54. Malicious Troller
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Malicious Troller
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“Puhahahaha!”
Hans’ head exploded. The boy cleric was showered with Hans' bone and flesh.
“Ugh… Ugh!”
Covered in blood, the cleric panicked, unable to speak properly and flailing about.
Dark red tumors erupted from all over Hans' body, quickly covering him completely. The ceaselessly swelling tumors coalesced into a single giant egg the size of an elephant. The egg immediately began to pulsate like a heart.
Thump.
Thump.
Crack.
The tumor tore open, and a long, giraffe-like neck emerged first. A viscous head popped out at the end of the neck, and a pair of snail-like antennae sprouted from it.
Splurt!!!
Several bundles of sharp tentacles burst from the sides of the egg. Its body was swollen with a mixture of yellowish tumors and red flesh. It had no legs. The stench of rotting meat wafted through the air.
A chilling silence fell over the area.
It was only momentary though.
A wave of panic suddenly washed over the guards.
Some collapsed to the ground. Others knelt as they vomited. Some fainted while wetting themselves. And some prayed to their gods.
Jeong Yoo-shin, too, stood frozen while staring at the monstrous creature.
Could it be?
Was this a monster imprint?
Jeong Yoo-shin bit his tongue, the taste of blood filling his mouth. It was a desperate attempt to rouse his stiffening body.
“Is that… the rumored… Unholy Flash? Hans, just how far have you gone?”
Croak, the frog beast-person, muttered blankly. Thick saliva dripped from his mouth.
Kwaaaaaaaaaang!!!!
Someone landed in front of the monster. Dust billowed from the impact. Then, it slowly settled.
One of the Labyrinth City council members.
Ingrid Redtail.
She stood majestically, her massive blade planted into the ground.
“Get a grip!!!”
Ingrid roared.
Her voice reverberated through the area.
The guards, finally snapping out of their shock, yelled at the top of their lungs.
“Gather the guards!!! Call everyone!!!”
“Raise your spears!!! Prepare for battle!!!”
The bewildered guards grabbed their weapons and stepped forward.
Then, a lightning bolt of realization struck Jeong Yoo-shin.
Why were the esteemed Committee members frequently seen near the labyrinth entrance? Why were the city guards so busy that they couldn’t focus on anything else?
The reason was finally revealed to him.
It was to protect the city.
From whom?
From high-ranking explorers who had received negative imprints.
There was a reason why the beginner explorer classes lacked detailed examples of negative imprints.
“Ampuma Siphuhota.”
What was once Hans looked down at Ingrid and mumbled.
“Hans, you’ve been completely consumed by the Unholy Flash’s evil. I’ll send you off peacefully.”
Ingrid gripped her great sword.
“Kreeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!”
The creature shrieked. People covered their ears and staggered back.
In an instant, Ingrid’s great sword vanished from sight.
Whoooooosh.
From top to bottom.
Hans' massive body was split in two.
Splaaaaaat!!!!
Booom!!!!
A single downward slash cleaved Hans and created a massive crater on the ground. A powerful shockwave, like an explosion, erupted outward.
“Ugh!!!”
Jeong Yoo-shin gritted his teeth and ducked.
Stone and flesh, mixed with dust, pelted his helmet.
One slash, and the ground was split open, a shockwave erupting from it. It was a power bordering on superhuman. It deserved to be called supernatural.
Jeong Yoo-shin managed to raise his head and look at the epicenter of the shockwave.
It was an unbelievable sight.
Jeong Yoo-shin’s eyes widened.
Hans' bisected body was still twitching.
Had he survived that blow?
What tenacious vitality.
“It’s over.”
Ingrid raised her great sword again.
Suddenly, light burst from Hans' body. The severed halves regenerated instantly, and a red membrane emerged, enveloping him.
“Tsk! ‘That imprint’? You’re really pulling out all the stops, Hans.”
Ingrid clicked her tongue and swung her great sword.
Kwagagagagak!!!!
The great sword scraped across the red membrane. A shallow crack appeared.
Then, a transformation occurred. Hundreds of fleshy masses erupted from Hans' body. The masses wriggled, and then formed into humanoid shapes.
Claw-like fingernails.
Gaping mouths.
Sharp teeth.
Grub-like tongues.
And pitch-black pupils.
Humanoid in shape, but closer to grotesque monsters.
Hundreds of them swarmed past the red membrane, scattering in all directions.
Ingrid brought her great sword to her waist.
Whoooooosh!!!
A horizontal slash.
Splaaaaaat!!!
Dozens of the creatures were swept away and were sent flying through the air.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Blood and flesh rained down around the magic circle.
Ingrid thought to herself.
‘Hans always held a unique position in Labyrinth City due to his defensive abilities. Now that he has mutated and with his multiple imprints, his defense has become even more formidable.’
But he wasn’t impregnable.
It would just take some time to break through the barrier.
‘What bad luck to encounter this on my first day back on duty.’
Focusing solely on breaking the barrier would be faster, but Hans’ spawned minions would overwhelm the guards then.
Casualties would be inevitable.
Swallowing her bitter disappointment, Ingrid swung her great sword.
Kwaaaaaaaaaang!!!
Kwaaaaaaaaaang!!!
Hans' red membrane trembled, and cracks began to appear.
Hans wasn’t idle though.
He lashed out at Ingrid with dozens of tentacles that looked like woven steel rods.
Shreeeeeeek!!!
Shreeeeeeek!!!
Ingrid, unfazed, sliced through the tentacles that protruded from the red membrane.
While Ingrid and Hans fought, the hundreds of “monsters” spawned from Hans’ body broke free from the red membrane and charged toward the guards.
“Croak!!! What are those ‘monsters’?!”
Jeong Yoo-shin grabbed the frog beast-person by the scruff of his neck and shook him.
“…Fl, Flash Crawlers. Summons of the Unholy Flash.”
The name was unfamiliar.
That wasn’t important though. Their origin didn’t matter.
Instead, he needed to know their weakness.
But this frog beast-person seemed out of it.
Jeong Yoo-shin started to slap him, but he then stopped, realizing he was overly agitated.
He released the frog beast-person and gripped his long sword.
He would figure it out himself.
Shhhwing.
Jeong Yoo-shin drew his sword as he watched the oncoming horde come closer. Iron Mask and Stonefist stood beside him.
“Croak is a cleric. He’s a rear support, so we need to protect him.”
Stonefist, the half-ogre, said while stretching.
“What’s the plan?”
“We hold out until Ingrid takes care of that high-ranking explorer. We don’t need to interfere.”
Stonefist expertly answered Jeong Yoo-shin’s question.
Iron Mask slung his great sword over his shoulder and asked, “Half-ogre, tell us. What should we do now?”
“…Well…”
Just then, the mole beast-person shouted toward Jeong Yoo-shin’s party.
“Barbarian!!! Bring your friends here! Join the guards’ formation!”
Stonefist scooped up the dazed frog beast-person.
Jeong Yoo-shin, Iron Mask, and Stonefist retreated and joined the guards.
Stonefist, due to his large size, took a position on the flank of the defensive line.
Iron Mask disappeared somewhere.
The frog beast-person squeezed in among the clerics at the rear.
Jeong Yoo-shin stood in the center of the formation.
“Hold the line! Raise your spears! We have to hold them off!”
The guards beside Jeong Yoo-shin shouted.
“Damn it! What rotten luck!”
“How many years has it been since this happened?!”
“It’s been almost a year since the council had to intervene directly. Stay sharp. Judging by how things are going, this won't be easy.”
The guards braced themselves, their spears thrust forward.
One moment they were joking around in the night, sitting idly on their chairs. Next, they were on the verge of a bloodbath.
Hundreds of monsters charged toward the guards.
‘Here they come.’
Jeong Yoo-shin positioned himself, long sword at his waist, assuming the stance Ashur had drilled into him so relentlessly.
“Kieeeeek!!!”
“Kreeeeeeek!!!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Waves of Flash Crawlers impaled themselves on the guards’ spears. They were incredibly tenacious, thrashing about even while impaled.
Jeong Yoo-shin raised his sword and thrust forward. He aimed for the neck. These creatures were humanoid. He assumed their weaknesses would be similar.
Pshhhhk!!!
“Kreeek!!!”
The monster continued to struggle despite having its neck pierced.
Wrong.
Not a vital spot.
Jeong Yoo-shin quickly withdrew his sword and raised it above his head.
A downward slash.
Chwaaaaack!!!
The monster then collapsed, its head split open.
That was it.
“The head is their weak point!!!” Jeong Yoo-shin yelled.
The mole beast-person, upon hearing this, looked at the monster’s corpse and shouted.
“The head is their weak point!!! Guards, aim for the head!!!”
Jeong Yoo-shin fought shoulder-to-shoulder with the guards as he swung his sword relentlessly.
The guards behind him blocked the Crawlers’ path with their spears, while those at the front hacked at the monsters’ heads.
It was pandemonium, a cacophony of screams and splattering blood.
Jeong Yoo-shin gritted his teeth and kept swinging. It was the only thing he could do.
Chwaaaaack!!!
Thanks to his ceaseless training, he split a monster’s skull vertically with a single, unwavering strike.
Chwaaaaack!!!
Chwaaaaack!!!
Blood and brain matter that reeked of decay splattered onto Jeong Yoo-shin.
Crack!
His sword, dulled after dozens of swings, was suddenly lodged in a Crawler’s head.
“Damn it!”
He yanked his sword hard.
Snap!!!
The sword broke.
“Shit!! Boron!!”
“Here, use this!”
A guard behind him tossed him a sword.
Jeong Yoo-shin, without time for thanks, snatched the sword and resumed swinging.
Despite the guards' valiant efforts, the line was steadily being pushed back.
There were only forty guards to begin with and twenty of them were explorers. Most of the explorers were terrified, and had already retreated or deserted the battlefield.
With over a hundred Crawlers attacking at once from all directions, it was a miracle that they had held out even this long.
Some of the guards had their throats ripped out by the Crawlers.
“Kraaa!!!”
“Dulla! Damn it!”
Cries of anguish echoed across the battlefield.
Jeong Yoo-shin swung his sword tirelessly.
The fruits of his labor, the countless dawns he had met with sword in hand, shone brilliantly in his movements.
Pain, hardship, despair, and limitations had become the fertilizer that nourished his unwavering resolve.
Like an icebreaker cutting through the sea, Jeong Yoo-shin carved a path through the horde.
Snap!!!
Another sword broke.
[Sacred Weapon]
A great sword, identical to Gillian’s Zweihander, materialized in his hand.
A horizontal swing.
Whoooooosh!!!
Splaaaaaat!!!!
He cleaved the monsters in two.
Someone tossed him another sword.
He caught it and swung.
Shreeeeeeek!!!
Splaaaaaat!!!
Sword strikes severed the monsters’ heads like flashes of light. Flesh and blood were flying through the dark sky.
Head. Head. Head. Head.
In a trance, he crushed skulls and split heads.
The guards fought desperately, but they were being pushed back. As a result, Jeong Yoo-shin was becoming increasingly isolated.
‘Should I retreat?’
He thought, and at that moment…
Thump!!!
Someone landed beside him.
Stonefist, the half-ogre.
“Joining the fray.”
“Good.”
The half-ogre slammed his massive fist down.
Kuwang!!!
The ground caved in, and chunks of mangled monster flesh flew in all directions.
“Barbarian!”
Iron Mask joined them.
Jeong Yoo-shin nodded once at the man. It was enough.
Iron Mask swung his great sword.
From top to bottom.
Kwaaaaack!!!
A Crawler was split in half from head to groin.
The three men stood back-to-back, holding back the tide of monsters.
It was definitely better to fight together than alone.
They barely knew each other's names. He didn’t know what imprints they had or what kind of lives they had lived.
The important thing was to cooperate and survive.
“L-Let me in! Ribbit!”
Croak, the frog beast-person, hurried over while clutching his staff.
Jeong Yoo-shin grabbed the frog beast-person by the scruff of his neck and tossed him behind them.
“Ribbit!”
Jeong Yoo-shin, Iron Mask, and Stonefist formed a triangle, with the Croak in the center.
“Cast a spell, any spell!”
Jeong Yoo-shin yelled.
“A-Alright!”
Croak began chanting.
The three men fought back-to-back, struggling fiercely.
Stonefist smashed and tore apart Crawlers with his fists and feet.
Iron Mask methodically swung his great sword, cleaving Crawlers in two.
Snap!!!
Another sword broke.
“Damn it!!!”
Jeong Yoo-shin gritted his teeth. No matter how good a sword was, it couldn’t withstand repeatedly smashing against the hard skulls of monsters for so long.
In desperation, he bashed a Crawler’s jaw with the pommel of his broken sword.
[Sacred Weapon]
A golden, barbed sword materialized in his empty hand. It resembled the grotesque sword he had seen in the tavern at the eastern district.
Tswaaaaaaaack!!!
The jagged blades ripped and tore through the Crawlers, tearing away chunks of flesh and bone. The golden, grotesque sword, coated in tendons and viscera, dissolved into particles and vanished into the air.
A Crawler lunged forward and bit Jeong Yoo-shin’s shoulder. Sharp teeth pierced through his leather armor, sinking deep into his flesh.
[Revenger]
The imprint activated.
Jeong Yoo-shin’s eyes blazed with blue fire.
He swung his fist, smashing the Crawler’s jaw.
Crack!!!
A left hook shattered the Crawler’s jawbone and splintered its teeth.
He grabbed the creature, which had collapsed limply as if concussed, and slammed its forehead with the pommel of his broken sword.
Whack! Whack! Whack!
Once. Twice. Thrice.
The Crawler’s forehead caved in, its eyes bulging out.
“Long time no see, Karl.”
The young leader from his beginner party. He looked similar to his friend whose head had been caved in by a goblin’s club.
Jeong Yoo-shin greeted him warmly and kicked him away.
The Crawler with the caved-in forehead collided with other oncoming Crawlers and tumbled to the ground.
He threw away his broken sword and activated his imprint.
[Sacred Weapon]
A golden single-edged axe.
He gripped it with both hands and twisted his waist to the limit.
Einhorfer.
A horizontal swing.
Tswaaaaaaaack!!!
Eight Crawlers were bisected in an instant.
The golden axe dissolved into particles in the air.
He had a moment’s respite.
He glanced over at Ingrid.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ingrid parried dozens of incoming tentacles while continuing to batter the crimson barrier. Multiple cracks now marred Hans' barrier.
Was it still not enough?
What kind of barrier was it that even someone with near-superhuman strength like Ingrid couldn’t break through immediately?
Jeong Yoo-shin’s party was hanging on by a thread.
Could they last any longer?
He didn't know.
He planned to retreat slowly and rejoin the main guard formation after the frog beast-person finished casting his spell.
“D-Done!”
Croak raised his staff high.
[Aqua Pr—]
Unfortunately, the frog's spell failed to materialize.
“H-Help me!!!”
A bull beast-person covered in blood screamed and ran desperately toward Jeong Yoo-shin’s group.
“W-Wait! Hey!”
Iron Mask cried out in alarm.
The bull humanoid shoved Iron Mask aside, barging into their formation.
Croak, who was in the middle of his spellcasting, was knocked over by the bull beast-person.
“Protect…Ribbit!!” the frog beast-person squeaked from beneath the bull.
The incantation had failed.
The spell dissipated.
“You crazy bastard!!!”
Jeong Yoo-shin roared in fury.
They had been holding their own surprisingly well for a hastily assembled party. But the sudden intrusion of this idiotic bull had disrupted their coordination.
Iron Mask, losing his balance, stumbled.
Several Crawlers slipped past Iron Mask and lunged at the bull and the frog beast-persons.
Because of one malicious troller.
The party was plunged into a crisis.
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T/N - What an action-packed chapter! I hope this party survives. MC has been 0 for 3 in his party search so far, so I hope this one can at least last more than one major crisis. Especially since I like Stonefist, and Iron Mask (meh on Croak though).