Chapter 128
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: The Black Orc Legion on the West Coast - 3
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Black tentacles rose from deep underground, slithering up the side of a building.
Krrrrr—
“Crazy… Where the hell did that thing come from?”
Leaping from a half-tilted building and landing on the ground, Kang Seo-yoon nocked an arrow to her bowstring.
A thick haze of pale dust blanketed the city, making it impossible to get a clear view of the tentacles’ form.
Still, as an archer-class Player, she quickly analyzed the massive monster's appearance.
‘It’s crawling out from deep underground.’
It seemed to have been summoned in an underground facility, destroying the basements of the surrounding buildings in the process.
That was why the buildings, unable to bear the weight, had crumbled like sandcastles.
She then used her ‘Hunter's Eye’ skill to get a closer look at the creature.
Finally, she was able to identify it, more or less.
“Uh… it’s a snake?”
At the end of the continuous, smooth curves that stretched out like tentacles, a pair of red eyes glowed.
Kreeeeeh—!
A gaping maw lined with venomous fangs opened wide, biting down on the building’s exterior and crushing it.
Krrrrunch—!
That wasn't the only head of its kind, which resembled a giant shredder.
From the pit in the ground, a total of nine necks rose, writhing behind the pale dust.
‘That’s… a Hydra!’
The Hydra. A top-tier magical beast, an entity that even world-class rankers would rarely encounter.
Even Kang Seo-yoon, ranked fourth in the country, had only heard stories. This was her first time seeing one in person.
‘Damn it, if that thing is fully summoned and starts spewing poison, we’ll have an even bigger problem.’
In mythology, the Hydra's venom was famously potent enough to make even a god commit suicide.
If they didn't stop it now, it would soon spread its horrific poison throughout the entire city.
‘Will my attack… even work?’
Despite her doubts, Kang Seo-yoon lowered her stance and drew her bowstring.
Ka-boooom—!
The moment her arrow struck the creature’s fourth head, a powerful explosion erupted.
However, the beast didn't even flinch.
Tsssss—
It merely closed its eyes for a moment before opening them again, its red pupils darting around.
Kang Seo-yoon quickly ducked behind a truck.
*Click—*
She flicked a switch on her quiver, changing the arrowhead to one made of 100% pure orichalcum.
If she aimed for its eyes with this, she should be able to inflict some effective piercing damage.
- Now, everyone calm down! That’s obviously a giant boss monster, right? I got bitten by something like that not long ago, and I know you can't take on that type of enemy alone, so let's not get reckless! Okay?
A voice came through her earpiece—it was Oh Sang-guk.
He was right.
It had been a long time since she had faced an opponent she couldn't dare to be reckless with.
- So, let's all gather in one place and work systematically. That’s what we do best, right?
"Hah… but we don't have time. The summoning will be complete soon."
- Guildmaster Kang, don't forget that the one who summoned it is here.
"Right. As expected of a boss monster… if it's a Player, it must be a summoner on par with, or even greater than, Ki Baek-jun."
If the summoner was a Black Orc, it would be at least a boss-monster-grade shaman.
And it would undoubtedly be accompanied by formidable warriors as guards.
"So, is the bastard in the basement?"
That voice was Han Tae-san's. He was already standing behind Kang Seo-yoon.
Brushing the dust off his clothes, he walked brazenly toward the Hydra.
"Hey! Don't be rash! Let's plan to strike it together!"
But Han Tae-san acted as if he hadn't heard a word, tilting his head up to look at something.
"Tsk—Lee Hyun-wook, that bastard is here again…"
"Huh? If Lee Hyun-wook is here, then what happened on Ganghwa Island?"
- Um, I heard Lee Hyun-wook is leading the assault on Ganghwa Island right now. Where is he?
The question came from Oh Sang-guk. He had been listening to real-time reports on the battle for the island.
"Then what's that?"
Han Tae-san pointed his index finger toward the sky.
Ruuuumble—
Thick, dark clouds had already gathered, blanketing the Seoul sky, and lightning flickered within them.
Kang Seo-yoon nodded in agreement.
"That looks like the lightning strike skill Lee Hyun-wook used…"
She, too, had witnessed him use something similar during the Phaeton raid on Jeju Island.
Wheeeeen—
Just then, a siren began to wail from above their heads.
"Uh… that sounds like it's coming from Laputa?"
- I think that's a signal for us to get back, so let's move!
They instinctively put distance between themselves and the Hydra.
In that instant, the world turned white.
Cra-a-a-a-ack—!
Hundreds of lightning bolts rained down, striking the Hydra as it emerged from the pit.
Ka-boom-boom-boom-boom—!
At a glance, it wasn't so much light falling as it was a torrential downpour of electricity… The debris of collapsed buildings was sent flying in all directions, battering the surrounding structures.
That wasn't the end of it.
Bzzzzzzzt—!
The lightning that struck did not dissipate. Instead, it rose again, coalescing into a massive sphere of electricity.
The sphere enveloped the Hydra's entire body, crackling violently as it fried the beast whole.
The Hydra’s body cooked rapidly, as if it were being microwaved in a giant oven.
"Hmm… could it be that kid Lee Hyun-wook always has with him?"
Han Tae-san clicked his tongue with a "Tsk—" and looked up at Laputa.
Park Jun-mo. He had also been in the public eye, along with Lee Hyun-wook.
But he had never demonstrated such overwhelming power.
"When did that kid get so strong?"
However…
Sssssss…
"Damn it…"
Despite taking that incredible electrical onslaught, the Hydra was completely unharmed.
A black shroud now covered the monster's massive body.
"...Someone applied a high-level defensive magic at that very moment."
And behind it, the figures of several Black Orcs appeared.
Pshhhh—
Simultaneously, through the smoke, the Hydra's nine heads and eighteen crimson eyes emerged.
***
A staggering 105,000 ‘Magic Metal Items’ had been buried throughout Ganghwa Island.
Considering the ones planted on other islands, the number was truly astronomical.
‘Securing this many weapons in such a short time was only possible because the government stepped in.’
At Lee Hyun-wook's request, the military's arsenals had been operating at full capacity, day and night, for the past few days.
‘…The people’s taxes have been converted into my firepower. I have a duty to use it properly.’
Meanwhile, the majority of the 105,000 items were a new type of weapon called the ‘Fire Trap’.
[Item Information]
- Name: Fire Trap (Advanced)
- Effect: Caution! A strong impact to the center will cause a ‘Flame Explosion’.
This item’s activation was set not to ‘Mana Infusion’ but to ‘Explosive Charge Detonation’. While this made it dangerous to handle, it had the distinct advantage of inducing a ‘Chain Explosion’ with minimal mana investment.
In other words, if they were planted correctly, Lee Hyun-wook could detonate all 105,000 of them by himself.
And just a moment ago, that had become a reality.
A perfect one, at that…
Rumble-rumble-rumble…
Viewed from the sky, Ganghwa Island was a devastating sight. Every surface was covered in a pale gray smoke, simmering and sizzling. It looked like staring down at a burnt-out charcoal briquette.
The coastlines and some of the flatter terrain, where the Black Orc forces had been concentrated, were completely overturned as if tilled by a giant plow. Desperate screams rose ceaselessly from below.
In front of Lee Hyun-wook's eyes, a stream of system messages announced his earned contribution.
- You have killed a Black Orc Warrior and earned Contribution Points. (+4)
- You have killed a Black Orc Warrior and earned Contribution Points. (+7)
- You have killed an Elite Black Orc Warrior and earned Contribution Points. (+11)
.
.
.
‘I killed 2,105 of them with this trap alone.’
That number only included confirmed kills.
‘If you include those crippled by the blast, the number would be several times higher.’
In short, he had successfully landed a blow powerful enough to leave the invaders utterly disoriented. Even the most valiant Black Orcs couldn't possibly maintain their sanity amidst explosions erupting from beneath their feet.
But that alone didn't mean victory.
He needed a decisive finishing move to end this war.
‘Right, this is where it really begins.’
- *Tchk*—Commencing Ganghwa Island landing operation.
Whooooosh—
Led by the Steel Fleet, the aerial transport units began to advance.
Simultaneously, hundreds of rubber boats that had been on standby at sea started their engines all at once.
The once-empty Ganghwa Strait was instantly filled with all manner of vessels.
It was a swift assault, like a pack of hyenas spotting a sick, fallen water buffalo.
They all advanced rapidly, unleashing all kinds of magic toward the black dome.
Dozens of spells, all focused on a single point…
Ba-ba-ba-ba-boom—!
One side of the black dome shattered, cascading down like broken glass.
- Breach at point 3-1! We're moving in!
The black smoke that had covered Ganghwa Island dissipated, but a thick gray haze from the explosions still hung in the air. The ROK A.M.T. landing forces used this phenomenon as a ‘smoke screen’ and charged forward boldly.
Boom—!
A fire spell flew from somewhere, targeting a rubber boat, but thankfully, it missed completely. With visibility obscured, hitting a small rubber boat crossing the long strait was nearly impossible.
- *Tchk*—Snipers, identify and destroy anti-air weaponry on the coast and in the mountains!
From the airships, magical vessels capable of stable ‘hovering’, snipers leaned out, raising their bows and crossbows. They took aim and destroyed the ‘anti-air weapons’ that had survived Lee Hyun-wook's demolition.
- Seal Team 1, landing successful. Securing the houses at the front!
- Seal Team 4, landing successful. Occupying the hill to the right!
The stream of radio communications confirmed that the landing operation was proceeding successfully.
- Eleven o'clock, nine Black Orcs spotted. Commencing suppressive fire!
Shhh-shhh-shhh-shhh—!
The Black Orcs, already battered and maimed by the explosions, could offer little resistance.
"Priest Platoon 2, deploy a magic barrier at the entry point for the follow-up landing force!"
"Form a shield wall on the downslope at three o'clock to prepare for enemy assault!"
The operation to secure the island was carried out systematically, following a ‘scenario’ that had been practiced numerous times over the past few days.
As a result, within just five minutes, hundreds of A.M.T. troops had landed and established positions across the island.
Immediately after, bright blue flashes of light—teleports—began to appear one after another along the coast.
Fwoooosh—
Stepping out from within were the ‘support Players’ who had gathered at Gimpo International Airport.
It seemed the teams capable of long-range teleportation had boldly arrived first.
"Whew—this is the island taken over by the Black Orcs, right?"
"Whoa, crazy! He really blew up an entire island by himself?"
They scanned their surroundings, then drew their weapons and took up positions with their teams.
But unlike the A.M.T. landing force that preceded them, they carried themselves with a casual, almost cocky air.
"Alright, snap out of it and get ready to raid! We've gotta grab as many kills as we can, right?"
"Don't forget this is a big event, everyone. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
Shouting such greedy lines, they began hunting the Black Orcs that were still breathing… and their assault was truly formidable. Perhaps it was their greed that made them so strong…
"Oh! These guys are pretty tough for mere orcs."
"Hey, don't let your guard down. I heard the elite Black Orcs are pretty strong."
"Hahaha—they're still orcs, aren't they? Die, you beast!"
Thwack—!
A group of about a hundred relatively unharmed Black Orcs charged, but they were dispatched in an instant.
Meanwhile, Lee Hyun-wook simply watched the scene from the air.
"Wow… look at that Steel Rain guy. Just watching leisurely like he's some kind of general."
"Seriously. He's probably thinking he's already racked up all the 'contribution' he needs. Kinda pisses me off…"
"Hey, think about how many he killed with that one blast. If it were me, I'd be relaxing too."
In truth, however, Lee Hyun-wook was scanning the center of Ganghwa Island through Hugin.
After an assault of this magnitude, the boss monsters would be preparing for ‘Phase 3’.
If he failed to spot that moment quickly, they might be hit with an unexpected counterattack.
But…
‘Strange… did Stonox not come himself?’
The center of Ganghwa Island was still shrouded in thick black smoke, but there was no sign of Stonox.
No, he couldn't see any other boss monsters either.
‘Huh, what's that?’
Just then, his eyes caught some suspicious traces.
Within the black smoke, numerous Black Orc corpses were scattered about.
But the ground there showed no signs of any explosion.
It seemed they had used some skill to momentarily defend against his demolition.
And yet, so many Black Orcs had died in one place…
‘They were… used as sacrifices.’
The ‘shamanism’ used by the Black Orcs shared its roots with ‘black magic’.
However, shamanism required a greater price. And that price was usually a ‘human sacrifice’. The Orc King, Stonox, used his abundant troops like consumables to borrow the power of ancient gods.
Now, clear evidence of several hundred sacrifices being offered had been found in the center of Ganghwa Island.
But from what Lee Hyun-wook had observed, no large-scale area-of-effect or summoning skills had been detected.
Which meant…
‘…A large-scale spatial movement magic.’
Lee Hyun-wook hurriedly opened his mana messenger and called for Yeo Sang-min.
"Yeo Sang-min, check if anything is happening over at Laputa."
Yeo Sang-min's clone was currently present on both Prydwen and Laputa.
Thus, he could immediately grasp the situation on both sides.
- Ah, just a moment ago at Seoul Station… it seems an unidentified giant monster was summoned.
Now he understood the situation.
The moment the explosion occurred here, they must have instantly changed their strategy.
Perhaps seeing a significant portion of their forces incapacitated, they had decided that a prolonged siege was pointless.
They were now pouring all their remaining forces into their primary objective to achieve their goal.
Lee Hyun-wook took out a few items from the subspace of an AD-2.
It was the ‘Iron Golem's Core’ he had obtained from CAR.
Five in total. Lee Hyun-wook scattered them to various locations across Ganghwa Island.
And when he imbued them with mana—
Crack-crack-crack—
The metal fragments scattered all around began to gather around the Iron Golem's Cores.
They fused rapidly, and in an instant, four Iron Golems were born.
- You have secured ‘Master Authority’ over the Iron Golems. (4/43)
"Uh… what's that all of a sudden?"
The Players nearby looked bewildered.
But among them, one particularly large core was still undergoing ‘fusion’.
[Item Information]
- Name: Ancient Iron Golem's Core (Heroic)
- Effect: When mana is infused, it attracts nearby metal to become a ‘golem’. (The size of the created golem can increase up to 2 times, depending on the amount of mana infused and the amount of nearby metal.)
‘This one was originally 12 meters tall and about 1,000 tons, right? But it can get up to twice that size?’
That meant a giant steel golem reaching up to 24 meters and 2,000 tons could be created.
And right now, there was an enormous amount of metal scattered about.
All because 105,000 ‘Fire Traps’ had been incinerated across the island.
There was more than enough metal to create a monster of that size.
Lee Hyun-wook then tossed a few more items onto it, as if sprinkling salt.
They were iron stakes made of 100% pure adamant, weighing about 30 kg in total. Of course, compared to the size of the golem, it was a paltry amount. It might be enough to form a few fingers at best.
‘But it's more than enough to forge a single weapon.’
Lee Hyun-wook shaped the 30 kg of adamant into a single spearhead.
He then drew in other metals to form a 20-meter-long shaft and joined the two parts.
Crrrackle—
At that moment, the half-completed ‘Ancient Iron Golem’ grasped the spear shaft.
Thud—!
The 24-meter-tall metal giant took a single step, and the ground of Ganghwa Island trembled as if in an earthquake.
And with each step, metal fragments buried nearby flew toward it, expanding its body.
It was such a spectacle that it brought the fierce battle to a temporary halt.
"Crazy, it's so hard to get an intact Iron Golem core. What the hell is that giant one?"
"No matter how you look at it, Lee Hyun-wook is controlling that… How is that possible?"
But the scene that followed was even more incomprehensible.
"...Huh?"
Grappling hooks shot out from Prydwen's ramp door and began to wrap around the golems' bodies.
"Don't tell me he's planning to airlift them or something?"
"He moved that huge weapon crate around with those hooks and teleported it, right?"
"Nah, that thing must have its own built-in portal technology…"
No one could guess what Lee Hyun-wook was planning to do.
His body, floating in mid-air, slowly moved and entered Prydwen's ramp door.
"Director Woo, I'm heading to Laputa. I'm leaving the cleanup to you."
And in that instant, Prydwen and the Iron Golems vanished simultaneously.
***
Boom—!
The 2,042-ton metal giant landed on the Order Tower's airship port, causing Laputa to lurch.
「(X_X) Ack! The, the airship port… is partially damaged, Master…」
Talos's startled voice echoed in his head.
And from a distance, he could hear the squawks of the Gray Dwarves.
「(+_+) Oh! What is that beautiful giant?」
"Yeo Sang-min, move to a position with a clear view of Seoul Station."
Yeo Sang-min piloted Prydwen out of Laputa's dome.
Soon, he was looking down at the scene unfolding near Seoul Station below.
"...Hmm, looks like a few buildings are missing."
And in the midst of the chaos, he saw the nine-headed monster snake, the Hydra.
"Didn't Hercules pin down the Hydra's head with a heavy rock when he fought it?"
Lee Hyun-wook muttered to himself as he controlled the Ancient Iron Golem.
Thump— Thump—
Its massive body moved slowly, stopping near Laputa's railing.
"I suppose I should show them that rain isn't the only thing I can make fall."
At that moment, the 2,042-ton metal giant, clutching a 20-meter adamant spear, threw itself into the air.
A colossal shadow fell over Seoul Station.