Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 679

“Now then, come at me properly.”

With those words, Hyman’s expression changed.

The playful look that had remained on his face the entire time disappeared without a trace, replaced by that of a warrior.

Thump!

The change began the moment he took his second step.

Concentric cracks spread across the fractured asphalt, and the abandoned cars nearby bounced and leaped like live fish.

At the same time, centered around the front foot he had stepped forward with, his opposite hand whipped around like a lash.

Su-ho raised his guard again.

KABOOOOOM!!

The whip-like fist slammed into his raised guard.

It was hard to believe that such a sound could come from nothing more than flesh colliding with flesh.

Su-ho’s brow furrowed.

The Gigantification skill consumed a considerable amount of mana simply to maintain his form.

That was why he had always enlarged himself only to a reasonable size whenever possible, then concentrated his skills and ended fights as quickly as he could.

But he could not fight Hyman that way.

Maintaining this super-gigantic size alone was already burdensome, and every one of Hyman’s monstrously powerful attacks consumed an enormous amount of mana even when Su-ho merely blocked them.

‘I need to move technically.’

Instead of defending against incoming attacks, he needed to redirect or evade them as much as possible.

But Hyman knew that too, so he would probably attack in ways that forced Su-ho to take the blows directly.

Still, it was better than not trying at all.

Su-ho created some distance, took a breath, and shifted his feet.

He placed his left foot half a step forward and pulled his right foot diagonally back, lowering his center of gravity.

He slightly rolled his shoulders inward and tucked his chin to reduce his exposed area.

His left hand was in front of his face, his right beside his chin.

Seeing the fighting stance that was different from before, Hyman grinned.

“So you put some thought into it.”

Su-ho did not answer.

Hyman continued speaking as he moved.

“But it’s too one-dimensional.”

Thump!

The vibration spread before the sound did.

Thin shards of glass trembled.

The next instant, Hyman’s figure vanished from sight.

Only the air remained.

A chill instantly ran across the back of Su-ho’s neck.

Instinctively, he lowered his waist and slid a step to the left.

BANG!!!

A gigantic fist crashed down where he had been standing just moments ago.

The road caved in and buckled as though an artillery shell had struck it.

Cracks spread in every direction like a spiderweb.

He had succeeded in dodging.

But only barely.

Su-ho exhaled without holding back and twisted his body halfway around.

Hyman’s right arm was still buried deep in the ground.

His arm formed a straight line with the force running through his elbow and shoulder, and the moment Hyman turned his head for his next movement, Su-ho immediately moved in.

Using his left foot as an axis, he slid forward and drove a hook deep into Hyman’s side.

It was not merely his hand shooting forward, but a single rotational line connecting his shoulder, hips, and heel.

He did not use any tricks.

He remained faithful to the fundamentals of the martial arts he had learned and focused on precision.

BANG!!

A heavy impact rang out like metal being struck.

The punch landed cleanly.

But Hyman did not react nearly as much as expected.

At most, his body tilted slightly.

That was fine.

If he tilted at all, then the blow had clearly affected him.

Su-ho did not miss the opening.

His right straight immediately shot toward Hyman’s chin.

But Hyman was no longer simply standing there either.

The instant he sprang upright like a released spring, he turned his head.

He did not dodge or block.

He merely shifted the position of his head half a step so the impact could not land properly.

Incredible sense.

His claim that he knew how to fight had not been empty boasting.

The extended straight failed to do its job, its force dispersing before it could fully connect.

Grin-

The corners of Hyman’s mouth curved upward.

His left hand shot out like lightning.

Su-ho ducked in and raised his guard, but that attack had been bait.

The true target was his right knee.

A low kick snapped out and struck Su-ho’s knee.

Crack!

Pain shot up his thigh like lightning.

Fragments of asphalt flew into the air.

He nearly lost his balance for a moment, but barely managed to regain his center.

Shifting his weight onto his left leg, he lightly bounced backward.

His mana consumption was extreme.

The area beneath his eyes twitched involuntarily.

He felt like an athlete training at high altitude for the first time.

“You look like you’re having a hard time?”

Su-ho did not answer.

Instead, he breathed heavily.

Hyman continued.

“Except for the First King, no one ever defeated Deckers. That’s why every king born afterward carried a very old destiny. To defeat Deckers. And because of that, they trained and trained until the very day they died, challenging Deckers again and again.”

Hyman took his stance again.

“But a natural enemy truly is a natural enemy. No matter how much we trained our bodies or refined our techniques, we could never dare overcome the structure of the natural enemy designed by Overment. But.”

Hyman grinned once more.

“I merely failed to defeat Deckers. None of the other giants of my era were ever a match for me. You need to understand that.”

With those words, Hyman’s body lowered in a strange manner.

Even as his gigantic frame bent as though collapsing, his central axis did not waver.

A ducking motion that fully utilized the weight of his upper body flowed across the ruined road.

Then came a jab.

Followed by a cross.

The angle was perfect.

Each and every blow tore apart buildings, gouged the road surface, and sent mountains flying.

It resembled the martial arts Su-ho used.

Of course it did.

Once the senior realized his junior intended to compete through technique, he was showing technique himself as a senior should.

Hyman attacked again.

Fists poured down like torrential rain.

Su-ho wanted to evade them, but every time he tried to pull away, Hyman followed him as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

He felt the gap between them.

He felt the weight of experience.

It was fascinating.

To think he could feel such a difference in something as simple as hand-to-hand combat.

Honestly, he had not felt this when fighting Sword Demon.

Why?

Because the sword was familiar?

Because he thought of Sword Demon as his master?

Because he thought of him as one of the Constellations?

Because he thought of it as an extension of a skill?