh!

Ihan’s fist force reflected off nearby obstacles, targeting blind spots that were impossible to defend or even detect.

Ordinarily, such a technique would require immense mathematical precision—calculating angles and trajectories in real time.

A single miscalculation could result in attacking oneself or an ally.

However—

Thud!

“Every strike lands perfectly.”

“Try acting like you’re in pain for once.”

Ihan’s extraordinary sense of intuition resolved all those calculations with sheer instinct.

A level of perception bordering on mystical allowed him to wield this technique with finesse and precision, making his strikes not only unavoidable but also devastating.

With a single motion, the Mountain-Crushing Strike expanded outward like a compressed bullet of air exploding.

Each strike pummeled his opponent relentlessly, giving the illusion of eight fists instead of two.

Coupled with its ability to bypass physical reach, it was a devastating technique.

It wouldn’t have been surprising if even a large monster had been flattened into a hamburger patty by now.

And yet—

Crack!

“Oh, so that’s how you block it?”

“….”

Maximus remained unfazed.

In fact, he was already responding.

Barely three minutes had passed since Ihan unleashed Mountain-Crushing Strike, and Maximus was already on the verge of countering it.

Of course—

Thud!

“Oh, my mistake.”

—he hadn’t yet managed to block everything.

Even so, Ihan found himself laughing in disbelief despite his superior position.

It wasn’t just Maximus’s superhuman reflexes…

‘This guy’s body is absurdly tough!’

Ihan ld someone be this durable?

‘My fists hurt more from hitting him!’

Though Ihan prided himself on his own robust body, this opponent was on an entirely different level.

Ihan had honed his endurance through relentless training and brutal fights with Aura users, eventually developing the indestructible Diamond Body to avoid further punishment.

But Maximus? He was born strong.

Every fiber of his skin, muscle, and bone seemed unnaturally resilient.

If Ihan’s body resembled a suit of armor forged from countless chains, Maximus’s was diamond—raw, uncut at birth but polished into an ideal form.

This wasn’t going to be easy.

A barrage of minor attacks wouldn’t even scratch him.

If so—

‘A bigger one should do!’

BOOM!

A small explosion reverberated within Ihan’s body as he gathered force in real time through layered energy manipulation.

Layered Energy.

A technique typically avoided in live combat due to the immense concentration it required.

Losing focus even slightly could leave the user vulnerable.

But Ihan went ahead with it anyway.

Not because he was reckless—

‘That man won’t dodge.’

Oddly enough, Ihan trusted his opponent in this moment.

He had no doubt that Maximus wouldn’t interrupt the technique.

Why?

Why did he trust someone he had only just met?

The answer was something the Northerners understood well.

Anyone who had ever faced Maximus in combat would empathize with Ihan’s thoughts and simply say:

Because that’s who Maximus is.

BOOM!

“Haha! Such an intimidating aura!”

Sure enough, amidst the rising energy, Maximus was as exuberant as ever.

He seemed to revel in the moment, exhilarated by the thrill of witnessing such a unique technique.

Watching him, Ihan thought—

‘…What a peculiar man.’

Ihan unleashed the Hundred Steps Divine Fist imbued with Layered Energy.

WHOOSH!

The synergy between the two techniques was not a matter of simple addition.

The force of the Hundred Steps Divine Fist already carried devastating power through its straight-line strikes.

With the explosive Layered Energy, it became a bomb.

The combined weight and destructive force would be impossible to endure, no matter how sturdy the opponent’s body.

After all, Maximus, for all his toughness, was still just flesh and blood.

Ihan finally anticipated seeing that proud face of Maximus crumble.

But instead—

“…Ah, I see. Now I understand. So that’s how it’s done.”

Whoosh!

For a moment, Ihan wondered if something was wrong with his own head.

…Was that bastard…?

With a stance eerily mirroring his own—no, identical—Maximus did the unthinkable.

Whoooosh!

[Hundred Steps Divine Fist].

BOOM.

Not just similar.

It was fiercer, like a thunderstorm unleashed.

“Damn it, that bastard’s been playing dumb all along,” Ihan muttered, watching the colliding auras explode in the space between them.

RUMBLE!

CRACKLE…

The underground caverns, with a history spanning over a century, were collapsing.

Between the explosive destruction of the scroll and the thrashing of the Mother Worm, it was already a disaster. But adding to this calamity was a clash between two Lv.8 legends, titans of strength and skill.

As one bystander put it, heroes who defined their era had crossed paths in battle.

That alone was enough to shock the underground world into ruin.

Each collision was like cannon fire; for the caverns to hold up at all would’ve been remarkable.

But unfortunately, the tunnels were far too fragile.

“Instructor, at this rate, the whole place will collapse in thirty minutes tops. So… I’m just going to get out of here first, okay?”

“…Go on. You’ve suffered enough.”

“…I’d say it’s rude to agree so quickly, but… yeah, fair enough.”

Taechang’s condition was a mess.

Having been in the middle of this titanic clash, it would’ve been more surprising if he wasn’t in shambles.

Others in his position might have cursed Ihan and immediately severed ties, but Taechang, despite his youth, was surprisingly kind and resilient.

Rustle.

Even with injuries, Taechang barely flinched as he looked at Ihan, who had been slammed into the wall.

“Instructor, just asking, but why don’t you come with me? You look like you’re wasting time here.”

…He may have been polite, but his words were sharp, as expected of kids these days.

Still, he wasn’t wrong.

“…I know.”

Ihan understood.

This was all just pointless at this stage.

In truth, there was no longer a reason for the two fighters to continue.

Their goal had been to eliminate the hostile cultists hiding in the tunnels and extract valuable information.

In that sense, the mission was already a success.

They had found proof of the cult’s existence, killed the enormous Mother Worm they were raising, and even captured a high-ranking former colleague who appeared to be a leader within the cult.

It made more sense to regroup and report back to their respective superiors to wrap up the situation.

RUMBLE!

Especially in a crumbling cavern that could collapse at any moment.

If they didn’t want to die buried here, the rational and wise decision was to escape.

And neither Ihan nor Maximus were fools—they were among the sharpest minds of their peers.

However—

“I had a bucket list, you know. From ‘back in the day.’”

“Bucket list?”

Taechang blinked at the sudden revelation.

Though surprised by the abrupt confession, he listened to Ihan’s seemingly foolish story.

“It’s nothing much. Just… I always wanted to get into a fistfight with a friend and laugh about it afterward.”

“…?”

“I didn’t have any friends growing up. I thought I did, but looking back, they weren’t really friends. Just acquaintances.”

“….”

“I envied that. Fighting over silly things, doing dumb stuff together, and then just having a proper fistfight for fun. Sure, feelings might get hurt sometimes, but I still wanted to experience it. You know, that old-school romantic notion—fight and then become friends.”

“…Like the drama Age of Gangsters. That’s a good one.”

“Yeah, exactly. …Wait, how old are you that you know about that?”

CRACK!

Ihan briefly wondered if this kid was secretly much older than he looked.

As he stood up, the wall he had been leaning against crumbled, and pain flared across his cheek.

It seemed he’d been hit harder than he thought.

“Ow…”

“Well, congrats on ticking that off your list.”

“No, that guy’s not my friend. But still…”

Crash!

“Haha! I went flying quite far, didn’t I? Goodness, I’ve never thought I lacked strength in my waist, but what a disgrace! Hahaha!”

Ihan shook his head as he watched Maximus emerge from the rubble, laughing uproariously.

“He’s a fool, but at least he’s a bold one. Guess that’s half my bucket list fulfilled.”

“….”

“Stupid, right? I know.”

Ihan loosened his shoulders, the soreness in his body gradually subsiding.

For people like him and Maximus, this level of injury didn’t even qualify as a scratch.

As he moved forward—

“That bucket list of yours, it’s not bad. As long as no one gets upset.”

“….”

Shing.

“But if possible, I think it’d be better to win. That seems cooler to me.”

“…Hah.”

Taechang handed Ihan a sword.

When had he even picked it up?

Without waiting for a reply, Taechang carried the unconscious cultist leader on his back and disappeared.

“…Yeah. That’s right.”

Ihan gripped the sword tightly, watching Taechang retreat into the distance.

If you’re going to act like a fool—

‘At least be the fool who wins.’

Ihan smiled.

A smile broader and more carefree than Maximus’s.