Chapter 155
Chapter 155
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: Necromancer of the Sword Clan
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ZZZUUUUZZZUNG!
The massive entity that appeared before Lee Ji-hyun blocked the Skeleton Dragon's Crimson Breath in place of the guardian shield.
Red flames scattered in every direction.
Lee Ji-hyun, the elders, and the children all stared at it with blank expressions.
"Armor?"
Lee Ji-hyun looked stunned at the being that had appeared before her.
It resembled a gigantic black suit of medieval plate armor, standing fully five meters tall.
"Over here!"
At that moment, a man's voice called out from behind Lee Ji-hyun's group.
Lee Ji-hyun whipped her head around in shock.
"...Huh?"
Her face twisted in disbelief.
"Sis?"
To her astonishment, her unconscious sister Lee Ji-young was draped over the young man's shoulder.
"Sis!"
Lee Ji-hyun rushed forward in a single bound, calling out to her.
"Is... is Sis okay?"
She desperately asked the man supporting Lee Ji-young.
"No need to worry. She's just unconscious."
"Ah..."
Lee Ji-hyun let out a sigh of relief.
She had thought her sister was dead for sure.
Lee Ji-hyun looked at the man.
He was a young man about her own age.
She could tell he was the one who had saved both her and her sister.
"I will definitely repay this debt. I swear it on the name of the Spiral Fist Clan."
"So you're the lady of the Spiral Fist Clan."
"Who might you be?"
"Shin Yu-hyun of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan."
"Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan!"
Lee Ji-hyun's eyes widened at the young man—Shin Yu-hyun's words.
She never imagined the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan would come to their aid.
And she had heard rumors about a Shin Yu-hyun.
Apparently, he was a direct descendant of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan who had been rising at a terrifying pace lately.
"Stories can wait. Fall back."
Shin Yu-hyun stepped forward, placing himself between her and the danger. Lee Ji-hyun's eyes went wide in surprise.
"Sh-shouldn't we run? That's a 5-star boss! You can't handle it alone..."
"Who said anything about alone?"
Shin Yu-hyun smirked at her words.
"Uh..."
In that instant, Lee Ji-hyun remembered the entity that had blocked the Skeleton Dragon's Crimson Breath.
She hurriedly looked toward where the Skeleton Dragon was.
A five-meter-tall colossal steel suit of armor was somehow holding its own against the Skeleton Dragon.
"No way?"
"That's right. I'm not alone."
Shin Yu-hyun flashed her a slight smile.
Shhwick.
From the shadows beside Shin Yu-hyun, the Seven Arcs emerged one by one.
After receiving Choi Jeong-hoon's report in the Black Tortoise Hall's office, Shin Yu-hyun quickly prepared and headed for Chilseong Mountain.
The moment he arrived at the residential area under siege by magic beasts, he summoned the Skeleton Soldiers he had stored in Ka-mang-i's shadow.
Undead-type 5-star magic beasts that outclassed his Skeleton Soldiers in both rank and numbers.
Yet the Skeleton Soldiers held their ground against the 5-star beasts without being overwhelmed.
The magic beasts had spread out over a wide area, making them surprisingly easier to contain.
'Using the terrain makes even tough opponents manageable.'
Narrowing them into alleys or barricading roads with abandoned cars.
By restricting the magic beasts' movements like that, the Skeleton Soldiers could fight in groups of at least two, cooperating instead of facing them solo.
However, since the magic beasts were scattered across such a vast region, even Shin Yu-hyun couldn't cover everything with his summons.
He couldn't block events in areas outside his sight.
Fortunately, he wasn't alone on site—other hunters and superhumans capable of fighting were there too.
Thanks to them, civilian casualties were somewhat mitigated, and Shin Yu-hyun directed his Skeleton Soldiers and summons to aid evacuations.
Then, in an area nearly free of magic beasts, he sensed an ominous aura.
He rushed there in a panic, only to face an unexpected situation.
A 5-star boss Skeleton Dragon was attacking survivors.
And among those survivors was none other than the Fist King's granddaughter—the future Humanity's Guardian.
'Who would've thought I'd meet Humanity's Guardian here.'
Shin Yu-hyun gave a wry smile.
Humanity's Guardian, Lee Ji-hyun.
Her unique trait was extraordinarily powerful.
Powerful enough to withstand the merciless onslaught of the Getia.
Thanks to her, countless people survived the Getia.
Without her, the number of Asian survivors would have been far more devastating.
Even Shin Yu-hyun's group had been saved by her once.
'Though it didn't last long.'
Shin Yu-hyun's expression turned bitter.
When the Getia launched their initial assault, Lee Ji-hyun's unique trait saved many lives.
But humanity ultimately fell to the Getia, and in the human hunts that followed, Lee Ji-hyun rescued and fled with people multiple times before hitting her limit.
The Getia's pursuit was relentless.
In the end, she was brutally slain by them.
Because some Getia had been humiliated on her account.
Shin Yu-hyun was one of the few who escaped the Getia's grasp multiple times.
Those Getia who failed to capture them were mocked by their peers.
'So today was the day she awakened her trait.'
He had no idea when, where, or how Lee Ji-hyun had awakened her unique trait, Guardian.
He had never heard the story.
Whenever she recalled the moment of her awakening, she always looked sad.
So no one pried.
But the instant he saw Lee Ji-hyun under attack by the Skeleton Dragon, Shin Yu-hyun understood.
This was the moment she awakened.
And Shin Yu-hyun's hunch was spot on.
'It was a close call.'
In truth, Shin Yu-hyun had arrived just before Lee Ji-young was hit by the Skeleton Dragon's Crimson Fireball.
But he hadn't intervened rashly.
This very situation might be the trigger for her awakening.
What if his interference prevented Lee Ji-hyun from awakening her unique trait, Guardian?
'That would be far from ideal.'
With Guardian's power, Lee Ji-hyun saved countless lives.
Not just from Getia, but from magic beasts too.
That's why Shin Yu-hyun could only watch.
But he wasn't just standing idle.
He had rescued Lee Ji-young from the Crimson Fireball.
And in case Lee Ji-hyun failed to awaken and was in mortal danger, he was ready to jump in at any moment.
Fortunately, she awakened Guardian.
But a freshly awakened Lee Ji-hyun didn't seem likely to survive against the Skeleton Dragon.
A 5-star boss Skeleton Dragon was no pushover.
'Maybe this life will turn out differently.'
In his previous life, Lee Ji-hyun and Lee Ji-young would have been caught in the stampede from the 5-star Monolith Raid Dungeon.
They were probably attacked by regular magic beasts, not a boss.
Lee Ji-young fell to the overwhelming numbers, then Lee Ji-hyun awakened Guardian.
With it, she could have escaped even hordes of 5-star beasts.
But this life had too many variables, so even with awakening, danger lingered.
Thus, Shin Yu-hyun intervened the moment he confirmed her awakening.
"Stories can wait. Fall back."
Having saved Lee Ji-hyun, Shin Yu-hyun stepped forward.
And he called for Dia and Fluffy.
"Dia, Fluffy. You two stay here."
"Yes!"
Woof!
He gave their heads a light pat, and Dia and Fluffy responded with adorable expressions.
'Alright then.'
Shin Yu-hyun turned his gaze from Dia and Fluffy to the Skeleton Dragon ahead.
Right now, the Skeleton Dragon was locked in a fierce brawl with his 5-star boss-grade summon, the Iron Golem.
'To think even this guy showed up.'
He knew undead-type magic beasts had appeared in his previous life, but he never imagined a Skeleton Dragon as a boss.
It was new information.
The terror of a dungeon stampede wasn't just the flood of magic beasts—it was that boss-grade ones could emerge in greater numbers than inside the dungeon.
This Skeleton Dragon was likely one of several bosses.
'A Skeleton Dragon, huh.'
Shin Yu-hyun's lips curled into a grin.
Skeleton Dragons were the undead summons necromancers drooled over and lusted after.
Far stronger than Skeleton Soldiers, and above all...
'They're cool as hell.'
The dream of every necromancer.
But this Skeleton Dragon was only about eight meters long.
Small for a dragon.
And among the Seven Arcs was a dragon too.
The Devourer of Breaking Army Star, Immortal Dragon.
Undoubtedly incomparable to this Skeleton Dragon.
'I'll claim it.'
This Skeleton Dragon before him, and the Immortal Dragon among the Seven Arcs.
All of them.
"Chiron."
Shlick.
Vroooom!
At Shin Yu-hyun's low call, Chiron burst from the shadows and soared into the sky.
As Chiron circled overhead with wingbeats, the survivors behind gasped in amazement.
"What is that...?"
Lee Ji-hyun and the elders wore expressions of utter confusion.
If this man was a direct descendant of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan, he should be a swordsman.
Yet all sorts of bizarre creatures were popping out of the shadows one after another?
First a little girl he called Dia, then a white wolf the size of a large dog named Fluffy.
And flanking Shin Yu-hyun were beauties so stunning they made even Lee Ji-hyun blush—Shub and Ruber.
'What kind of person is he?'
Lee Ji-hyun stared at Shin Yu-hyun's back with puzzled eyes.
"Chiron. Horn Charge."
In the meantime, Shin Yu-hyun had issued the command to Chiron, commencing battle with the Skeleton Dragon.
Kiiiiing!
At his order, Chiron's horn from high above began to spin.
Then, folding its wings back, Chiron plunged toward the Skeleton Dragon at an angle, horn-first.
Roooaaarrr!
The Skeleton Dragon, which had been pinning down the Iron Golem with its massive bulk, looked up at the diving Chiron.
Shhhwick!
In the blink of an eye, a shield of white bone materialized between the Skeleton Dragon and Chiron.
"Multiple Bone Shields? A dragon's still a dragon, huh?"
As the Skeleton Dragon unleashed bone-attribute dark magic, Shin Yu-hyun looked intrigued.
Crack! Shatter!
One of the five Bone Shields shattered instantly.
The next followed, crumbling helplessly before Chiron's spinning horn.
Kwachak! Kwagagak!
The Bone Shields only bought a brief moment; they couldn't stop Chiron's Horn Charge.
The instant Chiron demolished the final shield,
Kwudududuk!
A white wall erupted from the ground before the Skeleton Dragon.
A bone barrier boasting impressive defense: Bone Wall.
And so, Chiron's Horn Charge collided with the Skeleton Dragon's Bone Wall.