Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 204

Boom!

A pair of enormous rock palms, each the size of a dump truck, hurtled through the air, colliding at the spot where Su-ho had just been standing.

A deafening explosion erupted as the two massive hands crashed together, disintegrating into fine dust the moment they made contact.

Of course, Su-ho was unscathed.

He had swiftly dodged at the last second, avoiding the impact altogether.

“So this is the famous Seopji Palm Strike.”

Seopji Palm Strike.

Not an official term.

He had simply read it in the records as it was written.

The term was a combination of "Seopji" from Seopjikoj and "Palm Strike" from a legendary martial art. Since it was the signature move of Seopjikoj’s boss monster, it had earned this name.

The way the massive hands flew toward players resembled the divine palm strikes of martial arts legends.

That was also why the Cliff Golem’s nickname was Seopji.

– Hmph.

Seopji’s eyes narrowed at Su-ho’s effortless evasion.

Anyone would react like that if their attack missed.

And so, it began.

Seopji’s relentless barrage of applause.

Clap!

Another clap.

This time, instead of striking horizontally, it slammed its hands together vertically.

As a result, Seopji Palm Strikes descended from both the front and back.

“Hm.”

Su-ho mimicked the creature’s groan and moved his body.

Boom!!

He dodged.

And another clap.

Clap!

Boom!!

Clap!

Boom!!

Clap!!

The cycle of claps and Seopji Palm Strikes continued in rapid succession.

For a while, Su-ho didn’t attack—only dodged.

There was no particular reason.

Dodging wasn’t difficult, so he was simply curious to see how long it would take before the monster lost its patience.

It turned out Seopji’s patience was even worse than expected.

– You insolent wretch! Are you mocking me?!

Enraged, Seopji let out a furious scream.

This thing was hot-tempered.

Hearing its outburst, Su-ho finally stopped moving.

“Then shall I stop dodging?”

– Die!!

Su-ho remained rooted in place.

True to his words, he didn’t move an inch.

Seopji Palm Strikes came crashing in from both sides.

Boom!!

The strikes landed cleanly.

Su-ho didn’t evade.

As always, the moment the rock hands clashed, they crumbled ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) into dust.

And from the settling debris, Su-ho emerged, completely unharmed.

– ......!

Seopji’s crimson eyes widened in shock.

It had expected a direct hit, yet Su-ho stood there, barely dusted, without a single injury.

Small pebbles fell from Su-ho’s body.

He casually dusted himself off and muttered,

“As expected, an unenhanced Seopji is nothing special.”

The first reason why the Seopjikoj Gate was considered difficult was that players often failed to eliminate the Rock Golems early, allowing Seopji to grow stronger.

However, Su-ho had wiped out all the golems using his clone soldiers.

Since Seopji had not been strengthened, it couldn’t unleash its full power.

Without that enhancement, it was incapable of breaking through Su-ho’s reinforced physique or Iron Cannon Three.

Su-ho raised his Blood Sword.

“Let’s speed things up.”

– Nonsense!!

Seopji, furious, clapped its hands once more.

New Seopji Palm Strikes rushed toward Su-ho.

Boom!!

Shattered rock fragments scattered.

Yet, Su-ho didn’t dodge.

To him, it felt no different than a mosquito bite.

Step.

He casually took a step forward.

Clap! Boom!!

Another clap.

Another Seopji Palm Strike.

Nothing changed.

Even if Seopji clapped until its hands bled, or even if it stomped its feet instead, the outcome remained the same.

Su-ho kept walking forward.

And as soon as he closed the distance, he swung his sword.

Swish!

[ Steel Slash has been activated. ]

Empowered by his magic stat, the Blood Sword was far harder than Seopji’s unenhanced body.

As a result, a single swing severed Seopji’s left arm.

– Damn it!!

Seopji gritted its teeth as it prepared for the next phase.

Su-ho stepped back, patiently waiting for it to enter Phase Two.

If he wanted to get what he needed from Seopji, he had to let it transition into its second phase.

Crrrk! Crrrk! Crack!

Seopji’s body began shifting as it regenerated its severed left arm.

Then, as if realizing its current size was limiting, it absorbed more surrounding stone dust, further increasing its mass.

However, rather than becoming bulkier, its body became noticeably more agile.

So much so that it no longer looked like a typical golem.

Yet its ominous crimson eyes remained unchanged.

Seopji finished transforming and spoke.

– From here on, you’d better be careful.

Having issued its warning, it pressed its hands together.

Then—

Boom!!

A massive black stone pillar erupted from beneath Su-ho’s feet.

“Whoa.”

Of course, the pillar never touched him.

Su-ho already knew what Seopji’s second phase entailed.

‘So this is the infamous Gravestone Uprising.’

Gravestone Uprising.

If Seopji’s first phase was Seopji Palm Strike, its second phase was launching stone pillars from below.

The monster’s hands tightened further, and its crimson eyes glowed intensely.

[ Corrupted Cliff Golem is using Gravestone Uprising. ]

A system notification appeared.

At the same time, another pillar shot up beneath Su-ho.

And it didn’t stop with one.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Everywhere Su-ho stepped, stone pillars surged up, desperately trying to strike him.

Soon, his footsteps left behind an array of towering stones, forming a domino-like chain—this was the second reason why the Seopjikoj Gate was considered difficult.

‘Even if players managed to get through Phase One, most failed during this Gravestone Uprising phase.’

Every attack required some delay, but Gravestone Uprising had none.

This was why so many teams got wiped out by it.

Thus, Su-ho didn’t counterattack.

Instead, he maneuvered around the area like a game of tag.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He kept moving, continuously avoiding the stone pillars.