Trait Hoarder-Chapter 267

The Beginning of War – Part 2

KWAANG!

A deafening roar that shook heaven and earth.

My head snapped back.

Blood surged wildly, crushing my face under its own pressure.

But only for a moment.

THUD!

A heavy resistance tore through my body.

Then, deceleration.

A level of deceleration that defied logic and physics alike.

This time, it felt like the blood was being sucked out of me.

An overwhelming reverse G-force.

[Vajra Body] [Vajra Body] [Indomitable]

[Undying] [Sacred Knight] [Magic Brain]

If I hadn’t already equipped these traits, I’d have blacked out for real.

CLANK! CLANG!

The shell opened.

The metal plating blocking my vision fell away automatically.

The safety harnesses binding my body released as well.

Just meters above the airship—

I fell free from the warhead and began my descent.

“Huh?”

“What the hell is that?!”

The superhumans gathered on the deck gawked in disbelief.

No wonder.

A shell breaks through their barrier, opens, and a person drops out?

THUD!

I landed lightly.

My eyes met a Paladin’s.

A Level 5 knight-commander class Paladin.

He had just been firing a shotgun at Sky River.

“Wha…”

His eyes widened in an instant.

His pupils reflected me entirely.

Wearing nothing but a simple black tracksuit, surrounded by that now-infamous monarchal mana aura like a floating ghost.

Mukho Sword at my left hip, Mjolnir hanging at my right.

“It’s Warrior Kim! The Savior is here!”

The Savior.

A title that would make one instinctively fall to their knees in worship.

But the superhumans—these bastards from the Old Father’s Cult—raised swords and guns instead of kneeling.

“What?”

“Is he insane?!”

“He rode the shell?!”

“Monster bastard!”

“Kill him!”

“He’s the one who stabbed the Saintess! Chop off his limbs first!”

‘Like that’s gonna work.’

My hand brushed my holster.

I gripped the heavy twin pistols as my trait loadout swapped with a crisp click.

[Invincible Gun] [Air Raid] [Bright Eyes]

[Ambush] [Critical Shot] [Lethality]

I didn’t use Spiritual Form.

Using that in front of Paladins and Priests is just asking to die.

Instead, I looped around the outskirts.

Leveraging Air Raid.

Meanwhile, I used Bright Eyes to precisely shoot every weak point I could see.

“Keurgh!”

“Gah!”

“Fight fair!”

“Why would I?”

I could’ve just swept them away with my sword.

I was plenty capable.

But no reason to waste mana.

There were more superhumans than just the ones on deck.

And I still had to deal with the ones guarding the mana circuits.

Not to mention the three bosses down on the ground.

TATATATATATANG!

Invincible Gun, activated!

Time slowed.

The world dragged into slow motion.

I swapped Air Raid for Magic Brain, pushing my concentration to its limits.

My rapid-fire shots, like a machine gun, landed only on weak points.

High-level superhumans collapsed one after another.

It was efficiency incarnate.

Half the superhumans on deck were taken out in a single burst.

And that wasn’t all.

I used the opening to tap my left forearm lightly.

My sleeve lit up—and a massive red dragon burst forth.

Red the Ancient Dragon.

A mount, yes—but one with Level 7 combat stats. A monster built purely for war.

[KRAAAAH!]

“Uwaaaah!”

“Gah!”

The dragon’s roar froze their bodies.

Then bullets rained down on them—and right after, Ultimate Flame Breath set them ablaze.

KWAANG!

A familiar boom rang out at the same time.

That sound.

I turned my head, just to be sure—and sure enough, Sky River had fired its main cannon again.

But not the Ultimate Flame Main Cannon—the human cannon.

“Who?”

Was Kim Chulkwon launching himself?

No.

The shell that broke through the barrier and exploded spilled out someone I hadn’t expected at all.

“Pwah!”

A woman exhaled deeply as she landed.

Wearing a full Dragon Set armor, gripping a shimmering katana in her right hand—

It was Baek Sorin.

Her eyes flared crimson, and she hurled herself through the air.

FWOOSH!

It wasn’t quite as clean as my triple jump, but her aerial charge rammed into the nearest superhuman without hesitation.

“Guh!”

Masamune, her katana, slit a throat as a bonus.

Baek Sorin roared like a berserker.

“Teacher! I’m here!”

“What the hell are you doing here?! You could’ve died if you got in the wrong cannon!”

“But I didn’t die, so it’s fine!”

As expected of the Heavenly Killing Star.

Baek Sorin wasn’t the only one.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Sky River’s cannon thundered again and again.

Each shot delivering a human warhead like a package delivery.

Janet, Kali, and Seo Woojin landed in quick succession.

“Teacher! I came too!”

“Not fair hogging all the fun!”

“Let’s go!”

They each landed in different spots.

The Old Father’s Cult reacted quickly.

Paladins raised shields and moved to the front in perfect formation.

Priests backed them up from the rear.

Crusaders and holy mages finished preparing their spells.

One Paladin, clearly of higher rank—likely Level 6—raised his warhammer and shouted:

“There are only five of them and one beast! The Old Father is with us! Do not forget that the Saintess bleeds!”

“Ooooooh!”

“For the Old Father!”

“For the Saintess!”

Under normal circumstances, it’d have been a problem.

Six against hundreds, even counting Red.

But their misfortune was that every one of us was a Swordmaster—or on that level—or a dragon.

I holstered the Jeongjo Royal Gun and drew the Mukho Sword.

[Mars Swordsmanship] [Mars Swordsmanship] [Master of the Sword]

[Bright Eyes] [Mana Soul] [Air Raid]

Vwooooom.

The Mukho Sword hummed as white starlight shimmered along its edge.

Sword Force.

The Paladins’ eyes wavered at the sight.

Zzzzooom! Zzzzoooom!

Baek Sorin, Seo Woojin, and Janet all unleashed their own Sword Force.

Their morale didn’t just waver—it shattered.

Kali smiled sweetly.

“Why don’t you just surrender? I’ll let you live.”

“Silence, witch!”

“Then die.”

Kali melted into shadow like collapsing ash.

Kalaratri activated.

A hundred and eight clones surged forth, scattering and regrouping again and again, sweeping through the superhumans in waves.

Baek Sorin was a beat late as she dove in.

“Hey! I was supposed to go first!”

“Take your time, unni!”

“Let’s go together!”

“I’m coming too!”

It’s easy when your disciples are this competent.

I followed behind them at a leisurely pace.

I quietly approached the superhumans who were distracted by my students—and gave them a taste of the blade.

With Sword Force active, not a single one of them could withstand even one strike.

“Gah!”

“Urgh!”

“Wha—!”

Honestly, I didn’t even need to use my sword anymore.

[Bright Eyes] [Talent] [Stealth]

[Ambush] [Critical Shot] [Lethality]

I sheathed the Mukho Sword and drew my pistols again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three shots to the back of the head.

Right where the red target glow flared brightest.

Back of the skull, sides, neck, elbows, knees—didn’t matter.

Every time my twin pistols roared, another superhuman fell.

While I was stealthed, they couldn’t react at all.

[KRAAAAH!]

Red was rampaging too.

His periodic dragon roars and Ultimate Flame Breath tore their formation to pieces in real time.

Six against a thousand.

But when one of the six is a Red Dragon, and the others are Swordmasters, with an eighth-level assassin lurking from behind?

The outcome was all but guaranteed.

THOOM!

And now a massive flying carrier docked alongside—only made it more so.

“Kill the fanatics!”

“Uwaaaaa!”

[Offer blood to the Goddess!]

[Offer it! Offer it! Offer it!]

What kind of 21st century fight turns into a divine melee brawl?

Sky River and the airship were now connected by hooks.

Superhumans leapt over one after another.

Mutants and fishfolk charged the Old Father’s Cult.

“Wahahaha! It’s been ages since I had this much fun!”

A giant bear threw Paladins around like rag dolls.

“Die.”

A skeletal serpent fired its finger bones like bullets.

[Goddess!]

[Goddess!]

The fishfolk chanted her name like a battle cry as they rushed forward.

The battle, already tilted in our favor, now tipped completely.

The deck was being cleared rapidly.

Bang!

I kept my hands busy.

Not pistols now—but a rifle.

I aimed carefully and fired.

After sustained support from the rear, the trait I’d been waiting for finally took form.

POP!

Not just a clean hole—his head exploded.

Critical hit.

And I hadn’t even targeted a weak point.

Just shot from behind—and it triggered a critical.

It was the [Backstab] trait.

Where [Ambush] required targeting a weak spot, this was slightly different.

You simply had to attack from the rear for a critical hit to trigger.

[Stealth] [Talent] [Ambush]

[Backstab] [Critical Shot] [Lethality]

That made six traits in total.

I fused them immediately.

[Finishing Blow]

No more recoil, no drawbacks.

My mana circuits buzzed once, like a chill crawling down my spine.

A new high-level trait, dedicated solely to raw power and critical damage, was embedded into my circuits.

With my goal complete…

Should I wrap things up?

[Ultimate Flame] [Hailstorm] [Mana Soul]

[Magic Brain] [Thor Cultivation Technique] [Finishing Blow]

A cluster of Paladins were grouped together, holding their ground.

I aimed Mountain Wail Rocket Launcher at them.

KWAANG!

A rocket launched and detonated mid-air.

A golden storm of fire burst forth like a volcanic eruption.

The Paladins screamed as the Ultimate Flame consumed them.

“Kyaaaagh!”

“O Old Father!”

“Uwaaaagh!”

One strike—an entire Paladin squad vaporized.

Next, I focused on the superhumans fighting along the deck’s edge.

The ones opposite the fishfolk.

Their formation was still holding—for now.

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

I followed up with a barrage of Hailstorm shots.

Ice grenades fired in crisp succession.

They exploded in midair before even touching the ground.

Spear-like shards of ice rained down like a frozen hell.

“Aaaargh!”

“Keough!”

The superhumans were completely helpless.

Ice speared through their bodies, triggering massive criticals.

Those who survived the first wave were flash-frozen solid.

If I’d just fired blindly, even the fishfolk would’ve been hit.

But Magic Brain kept it under perfect control.

Only enemies were harmed. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Even the AoE effects were contained precisely.

The fishfolk hesitated for only a moment.

Then their morale surged.

[The Goddess is with us!]

[Kill the ugly humans!]

[Kill them all!]

[Let us offer victory!]

I didn’t need to do anything more.

Truly, in a chaotic brawl like this, nothing beats heavy firepower.

Especially when combined with Magic Brain and Finishing Blow.

As I took a brief breath, the Tower Master floated over to me.

“Hah… they say like master, like student. This is truly astounding. The elders won’t believe a word when I tell them.”

“If I didn’t go this hard, it’d take forever.”

“Well, that’s true… hoho.”

He gave me a look that said Do we really need to go this far?

Yes, we do.

The sooner we seize the airship, the sooner we secure its mana circuit intact.

“Let’s head inside.”

The deck was in its cleanup phase.

The bridge loomed at the rear.

The captain’s quarters would be there too.

After catching my breath, I stepped up and kicked the reinforced steel door.

KWAANG!

The metal warped and flew off—revealing the interior.

“Fire!”

“Kill him!”

RATATATATAT!

Autocannons blazed.

If I were still low-level, I would’ve dodged instantly.

I would’ve pulled up Aegis, thrown up every shield I had.

But now?

[Vajra Body] [Vajra Body] [Giant’s Strength]

[Undying] [Sacred Knight] [One-Man Army]

This was enough.

I stood still and took the autocannon rounds head-on.

The impact wasn’t nonexistent.

Like being pelted with BB pellets?

“Ow, damn!”

Correction.

Getting hit in the eye does hurt a bit.

A faint tickle grazed my eyeball, like getting flicked ever so lightly.

The autocannon fire stopped.

The crew members manning the triggers stared at me in a daze.

“Monster…”

Well, yeah. At Level 8, I am a monster.

That’s the kind of level that matches the firepower of a whole carrier strike group.

Tap!

I pushed off the floor.

Crossed the corridor with ease.

Instead of heading upstairs to the captain’s quarters, I smashed open a secret passage.

The magically sealed entrance shattered, revealing a path downward—toward the mana circuit.

“Ugh…”

“O-oh…”

The crew were all dead.

I took them out one by one with Finishing Blow as I passed.

The Tower Master walked by their bodies without batting an eye.

“Where are we going?”

“To the mana circuit.”

“The mana circuit?”

“Yes. You saw it earlier, right? That black dome charging up mana.”

“Ah, that was connected to the mana circuit? Hm… certainly doesn’t seem like an ordinary circuit. From what I could tell, it’s probably directly linked to the Old Father’s Divine Kingdom.”

“Exactly.”

We entered the hidden chamber.

It had expanded space magic applied—much wider than it appeared outside.

Almost stadium-sized.

Battle still raged beyond its walls, but some kind of magic kept this place eerily quiet.

Except for the thump, thump, thump of the core pulsing.

“That’s far enough, unbelievers.”

“To think you would dare come this far…”

“Taste the wrath of the Old Father!”

Three guardians stood watch over the mana circuit.

Their size and form resembled the black-gold colossus we saw in the Shadow Temple.

Same weapons, same defenses, same attack patterns.

The biggest problem—they were directly linked to the mana circuit.

If you didn’t take them down in one explosive burst, they’d regenerate and rejoin the fight.

And you had to finish all three within a similar timeframe.

“Ahem.”

The Tower Master raised his staff.

“They look quite troublesome. Let me lend a hand.”

“No need.”

“Can’t you see? They’re connected to the mana circuit.”

“I know. Just watch.”

If I didn’t have Finishing Blow, this would’ve taken a while.

But now? Different story.

[Mars Swordsmanship] [Master of the Sword] [Finishing Blow]

[Sacred Knight] [Ultimate Flame] [Magic Brain]

A slash of golden flame danced in the air.

There’s no need to explain or describe how I fought.

Ten seconds.

That’s how long it took me to sever the heads of all three guardians.

The Tower Master stood with his mouth agape.

“Good heavens… Sir Sword Star, you’ve already surpassed what we consider the bounds of a typical Level 8. Even the Legion Commander couldn’t have ended that so quickly.”

“You flatter me.”

We pushed deeper into the hidden chamber.

Soon, the mana circuit came into view.

A massive spherical structure.

Black and gold energy gathered, then dispersed, repeating over and over.

With each pulse, black-gold particles dissolved into the air.

That energy was no doubt empowering the Old Father’s cult superhumans across the battlefield.

“Should we destroy it?”

“No. I’d prefer if you hacked it.”

“Hacked it?”

“Yes. Like I mentioned, this circuit is directly connected to the Old Father’s Divine Kingdom.”

“Ah… now I understand. Hahaha. Feeding Ultimate Flame into it should make the Old Father very happy.”

I couldn’t do it.

Even with Ultimate Flame, even with Magic Brain, it wasn’t possible.

Only a mage-class could hack this mana circuit and reverse the flow.

The Tower Master held his staff to the circuit.

His expression was more serious than ever.

Magical circles and runes surfaced along the staff and began wriggling into the circuit.

The hacking began.

Not long after, my disciples burst in.

“Teacher!”

“There you are!”

“It’s done!”

“We’ve secured the airship! Just need to clean up the ground!”

“Is that so? Good work, everyone.”

They were all soaked in blood.

Of course, none of it was theirs.

I didn’t raise them weak enough to get hurt by cleaning up foot soldiers.

Right on cue, Bear Fist and the fishfolk council leader showed up too.

I gave them a quick instruction.

“Have your squads protect the Tower Master and the circuit room.”

“Hm? Where are you headed, Captain?”

[Protect human! Protect old human!]

“Ha, how kind of you.”

The Tower Master grumbled under his breath.

I just shrugged and hurled Mjolnir.

BOOM!

The Thunder of Annihilation ripped through the floor of the airship like a cleaver.

From the secret chamber housing the mana circuit—

All the way down to the bottommost floor.

A straight shaft big enough for several people to leap down through at once.

Seo Woojin let out a short sigh.

“Teacher. Again?”

“Yeah. You’re coming too.”

No further words needed.

I threw myself into the hole.

The wind clawed at my face as the distant ground rushed up to meet me.

“Dammit!”

“Let’s go!”

My students leapt in after me without hesitation.

As we descended, I scanned the battlefield.

The situation was dead even.

The two Legion Commanders who were supposed to be tearing through the enemy were stalled by the three mid-bosses.

One in particular caught my eye.

A motorcycle-riding gunner.

Using his superior mobility to run circles around the Legion Commander.

Something that wouldn’t even be possible under normal conditions—but the mana circuit was still functioning, after all.

BANG!

I kicked the air.

Not just a free-fall anymore—I streaked down like a bolt of lightning.

Normally, that kind of entrance would’ve come with an overwhelming presence.

Loud noise. Flashy visuals.

But the three traits I’d chosen had minimized all of that.

[Finishing Blow] [Finishing Blow] [Stealth]

Triple stealth.

No sonic boom, no shockwave.

I landed silently—

Right behind the gunner mid-acceleration.

Within the slimmest sliver of my blade’s reach.

FWACK!

The gunner was split clean in two.

Didn’t matter how much mana flow or stacked blessings he had.

Blood sprayed like a fountain.

From behind it, the Legion Commander looked at me with a smile.

“You’re here.”

“I’m here.”

And with that, the Gwangju Assault was over.