Chapter 197 Peace Like a River to Me
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: Peace Like the River to Me
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In the swamp covered by a thick blood-red fog.
The Swamp Ghoul just stood there, its mouth wide open in a grin, not moving.
Jeong Yoo-shin, noticing something was strange, took his stance and glanced around.
The Swamp Ghouls that inhabited the swamp had three characteristics.
First…
Their fingernails and teeth contained a terrible paralyzing poison.
Second…
They mimicked the words of the people they had eaten.
And third…
They didn’t travel alone.
Jeong Yoo-shin heard the sound of a chattering conversation from nearby.
"Mom."
"It's to the left."
"I'm sorry."
"Leave me and go."
"You're betraying me?"
In the thick, blood-red fog…
Dozens of ghouls were approaching the area from the swamp.
Their direction was exactly where he was.
Jeong Yoo-shin sheathed his longsword and took out his bastard sword. In his other hand, he held a loaded crossbow.
A ghoul bent down, straightened its body, and rushed toward Jeong Yoo-shin.
"P-Please save me. Kreeeeek!!!"
Jeong Yoo-shin took a stance and swung his bastard sword.
Swish!!!
The sword cut through the blood-red fog and half-severed the ghoul's waist.
Splaaash!!!
Red blood and guts flowed out from between the ghoul's split belly.
Splash!!!
The ghoul passed Jeong Yoo-shin by and fell into the swamp. It struggled for a moment, then it soon sank beneath the water.
'The next one.'
Jeong Yoo-shin quickly turned, but it wasn’t easy to move in the swamp, which came up to his calves.
The movements of the slowly approaching ghouls suddenly became faster.
"Kreeeeek!!!"
Jeong Yoo-shin aimed his crossbow at the ghoul that had jumped out from the front.
Thump!!!
He pulled the trigger, and a bolt flew and lodged itself in the ghoul's forehead.
Crack!!!
With the sound of bone breaking, the ghoul's forehead was bent upward.
Instant death.
Nothing more to see.
Jeong Yoo-shin laboriously twisted his body and dodged the dead ghoul that was flying toward him.
Splash!!!
The sound of water from behind him.
Jeong Yoo-shin calmly loaded his crossbow and fired bolts one by one.
Click.
Thump!!!
Click.
Thump!!!
The rushing ghouls fell one after another and buried their noses in the swamp.
But he couldn't block dozens of them with just one crossbow.
Soon, the group of ghouls was already near him.
Just as Jeong Yoo-shin was about to pull out the bastard sword he had stuck into the swamp floor…
Something grabbed his ankle from under the water.
"Shit!!!"
Jeong Yoo-shin lost his balance, staggered, and was knocked over by a rushing ghoul.
Plunge!!!!!!
The rotten water of the swamp gurgled into his helmet.
Jeong Yoo-shin, who had swallowed a mouthful of the rotten water, desperately pushed away the ghouls that were pouncing on him from above.
Kagagagak!!!
Fingernails filled with poison scraped and tore at his armor.
Fortunately, the chainmail blocked them.
Jeong Yoo-shin rolled and wrestled with the ghouls in the sticky mud.
As soon as he found space, he immediately threw a punch.
Crack!!!
A powerful punch shattered a ghoul's sharp teeth.
"Kigigik!!!"
The ghoul screamed and covered its face.
Jeong Yoo-shin staggered to his feet and chanted his imprint magic.
[Sacred Weapon]
He grabbed a shining dagger in a reverse grip and stabbed the top of the ghoul's head.
Krrrrunch!!!
The dagger went deep into the ghoul's skull and tore its brain to shreds.
The ghoul's body trembled, then it collapsed and buried its head in the mud.
A whitish brain matter flowed out from the top of its head and mixed with the swamp water.
Another ghoul rushed at him from behind.
"Kugh!!!"
Jeong Yoo-shin, who had lost his balance again, staggered and fell on the swamp floor.
Plunge!!!
Jeong Yoo-shin was once again entangled with the ghouls.
Screams and curses echoed through the swamp, and water splashed into the air.
Jeong Yoo-shin struggled, getting up and falling down repeatedly. Then he barely managed to regain his balance and create a gap again.
[Sacred Weapon]
[Multi-Casting]
As he willed, dwarven single-edged axes appeared in both his hands.
He struck the head of the ghoul that was clinging to him from the front with an axe.
Smash!!!
The sacred golden axe blade crushed the ghoul's head in one blow.
"Kiek?!"
The ghoul, its head split in half, knelt down like a puppet with its strings cut. Jeong Yoo-shin immediately twisted the axe to pull it out and threw it at a ghoul that was rushing to him from the side.
Thwack!!!
The flying axe broke the rushing ghoul's ribs and lodged itself in its heart.
He swung the other golden single-edged axe in his other hand and struck the heads of the swarming ghouls one by one.
Crack!!!
Crack!!!
Crack!!!
The ghouls, their heads split open, buried their heads in the mud one by one.
The ghouls flinched at Jeong Yoo-shin's demonic appearance.
But only for a moment.
They let out a monstrous scream in unison and rushed toward Jeong Yoo-shin.
"Kreeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!"
Jeong Yoo-shin took a stance in the mud that came up to his knees.
[Sacred Weapon]
Property Imbuement.
Gale Sword.
A golden single-edged sword was enveloped by the blood-red fog.
Jeong Yoo-shin bent his body once.
"Huuup."
He took a breath, shot forward, and swung the sword.
Swiiiiiiiiisssh!!!!!!
Jeong Yoo-shin cut through the mud and shot forward like lightning.
Fwoooooosh!!!!!!
In an instant…
The bodies of the ghouls in Jeong Yoo-shin's path were dismembered and flew through the air.
Thud, thud, thud!!!
The blood, guts, arms, and legs that had been flying in the sky fell into the swamp like rain.
Jeong Yoo-shin cut through the swamp at an incredible speed and crashed into a tree on a dry hill.
The rotten tree broke with a crack, and he rolled on the ground.
Jeong Yoo-shin shot up, put down his backpack, and drew the longsword on his back.
Shing.
"Kreeeeeeeeeeek!!!"
The ghouls, who had been standing blankly in the swamp, came to their senses and rushed toward Jeong Yoo-shin while screaming madly.
He was on dry land now. He wouldn't be taken down so easily like before.
He immediately took a stance and swung his sword horizontally at the rushing ghouls.
Swiiisssshhh!!!
The blade, imbued with a sharp edge, cut through the ghoul's neck, bone and all.
The headless ghoul staggered.
Another ghoul rushed from the side.
Jeong Yoo-shin spun like a top, swung his sword to cut its thigh, and sent its arm flying.
The ghoul, its arm and leg severed, collapsed to the ground.
Jeong Yoo-shin raised his boot and stomped on the neck of the gasping ghoul.
Crrruuunch!!!
The steel-plated boot shattered the ghoul's neck bone.
But Jeong Yoo-shin had no time to rest.
This time, five ghouls rushed at him at once.
He immediately took a half-swording stance and clashed with the rushing creatures.
Boom!!!
Jeong Yoo-shin staggered back from the heavy weight of the ghouls.
"Hup!!!"
Jeong Yoo-shin gritted his teeth and poured all of his strength into not being pushed back.
Kagagagak!!!
Long footprints were dragged out on the damp ground.
Beyond the sword, the ghouls' sharp claws scratched at Jeong Yoo-shin's head and body, but they were blocked by his armor. Still, the ghouls' strength wasn’t something to be underestimated.
Jeong Yoo-shin's body was repeatedly bruised and healed.
The blue will-o'-the-wisp emanating from his eyes grew even stronger.
Had he ever struggled this much against a monster recently? His insides were boiling.
'These bastards don't know fair play?!'
"Hyaaaaaaaap!!!"
Jeong Yoo-shin, maintaining his half-swording stance, pushed the ghouls away.
The ghouls' eyes widened as they were pushed back. A mere human. They usually struggled with just three of them. This prey was something different.
Jeong Yoo-shin, not missing the opportunity, swung his longsword.
Once again…
A horizontal slash.
Swiiisssshhh!!!
The blue blade cut off the necks of four ghouls at once and lodged itself in the fifth ghoul's neck.
"Kek!!!"
The ghoul screamed and swung its claws.
Jeong Yoo-shin let go of his sword, stepped back to dodge the ghoul's claws, and rushed back in while swinging his fist.
Crack!!!
A powerful left hook exploded on the ghoul's face. It completely shattered its cheekbone.
The ghoul, with one side of its face caved in, staggered back.
Jeong Yoo-shin took another step and grabbed the ghoul's head. It seemed to be disoriented, as its eyes were rolling around.
Jeong Yoo-shin raised his hand and snatched the ghoul's long tongue.
"Greeeek!!! Greeek!!!"
The ghoul flailed its hands around.
Jeong Yoo-shin put his strength into it and pulled out the ghoul's tongue.
Riiiiip!!!
With a bizarre sound, the tentacle-like tongue was torn out.
Blood gushed from the ghoul's mouth like a spring.
Jeong Yoo-shin didn't stop there and grabbed the ghoul's head before smashing it against a nearby rotten tree stump.
Craaack!!!
Craaack!!!
He repeated it until the ghoul's skull was completely shattered and turned to mush.
"Huuuuu."
Jeong Yoo-shin, who had come to his senses, looked around. Dozens of corpses were floating in the swamp.
It wasn't a total annihilation.
A few had already fled, as only their faint backs were visible in the distance through the fog.
Jeong Yoo-shin sat down and gasped for breath.
It was a fight without anyone watching his back.
The level of fatigue he felt was on a different level.
'I can't rest here.'
Jeong Yoo-shin barely managed to lift his tired body. He had to retrieve his lost equipment.
He searched the swamp for a long time and recovered his bastard sword and crossbow.
He had gotten his equipment back, but one problem had arisen.
His backpack was torn here and there because of the ghoul's claws.
Jeong Yoo-shin crouched down and checked the contents of his backpack.
The food had been soaked from rolling around in the swamp water.
He didn't know where the rope and torches had gone, and only one bottle of recovery potion and pesticide remained, with the rest all broken.
Jeong Yoo-shin suppressed the urge to curse and shouldered his backpack.
The swamp area was famous for being big.
If he delayed and was captured by madness, it would immediately be the end for him.
Jeong Yoo-shin started walking again.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
He didn't know how much time had passed.
Squelch! Squelch!
Jeong Yoo-shin walked through the swamp area with his nerves on edge. Although there were dry, hill-like places here and there, most of it was like a mudflat.
Once you stepped in, you would sink up to your calves.
It made moving difficult. On top of that, there were nasty creatures lurking under the water.
After walking for a long time, he felt something sharp dig into his calf, and he hurriedly got out of the swamp and rolled up his pants.
Leech-like bugs were stuck to his calf.
'Bloodworms.'
A worm-shaped parasite that ate flesh and laid eggs inside.
He had briefly seen it in a book.
He had been thinking about whether to use his one remaining pesticide or not, but they had already latched on to him before he came to a decision.
'This fucking labyrinth.'
Jeong Yoo-shin sat down on a dry hill.
He took out a dagger and dug out the bugs that had half-buried themselves in his calf and were eating his flesh one by one.
"Fuck."
The more he brought the dagger closer, the deeper the bugs dug into his flesh, as if they didn't want to come out.
After a desperate struggle, Jeong Yoo-shin pulled out all the bugs, stood up, and started walking again.
How long had he walked?
His sense of time and direction was paralyzed, and his head was spinning.
A little more time passed. Something began to whisper in the blood-red fog.
"Yoo-shin, stop. You've worked hard enough."
"You're enduring this kind of bullshit? Just give up."
"Go back home? You can just have pussy sex, pop out some kids, and live here. That's home."
Jeong Yoo-shin closed his eyes for a moment and stood still.
The madness of the labyrinth was gradually encroaching on his mind.
"Go mad? Me? Here?"
Jeong Yoo-shin gritted his teeth and then smiled slyly.
Absolutely not.
He would definitely survive this fucking labyrinth and go back home.
Jeong Yoo-shin's eyes widened, and he slowly opened his mouth.
Labyrinth exploration was a mental battle.
He had to find peace of mind.
Wherever he was.
"I've got peace like a river. I've got peace like a river. I've got peace like an ocean in my soul."
In an instant…
The voices whispering in his ear briefly quieted down.
Jeong Yoo-shin started walking again and slowly sang.
A faint figure flickered in the red fog and whispered something, but Jeong Yoo-shin just looked straight ahead and continued to walk.
He walked for several more hours.
Soon, Jeong Yoo-shin stopped walking.
Beyond the red fog…
The widest hill he had ever seen came into view. And a small hut was built on top of it.
Jeong Yoo-shin didn't stop singing as he walked.
A resting place that existed in the swamp level.
Some called it the witch's hut.
Jeong Yoo-shin stood in front of the door, stopped singing, and knocked politely.
"Knock, knock. Is anyone there?"
"...No one's here."
A reluctant male voice was heard from behind the door.
Jeong Yoo-shin smiled slyly and sang at the top of his lungs.
"I've got peace like a river!!! I've got peace like a river!!!"
Creeak.
The door opened, and a man stuck his face out.
His easygoing impression was familiar to Jeong Yoo-shin.
The one who wanders the labyrinth.
It was Fin.
Fin looked at Jeong Yoo-shin as if he were a madman.
"In all my life, this is the first time I've seen someone singing in the middle of the labyrinth. Are you perhaps out of your mind?"
"Fin? It's good to see you. Uh..."
Jeong Yoo-shin was speaking, but then knelt over and buried his head in the ground.
Fin looked down at the collapsed Jeong Yoo-shin and scratched his head.
"You know my name? What the hell are you?"