Chapter 94 A Call for Help
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: A Call for Help
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Jeong Yoo-shin gulped. He needed to say something, but his mouth wouldn't open.
Possessed?
But when?
“It’s that inscription on the leather board! I knew that ominous feeling hadn’t disappeared. He was already possessed!”
The dwarf priest shouted.
Jeong Yoo-shin’s mouth dropped open.
“Ah.”
So that was why the watchtower exploration had taken so long.
“Kubo, what should we do?”
Jeong Yoo-shin stepped forward and asked.
“We have to subdue Mars! If we tear that leather board, the possession will be lifted!”
At that moment, Mars turned his head and looked at Jeong Yoo-shin and the other party members. A long worm, instead of a tongue, flicked out from his mouth.
“Khehehe!!!”
Just as Mars let out a grotesque laugh and was about to leap backward, Kubo shouted.
“No! We can’t let him escape!”
Jeong Yoo-shin quickly ran towards Mars.
He approached with only his shield and fists, not drawing his sword. He couldn't kill a party member, even if they were possessed.
Mars swung a dagger.
Whoosh!!!
It was just a dagger, but the sound of it cutting through the air was ominous.
‘Come on.’
Jeong Yoo-shin raised his shield.
Clang!!!
A tremendous impact. The dagger not only pierced the shield but also pushed Jeong Yoo-shin back.
Scrape.
Weeds were torn from the ground, and long footprints were carved into the dirt.
“Ugh!”
He gritted his teeth, but a groan escaped his lips. His wrist throbbed.
This was possession?
His muscular body, honed through constant training, was pushed back by a single swing of Mars’s dagger.
Tremendous strength. It was a force that a mere guide, a rat beast-person, shouldn't possess.
‘Fucking damn labyrinth.’
A curse slipped out from deep within his heart.
He gritted his teeth.
He couldn't give up here. The guide was the most important member of the party, especially in the unfamiliar Forest area.
But he couldn't kill Mars, nor could he inflict injuries on him that couldn't be healed with potions.
A dilemma. He had to subdue Mars with only his shield and fists.
‘I can do this.’
He had come this far.
As he made up his mind, his posture straightened.
Once again, Mars charged at Jeong Yoo-shin and swung his dagger.
Whoosh!!!
A diagonal slash aiming for his left shoulder.
He immediately stepped back and lowered his stance.
He raised his shield.
One.
Two.
Three.
Bang!!!
As soon as the dagger struck the shield, he twisted his waist and pulled the shield towards him.
Mars, who was laughing, was pulled along.
Jeong Yoo-shin waited with his fist hidden behind the shield.
‘Just a little closer.’
Mars’s body was pulled closer. His eyes were completely black.
Fully possessed.
He punched his fist out.
Thud!!!
A perfectly timed body blow landed squarely beneath Mars’ ribcage, where his liver and ribs were.
“Kugh!!!”
Mars’s body buckled, and he vomited black liquid.
The liquid splattered on Jeong Yoo-shin, but he didn't care.
‘It’s working!’
Whoever this possessing entity was, it couldn't escape his exorcism-powered liver shot.
He dropped his shield, tackled Mars to the ground, and straddled him.
Jeong Yoo-shin raised his fist and slammed it down on Mars’s head.
Wham! Wham! Wham!
“Get out!!! Get out of Mars’s body!!!”
Kubo rushed over and clung to Jeong Yoo-shin.
“Skar! You idiot!!! Go easy on Mars! You’ll kill him!!!”
Jeong Yoo-shin suddenly came to his senses and looked down at Mars.
Black liquid continued to pour from Mars’s mouth.
“What do we do now?”
“Wait! Iron Mask ran to the watchtower!”
“Alone? Isn’t that too dangerous?”
“Iron Mask said he left markers as he walked. That’s why I sent him first.”
Jeong Yoo-shin nodded.
He had wondered why Iron Mask hadn't helped while he was wrestling with Mars. Now he understood.
“S… Skar.”
Mars blinked and stammered.
“Mars?”
His eyes weren’t black anymore. There was white and black. They were back to normal.
‘Could it be that the exorcism worked?’
“No! Don’t be fooled!!! The evil spirit hasn’t left Mars yet!”
Kubo frantically warned Jeong Yoo-shin.
“Evil spirit? I thought it was some kind of cosmic outer god?”
“Th-That’s nonsense! Absolutely not!”
“Then what is this thing?”
At Jeong Yoo-shin’s question, Mars’ eyes turned black.
“Kkkk. You want to know who I am? Skar? I am the servant of 𐒗𐒚𐒥𐒚, 𐒥𐨩𐨀.”
“Kugh!!! Lord Ifrit, the Fire Elemental God!!!”
Kubo recoiled and then held up the elemental god’s symbol hanging around his neck.
Jeong Yoo-shin felt a momentary chill, but that was all. He didn't contort his body or turn pale like Kubo.
‘What the hell is going on?’
His curiosity was short-lived.
Thud!!!
A sharp pain shot through his ribs, and his body was lifted into the air.
“Gah!!!”
Jeong Yoo-shin crashed into a tree.
Thump!!!
He collapsed onto the ground and writhed like an insect.
“Cough. Hack.”
He couldn't breathe.
“Kihihihik!!!”
Mars, his eyes rolled back, laughed and stood up.
Jeong Yoo-shin felt his stomach. A sharp pain. Even with his light armor, his ribs were cracked.
[Revenger]
Blue flames flickered through the gaps of his helmet.
Jeong Yoo-shin staggered to his feet.
Mars charged forward and swung his fist.
Wham!!!
His helmet crumpled, and he was slammed back to the ground. His head swam as if he had a concussion.
“Damn it!!! Skar!!!”
Kubo shouted.
A disaster born of carelessness. A painful lesson.
Mars’s kick aimed for Jeong Yoo-shin’s abdomen.
Whoosh!!!
He instinctively knew that if he got hit by that kick, there would be no coming back.
Jeong Yoo-shin quickly rolled to avoid Mars’s foot.
Crack!!!
The missed kick shattered the base of a tree.
He sprang to his feet and delivered an elbow strike.
Thud!!!
His elbow, laden with his entire body weight, slammed into the side of Mars’s head.
Mars’s head snapped to the side.
‘Now.’
He grabbed Mars’s shoulder with one hand as he stumbled back and made a fist with the other.
‘Forgive me, Mars.’
[Sacred Weapon]
A sacred golden light enveloped his fist.
Wham!!!
Wham!!!
Wham!!!
Wham!!!
Jeong Yoo-shin’s fist repeatedly smashed into Mars’s face. Forehead, temples, nose, cheekbones – he meticulously delivered punches everywhere.
“Keek! Kek! Ugh!”
Mars screamed intermittently, his body convulsing as if electrocuted, but Jeong Yoo-shin didn't stop.
Finally, when Mars’s eyes rolled back and he went limp like a jellyfish, Kubo, the priest, stepped in.
“Skar, s-stop it! You’ll really kill him!”
He stopped punching. His leather gloves were soaked with the pitiful rat beast-person’s blood and snot.
“Sigh. Alright.”
He wiped the filth off his gloves, gently laid Mars on the ground, and took the dagger from his belt. He wasn't sure if the possession was lifted, but since Mars was lying still now, there seemed to be no need for further violence.
Just as Jeong Yoo-shin relaxed, a strange sound came from beyond the bushes.
Rustle.
“Grooooan.”
Jeong Yoo-shin and Kubo froze.
“C-Could it be…?”
Kubo trembled.
“Oh, fuck.”
Jeong Yoo-shin clicked his tongue and drew his sword.
Something emerged from the bushes.
Jeong Yoo-shin narrowed his eyes as he identified it.
A humanoid monster with a mushroom for a head.
Its entire body was covered in small mushrooms and spores, and a foul stench permeated the air.
And that wasn't all.
A small, baby-like corpse crawled out from the ground. Attached to its small back was a giant mushroom-like growth which was riddled with hundreds of holes that emitted brown spores like smog.
Eight Mushroom Fungus Humans.
Two Mushroom Baby Corpses.
They all moved slowly but were extremely dangerous monsters of the Forest area due to their toxicity. He knew this from what he had read in the books.
“Kubo!!!”
Jeong Yoo-shin stood up and drew his arming sword while keeping his foot firmly planted on Mars’s stomach to prevent his escape.
“Don’t worry about me!”
Kubo shouted while raising his staff.
Monsters appearing out of nowhere.
Iron Mask was gone, trying to destroy the leather inscription.
Mars was incapacitated.
They were facing the worst possible situation.
“Grooooan!!!”
The Mushroom Humans reached out with their hands and charged at them.
“Fuck!!!”
Jeong Yoo-shin cursed. Throwing his shield away had been a mistake.
Three Mushroom Humans charged at once.
Jeong Yoo-shin swung his arming sword.
Swish!!!
A mushroom head was severed, and sticky pus erupted, splattering Jeong Yoo-shin.
A few drops of the viscous liquid seeped through his helmet and into his eyes.
“Ugh!!!”
His vision blurred, and his eyeballs burned as if scorched by fire.
[Venom Protection]
[Revenger]
One was activated voluntarily, the other automatically.
Blue flames flared through the gaps of his helmet.
He grabbed Mars’s dagger and blocked the hand swung by another Mushroom Human.
Clang!!!
“Ugh!!!”
Despite their slow movements, they possessed incredible strength.
The dagger cut halfway through the Mushroom Human’s hand, but, seemingly oblivious to pain, it raised its other hand instead.
Jeong Yoo-shin quickly swung his arming sword, severing the remaining arm and then the neck.
Slice!!!
The Mushroom Human’s head flew through the air and landed on the ground.
Splat!!!
Green liquid sprayed from the severed neck, splattering Mars’ face.
“Kihehehehek!!!”
Mars, now awake, laughed maniacally.
He seemed to know that his time of freedom was short.
‘Not a chance.’
He secured the dagger to his belt.
[Sacred Weapon]
He created a long metal spike and impaled Mars’s left hand with it.
“Kyaaaaaack!!!”
Mars let out a bizarre, ear-splitting scream.
‘As expected.’
Perhaps because it was magic infused with holy power, it was effective against evil spirits.
Another Mushroom Human charged while swinging its arms wildly.
Whoosh!!!
He ducked under the Mushroom Human’s attack and plunged the dagger into its left knee.
Thud!!!
He drove the dagger deep into the knee, but the Mushroom Human didn’t even flinch.
He didn't stop there as he thrust his arming sword into the creature's chest.
Thud!!!
He let go and stepped back.
[Sacred Weapon]
He willed a single-edged axe into existence.
Gripping it with both hands, he chopped off the creature's head.
Thwack!!!
As the headless Mushroom Human stumbled and began to fall backward, Jeong Yoo-shin quickly retrieved his arming sword and dagger.
Mars, who had been laughing grotesquely, stared blankly up at Jeong Yoo-shin and then suddenly slumped, unconscious.
“It’s, it’s gone!”
Kubo exclaimed.
He understood immediately.
He nodded and then removed his foot from Mars’ body.
It seemed that Iron Mask, their leader, had destroyed that damned leather board.
He looked back.
Kubo, who was sweating profusely, was swinging his staff to fend off the attacks of a Mushroom Human. Two Mushroom Humans with burst heads lay nearby.
He immediately ran to Kubo.
“Kubo!!!”
“Skar!”
Jeong Yoo-shin charged in, grabbed the Mushroom Human by the head, and slammed it to the ground.
Thump!!!
He stomped on the wriggling creature’s head.
Crunch!!!
The creature's head was crushed, and spores and liquid spread across the ground.
Suddenly…
Whoosh!!!
Something tore through the air behind him.
Jeong Yoo-shin desperately turned and swung his sword. He didn't even have time to see what it was.
Clang!!!
His arming sword snapped.
“Fuck!!!”
The fragments of his broken arming sword and a spore-emitting spike hung momentarily in the air before falling to the ground.
He immediately knew where the spike had come from.
The giant mushroom on the baby corpse was emitting spores of the same color.
Jeong Yoo-shin threw himself to the ground.
Whoosh!!!
Whoosh!!!
Grotesque spikes that were spewing spores flew towards him. They were twice as fast and powerful as ordinary crossbow bolts.
He had no sword.
No.
He did.
The blue longsword strapped to his back. The sword that was made by Einhorfer and Boron.
Click!
He grabbed the hilt and drew it, swinging at the incoming spikes.
Swish!!!
The speed was on a different level compared to a one-handed arming sword.
The blade, reflecting the dying torchlight, illuminated the dark forest with a chilling glow.
Slice!!!
Jeong Yoo-shin’s longsword sliced through two spikes like tofu.
[Sacred Weapon]
He grabbed a spear made of light and threw it.
Whoosh!!!
The spear of light tore through the air, impaling the baby corpse’s mushroom and embedding itself into the ground.
Instant death. The baby corpse stopped moving.
Jeong Yoo-shin ran over and sliced the remaining baby corpse in half.
Rip!!!
Brown pus sprayed from the bisected corpse, splattering him.
Jeong Yoo-shin lowered his sword and stood still.
“Huff. Huff.”
Aside from Jeong Yoo-shin’s ragged breathing, the area was silent.
All clear.
There were no more moving monsters.
“Kuagh!!!”
Suddenly, Kubo’s scream came from behind him.
“What?!”
Jeong Yoo-shin quickly turned around.
Three human-sized spiders were descending from a tree while clinging to Kubo.
“Fuck!!! Kubo!!!”
Just as Jeong Yoo-shin was about to run at him, someone jumped in and swung a greatsword.
With a single swing, all three spiders were sliced in half.
Kubo, covered in guts and viscous fluid, struggled to free himself.
“Iron Mask!!!”
Jeong Yoo-shin shouted.
“Huff. Huff. I’m late. I’m sorry.”
Iron Mask apologized while breathing heavily. Jeong Yoo-shin immediately shook his head.
“Ha… No. I’m sorry. I should have protected our party members.”
Suddenly, a woman emerged from behind Iron Mask.
Brown hair.
A timid appearance.
She was one of Ret’s party members.
Jeong Yoo-shin stared blankly at the woman.
What was she doing here?
‘Was her name Bryn?’
“P-Please help me!”
Bryn cried while bowing her head.
Jeong Yoo-shin slumped to the ground.
As soon as one problem was solved, another arose.
“Ha… Why can’t I ever be happy?”
His dejected voice escaped from beneath his helmet.
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T/N - Ho boy. MC can’t catch a break, huh? Also, the ‘exorcism-powered liver shot’ cracked me up.
I wonder what trouble Ret’s party got themselves into? I sorta see Ret as an overconfident bastard who’s dependent on his OP imprint, so him getting into trouble on the floor with the law of ‘Pain’ makes sense to me.