Landlord World - Start with SSS talent-Chapter 338: Insect King

Noan was startled to see Vylyss bound in midair by countless strands of what looked like woven light.

Her eyes were tightly shut, her face peaceful as if she were only sleeping, but swirling around her were three distinct auras—pink, black, and purple—moving like drifting smoke.

"Vylyss!" Noan shouted, his voice echoing throughout the grand hall, but Vylyss seemed unable to hear him, her eyes remaining closed.

He frowned, not acting recklessly but instead scanning the surroundings as if searching for something.

Silence... an overwhelming silence...

The quiet was so complete that every sound was thrown back at him, like a stone splashing on the surface of a perfectly still lake.

Gripping his sword tightly, Noan slowly advanced toward Vylyss.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, Noan sensed something. Instantly, he swung his sword.

Whoong!

A brilliant sword light illuminated the entire hall, slashing toward the source of the sudden gust.

KENG!

A harsh metallic clang rang out—the impact was so intense it shook the entire space, sending out waves that rippled all around.

"ACK!" Noan gritted his teeth, both hands gripping his sword as a tremendous force pressed down on him.

"GAH!!!" Noan roared as crimson lines blazed across his body like rivers of molten lava flowing under his skin.

At that moment, a strange new power surged within him, helping him withstand the terrifying force pressing down on him.

Noan frowned, staring ahead and realizing it was a blinding orb of light radiating destructive energy.

He could sense it clearly... if that sphere touched his body, he would die—no question.

Gritting his teeth, Noan unleashed all his power and energy. The lava-like lines on his skin glowed even brighter.

"AGH!!!" Noan roared, his sword trembling violently—then...

WHOONG!!!

A piercing bell-like sound echoed, reverberating through the grand hall, amplified again and again.

The space quaked, forming a rippling shockwave.

The orb of light before him exploded, scattering into countless radiant sparks like fireworks.

Seeing the sphere vanish, Noan finally let out a breath of relief—but... the real terror was just beginning.

He hadn’t even had a moment to rest before a shadow slowly rose into the air, hovering in front of Vylyss.

"You’re..." Noan barely had time to think before a System panel appeared before him.

🔔 [Congratulations! You have found the Insect King. The quest ’Eliminate the Insect King’ has been initiated.]

"Kill that thing..." Noan muttered, his eyes wide, full of disbelief. "System, are you kidding me? That thing... how am I supposed to kill it?"

Even with the effect of the ’Extreme Challenge Medal’, he couldn’t help but feel a tremor of fear and anxiety.

The creature somewhat resembled Lepi, but was one and a half times larger.

Its two wings were actually insect arms fused together, looking utterly grotesque.

Its head was nothing like an insect—instead, it resembled a human’s head, encased in a helmet-like exoskeleton.

Above its head hovered a golden halo, blazing with dazzling light.

It floated in the air, radiating such overwhelming pressure and killing intent that Noan found it hard to breathe.

🔔 [Due to the Insect King’s overwhelmingly high rank, the debuffs of ’Extreme Challenge Medal’ are ineffective against it.]

"What the hell?!" Noan stared at the notification, eyes wide, a wave of fear and unease spreading through his mind.

For the first time, he felt such overwhelming fear and anxiety in the face of a monster.

Before, even in the most dire situations—even when he’d first been thrown into the ’Singularity Point’—he hadn’t felt fear like this.

This... this was the first time he truly felt terror so clearly.

Every instinct screamed at him to run from this place, as fast as he could.

Without thinking, Noan took a step back, ready to flee. But then his eyes landed on Vylyss’s face.

"Vylyss..." he whispered.

At once, he gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and slowly calmed his mind.

His gaze became more determined than ever, fixing on the Insect King and Vylyss.

He raised his sword, thinking to himself: ’If I run now, then what’s the point of having an SSS-rank talent?’

In his mind, Noan asked the System, "System, does the effect that gives me a 5% chance to instantly kill my opponent still work?"

🔔 [That effect is not a Debuff, so it is still active.]

Hearing this, Noan thought silently, ’You called me your successor, Elvaria... you’d better help me now...’

He didn’t know if Elvaria could hear him, but if that 5% didn’t trigger... he would definitely die.

The Insect King looked at Noan—he couldn’t see its eyes, but he could feel a killing intent and absolute contempt.

’My space talent is still useless here,’ Noan thought. ’Its speed... is probably even greater than Lepi’s. Without Space, it’ll be nearly impossible to fight.’

Noan took a deep breath, and then—

BAM!

Suddenly, the Insect King attacked.

"What?!" Noan didn’t even have time to react before it was already upon him.

In a mere instant, the Insect King appeared right in front of him, and then—

Noan could see it, but his body couldn’t keep up—he could only watch as its long, spear-like claw shot toward the center of his chest.

’Damn it! I haven’t even had a chance to fight—am I really going to die here?’

In that split second when his life was balanced on the edge between life and death, the crimson energy inside him suddenly erupted.

Just as the Insect King’s spear-tip was less than five centimeters from Noan’s forehead, a surge of terrifying power burst from within him.

BAM!

KRIT!!!

The Insect King was caught off guard, blasted backward by the force of that energy.

Noan felt the power coursing through him—though it was brimming with hatred and darkness.

But he didn’t have time to care—if there was power to use, he’d use it, no matter where it came from.

As long as he was alive, that was enough.

"Die!!!" Noan roared, swinging his sword and unleashing a blinding beam of sword light.

The sword light shot upward like a pillar, then crashed down on the Insect King.

Krit!

It screeched, crossing its spear-like arms in front of itself.

BAM!

A deafening explosion shook the hall. Though the Insect King managed to block the attack, the force slammed it down into the ground.

Rumble! Rumble!

Its arms dug into the floor, which caved beneath the pressure, cracks spreading out like a spiderweb.

Whoosh!

BAM!

Suddenly, the Insect King vanished—the sword light struck the ground and exploded, gouging a scar through the grand hall so deep it nearly split it in two.

"Damn it!" Noan knew the Insect King wouldn’t die that easily, so he immediately retreated.

But in that instant, he sensed death behind him. A cold chill ran down his spine—he could feel the end was near—

Smash!

"Pff!" Noan coughed up blood as his body was jolted to a stop.

He looked down, seeing a sharp, spear-like claw piercing through his chest from behind, making him spit out another mouthful of blood.

Noan clenched his teeth, wanting to raise his sword one more time—but all his strength was draining away.

KENG!

His sword fell to the ground with a harsh metallic clang.

Smash!

"Pff!"

Afraid Noan wasn’t finished yet, the Insect King stabbed its other claw straight through Noan’s throat—blood spurted like a fountain, the scene utterly gruesome.

Smash!

It withdrew both claws, the holes in Noan’s chest and neck gushing blood.

He staggered forward two steps, his eyes fixed on Vylyss, then...

Phịch!

Noan collapsed to the ground, lying in a pool of blood. His body was perfectly still, unmoving, not even breathing—he... seemed to be dead.

Krit! Krit!

The Insect King let out a sound like cicadas, as if extremely pleased with the outcome.

Whoosh!

It flicked its claws, spraying Noan’s blood everywhere.

Then, lifting its head, it turned to Vylyss. The two "wings" made from countless insect arms began to move, slowly lifting it up.

The silence was overwhelming—only the sound of rushing wind echoed through the hall.

As the Insect King hovered next to Vylyss, it extended its claw, where a strange magical sigil appeared, blazing with dazzling gold light.

It slowly brought the sigil closer to Vylyss—when its claw was less than five centimeters from her head, suddenly...

WHOONG!!!