Chapter 440: Hangyul's Rescue. But...
Chapter 440: Hangyul's Rescue. But...
Nam Daeun and I whipped our heads around.
As we watched the right flank, figures with cracked skin and a dark red glow in their eyes began to pour out.
“More?”
Nam Daeun, who was still beside me, muttered quietly. I narrowed my eyes, quickly scanning the enemies approaching from both the left and right.
A total of twelve.
They were split exactly in half: six from the left and six from the right.
Then, I noticed something strange. The number of the dead appearing from each direction was precisely six. Their combat style wasn't a reckless, boar-like charge, either; they showed a degree of responsiveness. It felt like watching formally trained soldiers.
Of course, I wasn't unaware of their behavior. But while I hadn't given it much thought in the first playthrough, this fact now struck me as oddly unfamiliar in the second.
Nam Daeun twirled ‘Seol-ah’ and took a stance, ready to charge at any moment.
“Clan Lord. We’ve left the front to Junyoung-ssi and Sorim, so I think it’s our turn now.”
“Understood. User Nam Daeun, please take the left flank. I’ll handle the right.”
We exchanged a glance before sprinting in our designated directions. The dead on the right spotted me approaching alone and greeted me by raising their spears and axes.
I should test this.
Just before clashing with the one in the lead, I deliberately adjusted the distance to a razor-thin margin and swung my sword down in a wide arc.
As expected, the dead raised its shield above its head to defend. My descending blade grazed the shield and slid down. When the sword reached its lowest point, I pushed in a little more and swung it sharply upward.
Thwack! Thwack-thwack!
It felt like slicing up through a rotten log. Looking closely, I could see faded scraps of metal embedded in its flesh. Its skin wasn't just cracked; the armor it had worn in life seemed to have melted into its body.
A moment later, the dead, still in its axe-raising pose, split into two pieces from groin to head. But without even a moment to withdraw my sword, I spun around. A crimson spear was thrusting viciously through the gap where the body had been.
Swish!
It must have been aiming for my head, as I felt the tip of the spear graze my earlobe. I could have dodged by simply tilting my head, but I deliberately rotated my entire body. Shifting the Sun and Moon Divine Sword to my left hand, I lowered my stance slightly and thrust my sword back in the direction the spear had come from.
Stab!
I felt the blade sink deep into something. Anywhere is fine. Without hesitation, I triggered a Magic Explosion. A tearing blast echoed as dark red fluid splattered in all directions.
Though some of it splattered on me, I paid it no mind and pulled my sword back at an angle. The dead, its neck horrifically blown apart, slowly collapsed. The liquid running down my cheek felt cold.
Just like that, I had taken down two of them. Four dead remained. But immediately, four more weapons came flying at me. I calmly backed away, watching their desperate struggles.
It was definitely strange. Weren't the dead supposed to be beings that moved according to obsession, without consciousness? Yet, considering the high-level magic one had used earlier, and the decent coordination they were showing now, I had to reconsider.
After taking a few more steps back to evade a sweeping attack, I kicked off the ground and dove back into their midst. Just as I was about to spin my blade to cut them all down at once, I felt a strong impact from both the front and back. For a moment, my vision went black, and I felt a subtle pressure on my sword.
Look at these bastards.
My eyes hardened. Something cold trickled down the back of my neck. A quick glance confirmed that two of them had tackled me from the front and back, while another was holding onto my sword with its entire body. The last remaining dead was raising its axe high, preparing to split me in two.
“Oppa!”
Shut up. I answered someone’s shout internally as I drew upon as much magic as I could. Freeing my sword was the priority. I triggered another Magic Explosion while simultaneously sweeping my leg out to trip the axe-wielding dead.
Gurg?!
The dead staggered for a moment, but it immediately tried to regain its balance, lifting its head. However, the one that had been pinning my sword was already blown to pieces. Before the axe-wielder could fully recover, I raised the now-free Sun and Moon Divine Sword and swiftly brought it down on its head.
Slice!
Kuaaargh!
Guaaargh!
With a final scream, the dead’s head dropped to the ground. I tilted my head in confusion. I had definitely killed only one, but screams had come from two of them.
Come to think of it, the pressure from the dead who had tackled me from the front and back had loosened. The one in front was even stumbling backward. Not only that, but black smoke was rising in plumes from the dead nearby. The smoke was coming from their bodies.
Wondering what was happening, I glanced down and saw a faint light flowing around my body, with glittering powder melting into it. The light was a priest's ability, and the powder was Hanbyul's amplification magic I had seen earlier. If so…
Fwoosh!
When the powder had completely dissolved, the faint light erupted brilliantly, spreading out in a circle.
The light completely engulfed the surrounding dead, and I watched as their bodies melted and flowed away. It seemed a priest and Hanbyul had teamed up to support me.
However, the dead behind me still had its arms wrapped around my neck. I tried stabbing backward, but my sword only cut through empty air.
Glancing down, I saw the dead’s lower body, severed at the waist. Hot liquid was dripping onto my neck; it must have been hit by the light while clinging to me. I gave my body a hard shake, and the dead fell off limply.
With that, all the dead from the right flank were dealt with. But the battle was still raging on the front and left flanks.
I wiped the liquid from my neck and, without delay, ran forward.
*
The battle was over. Perhaps because we had safely concluded our first fight with a victory, the clan members all had bright expressions as they began to regroup.
Of course, it wasn't a victory without injuries. Two people were injured in this battle: Cha Sorim, who had fought at the very front, and Nam Daeun, who had taken the left flank.
Fortunately, neither injury was severe. Cha Sorim’s wrist was shocked by a shield bash in a mutual-destruction gambit, while Nam Daeun had a long but shallow cut on her left arm. She claimed it was a mistake, but for Nam Daeun, whose durability stat was low, it was an understandable wound.
Woo Jungmin, Seon Yuun, and Heo Junyoung finished examining the dead and cautiously approached me. Heo Junyoung then spoke quietly into my ear.
“Calculating the Strength stat of the dead that appeared, it seems to be over 80 on average. That’s not a number to be taken lightly.”
“Did Nam Daeun tell you that?”
“No. She didn’t give an exact number. Just a rough estimate.”
“…I see.”
I gave a slight smile at Heo Junyoung’s explanation. Player Status was top secret, but within a clan, this level of information sharing happened occasionally. You had to know your enemy to prepare more effectively for the next encounter. Not that it meant much to me, though.
I spoke quietly.
“So. What did you think of them?”
“It wasn’t too difficult. Their reputation was so fearsome that I was secretly looking forward to it, but it was an easier fight than I expected,” Heo Junyoung answered immediately.
However, Woo Jungmin and Seon Yuun didn't seem to agree, tilting their heads and shaking them.
“It was certainly easier than we thought. But we found the ten corpses in the clearing that were taken down by Ahn Sol’s ability, and among them was a dead that looked like a mage. If it weren’t for Ahn Sol’s ability, and if the four of you hadn’t held the front line so well, it would have been a much tougher battle.”
“I agree with him,” Seon Yuun said, nodding gravely at Woo Jungmin’s lengthy explanation.
“I see….”
I let my words trail off, sinking into deep thought.
The dead were certainly on a different level than other monsters. Their individual combat strength was decent, but their true power came from their ability to fight systematically through coordination.
However, if I were to be honest about this first battle, I would say the same thing as Woo Jungmin. It was easier than I thought.
I slowly looked around at the Mercenary Clan members. The dead were still strong, but we were stronger. With a few exceptions, the clan members present here were almost all top-tier elite Users. Ahn Sol’s quick response and the excellent coordination between Heo Junyoung and Cha Sorim had also left a deep impression.
And… I’ve gotten much stronger, too.
My memories of the first playthrough were filled with such hardship and struggle that I had been overly cautious before entering the mountain range. But that brief battle had completely changed my perspective.
I could now say with certainty: the current level of the Mercenary Clan, myself included, surpassed the level of Istantel Low Clan back then. If that was the case, I thought, we might actually be able to conquer the Sleeping Dragon Mountains this time.
Calmly emerging from my thoughts, I spoke to the three men who were still looking at me.
“If another melee breaks out in the next battle, the melee classes should have a priest’s blessing on their weapons…”
But I stopped mid-sentence. I felt a pair of eyes staring intently at me from one side. I slowly turned my head to see Yoojung squatting down, her face cupped in her hands. When our eyes met, her eyes widened, and she nodded, as if telling me to continue.
I tilted my head.
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just a nice sight.”
“A nice sight?”
“A group of handsome men gathered in one place, chatting away. Please continue. It’s nice to watch.”
The woman who had just been shouting about how curious she was about the dead’s blood was gone, replaced by one with a pretty smile. Heo Junyoung closed his eyes and didn’t react, Woo Jungmin chuckled, and Seon Yuun smiled shyly.
In any case, I was about to continue speaking, regardless of whether she was watching or not, when someone rushed over and grabbed my arm. Wondering what it was this time, I frowned, only to see Hanbyul with a very urgent look on her face.
“O-Oppa. We have a problem.”
“A problem?”
“H-Hangyul has been missing for a while now.”
“Huh? Oh, right! Baek Hangyul!”
Yoojung shot to her feet, shouting. Everyone must have heard her, because a quiet silence fell over the area. Judging by their wide eyes, it seemed they had all been so caught up in the battle that they had forgotten about the missing Hangyul.
“…I completely forgot.”
“Sh-shouldn’t we go look for him right now? He disappeared into that clearing earlier….”
“Hah. It’s one thing after another.”
“Wh-what do we do! What do we do! My Hangyul!”
I signaled for Yoojung, who was clinging to me and making a fuss, to be quiet. Then, I calmly raised a finger and pointed in one direction. All the clan members turned to look where my finger was pointing. It was the path we had just come from.
After waiting for about ten seconds, someone suddenly emerged from the fog. The figure walking toward us with a dazed look was none other than Hangyul. The clan members let out a collective gasp.
“…What on earth happened? I’m sure he disappeared into the clearing.”
“Yes. I confirmed it myself. But why is he….”
As Heo Junyoung slowly frowned, Seon Yuun quickly chimed in to confirm his words. All the while, Hangyul was walking past us with those same vacant eyes.
“It’s probably best to follow him for now. We’ll stop regrouping here. Everyone, prepare to move out.”
With that, I walked to the center and stood beside Hangyul as he passed. The clan members quickly got up and moved into their original formation. After confirming everyone was in position, I quietly gave the signal to depart.
As we began to follow Hangyul again, Vivian crept up to me and spoke.
“Kim Soohyun. I think we might have entered a barrier. We could be wandering around the same spot in the mountains without even realizing it.”
“Hmm. A barrier….”
It was a valid point, but I just shrugged.
Then, gazing ahead with the Third Eye, I calmly continued.
“Who knows. We’ll find out if we follow him.”
*
When Hangyul felt his eyes open, the world was a very faint gray. Not complete night, but the gray light just before sunrise.
Where on earth am I?
Hangyul blinked once or twice and tried to lift his head. Or rather, he intended to.
But suddenly, a flicker of panic crossed his eyes. His head wouldn't budge. And it wasn't just his head. His entire body was paralyzed in the same position he had woken up in. Only his eyelids could move. He tried to turn his head to the side, but no matter how hard he struggled, it didn't move an inch.
Hangyul swallowed hard. He rolled his eyes, the only part of him that could move, to scan his surroundings as best he could. But it was no help. He couldn't gather any information. All he could see was an ash-colored world, as if everything had stopped, and the fact that he was leaning against something.
It was then.
Saaaaaah….
He had felt that everything was still, but a chilling wind suddenly brushed past his ear. At the same time, he began to hear a mumbling sound. Hangyul strained to listen, but he couldn't understand it. The words were too fast, and besides, it was a language he didn't know.
Scrape, scrape.
That wasn't the end of it. This time, the faint sound of something scraping the ground began to reach him. Hangyul felt a baseless fear welling up inside him. He couldn't move, yet the sound from behind was clearly getting closer.
Sitting propped against something, Hangyul struggled with everything he had. He tried to summon his magic, activate his abilities, even just to call up his Player Status window. But nothing worked. Nothing changed. It was just like the beginning….
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape!
No. There was one thing. The sound coming from behind him. The sound that had been faint just moments ago was now close enough to be heard clearly.
He wanted to tremble, but his body wouldn't. He wanted to scream, but his mouth wouldn't open. Simply waiting helplessly in this state was the only thing Hangyul could do.
Hangyul prayed internally. Please, let this all be a dream. And when I open my eyes, let it all be gone.
But.
As he was praying so desperately, he suddenly felt a cold sensation rise from below, beginning to tickle his legs.
Hangyul’s eyes snapped open reflexively. A part of him thought he shouldn't look, but his gaze was already moving, following the sensation.
It was the moment Hangyul’s gaze slowly drifted downward.
Thwack!
Suddenly, something white shot in and slammed down hard beside him. It was a hand. Not a normal human hand, but a pale, tentacle-like hand, long and slithering.
The fingernails that had struck the ground began to claw at the earth frantically. Hangyul’s eyes widened as if they would tear. If he could have, he would have screamed his lungs out.
How much time had passed like that?
Just as he felt he was suffocating, the hand that had been clawing at the ground began to rise slowly, very slowly. All the while, it beckoned to Hangyul gently, its movements filled with a sense of longing.
And as the hand rose, a long, black object began to descend.
It was then.
Hangyul suddenly had a strange thought. He had felt it coming from behind him, so why was it suddenly rising from above?
Hangyul slowly raised his eyes. His head wouldn't move, but he tried his best to look up.
The first thing he saw was messy hair swaying back and forth. And then…
Drip.
A drop of blood fell into Hangyul’s eye.
Hangyul instinctively stopped looking up. He felt that if he looked just a little higher, he would see it, but he also felt that he shouldn't—that if he did, everything would be over.
So, just as he was about to lower his gaze again.
Grab!
The white hand shot down in an instant and seized his neck. It forced his chin up, making him look.
And then, Hangyul, who had unwittingly looked at ‘it,’ immediately lost his mind.