Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: 46. My Guardian Deity (5)
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Numbers continued to stream in.
Raiding a super-large dungeon was akin to waging a war. It demanded structure. Strict frameworks. Advance routes were limited.
Every military unit had a tactical purpose. Not just combat, but holding positions, supplying materials, luring enemy monster units, and more. Outsiders couldn't interfere without permission.
To move privately, one needed clearance from the occupying unit. The security team's operator relayed communications to Yoo Ji-tae the moment approvals came through.
"Who's in charge of sector 17C?"
"Got it. Pull in as many communication networks as you can. I'm moving at full speed right now. Our supplies alone won't hold the line for long."
"Find the Commander of the Myeong Yong-ha Legion. Tell him 4Life requests communication supply support. Mention it's related to the Blood Cross subjugation."
"Hey, you idiot. Just go say it like I told you. This isn't the time to hesitate."
"No time, man. Secure the comms network fast."
4Life.
The alias Yoo Ji-tae had used in his 4th playthrough. The name tied to his Rank 3 status.
The moment he became the Gold Dragon's bodyguard, he discarded that name and face. He disguised his identity as some impressive suprahuman. A Rank 3 wouldn't bodyguard a celebrity without hiding who he was.
But now wasn't the time for such concerns.
Yoo Ji-tae plunged into the forest and met the major commanding sector 17C's occupying unit.
"No traces of the target's movement on comms or radar."
She eyed him suspiciously.
"Is BY really kidnapped?"
"Shut your mouth. Does this look like a situation where I'd explain myself to you?"
The major bristled but clamped her mouth shut after the legion commander's cooperation order.
As the protective barbed wire retracted, he bolted without a backward glance. Closing his eyes, he extended his senses to maximum, probing for the Gold Dragon's trail.
It was faint. The physical distance was vast, and it was still moving away in real time.
How the hell were they moving this fast?
'A fluid-form mobility mage...'
Nearby units would be present. Great suprahumans. Monsters that even they struggled against.
Yet the dragon's trail slipped through them effortlessly.
In a forest of towering 100-meter trees. Above, the S-rank monster 「Sky Species」 loomed. Engaging in aerial combat would waste time. He had no choice but to charge straight through the woods.
"I'm Brigadier Koltua of 119F. Mr. Yoo, I've heard you're an extraordinary suprahuman. If you want to pass, you'll need to break through the front lines..."
"I'll head out now, so attach anyone who wants to tag along."
Sometimes suprahumans tried to leverage Yoo Ji-tae to turn the tide. This was the shortest route, so he had no choice but to let them.
He drew a massive longsword from his subspace.
A level 4 artifact borrowed upon becoming a WOO VIP.
「Ancient Soldier's Conviction」
A blade that would never break.
"Forward! Red Mane Troll tribe, 37 strong!"
The operator bellowed.
A+ grade enhanced trolls lurked amid the underbrush, battle-ready. Red Mane Trolls stood around 2.5 meters tall. Tribes this size always had a chieftain and great warrior. Yoo Ji-tae targeted the largest head at the front. That one was the great warrior.
Pa-aht—!
He stomped with all his might. Mana surged, crumpling the earth like fabric. He shot forward. The roaring troll swung its two-handed club at him. A head-on clash would mean some damage.
But Yoo Ji-tae fought smart, not brute.
Time was short.
Sword of the Giant Soldier (AA) ― Form 2
Crushing Thrust
His body launched like a missile.
Kwang—!
「Ancient Soldier's Conviction」 shattered the club head-on. The massive metal sphere fragmented like glass. His palm tore open, but he ignored it, following with a strike that pulverized the troll's skull.
A single blow that stunned trolls and soldiers alike.
"Attack—!"
At the commander's shout, soldiers charged with buffs and skills active.
Excited by the great warrior's death, the trolls roared. Grararara! Grararara—!! Their battle cry swelled their auras. Muscles bulged, veins thickening across their bodies.
To advance even a second faster, Yoo Ji-tae leaped into the most dangerous spot. Surrounded on all sides by trolls.
He batted away a flying club with his arm. Swung his sword. His monstrous strength ensured every swing felled a troll. Those foolishly blocking with clubs shattered alongside their weapons.
Meanwhile, a club smashed into the back of his head. Massive impact. Enough to make his eyes bulge. But his 4th playthrough-hardened body was freakishly tough. No bulging eyes.
Blood trickling from his occiput, Yoo Ji-tae turned to the attacking troll. Its club reduced to a handle, the troll faltered back in panic. He grabbed its fleshy hide, yanked—the sword tip awaited the severed head. The troll died impaled.
He ripped open one's gut. Slashed another's arms diagonally. Split another's head down to the neck. The precisely spinal-damaged troll died instantly, its regeneration useless.
With nearby trolls slaughtered, he paused for a deep breath, scanning the battlefield.
The head blow shook his vision.
Trolls. Corpses. Bodies. Bodies. Bodies. Corpses. Trolls. Soldiers. Great warrior. Chieftain. And...
He ran.
"Mr. Yoo! Where are you going?!"
The deputy commander's voice. No reply.
He wasn't here to fight. The troll camp broken, a breach in sight—he moved.
"Kek!"
"Eek!"
Sharp screams echoed behind. A club had shattered a soldier's knee and thigh bones. With his departure, the tight front began collapsing.
Not his problem.
After advancing hundreds of meters from the front...
Radio crackled.
"Situation in that sector?"
His brows furrowed. He needed 93F. Shortest route on the map.
"Why."
Irritation surged again.
Of all places, the Blade Forest...
The unit's advice made sense. A mutant terrain. Dead swordsmen's bodies sank into the soil to rot. There, filthy mana called "resentment" stirred, seeking form.
Where it gathered, grasses sprouted like fulfilling the swordsmen's grudges—all blade-shaped. They danced, slicing anything passing.
Annoying enough, but monsters dwelled there too. Offshoots immune to the blades: specters, grudges, ghosts, phantoms, demons.
Holy suprahumans must be facing off against the ghosts.
"Forget it. Cut comms with them."
"Heading to 93F. You gonna make me repeat myself? Cut it!"
He roared. Like a tiger's bellow.
For his subordinate, the first roar from Chief Yoo in ten years on the job.
Yoo Ji-tae sprinted toward the Blade Forest. Each step hurled the world backward.
He soon encountered the unit.
"Yoo Ji-tae. Cast a holy blessing on me."
"Ah, yes..."
A saintess-type suprahuman approached, invoking a buff. Soft light seeped into his body.
"Mr. Yoo. Heavy wounds on your glutes and occiput."
As she buffed, the saintess fretted.
"Significant bleeding."
"I'm fine."
"Why not recover first? Five minutes. Entering the Blade Forest like that will worsen the bleeding..."
"Ah. Enough chatter. Hand over some holy water."
The saintess and suprahumans balked at his rudeness.
He openly scowled. Then strode to the goddess statue.
"Mr. Yoo?"
He yanked the holy water vial from the statue's hand.
"Mr. Yoo! What are you doing? That's sacred holy water—not to be used lightly!"
Ignoring them, he bolted. Suprahumans pursued, but he was faster. Vanished in seconds.
En route, he uncorked the flask-like vial and chugged. Salty bitterness exploded. Burning sensation welled from within.
Ahead loomed the pitch-black forest.
Blade Forest.
He charged into the ominous aura.
Blade-grasses slashed his feet, ankles, knees. High above, trees whipped their branch-heads to cleave him.
He diligently parried with 「Ancient Soldier's Conviction」, deflecting with mana. Sparks flew from all directions as he ran.
Halfway through the Blade Forest, limits showed. A blade grazed his cheek. Skin split, blood flowed. Another tore his ear. Cartilage crunched.
Arms and wrists were worse. Over a dozen lacerations already.
His gray security uniform and coat were blood-soaked black.
Yet he didn't stop.
Bit by bit, the Gold Dragon's trail grew closer.
But the buff and holy water faded too. Damn it. Three minutes max now. He had to break through within that, or face real trouble.
Then he halted.
What was coming had arrived.
Shaaaa...
Over three weeks, 170+ elite suprahumans struggled here for good reason.
Amid the Blade Forest, red eyes flickered. Thirty pairs.
They fixed on one spot.
Then widened further. Grotesque, yet from the ghosts' view, like reverence.
Simultaneously, a silhouette emerged from the forest depths.
The ghosts' collective.
S+ mid-boss formed from countless phantoms. Born from this swordsmen's graveyard—the Blade Forest's master.
It approached. A grotesque humanoid: skin stretched over bones, no flesh. One hand gripped a blackened, half-melted longsword.
The master of the Blade Forest revealed itself.