Chapter 156: Kim Hyeji
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 156: Kim Hyeji
“Oh my... a high-ranking demon? And an Alraune... You'll make for some fine research subjects.”
I stared at the magician standing before me.
‘Kim Hyeji.’
The only magician among the powerful guardians of the gate. And the first magician of her caliber I had ever faced.
“Hmm... using too much magic is bad for my skin... and there aren't many virgins left in the village. What to do? I was told not to attack the nearby towns...”
According to Jang Ye Ri, she was a crazy bitch who bathed in the blood of virgins. I'd heard she was in her sixties, but no matter how I looked at her, she appeared to be in her mid-twenties. I'd also heard she was obsessed with youth, and seeing her muttering to herself with worry, it seemed the stories were true.
She had deployed a barrier the moment she fell from the sky, making a surprise attack difficult. This meant we had to break through her head-on, but the Blood Dagger Clan never fights a battle it will lose.
Kim Hyeji was tightly surrounded by the troops she had brought with her. I wasn't sure if it was because she didn't need other magicians, but her forces were overwhelmingly composed of melee warriors. Despite what must have been a bewildering situation for them, they instantly reformed their ranks to protect their magician. They were clearly not a weak opponent.
They were undoubtedly warriors meant to buy time while her spell was completed. I idly tapped the ground with my Ancient Flame.
“Tap.”
“Tap.”
She wasn't chanting a spell yet. I wondered if she was looking down on us that much, or if she really didn't want to invest her magic on us because of her skin. From her perspective, we probably looked like a bunch of nobodies. Rather than feeling offended, I was grateful. Her carelessness meant the battle would be that much easier for us.
“Go.”
I muttered quietly. But to my clansmen, my voice was anything but quiet. A great roar erupted.
“Victory!”
“For victory alone!”
“Victory! For victory alone!”
“For Blood Dagger!!”
We let out a war cry, but of course, the enemy showed no signs of wavering. They roared back, raising their shields, making it clear they would never let us pass.
“Buy time for Lady Kim Hyeji to complete her spell!”
“Shields up! Shields up! Hold until the spell is complete! Hold until the spell is complete!”
“Shields!”
As expected of warriors protecting a magician, they were quite well-trained.
“Uwoooooooh!”
Naturally, we were the ones to charge first, as we were the ones who had to break through. At the same time, a tremendous amount of magic began to surge from the enemy's formation. Kim Hyeji had started to chant, unleashing her mana. Seeing this, I felt a sudden sense of urgency and immediately reached out my hand toward them.
I threw Archmage Isaac's Throwing Dagger and instantly swapped it with the greatsword, which I had infused with mana. The critical hit probability of this ranged attack, one of my favorite tactics, was incredibly high. If I had to calculate it, I'd say it was close to one hundred percent.
“Aaaaaargh!”
With a scream, one of the warriors had his shield and armor torn apart as the greatsword embedded itself in his head. I retrieved the greatsword, turning it back into the dagger, then recalled the throwing dagger to my hand.
Every time I threw the dagger, screams erupted from all over.
“................!”
Just then, Jung Hayeon's magic exploded forth.
Using plant roots to halt the enemy's movements before sending in the clan's swordsmen was a method we had used for a long time. If it worked, our swordsmen could smash all their heads in and end the battle in an instant.
But there was no way they would fall for it so easily.
“Dispel.”
As Kim Hyeji's voice rang out, the plants that were about to entangle the warriors lost their power and withered away.
‘Double Casting.’
It was as if she had anticipated our magic and had already prepared a spell. I had expected Jung Hayeon to be at a disadvantage, since she specialized in plant magic and had little experience fighting archmages, but the difference in their mana levels was quite severe. In the past, I would have intentionally avoided a reckless breakthrough, but now that I had a reliable vanguard captain, things were different.
“Orbo.”
“For Blood Dagger!”
As I quietly called Orbo's name, he slammed his massive Minotaur body into the warriors at the front. When a Minotaur charges in recklessly like that, a path is bound to open.
Gark and Hark stabbed and slashed at the warriors on both sides. The swords of those two, who had grown at a frightening pace, pierced through the well-equipped warriors' defenses. Mev wasn't here, but our archers were also continuously firing arrows.
Blood—I couldn't tell if it was from friend or foe—sprayed continuously through the air. Naturally, my eyes turned red, and a rough heat rose in my mouth.
I stepped on Orbo's back and leaped into the air. All eyes naturally focused on me, but their spears and arrows couldn't reach me. Using my greatsword as a shield, I landed right in the center of their formation.
My favorite position in a battle.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
“You son of a bitch!”
The moment I landed, their swords and spears came at me, but I blocked them all with Ancient Flame and my greatsword. For any awkward attacks I couldn't block, I simply swapped my weapon to a dagger.
“Huh?”
He swung a heavy sword, delivering a powerful blow, but I swapped my greatsword for a dagger in an instant. The warrior, thrown off balance by the sudden lack of resistance, staggered. Waiting for him was the World Tree's Rotten Wood Long Spear. It plunged straight into his eye, and his scream pierced my ears, but I had no time to spare.
Keep moving forward.
That was the most important thing. The first priority was to get Kim Hyeji's attention and keep her in my line of sight. I charged forward, swinging Ancient Flame.
Those with low magic resistance were devoured by the flames, and those with shoddy armor were torn apart by the greatsword. I threw a dagger at anyone aiming at me awkwardly from a distance. For the skilled ones who could aim true, I'd swap weapons and then pierce their skulls with a spear.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
“This... fucking bastard!”
Of course, these were not low-level opponents. In my past life, every single one of them would have been strong enough to send a chill down my spine.
‘I've gotten stronger.’
I could see the attacks, see the path. No one was guiding me, but my body moved before I could even think. A volley of arrows rained down, deeming me a threat, but I simply picked up a corpse and blocked them all.
I felt an attack coming from the right. Instead of backing away, I pushed forward and punched a hole in the man's neck with my dagger. Blood sprayed onto my face—a truly pleasant feeling. I smiled without realizing it and blew off the head of the man next to him with Ancient Flame.
With the constant critical hits, there was no need to aim for vital spots.
Even without swapping weapons, critical hits kept landing thanks to the effects of my class and items.
“Get the demon!”
“It's the weapon thief! Get that bastard!”
With all eyes on me, it was only natural for the members of the Blood Dagger Clan to come flooding in. I hadn't even swung my sword, yet the head of the man beside me went flying. A moment later, Gark appeared out of thin air, longsword in hand.
“I, Half Blade, follow Blood Dagger!”
Next to him, his brother Hark appeared, his body instantly blurring and splitting in two. With a total of four swords, the two figures completely butchered a single warrior.
“Mirror Blade is here too! I follow Blood Dagger!”
Those two always strive to follow me. They've gotten stronger, too. Those with a goal always grow stronger.
We had advanced quite a bit, but she was still some distance away. Still, Kim Hyeji was now clearly in my sights. She had finished her casting. She had to be ready to fire her spell.
To be honest, a ranged magician like Kim Hyeji would have been a much easier opponent for Black Spear than for me. The reason I chose her, however... was because among the powerful guardians of the gate, she was the only one with a weapon that had not undergone an ownership ritual.
‘Weapon Swap.’
“Huh?”
In an instant, my dagger was replaced by Kim Hyeji's staff. Of course, a spell that had already been cast could not be stopped.
“..................!”
The spell went off, but without its catalyst, its power should have been weakened. Nevertheless, the first spell, filled with terrifying magic, began to pour down on us.
I leaped up and poured a great deal of mana into Ancient Flame. A huge mass of mana was flying toward me. It seemed to be a non-elemental type of magic.
‘I can cut it.’
Of course there was no way I couldn't. After continuously swapping my weapons, I swung my sword in a flash, and it felt as if a diagonal line of fire had been drawn in the air.
And then, as if in a lie, the massive ball of mana began to split in two. My clansmen gaped at the incredible sight. The mana inherent in Ancient Flame had interacted with the critical hit effect to create this astonishing scene. But this was no time to let my guard down.
“You damn bugs!”
It seemed she had prepared a Triple Cast, including a Dispel.
“Die!!!!”
From the shabby dagger in her hand, a giant pillar of light materialized. She was clearly a powerful warrior after all. It was magic befitting one of the great city's guardians. The most powerful spell I had ever seen in my life was unleashed from an incredibly pathetic-looking dagger.
However...
“Aegis!”
I poured mana into the tattered Aegis ring and stretched out my hand. A fragment of a great shield began to materialize before me. The effect of this item, which unconditionally blocked one fatal attack, was beyond imagination. An attack I couldn't have dreamed of blocking was stopped in an instant by the shield, its energy scattering in all directions.
“F-For Blood Dagger!”
“For Blood Daggerrrr!”
After the last incredible feat, this new display sent my clansmen into a frenzy of cheers. It felt like a huge amount of my mana had been drained, but I still had some to spare.
I slowly lowered my hand.
What I saw was the face of Kim Hyeji, staring at me with a look of utter despair. It was the same expression I had seen on Park Hyeri's face when I first met her in the Forest Worm's burrow.
I grinned.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaargh!”
She was flinging spells at us like a madwoman, but they were easy enough to block. Orbo stood before me, pouring mana into his giant shield and deflecting every spell that came our way.
I wasn't sure if I could summon Aegis again, but it was delightful to watch her self-destruct in terror.
I faced them head-on and slowly began to summon a sword.
It was the magic sword, the legacy of Dain.
[ Dainsleif - Activating the item effect of the magic sword, Dain's Legacy. ]