Chapter 302: The New Orichalcum-grade Explorer
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 302: The New Orichalcum-grade Explorer
Cr-crack-crackle!!!
"Hold your positions! Do not leave your designated zones, no matter what—!"
Along with the shout of an unnamed explorer, a Hollow Breeze portal manifested in midair, completely pulverizing the Hollow Breeze induction device. Immediately upon its opening, hundreds of Necro Species poured out, surging toward the explorers like a tidal wave.
"Hyaaaaaah—!"
The battle between the explorers and the Necro Species began, kicked off by Lykes O'Connor’s thunderous roar as he activated his Gigantification skill.
Boom! Crash!
His massive axe blade swept through ghouls, zombies, skeletons, and Living Mail—undead that possessed physical forms. Meanwhile, from the rear, Murit Denshter’s Enchanted Arrows began to pile up in the sky as they pierced through the spiritual-type Necro monsters.
"All units, advance!"
The front line held firm as Marilli Marionette’s massive stone golems pulverized giant undead ogres like they were tenderizing meat.
Whoosh!
Soles Getia walked forward slowly, radiating a sun-like heat from his entire body. Monsters that drew near were instantly enveloped in white flames, reduced to ash by the intense temperature.
"Hmph!"
As he swung the massive greatsword gripped in both hands, a blade of aura imbued with that searing heat surged forward, incinerating the monsters in an instant.
"As expected of our leader...! He’s so cool!!"
Melis Superiora made a fuss as she watched his performance from beside Raya Delbaheim.
"Melis. Focus on the battle!"
"Yes, ma'am! Understood!"
Generally, the closer to the center of the circular formation, the higher the grade of the explorers stationed there. Support mages and long-range explorers occupied the rear, while relatively lower-grade front-line explorers were packed tightly together to protect them.
"Aim, fire...!"
Skaeda Justitia possessed a skill that manifested spiritual hands made of mana to act in place of her own. The number of hands could increase based on her mana capacity, and their duration was directly proportional to her total mana.
While the skill itself was high-tier, the reason Skaeda Justitia could achieve such incredible synergy with it was simple.
Bang! Boom!
She was a high-ranking mage who had reached the pinnacle of her craft.
Generally, for a mage to be considered 'first-rate,' they had to master Multi Casting—the ability to cast two or more spells simultaneously. However, she possessed a skill that allowed her to manifest dozens of arms.
Vrrrrm!
Dozens of magic formations were generated at the tips of the black hands floating in the air. Her firepower, capable of launching hundreds of high-output spells per minute, was staggering even when compared to other Orichalcum-grade explorers.
Meanwhile, the Southern explorers, who were responsible for the side opposite the Northwest, were also skillfully holding their positions and fending off the Hollow Breeze.
"Hey! This feels even easier than last time—!"
Lykes O'Connor’s boisterous laughter echoed in his shout. There was a unique quality to his voice that put those who heard it at ease. Just as he said, even though the area the Northern explorers had to cover had increased due to Ashuras Vidhyarti’s absence, the situation was unfolding much like previous Hollow Breezes—contrary to the Page of Arcana’s frantic warnings that something was wrong.
"Do not let your guard down, Sir O'Connor!"
"Gwahaha! I know, I know—!"
Despite his words, Soles Getia was also feeling relieved that this Hollow Breeze was not significantly different from their past experiences.
Hemeth Nefertiri was in charge of Sector 14 in the Southeast. She was the clan leader of Karnak Obelisk, the clan with the longest history in Hechituk, and the strongest among the 8-star explorers.
With the power of her formidable Dual Sword Style—one blade for spirits and one for flesh—she possessed near-invisible movement speed and transcendent swordsmanship. With a blessed body that never tired, she had held the title of the strongest Southern explorer for a staggering 250 years.
Slice!
'Something is strange.'
As the only one on the battlefield to sense a slight anomaly in the Hollow Breeze, she sliced through dozens of undead in a flash and stared toward the portal.
Flash!
"Where do you think—!"
A type of arrow shot out from inside the portal, aimed directly at her. She tried to cut the arrow down with her long-reaching arm, but—
'This isn't an arrow...!'
When her physical-cutting sword failed to connect, she instantly switched to her spirit-cutting sword, cleaving the projectile in half just before it reached her.
"Lady Hemeth! Are you alright?!"
"Be on your guard! An anomaly has been detected from the portal!"
The speed was such that even she might not have blocked it if she hadn't noticed the premonitory signs. It even showed a calculated level of skill, predicting the target's movement and attacking when their speed was at its lowest.
Shortly after Hemeth Nefertiri’s shout echoed, the portal surged violently and began to ruthlessly rain down spiritual arrows just like the one before.
Whish! Sh-sh-sh-sh!
"Ev-everyone, deploy defensive magic—"
Before the high-ranking mage could even finish the command, thousands of arrows shrouded in deep darkness swarmed toward the explorers.
"Aaargh!"
"Dammit...! Block them, hurry—!"
Each arrow possessed enough power to inflict serious injury even on high-grade explorers.
"Hmph!"
The Orichalcum-grade explorers and the majority of those equipped with defensive artifacts were able to block the arrows, either with difficulty or through sheer efficiency.
However, even amidst this, the deluge of Necro Species from the Hollow Breeze did not stop.
"Keep your wits about you—!!!!!!!"
Despite having been struck by dozens of arrows due to his massive frame, Lykes O'Connor continued to push back the monsters as if he hadn't been affected at all.
But Hemeth Nefertiri, who had been the first to notice the signs of the arrows, realized that the previous attack wasn't a special gimmick or a barrage from many enemies—it was an attack unleashed simultaneously by a single entity.
Gurgle, squelch...
The portal began to fluctuate, emitting a sickeningly viscous sound and spewing out a pitch-black liquid.
In that moment, while everyone was busy cutting down the monsters in front of them, they all focused on the phenomenon.
Ssssss...
A thick fog suddenly settled over the area. The elite explorers quickly realized it wasn't harmful to their bodies, but no one could deny it was an ill omen.
Crack, clack-clack...
With the bone-chilling sound of skeletal pieces snapping into place, something walked out of the portal leisurely and slowly.
"Gasp...!!"
"Wh-what on earth is that...!"
It was surrounded by a gloomy green energy, its face hidden behind a veil. Below that, its body consisted only of bones, but its lower half resembled that of an emaciated horse.
It was a bizarre and unpleasant appearance that no one had ever seen before.
While everyone watched with bated breath, the creature wandered atop the piles of undead corpses that had begun to accumulate, poking them with the tip of its scythe to harvest their ominous energy.
As if time had stopped, even the Necro Species within the barrier stood still, trembling in place.
It was as if they were slaves witnessing the return of their master.
The creature moved counter-clockwise within the barrier, harvesting the dark energy of the undead and spirits. When it had completed about half a circle and its path brought it close to Hemeth Nefertiri—
Swish!
Her movement was silent, looking as if she had torn through space itself to move. Holding her spirit-cutting sword in one hand and her flesh-cutting sword in the other, she swung down with all her might at the back of the creature's head.
BOOM—!!!!
The impact was so powerful that the wind pressure from the collision between the creature's scythe and Hemeth’s two swords sent the surrounding corpses flying in every direction.
However.
"How—"
The creature remained motionless, as if anchored in midair. If it had truly absorbed that impact with its body, the force should have been transmitted through to the ground.
Yet, there wasn't even a slight tremor. It was as if the impact had simply vanished into nowhere.
Before she could finish her sentence, Nefertiri tried to kick off the air and put distance between herself and the creature, but—
Grab!
"Ack, ugh...!!!"
Before she knew it, she was being held by the throat, struggling in the creature's grasp.
No one could move. In the 300-year history of Hemeth Nefertiri, there was no record of her ever appearing this helpless.
The creature simply held her in its hand, like a child playing with a toy.
Neither Nefertiri’s full-power kicks nor the swords she swung with all her strength had any effect. She could only struggle futilely as she was carried along while the creature continued its task of harvesting souls.
It was as if it were showing her off as its possession, holding her aloft while leisurely going about its business.
Right then.
Rumble...!!
A sound like thunder echoing in the sky before a lightning strike rang out. It sounded like an explosion, or perhaps the roar of a massive beast.
In the moment everyone looked up at the sky with bated breath—
— — — — — !!!!!!!!!!!
They thought a lightning bolt had struck the barrier.
Anyone would instinctively squeeze their eyes shut at such a loud noise.
The sound was so powerful it felt as if their eardrums would collapse.
But it wasn't the eardrums that collapsed; it was the powerful Grand Magic Barrier, created by the collective effort of mages from all over the surface.
The barrier that Lykes O'Connor, the incarnation of physical force, would have to strike for over ten minutes just to poke a small hole in, had been shattered.
And as the dust cloud that had billowed in the center of the portal settled, something revealed itself.
Having pulverized the arm of the nameless creature that was holding Hemeth Nefertiri by the throat.
Something with an unnervingly twisted hand, elongated like a blade.
"Th-that's...!"
Skaeda Justitia let out a short, shallow cry.
It was the one person whose name had been on the lips of every explorer there at least once or twice.
The new Orichalcum-grade explorer.
"Aven...!!"