Chapter 177 A Heaping Bowl of Rice
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: A Heaping Bowl of Rice
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The people backed away.
In the meantime, the shattered bones slowly flew toward the skeleton and merged with it.
Soon, its true form was revealed.
What should he call it?
It had horns on its head and a long snout.
Only half of its body remained as it floated in the air. It couldn't be called small since even with only half a body, it was about 3 meters long.
Fwoosh.
A green flame began to burn fiercely in its empty eye sockets.
Its skin-like robe fluttered.
The trembling of the mountain of corpses grew stronger.
"Prepare for battle!!! Lia!!! Millie!!! Mer!!!"
The lion beast-person shouted.
The three women took their positions around the lion beast-person.
The lion beast-person stood in the center of the women, who were holding a dagger, a bow, and a spear, and grabbed the greatsword on his back.
Jeong Yoo-shin desperately racked his brain.
The monster corpses were creaking as they began to rise one by one.
He could see the situation clearly.
They weren't just facing that skeleton bastard.
They also had to fight the mountain of monster corpses.
'Fuck. There must be over a hundred of them.'
Defensively, their current location wasn’t good.
Even if they won, it was obvious that it wouldn’t be an easy fight.
To fight a large number of enemies on an open plain? Even if they had the village behind them, it still wouldn't be enough.
It was a situation where receiving a pincer attack was very much possible.
In short, if they stayed like this, then they were just asking to be killed.
The beast-people party was an intermediate-rank explorer party. Jeong Yoo-shin didn't know if they were low or high intermediate. Still, they should have enough experience, so they must have thought that far as well.
"We'll break through in one go and advance to the transfer stone!!!"
When the lion beast-person shouted that, the female beast-people immediately charged at the skeleton.
Jeong Yoo-shin was at a loss for words.
'So he had a plan.'
But they could only reach the transfer stone by passing through the mountain of corpses and breaking through the path blocked by the skeleton bastard.
If they were surrounded without knowing how strong that skeleton mage was, it would be the end.
Even so, the beast-people party charged bravely.
The skeleton bastard's robe fluttered as it quickly retreated and held out its hand.
A black barrier immediately appeared and blocked the greatsword swung by the lion beast-person.
Klaaaang!!!
The greatsword hit the barrier and bounced off.
"Kugh!!!"
The lion beast-person gritted his teeth.
The female beast-people also rushed at the skeleton and swung their weapons, but they were blocked by the black barrier and just bounced off in vain, unable to inflict any damage.
Jeong Yoo-shin turned and made eye contact with his party members.
Mick immediately understood Jeong Yoo-shin's glance.
"The back door...?"
"That's right. We're retreating. We have to go to the village. This place is too open. It's not suitable for us to fight here."
Despite the urgency, Jeong Yoo-shin spoke calmly.
Thanks to him, the party members also quickly came to their senses and began to slowly back away.
"What about Raikel-ssi's party?"
Lena asked.
"Is that the lion beast-person's name? I don't know. They'll figure it out."
They were the ones who had tried to run off on their own.
Jeong Yoo-shin had no intention of stepping in to save them.
He didn't have the luxury to try either.
Besides, wasn't that lion beast-person the one who had glared at him back when he entered the inn?
"Let's go."
Jeong Yoo-shin's party quickly retreated and ran toward the village.
But…
The eyes of the quick-witted lion beast-person widened, and he shouted at Jeong Yoo-shin's party.
"Hey!!! You cowards, running off on your own!!!"
Jeong Yoo-shin's party ignored him as they turned their backs and ran.
"Let's retreat!!!"
They hear the lion beast-person shout that from behind. As expected, he was a quick-witted fellow. He had to be, to maintain a harem party.
They ran on the uneven, grassless road and arrived at the village tavern.
Boom!!!
The moment Jeong Yoo-shin threw the tavern door open…
The dwarf party came into view.
The dwarves were each holding a wooden box.
"..."
When Jeong Yoo-shin made eye contact with them, the dwarves stiffened in surprise.
"What? Didn't you guys leave?"
The dwarf who seemed to be the leader stepped forward and asked that.
"Leave my ass. The whole village is crawling with monsters now, so where are we supposed to go? Where were you guys hiding anyway?"
"Monsters? Don't tell me new ones have appeared?"
"You saw the monster corpses at the transfer stone, right? Those bastards... no, fuck. We don't have time to talk about this. Where were you?!"
Jeong Yoo-shin's voice grew louder.
The dwarf party's faces contorted.
Varg stepped forward, put his nose on the box the dwarf was holding, and sniffed.
"This smell… It's the tavern's basement."
"Do you know where it is?"
"Of course. Follow me."
Varg quickly ran.
They followed Varg past the tavern counter and toward the warehouse.
In a corner of the warehouse, they saw a path leading down.
Jeong Yoo-shin looked down at the basement and shook his head.
That wasn't the place.
It was a place to hide like a rat and preserve one's life, not a good spot to fend off enemies.
"Let's go back to the entrance. This place is too narrow. The hall would be better."
"My thoughts exactly."
The dwarf party was still clueless and in disarray.
The bastards couldn't get a grip.
There wasn’t much time left.
"Mick and I will gather the tables in the tavern and block the windows. Sarteurang and Lena, prepare your magic."
The party's leader was Lena, but everyone followed Jeong Yoo-shin's fluid instructions without a word.
"Alright."
"Yes."
"What should I do?"
Varg asked.
"Keep a lookout outside and let us know when the monsters come."
"Got it."
Varg left the tavern, and Jeong Yoo-shin and Mick gathered the wooden tables and chairs and blocked the tavern's windows.
Fortunately, there were only two windows in the direction of the entrance, so it didn't take them much effort.
While they were busy moving…
Boom!!!
The beast-people party burst into the tavern.
"Barbarian!!!"
The lion beast-person glared at Jeong Yoo-shin, his eyes bloodshot.
"What? I'm busy, so we’ll talk in a bit..."
The lion beast-person rushed over and grabbed Jeong Yoo-shin by the scruff of his neck.
"You cowardly ran off on your own?!!!"
Jeong Yoo-shin's face immediately contorted.
"Let go, you bastard."
Varg rushed in while panting.
"They're coming!!!"
Jeong Yoo-shin shook off the lion beast-person's hands and loaded his crossbow with bolts.
"Hoo. Your name is Raikel, right? We're going to block the tavern entrance and fight, then we’ll look for an opportunity to take down that skeleton mage. If you don't like it, get lost."
"Fuck!!! You should have said so sooner."
The lion beast-person's face flushed as he burst into anger.
Jeong Yoo-shin was so dumbfounded that he just stared blankly at the lion beast-person for a moment before shaking his head.
He didn't want to waste his breath on a madman who had charged in before he could even speak.
"Stop talking nonsense and take the right window."
The lion beast-person glared at Jeong Yoo-shin once, then stood at the right window.
Jeong Yoo-shin didn't back down and glared back at the lion beast-person.
'Who does he think he is, picking a fight with me. Fucking bastard.'
As expected, there were no normal people among the explorers.
They took out all the tables, chairs, and furniture in the tavern and blocked the windows.
The dwarf party was divided.
Two dwarves with shields stood in the center, where Jeong Yoo-shin was.
The left window was taken by Mick, Sarteurang, and two dwarves with axes.
The right was taken by the lion beast-person’s party.
"Hoo."
Jeong Yoo-shin sighed deeply as he loaded his crossbow.
He was in a position where he had to clean up the mess because the barbarians had done a half-assed job.
Still, there was hope.
Since they had succeeded and moved on to the next floor, Jeong Yoo-shin believed that he could do it too.
The dwarf party stood at the front with their shields.
"That skeleton mage!!! I know what kind of monster it is!"
Lena shouted.
"What's its name?"
"Lich Prince. Just by existing, it spreads a curse that lowers strength and stamina. It can use powerful black magic and summoning magic at the same time!"
"Is it a monster that exists in the labyrinth?"
"No. I only know that it’s a monster that roamed this land in the distant past."
Jeong Yoo-shin thought for a moment.
Was it an unknown monster?
No.
The barbarians had killed it once.
There was no reason to be afraid of it.
"The Lich Prince has a weakness."
"What is it?"
"It has a place where it stores its life force called a Life Vessel. If you don't destroy it, it will keep coming back to life."
"How can we find it?"
"I'm not sure... I'm sorry."
At Lena's apology, Jeong Yoo-shin shook his head.
"No. Thank you for telling me."
It was impossible to split up the people here to find the Life Vessel in this situation.
He would have to pass on that for now.
If it was a creature that spread a debuff that lowered strength and stamina, then they had a countermeasure for that.
That skull water.
Jeong Yoo-shin rummaged through his backpack and handed out the water skins to the dwarf party and the beast-people party.
"Take a sip."
"Barbarian, what is this? Is it alcohol?"
At the dwarf's question, Jeong Yoo-shin shook his head.
"It's good for you. It's water that temporarily increases your strength and stamina. It can help you escape the skeleton mage's curse for a while."
"Is that so? Thanks."
"By the way, that luggage you were carrying. What was that?"
"Later. Let's talk after the fight is over."
The dwarves postponed their answer and drank the water.
The lion beast-person took the water skin Lena had brought him and drank it all.
Of course, Jeong Yoo-shin's party also took a sip each.
All the party members got into their stances.
They could hear the sound of monsters swarming in the darkness.
"Kreeeeek!!!"
"Kikikikik!!!"
Since they were from various areas, their cries were also varied.
"They're coming."
A pig-monkey stuck its face into the entrance.
"Kweeeek!!!"
Click.
He raised his crossbow and aimed at the creature's forehead.
Thump!!!
He pulled the trigger, and a bolt flew and hit it right on the forehead.
Thwack!!!
The creature fell backward. It didn't even twitch. It was completely dead.
Over the fallen creature, other monsters rushed into the entrance.
Boom!!!!!!
The left window shattered, and monsters began to enter from the other side.
Mick and the two dwarves with axes stood there and blocked the swarming monsters.
Jeong Yoo-shin stood calmly at the entrance, raised his crossbow, and fired a volley of bolts.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Five to six bolts tore through the air and hit the monsters' arms, legs, torsos, and shoulders.
Thwack! Thump! Thwack!
Some fell after being hit by the bolts, some limped, and some staggered.
He didn't kill as many as he had thought.
But the number of creatures that couldn't move properly had increased.
While he was reloading his crossbow, a wild dog jumped over the dwarves and rushed at Jeong Yoo-shin.
He gripped the bastard sword he had stuck into the ground.
"Hup!!!"
Swiiisssh!!!
The blade flashed and cut off the wild dog's head.
Splaaash!!!
The head flew past Jeong Yoo-shin and to the back.
The next one was a mushroom person.
Slow, but with tenacious life force and was strong to boot.
Although it had about five or six bolts stuck in it, it wasn’t dead yet and was running straight toward Jeong Yoo-shin.
He swung his bastard sword again.
Thwack!!!
The bastard sword came down in a straight line, split the mushroom person's head, and lodged itself halfway.
The mushroom creature froze.
Screeech!!!
He twisted the sword stuck in its head to pull it out and kicked it.
Boom!!!
The corpse flew and crashed into the swarm of monsters at the entrance causing a mess.
Five to six pig-monkeys jumped over the dwarves' shield wall and rushed at Jeong Yoo-shin.
He aimed his crossbow at the face of one of the rushing pig monsters.
Thump!!!
Craaack!!!
The bolt, fired from point-blank range, accurately pierced the pig's forehead.
The creature's head snapped back, and it flew backward.
Though Jeong Yoo-shin couldn't rest yet.
It was because the remaining two were swinging their daggers at him.
He swung his sword horizontally and cut the torsos of the two monsters at once.
Blood and guts poured onto his face and body, but he didn't even bat an eye.
Kra-booooom!!!
A huge pig-monkey pushed through the tavern entrance.
Should he say that it was holding a huge Chinese cleaver?
It was quite a large monster.
"Swine Ogre!!! Skar, be careful!!!"
He heard Lena's shout from behind.
The Swine Ogre rushed at Jeong Yoo-shin and swung its cleaver.
Jeong Yoo-shin stabbed his bastard sword into the ground and threw his crossbow into the air.
A completely defenseless state.
"Skar?!!!"
He heard Lena's shout again, but he ignored it.
[Sacred Weapon]
He imagined Ingrid's huge single-edged greatsword.
Mana surged from his body like a whirlwind and burst out from both hands in a sacred light.
Jeong Yoo-shin gripped the shining greatsword.
Strength against strength.
Whoooooosh!!!
The cleaver descended, tearing through the air.
Krrrrunch.
Jeong Yoo-shin centered his balance and put strength into his lower body.
His boots dug into the ground.
One.
Two.
Three.
He swung at the Chinese cleaver.
Klaaaaaaaaaang!!!!!!
The ogre's cleaver broke in half, flew into the air, and lodged itself into the ceiling.
Click.
Jeong Yoo-shin then caught the crossbow that had fallen from the air in perfect timing and aimed it at the ogre's head.
The Swine Ogre, having lost the power struggle, lost its balance and staggered.
Thump!!!
Thwack!!!
The bolt pierced the ogre's eye and lodged itself there.
The ogre knelt down. The green flame in its remaining eye disappeared.
Jeong Yoo-shin fired another bolt and swung his bastard sword.
He occasionally used Sacred Weapon to escape a crisis.
The desperate battle lasted for two hours.
Lena's mana seemed to have run out, as no more magic flew from behind him.
The other party members were also barely flailing around with tired faces.
"Huck!!! Huck!!!"
Jeong Yoo-shin gasped for breath and swung his sword.
The bastard sword, caked with blood and fat, had lost its edge a long time ago.
The others were gradually being pushed back, but only Jeong Yoo-shin remained at the entrance, dancing a mad sword dance.
His whole body was covered in the monster's blood, as if he had been submerged in a pool of it.
Had he known that this would happen, he would have worn heavy armor.
His head was hot from using all of his strength and concentration to dodge the attacks.
"Fuck."
They were so fucked.
The original plan was to defeat the Lich Prince and then find the Life Vessel.
Was that wrong?
The dwarf standing next to him staggered.
He seemed dazed from a lack of stamina. So much so that he couldn't see the monster rushing at him.
Jeong Yoo-shin grabbed the dwarf by the scruff of his neck and threw him back.
At that moment…
Kra-boooooom!!!
The tavern's entrance was shattered.
Rubble and dust flew and covered the party.
Jeong Yoo-shin gritted his teeth.
Did it finally come?
He had thought it was strange that he couldn't see it during the siege.
The Lich Prince.
The remaining half of its body was floating in the air.
The lich raised a bone staff and aimed it at Jeong Yoo-shin.
A black energy began to gather at the tip of the staff.
It was clearly no ordinary magic.
Jeong Yoo-shin immediately rushed forward.
"Skar!!!"
Lena shouted.
If the magic the lich shot missed and hit another party member, the aftermath would be irreversible.
The swarming monsters…
He broke through them with his bare body.
At the moment when all of his strength wasn’t enough.
Jeong Yoo-shin took out a scroll from his pocket.
'Mion.'
A scroll that the kind priestess had personally made for him, filled with her magic.
He tore it.
At that moment…
Fwoooooooooosh!!!!!!
A blindingly bright light flashed.
And then…
[Holy Barrier]
[Holy Sanctuary]
[Cure]
[Slow Heal]
[Fast Heal]
[Strength]
[Blessing]
.
.
.
[Smite]
Dozens of buff magic were activated all at once.
A storm of holy power raged. So much so that the tavern roof was torn off.
When the Smite magic was over, hundreds of monsters hit an invisible wall, bounced off it, and crumbled to ash.
The dark space of the 10th level brightened like day, with Jeong Yoo-shin at its center.
An enormous amount of buff magic was slammed into Jeong Yoo-shin's body.
His body was overflowing with power.
So much so that his black hair had turned golden.
Sarteurang, who was possessing Mick's body, was screaming with joy.
"Hyaaaaaaaang!!! I'm ascending to heaven!!!"
Jeong Yoo-shin's eyes widened like saucers as he stuttered.
"No, you're crazy!!! Priestess Mion-nim, what is this?!"
Didn't she say she had only put a 'little' magic in it?
"This is a heaping bowl of rice!!!"
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T/N - Lol. No kill like overkill. I approve of Mion’s scroll. It even turned the MC into a fucking Super Saiyan! Why the fuck hasn’t he fucked her yet? She clearly wants and deserves it.
Also, the MC is now pulling off anime shit in his fights. That crossbow toss and catch he did deserves a highlight in an action anime ‘cause that was fucking cool!