The Return of the Legendary All-Master

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 294

Jeong-hoon stepped forward, executing the Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion.

Sasasak—

Leaves scattered, spiraling in a vortex before rushing toward Jeong-hoon.

He drew the Shadow King's Dagger and slashed through all of them.

At the same time, he activated buff-type skills.

Starting with Black Field, followed by Ultimate Aura.

He also used every item at his disposal to amplify his stats.

"……."

As Jeong-hoon's presence shifted, the Master of the Great Forest's gaze hardened slightly.

"What's wrong? Are you suddenly afraid?"

Jeong-hoon taunted.

"……You certainly live up to making it this far."

It had to be acknowledged.

That human was no mere creation.

The fact that he had attained such power meant that many transcendents had perished.

The Master of the Great Forest—the Druid—cautiously observed him.

Letting his guard down would mean falling victim instead.

However, Jeong-hoon showed no openings.

He simply pushed through the undergrowth, stepping with Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion.

But he did not approach the Druid's true body.

‘I need to analyze him first.’

This entire space was his domain.

Rushing in recklessly would be foolish.

Of course, that method wasn’t necessarily bad, but to ensure a definitive end, a weakness had to be found.

[The Master of the Great Forest uses ‘Curse of the Forest.’]

In that instant, Jeong-hoon was afflicted with a debuff.

[As long as you remain in the forest, your life force will be erased. (1% of life force is deleted per second.)]

[Healing is impossible for 60 seconds.]

Life force vanished every passing second.

[Activating Holy of Glory.]

Jeong-hoon used Holy of Glory to immediately dispel the debuff.

His life force would no longer be erased.

[Absorbing Shadow.]

Jeong-hoon utilized the Shadow option of his dagger to absorb the Master of the Great Forest’s shadow.

[Additional effects triggered by Shadow Absorption.]

[All of the dagger’s abilities have increased.]

With that, he used the Shadow option to create a clone.

The base—the Master of the Great Forest.

As soon as the clone formed, a massive tree materialized before them.

"……That ability?"

His pupils trembled.

It was an ability he recognized.

A transcendent of the same rank.

The power once wielded by the Shadow King, Gwen.

But how could a mere human possibly use the exact same ability as Gwen?

No way…?

"That 'no way' is exactly right."

Jeong-hoon smirked, answering his unspoken question.

His eyes widened in shock.

"Impossible…."

"I'll show you why it's possible."

Sasasak—

Once again, leaves surged toward Jeong-hoon.

He raised his dagger and cut down every last one of them.

But he wasn't merely deflecting them.

He was absorbing the attacks as he struck them down.

—Special Ability (1): Absorb designated target’s attack and activate one of the dagger’s five abilities.

Because of this, he could immediately activate the dagger’s power.

[‘Bane of Evil’ is activated.]

Among the five abilities, Bane of Evil was triggered.

[Bane of Evil]

Bleeding damage is increased.

Wounds inflicted cannot be healed. (5 minutes)

Not bad.

Sasasak—

At the same time, the Master of the Great Forest’s clone unleashed its power upon the original.

Black leaves spiraled, striking the main body.

As a result, the leaves that had been targeting Jeong-hoon shifted their focus to the clone.

Seizing the opening, Jeong-hoon stepped forward using Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion, closing the distance to the main body.

[The Master of the Great Forest uses ‘Wrath of the Forest.’]

The enemy activated another ability.

But the clone immediately mirrored it.

"Ridiculous! Do you think a mere clone can surpass the power of my true self?!"

It was impossible for the clone to perfectly negate the original’s power.

But all he needed was the slightest gap.

Kwa-jik!

Jeong-hoon drove his dagger deep into its base.

Then, with full force, he pulled it out and stabbed again.

"Kugh!"

A groan escaped its mouth.

Kugugung—

The ground trembled.

It wasn’t just an ordinary earthquake—the creature was rising, using its buried roots as legs.

As the already massive tree began to move, the entire ground shook violently.

And since the clone attempted to move in the exact same way, the tremors only doubled.

Kwa-jik!

Jeong-hoon struck down with his dagger without rest.

‘It’s unbelievably tough.’

He couldn’t help but be slightly impressed.

He had intended to cut the tree down quickly, but even with full force, all he managed was a shallow scratch.

"Human! I will kill you!"

The Master of the Great Forest was seething with rage, its voice booming as it glared at Jeong-hoon.

‘Perfect. It’s losing its composure.’

Without hesitation, Jeong-hoon summoned Seven Deadly Sins.

There was no better choice when dealing with a transcendent being.

"Haaam, what is it this time?"

Seven Deadly Sins yawned loudly and asked Jeong-hoon.

"What do you think? That thing."

"Hm?"

It turned its gaze toward the Master of the Great Forest.

The moment it did, a glimmer of excitement sparked in its eyes.

"Excited because there’s food?"

"I’m already drooling."

A very satisfying answer.

And then, he saw the enemy’s eyes trembling violently.

"T-That thing… how…?!"

"Begin."

At Jeong-hoon’s command, Seven Deadly Sins activated Manifestation.

A newly awakened ability upon reaching Celestial rank.

Lightning struck, and a massive shadow loomed over them.

‘No matter how many times I see it, it’s incredible.’

Even though this was the second time witnessing it, the overwhelming presence remained the same.

"Kugh!"

The Master of the Great Forest was no exception. It staggered, dropping to one knee.

At the same time, all of its activated abilities were instantly nullified.

For a brief moment, its authority over the forest had been seized by Seven Deadly Sins.

‘Oh? So Manifestation has that kind of effect?’

As soon as Seven Deadly Sins completed its Manifestation, Jeong-hoon dismissed it.

It was unfortunate that he couldn’t feed it, but with Absorption Technique, he would consume the prey himself.

With that thought settled, Jeong-hoon stepped forward using Heavenly Demon Lord’s Dominion.

Kwa-jik!

Once again, he drove his dagger into the same spot.

"Krrgh…!"

A groan escaped from the creature.

[The Master of the Great Forest uses ‘Guardian of Nature.’]

Perhaps realizing it couldn’t afford to take any more attacks, it hastily activated its power.

A green aura began to envelop and protect its body.

[The Master of the Great Forest uses ‘Seed of Regeneration.’]

On top of that, it activated Seed of Regeneration, completely restoring the wounds Jeong-hoon had worked so hard to inflict.

"What a shame… I put in so much effort beating it down."

Jeong-hoon clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"Shut up!"

[The Master of the Great Forest uses ‘Judgment of the Forest.’]

A consecutive activation of abilities.

This time, the forest began to resonate, and everywhere Jeong-hoon stood turned red.

[If you do not escape within 1 minute, you will die instantly.]

It seemed to be the enemy’s instant death skill.

‘You’re not the only one with an instant death move.’

Jeong-hoon smirked and drove his dagger into its base.

Even though Guardian of Nature was protecting the Master of the Great Forest, he didn’t care.

[An additional effect from Shadow Absorption has been activated.]

[‘Death Blade’ is temporarily changed to ‘Shadow Blade.’]

Good.

The additional effect from Shadow Absorption had triggered early.

Without hesitation, Jeong-hoon activated Shadow Blade.

Now it was a race against time.

A battle to see whose instant death skill would trigger first within the next minute.

"Kuhuhu! I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but you will die here."

"Oh yeah? You sure about that?"

With only a 1% activation chance, the odds were against Jeong-hoon, but he had no intention of just succumbing to the enemy’s attack.

If an instant death move was used, he just had to block it with an invincible skill.

That was why this victory was already his.

[Judgment of the Forest activates.]

As the minute passed, the instant death skill was triggered.

"Kuhuhu! Human, this is the end for you!"

The Master of the Great Forest sneered at Jeong-hoon with contempt.

Kwaaaaaang!

At that moment, an explosion erupted from Jeong-hoon’s body.

A massive explosion that engulfed not only him but also his clone.

Of course, there was no need to worry about the clone—if Jeong-hoon died, it would disappear on its own.

"Doesn’t seem like it’s over yet, though?"

But how was this possible?

Jeong-hoon, who should have been dead, stood there smirking, completely unscathed.

"H-How…?!"

The Druid’s eyes trembled violently.

"There’s a way to block everything."

[Block activates.]

Block.

Thanks to it, he was able to protect himself from the instant death attack.

Once again, Jeong-hoon drove his Shadow Blade into the creature’s base.

[‘Instant Death’ activates!]

Now, it was his turn.

Jeong-hoon’s lips curled into a grin.

Instant Death activated.

"Grrrgh…!"

Just like with the Puppet, there was no significant difference in stats between Jeong-hoon and the enemy.

Which meant the enemy was not immune to Instant Death either.

Unless it had an invincibility skill, there was no way to avoid this.

Brrr—

The enemy’s body trembled violently before collapsing.

"No invincibility skill?"

Jeong-hoon tilted his head and reached out toward the fallen enemy.

He was about to use Absorption Art.

[The Master of the Great Forest uses ‘Primordial Resurrection.’]

Then, as the enemy activated its ability, a massive tree crumbled into dust and vanished.

"Hmm?"

Jeong-hoon furrowed his brows and turned his head.

A tree in the distance expanded in size and transformed into the same form as before.

Its previously shut eyes snapped open, staring at Jeong-hoon with fear.

"S-Stop! I lost!"

"What a persistent bastard."

Would it kill it to just obediently let him absorb it?

Clicking his tongue, Jeong-hoon stepped forward using Heavenly Demon Lord’s Dominion, closing in on his opponent once more.

‘Shadow Blade.’

The enemy’s Instant Death ability seemed to have a cooldown, but Jeong-hoon’s Shadow Blade had only a 15-second cooldown.

Crunch!

Perhaps due to using Primordial Resurrection, the enemy couldn’t activate any other abilities.

"Kugh! I said stop! Let’s make a deal!"

"A deal?"

Jeong-hoon withdrew his dagger and tilted his head.

"Yes! I’ll grant you one thing you desire! Just spare my life!"

It had realized there was no way to defeat Jeong-hoon, no matter what it tried.

So it judged that surviving through negotiation was its best option.

"Rejected."

Crunch!

After a brief moment of thought, Jeong-hoon once again drove Shadow Blade into its base.

[‘Instant Death’ activates!]

And once more, Instant Death was triggered.

Jeong-hoon flashed a bright smile and waved his hand.

"Guaaahhh! You damn bastard!"

The Master of the Great Forest, the Druid, let out a final scream before perishing.

[You have slain the Master of the Great Forest, the Druid, for the first time! Achievement Points: 200,000 awarded.]

[30,000 points awarded.]

[Ultimate Energy has reached MAX. You can no longer acquire additional Ultimate Energy.]

[You have gained 10,000,000,000 EXP.]

[Level up.]

[All stats +1.]@@novelbin@@

[Bonus stat +1 awarded.]

[You have obtained the Druid’s Seed.]

The subjugation was a success.

Jeong-hoon immediately reached out toward the fallen enemy.

[Using Absorption Art.]

He was absorbing a Transcendent.

The experience points and stats gained would be incomparable to the previous monsters.

A grin stretched across Jeong-hoon's face.

* * *

At that moment.

Everyone, including Lee Na-yeon, struggled to hide their anxiety.

The forest was dyed red, and explosions echoed from deep within.

It was impossible not to worry.

"H-He’ll be okay… right?"

Bong-Goo cautiously spoke.

"He’ll be fine. Hoon isn’t someone who goes down easily."

At Ha-jin’s words, everyone nodded.

They had witnessed Jeong-hoon's strength countless times on their journey here.

If it was Jeong-hoon, he would undoubtedly succeed in the subjugation and return.

Step. Step.

Before long, they saw someone walking out of the forest.

As the figure approached, everyone’s expressions brightened.

"I’m back."

Jeong-hoon had successfully completed the subjugation and returned.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]