Child of Destiny

...…

Shin had already seen enough of Pogo's style and knew that he had to keep close to the latter to limit the strength of such an opponent.

Now that he had closed the gap between them, he would never let go of this opportunity. He would immediately press forward and prevent Pogo from escaping.

But Pogo was still an old god regardless. It would not be easy to faze such an experienced player. Even if Shin landed on the ground and quickly launched a series of attacks, this Killer Clown was still able to hold his ground.

Even if Pogo was not as strong as Shin in a melee battle, he was still able to preserve his life with a couple of tricks. However, those tricks were also running thin with each passing second as Shin's violent and aggressive attacks would not be ceasing at any moment yet.

In just a few moments of experiencing the series of sword techniques that Shin was throwing at him, Pogo instantly realized that he was in deep trouble.

He had already lost his advantage after Shin got close to him. Now he had to deal with a series of attacks that carried the essence of true swordsmanship from the real world.

Pogo was almost running out of skills and combat techniques that he could use in these exchanges while his opponent continued the aggressive assaults, seemingly growing stronger as more time went by.

In such a predicament, Pogo was forced to use more of his hidden cards even if they would cost him a lot in exchange.

Clang!

Forcing Shin to take a step back, Pogo brought himself a couple of seconds to take out a particular position from his inventory before gulping it down without any hesitation.

At the same time, he also activated two of his berserk skills, trigging a double berserk effect that enhanced all his stats almost thrice at their original value.

Seeing that, Shin slightly frowned. He knew that this was going to be a little more troublesome. He could also use the berserk and buff skills under his arsenal, but all of them had a long cooldown and he did not know when another powerful opponent, like Pogo, would appear.

If he used one of them now to match Pogo, and someone equally skilled was laying another ambush for him, he would be forced to engage in another intense battle.

But since Pogo consumed an odd-looking potion and even triggered a double berserk at the same time, Shin did not know if a single berserk skill or buff skill was enough to match it.

Moreover, Pogo also had a Tier 3 Class, which made his stats on a similar level as Shin's, so the boosts that the former would receive were something that Shin could not overlook.

But if he also triggered a double berserk to match it, he would enter a weakened state even if he defeated Pogo.

That was a good opportunity to take him down, and he knew that those guys watching in the dark would never miss such an opportunity.

There was still quite a long time before this 'event' would end.

Having this string of thoughts, Shin decided to take the most obvious approach, which was also his usual style.

Use his Elemental Spirit Possession to match the enhanced stats of his opponent.

It might risk exposing his identity to everyone, but he did not have much of a choice but to gamble it.

"Blackie! Whitie!" he mumbled in a low voice that only he could hear.

In response, the two quickly separated themselves from the cycle of the other specks of light that were revolving around Shin before briefly manifesting themselves behind Shin in their respective humanoid forms and swiftly fusing with his swords.

'Elemental Spirit Possession: Abysmal Conqueror'

'Elemental Spirit Possession: Sacred Vanquisher'

Bang!

Crackle! Crackle!

Right after the two Elemental Spirits possessed his swords, the 'Primordial Lighting' seemed to have responded to them and made black and white lightning once again. The white lightning went to the black katana in his right hand while the black lightning covered the white katana in his left hand.

This version of 'Eclipse Wielding' was very different from the usual version when he first created it. After the continuous adjustments and restructures of this Combat Technique, it reached a level that was already beyond the regular legendary rank.

However, Shin also knew that the previous version where he was using the Powers of Brilliant Sun and Abyssal Moon had its advantages. But it was also more suited for Yin-Yang Arts and Swordsmanship while this version with the 'Primordial Lightning' suited his current style and sword techniques more.

Bang!

Now that it was being further enhanced by this dual possession, the strength that Shin had received was way off the charts.

It might still be a little inferior when compared to the time when he was fighting the Grand Centipedeus, it was already nearing that level. Moreover, that battle was under the special condition of a triggered quest scenario, making the system grant them a series of boosts in both stats and other areas.

Compared to what he was right now, his current state was already way beyond what most of the players could achieve.

He was also not using his version of 'Natural State' yet – the Perfect Zenith – since it consumed a lot of concentration and willpower just to keep it active.

Regardless, his current strength was more than enough to deal with the current state of his opponent.

Swoosh!

Charging forward, Shin swung the black katana horizontally, drawing a straight line in the air, which also transformed into a white flash a second later.

'Jade Kirin Scripture: Fourth Movement – Tempest Stroke'

Shing!

The sword cut through the air and almost arrived in front of Pogo within a millisecond timeframe.

But despite the absolute speed that that strike carried, Pogo was still able to respond instantly. He raised this blood sickle in a seemingly casual manner before it suddenly accelerated and reached a speed that was no less than Shin's incoming strike.

Swoosh!

Bang!

The collision immediately resulted in a strong shockwave that was sent in every direction due to the powerful impact.

Shin's sword rebounded along with his arm as he tried to prevent it from flying. He held tightly to it and put more strength on his hand and arm, pulling it back. But the result was the same and he was forced to take a series of heavy steps back, leaving deep prints on it.

On the other hand, Pogo was forced to skid back due to the strong force from the collision. His feet also sank to the ground, but it still did not stop his body from moving away. He even left a deep and long trail on the ground as he continued skidding away from the point of collision.

After stabilizing themselves, Shin and Pogo raised their heads, looking straight into each other's eyes.

The former carried a somewhat amazed expression while the latter had a pair of bloodshot eyes, seemingly resembling a beast that went on berserk.

There was a brief pause before the two quickly went back into action.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Pogo quickly threw his sickles forward, trying to re-establish his previously lost advantage. Now that there was a decent space between the two of them, he could not afford to let it slip away from his hands.

It seemed like he was still in the right mind despite the current appearance that he had.

Bang!

Swoosh!

But Shin also understood that and quickly stomped on the ground, sending small fragments of rocks in the air, before propelling himself forward.

There was also a sudden thunderclap that exploded right after that stomp, sending an aftershock and electric currents that spread in every direction. They blocked the smaller chains that suddenly shot out from the ground and tried to entrap him.

Whoosh!

Clank! Clank!

Pogo knew that Shin would use that strange swordsmanship to repel his chained sickles once again, so he executed a different combat technique this time, which he could only use under crazy this state.

He shook his wrists, sending ripples to the chains and making them move in waves. He then did strong pulling motions, dragging the chains.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

But strangely, instead of flying straight back to him, the chained sickles did a series of strange movements in the air while heading to his opponent with odd timing and angle.

Shin, who was already sprinting forward, instantly realized that there was something wrong with their movements. Even with the help of his True Sight Skill, he was still unable to read their trajectory, much less the part of his body that was being targeted.

He could sense the danger of advancing, but he did not have a choice but to continue since he knew that he would be at a disadvantage once again if he stopped pressing forward.

He could also tell that his opponent was waiting for him to use the 'Infinity Edge' just by looking at the expression that the latter had. He felt that his swords would be neutralized once he used them to ward off those chained sickles.

"That is fine since I will not be planning to slow either," he mumbled as he bravely charged forward.

Trying to ward off the chained sickles with the 'Infinity Edge' would require him to slow down briefly, which was what Pogo was waiting for. But Shin was not planning to do that at all since it would give Pogo more time to create more distance between them.

Instead of busying himself on dealing with these bloody sickles, Shin decided to accelerate forward and jumped toward the swarming chains and a pair of sickles upfront.

Swoosh!

Pogo was quite confused by those actions, but he continued with his attack regardless, not letting Shin approach him that easily.

With a series of tugs and twists of his wrists, the chains and the sickles attached at the end danced around, surrounding Shin.

But right before they could even reach Shin, Pogo saw a strange scene – a scene where his opponent showcased a series of seemingly nonchalant movements while dodging sickles and getting away from the grips of crimson chains.

With a simple turn and sidesteps, Shin was able to avoid all the attacks directed at him with a very small margin.

There were also times when the bloody mana covering the chained sickles tried to expand the range and scale of their attacks, but the 'Primordial Lighting' shrouding Shin's body warded them off completely.

When Pogo tried to use a much crazier series of attacks, Shin suddenly added a few movements to his actions. He hopped, jumped, leaped, spun, flipped, or even rolled in the air as he navigated his way at the blocked of crimson chains blocking his path.

Bang!

The moment when he finally got out of the formation of crimson chains, Shin suddenly stomped on the ground and launched himself toward Pogo like a rocket.

Swoosh!

Shin then pointed his sword forward as he flew straight toward his opponent.

Pogo wanted to create more space so he quickly retreated while pulling his chained sickles back to him. The chains tightened before being dragged by him while the sickles released a sanguine glow before flying straight to Shin's back.

Shin did not care about that as he kept looking up front while raising his sword and pointing it forward. Then a spiral energy suddenly surrounded his sword, revolving and spinning with a destructive force.

Applying all the sword principles that he had learned and combining them with the circulation method of the Jade Kirin Scripture, Shin thrust the sword forward while he along with his charge.

'Jade Kirin Scripture: Fifth Movement – Hurricane Force'

Swoosh!

A spiraling torrent of energy suddenly shot out from the tip of the sword and flew straight to Pogo with a speed that almost surpassed the sound. It was rapidly expanding, covering a large area, before aggressively moving forward with a momentum that could shred everything in its path.

The craze in Pogo's eyes seemed to have subdued a little due to the mighty force heading his way. He then abandoned attacking Shin with his sickles as he knew that this attack would arrive first before they could even touch the back of his opponent.

The pair of sickles suddenly appeared on both of his hands, as if they teleported, before Pogo channeled his sanguine energy in them.

He then tossed them in the air and grabbed the chains, spinning the pair of sickles, before throwing a series of powerful strikes at the incoming torrent of energy.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

A series of sanguine flashes appeared in front of him and formed a spiderweb-like formation as they moved toward the opposing force.

'Blood Killer Skill (Tier 2): (Modified) Blood Web'

Bang!

A strong explosion quickly erupted right after the collision, creating a huge and thick cloud of smoke between the two players.

Pogo wanted to use this opportunity to retreat and create more distance, but he suddenly heard a series of sharp sounds cutting through the air.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Raising his head, he suddenly saw a group of sword waves that broke through the cloud of smoke and headed toward his direction with a speed that was no less than the previous attack.

'Jade Kirin Scripture: Sixth Movement – Sword Gale'

Shin had used one of his Elemental Skills, the 'Blood Rampage', as a model to recreate this sword technique within the game.

(Reference Chapter 115)

This skill had also been enhanced since Vladimir had evolved a couple of times, and it would further become more powerful once this conceited elemental spirit had successfully become a full-fledged Supreme Elemental Spirit.

The sword waves slashed through the air and flew with a tricky formation that blocked all the escape routes that Pogo could take.

Even if he tried to enter stealth or use his other movement skills, he would still be caught by the bombardment of this attack due to the large area that it covered.

Without any hesitation, Pogo gritted his teeth before swinging his chained sickles once again, transforming them into crimson flashes that met each of the incoming sword waves.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

After a series of collisions, the mana that was filling the air had become affected and turned chaotic, making it hard to control.

Even if Pogo was not relying on magical skills that were required to communicate with the surrounding mana, he still had to absorb some of them to refill his already spent mana from his previous skills and techniques, especially when he would not be able to find the time to use a position in such an intense battle.

He was already lucky earlier when he used the Berserk Enhancing Potion; he did not know if he would get another opportunity once again.

Moreover, Shin would not let him use any kind of potion after what happened earlier.

Pogo was keeping his guard up while focusing his gaze on the already subsiding cloud of smoke. But then, he noticed something strange – Shin, who was supposedly charging at him and persistently trying to pressure him with continuous assault, did not appear.

"Sh*t!" that was when he realized his mistake.

Due to the aggressive and violent attacks that came at him from the front, he subconsciously forgot to pay attention behind him.

Adding the chaotic energies that were filling the air and disturbing the natural flow of mana, Pogo failed to notice the subtle fluctuations behind them.

Without any hesitation, he quickly turned around and crossed his sickles in front of him while pouring everything he had to brace for the impact.

And as expected, an ambush came from that direction.

Bang!

(-20,522)

A heavy strike collided with his bloody sickles, sending tremors to his body. Then he was sent flying in the air due to the awkward stance that he had, making him fail to withstand the force behind that sword strike.

"Tsk!" Shin could not help but click his tongue as he still underestimated the experience of an old god.

Regardless, he now had landed a decent hit, albeit being blocked at the last second.

...