chapter 63
Shu Yan (许焱), a junior member of the Pingxin special unit lying in wait with Ma Long, lit up with excitement the moment he spotted Lee Hyun.
‘It’s him!’
The target who hadn’t shown himself for nearly half a month.
For Shu Yan, that time had been pure hell.
He had fallen out of Ma Long’s favor, and his seniors took every chance to berate him. His only thought was to somehow regain Ma Long’s recognition.
And now—finally—the prey had appeared. His heart raced with excitement.
If only he got the chance, Shu Yan was confident he could achieve something great.
This was someone Ma Long had singled out, so he might indeed be formidable, but Shu Yan too was an elite who had passed grueling training.
Qing Lei (青雷, Cheongroe)?
He didn’t understand why the higher-ups still feared that long-gone Korean unit, nor why they kept nagging about surpassing them.
But Shu Yan and his comrades were sure of one thing—if they could time-slip back to the past, they would crush Qing Lei overwhelmingly.
So a mission like this? It should be nothing.
That was when Lee Hyun suddenly leapt straight into the air.
A streak of bluish-white lightning.
Faster than expected—but still catchable…
Bwooong!
‘……!!’
An axe suddenly appeared right in front of his eyes, tearing through the air with brutal force.
Startled, Shu Yan hastily raised his sword to deflect it.
Clang! Crunch!
But the axe shattered his blade as if it were nothing—and then split open his skull.
Splatter!
“Shu Yan!!”
He Xiao (何霄), witnessing his junior’s pointless death, had no time to help. He threw himself backward in a panic.
For another axe was already flying at him.
Luckily, instead of trying to block, He Xiao dodged—barely avoiding death.
‘He’s much stronger than expected! I can’t fight him head-on. Better to feign retreat and lure him toward the section chief!’
Just as he recalled the protocol drilled into him during training and began to retreat—
“Your movements… exactly like Qing Lei. Disgustingly so.”
“……!?”
A ghostly voice suddenly whispered from behind.
[You step upon the Footsteps of the Duskfiend and reveal yourself!]
Only then did He Xiao realize—Lee Hyun, who just a moment ago had been floating in the air, was gone.
Instead, half-wrapped in the shroud of shadows, Lee Hyun was right behind him.
The words he spoke were in Korean—meaningless to He Xiao—but there was one term he understood clearly.
Cheongroe.
The Korean pronunciation of Qing Lei.
Because Xu Changyou always stubbornly pronounced it that way.
‘I need to—escape…!’
But He Xiao’s thoughts ended there.
Lee Hyun had already drawn a new blade from his inventory—and with a clean stroke, sliced off his head.
[‘Infernal Demonblade’ rains down firebolts!]
This was the reward item he had obtained from defeating the Chaotic Demon King.
[Infernal Demonblade]
Once wielded by the Chaotic Demon King in the myth of ■■■■. Empowered by the Demon King’s firepower and given a new name, it gained uniqueness.
The more mana poured in, the more it unleashed raging hellfire like a storm of firebolts.
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Type: Item, Two-Handed Weapon
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Origin: Myth “Journey to the West”
Normally, it was far too heavy to wield without both hands. Cloaked in hellfire, even holding it was unbearable for anyone lacking nerves of steel.
But for Lee Hyun, who had unlocked Seolhon’s Might, it was no problem.
Slice!
Whooosh!
He Xiao’s severed head floated in the air, still wearing a panicked expression.
Moments later, it crumbled into ash in the delayed burst of flames.
[You activate Footsteps of the Duskfiend, attempting to return to stealth.]
Before the blood could even stain him, Lee Hyun slipped back into the shadows.
Or tried to.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
A crimson lightning bolt crashed down from above.
[Myth: ‘The One Who Beats the Northern Drum of Thunder’ seeks to punish the insolent foe!]
Boom…!
Crackkk-BOOOOM!!
A deafening roar shook the air as a red pillar of lightning crashed down.
The same force that had repelled his axe strike—now aiming to smash Lee Hyun into the ground.
The Thunder Lord’s Lightning Strike.
One of Ma Long’s unique skills, also known as Thunder Arts.
The sheer pressure alone could have ripped Lee Hyun apart.
But—
“No helping it, then.”
Lee Hyun only grinned.
He shifted his grip, holding the Infernal Demonblade with both hands.
Then, with a violent slash, he cut diagonally upward.
[The Dokkebi’s Deep Breath (S+) bursts forth in furious wrath!]
[Hellfire erupts!]
Crackle!
Craaaack-BOOOOM!
Bluish-white lightning erupted alongside his slash, soaring skyward.
Scarlet-black flames merged with the thunder, creating a blaze like a burning sun.
The joint strike of Lee Hyun and the Chaotic Demon King split the red lightning pillar clean in half—reaching Ma Long’s very doorstep.
“……!!”
Ma Long hadn’t expected Lee Hyun to unleash such overwhelming power. Panicked, he yanked out his drumsticks.
[Myth: ‘The One Who Beats the Northern Drum of Thunder’ hastily strikes two drums!]
BOOM-BOOM!
Two thunderbolts exploded, fusing together like the earlier red pillar.
Craaaaack!
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
BOOM! BOOM!
CRASHHH!
“Kyaaaah!”
“W-what’s happening?! The sky—!”
“H-Hunters are fighting!”
“They’re Ranker-class! Everyone, get back!”
The brutal clash in a civilian area shattered every window in the villa complex nearby. Sparks rained from poles and wires.
“……Tch.”
Forced back, Ma Long flipped midair and landed on a rooftop railing.
His face twisted with frustration.
He had wanted to remain undetected in Korea. But now…
‘I knew he might have recovered some mana, but this much…?!’
He couldn’t comprehend it.
He knew well what curse Lee Hyun had endured.
The Ring of Frost.
A power synonymous with Xu Changyou today.
‘Even Thunder Lord’s heat couldn’t melt that curse. Not even Zhu Rong’s flames could. So how… did he overcome it?’
The Snow Queen—declared “unclassifiable” even in China.
Not born from myth but from fairy tale—yet still the master of a 4-star dungeon that had emerged in only 20 years.
Even <Celestial Sect>’s most famous deities had struggled against her chilling power.
Yet somehow Lee Hyun had broken free.
‘He obtained a great fortune! Greater even than the Snow Queen herself…!’
Lightning sparked across Ma Long’s eyes.
‘I must report this. Jet may have returned.’
But there was an even bigger problem.
[Thunder Lord strokes his chin, fascinated by the scene below.]
[Thunder Lord takes deep interest in the return of a once-lost power.]
He was showing more affection for someone else than for his own apostle.
“……!”
Ma Long’s expression darkened.
(The chapter continues with Lee Hyun conversing with Sahun’s narrative voice, the tension between Sahun and the Snow Queen, and finally his confrontation with Ma Long, preparing for the true clash.)
