Chapter 150: The Cave of Screams (1)
Chapter 150: The Cave of Screams (1)
Normal weapons are ineffective against undead monsters. The best way to deal with them is to use weapons that have been blessed by a priest or imbued with holy power (silver weapons being a prime example). Failing that, weapons infused with magic power can also deal a certain amount of damage.
A deep silence flowed through the Blue Mountain Range. The only sound was the rustling of grass under our feet. Chilling cries occasionally echoed in our ears, but following my and Ko Yeonju’s advice, everyone was intentionally ignoring them. The moment you’re drawn in by those cries, an encounter with a Banshee becomes unavoidable.
“Hah… hah…”
Ahn Sol was already breathing heavily. I had deliberately slowed our pace, so it seemed she was more affected by the malevolent aura than the other Users. She would also stop walking from time to time, as if sensing some unknown anxiety.
“I can’t believe it. Is this really the same Blue Mountain Range we saw from the outside? How can the atmosphere change so drastically in an instant?”
“The fact that there are undead here should tell you everything. This Blue Mountain Range is a cursed land. With every step, I feel a wave of resentment and malice so strong it gives me goosebumps. It’s ominous.”
Vivian clicked her tongue, clearly displeased with Ko Yeonju’s answer. It was only because of those two that any conversation was happening at all; the rest of the party was likely in a similar state to Ahn Sol. The atmosphere here was on a completely different level from the dead in the Ruined Laboratory.
During my first run, the caravan I was with managed to enter the Cave of Screams thanks to the sacrifice of the archer who had been leading the way. I remember the caravan’s leader at the time as a fairly skilled User, aside from his hot-blooded personality. Thanks to his efforts, the caravan made it to the very end of the Cave of Screams.
However, the moment we entered the chamber at the end of the cave, we came face to face with a nightmare. That nightmare tore our leader, who had always led us with such passion, to shreds. The rest of us didn’t even dare to fight back and fled as if we were being hunted. Only after nearly half our remaining members were torn apart by that thing’s pursuit did the survivors manage to escape the cave. Not that it was safe outside, either.
“Orabeoni. It’s dangerous.”
Ahn Sol, who had been matching my pace since we entered the mountain, stopped with a tense expression. Impressively, she was accurately predicting good and bad fortune with her intuition alone. I stroked the head of the trembling girl once and calmly raised my right hand—the signal to prepare for battle.
“User Kim Soohyun. This isn’t good. It’s not a Banshee, but I can hear a sound that periodically shakes the ground and a rustling sound at the same time.”
“A Death Knight. Or a Lich. In the worst-case scenario, it could be both.”
“Let’s hope not. A Lich is trickier to deal with than a Banshee. Named Monsters are already appearing? What in the world is this mountain range?”
“This is my first time here, too. You think I know everything?”
“Good grief. You’re unbelievable.”
Ko Yeonju shook her head, feigning exasperation at my words. I had told a small lie as I slowly sank into thought. There were two options: fight or flee. Fighting wasn’t an issue in itself, but the noise from the battle would be. The area was already crawling with creatures that had been sending out sensitive signals since our arrival. If we made a loud commotion like in our previous battles, we’d likely be surrounded in an instant. And among them, there would surely be some unsavory types like the Banshee that I’d rather not face.
Still, I wanted to avoid fleeing even more. I had to keep all possibilities open, but it was rare for both a Death Knight and a Lich to appear at once. And even if they did…
I made my decision and slowly began to move forward. This could be more dangerous than any enemy we had fought so far. If a Death Knight and a Lich appeared as Ko Yeonju predicted, I couldn’t afford to be complacent. That left only one solution: subdue the undead quickly before others could swarm us, and then get out of there.
After walking cautiously for about five minutes, I heard Sol gasp.
Ahead of us, a long procession exuding a gloomy aura was approaching through the dense trees. I took a moment to assess their strength and confirmed that my prediction was only half-right. There was no Death Knight, but there was a gaunt skeleton in a robe, wearing a crown on its head and riding a ghost horse. It was a Lich. Surrounding it, skeleton soldiers clad in decent armor were clattering their teeth, serving as its escort.
There were only about twelve of them, but their formation was orderly, and a stern energy emanated from them. They seemed to have spotted us as well and were advancing in a straight line. Eventually, they halted their march, leaving some distance between us. Even while stopped, they made sporadic clattering sounds. Ahn Sol swallowed hard and held her staff a little further forward.
The Lich also seemed to recognize that I, at the head of our group, was the leader. I could feel the ghastly blue flames in its sunken eye sockets staring at me. At that moment, I saw the Lich’s bony jaw slowly open.
Hrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Hraaaaaaaaaaaaa.
I couldn’t understand what it said, but I was certain it wasn’t anything good. The heavily armed skeleton soldiers around it all raised their weapons, displaying their hostility toward us. Of course, we already had our weapons drawn, so I couldn’t complain, but the atmosphere was definitely not improving. And I had no intention of letting them get the first strike while we hesitated. So, I brought my sword to a ready stance and calmly spoke.
“It’s a high-tier undead, a Lich. We don’t have much time, so I’ll explain the tactics right away. For the formation, the melee Users will form a Phoenix Wing Formation with me at the lead. Ranged Users will provide support from the rear. However, User Ko Yeonju will act as keeper. I’ll take the Lich, so the remaining skeleton soldiers will be a good match for the others.”
As I spoke quickly, the Lich didn’t remain idle. Seeing the old staff in its hand slowly rise, I gave the order to charge without delay.
“Ahn Hyun and Yoojung-ah, charge from the left and right. Let’s go.”
Finishing my words, I shot straight toward the Lich. The surrounding skeleton soldiers immediately tightened their guard, and I saw the Lich’s free hand, the one not holding the staff, aim at me.
Swoosh. Pang! Pang! Pang!
A black orb of light gathered in its outstretched palm before being fired at me in rapid succession. Dark Cannon. The best way to deal with it was to dodge, but the shots could hit the others, so I casually swung my sword and blew them away. I couldn’t read its expression since it was just a skeleton, but I got the feeling it had flinched.
Since I was the first to charge, it was only natural that I would be the first to arrive. I powerfully kicked off the ground and leaped over the skeleton soldiers blocking my path, where I could see the Lich aiming its staff at me. Should I use a movement skill, or kick off the air one more time?
I didn’t have long to decide. A moment later, a viscous black energy shot from the tip of its staff and rushed toward me. I immediately infused my feet with magic power and powerfully kicked off the empty air. Flipping in mid-air, I landed behind the Lich, hearing what sounded like a gasp of admiration from Ko Yeonju. Someone of her caliber would know the level of skill I had just displayed.
Completing the rotation, I used the centrifugal force to bring my sword down in a straight line toward the crown of its head. At that moment, as if it had been waiting, the Lich’s body turned translucent, and its jaw opened in a grin. I grinned back and put more force into my descending blade.
Slice!
My sword sliced the Lich’s body in two in a single stroke, and its form scattered to the left and right like smoke. Normally, my sword would have just passed through, or even if it was split, the body should have reformed. But the Lich’s body couldn’t pull itself back together. I had also cut down its ghost horse for good measure, causing the Lich’s form to quickly collapse.
A Lich does not die. As long as its Life Vessel isn’t destroyed, it will revive after a few days. But that rule didn’t apply to me.
Its body was currently in chaos. It had tried to evade my physical attack with Etherealization Magic, but it had been cut down without fail. Looking at the creature, split in half and unable to do anything, I lightly snapped my fingers. A soft whistle escaped my lips as the Lich’s entire body was engulfed in pure flames.
The time it took me to deal with the Lich was less than eight seconds. I clicked my tongue at my party members, who were staring at me blankly, and aimed my sword at the skeleton soldiers.
With the Lich annihilated, the skeleton soldiers were no longer a threat. They were fairly well-armed, but they couldn’t win against our team with the support of our mages. The undead we had just faced were tricky only under the premise that the Lich would support its soldiers while firing off powerful magic. But by taking out the Lich first, I had made it easy to deal with the remaining skeletons.
After wrapping things up, we immediately left the area, but I had to endure Ko Yeonju’s gaze the entire way. She was looking at me with an expression that was a little fed up, and I felt I could somewhat understand her feelings.
Although I had been a little more serious this time, even I hadn’t expected to defeat a Lich so easily. It suddenly occurred to me that each and every one of the abilities I possessed was truly a cheat. In any case, this battle confirmed one thing for me: my choice of Sword Specialist over Spell Sniper, a decision I had agonized over in the early days of my second run, had been the right one. Magic Users were no match for me.
That was the reason Ko Yeonju was glancing at me now. My battle just now had effectively halved the value of every existing mage in the Hall Plain. I wondered if there was any magic User who could take me on one-on-one, unless they came at me in legion-sized hordes.
The mood of the team had lightened, if only a little. At first, they had been subtly lacking in confidence, but after I annihilated the Lich and they took care of the skeleton soldiers themselves, they seemed to have regained it.
We had met a Lich at the entrance, but the next two groups of undead we encountered didn’t include such high-tier monsters. The strongest among them was an Abyss Knight, at best.
And so, we continued to venture deeper into the mountain range, following the direction that Ahn Sol and I had agreed upon.
The deeper we went, the more densely packed the undead became. We repeated a pattern of dispatching them and immediately leaving the area. After marching for more than two hours through a series of tense battles, we finally crossed the second mountain peak. In other words, we had reached the point of interest. I immediately activated my Third Eye and began to calmly survey our surroundings.
The place I needed to find was a valley with a stream. The Cave of Screams was located in such a valley, attached to a ravine within the mountain range. If you followed the sheer cliffs of the ravine, you would come to a swamp, and around the cave, various trees and bushes formed a circular cluster.
After retracing my old memories, I started down a gently sloping path. A faint trickling sound of water began to reach my ears. I followed the sound and peered down, and just as expected, a long, sunken terrain came into view below the mountain. All that was left was to find the narrow, oval-shaped passage formed somewhere in the lower part of the ravine.
“We will now enter the valley. We’ve reached our destination, so please, no one let your guard down.”
I spoke to the party in a quiet voice, then turned my head to Ahn Sol. She also seemed to have no objections to entering the valley, cautiously taking a step down the slope.