Luring the Mud Dwellers
To be precise, it wasn't his crotch, but rather the space between his legs.
"Kieeeeeeek!"
The one screaming wasn't Choi Muryeong, but a Kappa.
"...?!"
Choi Muryeong immediately spun around toward the source of the shriek.
Right in the middle of the empty paddy field, a Kappa lay sprawled out spread-eagle.
A sword was driven straight through the dish on its head.
Shring.
Choi Muryeong drew his sword, seemingly having grasped the situation.
Bob...
Bob...
Bob...
One by one, the heads of Kappas began to bob up and down from the muddy field.
It wasn't that there were no Kappas.
They had simply been hiding.
Waiting for the right moment.
Hiding inside the muddy field was only possible because Kappas used water as a medium to travel.
...Still, hiding in a paddy field? Isn't that a bit of a stretch?
I wanted to complain, but there was no one to complain to.
Anyway.
So you're going to stay buried in there and not come out...?
Watching their yellow eyes bob up and down was getting on my nerves.
So that's how they wanted to play?
Splat!
I yanked my sword out of the head of the dead, sprawled-out Kappa.
Dozens, no, hundreds of eyes stared back at the motion.
Fine.
If you won't come out, I have my own ways.
"Hey, Maeng."
I grinned and looked at Maeng Juim.
"Get ready."
Maeng Juim possessed the Charm trait.
Though he was now nothing more than a chubby, heavily bearded middle-aged man,
his abilities were still top-notch.
Pop.
Pop.
Pop.
Unable to contain their curiosity,
the Kappas poked their yellow eyes above the mud.
Slither...
The gaze of every single Kappa was locked onto none other than Maeng Juim.
"Ah, shit..."
Maeng Juim scratched the back of his neck, which was breaking out in goosebumps.
"It's been a while, and it feels even worse..."
Even though the Kappas obviously couldn't understand his words,
their yellow eyes darted back and forth, following the sound of his voice.
Just as I thought.
It was exactly as Lee Taepyeong had predicted.
The Kappas couldn't tear their eyes away from Maeng Juim.
Their yellow eyes moved in perfect unison, as if they had rehearsed it.
They didn't spare a single glance for Lee Taepyeong or Choi Muryeong,
who posed a far greater threat than Maeng Juim.
Only Maeng Juim.
The Kappas' eyes were fixed solely on Maeng Juim.
"...Is this enough?"
At Maeng Juim's question, Lee Taepyeong shook his head.
"This isn't enough."
"...Not enough?"
"Yeah. We need to drag them all the way out..."
"..."
"...so we can kill them for good."
Indeed.
A simple Charm was only enough to hold their gaze;
it couldn't force the Kappas out from beneath the mud.
"Aren't you being a bit too harsh?"
"Why else would I have brought you all the way here, hyung?"
"Hey, I still have that PTSD thing or whatever..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I know, but..."
"..."
"...you still have to do it."
In the end,
it meant he had to use the taboo skill, Temptation.
"Don't worry."
"How can I not worry, you punk? Look at those bastards' eyes."
Lee Taepyeong chuckled as he looked at the creepy eyes of the Kappas.
"I won't let them lay a single finger on you, hyung!"
"You crazy bastard..."
Maeng Juim let out a deep sigh.
Though he tried not to show it, his hands were already trembling violently.
But still.
"...Get ready."
"I've been ready!"
Squelch.
Maeng Juim dropped to one knee.
As he placed his hand on the muddy ground,
Thump.
a heart-shaped ripple spread outward.
And at the same time,
Kiiiiiii...
Gruuuuu...
the Kappas caught in the Charm continued to poke their eyes above the mud.
With their eyes literally rolled back in frenzy,
the Kappas slowly began to crawl out of the muddy field.
Fiddle.
Lee Taepyeong checked to make sure the Quiet Eira Forest's Earring was securely in place.
Without a mental defense item, even Lee Taepyeong would fall victim to Maeng Juim's ability.
Lee Taepyeong signaled Choi Muryeong with his eyes.
Your job is to cover us.
Choi Muryeong nodded.
There was no objection.
After all, Lee Taepyeong was the one who had set up this stage.
Splap!
Splap, splap!
Staring only at Maeng Juim,
the spindly arms of the Kappas began to pop out of the mud one after another.
Their numbers were unusual.
"...Hey, isn't this a bit too many?"
"The more, the merrier, hyung."
Lee Taepyeong grinned as he looked down at the Kappas crawling out of the mud.
To Lee Taepyeong, the Kappas were no longer bloodthirsty monsters that had seized control of Tsushima Island.
Rather,
they felt like angels rising up to deliver free experience points.
Pop.
Pop.
Pop.
Skinny green arms burst from the mud.
Fins grew from their armpits, and their hands were webbed with sharp claws.
Squish...!
The moment a sticky Kappa hand reached out to grab Maeng Juim,
Slash!
the Kappa's wrist was cleanly severed.
Ki...!!
And before it could even shriek,
Thrust!!!
a dagger plunged deep into the Kappa's throat.
Thud!!!
Its body, only halfway out of the mud, collapsed instantly.
Kiiiii...
Kweeee...
Even though their kin was collapsing right beside them,
the Kappas kept their eyes locked solely on Maeng Juim.
"Gasp...!"
Staring into hundreds of yellow eyes, Maeng Juim's mental state began to waver.
No matter how experienced Maeng Juim was,
that was a story from over a decade ago.
Facing such a massive horde of monsters again was bound to revive the nightmares locked in his mind.
"Fuck, please just kill them quickly!!"
"I can't."
"What do you mean you can't?!"
"This isn't enough yet."
Lee Taepyeong replied nonchalantly to Maeng Juim's frantic plea.
"We have to drag them all out."
"W-what...?"
"They need to be out at least up to their necks."
Lee Taepyeong's voice was incredibly calm.
It was as if he had already calculated the most efficient way to slaughter them long ago.
Slash!!!
Once again, a Kappa's hand reaching for Maeng Juim was sliced clean off.
Lee Taepyeong smiled at the stammering Maeng Juim.
"Picking them off one by one isn't really my style."
"Hey, s-still..."
"These guys are slower than I thought. Why don't you just use Temptation?"
"Huh?"
"Just use it, close your eyes for a bit, and I'll wrap this up."
Maeng Juim, slumped in the muddy field, asked in a hollow voice,
"...Are you serious?"
"I'll make it quick."
"Kiyaaaaak!"
"Kweeeeeeek!"
Man, this hyung is seriously amazing.
I grinned and adjusted my grip on the Jeoldanchamgeuk.
Thrust!
First, I killed the one that had crawled right up to Maeng Juim's nose.
Once I activated Killing Time, it would be game over.
Stab!
Pierce the bald dish on the head.
Slice!
Slash the wrinkled neck.
Thrust!
Stab between the bizarrely protruding ribs.
Rip!!!
Slice it wide open all the way down to the navel.
Stab!
Drive the blade into the beak.
Squish!
Pull it out, stab the next guy's eyeball.
Screeech!!!
Ripping off the shell is an option, though it's a bit of a hassle...
Crack!
Ugh, no, that's not it. Let's stick to the head.
Snap!!!
Separate the head from the neck.
Smash!!!
Throw the severed head to smash into the next target.
Slash!
Meanwhile, slice off the wrists of the Kappas lunging at Maeng Juim.
Thrust!!!
For the ones with thick necks, just go straight for the heart.
Pssssshhhhh!!!!
Hot blood sprayed everywhere.
"Phew..."
In less than a minute,
dozens of Kappa corpses littered the muddy field.
"Ptooey!"
Why the hell does their blood taste so bitter?
Gargle...
I pulled out a potion, rinsed my mouth,
"Ptooey! Spit, spit!"
and spat it out onto a collapsed Kappa nearby.
Wriggle...
Perhaps because it was a healing potion, the Kappa's torn entrails began to squirm and knit back together,
Pop!
before reaching their limit and bursting entirely.
Just in case, I thoroughly trampled the entrails before walking over to Maeng Juim.
"Hyung, you can open your eyes now."
"Bleeegh!!!"
Maeng Juim gagged the moment he opened his eyes.
This guy is great and all, but his weak stomach is a real issue.
I seriously don't understand how he made it to the 49th floor.
"Want a potion?"
"Ugh, blegh!!!"
"You're exaggerating too much."
"...Hey, I haven't done this kind of thing since before I retired—ugh, blegh!"
I was worried he might actually throw up his own organs at this rate.
"What do you mean retired? You're still so useful!"
I patted the gagging Maeng Juim on the back.
"Is this all of them?"
I asked Choi Muryeong, who was scanning the surroundings.
"It seems so, for now."
Choi Muryeong nodded.
So this was all of them hiding in the muddy field?
This is way too few...
I had killed nearly a hundred of them,
but there was no way a mere hundred Kappas had taken over Tsushima Island.
The original population of Tsushima Island was around 26,000.
About half of them were lucky enough to escape the island.
Of the remaining 13,000 who couldn't escape, half died.
The other half turned into Kappas.
The Japanese Hunter Special Forces and the Self-Defense Forces had eliminated about 2,000 Kappas.
That meant there should be at least 5,000 Kappas left on Tsushima Island.
Since I had just killed about a hundred,
that left roughly 4,900?
Even if they had resorted to cannibalism due to food shortages after the island was quarantined,
there should still be at least 2,000 to 3,000 left.
So where on earth were they...?
Rumble...!
Rumble, rumble!!!!
Fortunately—or unfortunately.
"...!!"
"...!!!"
There was no longer any need to search for them.
"Wow..."
The ground shook with the intensity of an earthquake.
It felt as if the entire island was undulating like a wave.
No, this was seriously...
"...Hyung, just how far does your Temptation reach?"
I asked Maeng Juim, unable to hide my sheer disbelief.
And for good reason.
"Kiiiiiiii!"
"Keeeeeeee!"
Lured by Temptation,
the number of red-eyed Kappas charging toward us
easily exceeded a thousand at a glance.
Shring.
Choi Muryeong drew his sword as if he had been waiting for this, while
"We're fucked..."
Maeng Juim muttered with a hollow face.
"We're not fucked yet."
I calmly patted Maeng Juim on the shoulder.
"Hyung, from now on,"
"..."
"you just need to close your eyes and wait a bit longer."
"..."
"Okay?"
"...Y-yeah."
Maeng Juim nodded, his face pale.
I grinned and adjusted my grip on the Jeoldanchamgeuk once more.
Ah,
it was slippery from all the blood.
Rustle.
Choi Muryeong reached to fire a flare.
I grabbed his hand.
"What are you..."
"We haven't found the breeding ground yet, have we?"
"...That is true, but in a crisis like this—"
"Come on."
"..."
"Let's have some fun, just the two of us this time."
Choi Muryeong stared at me, looking flustered.
Not that I cared.
"Left? Or right? Which way do you want?"
"I will..."
"For the record, I'm taking the middle."
"...Then I will follow behind you."
"Good, good."
The guy was quick on the uptake.
"Well then, I'm off."
I stomped on the neck of a barely breathing Kappa, crushing it to death,
and dashed forward using Killing Time.
Whoosh!
Alright.
Now that the seductive Maeng Juim has drawn all the aggro,
it's time for the stab-happy Lee Taepyeong to make his move.