Chapter 66 Thank You, Masters
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Thank You, Masters
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In the dark cave.
Beyond the flickering torchlight, the Face Centipedes revealed themselves.
There were ten in total.
'Huh.'
He sighed inwardly.
Unlike the last time he struggled on the fifth floor, this was an absurdly small number.
As expected.
He had guessed as much after seeing the goblins roaming around freely.
Jeong Yoo-shin's party had arrived on the fourth floor just as the Eldritch Wave was nearing its end.
Jeong Yoo-shin was relieved, but his party members were frozen stiff with fear.
"Geeeeek!!!"
"They're, they're coming!!!"
Gallerheim screamed.
Just as he was about to step forward.
A plan formed in Jeong Yoo-shin's mind.
It wasn't perfect. Rather, it was more of an improvisation.
But...
'Not bad.'
It was a gamble, but it seemed worth a shot.
"Run! Stay behind me!"
"What?!"
His party members stared blankly at Jeong Yoo-shin.
Ignoring them, Jeong Yoo-shin dashed forward, torch in hand.
"W, Wait!!! Let's go together!"
His party members yelled at him as they scrambled to follow behind him.
"Kueeeeek!!!"
A Face Centipede leaped into the air and swung its stinger.
Jeong Yoo-shin swung his shield as if swatting a fly.
Wham!!!
The Face Centipede, its head smashed against the edge of his shield, crashed to the floor.
His party members, who were following behind him, were astonished.
To so easily swat away the terrifying Face Centipede...
"Are you crazy?!"
Gallerheim's jaw dropped.
"Shut up and run!!!"
At Jeong Yoo-shin's urging, his party gritted their teeth and ran.
"Kieeeeek!!!"
A Face Centipede sprang out from the side.
Wham!!!
Jeong Yoo-shin kicked its head.
Twang!!!
A bolt flew at the same time.
He'd been waiting for it.
He quickly dodged to the side and raised his shield.
Kwagagak!!!
He blocked the bolt and ran again.
Another Face Centipede flew through the air.
He swung his arming sword.
Sswaak!!!
He sliced the centipede's tail in half and then smashed its head against the floor with the pommel of his sword.
He quickly snatched the severed tail and tucked it away.
Now that he had what he wanted, all he had to do was run.
Twang!!!
Another bolt flew.
Four this time.
Jeong Yoo-shin stopped again, thrust his shield forward, and swung his sword.
Kwagagak!!! Clang!!!
Two bolts lodged in his shield, and one bounced off his sword.
What about the last one?
"Kaaaaack!!!"
Suddenly, Gallerheim clutched his thigh and began to fall.
"Fuck!!!"
What he had feared had finally happened.
Jeong Yoo-shin grabbed Gallerheim by the scruff of his neck and lifted him.
A bolt was embedded deep in his thigh.
"Soline!"
Jeong Yoo-shin tossed Gallerheim to Soline.
Even while running, Soline skillfully caught Gallerheim with one hand and slung him over her shoulder.
"Gallerheim! Get a grip! You have to guide us!"
At Jeong Yoo-shin's yell, Gallerheim, who had been screaming, snapped to his senses and gritted his teeth.
"Khhup! Right!!!"
There was no time to treat his wound.
The Face Centipedes and assassins were still pursuing them from behind.
Tatatatat!!!
Thanks to Gallerheim, who was holding onto his senses, the party didn't lose their way and proceeded in the right direction.
How long did they run?
They had shaken off all the pursuing Face Centipedes. The bolts had stopped flying as well.
The torch flickered, threatening to go out.
Four shadows danced across the cave wall.
"Huff. Huff."
His party members were gasping for breath.
It was only natural that they were exhausted as they had been running with all their might.
Jeong Yoo-shin and his party members soon reached a large chamber.
Multiple paths branched out from the spacious chamber.
'This is it.'
Jeong Yoo-shin stopped abruptly.
His party members also stopped.
"Skar! Why are we stopping?"
Soline asked.
"Go ahead."
Jeong Yoo-shin said.
"Don't be ridiculous!"
Soline shouted.
"Soline, please. You're the only one I can trust."
"No!!!"
"Do you want us all to die here?"
At Jeong Yoo-shin's question, Soline bit her lip.
"Gallerheim is injured. If we waste any more time here, we'll all die. I'll hold them off."
"Why are you going this far?!"
Soline's voice was choked with tears.
"Because I gathered you all to my party. So you’re all my responsibility. I won't allow you to die because of me. And don't worry about me, worry about yourselves first. There are still Face Centipedes lurking on this floor, even if there aren't many anymore."
"..."
"Soline, let's go."
For some reason, Pyrion didn't say he would stay behind. Instead, he soothed Soline and led her away.
Jeong Yoo-shin and Pyrion briefly made eye contact.
"I have a lot of good imprints. Don't worry too much."
"I believe you."
Pyrion closed his eyes and began chanting.
Jeong Yoo-shin wanted to stop Pyrion, but then he gave up.
[Haste]
[Raise Strength]
His body felt lighter, and strength surged through him.
"Thank you. Now go."
Jeong Yoo-shin said, turning around.
"Ugh!"
Soline gritted her teeth as she suppressed her frustration.
"Let's meet again alive."
"Let's."
He replied, ignoring Pyrion's words.
Tatatatat!
He heard the sound of his party members’ footsteps receding behind him.
Since he had given them the torch, the chamber quickly grew dark.
He had something to do before taking out his own torch.
Jeong Yoo-shin turned his back to the path his party had taken and blocked it.
He took out the Face Centipede stinger from his pocket and squeezed it onto the blade of his arming sword.
Squish.
It was too dark to see anything, but he could feel the viscous venom flowing down the blade.
Paralyzing poison mixed with the energy of the abyss.
The preparations were complete.
He took out his flint, lit his torch, and threw it on the floor.
The chamber, dimly lit by the small torch, was filled with silence.
He stared at the torch burning on the cold floor and then raised his head.
Jeong Yoo-shin, gazing into the impenetrable darkness, lost himself in thought.
There was a reason why the old woman's party and Oswald's party hadn't been able to ascend past the fourth floor.
When the Eldritch Wave occurred, a black portal appeared on the teleportation stone instead of the red one. The black portal transported people to a random floor.
However, the blue portal on the teleportation stone still functioned properly.
If they had intended to return to the city, they could have just left.
'They're incredibly stubborn.'
He now understood why the bodies of the old woman's party had both bolt and awl wounds.
The reason Oswald's party was relatively unharmed was likely due to the Veil of Darkness imprint.
Several of his questions had been answered, but he wondered what significance they held now.
Jeong Yoo-shin stretched his neck and loosened his body.
He had made the best of a worst-case scenario.
He had provoked them into targeting him.
He had coated his sword with poison.
He had entered the spacious chamber and blocked the path.
He had done his best to send his kind-hearted party members to safety.
Unless it was absolutely unavoidable, he didn't want to send them to their deaths. That was his honest feeling.
It was also troublesome to fight while protecting his party.
In any case.
He only had one goal.
To bury these men here.
Shuffle.
The faint sound of footsteps echoed in the silent chamber.
Jeong Yoo-shin's head turned.
'There you are.'
Twang!
A bolt flew.
Crack!
He raised his shield to block.
Crack!!!
His tattered shield split in two.
He threw the broken shield away.
Clatter.
The sound of the rolling shield echoed through the chamber.
"...Sirs, how long are you going to keep acting like cowards and just flinging bolts from afar? Aren't you ashamed to face your parents in hell?"
Jeong Yoo-shin's indifferent voice echoed through the silent chamber.
Instead of an answer, he heard the twang of crossbow strings.
Twang! Twang! Twang!
Three bolts. Flying from the front, right, and left.
Clang!!!
Thud! Thud!
He deflected one.
The other two bolts lodged in his thigh and shoulder.
Grit!
He gritted his teeth, suppressing a groan.
Twang! Twang! Twang!
More bolts flew.
Whoosh!!!
He swung his sword, but this time, it only sliced through empty air.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
His arm. His other thigh. His side.
"Kuh!!!"
A groan escaped his lips. There was no time to catch his breath.
More bolts flew.
Clang!!!
He deflected two.
Thud!
He didn't know where it hit.
Excruciating pain spread throughout his body.
Sparks flashed in his mind.
Rage filled him to the brim, threatening to drive him mad.
He bit his tongue, focusing on his fading consciousness.
With trembling hands, he grabbed his helmet and threw it off.
Clatter.
The helmet rolled across the floor.
He brushed back his sweat-drenched hair.
Jeong Yoo-shin grinned and spread his arms wide.
A posture of utter madness, daring them to shoot.
"Come on!!! You bastards!!!"
The men began firing bolts frantically.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
How much time passed?
Neither the assassins nor Jeong Yoo-shin knew.
Clang!!! Clang!!!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Jeong Yoo-shin swung his sword madly.
Under the grotesque cycle of pain-fueled madness, and madness-fueling pain.
He clung to his fading consciousness and swung his sword.
He carved a path between life and death.
Clang!!!
Jeong Yoo-shin's body, riddled with bolts like a porcupine, neither fell nor retreated.
He was the embodiment of madness.
His body was slowly dying, but his sword grew faster and faster.
Clang!!! Clang!!! Clang!!!
He deflected more and more bolts with his sword.
Like a man possessed, he deflected the incoming bolts with uncanny speed.
The blue flames burned brighter than ever.
A sign that he was one step closer to death.
Dark, crimson blood gurgled and flowed from Jeong Yoo-shin's mouth.
Jeong Yoo-shin grinned.
"Huh..."
As if pleased with his own laughter, the bolts stopped flying.
"...Crazy bastard. I've never seen anyone as crazy as you in my life."
The one-eyed man appeared, showering him with praise twice over.
Three of his subordinates stood behind him.
Jeong Yoo-shin spat out the blood filling his mouth.
"Ptooey!!!"
Red blood splattered the floor.
"W… Where's Oswald?"
Jeong Yoo-shin stammered.
"How would I know? He was here just a moment ago."
The one-eyed man shrugged.
Jeong Yoo-shin faced the one-eyed man and gave him a wide, twisted grin.
The one-eyed man's face hardened at the sight.
'He really is a crazy bastard.'
He had been in the assassination business for 15 years, but he had never seen anyone so driven by malice in the face of death.
A die-hard among die-hards, who didn't even flinch as bolts pierced deep into his body.
A chill crept up his spine as he looked into the man's blazing blue eyes.
Was this what a barbarian was like?
He had only heard rumors and had never seen one in person, but facing one directly, he was no different from a demon.
A monstrous man. A man who must be killed.
"Finish him off quickly. He's just a wounded beast."
The one-eyed man said while drawing his weapon.
His subordinates also drew their weapons.
They must have undergone rigorous training, as even the sound of their weapons being drawn was quiet.
A mace, a dagger, a one-handed sword, and a hand axe.
"M… Masters."
Jeong Yoo-shin stammered, lifting one foot.
All eyes were focused on him.
"L… Lights out. Rest in peace."
The assassins' eyes widened for a moment.
He stomped on the torch with his foot.
Crack!
The torch went out.
The spacious chamber was instantly plunged into darkness.
First strike wins.
He charged at the man he had just seen. The one with the axe.
He swung his sword in the darkness.
Sswaak!!!
"Kuh!!!"
A scream erupted.
He felt the impact in his hand. Where had he cut? It didn't matter. He had cut, and that was enough.
He moved his creaking body and lunged at the next man.
Tatatat!!!
Whoosh!!!
Footsteps and the sound of weapons.
To the left.
A sword pierced Jeong Yoo-shin's shoulder.
Through his hazy consciousness, he grasped a piece of information.
This one wielded a one-handed sword.
"I stabbed him!!!"
The assassin shouted.
"Ugh! I, I'm your ally! What are you doing?!"
Jeong Yoo-shin shouted.
"Wh… What?!"
A confused voice.
'He fell for it.'
He swung his sword randomly. As long as it connected, that was all that mattered.
Sswaak!!!
"Kyaaaack!!!"
The assassin shrieked like a pig being slaughtered.
He seemed to have lost his composure in the close-quarters combat in the darkness.
This was the limit of a ranged attacker forced into melee.
He had cut down two, leaving two remaining.
"His eyes are burning with flames!!!"
The one-eyed man shouted.
Jeong Yoo-shin closed his eyes, took a few steps, and then stopped abruptly.
Silence fell over the chamber.
No one moved.
Jeong Yoo-shin also stood still, listening intently.
The one who grew impatient first would lose.
Shuffle.
To the right.
He immediately thrust his sword. The lack of a satisfying impact suggested he had hit a thigh.
"Ugh!!!"
Thud!
Another assassin fell to the floor, stabbed.
Only one remained.
At that moment.
A dagger pierced his neck.
Jeong Yoo-shin's eyes widened.
He couldn't breathe.
With trembling hands, he gripped the dagger tightly while ignoring the pain.
"C...Crazy bastard!"
The one-eyed man's voice trembled.
He thrust his sword. The squishy sensation of innards. Bingo.
"Khaaaack!!!"
The one-eyed man stumbled back and collapsed on the floor.
As expected of the Face Centipede’s paralyzing poison. It was incredibly effective.
Tug.
He pulled the dagger out of his neck and threw it onto the floor.
Clatter.
Jeong Yoo-shin lowered his head and spat out the blood pooling in his mouth to the floor.
Then, he took a torch from his waist pouch and lit it.
Hwareuk.
The torchlight illuminated the spacious chamber once more.
'I need to pull out the bolts.'
Thanks to the Revenger imprint, his wounds were healing, but the pain from the bolts embedded throughout his body persisted.
But...
Strangely...
The pain was receding like the tide.
Instead, the darkness of the labyrinth steadily filled his mind.
No. It was the darkness that had always slumbered within him.
An ominous energy flickered in Jeong Yoo-shin's eyes.
He looked around and saw four men lying on the floor.
Seeing them paralyzed and stiff from the poison made him laugh.
Jeong Yoo-shin raised his sword and bowed politely.
"Thank you, masters. This unworthy student has learned much today. In return, allow me to perform a dance with my sword for you."
After speaking, he looked down at the men and smiled.
Psss.
The pants of the paralyzed men lying on the floor began to grow damp.
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T/N - Jeong Yoo-shin will always be a badass in these scenes. Man endured all of those bolt shots, drained all of their ammo, forced them into a melee while near death, and f*cking won! Clever use of paralyzing poison as well.
We're also seeing his madness acting up here, so I'm excited to see how it goes in the next chapter.