Great Annihilation (Part 2)

[Irin]

[Corrupted Rank: ★★★★ (Danger Rank)]

[Corrupted Trend (Current): Vanguard]

[Level: 31]

[Base Stats: Strength C-, Agility C, Constitution C+, Stamina B-, Ability D-]

[Advanced Stats: Luck E, Corrupted Affinity C+]

[Skills:

(Common Rank) Berserk Lv1--Slightly increases own strength, stamina, and health regeneration speed, and slightly increases agility. Reduces damage taken by 10%. However, activating this skill carries a 50% chance of entering a "Confused" state.

(Danger Rank Exclusive) Great Annihilation Lv1--Significantly increases all stats and grants an additional 30% attack power for 15 seconds. This bonus decays over time. During the skill's duration, 15% of damage dealt is converted into healing for oneself. While in the "Great Annihilation" state, eliminating an enemy unit refreshes the skill's duration and effects. This passive has no activation limit.]

(Note: The "Exclusive" tag means it is unique to this Corrupted. When [Affection/Obedience] reaches 80% or higher, this skill can be "Copied".)

(Note: The "Copy" tag allows you to copy a selected skill (including proficiency) to your own skill slots. Current remaining skill slots: 0)

[Corrupted Authority: None (Unlocked upon reaching "Calamity Rank")]

[Infrastructure Specialty: Trash Master IV--Has a "medium probability" of turning trash within the settlement into treasure.]

Liao Ji checked Irin's brand-new panel immediately. From the stat values, it was clear that the girl was quite specialized, trending toward the "Reaper" path.

"Reaper" is a secondary branch of the major [Vanguard] class, usually referring to those high-agility, high-attack, output-oriented Corrupted Vanguards.

By comparison, Liao Ji couldn't help but recall another wife from his first playthrough, Tang Jiuyou, a dragon-girl of a different race who was also a [Vanguard].

Her [Vanguard] branch was the "Tyrant."

Five hundred years ago, in an era where Corrupted monsters roamed everywhere, "Reaper" wasn't actually popular among Vanguards; the semi-tank, semi-output "Tyrant" branch was more favored by Liao Ji.

But now, five hundred years later, the times had changed. When the average level of enemies dropped significantly, the advantages of a Reaper became apparent.

To put it simply.

It's better at bullying the weak.

"Give it back! That 'Relic' belongs to our Kalleva! What did you do to our property!" Leader Falmu's eyes turned red with rage.

Only after watching Liao Ji send the "Scarlet Star" into Irin's body did Falmu snap out of his obsession with the Corrupted Crystal.

He realized their "Great Emperor's Relic" was gone. Gone!!

"Loka! You bastard! Didn't you say no one could activate the 'Relic'? Didn't you say no one could use it? Then what is she? Why did the relic go into her body!?"

Falmu shook the man in the gray coat frantically, but the man could only giggle mindlessly, muttering things like "Oh, gods."

Enraged, the Kalleva leader threw the limp, jelly-like Dr. Loka aside and roared at the stunned gangsters surrounding them:

"Fire! Open fire! Kill her! Make her spit out the 'Relic'!"

Having failed to obtain the dark red crystal and now losing the "Relic" that served as their foundation, the massive sense of loss had caused Falmu to lose his sanity. He had only one pure gangster thought left: kill!

It was laughable, really.

Earlier, the "Scarlet Star" had sent most of the factory's gangsters fleeing in terror.

But now, as the "Scarlet Star" entered Irin's body, and they faced a girl who was also "human," they felt less fear. They even had the courage to follow orders and fire at Irin.

Rat-tat-tat!

Rat-tat-tat!

Rat-tat-tat!

Although more than half of the Kalleva gangsters in the factory had fled, at least a hundred remained. When they collectively aimed their guns at Irin and pulled the triggers, the resulting wall of fire was terrifying.

For a moment, under the intense gunfire, the boiler area where Irin and Liao Ji stood was blanketed in thick smoke. The flashes from the gun barrels illuminated the frantic expressions of the gangsters; they seemed to be using this method to face and resist their fear.

But did it work?

When the first volley ended, Falmu stared intently at the smoke-filled boiler area. Dead? She must be dead! Even a Corrupted couldn't withstand such a dense rain of bullets.

She must have been riddled with holes, right?

Finally.

Before the smoke had even fully cleared, a mocking voice echoed in the ears of every gangster in the factory.

"Are you all just tickling me?"

They saw it.

A dark brown current of air blew away all the smoke. Irin stood with her back to the boiler, shielding Liao Ji behind her. At this moment, in front of the girl, a weapon had appeared out of nowhere.

A hideous Scarlet Greatsword.

It was this Scarlet Greatsword, nearly as tall as the girl herself, that had blocked all the gunfire unleashed by the gangsters.

The countless bullet casings lying on the ground at the girl's feet were the best proof. The sight was enough to leave the gangsters dumbfounded.

"Old man, are you... okay on your own?" Irin tilted her head slightly toward the young man behind her.

In such a critical situation, Liao Ji naturally wouldn't drop the ball.

In truth, the safest move right now would be for him to simply unleash the [Calamity Magnetic Pulse] once, disarming all the gangsters in the factory and removing any suspense from this battle.

But, how should he put it?

It was like when you just pulled a powerful new character, excitedly poured all your resources into them, and couldn't wait to take that new character into a dungeon, farm bosses, and grind the map.

This was the joy of a cultivation game, and Liao Ji wanted to enjoy that joy now.

So he did nothing, merely acting as a bystander, nodding at the girl with an expression that said "go ahead, don't worry about me":

"Of course."

"Just be careful, their firepower looks pretty intense. That rat-tat-tat sounds quite frightening, don't get carried away."

To Liao Ji's hypocritical concern, Irin simply hoisted the greatsword onto her shoulder.

Compared to the meter-long Scarlet Greatsword, the girl's frame suddenly appeared petite, creating a stark contrast.

She left Liao Ji with nothing but her back and two short sentences.

"Doesn't matter, I'll make them shut up."

"The kind that will never make a sound again."

It had taken seven seconds to block the hail of bullets and five seconds to talk to the old relic; Irin sensed her body, noting that the explosive power was fading significantly, and even the Scarlet Greatsword in her hand had dimmed, turning into a blurry phantom.

There were probably about three seconds left before "this state" ended completely.

The Kalleva gangsters not far away saw this as proof that Irin was reaching her limit. Their leader, Falmu, shouted frantically, trying to boost morale for one last push to finish Irin off in one go.

But for the girl, three seconds...

...was enough.

Irin locked her gaze onto the group of gangsters closest to her. She slightly bent her knees, and the next moment, she leaped into the air. While airborne, the girl held the greatsword high above her head, then, following her dive, she swung it down with a fierce, sweeping strike.

Boom!

The blade slammed into the ground. The seven or eight unlucky gangsters at the center were instantly ground into mincemeat by the powerful shockwave of the sword energy. A deep trench appeared in the cracked floor; clearly, the girl wielding the greatsword was not a single-target fighter. Every one of her moves, bolstered by the Scarlet Greatsword, was an area-of-effect attack.

Moreover...

In the previous moment, the girl's momentum had been waning, but as the seven or eight gangsters became souls under Irin's blade, her aura suddenly surged. Even the Scarlet Greatsword, manifested from Corrupted Reagent, stopped being blurry and became as solid and tangible as it had been at the start.

The Scarlet Greatsword trembled in Irin's hand. Every time it granted a Kalleva member death, crushing the bodies of these lowly ants who dared to imprison and steal its power, it would emit an excited, sword-like shriek that sounded like "Ugh-ah!"

To Irin, such a sound was beautiful and pleasant, but to the gangsters opposite—no, to the vast majority of normal people—it should have been a death knell.

As the wave-like, echoing shrieks rang in their ears, they seemed to carry a psychological fear effect, causing their already fragile mental defenses to completely crumble.

"Mon... Monster!"

"Don't come over here, don't come over here, ahhh!"

"Relic, that's the power of a relic! We can't possibly beat her, run, run away!"

"It's... it's over, it's all over."

The 30% attack power bonus granted to Irin by the [Great Annihilation] skill was now embodied in the Scarlet Greatsword in the girl's hand.

And when the Kalleva gangsters realized that Irin could "extend" this terrifying state by killing them, keeping the Scarlet Greatsword in a constant state of blood-red brilliance, their last shred of fighting spirit vanished.

After all, this wasn't a battle at all; it was a completely one-sided slaughter.

Large swaths of gangsters chose to throw down their weapons and armor. Even Falmu's orders were ignored. They tossed their guns aside, completely dominated by fear. Only one word remained in their hearts: escape!

Unfortunately, it would have been better if they hadn't run. While continuous shooting was hard to hurt Irin, it at least could have pinned the girl down. Now that they had abandoned all resistance, Irin had no more concerns and could let loose completely, causing her speed in reaping the Kalleva members to become even faster.

Those excited "Ugh-ah!" sword shrieks merged into one, almost becoming the background noise of the factory.

"Bastards! Idiots! Fools! A bunch of useless trash!!" Falmu watched from the sidelines, anxious and cursing loudly.

But as a leader, he knew that in this situation, relying on ordinary gang members was useless.

The trusted aides who had been following him stepped forward at this moment. Each of them pulled a Corrupted Reagent from their robes and, without hesitation, plunged the needles into their own arms.

"Ugh-ugh-ugh-ahhh!"

As beastly roars erupted, the bodies of these aides suddenly expanded, bursting through their uniforms. Their muscles bulged, and just like the Grey Wolf at the Haisha Bar, they transformed into two-meter-tall, Berserk brutes.

This was Kalleva's ultimate trump card and the capital that allowed Falmu to dominate the Black Cave. They took long strides and charged toward Irin, their synchronized footsteps making the factory floor tremble.

In response, the girl with the greatsword reacted simply. She stood her ground, watching the four or five giants rush toward her, then held the greatsword diagonally to her left side and took a deep breath.

Swish!

With herself as the center, the girl swept the greatsword out in a 180-degree semicircle. The next scene showed the giants, who hadn't even touched the hem of Irin's clothes while still in the middle of their charge, being sliced in two at the waist, their upper and lower bodies severed before they collapsed to the ground with several heavy "thuds."

Was that the end?

Not at all!

Taking advantage of the time and attention the aides had bought for him, Falmu's true killing blow was hidden behind them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three gunshots rang out from Falmu's position. Don't be fooled by the fact that only three shots were fired, and from a handgun at that; these three shots dealt several times more damage to Irin than the previous hail of bullets ever had.

The reason was simple.

The bullets were different.

The empty casings currently under the feet of Falmu bore silver patterns; these were Sacred Pattern Silver Bullets, special weapons produced exclusively by The Church and the Knights Order, designed specifically to deal with the Corrupt Calamity crisis. They possessed immense lethality not only against Corrupt Calamity monsters but also against the Corrupted.

Those three shots had successfully pierced through the Scarlet Greatsword of Irin, leaving the caught-off-guard girl with bloody, gaping wounds in her waist, abdomen, and leg.

At this sight, Falmu finally felt a surge of wild joy in his heart. His sneak attack had succeeded; with these injuries, Irin's strength would undoubtedly be greatly diminished. As long as he could reorganize his men and maintain suppressive fire...

Falmu hadn't even finished formulating his counterattack plan when a scene that plunged him into total despair unfolded behind him.

He saw red mist beginning to drift from the corpses surrounding the girl. As if drawn to her, the mist began to surge toward Irin's three wounds.

In less than a few breaths, Falmu's eyes widened. The bloody holes he had just viewed as his hope—the result of a desperate sneak attack that had granted him a chance at survival—had already been completely repaired and healed.

So this is a Relic. Is this the power of a Relic!!

The jealousy in Falmu's eyes was practically overflowing, for these things should have belonged to him. It was they who had found the "Relic" to study first.

It was all that useless doctor's fault!

It was all because he had studied the "Relic" for decades, yet he wasn't even worth a single hair on that young man!!

Falmu, screaming in madness within his heart, knew he had lost—completely and utterly defeated. This was a Corrupted, a powerful Corrupted who could sweep through the Kalleva he had painstakingly built for so many years, leaving it without a shred of resistance.

As long as the green hills remain, there will be firewood to burn.

Falmu gave up entirely. Finally, just like the other gang members, he was consumed by the fear of Irin and turned to run.

But what he never expected was...

And what was completely unexpected to Irin, and even to the watching Liao Ji, was...

Puchi!

An experimental scalpel, the moment Falmu turned around, pierced precisely through his heart from behind.

The piercing pain stripped the leader of Kalleva of all his strength in an instant. Moreover, the assailant's cunning technique had struck his vital point perfectly, leaving him without even the strength to resist.

The only thing Falmu could do in these final seconds of his life was to stare with wide, angry eyes, filled with fury, confusion, and even bewilderment, as he looked at...

Doctor Loka.

hhh, yesterday's chapter note didn't survive until today and was sent to the "black room." I'll summarize it and post it in the comment section later.