Chapter 58: For Revenge!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 58: For Revenge!
[You might find this more enjoyable if you read slowly while picturing the scene in your head, rather than just skimming through... My writing may be lacking, but I hope you enjoy it!]
*
“Shie… Shield! Aaaaaaaah!”
“Aaaaaah! Aaaaaah! Priest… Priest!”
Before we even jumped in, screams erupted from somewhere. Black Spear’s spear had precisely pierced the wind mage.
Just before we engaged the enemy, I glanced over and saw the mage, impaled by the black spear, writhing in agony.
Since the rather tall Black Spear had thrown his spear with a downward trajectory, the wind mage was amusingly pinned to the floor like a skewer.
A single blow.
With just one strike, he had effectively neutralized the combat potential of their strongest mage.
There were three groups in the boss’s room, which was neither too large nor too small: the Ancient Warrior and its undead soldiers, the humans, and us—the Blood Dagger Clan and Black Spear. It might have been easier to enter after their numbers had dwindled a bit, but I moved up our entry time because of the risk that Baek Ahyeon might be killed.
But in truth, there was a bigger reason: experience points. There's a saying that when whales fight, the shrimp's back gets broken, but unfortunately for them, we were no shrimp. If Black Spear hadn't been with us, I wouldn't have dared to charge in so boldly.
The undead and the humans alike. They were all just stepping stones for our growth.
“Victory! For victory alone!”
I swung the greatsword too large to be a sword at the warrior blocking my path. Unfortunately, I had lent the sword I took from Lee Youngdon to Gark, the eldest of the loyal Five Siblings, so I had to fight with my three remaining weapons, including my dagger.
As expected, my attack was blocked, but I felt no pressure.
The reason was simple: this method of fighting was incredibly familiar to us. Though everyone thrust their swords and weapons at the enemy as if maddened by bloodlust, the combat style our bodies remembered remained the same.
To put it simply, the Ancient Warrior and its undead soldiers were the tanks. We were the rogues, striking from behind. Ever since the Tutorial, whenever we fought alongside the Goff Clan, this was the Blood Dagger Clan's most preferred method of combat.
“Plant Tile!”
In an instant, roots began to rise from the floor. It was a new spell I'd had Jung Hayeon prepare, since warriors of that level would likely dodge a spell like Entangle anyway.
The rising roots were already starting to fill the room quickly.
The goal was to separate our enemies and create a ‘map’ advantageous to us. For a clan with a high proportion of assassins, terrain features like these roots, which could provide cover, were naturally helpful. More than that, they would be instrumental in splitting the enemy party's front and rear lines.
“Clang!”
With a loud clang, the sword I swung was blocked once again by the nameless warrior's shield. I had swung with the intent to slice through both shield and wielder, but he was strong, as expected. Roughly speaking, he was on a similar level to Lee Youngdon.
As he swung his sword at me, I quickly moved back into the thicket of roots.
He tried to follow me in, but Jung Hayeon, positioned at the very back, continuously controlled the roots to obstruct his vision.
“Uwaaaah! Shit! You fucking Orc!”
He wasn't a threat, but honestly, how could it not be annoying? When he swung his sword, the roots collapsed with absurd ease, but they were still enough of a nuisance to obstruct his path. Thanks to them, he was slowly being isolated from his group.
“For Blood Dagger!”
In that moment, a sword struck from behind him. It was the Eldest, who had been maintaining his unique ability, lunging at the warrior.
“Damn it!”
Perfect timing. As if sensing the Eldest's approach, the warrior instantly turned and thrust his sword at him.
But I was faster. No. To be precise, my greatsword was longer.
As if I had been waiting for this very moment, I completely severed the arm holding his sword. No. I shattered it.
Kwwwaddd-deuk!
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
A pleasant scream. He was enveloped in holy power, but it was just a temporary measure. The priest, his vision blocked, couldn't set a precise target and was just spraying holy power over the entire area.
“Grrrrrk.”
The moment I knocked away the shield of the warrior clutching his arm, the Eldest's sword smashed his head to pieces. Blood splattered, messing up my face, but how could I not be delighted?
“Ughhhhh…”
Splat!
“For Blood Daaaaagger!”
The warrior's pathetic death came with Gark's roar. Our pincer attack was quite effective, but it seemed he had already exhausted much of his stamina fighting the undead before we arrived. I clapped Gark on the shoulder and said, “The others.”
“Krrrk.”
Answering my command, Gark vanished once more. He looked exhausted, likely from using so much mana, but his expression was one of pure joy. With a face like that, I figured he'd be fine.
After Gark disappeared, I quickly scanned our surroundings. As expected, shouts echoed from all over. The closest sounds were the high-pitched shrieks of the female goblins.
“Kkireuk! Kkireuk!”
“There! There!”
“This human is really strong!”
Rushing toward the sounds, I saw the goblin sisters of the loyal Five Siblings. They had surrounded a single human, trying to pin him down.
They were using hit-and-run tactics, taking advantage of the terrain, but he seemed to be a warrior with extremely high agility, as he was blocking all three sisters' attacks.
“Kraaaaaah!”
I let out a roar and charged at him.
“It's the Chieftain!”
“We fight with the Chieftain! Let's go! Kkireuk kkireuk!”
The moment I charged in, the goblin sisters closed in on the warrior.
“Damn it! These crazy fucking goblins!”
As I rushed forward, the warrior tried to break away, but the shield-bearing goblin wouldn't let him escape so easily. The goblins did everything they could to surround him, tightening their circle. They were running rings around him, making it naturally difficult to get away.
Thankfully, they were managing to hold him in place until my greatsword could reach him.
“For victory!”
As their high-pitched voices continued to echo, I swung my heavy sword at the man. He swung his own sword to parry my greatsword, but for me, this was a welcome development.
‘Weapon Switch.’
Activating my unique ability, I stopped swinging the greatsword and immediately caught his blade with the Weapon-Breaking Longsword. With a loud ‘CLANG!’, the two swords locked, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.
And then, a scream.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
Taking advantage of the opening while I had him pinned, the hammer-wielding goblin sister smashed his instep with her hammer.
“Feels good! Feels good!”
With one foot crushed, his fate was as clear as day. I didn't even need to take his head. The longsword-wielding goblin shoved her blade into his shin, and seizing that chance, the shield-wielding goblin shattered his balance.
“One hit! One hit!”
Splat!
What awaited the fallen warrior was, of course, the hammer.
“Ughhhhhhck!”
He wasn't dead, but he was incapacitated. His face was completely mangled, all his teeth knocked out. I turned to the goblin sisters.
“Break his arms and legs and send him to the back.”
“Got it, Chieftain! Hehe!”
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
The goblin sisters' faces were filled with glee. Having tasted blood, they were clearly enjoying themselves; the smiles they gave the man were chilling enough to give me goosebumps. Soon, the sound of their weapons tearing at his arms and legs followed.
Leaving his screams behind me, I advanced deeper inside. My targets were the biggest bundles of experience points in this room.
I could see Mev's arrows and Black Spear's spears raining down on the enemies from time to time, but I decided not to pay it any mind. They had their job to do, and I had mine.
As I moved further in, I began to feel an inexplicable ‘heat.’ It was just as I'd heard. The weapon of the Ancient Warrior.
‘Ancient Flame.’
It was shaped like a medieval two-handed flamberge, its blade wavy like a flame. Amusingly, the sword had an additional option that allowed it to generate heat and fire. The strategy guide didn't specify exactly how much it boosted one's stats.
Among items, it didn't quite reach the highest tier, but it was more than worthy of being classified as a ‘high-grade’ item. No, to be precise, you could say it was just barely on the cusp of the highest tier. Fire is one of the most common attributes, but that's because it's just that effective as a weapon.
There was only one reason I could feel the heat from ahead. The master of that clan and the Ancient Warrior were clashing swords right in front of me. As I ran toward the source of the heat, I began to hear them muttering.
“Hah… hah… What's the situation?”
“Hah… I don't know… The fucking roots are blocking all lines of sight…”
“Damn it… Let's take care of this undead bastard first.”
Judging by the fact they were talking while clashing swords with it, it seemed the warriors were surrounding and attacking the creature. But the Named Monster, the Ancient Warrior, was no easy opponent.
Along with a heat intense enough to warm the surroundings, the sound of them repeatedly clashing swords with the Ancient Warrior echoed.
“CLANG!”
“CLANG!!!!”
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
A heat so intense it was melting the nearby roots. It might not seem like much, but the men fighting the Ancient Warrior were probably going through hell. The heat radiating from its sword was continuously chipping away at their health.
Thinking they wouldn't have the luxury of noticing me, I began to watch them slowly.
To be precise, it was a three-on-one situation. It was a pretty close fight. By now, they must have realized it too—that the sword the creature was wielding was more dangerous than the Ancient Warrior itself.
Perhaps thinking they wouldn't be able to handle Black Spear in their weakened state even if they won this battle, their movements began to grow more frantic.
Their haste finally produced a sacrifice.
Shunk.
“Aaaaaaaaargh!”
With that sound, one of them was run clean through by the Ancient Flame.
“Changsu!”
“You son of a bitch!”
The one who looked like the clan master, enraged at seeing his comrade impaled on the sword, charged at the creature. As he thrust his sword, the blade curved and began to head toward the undead's arm. It was a bizarre movement, plain for anyone to see.
The Ancient Warrior seemed to notice its arm was the target and pulled its sword out of the man named Changsu, but the clan master's sword continued to pursue it.
‘Unique ability.’
A sword imbued with tremendous mana. I didn't know what the ability was exactly, but I felt as if his speed had instantly increased. That wasn't all. It felt as if the sword was being drawn toward a pre-set target.
It seemed to be an ability that allowed him to strike a designated target. It was probably similar to the ‘Homing Arrow’ trait that archers possessed.
The moment his sword touched the Ancient Warrior's arm, the creature's arm flew into the air as if by magic.
I watched the Ancient Warrior's arm fly into the air. It had clearly lost its grip on the ‘Ancient Flame.’ This was the perfect opportunity for me.
The clan master reached for the sword with a triumphant look on his face, but naturally, I was much faster at intercepting weapons.
I reflexively shot to my feet and sprang toward them.