Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Abandoned Mine (6)
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The battle between the living humans and the animated mud puppets reached its peak.
From the foremost position of the human exploration team's left flank defense, Alon swung his sword.
Kakang!
The blade that sawed through the special mud puppet's shoulder like a saw emerged with a grating sound.
Undeterred, the special puppet viciously swung its opposite arm, but Alon had already evaded its attack range as if he'd anticipated it.
He didn't just barely dodge—he deliberately leaped back far enough to create distance. Spinning his body, he immediately countered with a sweeping strike.
Srrek! Srrek!
Two nearby regular mud puppets were nearly bisected simultaneously.
Seizing that opening, a massive mud puppet lunged from behind Alon, arm raised to smash down.
Kagakak!
Its waist split in half, halting its motion.
Veron, who had swung from behind, brushed past Alon and targeted the special puppet he'd been fighting.
"Hup!"
While Veron moved, Alon sliced through yet another massive mud puppet.
The brothers' coordination was flawless.
Not just anyone from a prestigious family could reach Gold rank without talent.
Galen and Lilia were the abnormal ones; Alon and Veron had been hailed as geniuses in their youth.
Separate from their personalities, their skills were exceptional. They'd long since analyzed the special mud puppets' weaknesses.
Special puppets were tough but slow. They might hold in a frontal clash with their defense, but they couldn't keep up with the brothers' movements.
Thus, rather than the specials pinning them down, the brothers pinned the specials while smashing the masses and regulars.
A few leaks were inevitable.
"Block left!"
"Fall back to the side!"
They didn't force every block, letting a few natural leaks get handled easily by the Silver-rank pairs working in tandem. Having trained together, they synced perfectly.
Then, the moment disorder rippled through the mud puppets' ranks...
The brothers charged the special from both sides.
The sluggish special couldn't defend both, targeting one—but evasion was simple when anticipated.
Shiiik! Kagak!
As Alon deflected the special's attack, Veron's sword severed its arm.
No blood flowed like from a human, but a collapsed form meant reduced combat power regardless.
Whittling it down whenever an opening appeared...
Thud!
...they could topple it.
This made four special mud puppets they'd dispatched already.
Their relentless pace consumed mana more than stamina, but with the defensive line holding firm, it was worth it.
Meanwhile, the earth fairy exploration team on the right flank fared similarly.
Though their method was the polar opposite.
If human combat was motion, earth fairy combat was stillness.
Rooted in place, they formed an ironclad defensive line, waiting for mud puppets to approach before pounding them.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Even when struck, they took it. The earth's power shielded them—painful, but not debilitating.
The striking puppet's arm shattered instead, and when the fairy struck back, more shattering. Only the puppets suffered.
The leaders' situation was the same.
The special was faster, hammering Sachet and Akanksha wildly.
Pow! Pow! Pow!
They ignored it, steadily landing punches.
Compared to peers, earth fairies held the edge in strength, weight, and toughness.
Barring the lack of pain as non-living beings, they were superior versions.
"Hoo."
Sachet regulated his breathing before the wreckage of the brutally smashed special mud puppet.
Nearby, Akanksha—who'd just felled another special—grimaced.
"Ugh, my whole body aches."
The two fairies had taken down four specials. Over ten massives, and regulars uncounted.
Impressive results. Mana drain from constant earth power was a factor, though.
"If we hadn't asked for help, we really would've been in trouble..."
Akanksha muttered, gaze forward.
The brutal melee the leaders had expected flowed far more smoothly than anticipated.
Not lacking intensity—it was fierce. Just not desperate.
No fatalities or severe injuries in the exploration team. Minor wounds abounded, but they could retreat for priestly healing.
Akanksha knew exactly who to thank.
One of the three fronts—center and flanks—but covering nearly half alone: the water mage.
Whoooosh!
Even from here, the massive water pillar whipped like a lash was clear.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
The water giant pummeled the same spot mercilessly, as if facing a blood enemy.
Water splashed, earth cratered with each clash.
Probably a special mud puppet caught there.
Akanksha didn't want to imagine its state.
"She wasn't like that in spars with me..."
Well, that would've meant intent to kill.
She knew one hit wouldn't do it, so pummel till it broke?
Actually doing it was scarier.
Whatever the front's details, combining hers and Sachet's kills, Galen had likely felled far more alone.
"What kind of human is she?"
The opposite human team probably wondered the same.
Akanksha, staring at the water giant with awe, turned to approaching mud puppets.
The battle's second hand ticked again.
*
The water giant's relentless fists halted abruptly.
Realizing the mud puppets had returned to mud, Galen withdrew mana instantly.
The fresh experience filled the progress bar razor-thin, bumping the level up.
Sensing the expansion, Galen grinned.
'Specials really pack the punch.'
Spirit Creation, mid-50s at ruin entry, now Lv.57. A storm of growth after ages.
Handling nearly all incoming puppets solo with the spirit netted it the bulk XP.
Regulars were decent, massives okay, but specials were key.
Galen had felled six this time.
'Though with Water Flow Manipulation alongside.'
Of Akanksha's thoughts on the giant, 'Not like that with me' rang true.
Spar confirmed pure spirit strikes couldn't dent her.
Against top-tier defense like specials, Galen spared no mana, layering Water Flow Manipulation.
Fists far swifter and stronger than spirit-alone pummeling smashed them regardless.
Others didn't need that much.
Thooaang!
A cannonball-sized water orb slammed a approaching massive from behind.
Halved in one hit, it staggered; a second dropped it. Couldn't withstand two.
'Who'd guess mud puppets synergize so well with my magic.'
Each giant rampage splashed water everywhere; repeated, the front was now swamp-like.
For some reason, puppets weakened.
Bodies heavy on mud footing? Or mud oversaturated? Regardless.
They felt duller, softer than initial clash.
Not visibly melting, but definitely frailer—Galen knew best, same output yielding more breaks.
Explaining his kills rivaling both flanks combined.
'But Spirit Creation mana nears limit...'
Not his worry—the others'.
Even covering widest, his mana borderline; others' wouldn't be plentiful.
Tons killed, but if hordes remained?
'...Time for a conference.'
After that one.
Galen eyed the shambling seventh special, shelving worry. XP first.
Thoang! Thooaang!
Swept minions with scraped-together water orbs.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
Water Flow punches pulped the special prettily.
Routine work; XP secured.
That instant.
"Ugh?!"
No warning.
Senses twisted violently.
Head-splitting pain staggered Galen. He dropped to one knee, barely balancing.
"Brother?!"
Lilia's distant voice barely registered.
'Wh-what...'
Status flickered wildly in shaking vision, like a candle in wind.
The faint, incomprehensible sensation from ruin air alone...
Now crashed like post-anesthetic agony.
Even dazed, Galen grasped it dimly.
'New magic... acquisition... sensation.'
Like Water Flow Manipulation, Spirit Creation, Vanity Inferno, Earth Bind.
A novel magic's sense rooting anew.
Previously mere vertigo; this near-faint intensity.
Question marks cleared one by one, fully resolving.
"Kuhuk!"
Galen exhaled pent-up breath. Consciousness snapped back.
Limp, half-held by Lilia.
"Are you okay?!"
"Fine... now..."
Gasping, he tensed his legs, standing straight on both feet.
"Not overdoing it?"
Lilia asked, near tears. Galen wryly smiled.
"Not from overdoing. Well, it was... but..."
"It is!"
"Like... an inspiration explosion. Lacked control."
He glanced at the now-calm status.
Unlike stealing others' magic, this unintended acquisition was spontaneous. An apt "wild explosion."
"Really fine now."
"For real...?"
"Absolutely. But weren't you fighting a mud puppet just now?"
"Sliced it and came! When you were collapsing!"
Her spot: a bisected special mud puppet.
Too clean a cut? Not the issue now.
"Thanks, no injury. Anyway... time for that conference."
"Huh? What suddenly?"
Galen smiled softly past her worried gaze, pointing ahead.
"To finish those off."