Chapter 7 - The Chosen Children (1)
Chapter 7 - The Chosen Children (1)
Chapter 7 - The Chosen Children (1)
Leon asked if they could do it, but in reality, there was no choice.
Because the enemies were already right in front of them, trying to kill them.
There were only two choices: fight or run.
Of course, if they ran, they would lose what they were trying to protect.
'Wait, he's going to take on one by himself?'
Rosaria, who had stepped forward with her spear to block the enemy, glanced at Leon.
She had brushed it off because he sounded so natural while her heart was pounding with tension, but Leon had said he would handle one of the five vicious enemies approaching them all by himself.
"Rosaria, it's coming!"
But she couldn't just keep watching.
"---!"
As the distance closed, the Xenomorph shrieked and lunged forward like a sudden burst of speed, its massive hooked claw finally swinging at the trainees.
"Ugh?!"
Rosaria reflexively raised her spear shaft to block, but she staggered back from a powerful impact she had never experienced in her life.
Normally, after blocking like this, she should have immediately defended against the next attack or twisted her body to aim for a counterattack, but her ingrained spearmanship didn't come out in time. It was proof that she hadn't built up enough proficiency.
"Argh, aaaaah!"
If other trainees hadn't rushed in one after another to draw its attention, she might have been hit by the follow-up combo.
While Rosaria was stumbling.
Arrows and magic flew from behind and embedded themselves into the Xenomorph's body.
"It's protecting its weak point."
Its sturdy exoskeleton deflected their attacks, and it curled its hooked claws to protect the large pupil on its chest, which was its weak point.
Seeing the other trainees panicking, she gripped the spear shaft with all her might.
It was a feeling of helplessness she hadn't felt since becoming an accepted instructor cadet.
"Leon..."
"!"
Just then, her eyes snapped toward the voice of Seira, who was standing behind her.
And then, she saw an astonishing sight.
Rosaria's eyes widened, and she froze in place.
'I can't expect a stroke of luck like before.'
Leon clicked his tongue as he barely deflected the swinging hooked claw.
Leon had already taken down a Xenomorph alone on his way to the [Dormitory] without even a sword, but he realized that had been a stroke of luck.
Unlike the first enemy he encountered, the Xenomorph he was facing now wasn't letting its guard down and wouldn't easily expose its weak point.
Like a skilled swordsman, it protected its weak point thoroughly while swinging its hooked claws so Leon couldn't stab it.
"If you don't want to give it up, I'll just have to force it open."
So, he instead held his sword at an angle and dashed forward.
Instead of parrying the enemy's hooked claw, he twisted his body as much as possible to dodge and dove into its range.
"---!"
The hooked claw, which would have sliced his body to pieces or crushed him if it hit, grazed right past him, but he calmly moved his body and looked for an opening.
Combat support magic: Instant Acceleration.
Thanks to the magic that literally accelerated his movements for a split second, he moved as if sliding and dove into the enemy's embrace.
Finally, the moment the enemy attempted an all-out attack to shake him off.
Leon caught it with his sword held in both hands.
It was a force that would have snapped his slender knees like dry twigs and driven him into the ground instantly.
"No..."
Rosaria, Seira, and the others. The moment those watching the scene were about to scream.
The enemy's strike, which had been touching his blade, flowed naturally like water down the blade protecting his body and into the ground right next to him.
It was enough power to shatter the solid stone floor.
Before that impact could be fully transmitted, he let go of the sword and leaped, his body soaring up until it was nearly at eye level with the much larger Xenomorph.
"Thunderbolt Spear."
Crackling lightning shot from his hand and pierced the enemy's chest in an instant.
"Ugh..."
Leon had really handled the Xenomorph all by himself.
Against that monster that had filled her with fear after just one clash.
Rosaria was shocked by that fact.
Because she realized how arrogant her thought had been that even if she lost in talent, she would be ahead in skill.
"Everyone, back off!"
Biting her lip, her anger was directed at herself.
She didn't want to be pushed around like this.
So, she overcame her fear and rushed toward the enemy.
Her spear, which had rushed toward the Xenomorph threatening her peers, parried the enemy's hooked claw and finally made it expose its weak point.
In the process, Rosaria lost her spear shaft due to the enemy's overwhelming strength.
But she picked up a peer's weapon that had fallen to the ground and twisted her body in mid-air.
Amidst her long hair and skirt fluttering, the trajectory of the flail, which she had already built up some proficiency with, was accurate.
'It hit.'
Dodging the enemy's claws that narrowly grazed her body, she swung the flail in her hand and struck the enemy's weak point in one blow.
The thrilling sensation of the impact.
Landing on the ground while panting, she looked at the falling body of the enemy and smiled brightly at the joy of victory she was feeling for the first time.
"Everyone fought well."
Catching my breath, I shook the enemy's bodily fluids off my sword.
As a result, no one died while dealing with the five Xenomorphs.
There were some injured with broken bones or bleeding, but it was better than losing their lives.
"Robin said that most of the other peers upstairs are safe, too. They're handling the ones climbing the walls well."
Rosaria, whose face was still pale but whose voice had regained strength as if she had recovered her confidence, pointed upstairs.
Her face was flushed, and her body was trembling, as if she were trying hard to suppress her excitement.
'I might have been like that too.'
She doesn't have the [Strong Spirit] trait, so she is more heavily influenced by emotions.
If I didn't have that trait, wouldn't I also be feeling that thrill?
In my Player days, I had caught countless Xenomorphs with mouse clicks, but actually moving my own body to catch that monster was a completely different story.
"It doesn't seem like the situation is over yet. Let's recover as much stamina as possible and wait..."
[Post: What is this? Legion Elite Kabotoros]
ㄴYeah, that means you're fucked now.
ㄴHardcore is seriously brutal. How does something like that appear before you even pull your first unit?
ㄴHey, this is seriously impossible to survive, right? Has any unit ever survived after that thing appeared in a facility raid?
ㄴSetting everything else aside, you absolutely need firepower above a certain grade to catch that bastard. You can't catch it with unraised units, absolutely not.
ㄴGG
ㄴDid you actually install and apply the expansion pack? Damn, that's for veterans.
However, at that moment, the post uploaded by the Player and the comments from community users attached to it popped up again without warning.
And I, who reflexively checked it, froze in place with my eyes wide open.
"Why, why are you like this, Leon?!"
Even though Seira was grabbing and shaking me from the side, I couldn't tear my eyes away.
The screenshot the Player had uploaded, asking what this was, had a warning written on it that a Legion Elite Kabotoros had appeared at Eisenblut.
"What is this?"
"Suddenly, a cold chill..."
At the same time, a cold and creepy chill began to pour in through the broken front door on the first floor.
It was enough to make Rosaria and the other trainees wrap their arms around themselves and shiver.
"What... is that?"
The first one to spot it was Hermann.
A monster walking toward this place in the dim darkness, looking like a knight clad in full-body armor.
A large horn on its head like a rhinoceros beetle, and a large carapace on its broad back.
Above all, the four black exoskeleton blades attached to its four arms were shining coldly.
"It's an enemy, but since it's alone, let's form a formation and..."
Rosaria, who had jumped up from her spot, grabbed her spear and stepped forward.
It's madness.
Even Hermann, who was knowledgeable about the Swarm, was just opening and closing his mouth, not knowing what kind of monster that was.
Legion Elite.
Literally a type of elite monster.
There are many different types and variants, but one common trait is that they are all reapers that devour the units players have worked hard to raise.
'Kabotoros?'
Even I, who think I know quite a lot about their types, am unfamiliar with that one.
Could it be one added in the recently released DLC?
"Magic isn't working?"
"Arrows are bouncing off, too."
Before the thing approached, the trainees with ranged attack capabilities concentrated their firepower all at once.
However, the blue barrier shimmering around the monster's body deflected the magic, and its blue-glinting black exoskeleton deflected all the arrows and bullets.
ㄴWhat, is it that strong?
ㄴThe strategy is tricky, too. Because of the special force field it has as a unique trait, only melee units can engage it at first, but to actually catch it, you need ranged units.
The community window hadn't closed yet.
I secured one valuable clue that someone had left there.
Only melee units can engage it. But the help of ranged units is also needed.
"We have to stop it."
"No. Back off!"
As the thing ignored all attacks and stomped closer, some trainees, including Rosaria, picked up their weapons and stepped out to stop it.
I hurriedly snapped to my senses and ran forward to stop them.
ㄴMinimum specs for required melee units. Main combat proficiency level 25+, combat experience level 30+, durability including equipment level 30+. For reference, if you have even one proficiency of level 10+ when you first pull a unit, it's a jackpot.
With that last comment from a user writing down the minimum required specs, I ran with all my might.
At the same time, the Kabotoros also kicked off the ground.
"Huh?"
An incredible movement that was hard to even follow with the eyes.
The only thing I could do was to push Rosaria's body to knock her over in a hurry.
Along with the swinging slash, a fountain of red blood sprayed out, and severed body parts soared into the air.