The Last Legendary Weapons Master: Rise of the strongest player

Chapter 138: Encirclement

"Tough bastard..."

The Iron Demon had brushed aside everything Ethan possessed without effort.

Neither the Executioner’s Sword nor the Legion Arm had accomplished anything.

The demon’s armor was absurdly durable, impossibly hard, and despite Ethan reaching the Elite Rank and growing vastly stronger than before, he still could not do a thing against a King-rank monster.

For the first time, Ethan truly began to understand the gap between ranks in the cruelest way imaginable.

This was no longer a game viewed safely from behind a screen.

The logic of reality and the logic of a game were completely different.

Otherwise—

He should have at least been able to injure him.

The Iron Demon charged again.

And this time...

The cursed hunter did nothing.

His options had run dry.

There was nothing left he could use.

Two minutes.

That was how long Ethan had managed to survive against the Iron Demon.

Barely two minutes had passed since the start of their battle—

A completely one-sided battle.

"My role ends here..."

"There’s nothing else I can do."

The Legion Arm had temporarily shut down after releasing Overcharge.

And the Executioner’s Sword was useless against a monster like this.

But fortunately—

Ethan had bought two minutes.

And that was enough.

Enough for the other King in the area to finally notice what was happening and intervene.

Just as the Iron Demon rushed forward in a frenzy, intent on crushing Ethan’s skull—

The walls behind Ethan exploded apart.

A gigantic human figure burst through the debris.

He was not as tall as the demon, yet the overwhelming pressure pouring from his body felt just as monstrous.

A second before the demon’s fist could reach Ethan—

Another fist collided with it head-on.

The clash unleashed a massive explosion as their auras crashed violently together, producing a deafening metallic shockwave.

Jackson had arrived in time.

Golden Aura Armor erupted around his body at full power.

The pressure from the collision alone sent Ethan flying backward until his back slammed violently into a nearby building.

Jackson’s serpent-like eyes narrowed, glowing with a deep crimson light that concealed old hatred after recognizing the demon before him.

"The Iron Demon..."

"I didn’t expect to see your damned face again this soon."

Jackson spoke coldly.

The demon answered with a savage howl before the two monsters began exchanging blows mercilessly, smashing into one another without restraint.

A storm of fists.

Iron against iron.

Every single strike carried enough power to kill someone like Ethan instantly.

For once, Jackson fought seriously from the very beginning.

He did not dare hold back even slightly against a demon like this.

"His armor is insanely tough!"

"Don’t try to break it head-on! You’ll fail no matter what!"

Ethan shouted from the distance, warning Jackson about the strange black armor covering the demon’s body.

Destroying it looked impossible—

Even for Jackson.

The giant gritted his teeth while enduring another barrage of blows from the Iron Demon.

"I already know that!"

"I’ve fought this demonic son of a bitch before!"

It had happened many years ago.

And judging by Jackson’s expression, it had clearly not been a pleasant memory.

After all—

The Iron Demon was still alive.

At first, their brutal clash seemed evenly matched.

But after barely a minute of violent exchanges, Jackson took a step backward.

Then another.

The Iron Demon unleashed a monstrous roar as an enormous amount of black aura flooded around his fist.

"This bastard’s still as tough as ever!"

Jackson roared angrily.

Golden mana exploded around both his fists while his Aura Armor condensed entirely around them.

Gathering every ounce of strength he possessed, the giant struck the Iron Demon square in the chest with both fists at once, exploiting the fact that he was slightly faster.

The instant his fists connected—

Golden energy detonated violently.

The Iron Demon’s massive body was blasted away by the pressure.

The demon flew through the air.

Jackson immediately leaped after him.

When the Iron Demon looked upward, he found the giant already above him, fist drawn all the way back while gathering every shred of his explosive power into a single strike.

"I don’t know why you left the Cathedral..."

"But you came at the perfect time."

"This cursed land will become your grave!"

Golden energy spiraled violently around Jackson’s fist, empowering it with terrifying force.

Then he unleashed it.

The Iron Demon raised both arms to shield his face and endured the devastating blow head-on.

This explosion was far greater than the previous one.

Entire sections of the ancient city collapsed under the impact.

The momentum of Jackson’s punch sent both of them crashing through building after building.

The first.

The second.

The third.

They only stopped after smashing through the tenth structure.

Watching from afar, Ethan stood frozen in place, completely stunned by what he was seeing.

"So this is..."

"The true power of Kings..."

The sheer destructive force of those monsters left him speechless.

Back when he played Ordeal, battles like these happened inside confined arenas.

He had never truly understood just how much destruction beings of this level could unleash upon the world itself.

After the deafening explosion shook the entire city—

The hunters finally emerged after managing to regroup themselves.

Some had clearly been asleep only moments ago.

That much was obvious from their faces.

As expected, Moon and Gustav were at the front, both staring at the destruction around them with visible shock.

Ethan immediately turned toward them and gave the fastest explanation he could.

"He’s a King-rank demon specializing in direct physical combat."

"His durability is monstrous, so don’t get close to him."

Jackson was holding him back for now—

But the giant clearly was not enough to win alone.

"If close-range attacks won’t work..."

"Then we’ll attack from a distance."

Moon spoke calmly before turning toward Luna, the other mages, and the archers who were already preparing themselves.

"Use fire! It’s his weakness"

Ethan shouted, finally revealing the Iron Demon’s weak point.

Fire truly affected him.

The problem was that it would take an overwhelming amount of it before any real damage could be dealt.

Meanwhile—

Jackson and the demon continued tearing into each other with everything they had.

Jackson’s last strike had landed successfully and managed to crack the armor protecting the demon’s arms.

But cracks were not enough.

He had failed to break it completely.

Meaning the attack still had not caused any real damage despite being one of Jackson’s strongest blows.

Jackson’s physical blessing vastly increased his durability, allowing him to endure many of the demon’s attacks.

But he was not immune to pain.

The damage was accumulating little by little.

He understood perfectly well that continuing the fight like this was a terrible decision.

But he had no choice except holding the monster back.

Otherwise, the Iron Demon would break through the hunters and slaughter them all.

’If I want to kill him...’

’I’ll have to keep attacking the same area repeatedly until the armor finally breaks.’

Jackson realized he needed to target a vital area—

The chest, for example.

There was no point trying to strike the blind spots where armor was absent.

Landing attacks there was nearly impossible.

To win, he needed at least three full-power strikes directly against the Iron Demon’s chest.

But the demon fought like a mad beast, attacking relentlessly while instinctively protecting himself whenever he sensed a dangerous blow coming.

That made victory unbelievably difficult.

Then the flow of battle suddenly changed.

Multiple attacks crashed into the Iron Demon simultaneously, drowning him in flames.

Fire spells.

Flaming arrows.

Waves of burning mana struck him from every direction.

The barrage distracted the demon for only a brief moment—

But that was enough.

Jackson immediately launched another direct strike into the monster’s chest, blasting him backward once more.

Then he chased after him instantly, refusing to give him room to breathe.

As he moved, Jackson noticed the mages and archers positioned around the battlefield in the distance.

’Did they already discover his weakness?’

’Or was it just luck?’

Jackson realized he had never told them the Iron Demon was weak to fire.

Yet they had attacked with it anyway.

And it had distracted the monster far more than expected.

The Iron Demon lunged toward Jackson again, fury overflowing from every movement.

His killing intent expanded outward toward the mages stationed behind the battlefield, clearly wishing to rip them apart first.

But Jackson refused to let him pass.

He intercepted him successfully once more.

Even so—

He still needed two more decisive strikes if he wanted to shatter the armor completely.

And the Iron Demon no longer looked distracted despite being bombarded with flames from every direction.

Then both Jackson and the demon realized something at the same time.

The mages and archers had only been a distraction.

The true attack came from the blind spots.

Moon and Ethan rushed from the right.

Gustav and Raiden attacked from the left.

Meanwhile, the remaining members of the First Squad descended from behind, completely surrounding the Iron Demon.

’What the hell are they doing?’

’Don’t they understand this monster can kill most of them in a single hit?’

Jackson frowned deeply while doing everything possible to keep the Iron Demon focused solely on him.

But it was not enough.

The monster had already sensed the others approaching.

And the moment he realized he was being surrounded ...

The Iron Demon began attacking wildly in every direction.