Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Necromancer of the Sword Clan
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Before long, Saber No. 7, Saber No. 23, Lancer No. 16, and Lancer No. 52 emerged from the shadows.
Saber No. 7, equipped with Strike Gauntlets.
Saber No. 23, with the Thunderclap Sword—Lightning Blade—sheathed at his waist.
Lancer No. 16, carrying the Halberd of Impact, Alberto, slung over his shoulder.
Lancer No. 52, wielding the Charging Spear, Brave Heart.
These were skeletons freshly armed with weapons of at least Rare grade or higher, acquired not long ago.
Shin Yu-hyun issued his command to them.
"Take them out."
At his order, the four skeletons charged ferociously toward the Death Hounds.
Saber No. 7 rushed at the nearest Death Hound, activating his special skill, Explosion, mid-stride.
Explosion
Small explosion on impact
Boom!
The moment the Strike Gauntlets smashed into the Death Hound's head, a small explosion erupted.
Ker-heung!
The Death Hound let out a guttural screech as it was flung back over ten meters.
Crackle!
Right then, Saber No. 23 swung Lightning Blade, arcs of golden lightning dancing along its edge, toward the Death Hound.
A brilliant golden arc traced through the air, slicing past the Death Hound.
Grrr...
Though the mana barrier prevented a clean cut,
the Death Hound, electrocuted by the golden lightning, convulsed violently, paralyzed.
Whoosh!
Lancer No. 16 leaped into the air and came crashing down, slamming Alberto into the electrified Death Hound's skull.
Thud!
Kyaeng!
The Death Hound shrieked in agony from the brutal impact, collapsing to the ground.
Lancer No. 52 followed up, activating Brave Heart's charge skill, Brave Overdrive.
Brave Overdrive
Explosive red mana propulsion
Red mana erupted from the base of Brave Heart's handle like an explosion.
With that, Lancer No. 52 surged forward like a comet skimming the ground, Brave Heart leading the way toward the Death Hound.
Pfook!
Brave Heart pierced the Death Hound at blinding speed.
Kyaeng!
Even as it twisted desperately, its shoulder impaled, the Death Hound thrashed with a scream-like howl.
Lancer No. 52 hoisted Brave Heart upward, then slammed it down toward the ground.
Splat!
Keung!
The Death Hound writhed in its death throes, tumbling across the floor.
Though the Death Hounds were higher-ranked, they were no match for the skeletons armed with Rare-grade weapons or better.
However, the skeletons couldn't one-shot them either.
At that moment, Lancer No. 16 brought Alberto down once more on the fallen Death Hound's head.
Boom!
Clank.
Having sent one Death Hound to oblivion, Lancer No. 16's blue eye flames flared like ghostly wisps as he reslung Alberto over his shoulder.
The remaining three skeletons' blue eye flames rose ominously as they glared at the other Death Hounds.
Moments later, the skeleton legion clashed with the Death Hounds once more.
The battle didn't last as long as expected.
At first, it seemed the skeletons were being pushed back a bit.
After all, the Death Hounds were 5-star magic beasts and put up a solid fight against the skeletons.
But,
'Numbers conquer all, as expected.'
Shin Yu-hyun glanced at the twenty newly summoned skeletons.
These were skeletons crafted from the 5-star magic beast Death Hounds.
Initially, the Death Hounds darted through the skeleton ranks, causing havoc, but as the Sabers held a sturdy formation and the Lancers thrust from behind, they began to lose ground.
Once a Death Hound was wounded and weakened, they swarmed it and brought it down.
No 5-star beast could withstand a beating like that.
And above all, the four recently equipped with Rare weapons shone brightest.
In their first battle with the new gear, they dismantled Death Hounds through seamless teamwork.
As a result, Shin Yu-hyun added ten 5-star Skeleton Sabers and ten Lancers to his legion.
"Alright, shall we keep moving?"
Having cleared the 5-star Death Hounds, Shin Yu-hyun led his group deeper into the underground ruins.
"What the hell is that?!"
Lee Kang-hoon, 3rd team leader of the Wind Forest Fire Mountain Guild, scowled as he glared upward.
A massive 10-meter Unique magic beast skittered rapidly across the cavern ceiling.
And that wasn't all.
Kieeeing!
Red light gathered at the Death Stalker's tail, firing a mana cannon.
"Dodge!"
Lee Sang-beom, raid leader and 1st team leader of Wind Forest Fire Mountain Guild, shouted urgently.
The raid members scattered in all directions to evade the red beam.
Right after,
Kaboom!
An explosion rocked the ground where the red light had gouged.
"This is insane..."
Lee Sang-beom scowled at the Death Stalker.
They hadn't even reached the raid dungeon boss yet.
But a Unique boss had ambushed them out of nowhere.
'A freak incident in a raid dungeon, of all places...'
He gritted his teeth.
Normally, magic beasts wandered dungeon interiors, with bosses at the deepest core.
But sudden outbreaks happened occasionally—mass spawns or, like now, a Unique boss appearing.
And this was the worst kind.
Encountering a 5-star Unique boss mid-raid.
"Fall back for now!"
Lee Sang-beom decided swiftly.
Caught off-guard by the ambush, his team was panicking.
Fighting like this would just make them fodder.
"3rd team leader! Harass it from range! Everyone else, pull back!"
"Got it."
Lee Kang-hoon inwardly grimaced at his superior's order but replied with feigned reluctance.
Harass? One slip, and the Death Stalker's aggro would lock onto his entire team.
But there was no choice.
Only his 3rd team of ranged archers could target the massive beast clinging upside-down to the cavern ceiling.
'Tch. Even ranged attacks are risky...'
Lee Kang-hoon clicked his tongue, scanning his team.
His eyes landed on the rookie, Choi Jin-seong.
'Right, that guy's perfect...'
"Jin-seong."
"Yes, team leader."
Choi Jin-seong responded immediately.
"You take the first shot."
"Me? Seriously?"
Stunned by the unexpected order, Choi Jin-seong blinked in tension.
Until now, he'd handled odd jobs in 3rd team.
He knew striking first here was dangerous.
Veteran hunters usually led with swordsmen, warriors, or spearmen up front.
Retreating while firing meant no frontline to block retaliation.
Worst case, that ground-busting mana cannon could come flying.
Yet Lee Kang-hoon said it casually?
"When else are you gonna shine if not now? Shoot already!"
"Uh, alright."
Under pressure, Choi Jin-seong nocked an arrow.
As a guild member, he had to obey.
Defiance meant backlash in Wind Forest Fire Mountain.
And in chaos like this, he could fire freely—his poor aim might even hit allies.
But only one Death Stalker here.
Swaeek!
Choi Jin-seong loosed a blue-glowing arrow at it.
Fwosh!
The blue arrow split into three just before the Death Stalker, embedding into the ceiling.
"Ha, your accuracy is..."
Lee Kang-hoon shot Choi Jin-seong a pathetic look.
As if to say, Can't even hit that?
The whole 3rd team shook their heads.
The beast was 10 meters long, 50 meters away—any decent archer could hit blindfolded.
'Deliberately missed.'
But Choi Jin-seong knew Lee Kang-hoon was using him as bait.
So he whiffed on purpose.
A direct hit might draw instant retaliation.
"Damn it!"
Then, a curse from Lee Sang-beom retreating at the cavern entrance.
5-star magic beasts had appeared, blocking the way.
The new Blade Ghouls were utterly repulsive—humanoid corpses with arms morphed into razor-sharp bone blades and a grotesque maw in their guts.
"Where'd these come from?"
"We cleared everything on the way here."
The raid members cursed at the sudden foes.
They'd swept every side room off the main passage, but some steel doors wouldn't budge.
Looks like the beasts inside had caught up late.
Death Stalker ahead, dozens of 5-star beasts behind—a total deadlock.
'Damn.'
Lee Kang-hoon scowled at the 5-stars.
Thud!
The Death Stalker dropped from the ceiling.
Kyahahaak!
Then the Blade Ghouls lunged with their blade-arms at the raid team.
"Uwaaak!"
"Get this thing off me!"
The raiders flailed as Ghouls latched on.
"Kaaak! My arm!!"
Some lost limbs to the Ghouls.
And the Death Stalker approached from the other side.
Kieeeing!
Red light gathered at its tail tip—mana focusing.
'No choice?'
Lee Kang-hoon grimaced, forced to decide.
They'd be wiped at this rate.
"Move!"
He pulled something from his pocket, shouting.
The Blade Ghouls froze.
Then scattered left and right?
"What the—?"
Lee Sang-beom gaped, alternating between the beasts and Lee Kang-hoon.
The rest of the team stared in shock too.
As if the Ghouls obeyed Lee Kang-hoon.
Kieeeing!
But not the Death Stalker.
Red mana pulsed menacingly at its tail.
Thwack! Shwaaaak!
Suddenly, the red mana cannon targeted Choi Jin-seong.
Probably for his earlier attack.
Shuk!
Just then, someone appeared before Choi Jin-seong via spatial warp.
And right after,
Kwaaaang!
The 5-star Unique boss Death Stalker's red mana cannon detonated in a massive explosion.