Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Defiance Against the Black Dragon
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‘What the hell? Who’s this asshole!’
‘How dare he act so cocky when he doesn’t even know who we are...!!’
‘Guys like him always die first.’
Woojin’s single remark left the raid members there utterly baffled.
“......Level 50?”
Someone seemed to have used Insight to check his level, and their bafflement quickly twisted into sneers and mockery.
“Where does a low-level punk like you get off being so arrogant...!!”
“Hey! Cut the crap and get lost if you don’t wanna die!!”
“You should thank your lucky stars. If it weren’t for the black dragon, we’d have sliced you up right here!”
They all knew they’d been sizing each other up without saying a word.
Stung by Woojin’s sharp words, they pounced on his level like they’d been waiting for it.
“If you’ve got what it takes to strut around in front of us, why don’t you take the lead?”
Woojin stared silently at Suzuki Hana.
“That’s exactly what I plan to do.”
She flinched.
His response was so matter-of-fact that it wounded her pride.
“Move it. Find a spot to set up the magic circle.”
“Y-yes, got it!”
Sensing her ominous mood, the Red Tower mages scattered in a hurry.
“......!!”
The black dragon’s words drew every eye to Woojin.
‘That guy?’
‘He conquered an uncharted zone?’
‘No wonder......’
“I did say that. There’s no reason for later generations to suffer eternally for the sins of their ancestors. The descendants have the right to break the curse in their own way.”
“Don’t tell me the black mist...... was your doing?”
Bensina fell silent for a moment before answering Woojin’s question.
‘No wonder......’
A curse far too potent to be mere magic.
If a dragon lurked behind it, that made perfect sense.
Woojin instinctively knew the place he meant.
“......The Golden Haven?”
“Why? What if a human found it?”
Gulp.
Woojin swallowed dryly without realizing it.
‘I heard there’s a final stronghold being built on North Wall Island in the other world......’
If Bensina was right, it was a place no human should go.
‘Maybe the rumors about North Wall Island from those collectors were just lies.’
Woojin worried about Luen in the other world, but with no way to get there yet, all he could do was feel frustrated.
“What’s there that makes it so forbidden?”
“What?”
Something felt off.
Woojin sensed an inexplicable strangeness in how Bensina addressed the players.
Fwoosh―――!!!!
As it unfurled its massive wings, shadows blanketed the area like night had fallen.
Bensina’s roar pierced the heavens.
“Urk, guh?!”
“H-Huff...... Huff......!!”
“S-Save......”
“Can’t...... breathe......”
With a single roar, even top Evil Tail players collapsed to the ground without resistance, faces pressed to the dirt.
Bensina glared down at the fallen players like insects before turning to Woojin.
But,
“Sorry, that won’t work.”
Even as top rankers froze in place, Woojin stood tall, staring straight at Bensina.
Bensina bared its fangs and growled at his defiance.
“Raaaaah......!!!”
As if shaking off the crushing fear, Woojin roared and swung his sword at the black dragon.
“Start!!!”
With his shout, arrows flew from behind him.
Pang―――!!!
Flames bloomed at the tip of the arrow slicing through the air.
Clang―――!!!
But it failed to pierce the black dragon’s scales.
“Keep it up!!”
Whoosh――!! Whoosh whoosh―――!!!
A barrage of arrows followed, peppering the black dragon.
Not one broke through the tough scales, all ricocheting away—but that was enough.
“......Fire!!!!”
Luen’s arrows had ignited the spirits of the defense squad beneath the crumbled walls.
Boom!!! Crash!!!!
The squad righted the fallen ballistae and unleashed them at Bensina.
“Whether we die here or there......!! Damn it......!! Fire!! Kill the dragon and recover our lost EXP!”
Had Woojin’s stand stirred something in them?
Chest burning, the captain urged his men while swinging his sword relentlessly.
Boom――!! Booom―――!!
Ballista bolts rained from all sides, targeting Bensina.
Pfshk――!!
A massive bolt pierced the edge of its unfurled wing, embedding in the ground.
The wing membrane between bones was a relatively weak spot, but being wounded by human weapons was an outrage to Bensina.
Bensina swung its tail with full force.
Boom――! Boom―――!!!
Like a whip, the tail smashed the ballista positions.
In one strike, the defense squad members there perished instantly.
“Damn it......! Keep firing!! What are you waiting for!! Bring out every trap and tool we’ve got!!”
The captain bellowed at his dying men.
Fwsh――!!
In that moment, Woojin had closed in beneath Bensina’s foot.
Swoosh―――!!
Spotting him, Bensina lifted its foot and slammed down with all its might.
Its long claws targeted Woojin.
Whoosh――!!
Woojin tucked and rolled aside.
Boom――!!
Just barely dodging, as he rose—
Fwoooosh―――!!
The black dragon’s breath poured onto his former position.
Woojin’s form blurred, vanishing just before the breath hit.
Reappearing atop Bensina’s knee, he sprinted upward with full speed.
Tap......! Tatata tap......!!
Leaping up the dragon’s body like stairs, he reached out in midair.
A mark appeared above Bensina’s head.
Folding its wings, Bensina shielded its face.
Crackle......! Crackle crackle......!!!
Sparks erupted from the wings, shattering the mark above its head.
“......!!”
A true dragon indeed.
Woojin grimaced at the shattered mark but couldn’t afford to stop.
Chilling frost enveloped Bensina.
The wings covering its head froze white.
Fwsh――!!
Woojin thrust his sword at the nape.
In that instant, Bensina’s neck twisted unnaturally, snapping at Woojin’s sword with razor-sharp fangs.
Whoosh――!!
Still gripping the sword, Woojin’s body was flung away.
“Master!!!”
Karlan rushed to catch his falling form.
“Stay back!!!”
Karlan hesitated at Woojin’s shout, and Weden yanked him back, yelling,
“Get away!!”
Swoooosh―――!!
Black energy spread from beneath the black dragon’s foot, inching toward Karlan’s.
Sizzle......!!
He retreated just in time, but the ground reeked and belched black smoke.
“A-Aaaagh......!!”
“Help me!!!”
Players whose feet touched the zone screamed from all directions.
Bodies ablaze, grotesque blisters erupting across skin, limbs paralyzed—endless debuffs ravaged them.
Crackle......!!
A translucent platform appeared beneath Woojin’s nearly slipping foot over the Dark Zone.
“Are you okay?!”
It was Nisen’s magic.
Vmmm......!
Transparent platforms formed like stairs before him.
Woojin accelerated, bounding up Nisen’s platforms toward the black dragon once more.
Dead players’ corpses blackened, birthing humanoid monsters of dark sludge in their place.
“Hah, hah......”
Karlan gasped raggedly at the dying around him.
“You okay?”
Weden asked worriedly, noting his pale face.
“Y-yeah...... Sorry.”
It was his first time.
Seeing people die.
‘How many times has Father witnessed scenes like this......’
Ashamed of his past jealousy toward the Sword Emperor’s title, ignorant of the bloody path his father had walked to claim it.
Grip.
Karlan regripped his sword.
“I’ll help too.”
Weden sensed something different about him.
[Curse intensity weakens.]
[Suppressed stats recover.]
+ All Stats +10
[Karlan awakens Trait: Knightly Virtue]
Trait: Knightly Virtue
▶ Attack power increases 1.5x against foes of higher level.
▶ All stats +1 against foes of higher level.
“Raaaaah―――!!”
Karlan roared, slashing at the nightkin in the Dark Zone.
“......Let’s go.”
“Huh? But it’s still dangerous.”
“Rankers might be fine, but...... a level 50 is leading the charge. We can’t just stand here sucking our thumbs!”
Charles, captain of the Norn Raid Party, bit his lip watching Woojin and the villagers’ desperate stand.
“Everyone, equip your resistance gear! Ranged units, attack Bensina!! Melee, rescue people from the Dark Zone first!!”
“Got it!!”
At Charles’s command, the raid’s archers and mages unleashed on Bensina.
Swoooosh―――!!
Flames and arrows streaked the sky.
“Charge!!!”
“Attack!!!”
The signal spurred other raids to join, pouring attacks on the black dragon.
Once scheming for the final blow, they now united to slay it.
‘The mood’s shifted.’
Raid parties swiftly subdued the emerging monsters.
From Bensina’s eye level, Woojin gripped his sword low, assuming stance.
Dragon Heaven, Gate 1 - Sever
Crackle―――!!
In that instant, razor-sharp lightning erupted like battlefield thunder.