บท 147: Chapter 147
Most people believed the Chinese team would beat the South Korean team in the international game. Despite JiHan's amazing performance against Russia, China was still considered the 2nd-best in the world.
They had over 1.2 billion people to choose from on top of the world's 2nd-largest economy, so it only made sense that their team was the best in the East Asian League.
[The East Asian League match is starting.]
[Map 1: South Gate]
= The game's starting!
= Ah, the Korean team is attacking first.
= Their Warriors formed a triangle formation with JiHan at the front!
= They're planning to lean on JiHan to carry them. It's similar to what they did against Russia.
South Korea's strategy was simple: they were going all-in on JiHan. It was completely different from their usually powerful Archer-focused formation, but they had no other choice against China—they simply wouldn't be able to win a ranged battle.
A Chinese player on the defensive wall stretched out his hand and said, "Bagua Overlap…"
One of the Bagua symbols appeared behind him.
"So it's Kun."
Bagua Overlap was Chinese Mage Zhuge Xuan's SSS-rank Gift that significantly enhanced his magic according to the symbol that appeared.
He smiled when he saw a symbol representing earth appear.
"Earthquake."
WHOOM…!
A powerful earthquake shook the ground and the Korean spawn point.
"Ah! To think he got Kun out of everything!"
"What insane power…!"
"H-heal! Heal, please!"
Their starting area began shaking the moment the game started, and some of their players were already on the brink of death.
"Even the ground split open."
"This will make it difficult to charge."
"Zhuge Xuan, that crazy bastard…"
Since the ground in front of the gate had split open and there were hardly any places left to stand, it was impossible for the Warriors to charge in.
'So you drew a good symbol this time, Zhuge.'
Zhuge was called 'China's Great Mage', and his highs and lows depended on the luck of his draw. When it came time for the Space League, he'd always draw the wrong hexagram, but he hit the jackpot from the beginning against Korea.
"How are we supposed to deal with this…?" Dong-woo asked.
JiHan glanced at him and said, "Just maintain formation so the triangle effect doesn't break."
"How can we charge in such a situation?"
"Do you have any better ideas?"
Dong-woo nodded. If Zhuge's cooldown timer ended and he used another ultra-strong magic, then things would get even harder for them.
'It's always been like this against China…'
They used to lean on the Sword King to carry them, but they still suffered powerless defeats when it came to ranged maps. The player was different, but they were still in the same sort of situation.
"I'm going." JiHan grabbed both the Phoenix Flag and his Eclipse and soared high through the air, dashing through the sky as if he didn't need the ground.
"How fast… Let's just maintain the formation!"
"Yes!"
They did as JiHan had ordered and advanced while doing their best to keep the triangle effect active.
Swoosh—!
= The Chinese team… is only targeting JiHan!
= They aren't looking anywhere else!
Chinese Archers were comparable to their Korean counterparts, on top of that, the Mages were much stronger. All of them focused on JiHan, and each of the attacks was capable of inflicting lethal wounds.
'I won't be able to stop them with just Martial Soul.'
Nameless Divine Arts Shadow Secret Technique: Shadow Soul Vortex.
A huge vortex erupted and absorbed the Chinese players' attacks.
Zzt-!
A few powerful spells were able to pierce it, but they were weakened by the passage to the point that JiHan could easily stop them.
The Chinese players looked at JiHan in disbelief.
"Wow… Is he blocking everything? Is that even possible?"
"It's like we're watching the former Sword King."
"Is he really a Gold Leaguer?"
China was one of the world's top countries, along with the United States, when it came to long-range damage. They could have never predicted that their attacks would all be neutralized.
"This won't do. Target the others!"
"Disrupt the triangle formation!"
"Let Li Long deal with that guy!"
Paf! Paf—!
When they changed their targets, things started to change.
"Ah! Fuck…!"
"She's really strong!"
The Korean Warriors, still trying to maintain their formation, started to fall one by one, and the precious triangle formation was on the verge of complete collapse.
Korea's long-distance classes also tried to support the Warriors, but they simply weren't a match for Chinese firepower.
= As expected of China… They're strong!
= It's too hard to beat China!
'I need to hurry.'
Nothing good would come of things getting dragged out, and JiHan rushed forward since the disappearance of the triangle buff was already certain. Though the formation had failed, the buff would still last for around half a minute longer.
A bald man in a yellow monk's robe held an awkward prayer position in front of the ruined gate.
His eyes flashed with a golden light. "Welcome," Holy Monk Li Ling, China's strongest Warrior, said.
'He also has the Yellow Dragon buff.'
One of China's Supports had the SSS-rank Gift, 'Yellow Dragon Summoning', which caused a golden eye effect after greatly enhancing its target.
"108th Form," Li Long recited, and a golden light sparkled from the eight other Warriors behind him. "Sung JiHan shall be tested."
Flash! Flash!
The nine Warriors in total turned into pillars of light and vanished, and JiHan was pulled along with them.
[You've been invited to the Shaolin's 108th Form.]
[Your level and stats are lower than the combined total of the nine opposing players. You are unable to resist the formation's power.]
[You've been pulled into the 108th Form.]
JiHan smirked when he saw the messages. Not even Martial Soul was enough for him to surpass the combined levels and stats of nine people.
'Only nine…?'
He remembered there being 18 when they used it against him before his regression.
= What's going on…?! The 108th Form? Did China have such a thing?
= Another broadcast screen appeared!
= Is that a temple…? It says 'Shaolin'!
The players within the 108th Form found themselves on a completely separate map, and Li Long stood in front of a giant temple with the word 'Shaolin' written on it.
Around 100 monks surrounded JiHan.
= To think they'd isolate a player like this! This is absurd…!
= The Chinese players were also summoned to the 108th Form. If you look at the numbers, it's a trade of nine Chinese players for JiHan!
Going by numbers, using the 108th Form was a loss because it required at least nine players to sacrifice themselves to capture one.
= Aah! JiHan is the Korean team's only hope! This is a clear loss for us!
While it would have been dumb to use it against a nation near their own level in regards to average player strength, it was a completely different story against South Korea, which depended entirely upon JiHan.
"You're lucky to experience this trial run before I use it on the Sword King," Holy Monk Li Long said.
He brandished his staff as if he'd already won, and the hundred monks simultaneously raised their weapons at JiHan. Meanwhile, the other eight Warriors kept their distance.
"The Shaolin is the leading authority of the orthodox martial arts. You cannot surpass Shaolin at its own game."
BOOM—!
Li Long planted his staff on the ground, and a system message appeared before JiHan's eyes.
[The 108th Form has created a specialized magic circle.]
[The power of orthodox martial arts has been restricted.]
'So this is why they wanted to know the details so badly.'
They must have been eager to figure out whether it was an orthodox, unorthodox, or demonic martial art. It seemed like they'd concluded it was closest to the Orthodox faction's techniques after seeing its name.
"Let's start the test!"
Swoosh—
Energy surged toward JiHan from all of the monks' staves. Gravity seemed to increase tenfold in an instant as the pressure intensified and Ki movement slowed.
An ordinary player would have simply been crushed.
JiHan tilted his head. 'It's still weaker than before… but I should be similar in strength to back then.'
Though he was a Gold, Martial Soul made it so he was comparable to when he had the Martial Saint class. He originally thought the 108th Form would be difficult to deal with, but…
'The pressure is weaker. Is it because there are only nine of them? I can also clearly see which ones are players.'
Unlike the 100 similarly dressed martial monks, the eight players wore their usual gear and stood out like sore thumbs. It was different from the 108th Form he'd experienced before, where they'd all tried to blend in.
'Let's eliminate the players first.'
JiHan raised Eclipse and charged toward the players who were distancing themselves.
Swoosh—!
The Shaolin monks uniformly launched their attacks at JiHan, and each attack seemed stronger than a Diamond player's strike due to the buff effects of the form, but…
"Let's open a path."
[Understood!]
Swords rose from the monks' shadows and pierced their hearts.
Paf—!
"Ugh…! I… I'll return!" One of the monks said before vanishing.
Sure enough, as soon as they died and vanished, the monks reappeared on the outskirts of the formation.
'Dealing with even one monk in my previous life was difficult due to the formation's intense pressure.'
It was different with the weakened 108th Form—he had enough leeway to use powerful techniques.
Eclipse stretched out into a long shadow.
Nameless Divine Arts Shadow Secret Technique: Dark Shadow Ascension.
The darkness soared into a massive sword as if it were about to swallow the sun.
"Huh…?"
"B-block it!"
The retreating Chinese players tried to yell orders at the monks, but the massive sword struck down all of the NPCs in the way, along with three of the players.
Ssss-
Unlike earlier, the dead monks didn't respawn immediately. Only after a short delay did they reappear. Since a few of the 108th Form's casters had been killed, it was even weaker.
Li Long's face turned red in anger. "Y-you crazy bastard…!"
'How can he use so much strength here? That's why I originally said he uses a demonic technique…!'
Casting aside his formal tone, he rushed toward JiHan and inwardly cursed the Chinese government's intelligence agency.
"Vigorous Vajra Palm!"
A strong wind in the form of a golden hand flew toward JiHan.
"Hey, why is the circle so weak?" JiHan asked after easily dodging the attack and giving him a smirk. "It got even weaker after three players died. Do I just need to catch the others?"
"Y-you son of a…! Stop talking and fight me!"
"I don't want to. You can't die, right?"
"What…?" Li Long's eyes widened. "How did you know that…?"
'Of course I know,' JiHan thought. 'I struggled against this in my previous life, after all.'
Li Long was immortal within the 108th Form. No matter how much damage he took, he wouldn't die. To make things worse, he would keep getting stronger thanks to his Shaolin Abbot Gift.
"You must have challenged me because you have something up your sleeve. Does that mean you really are invincible?"
"Y-you bastard…! Are you really testing me like this…?!"
"It's your fault for depending on buffs so much. I'll go deal with the others."
"Stop!" Li Long tried to chase him, but not even the buffs were enough for him to catch up.
"Wh-what the fuck…?!" It was like how a dog chasing a cat could only bark at it when it climbed a tree. All Li Long could do was witness JiHan killing the other players, and as the eighth player died…
[The 108th Form's core players have been defeated.]
[The 108th Form will now dissipate.]
It was the world's first glimpse of the 108th Form, and they got to witness it being defeated in only a few moments.
JiHan smiled after he and Li Long were resummoned on South Gate. "You're next."
Slash—!
Keeping his word, JiHan decapitated him in one swift strike.
"Iron Blood Cross."
The rest of the Chinese Warriors were also swept away.
= S-Sung JiHan!
= He dismantled the 108th Form!
= His team was on the verge of annihilation, but he came out just in time!
= He completely massacred Chinese Warriors by himself!
It looked like Korea would lose after JiHan vanished, but it ended up with him carrying them to victory.
= Korea has won the 1st match!
= It's unbelievable! How could a single player have such power…?!
= The Chinese team seems to be losing their confidence!
= Yes. They almost won, after all! There were less than 30 survivors on the Korean team!
= Ah. The Chinese team has requested a timeout! The next game will be delayed by 20 minutes!
= What's their strategy here…?
After the 20-minute timeout, the next match started with noticeable changes to the Chinese players.
= The Chinese team's player lineup hasn't changed, but… Huh?!
= What?! A-all of the Warriors shaved their heads!
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