Chapter 34. First Raid (2)
“Get lost. I don’t need you.”
Unable to hold back, Serin spat out the curse, her face twisting slightly as she unfurled Solgaleh’s feathers once more.
“Just focus on pulling aggro.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
It was the reaction he’d expected. There was still plenty of time. Serin was probably convinced she’d figure out the patterns after a bit more fighting and claim victory.
Jeonghyeon was a patient man, so for now, he decided to play along with her tune.
“Let’s go, Philip.”
“Yessir!”
***
Thud-boom!
“Urgh!”
Rather than her figuring out the patterns, it seemed Serin was the one getting read. She took a hit from a pillar sprouting from the golem’s body and went flying far off.
Whoosh!
Spreading her wings, she barely halted in midair. Wiping the blood trickling from her mouth, Serin assessed the battlefield.
“Damn it! How many of these things are there?!”
“From that side first! They’re splitting!”
They’d been fighting the same way for hours now, and the hunters were visibly exhausted.
The solid defensive line was gradually pushed back. And due to faltering focus, the ranged dealers’ attacks even started hitting Serin by mistake.
No matter how much Serin slashed and cut, the Bell of the Great Mountain endlessly split apart, forcing the other guild members to deal with even more golems. Philip and Jeonghyeon pulled aggro as best they could, but no weaknesses showed.
After slashing and hacking a few times, when the guild members got pushed too far and they moved to help by clearing trash mobs, the Bell of the Great Mountain would absorb its fragments and return to full size before they knew it.
Endless repetition.
Eventually, even Serin’s concentration slipped. Solgaleh’s feathers dimmed, and she lost her wings, crashing to the ground.
Thud!
The fact that Solgaleh’s feathers—which didn’t even consume mana—had dimmed showed just how exhausted even she was.
“Huff…… huff……”
With blood and sweat mixing, blurring her vision from her fingertips onward, Jeonghyeon approached Serin.
“It’s not too late even now. We need to change strategy.”
“……”
Serin’s expression twisted. From start to finish, it must have felt like Jeonghyeon had set this whole thing up just to screw her over.
“What is it.”
Finally swallowing her pride and extending a hand for help, she spat out the words grudgingly.
Jeonghyeon knew her mindset all too well, so this time, he didn’t tease or smirk.
“Switch all remaining forces to handling the trash mobs.”
“What difference does that make?”
“A big one.”
“From now on, you and I will be the bait to draw in the Bell of the Great Mountain.”
“While my hunter, Philip, builds up his power.”
At those words, Philip—who’d just smashed a nearby trash mob—widened his eyes in surprise.
“M-me, sir?”
“……”
But Serin seemed to grasp Jeonghyeon’s intent right away, clamping her mouth shut and glaring at him silently.
“Not double strike—any other skills?”
“Two.”
Philip’s active skills were Shout—which Jeonghyeon could amplify—and Value Proof, gained from his Epic weapon. Excluding double strike, just those two.
“That’s it?”
“Two’s plenty.”
But with those two, the Bell of the Great Mountain—not to mention any golems to come—would never beat Philip. Like in an idle clicker game, where versatile characters shine everywhere but cap out early, versus ones that dominate specific dungeons and attributes.
Elemental superiority.
Jeonghyeon’s mind raced.
“Try trusting us once.”
Whether due to his confident demeanor or hanging hopes on Philip, Serin decided to trust these two strangers for her guild’s sake.
“All hands, defensive posture! Everyone except me and these two hunters—deal with anything splitting off from the Bell of the Great Mountain!”
“Y-yes……?”
Junseok came running over, still sulking as he addressed Serin.
Jeonghyeon blocked him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“I get that you’re pissed.”
Not his usual playful tone, but a grave, weighty low voice. Junseok couldn’t shake off the hand easily.
“What you two handle is the most crucial. This plan revolves around you and Philip.”
“Wh-what……?”
This wasn’t some offhand lie to soothe him. This strategy was tailor-made, based on the guildmaster’s read of Kingdom guild members’ tendencies.
“Listen up, everyone, from now on.”
***
-First, the ranged dealers will attack the splitting fragments to pull their aggro.
Shoo-boom!
Fireballs, blast shots, and other magic and ranged skills blanketed the sky.
Tired as they were, Kingdom was Kingdom. With perfect accuracy, they hit the fragment golems, which then advanced on the ranged dealers.
-The fragments heading for ranged dealers will be handled by melee dealers.
“Ready?”
Junseok drew his spear and infused wind mana into his body. Swinging it through the air with a whoosh spread the mana around him.
An A-rank buff massively boosting movement speed, attack speed, and even reaction time. Swiftness.
“Raaah!”
“Charge!!”
Junseok and his melee dealer allies rushed the incoming fragments.
-In that process, quickly reading the battlefield, keeping aggro off us by holding the fragments’ attention, and issuing orders amid it all—that’s on Junseok. Everyone, trust and follow him.
He can do it, right?
Jeonghyeon had gathered the guild members and given special instructions only to Junseok during the ordering. The pivotal role in this strategy: stalling, protecting the ranged dealers.
“Watch…… and learn!!”
Junseok swung his spear, sweeping across the front lines where golems charged.
All golems’ aggro snapped to him instantly. Like a mounted knight, he skillfully herded them into one spot.
“Smash ‘em!”
As Junseok pulled back, the melee dealers unleashed concentrated fire.
The Bell of the Great Mountain regenerated no matter what, but these fragment golems took time to rise once fully smashed.
Using that gap for kiting hunts, then Junseok returning to smash them again at regen timing.
Thud-boom! Boom!
The front line didn’t budge an inch, beautiful piles of golem rubble towers growing one by one.
“Ranged, ignore us completely! Keep eyes only on fragments!!”
“Got it!!”
Weaving through the lines against fragment golems, Junseok caught sight of the Bell of the Great Mountain.
-The guildmaster and I will pull the Bell’s aggro without leaving fragments, as much as possible.
Serin and Jeonghyeon perfectly controlled the Bell from sky and ground.
To manage the Bell—which absorbed golems and reverted upon taking certain damage—they sometimes baited fragments with attacks, other times circled to drain its mana.
“Raaah!”
Keeeng!
The golem emitted a bizarre resonance, red light bursting from the hole in its center.
“It’s coming! Now!”
“I see it too!”
In that instant, golden radiance gathered on Serin’s whip sword. It blazed like a second sun, making even hunters squint.
Serin unleashed the gathered light, thrusting her whip sword into the red glow’s source.
Thud-BOOM!!!
A massive roar echoed as the Bell took a direct hit, staggering wildly and toppling to the ground.
Crash!
The earth shook with the impact, silence blanketing the field.
“Is it…… dead……?”
Serin muttered softly. Jeonghyeon chuckled.
“Nah, not quite. Even if it was, don’t say that.”
It’d just come back.
Fortunately or not, Serin’s attack was overwhelming, but the Bell of the Great Mountain wouldn’t die from that. Even Malekith himself couldn’t kill it without proper strategy.
However.
“Huh……?”
The unexpected reaction came from Junseok’s side.
The golem fragments they’d been fighting crumbled to dust and oxidized into the sky.
“Grooo— grooo!”
The Bell floated its body again, raising legs to stand—but noticeably smaller than before.
“No way……!”
All guild members sensed it. Endless splitting, but not without limits.
“That was the trick?”
Serin laughed hollowly.
“Yeah. Two or three more should do it.”
At Jeonghyeon’s words, the hunters’ morale surged with victory in sight.
In battle, momentum mattered as much as raw power. That’s why he’d started by minimizing fragments to ease their burden. Feeling a path to victory boosted morale. Now with momentum, more fragments were fine.
“It’s about to get rough!”
“Leave it to us!!”
At Jeonghyeon’s shout, Junseok gleefully spun his spear overhead.
“Again.”
Serin nodded at Jeonghyeon’s words.
***
Exactly two more perfect-timed strikes later, the Bell visibly shrank.
And it ramped up with more varied attacks.
Small holes opened across its body, firing red lasers, while absorbing fragments when threatened.
As it tried repeating the cycle again, Philip exhaled raggedly.
“As ordered……. A thousand……. Full-power swings.”
The ground around Philip was ruined like a meteor strike. Staggering his massive frame, arms trembling, he approached Jeonghyeon.
“Good work. Ready?”
Finally, the last phase.
Recalling his final order to the guild, Jeonghyeon shouted to the hunters.
-Once Philip’s power is fully charged, stop all attacks on my signal.
“Everyone, stop!!”
At Jeonghyeon’s signal, all hunters halted. Deadly silence fell once more.
-After that, my hunter handles the rest.
“I must show you……. My value……!”
Your turn, Philip.
Jeonghyeon nodded trustingly and pulled back. Reactivating all released mana, his Demon King’s Eye burned fiercely as he poured every drop he could into Philip.
“I believe in you, Philip.”
Serin also released Solgaleh’s feathers and flew far back.
Before the weakening Bell of the Great Mountain stood only the exhausted Philip.
“It’s over!!!”
Philip’s Shout rang out. The massive roar severed the mana flowing through the Bell, crumbling its leg joints unsupported, crashing to the ground with a thud.
Then, channeling all his mana—bolstered by Jeonghyeon’s aid—Philip swung his mace at the Bell of the Great Mountain.