Chapter 110: The Bombs
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 110: The Bombs
“BOOM!!!!!”
“KABOOM!!!”
Yoon Jungsoo could only look around in utter bewilderment. He had just seen the confused expression on the face of the West’s Saint, Baek Ahyeon, as if she were asking what in the world was happening. He didn’t know the exact details, but it was clear that something had gone terribly wrong in the city.
“What is going on?”
“Ah… well… I-I think we need to check. L-Let’s head outside for now.”
Yoon Jungsoo cursed inwardly. This was like throwing ash on a perfectly cooked meal. He hastily led the Saintess out of the underground area, only to be met by Min Chulgi, who seemed to have been looking for him and came running over.
“What is all this?”
“We… We’re still trying to grasp the situation.”
“Still trying to grasp it? What does that mean?”
“The people in the city… they’re exploding simultaneously…”
Min Chulgi seemed conscious of Baek Ahyeon’s presence, whispering into his ear, but it looked as though the West’s Saint had already sensed that something terrible had occurred.
“Damn it… Figure it out and solve it right now. What’s the damage?”
“So far, the shopping district, the black market… and… and…”
He had no idea what kind of disaster this was. It was the first time anything like this had happened since his guild had risen to become the city’s leading power. For perfectly fine people to suddenly detonate like bombs… It was as if they were under a terrorist attack. He couldn’t help but glance nervously at the Saintess. Who would want to make a deal or trade with such an unstable city? The Saintess would surely feel the same.
“I believe it would be best to take a little more time to think about this deal.”
“Ah… th-that is.”
He had expected it, but hearing the words spoken aloud made them cut even deeper. This was entirely their failure. He couldn’t think of a single thing to say, not even an excuse. Deciding that calming the situation was the first priority, Yoon Jungsoo swallowed his dry saliva and spoke again.
“F-First, I will escort you to a safe place. We will resolve what is happening as quickly as possible. It’s… It’s probably nothing serious. If you could just… just wait a moment, we can continue our discussion shortly.”
Her expression was one of displeasure, but the Saintess gave a small nod. After guiding her away, Yoon Jungsoo rushed to where his executives were gathered.
After a few more explosions, the sounds that had shaken the city momentarily ceased. Still, it seemed the city had suffered considerable damage. Through the window, he could see smoke rising from various places.
The air was filled with screams and curses. If the black market and the shopping district had been completely destroyed, he couldn’t even begin to fathom how they would cover the losses. If the auction house had also been hit, the situation would be truly dire.
Entering the room, he saw several of his executives gathered. All their faces were pale. Figuring his own expression wasn’t much different, Yoon Jungsoo hardened his face as much as possible and listened to the report. He had received a brief summary from Min Chulgi, but since he had been with the Saintess, he had no idea what countermeasures were being taken.
“I will… I will report again, with the exact details. The locations confirmed to be damaged so far are numerous major shops, the black market… and… and the auction house and the arena… several places were attacked… no, were hit by terrorism, all at the same time.”
“Have you confirmed who attacked us and for what purpose?”
“We… We are in the process of confirming. The problem is that there are almost no survivors, and among those whose bodies exploded… s-some are even presumed to be our own low-ranking guild members…”
“What the fuck is this situation… Damn it.”
It seemed the auction house and the arena were gone too. Those places had been major sources of income for the city, which made him even more anxious.
“We have completely sealed off the areas where the explosions occurred using city guards and guild members, and we are focusing on getting our clients out as quickly as possible. Also, we are being flooded with inquiries from clans wanting to leave the city. We’ve told them to wait for now, but… the complaints are growing louder.”
“Tsk…”
The response wasn’t bad. But this incident would undoubtedly become a massive obstacle not just now, but in the future operation of the city. Who would come to enjoy tourism in a place where terrorist attacks happened simultaneously? He suspected that the influence of rivals from other regions, who wanted to see his city fall, was at play here.
“For now, lock down the city. Don’t let a single ant escape.”
“Y-Yes! Master.”
“I should head outside myself. Tsk. I need to at least show my face at a time like this.”
“Yes. B-But it could be dangerous…”
“The city is on the verge of ruin. I have to risk this much…”
“As… as expected of you, sir.”
It was then.
“BOOM!!!! KABOOOOOOOM!! BOOM!!!!”
“What… What the fuck was that…”
“What… What was that?”
The roar was so immense it shook the castle itself, an explosion that made the first blasts seem like child’s play. This one had undoubtedly occurred inside the castle walls. Before he could even yell for a damage report, another massive sound echoed.
Through the dust-filled window, Yoon Jungsoo saw it clearly. Perhaps it was the shock of the castle being struck again, but the entire scene seemed to unfold in slow motion. The city wall erupted in a massive explosion. Several guards were flung into the air by the blast.
And visible within the gaping, smoking hole…
Was none other than a tide of green.
‘Fuck…’
*
The appointed time. The most crucial part of the plan was to invade the city the moment the second wave of explosions went off, so as soon as we heard the first bombs detonate, we began to run.
I didn’t give any kind of morale-boosting speech. The time we had spent waiting was more than enough to bring us to our limit.
“Let’s go.”
After I spoke that single word and burst out of the stifling forward base, a tremendous roar erupted behind me, as expected. It was a sound that pierced the ears, a voice that was incredibly pleasing to hear.
“WUUUOOOOOOOOH!”
All the things they had been holding back were bursting forth at once. Come to think of it, we hadn’t had a major battle in a long time. We had been wounded in the Forest Worm’s burrow, which we had entered with high expectations, and the other skirmishes couldn’t really be called battles. It was only natural for them to scream like this. It was clearly an expression of their need to release the hot blood coursing through their veins.
“Victory! For victory alone!”
“For victory alone!”
“For Blood Dagger!”
“For Blood Dagger!!”
Seeing me charge, Black Spear moved as well.
The great war cries of the two clans mixed, and I immediately felt a searing heat. My muscles screamed and my eyes turned bloodshot. The fact that I was standing at the head of this charging green horde made my blood boil.
Amidst it all, huge flames and smoke continued to rise. The most important element of this battle was none other than ‘chaos.’ Although the Blood Dagger Clan and the Black Spear Clan were together, we were still severely outnumbered. What would bridge this gap were the bombs Baek Ahyeon was setting off and the other Green Skins trapped in the dungeons. The core of this operation was to get to the underground prison beneath the castle as quickly as possible and secure new forces.
With the city in chaos, they were bound to be slow in spotting us. I slowly sent a look toward Black Spear, and he nodded as if he understood.
The distance was too great for Mev’s arrows to reach.
But Black Spear’s spear would surely find its mark.
I had worried if he could aim while running, but it seemed my concerns were unfounded. After Black Spear’s massive muscles rippled once, the spear he threw flew straight toward the guards on the wall, precisely smashing their faces in.
“WUUUOOOOOOOOH!”
Seeing this, several Orcs and Trolls let out another roar. Every time I saw it, the power was just absurd.
The sound of the Green Skins pounding the earth was exceptionally loud. Harsh breaths, faces flushed red as if they would explode at any moment… and a deafening war cry that pierced the ears.
Just then.
“KABOOOOOOOM!”
With that sound, a section of the castle wall completely collapsed. Baek Ahyeon had succeeded in opening a path for us. Naturally, we immediately charged into the breach. The shouts of humans began to reach our ears.
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
“M-Monsters!”
“Inform the guild!”
“Monsters! Are inside the city!!”
Anyone who needed to know would know we were inside the city, but we couldn’t let the ones falling back to report escape. Despite the poor visibility through the dust, Mev and the clan’s archer unit were relentlessly firing arrows.
“Uwaaaah!”
“Aaaargh!”
Aided by the wind spirits, the arrows Mev fired rained down incessantly on the shouting humans. In other words, she was focusing on taking out those who were giving commands or trying to lead.
“We’re breaking through!”
“Breaking through!”
“For Blood Dagger!”
The green tide that began to pour through the collapsed wall was enough to send a shiver down my spine. Black Spear continued to throw his spears at the enemies who had been caught unprepared. My job here was simple. All I had to do was retrieve the spears he threw and ensure he never ran out of weapons.
An archer who aimed at us amidst the chaos. A mage who slowly began to chant a spell. Warriors who tried to form a shield wall to resist us. All of them were impaled by the black spear, parts of their bodies exploding on impact.
I, too, swung my sword continuously at the warriors charging toward us. I cut down the ones nearby, while Black Spear took down the ones far away.
“A convenient ability, Blood Dagger.”
I smirked at Black Spear’s words. I could see the pleased look on his face as he welcomed the spear that kept appearing in my hand.
The others were also running wild. Gark and Hark, the Goblin Three Sisters led by Hakajin, the assassin unit led by Ragia, and even Jung Hayeon, who was driving her roots into our enemies. Just as the atmosphere of the battle, filled with exploding blood and flesh, was reaching a fever pitch…
“For the Savior!!!”
“KABOOOOOOOM!”
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
Another explosion erupted within the city. This one was close. Baek Ahyeon’s martyrs, hidden among the human ranks, were throwing themselves at the enemy forces. It must have happened while they were hastily assembling troops to put out the urgent fire. No one could have imagined that the priests who had their backs would turn into bombs and charge at them.
I turned to my clan members, who were looking around with bloodshot eyes, and spoke.
“Half Blade, the Orc swordsmen, and Jung Hayeon will move with me. The rest of the forces will move under the command of Black Spear and Chieftain Ragia.”
The time had come to liberate the Green Skins trapped in the dungeons.