The cold and hard footsteps of the terracotta soldiers filled the entire altar.

In the midst of the solemn echo that spread like a scene from a war movie, the earth soldiers approached in formation like machines.

It was a formidable army to face alone. If it weren’t for this place.

“This is perfect.”

It was the optimal place and opponent to test my new weapon.

I fired the First Blade, which I had taken out from the Daoist Scholar’s Fan, at the approaching terracotta soldiers.

The tip of the blade, which flew like a flash of light and pierced the enemy’s neck. Its penetrating power was considerable. On a whim, I swung the First Blade and cut down the body of the enemy standing next to it.

Swish-!

The enemy’s earthen body, which was cut in two. In fact, it was a power similar to cutting a rock. The sharpness was not ordinary.

‘As expected of a divine object.’

This time, I controlled the First Blade and pierced through the terracotta soldiers who were standing overlapping.

Kwa-gwa-gwak!

But this time, it seemed the output was insufficient. It was good that it pierced up to the heart of the third terracotta soldier, but the blade got stuck as it was.

I tried to pull out the First Blade by controlling it, but I was a little short on strength.

‘It’ll be troublesome if it gets caught.’

I twisted the blade through adjustment and pulled out the First Blade. In the meantime, the terracotta soldiers had approached me.

“I guess I have no choice.”

Reluctantly, I unfolded the Daoist Scholar’s Fan that I was holding in one hand.

Hwareuk!

At the same time, five flame bullets floated around me.

‘I’ll shoot them in all directions.’

The flame bullets, which flew with a single thought, exploded as they were.

Pa-pa-pa-pa-pang!

The terracotta soldiers, who collapsed after being hit in the chest by the compressed fireballs or knelt on one knee.

Those terracotta soldiers were only hard, but their movements were sluggish. I swung the First Blade again and pierced the hearts of the ones who had cracks from the flame bullets.

Only then did the earth soldiers shatter into pieces on the floor.

‘As expected, I have to destroy the core.’

The terracotta soldier whose neck was simply cut just fell and then got up again.

‘I don’t know the principle, but it must be similar to a golem.’

They must be guardians that can only be operated in this place, which is overflowing with mana and qi. Then the method was simple.

‘I’ll neutralize the terracotta soldiers by breaking their limbs with magic, and then pierce the core with the First Blade.’

Although magic had good firepower, its penetrating power was lacking compared to the sharpness of the divine object. It was difficult for it to work on the terracotta soldiers.

And most of all, every time I pierced the enemy’s core with the First Blade, the fact that the Daoist Scholar’s Fan absorbed the energy gathered inside was a big factor.

Thanks to that, I was able to increase the duration of the Art of Controlling the Fan with Qi and at the same time increase my proficiency.

In other words, I just had to let the Daoist Scholar’s Fan land the last blow.

It was a technique that was possible because it acted as a life-stealing weapon, where my stamina was replenished every time I defeated an opponent, limited to this space.

“Good.”

No matter how I thought about it, it was truly the best environment to increase my proficiency. Although it was originally intended for a different divine object.

Of course, I, who had been forcibly dragged into this world, had no obligation to care about that. I didn’t know when this place would be discovered, and it could fall into the hands of an evil person.

In that case, it was better for me to use it.

I aimed the Daoist Scholar’s Fan and fired ice magic near the legs of the approaching terracotta soldiers, freezing them. The enemies, whose joints creaked and collapsed.

I continued the multi-person battle, piercing the defenseless backs of the enemies with the First Blade.

Flames soared and wind rushed along the trajectory that the Daoist Scholar’s Fan extended. I froze the ones that got close with ice, and sniped and destroyed the ones that were far away with flame bullets.

‘It’s nice to be able to use mana freely.’

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!

I floated eight flame bullets at the same time and blew off the heads of the rushing terracotta soldiers simultaneously. After that, I controlled the First Blade and destroyed their cores in succession.

The Art of Controlling the Fan with Qi form was unfamiliar at first, but in the process of breaking dozens of terracotta soldiers, I was gradually getting used to it.

And so, the outrageous process of recklessly firing and recovering mana continued.

It was an achievement that would have been impossible if it weren’t for me, who had an absolute talent in magic and internal energy operation.

How many shichen had passed, the scene that was revealed after finally consuming all the mana in my circle was a sight of hundreds of limbs scattered, broken.

I let out a rough breath and looked at the remains of the terracotta soldiers, which had turned into lumps of earth.

“It’s amazing. To think a mere peak level could crush 100 terracotta soldiers comparable to the first-rate…”

As I dealt with the last terracotta soldier, which was still creaking and trying to approach me, a silence soon descended on the altar area.

The air in the area had become static, as if it were a premonition of something.

“Something always pops out after this.”

As I muttered in the silence, the night-luminescent pearl attached to the upper part of the altar wall flickered ominously.

“I know the development, but it’s still absurd.”

The mural engraved on the upper level was a large Buddha statue fighting a thick snake. First, the earth in the shape of a snake took the form of scales and fell to the floor.

And this time, a Buddha statue holding a crescent moon blade crashed to the ground.

Kuuuung-!

A weight that made the floor tremble slightly. The rock snake was as thick as an adult’s waist and its length seemed to be 15 meters, giving the impression that it would be the end if I was bitten.

On the other hand, the Buddha statue seemed to be 3 meters tall, and since its entire body was made of rock, its weight seemed to be in the tons.

With that much mass, even a single blow would bring an impact like being slammed into a rock.

“I’m going crazy. To think something like this is a provision.”

At this, I immediately changed my attitude like flipping my palm and cursed the Heaven-Shattering Demon. No matter how I looked at it, to face an enemy of that level, I needed at least two or three Baek Hasins.

I slowly took a deep breath and filled the necessary mana from the altar. Although there was pain from suddenly operating the circle, it couldn’t be helped. I had to believe in the talent I had grown so far and become stronger even like this.

First, as a test shot, I created six flame bullets and fired them at the enemies.

Kwa-kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!

The giant snake deflected the flame bullets with its tail, and the Buddha statue blocked them by setting its crescent moon blade at an angle.

Based on their movements, I quickly made a judgment.

‘Basically, since they’re made of rock, their speed is slow.’

If their mobility was slow, their large bodies would just become a target for magic. Based on this, I decided to attack the one that seemed the most vulnerable first.

I formed two spears of flame lightning and fired them at the approaching rock snake.

The guy who tried to deflect it by swinging its tail like before.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

At that moment, I twisted the trajectory of the spear of flame lightning.

With the collision, flames flared up, and soon, the broken tail of the rock snake came into view.

‘As expected, the part where the stones are connected and bend is the weak point.’

It was the result of flying one spear of flame lightning to the head, which was presumed to have the core, and the other to the joint where the tail operated.

I immediately controlled the First Blade and tried to aim for the head of the rock snake, which was unnaturally fleeing.

Kwaang!

But the moment I dodged the attack of the Buddha statue’s crescent moon blade, which had approached before I knew it, my aim was off. In the first place, my operation of the First Blade was still clumsy to catch a target that moved faster than a terracotta soldier.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue and widened the distance with the Buddha statue. The rock snake’s tail was still regenerating.

‘If it were one-on-one, I might be able to do something…’

I narrowed my brow, moving away from the Buddha statue that was swinging its crescent moon blade. The problem was that the distance between the two was not that far.

Even if I caught the rock snake like just now, it was highly likely that the Buddha statue would assist.

‘Then I have to make them separate.’

As soon as I formulated a plan, I immediately rushed towards the rock snake. The Buddha statue, which had rushed to protect it, blocked my path.

Huuung-!

The crescent moon blade that came down, roughly cutting through the wind. I flew the water stream magic that I had prepared at the opponent.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!

Although it flinched for a moment at the enormous water pressure, the opponent soon used the weight of the rock to slam the crescent moon blade to the floor.

Kwaang-!

But I was able to change its trajectory. The crescent moon blade that was stuck in the ground behind me.

“As expected, you’re sluggish.”

I slid between its legs and rushed towards the rock snake.

Then, the Buddha statue that tried to quickly turn its body to catch up with me. But that attempt was futile.

“It’s already too late.”

Because I had frozen the gaps between the stones, which corresponded to the joints, with ice magic. Although I couldn’t freeze a body of that size in one go, I could at least fill the gaps and fix it so that it couldn’t move.

“You’re next.”

I fired the water mass that I had floated in the air and hit the body of the rock snake, which was in the process of recovering. Then, the rock snake, which twisted its body and rushed at me instead.

I immediately took out a spear of flame lightning and dodged to the side.

Then, the rock snake that body-slammed the spear of flame lightning instead of me.

‘As I thought.’

It was as I expected. If there was an artificial object made of rock, what would it use to recognize its opponent?

If it was like a human with eyes, it would have to insert a lens and recognize based on visible light. But right now, the rock snake didn’t have eyes that could form such an image.

Then, what was left were other sensory organs. For example, I could expect a method of perception such as feeling vibrations or sensing the opponent’s qi.

‘It was sensing qi.’

Currently, I was in a state of wrapping my body, to be precise, the area around my circle, using the shadow operation I had learned from Zhuge Hyeonguk.

Of course, since the flow of qi did not flow out well, the rock snake did not recognize me.

‘Now!’

After composing my breath, I froze the water that had been soaked in each of the rock snake’s scales. The rock snake, which struggled, having noticed the loss of its body.

But the restraint was not to be trifled with, to break the ice and escape in a short time.

I formed three spears of flame lightning at the same time and stuck them into the crown of the rock snake’s head at an offbeat.

Flames soared, and I fired the First Blade at the core inside the head of the rock snake, which was staggering with a crack on its forehead.

Kwajik!

Soon, from the head of the rock snake, where the blade was deeply embedded, cracks began to form, and soon, its entire body shattered.

Kung! Kung!

I quietly unfolded the Daoist Scholar’s Fan, looking at the Buddha statue that was rushing towards this side, having broken the ice before I knew it.

“You’re alone.”

A spear of flame lightning, a flame bullet, and a water bullet floated above my head.

***

In the midst of the altar, which was full of traces of a fierce battle, only I stood, panting heavily.

‘If I just aimed for the compatibility well, it wasn’t surprisingly difficult.’

Although the Buddha statue was persistent, it wasn’t an impossible opponent to face alone.

In the first place, the situation where the opponent couldn’t catch up with me, and this side could replenish its mana, had already guaranteed the outcome.

The problem was that the mana was being depleted like crazy, but.

I wiped the profuse sweat on my forehead and put my hands on my two knees.

How long had it been since I had repeated the process of pouring out and replenishing mana in such a short period of time to the extreme. It was the first time since I had raided the elixir of the Golden Gate Merchant Guild.

I had really used my mana to its limit. I would probably suffer from severe pain for a few days. And my circle would also expand…

Thinking so, I was about to take a rest when I suddenly heard a creepy sound from above.

“Are you serious…”

At the ominous, no, gruesome premonition, I slowly lifted my head.

In fact, in the Altar of Provision, there was a being that appeared with a very low probability. Although I had kept this in mind, I didn’t think it would actually appear.

The end of my slowly raised gaze stopped at the center of the ceiling. At the highest point of this room, it was being reconstructed.

“Krrrrrrrr!”

At the very center of the ceiling, from the mural where a huge tiger was drawn, a beast covered in quartz was half-protruding and looking down at this side.

“Damn it!”

I kicked off the ground. At the same time, a white great tiger rushed down as if to crash into the altar where I was.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep