38. The Gardener (6)
38. The Gardener (6)
"I came here to save this child."
'A woman...? Save her?'
'What is she talking about?'
The adventurers, including the three elite-grade members, were already thoroughly exhausted from the prolonged battle against the vampire and her slave army.
They had resupplied upon entering the dungeon, but hadn't anticipated another major battle so soon, so they had only replenished the essentials.
Libertas's side, however, was fresh—having barely fought—and moreover, that deceptively frail-looking individual had already learned all about the enemy and made extensive preparations.
That gap alone was enough to narrow the difference in combat power by at least half a step, perhaps even a full step.
"Damn. Something's not right here."
"Ha. Even if she's a real Dungeon Lord, she's nowhere near that vampire bitch."
- We can handle this.
Even so, they still didn't think they would lose.
Worn-out prestige is still prestige, and three elite adventurers were present who, though tired, could still easily exert power beyond the advanced level.
Because of that ingrained confidence, their response time to the combat was delayed by half a beat once they perceived it.
And the momentary gap thus created would soon change their thinking entirely.
Whoosh—!
"Fuck...!"
The moment the adventurers realized their expressions were twisting at those words, Libertas's figure was swallowed by the shadows and vanished.
"Behind...!"
The ones who reacted as soon as her form disappeared before their eyes were the magic swordsman Alexis and a few warriors.
Wielding an arming sword in one hand and simultaneously summoning a blade of flame of similar length in the other, he immediately spun to check behind the allied mages and archers—a veteran adventurer's response, properly executed.
It was just that Rita's movement this time was not conventional.
"...No way?!"
Libertas appeared directly behind Alexis, who had turned his body at that very spot.
Which meant she was simply right in front of him. Had Alexis not quickly tracked her shadow magic and turned his body.
"「Shadow Restraint」."
The instant Libertas's feet touched the ground, her shadow assimilated with the darkness of the cavern and seized Alexis's legs.
An elite adventurer's resistance could instantly break such a restraint, but the problem was what came next.
Because a threat that would not permit even a moment's hesitation was descending upon his head.
- Clatter!
Whoong!
What emerged from the cave's darkness, merged with Libertas's shadow, was a massive axe. The one holding it was Ax, captain of the guard of the Black Dungeon Lord.
Now clad in decent leather armor, the giant skeleton—looking even more imposing due to its massive size—materialized in the air above Rita and fell, bringing the axe down with the momentum of a guillotine.
"Kgh...?!"
At the ominous sound of the wind, Alexis twisted his body with all his might, but the distance was far too close, and the magical restraint gave him no time to react.
Before Alexis—now suddenly subjected to a surprise attack by a warrior from the front—could hurriedly raise his sword to at least slow the strike.
Kwang!!
A shortsword, looking infinitely small compared to the axe, intervened from the side.
Thickly laden with magic power.
"Skeleton? The necromancer was over here...!"
"Protect Sir Alexis!"
"Damn. What's going on?! There really are two Dungeon Lords?"
Lincia barely deflected the unexpectedly powerful force of the skeleton by imbuing her body with magic power and using her sword.
As soon as she identified the enemy, the warriors drew blunt weapons and some mages began concentrating their minds.
"「Shadow Assault」."
But before the magic could even properly form, Libertas, who had been intently watching Lincia and Jin-kyung, opened her mouth.
As if she had prepared it in advance.
Sshuk—!!
"「Flame...」 Kgh?!"
"Attack that woman—no, that monster!"
Formless blades suddenly shot out from the bare ground.
This place was a cave.
Thanks to that, shadows Rita could utilize were overflowing in every direction.
As those shadows assaulted the mages, they had no choice but to cancel the power they were building up and hurriedly dodge.
And as soon as the mages—whose concentration was broken and could not complete their spells—shouted, the advanced adventurer warriors began swarming in with blunt weapons.
Rita turned her head away as if she didn't even see those warriors.
"Deal with them."
- Tap-tak!
- Clank.
Three more figures had already descended in front of her.
"Additional skeletons! She's definitely a necromancer!"
"Still, these puny things...!"
Clang! Whoosh!
"What the?!"
At first, the warriors tried to charge in, ignoring those presences, but soon had no choice but to abandon their carelessness and adopt a cautious approach.
Because among them, they saw one holding a shield and another holding a staff block the arrows and magic that Lincia and Jin-kyung had hastily fired.
No matter how hastily they were loosed, a mere skeleton had blocked an elite-grade attack. It was natural to think something—whether ability or item—was at play.
In truth, Libertas's invisible assistance was there, but there was no way for them to know that.
『Name - Ax』
『Attributes - Stamina 35 Technique 12 Durability 21 Magic Power 4 Resistance 13』
- Grrr...
'Damn. How is he this big...? Is he really a skeleton?'
Meanwhile, Alexis found himself facing Libertas's warrior, whose strength alone was fully comparable to an elite-grade fighter—if nothing else.
Even while facing an enemy that was merely a skeleton, though large in stature, Alexis felt a cold sweat inexplicably running down his back. The earlier surprise attack had been so dangerous that his body reacted without him realizing it.
And on top of that, an ominous black magic power was even rising over that giant figure.
"「I command you」. 「Sturdily」. And 「with precision」. 「Contend, my warrior」."
- Guwaaah!!
『Attributes - Stamina 38 Technique 23 Durability 33 Magic Power 5 Resistance 24』
The necromantic buff was delivered as overlapping commands upon Ax.
Ax's abilities, which were close to advanced but still severely lacking, were instantly supplemented—especially its close-combat ability, which rose enough to sufficiently withstand an elite-grade warrior.
A buff that accurately perceived and enhanced those abilities was bound to be without error. Wasn't the greatest ability of a healer in an RPG game a wide field of view?
"「Unclean power...!」"
There was one person who hurriedly opened her mouth as soon as she saw Libertas place a buff on her soldier.
The priestess.
The kind you must recruit for any battle when sufficient funds are available.
Clang!
"Kyaaak?!"
"Keep going! I'll block...!"
And at the same time, she was the prime target for the monsters.
Because of that fact, she couldn't immediately continue the action she wanted to take. The moment she opened her mouth, a sword strike came crashing down, and just before being hit, the escort warrior barely succeeded in raising his shield.
Seureureuk.
From the shadow beside the priestess, a longsword—not sharp, but looking incredibly tough—revealed itself.
The one holding it was a swordsman whose stature was much smaller than the giant from before, yet whose presence radiating from its body was far more formidable.
Clang! Clang! Kwang!
"Why are you so strong...! Hurry! Priestess-nim!!"
"Y-yes! 「The power to repel the unclean...!」"
Kwakwang!!
"Kyaaak!"
- Kahaa...
As soon as the priestess began her incantation, Evangeline, while locked blade-to-shield, spewed black magical steam from her mouth and ominously brightened her blue eye-light.
The warrior facing her felt a chill run down his spine.
Why was an outwardly ordinary-looking skeleton so terrifying?!
"「Grant us!」—kyaaak!"
Kwang!!
He didn't know what was happening behind him, but the warrior couldn't afford to move now.
If he took his eyes off this terrifying skeleton, he felt his life would be snuffed out in vain.
"「Tough」. And 「with precision」."
『Attributes - Stamina 27 Technique 32 Durability 23 Magic Power 26 Resistance 22』
『Attributes - Stamina 37 Technique 42 Durability 23 Magic Power 26 Resistance 22』
Listening to the 'commands' directly issued by her master, Evangeline's movements grew even stronger and more refined, adding power and skill to the actions of striking down and sweeping aside the shield.
Kwang, kwang, kwang!!
Then, as Evangeline forcefully shook off the blade once and moved while grabbing the shield, the warrior's eyes flew wide open as he stared at the sword coming toward him after his shield was finally knocked away.
'Damn, here...?!'
"「Hummingbird's Wingbeat」!"
Clang! Ka-ka-kang!
"I'm alive...?!"
"Move!!"
The warrior did not die.
Lincia's rapid fire had succeeded in deflecting Evangeline's sword.
However, her brows furrowed instead. Because while she had succeeded in deflecting Evangeline's sword, she had failed to land any follow-up attacks.
All seven arrows were either blocked by the skeleton's sword or dodged.
'How can it be so calm and agile...?!'
That skeleton hadn't even moved hastily.
It calmly placed its sword in the trajectory to deflect or parry, and at the end, after spinning once to cut down a single magic spell flying toward it and lowering the blade to its feet, it even held still and let the last arrow graze past its head.
- Clank.
Immediately after, Evangeline stood in place and slowly surveyed its surroundings.
Not at Lincia, who had shot at it, but as if surveying the entire battlefield.
That quiet demeanor felt oppressively intimidating.
'What is it doing...!'
Growing frustrated, Lincia glared resentfully at the priestess who still hadn't used a holy spell.
The hastily fired arrow had gained no advantage and only turned the skeleton's attention toward her; meanwhile, the priestess, whom she had originally tried to protect, still couldn't secure enough time to finish her incantation.
Kwakwang! Kwang! Kwakwang!!
- Keureureung...!!
"Why is she so damn strong...!!"
"S-save me...!!"
Lin Xue, whose 'Frenzy' was reaching its peak—her magic power and stamina both at their zenith—was toying with the two other warriors while continuously pounding on the priestess's barrier.
Seeing the holy barrier repeatedly shattering and regenerating, it looked like she had absolutely no time to pay attention to anything else.
Shue's combat ability stat was originally close to advanced, but now that her Frenzy was near its climax, she was strong enough to fight—or even overwhelm—three adventurers who were at the entry-level or mid-range of the elite grade in a one-on-one fight.
So it was natural that the advanced-level adventurers couldn't get a grip on her.
- Tak!
Hwareuk!
Just as Shue was toying with the priestess and two warriors, Evangeline, who had been stepping back and alternating its gaze between that scene and Lincia, had its eye-light flare up.
'It's coming...!'
Clang!
Given the outwardly ordinary but monstrously capable skeleton's movement, Lincia had no choice but to stay on guard.
"Get... away!"
- Taak!
Ka-kang!
Lincia bit her lip as a sword strike grazed the top of her head, trying somehow to repel the enemy, but this skeleton's speed was faster than her tired self could match.
She could somehow block using her shortbow and shortsword thanks to her inherent abilities, but it looked precarious in the extreme.
Because this cave wasn't a suitable place for her to shine in the first place.
That was only natural, being an 'archer' who was supposed to snipe from afar when outside, and activate a firing mode in a thoroughly protected environment when in tight spaces.
"Alexis!!"
"Handle it yourself over there! It's no joke here either!"
"Damn it!"
Kwang!!
- Grrrr...
At that, Lincia called out to the one with the strongest close-combat ability, but he was still tied up by Ax.
Because Ax, knowing its own skill was severely lacking, was using a method of literally shoving its body into Alexis's sword—empowered by its master's durability and resistance buffs and encouragement—while swatting away magic with its axe.
Having seen that axe cleave deep into the cave walls and floor several times over, Alexis absolutely could not easily turn his back on it.
Kwang!! Kwang!!! Kwang!!!!
Ax, having channeled even the residual magic power granted by its master entirely into supporting its stamina, was chasing him with incredible speed and reckless momentum unbefitting its giant frame.
Wielding a two-handed axe in one hand and a ridiculously dainty shortsword that didn't match it in the other.
It was a menacing pressure that felt like his skull would be split in two or his heart pierced if he made a single mistake.
Ka-chak! Clang!
"What the hell! Those arms!!"
There were certainly plenty of openings in this skeleton. It was just that exploiting them was useless.
Half of the carefully aimed thrusts at those openings got tangled in the strangely hardened joints, and the other half were continuously blocked by the shortsword in the left arm, which moved independently in an uncanny way while imbued with dark magic.
It was a high-level concentration control where most of the giant skeleton's movement was left to itself, but Rita herself directly handled a portion of its defensive capabilities.
But there was no way Alexis could know that.
- O, Light, come...!
Meanwhile, having confirmed that the source of the skeletons being simultaneously summoned all around was the 'shadows,' Jin-kyung tried to summon light inside the dark cave.
She wanted to first block the enemy's additional reinforcements and freeze the situation.
"「Silence」. You're quick-witted."
But that attempt was blocked right before it succeeded.
By Libertas's simple curse, as she knew Jin-kyung's abilities well thanks to the one-bite knight's explanation.
- Clank.
- Tap-tak.
Kwak!
"Ah..."
Moreover, Rita had even coordinated with the three skeletons beside her to subdue Jin-kyung in a single continuous attack.
As an elite adventurer, her physical abilities were exceptional, but as already stated, they were heavily exhausted, and now that even her main skill was sealed, it was difficult.
The priestess and other warriors she would normally have brought along to protect that weakness were also being pummeled by the werewolf, unable to regain their senses.
"Anyone able to help?!"
"Fuck. Shit...! I'm dying here!"
"Stop spouting nonsense! Who would—in a place like this...!"
So, while Alexis was being chased by Ax, the priestess and two warriors toyed with by Shue, Lincia tangled up by Evangeline, and finally Jin-kyung subdued by Rita.
"Why are the skeletons so strong...!"
"They're using spear techniques...! Crazy—!!"
Figures continuously emerging from between the cave's shadows joined in, each holding a weapon in hand, and were bleeding out the remaining four adventurers.
The final count, excluding those beside Rita, was twelve.
The adventurers were all advanced-grade or higher, but this was possible because each of these skeletons also possessed the strength and skill of a formal mid-tier combatant or higher.
They were the elites whom Libertas had grown her personal abilities for and Evangeline had drilled.
"「I command you」."
And on top of that, a general command issued by Rita was being delivered.
"Take care of yourselves, my children. I will certainly heal you if you get hurt, but it will make me quite sad."
- Clank!
- Tak!
The moment they heard their beloved master's words, the skeletons' movements became even more reckless, intense, and snappy than before.
"Stop!! Don't come! Don't come...!"
"S... Save me! Guaaaaah!!"
Peok!!
In the end, it didn't take long for silence to fall over the interior of the cave.