Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Desperate Charge
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The White Skeleton scanned his surroundings once more. He was checking if any other mercenaries might show up—or even if there was anything else that could help him, mercenary or not.
There was nothing.
No, the mercenary had surely seen the fight just now and contacted Halloween Pumpkin and Method. If he waited for them to provide backup, he might still have a chance.
But how could he know when they’d arrive?
In their search for Meteor and Beauty Art, they had spread the mercenaries across the wasteland, and White Skeleton, Halloween Pumpkin, and Method had divided the wasteland into three broad sections.
White Skeleton took the Silarimit side, Method the center, and Halloween Pumpkin the Moros Gorge area.
With them spread so far apart, even if Method—the closest—raced over at full speed, it would still take considerable time.
The same went for the mercenaries. Sure, since they were scattered everywhere, some would arrive much faster than Halloween Pumpkin or Method. But even they would need some time.
Could he hold out that long? White Skeleton wasn’t confident.
“And even if the mercenaries arrive, I’m not sure they’d help.”
Hadn’t the one just now been silenced effortlessly by Meteor’s long-range sniping? A few stragglers wouldn’t change anything—they’d just follow in the dead mercenary’s footsteps.
To be a real force, they’d need to come in a group. But gathering the scattered mercenaries would take time again.
“…Haha.”
He laughed.
No matter how the situation played out, the reality of being threatened by someone so many levels below him—and the fact that it wouldn’t end as just a threat if he stayed put—was utterly ridiculous.
But it was the truth.
“I can’t just stay here.”
He had no intention of sitting idly by and offering up his life.
“My options are limited.”
Flee or charge to the death.
But the word “flee” made something surge up inside him.
“Flee from here?”
Against someone so much lower level, no less?
When facing the Western Garden, he’d fled without a second thought—but that was the Western Garden.
He’d already taken enough beatings; what was one more retreat? But that very thought clashed with his refusal to show his back to a low-level player.
In the end, his pride won out.
His battered pride refused to take even one more step backward.
And then.
“…He might still have the Necronomicon replica.”
The guy only seemed to have picked up a new item; White Skeleton hadn’t seen him hand over the Necronomicon replica or use it.
He knew it. This was beyond hope—it was obsession and stubbornness.
Was it that desperate for him? Or just an excuse to avoid running?
It didn’t matter. He emptied his mind.
“Right now, just focus on killing that bastard.”
The White Skeleton moved.
To kill Meteor, he’d need to deploy even the defensive Dullahan. But if he separated from it, he’d be turned into Swiss cheese by Meteor’s gunfire.
“Move together.”
That was his only option.
Taat!
The defensive Dullahan charged toward Meteor. The White Skeleton stuck close to it.
No shots came flying.
“He must think it’s hard to deal damage through the shield.”
It couldn’t be that he hadn’t noticed. The guy had fired at him the moment the defensive Dullahan strayed even slightly. There was no way he’d miss them charging right at him now.
He pulled back the offensive Dullahan toward his position too. He planned to operate both at once for the attack.
“Perfect!”
The two merged. The defensive Dullahan led, while the offensive one targeted Meteor from behind.
“How long’s it been since I fought like this?”
The first Dullahan he’d made was offensive, the second defensive. Back then, the defensive one blocked up front while the offensive one struck at openings.
That formation from when he was still inexperienced as a Necromancer and as Ark’s player. A strange nostalgia welled up.
But such sentiment was far too soft on this battlefield—against Meteor, especially.
Taang!
“Ugh!”
A shock hit his leg.
“An opening!”
He hurriedly moved the defensive Dullahan to block where the shot had come from.
Taang!
“Guh!”
Another shot.
The same leg again. The White Skeleton glared furiously at the source. He could see Meteor casually reloading.
“You bastard!”
He pushed forward with the defensive Dullahan again. Meteor leaped to the side.
Tang! Tang!
No matter how large the Dullahan’s shield, it had limits. It was fine when protecting just him. With only one to guard, the defensive Dullahan had leeway.
But now there were two to protect. Gaps appeared that the shield couldn’t cover—whether for him or the offensive Dullahan.
Plus, with the offensive Dullahan positioned behind the defensive one, Meteor had complete freedom.
Against anyone else, such tiny gaps wouldn’t matter. But Meteor exploited them with chilling precision.
Tang! Tang!
The White Skeleton ground his teeth as Meteor spun and fired.
“I misjudged!”
He should have accounted for what a monster his opponent was.
Meteor holstered his pistol entirely. He pulled a rifle from his inventory.
“No!”
Anyone could see it dealt more damage than the pistol.
“No way he can shoot while moving like with the pistol, right?”
He’d endured enough nightmares already. He didn’t want any more.
But wielding the rifle like an extension of his body was effortless for Meteor.
He’d survived a brutal world where failure meant death.
A bullet struck the offensive Dullahan’s leg.
“No choice.”
The White Skeleton bit his lip.
Staying put would just get him killed without doing anything.
“Have the offensive Dullahan charge again.”
The countermeasure he’d deployed had only amplified the danger.
Worse, his only options were even riskier gambles—tactics that could only buy a brief extension of time, ones he’d rejected moments ago as too dangerous.
But even that wasn’t easy.
Wobble!
“What now?!”
He finally shouted aloud. Nothing was going right. Every attempt was thwarted, every move obstructed.
“Ice?”
The offensive Dullahan’s foot was frozen white.
“Freezing bullet?”
Some special ammo.
“But it wasn’t this effective before?”
Even in knee-deep water, resistant to ice attributes, it had only created a brief opening. Yet now the ice lingered.
“How…!”
But he was just frustrated by the unfolding chaos; he could think of reasons easily enough.
An item, a skill, or both.
It didn’t matter. He was at a disadvantage either way.
Fortunately, the freeze didn’t last forever. But could he call it fortunate?
Taang!
A freezing bullet struck the offensive Dullahan’s leg again as it tried to charge.
Crack!
The leg froze solid once more. Naturally, its speed plummeted.
Tang! Tang! Tang!
Meteor shouldered the rifle, drew his pistol, and hammered the offensive Dullahan’s head.
Thud!
The offensive Dullahan buckled at the waist. Stunned.
“Arrrghhh!”
The White Skeleton roared. The defensive Dullahan moved to block in front of it. Left alone, the offensive one would’ve died.
“You damn…!”
Puk!
Rage and helplessness choked back his curse as a bullet slipped through the gap created by the defensive Dullahan’s hasty movement to cover the offensive one. It struck his skull.
“Aaaagh!”
He couldn’t even curse properly. His fury boiled over.
“I can’t give that guy distance!”
A bitter lesson, but the ship had sailed.
Tang!
Meteor’s storm of bullets continued.
“Somehow, I need to close in.”
But no method came to mind. With stun and freezing bullets, his Dullahans couldn’t approach without becoming sieves. Or he would.
As he reached for a potion to heal the accumulating damage from stray shots—
Puk!
A bullet shattered the potion vial, piercing his hand. The liquid soaked his skull and hand before vanishing.
He had no time for curses now. He huddled tight behind the shield and grabbed another potion.
Tang! Tang! Tang!
In exchange, the offensive Dullahan was brutally exposed.
“…Only one path left.”
The White Skeleton thought after downing the potion.
No matter how he racked his brain, no escape came to mind. At best, a final outburst.
Not some half-hearted “ready to die” charge. A suicidal rush, determined to take the guy down with him even in death.
“Do it fast.”
Even now, his Dullahans’ energy was draining.
“Now!”
Thud!
The defensive Dullahan slammed its shield into the ground. The pointed base dug deep, anchoring it. The White Skeleton pressed his back against it.
“Go!”
The defensive Dullahan leaped forward from behind the shield.
“You too!”
The offensive Dullahan charged.
“Close in! Somehow, close in!”
For now, the fixed shield was his only cover. As a Necromancer, he lacked the strength to wield, let alone lift it. It was just static cover now. Meteor could bypass it easily.
So during that time, the Dullahans had to reach and attack Meteor—to restrict his freedom as much as possible.
Tatatatatang!
Gunfire echoed beyond the shield. He edged to the rim and peeked out.
“Damn.”
No shots came for him, as feared. Meteor’s target was fixed on the two Dullahans.
But that wasn’t good news.
Their legs encased in ice, mobility crippled, heads battered by gunfire—they buckled. Despite racing toward Meteor under orders, the distance was too vast.
And then.
Puk!
Another bullet buried into the offensive Dullahan’s head. It buckled again.
Stun once more?
But its movement didn’t stop there.
It dropped to its knees, hands slamming the ground. The face it clutched tightly rolled away.
Thud!
Its body collapsed to the earth.
“…….”
The White Skeleton stared blankly.
* * *
With one Dullahan dead, the battle was decided. Or perhaps it had been from the start.
Thud!
Even the remaining Dullahan fell. Meteor walked toward the still-upright shield.
With no chance left, the White Skeleton emerged from behind it. They locked eyes briefly. But only briefly. Meteor aimed at him.
“…Just one question.”
The White Skeleton spoke.
“Do you really not have the Necronomicon replica?”
Meteor shook his head.
“No. Beauty Art already used it.”
“I see.”
That was it. Meteor’s bullets poured into the White Skeleton. Soon, his body slowly toppled.
‘Necronomicon replica.’
The item he desperately needed to break his level cap.
‘Fuck, now even the name makes me sick.’
That was the White Skeleton’s final thought as his vision faded to black.