Chapter 70 — Turning the Tables
Chapter 70 — Turning the Tables
Translation: GodTL
Though he'd experienced various types of combat as a Hunter, this was Min-jun's first large-scale aerial battle on such a scale.
He had previously faced wyverns in the Garden of the Dragon Sword, but comparing then to now was difficult.
From the moment he witnessed the wyvern legion with his own eyes until Elysium's massive protective barrier was lifted, Min-jun had already begun formulating a strategy.
'Objectively speaking, taking on a wyvern alone would be tough.'
Though Min-jun was B-rank, even the mini-wyverns were classified as A-rank, and full-grown wyverns were S-rank—powerful monsters by any measure.
'One-on-one would be difficult.'
However, with proper artifact usage and well-coordinated teamwork, Min-jun could still pull his weight.
True, the enemy had wyverns—but on their side, they had the powerful relics left behind by Bellium, the ancient Dragon who founded this city.
According to Estelle, he had left behind numerous lasting protections, from semi-permanent defensive spells to anti-monster artifacts.
The Elysium forces, likely due to frequent monster invasions, didn't appear to be pushovers either.
But if he had to pinpoint their greatest weakness, it would probably be their aerial combat capabilities.
After assessing the weapons and artifacts placed along the city walls, Min-jun concluded that Elysium's forces were relatively vulnerable in the skies compared to other areas.
Thus, simply diverting the wyverns' attention in the air—where Elysium was weakest—would already be a significant help.
Their firepower seemed sufficient with the artillery corps and archer units alone.
'In theory, it's not a bad plan.'
The real problem was how to distract the wyverns without getting injured in the process.
On top of that, if luck was against him mid-battle, he could even end up caught in friendly fire from Elysium's bombardment targeting the wyverns.
If they had trained together before, it might have been different—but they hadn't.
As he pondered this—
A wyvern of overwhelming size, incomparable to any human, closed in right before him, and a single idea flashed through Min-jun's mind.
'What if I use the wyvern as a meat shield?'
Wyverns were certainly threatening, but their hides weren't inherently dangerous.
Though tough, they weren't covered in spiked needles or coated in poison.
Moreover, as long as Min-jun clung to one wyvern, the others would be less likely to attack him.
Even if they were monsters, they weren't so stupid as to recklessly strike their own kin just to kill a single human.
Dodging the wyvern's breath attacks mid-flight, Min-jun retrieved a sturdy grappling hook from his Subspace.
The moment he pulled it out—
He swiftly changed direction and drove the hook deep into the nearest wyvern.
After securing it firmly to ensure he wouldn't be shaken off, Min-jun ruthlessly stabbed the wyvern with his sword.
SCREEEEEEE—!
After several strikes, the wyvern let out a pained shriek and thrashed violently.
The initial hook hadn't hurt much, but the Dragon Bone Sword in Min-jun's hands was sharp enough to pierce deep into the wyvern's thick hide.
Soon, its skin split open, blood gushed out, and the wyvern began to stagger.
At the same time, the grappling hook connecting Min-jun to the wyvern came loose—it wasn't as sharp as the Dragon Bone Sword.
The moment it detached, Min-jun swiftly disengaged, and the wyvern—struck by a fire spell from one of the mages—lost consciousness and began plummeting.
'I can make this work.'
Though he hadn't had a good feel for it at first, succeeding once gave him a better grasp of the method.
Of course, latching onto a wyvern with a grappling hook wasn't as easy as he'd imagined.
So, Min-jun decided to tweak his strategy slightly.
After briefly descending to the city walls to regroup, Min-jun stowed away his grappling hook into Subspace and instead drew out another Dragon Bone Sword.
It was the very same Dragon Bone Sword that had been shattered into fragments during the conquest of the Garden of the Dragon Sword, never regaining its original performance.
Ever since receiving a new Dragon Bone Sword from Sia, there had been no reason to use the old one—but Min-jun had kept it stored in Subspace just in case.
And now.
He decided to use that old Dragon Bone Sword as a substitute for the grappling hook.
Though it wouldn't be as effective as his current sword, it would still pierce the wyvern's tough hide better than a mere hook could.
After attaching a wire to the sword, Min-jun took flight once more, soaring toward the wyverns.
The strategy itself was similar to before.
The only difference was that he was using a sword instead of a hook, and rather than aiming to completely incapacitate the wyverns, he focused more on harassing them—needling their nerves.
Strike and retreat, strike and retreat.
As he grew more adept at maneuvering his artificial wings, Min-jun began darting through the air even faster, deliberately provoking the wyverns.
Like a mosquito.
Ignoring him was irritating, but trying to deal with him meant exposing themselves to the barrage of powerful spells, arrows, and cannon fire raining down from the walls.
Not to mention, if they carelessly breathed fire in his direction, they risked hitting their own kin.
From the wyverns' perspective, it was nothing but a headache.
Though Min-jun was steadily making an impact, the tide of battle still couldn't be called favorable.
After all, hadn't Estelle herself said this was the most intense monster assault she'd witnessed in nearly fifty years?
The residents of Elysium had expected to be at a disadvantage from the start.
They had stepped forward to defend their homeland, fully aware they were fighting an uphill battle.
"Aaaargh!"
"Heavy casualties here—heavy casualties!"
"Why is potion resupply taking so long?!"
"This is the best we can do right now!"
Even through the deafening chaos, Min-jun could hear their desperate cries.
'This isn't working.'
The strategy wasn't bad—but their overall strength was lacking.
From the walls, the horrific screams of soldiers rang out in real time, and soon, the defensive line they had built with their blood would be breached.
They needed another decisive strike—something to flip the momentum.
But.
Releasing the control seal now would come with too great a risk.
If he undid it and suffered the side effects Rokan had warned him about, the resulting damage could be even worse.
Pulling out more artifacts from Subspace was an option, but that alone didn't seem like enough.
A dilemma.
Just as he was lost in thought—
'...What is this?'
A sudden, strange sensation made him turn his head.
Looking back, he realized something intangible was wrapped around his body.
'A tether?'
Not exactly a rope, no.
If he had to describe it, it was something between aura and light—something ethereal.
He had no idea when it had appeared or what it truly was, but one thing he could guess—
Where it was connected to.
Judging by its direction and the circumstances, it was most likely linked to the Statue of Bellium at the heart of the village.
And more than that.
Ever since this strange, elongated tether had manifested, Min-jun began feeling a surge of energy coursing through his body—an exhilarating rush.
He had felt this sensation a few times before.
But this time, it was different—more comfortable, more familiar.
At the same time, the aura of his Dragon Bone Sword began shifting in color.
A hue like the aurora faintly bleeding into the dull night sky.
Min-jun knew exactly what this meant.
Min-jun charged headlong toward the wyverns, slamming his feet against the ground, and at the same moment, the intangible tether connecting him to the Statue of Bellium began to tremble.
'A little faster—drive in the killing blow.'
With movements far lighter than before, Min-jun swiftly closed the distance to the nearest wyvern and plunged his Dragon Bone Sword deep into its flesh.
Even after just one or two decisive thrusts, the wyvern immediately lost consciousness and began plummeting from the sky.
'Got it.'
That became the signal for the counterattack.
Thanks to Min-jun's sudden awakening in what had been a stagnant aerial battle, the number of wyverns rapidly dwindled, creating a snowball effect—monsters crushed beneath the falling corpses of wyverns began dying in exponentially increasing numbers.
Min-jun accelerated further, harrying the wyvern swarm with relentless speed and precision, until the wyvern legion could no longer afford to ignore him.
He had become their top priority.
The wyverns that had been ruthlessly swarming the soldiers on the walls, the ones attempting to breach the village's protective barrier—all of them now turned their focus toward Min-jun, surging toward him in unison.
"Damn."
He had succeeded in drawing the wyverns' attention, just as he intended.
But the problem was that he had overachieved.
He had only meant to divert just enough of their focus, but the sheer impact of his earlier feats had pulled all of their attention onto him.
Even with the mysterious aura emanating from the Statue of Bellium, even with the support of the ground forces—
How was he supposed to evade and fight back against this many wyverns, all dead set on tearing him apart?
Whether he tried to flee, misdirect them, or block their attacks—
'Just how many of them are there?!'
There was only so much he could do.
For a fleeting moment, Min-jun felt the terror of realizing he might actually die here.
But that fear lasted only an instant.
'Haven't I already been through this kind of thing countless times before?'
Ever since Sia's return, he had faced near-death situations with bizarre frequency—yet he had overcome them all.
At first, he thought it was a miracle.
But when miracles repeat, they cease to be miracles and become skill.
Even in this crisis, there had to be a way to survive.
He just hadn't figured it out yet.
At the very moment when it seemed the wyvern swarm would overwhelm and slaughter him—
Min-jun, as if entranced, began channeling and releasing mana throughout his entire body.
The expelled mana mingled with the strange energy that had flowed into him through the aura earlier.
And the wyvern legion struck by this surge of power felt something they hadn't experienced in a long, long time—
An utterly suffocating, overwhelming terror.
The energy Min-jun radiated was eerily similar to the Dragon Fear cast by true Dragons.
'Wait—did I just use Dragon Fear?!'
Though he had invoked Dragon Words a few times before, this was his first time ever manifesting Dragon Fear, leaving even Min-jun stunned.
As the wyverns charging at him faltered in fear, he seized the moment and unleashed Dragon Fear again, this time on a wider scale.
The effect reached over half of the wyverns.
Those directly exposed to Dragon Fear lost their will to fight and began retreating.
"The wyverns are falling back!"
"WOOOOOAH!"
"Push—push them harder!"
"Now's the time to start breaking through the ground monsters too!"
Regardless of the reason, the tide of battle—which had been overwhelmingly against them just moments ago—had completely reversed in an instant.
With the wyverns in retreat, the Elysium forces seized the opportunity and unleashed their full assault.
Min-jun rode the momentum, driving the wyverns back with waves of oppressive energy.
At the same time, he swung his Dragon Bone Sword, its aura growing more intense by the second, steadily expanding the frontline of their defense.
The cheers of the militia, the deafening crashes of boulders launched from catapults, the concussive blasts of magic, the shrieks of wyverns and other monsters—
The battlefield had been completely overturned.