Chapter 350

"Pounding Mortar!”

The moment that Piaro took out his peak technique.

Kurururu!

A tremendous sound was heard from the ground. Thunder? No. It was a more threatening and artificial feeling.

Kuooooh!

The larger the shadow cast became, the heavier the atmosphere.

Jjirak. Jjirak.

Kraugel’s body was filled with an instinctive fear.

‘Unbelievable.’

Kraugel stood on turbulent ground. He looked up at the sky and faced a disaster. It was as big as a house. It was falling down at a fast speed.

Kuwaaaaaah!

“...!”

Kraugel couldn’t even scream. The enormous mortar caused infinite suffering and fear as the mind and body crumbled. It was a pressure that could kill someone.

***

[You have been hit by a lethal blow!]

[The durability of the Plain Straw Hat (Normal) has been completely lost and is permanently destroyed.]

[The durability of the White Clouds Clothing (Unique) has decreased by 128.]

[The durability of the White Clouds Footwear (Unique) has decreased by 150.]

[The durability of the White Clouds Gloves (Unique) has decreased by 163. There is a risk of damage.]

[The durability of the White Fang (Legendary) has decreased by 61.]

[You won’t die in sparring mode. Your health has fallen to a minimum, so sparring mode is finished!]

The mortar that was the size of a house. It disappeared like a ‘mirage’ after it crushed Kraugel.

"...”

There were no more clouds in the sky. This was the aftermath of being torn by the force of Pounding Mortar. Kraugel was at a loss for words and belatedly realized.

‘I lost.’

Did he lose because Piaro was over level 400? It was nonsense. A level difference in the game was due to the difference in skills. It meant his growth process lagged behind.

‘I completely lost.’

What if they fought again?

‘It will still be the same.’

The current Piaro was different from the past. He was a legend who completely overcame his immaturity after just becoming a farmer and relied on swordsmanship.

‘He is a wall that can’t be overcome.’

Did Kraugel’s heart sink down after realizing this? No.

‘...I can’t overcome him yet.’

People praised Kraugel as a genius. He overcame trials and adversity, believing in this talent alone. Of course, that was a big mistake.

‘One day, I will go beyond him.’

Were there any geniuses who had it easy? Unlike what other people thought, Kraugel was accustomed to defeat and failure. He always faced challenges, because he was always challenging difficult situations. But he didn’t give up. By working hard and overcoming the trials, he trained and raised himself. He would continue doing so in the future.

“Kuk... Kukukuk.”

The straw hat’s destruction exposed the black-haired man with a wounded face.

[Kraugel]

The world’s most prominent name burst out laughing as he laid on the ground.

“Kuhahahahat!”

It was a cool laughing sound that made the listeners happy. He was delighted by the spar that allowed him to realize his own shortcomings.

***

Ruby and Lord were present at the outskirts of the training grounds where Piaro and Kraugel were sparring. Nevertheless, what was the reason why Piaro was able to use his peak technique? It was because he trusted Asmophel.

Kuuuuuuong!

The moment the large mortar slammed against Kraugel and the training ground.

“Hup!”

Asmophel protected Ruby and Lord. He held the two people in their arms to protect them from the earthquake, creating a barrier from the sand storm. There was a wave of energy.

“T-Thank you.”

“Abuuuu!”

Ruby expressed her gratitude while Lord cried out loudly.

"This world might perish, but I will protect both of you.”

Asmophel asserted. His loyalty moved Ruby’s heart. On the other hand, Lord showed no interest in Asmophel.

"Abu! Abuuuu!”

How could a baby be so strong? After forcefully pushing Ruby away, Lord fell to the ground and started to move towards the center of the training ground. The crawling speed made it hard to believe he was a newborn baby.

“Pant... Pant... Umm?”

Piaro was tired from the aftermath of using Pounding Mortar. He was thrilled when he found the approaching Lord.

"Young Lord...! Do you recognize my skills?”

Piaro had a discerning eye. He had glimpsed Lord’s genius early on. He wanted to propose a lifetime of doing field work together, so he coveted Lord’s talent.

‘As expected of the young lord.’

He understood Piaro’s strength through this duel. He wanted Piaro to serve as a mentor and they would work together in the fields! The young Lord would be his best disciple.

‘No, I’m still not good enough!’

The moment that Piaro was full of expectations. The crawling Lord reached Piaro. Then he just passed by Piaro.

"...”

Hwiing~

The wind blew. Piaro was ashamed.

'This baby...?’

The depressed ground that was hit by the mortar. Kraugel found the baby crawling towards him and was disconcerted. It was so unrealistic that he couldn’t say anything to Lord.

"Abu! Abuuuu! Bubu!”

“...?”

Kraugel couldn’t understand the language of a newborn baby. But he dimly understood the meaning. The blue eyes staring at him. There was clearly envy in the eyes that shone as bright as jewels.

***

[Thunder Bow]

Rating: Unique

Durability: 366/490

Attack Power: 370~601

* Arrows can’t be loaded.

* 100 mana will be consumed per attack.

* The skill ‘Penetrating Flash’ will be generated.

* 10% increase in firing speed.

A heirloom of the Bon family in the Eternal Kingdom.

A bow made from a mixture of magic stones and ure stones, it consumed the user’s mana every time the bowstring is pulled to create a light arrow.

If a common arrow is loaded, it won’t be able to withstand the lightning and will become ashes.

User Restriction: Level 300 or higher. More than 2,000 agility. Advanced Bow Mastery level 5 or higher.

This was the bow dropped by the best archer in the Eternal Kingdom, Ferrell. It was something that many archers would covet. However, Grid didn’t appreciate the Thunder Bow’s performance.

‘How many archers will have such high mana?’

Consuming 100 mana just to shoot one arrow? Even Jishuka, an expert archer, wouldn’t be able to fire more than 40 rounds. Its endurance was poor.

‘The attack power is twice as high as similar bows.’

In the first place, the attack power of the bow itself wasn’t important.

'The attack power of the arrow is more important.’

Yet arrows couldn’t be loaded? Could this really be called a bow?

“Trash.”

Grid came to this conclusion and dismantled the Thunder Bow. He didn’t hesitate at all. The reason why Grid coveted this bow from the beginning was the ‘ure stone.’

“Then I’m starting.”

Grid approached the blast furnace. The four God Hands kept the furnace temperature high. Their ability to control the bellows was at the level of advanced blacksmiths.

"This should be enough.”

Grid confirmed the temperature and threw the disassembled Thunder Bow into it. It was to dissolve the rush, debris and other foreign matter through smelting in order to extract pure ure stones.

After a while.

[You have succeeded in refining the mineral!]

[3 pieces of ure stone has been acquired.]

Ttiring~

[Ure Stone]

A mineral that is produced only when the great demon Astaroth is present in the human world.

The lightning attribute could be given to an item and it is also good to feed to demonic beasts.

The demonic beast will be very pleased when fed.

Weight: 5

“The concept of the mineral is similar to the fire stones that show up when Hell Gao appears... Eh?”

Grid was immersed in reading the item explanation and suddenly made an absurd expression.

“Feed it to a demonic beast?”

Was he crazy?

"What type of crazy person would feed these precious minerals to a demonic beast?”

It was a really useless function. He had no intention of feeding this to Noe. Grid put the three ure stones in his inventory. He was planning to use it as a mineral when creating new items.

At that moment.

Kuuong!

The large smithy that contained 100 blacksmiths shook greatly. Everything on display on one side of the smith fell to the ground, and the flames in dozens of furnaces shot upwards. The minerals were burned and lost their value.

“E-Earthquake?”

"What are you doing? Go and grab the minerals!”

The smithy instantly became a mess. An earthquake in the middle of a desert city? The blacksmiths were unfamiliar with natural disasters but they showed professionalism, gathering the minerals and turning off the fire.

On the other hand, Grid was angry.

‘It isn’t an earthquake.’

His high insight let him know. The previous shook was due to the aftermath of battle.

"Khan, please deal with the situation here.”

It was good to have someone to trust. Grid entrusted the smithy to Khan and left.

***

Kraugel recovered his stamina to a certain extent.

"Brother, you truly are great. I was able to learn many things. I’m not lying when I say that I admire you.”

"...”

Piaro always wanted to be the strongest. It was the destiny of the strongest to be connected with strong people. But there was something that couldn’t be helped. Kraugel’s talents were beyond prediction, so Piaro had to be prepared.

“Really? Someday you will surpass me.”

He had learned this from the young Lord. The young Lord had gone to Kruagel. The young Lord felt that today’s winner was Piaro, but it would be different in the future. Kraugel asked the jealous Piaro.

“By the way, what is with this child?”

At first glance, this baby wasn’t ordinary. It wasn’t Piaro who answered the puzzled Kraugel.

“My son.”

A heavy voice resonated through the training ground.

“I greet My Lord!”

Piaro, the absolutely strongest man who could look down at the whole world, and the best knight Asmophel, bowed down. It was shocking for Kraugel.

Step, step.

"Abu! Abuuuu!”

Lord smiled brightly. The owner of the voice, Grid, smiled at Kraugel.

“What is the 1st ranked user doing in my land?”

Grid was showing obvious hostility. It was natural. He didn’t feel good because he witnessed a person he didn’t know laughing with his family and friends. Wasn’t he also the culprit because the destruction of the training ground?

"...”

Kraugel couldn’t open his mouth. Piaro spoke on his behalf.

"My Lord, this person is called Kraugel. He is a brother that I have a close friendship with.”

‘Brother...’

Kraugel’s heart warmed. He was touched that Piaro tried to defend him. But this impression didn’t last long. Piaro wasn’t ‘defending’ but ‘reporting.’ Brothers? That was important, but his loyalty came first.

"After not meeting for a long time, he applied for a spar and I accepted, resulting in the training ground being like this. I will dispose of him according to My Lord’s decision.”

"...”