Ubermensch – Chapter 138

Chapter 138

The fight with the leaders of the 12 Korean Labor Unions was long and arduous.

By the time Venerable Taoist challenged Mason, Mason’s physical abilities had deteriorated to the point where he could no longer be called superhuman.

The Lion’s Great Hammer, once light as a whip, now felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and he could even feel the weight of his leather boots.

However, Venerable Taoist, strict with himself and others, was far from someone who would underestimate his opponent.

No matter how exhausted Mason was, nothing would change.

He wasn’t just someone who was tired from fighting eleven people, but the one who had defeated eleven of the 12 Korean Labor Unions leaders.

Swoosh!

Venerable Taoist’s sword descended like a flash of lightning.

Mason gritted his teeth.

‘Heart Slash!’

Was it called the Heart Severing Sword in Murim?

Each strike of Venerable Taoist’s swordsmanship was deadly, and at the same time, he had the second and third strikes in mind after the first.

‘I can’t block it.’

Ronan’s Dragon Bone Greatsword was made from the wing bone of a Wyvern. Its mass was comparable to an axe or hammer. Blocking it would only leave him with shock and break his stance. He would only be further cornered every time he tried to block the second and third strikes that followed.

Ultra-aggressive swordsmanship that doesn’t allow for defense.

That was the Heart Severing Swordsmanship.

But…

‘I don’t have the strength!’

If it was the usual Mason, he would have struck the Dragon Bone Greatsword with his hammer. Even if Venerable Taoist was a master, he couldn’t compete with Mason, a superhuman, in a battle of specs.

But for Mason now, a fight where he could push through with his specs was impossible.

Clang!

He blocked the first strike by raising his hammer.

At the same time, his knees buckled, and Venerable Taoist struck again.

Clang!

A diagonal slash!

Mason blocked it with his hammer in a disrupted stance, and the hammer had enough force to send a person flying.

If he held onto the hammer, Mason would fall.

But if he let go, he would have to block Venerable Taoist’s Dragon Bone Greatsword with his bare hands.

‘Tsk…!’

But losing his hammer was better than falling.

Mason gritted his teeth and let go of the hammer.

Clang!

The Lion’s Great Hammer bounced off and fell to the ground far away.

But Venerable Taoist didn’t care and simply unleashed his third strike.

Thud!

The sharp blade severed his trapezius muscle. But Venerable Taoist didn’t just cut his shoulder. His left arm. Mason had raised his left arm just in time to block it.

The blade was embedded all the way to the bone of his left arm.

Mason gripped the sword by tensing his muscles and muttered.

“Come… back…”

“What?”

Venerable Taoist frowned at Mason’s words.

Was he trying to persuade him?

Or was he hallucinating because he had lost his mind?

But the next moment.

Thud!

Something heavy flew and pierced Venerable Taoist’s lower back.

“Ugh!”

It was Mason’s hammer, the Lion’s Great Hammer.

The Lion’s Great Hammer had flown on its own and slammed into him.

‘Is it some kind of Sword Control Technique?’

The moment Venerable Taoist, momentarily distracted, turned his attention back to Mason, Mason’s palm was already covering his face.

“Excellent…”

The moment Venerable Taoist uttered those words with a wry smile.

“Uwaaaaaaaa!”

Crack!

Mason slammed Venerable Taoist’s head into the ground with all his might.

๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑

Thud.

The sound of the Dragon Bone Greatsword falling from the unconscious Venerable Taoist’s hand echoed throughout the area.

This was because even with a thousand warriors present, no sound louder than a breath was made.

Literally, silence as if cold water had been poured over them.

‘To defeat all the leaders of the 12 Korean Labor Unions in one place…’

That was something even General Chairman Queen Mother of the West, the President, or even Heavenly Demon Seo Yeonhee couldn’t do.

People realized that a legend that would never be seen again in the history of Murim was being created.

And right before their eyes, no less.

“Huff… Huff…”

Mason was gasping for breath.

The wounds on his shoulders and arms had barely stopped bleeding, the flesh still deeply gouged.

The Barbarigen that had healed his wounds was depleted.

“…”

The President could also tell that.

Whatever it was that gave Mason his infinite regenerative ability and indomitable stamina, it was now gone.

That the current Mason was nothing more than an ordinary mortal.

The President spoke in a calm voice.

“Stand down, Oztalon. I don’t want to kill you.”

Mason gasped for breath.

“No…”

He wanted to say something cool, but he didn’t even have the strength to speak.

“Can’t go…”

He simply stretched out his arms with difficulty, blocking the way.

Even then, his injured left arm wouldn’t rise above his solar plexus.

The President made a reluctant face.

He was a warrior.

He didn’t want to brutally beat down someone who was seriously injured from a wheel warfare, let alone a fair duel.

But he was also a politician.

The expulsion of Heavenly Demon Seo Yeonhee and the liberation were the century-long wish of the Provisional Government and the 12 Korean Labor Unions. It was not something that could be stopped by a single injured person.

The President took a stance for a straight punch.

“This is your last chance to stop.”

His martial art, Bombardment Fist, was a technique that simultaneously destroyed both internal and external. As a characteristic of military martial arts, it was a killing fist, designed to ensure each strike fatally wounded the opponent.

Once he struck, he couldn’t hold back.

Even if the President himself wanted to show mercy.

Instead of answering, Mason brought his raised arms forward. It was a boxing stance, even more awkward because he had never learned it.

“I warned you.”

The President hardened his heart.

He charged, using lightness skill.

“Haaap!”

Speed is energy. Weight is destructive power.

The President’s body flew in with rapid acceleration. Each of his joints underwent a chain acceleration, unleashing a devastating punch.

Bombardment Fist, a military martial art that combined the strengths of various martial arts schools. Among them, the combination of skills that enhanced destructive power resulted in the strongest strike in Murim.

Direct Bombardment!

Thud!

The moment the punch landed on Mason’s abdomen, Mason flew like a ball, just like the enemies he used to send flying, and crashed into the gate of Mars City.

“Ugh…”

It wasn’t just the external shock of the martial art.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A chain explosion of internal energy erupted within his internal organs, tearing Mason’s body apart from the inside out.

“Kuaaaagh!”

Thud!

Mason fell to his knees.

A mist of blood billowed from his mouth.

His blood vessels and internal organs were subjected to high pressure and heat, causing the blood he coughed up to evaporate instantly.

The President made a bitter face and moved forward.

But then, Mason rose from his spot and staggered towards him.

“Can’t go…”

“…”

“You can’t… go behind me…”

The President was speechless.

‘How can he move in that condition?’

His legs were giving way. His pupils were dilated.

He wasn’t moving with muscle strength.

Willpower. He was enduring solely with the power of superhuman willpower.

Mason’s spirit was not broken. And an opponent whose willpower transcended their physical body like this… was sure to rise again and again until their spirit was broken.

‘What in the world is he fighting for like this?’

The President hardened his heart.

Behind him stood a thousand warriors.

The hopes of those who yearned for liberation rested on his shoulders.

It didn’t matter what Mason was fighting for.

‘I too am fighting for the people!’

The President grabbed Mason’s arm and unleashed the Golden Capture Technique.

Guided Bombardment. If Direct Bombardment was the essence of destruction, Guided Bombardment was the essence of throwing techniques that redirected force.

Mason’s body soared into the air and then fell headfirst to the ground.

Thud!

The shock that pierced his skull traveled down his cervical vertebrae and lumbar vertebrae to the bones and joints of his limbs.

‘Let’s see if you can get up after your spine is shattered!’

Mason’s body, collapsed on the ground, trembled.

It was not a state his body could overcome with willpower.

Mason struggled to get up again and again, and collapsed again and again.

‘He’s neutralized.’

The President tried to pass by Mason.

At that moment, his foot caught on something.

The tip of Mason’s finger had snagged on the hem of his pants.

“Can’t go… You can’t go…”

Mason growled.

“You… You can’t go…”

The President frowned.

“For what?”

The President looked down at Mason and said.

“If the world is going to end anyway, does it really matter whether Seo Yeonhee dies or not? What in the world are you doing this for?”

Now, he believed Mason’s words.

No one would risk their life for a lie or a joke. Because behind Mason’s admirable willpower, there must be truth.

But nothing would change.

Even if they escaped to another world, nothing would change.

Hatred had festered for a hundred years, resentment had piled up for a hundred years.

If they could start over, no. If they were to start over, they would have to release even more hatred and resentment.

Once a grudge is formed, it must be washed away with blood.

That was the way of Murim.

“Because… that’s how… I can save them…”

“Save Seo Yeonhee?”

“Seo Yeonhee too… and you…”

A mist of blood was still rising from Mason’s mouth.

“Everyone… I can save everyone…”

“You’re quite greedy.”

The President scoffed.

“To sacrifice the few for the many is the truth of the world!”

“Yes. Maybe so…”

Seo Yeonhee had also said that.

But Mason didn’t want to do that.

One world had already been abandoned for him.

“I…”

Yekaterina sacrificed themselves to deliver the savior, Mason, to another world.

She smiled and sent him off.

Survival of the fittest might be the cold truth.

Sacrificing the few for the many might be the limit.

Reality is reality.

It was something that wouldn’t happen unless a miracle occurred. That’s why it’s called a miracle.

“I have to make a miracle…”

But… if someone had already lost one world, wouldn’t it be okay to create a miracle?

“For the sake of the people who sent me off, believing I would be the savior!”

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Mason put strength into his arms. Strength into his legs.

“…Don’t push yourself.”

The President said in a subdued voice.

“Your spine is broken, you won’t be able to stand even if you get up.”

Mason pressed his arms against the ground. Pressed his legs against the ground.

He struggled, like Atlas lifting the sky, but clearly…

…He stood up.

The President flinched and stepped back.

‘What?’

Talk about willpower transcending the physical body and all that, but that was only when there were still bones and flesh left. It was impossible for someone whose spine was broken like this.

But Mason was standing up now.

‘Is it internal energy?’

No, Mason didn’t have internal energy.

The President, a Murim warrior, knew that better than anyone.

What was moving him was a completely different power. Something entirely different.

‘Or… is it really a miracle?’

A cold sweat ran down the President’s back.

It was like the sky turning upside down or the sun rising from the west.

For someone who couldn’t stand to stand up was clearly a miracle… and he was performing a miracle right now!

‘I can feel it.’

Mason felt a surge of power welling up inside him.

Even if he wasn’t superhuman, even if he wasn’t a cyborg, he had power.

Faith!

There were people who believed in him.

There was Yekaterina.

She had no doubt that Mason would be able to save another world.

There was Heavenly Demon Seo Yeonhee.

She believed that Mason would bring the future.

There was Mason himself.

He had vowed that he wouldn’t back down, even if it meant death.

And now… there were a thousand Murim warriors looking at him.

‘Is he… immortal?’

If the laws of physics are true, then the laws of faith are also true.

As long as people believed that Mason might rise, as long as Mason himself believed he could stand up.

Mason could stand up.

Because that’s what a god is.

Because that’s what a savior is.

Savior Oztalon clenched his fists.

“Uwaaaaaaaa!”

The President realized.

‘This will be our last clash.’

The President activated his body protection technique.

“Hup!”

An invincible defense technique that made destructive internal energy flow through his skin, inflicting damage exceeding the opponent’s attack. It was Active Armor.

‘I can block your attack with body protection technique.’

At the same time, the President threw a punch.

The strongest strike in Murim, Direct Bombardment.

‘My attack will definitely crush you!’

The President’s single technique, combining an invincible spear and an invincible shield.

Mason could only throw one punch. Only one strike.

Block the spear or break the shield. It was one or the other.

At that moment, an old memory flashed through Mason’s exhausted mind.

‘I remember, Liza.’

In Mason’s memory, Liza Kronen was speaking.

She said there was no need to separate offense and defense.

An attack that crushes an attack. A defense that crushes a defense.

‘Air superiority!’

Mason’s fist, filled with faith, stretched towards the President’s fist, the right fist imbued with Direct Bombardment.

“…?!”

Clang!

The strongest fist in Murim and the fist filled with faith clashed in mid-air.

For a moment, their powers were in a stalemate.

And at that moment.

‘Why?’

The President’s face contorted.

‘Why can’t I defeat this battered mess?’

He had no shortage of internal energy. The same went for strength and technique.

There was only one thing lacking.

The President couldn’t believe it.

It wasn’t that he thought he couldn’t defeat Mason.

‘Even if I kill Heavenly Demon Seo Yeonhee…’

He wasn’t sure about what would happen after he defeated Mason.

‘Will everything really go back to the way it was?’

On the other hand, Mason had no doubt.

It wasn’t that he believed he could defeat the President.

‘Even if I die here…’

He believed that no matter the cost, he wouldn’t abandon anyone. He believed that even if he died, he would have no regrets.

‘I will save these people!’

The stalemate between Mason’s divine power and the President’s fist power was brief.

The balance of power shattered, and a loud explosion rang out.

Thud.

Mason fell to his knees.

“I’ll ask you one thing.”

The President looked down at Mason, still standing.

“If you have to sacrifice one between the many and the few, what is the right thing to sacrifice?”

“Me.”

Mason said without hesitation.

“It’s right… for me to sacrifice…”

“That’s a damn harsh path…”

Snap!

The President’s neatly tied hair fluttered, and blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth.

“You win, Savior.”

Mason staggered to his feet, and the President fell to his knees.

“In the martial world, strength is respected. You defeated me, so…”

The President chuckled bitterly and collapsed.

“Go ahead… try to save us…”

Mason looked up at the sky.

“Phew…”

With a long sigh, he roared.

“Uwaaaaaaaa!”

The noble Elder God who protects those who haven’t lost hope, even amidst chaos and despair.

It was the moment Oztalon uttered his first cry.