Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Drakeas Onslaught
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# Chapter 21
Drakeas measured ten meters in length.
There were slight variations depending on the individual, but those that had grown enough to dominate an entire territory were roughly that size.
When a monster of that magnitude charged at full speed, no ordinary human could possibly block it.
The first time a Drakeas had appeared, the soldiers who collided with it had their bodies shattered.
Even Ailin, a low-rank knight who far surpassed ordinary humans, had barely managed to block the charge—and collapsed immediately after.
But...
Seo Woo-jin blocked it perfectly.
And with a look of utter composure.
Grrrr...
He could see the bewildered glint in the Drakeas's eyes.
Seo Woo-jin let out a sigh of relief.
He knew full well that an entire company of a hundred soldiers couldn't stop the beast's attack, which was why he had stepped forward.
As he had told Jo Han, he was the strongest one here.
Truth be told, he had been anxious.
*Can I really block it?*
He knew he had grown stronger.
He had reached level 9.
One more level up, and he would be on par with upper-rank knights like Tes Te Ron or Gerald, meaning he had achieved tremendous growth compared to a month ago.
And yet, the anxiety lingered because the memory of his first encounter with a Drakeas was too vivid.
The primal terror of death he had felt for the first time refused to fade easily from his mind.
But that was over now.
"You're not as tough as I thought."
Objectively speaking, the Drakeas was overwhelmingly stronger than any monster Seo Woo-jin had fought in the past month.
The only comparable foe had been the ice worm.
And yet, Seo Woo-jin thought it was weak.
By blocking a single charge, he had dispelled the shadow of fear.
Did it understand his words?
Grooooar—!
The Drakeas unleashed a roar laced with murderous intent.
"Urk!"
The thunderous bellow right in front of them drew groans from the soldiers.
"My ears!"
Seo Woo-jin grimaced and swung his sword.
Craaaack—!
A simple horizontal slash tore open the Drakeas's hide.
It was insignificant compared to Ban Slaine's strike, but still no light wound.
Startled, the Drakeas recoiled.
For its size, the movement was astonishingly agile.
"Where do you think you're—!"
Seo Woo-jin moved to pursue it.
But someone grabbed his arm.
"Halt!"
It was Jo Han.
"If you chase it now, you're dead."
Seo Woo-jin didn't understand.
He had clearly seized the advantage.
And yet, he would die?
"I know you're strong, but you can't do it alone."
Drakeas were cunning.
They weren't rulers simply because they were big and powerful.
They knew how to use their heads and when to retreat if the odds turned against them.
And...
"Look over there."
Jo Han pointed behind the Drakeas.
"Hm?"
Seo Woo-jin spotted something.
"That's..."
"Monsters."
They were swarming forward like crashing waves.
Seemingly under the Drakeas's command.
Even at a rough glance, their numbers reached a hundred.
*So that roar earlier wasn't just out of anger.*
It must have been a signal to summon the monsters under its rule.
"No matter how strong you are, you can't beat those numbers."
Frankly, even one Drakeas was a handful.
He had landed a hit by exploiting a moment of carelessness, but now that it was wary, it would be difficult.
"Fall back."
Jo Han slowly retreated with the soldiers, maintaining formation.
Their goal wasn't to hunt those monsters.
Rather than risking their lives on the impossible, they needed to hold out until the main force arrived.
That was the plan.
"I've sent a messenger, so reinforcements will come soon. At latest, within an hour. We just need to endure until then."
Of course, that wouldn't be easy.
Even if Seo Woo-jin somehow held off the Drakeas, there were too many monsters swarming in.
"Tch, that's why I told you to retreat."
Ignoring Jo Han's scolding, Seo Woo-jin took a deep breath.
*There sure are a lot.*
As the monsters drew closer, he began to feel a twinge of tension.
He could handle one Drakeas, but protecting all the soldiers from that horde? He wasn't confident.
*Still, I have to.*
He didn't want to see any more soldiers die before his eyes.
To make that happen, he needed to seize the initiative.
To cower the monsters' advance and boost the soldiers' morale.
*Which means this is all I can do.*
From level 5 onward, he gained a skill with every level up.
Seo Woo-jin currently possessed six skills in total.
Five, excluding the mysterious '???'
'Black Flame,' 'Heavy Strike,' 'Acceleration,' 'Rampage.'
'And the new one, 'Aura.''
He decided to use 'Rampage' and 'Aura.'
His mana pool wasn't vast enough for prolonged use, but...
*I can hold out until the main force arrives. No, I have to.*
Even if it wrecked him completely.
"Defensive formation."
While the Drakeas hesitated, Seo Woo-jin and the soldiers managed to fall back quite a distance.
It would have been ideal to retreat all the way to the main force, but sadly, that wasn't possible.
The monsters were nearly upon them.
At Jo Han's command, the soldiers raised their shields.
They formed a solid wall like a turtle's shell.
Of course, that alone couldn't stop the monsters.
And the soldiers knew it best.
Seo Woo-jin glanced back to see Jo Han's grim expression.
The other soldiers looked the same.
But there was no fear.
They were resolved to die.
Of course, Seo Woo-jin had no intention of letting them perish so easily.
"Brace for impact!"
At Jo Han's sharp cry, the monsters charged.
'Aura.'
Seo Woo-jin activated the skill.
Blue mana began pouring from his black sword.
It wasn't mere visual flair.
It was destructive energy born from compressing the mana within his body to its limits.
The blade extended less than two meters, but...
Whoosh—
He swung it from left to right.
Dozens of monsters at the front were cleaved in two.
* * *
"Which way did the 400-man company head?"
Ban Slaine asked.
"Northwest, sir."
"They've been gone over two hours, so we need to move now."
He wanted to rush ahead alone and find Seo Woo-jin.
But without knowing the company's exact position, he needed the soldiers' help.
"Per the combat manual, they should send at least one messenger upon encountering a Drakeas."
The lack of one suggested they were still safe.
"That's a relief, but..."
Complacency was forbidden in the north.
It was a scouting mission for the Drakeas, but encountering other monsters en route was always possible.
Some of those could overwhelm even a level 9 Seo Woo-jin.
Like the ice worms Ban Slaine had personally cleaved recently.
So worry was inevitable.
"We depart immediately. Take all available soldiers and scour the projected area..."
"My lord!"
A frantic shout cut off Ban Slaine's search order.
Turning, he saw a bloodied soldier sprinting toward them.
Without pausing for a salute, the man dropped to his knees before Ban Slaine and blurted out his report.
"Fourth Company has encountered the Drakeas! Hero Seo Woo-jin is currently engaged in combat with the soldiers! A monster horde has launched an assault—they're in crisis!"
Everyone's faces hardened at the report.
Encountering the Drakeas was bad enough, but if its monster minions had joined the fray, it was dire.
"Location!"
Tes Te Ron demanded urgently.
Even he couldn't guarantee survival in such a scenario.
His anxiety was palpable.
"Northwest, 7.8 kilometers. A snowl pack is blocking the path, so time is..."
"I'll go ahead."
Ban Slaine kicked off the ground.
Now that he knew the position, the soldiers were no longer needed.
"My lord!"
Tes Te Ron cried out in alarm, but Ban Slaine's figure had already shrunk to a dot and vanished.
"Follow him!"
No matter how strong Ban Slaine was, they couldn't let him go alone.
Tes Te Ron led the Blue Shield Knights in pursuit of the vanished lord.
* * *
Seo Woo-jin's expression wasn't good.
*Too many.*
His first swing had been highly effective.
He had sliced through the charging monsters, who had no defenses up.
It boosted the soldiers' morale and gave him confidence.
But the monsters didn't pause for even a second.
Subjugated by the Drakeas, they seemed incapable of feeling fear.
To Seo Woo-jin, who rivaled an upper-rank knight, they weren't much of a threat individually.
The problem was their sheer numbers.
*My mana...*
True to its 'Immeasurable' rating, Seo Woo-jin's growth was explosive.
At level 9, his mana pool alone surpassed that of upper-rank knight Tes Te Ron.
Yet it still fell short.
No, he could manage the horde alone, but the Drakeas remained unscathed.
*I need to conserve it.*
'Aura' demonstrated overwhelming power against the monsters.
Merely grazing them tore their flesh apart.
Even the Drakeas eyed the aura warily and held back from charging.
But mana had limits, so Seo Woo-jin deactivated the skill.
The consequences appeared immediately.
"Urk!"
A sharp bone shard from somewhere grazed his side.
It came from a Platter, a monster that fired its own bones like bullets.
His skin tore, red blood spraying.
*I'm still fine.*
It wasn't a light injury.
A bit deeper, and it would have damaged his organs.
But he could endure.
Subjugation missions had inured him to such wounds.
The pain was intense, but it didn't hinder his movement.
Seo Woo-jin swung his sword in a trance amid the monster tide.
Stray thoughts had long vanished.
His mind held only one imperative.
Kill one more monster.
How long had the desperate struggle lasted?
His once-clumsy swordsmanship began tracing new patterns.
Unnecessary force wasted away, replaced by elegant arcs.
The soldiers fighting behind him gasped in awe at the overwhelming sight.
It wasn't as devastating as 'Aura,' cleaving dozens at once, but every swing felled at least one.
But that didn't last.
"Watch out!"
Jo Han's warning snapped Seo Woo-jin from his trance.
The Drakeas's murderous fangs loomed before his eyes.