Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Coordinated Assault
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# 83
Players, Chapter 83
Kang-seok’s party did not clear the fifth floor. They had judged that no matter how much they hurried, they wouldn't make it in time, given the sheer number of gargoyles occupying the floor.
Stopping at the entrance, Kang-seok halted his party as they were about to enter and asked Kim Ha-neul a question.
“Do you have any unit cards that can fly?”
Kim Ha-neul didn’t immediately grasp Kang-seok’s intent, but he rolled his eyes, trying to answer the question. He replied after a brief pause.
“Uh… my Light attribute deck is mostly ‘Angels,’ so I have a fair number that can fly…”
“Something big enough to carry people. Preferably multiple people.”
The moment Kang-seok spoke, Seong Yu-jin, who had caught on to his plan, added her own words. Now, Kim Ha-neul could also vaguely understand what Kang-seok was aiming for.
“I-I have one. But there’s no guarantee it’ll show up right away…”
He could only draw a new hand of cards once every two minutes.
Summoning a monster via a unit card wasn't the main issue.
The problem was *when* he would be able to draw a monster large enough to carry people.
Kim Ha-neul and Khalid, unable to hear Iris’s voice, had no idea what was happening on the sixth floor.
But just by looking at Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin’s expressions, they could tell the two were in a great hurry.
Would they make it in time? If his hand turned out as bad as it had on the second floor, they could be stuck wasting ten, maybe even over twenty minutes.
And there was one more thing.
A worry that Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin shared, but Kim Ha-neul did not.
Would it even be possible to break through the ceiling?
“Don’t feel pressured. If it’s not possible within three turns, we’ll just go the standard route.”
At Kang-seok’s words, Kim Ha-neul swallowed dryly. He nodded, his face tense.
“Aaargh! My bad luck on the second floor was just paving the way for a perfect draw on the fifth! Probability always regresses to the meaaaaan!”
Resource cards came out on the first turn, and on the second turn, the exact unit card he needed appeared, along with additional resources.
Thanks to that, the summoning took only two minutes!
[Holy Lion, Ashen]
[Light Attribute / Cost 5 / Upkeep 3]
[Unit Card]
[ATK: 4 / DEF: 3 / HP: 5]
Furthermore, the moment they ascended into the air, a hole opened in the ceiling as if on cue. Of course, Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin knew the hole would appear. Kang-seok had been the one to request that Choi Yu-ra fire her heavy weapon at the already half-destroyed surface in the first place. Having grasped the situation just above the ceiling through Iris, Kang-seok sent Seong Yu-jin up ahead of him to protect Choi Yu-ra.
And then, Kang-seok followed.
Riding the winged white lion through the hole, Kim Ha-neul shouted in exultation, while Khalid, seated behind him, quickly scanned their surroundings.
The sixth floor was incomparably vast compared to the levels below.
The first thing he saw was Kang-seok, swinging a jet-black sword at the Demonic Beast Oriax. Beyond them, he could see other players—the Seven Sword Knights—locked in a fierce battle with a griffin that had the head of a lion. Though it was just a glimpse, it seemed that nearly all the elite members of the Seven Sword Knights had gathered on the sixth floor.
[Demonic Beast Oriax]
[Demonic Beast Vapula]
Khalid couldn't see anything else. He could only perceive that the two demonic beasts before them were more terrifying and powerful than any monster the Seven Sword Knights had ever faced.
Could they win?
Khalid’s gaze returned to Kang-seok. He swallowed dryly as he watched Kang-seok become engulfed in black flames erupting from his entire body.
The Dark Destiny Lord.
The Savior of Aachen.
A being who, according to rumors, had already slain two demonic beasts!
→↘↓↙←→ + HS
Rest in Peace: Black Bullet
One of the Dark Destiny Lord’s two ultimate skills.
From the very beginning, Kang-seok didn't let up on his assault. He took a risk to pierce the opening created by Night of Knights’ surprise attack on Oriax. He shrouded his entire body in black flames, transforming into a jet-black bullet.
Rest in Peace was a charging skill.
It was like a lance charge at full power, a single-point breakthrough. The immense physical force didn't just strike Oriax; it sent its massive body flying back over twenty meters.
“Uwoooooh!”
Kang-seok roared. The moment he determined that piercing Oriax was impossible, he twisted his body before the effects of Rest in Peace ended. He changed his attack vector and broke away from the beast.
As Kang-seok shot up into the sky, the shift in momentum affected Oriax once more. It staggered, then finally fell to one knee, collapsing.
It was the first time Oriax had been brought down since appearing on the sixth floor. But Kang-seok couldn't be satisfied. Despite using one of his ultimate skills, he hadn't managed to land a critical blow. Oriax's health and defense were beyond imagination.
Landing on the ground after stepping on a series of force fields in the air, Kang-seok gasped for breath. While keeping an eye on the distant Oriax, he quickly turned his head to check on Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra.
Fortunately, both were safe. Seong Yu-jin, having already regained her posture, was protecting Choi Yu-ra, who was recharging her heavy weapon and glaring at Oriax.
[There are currently a total of 52 players on the sixth floor. All of them must be skilled, having reached this floor in such a short time. Do your best!]
There were two demonic beasts present on the sixth floor.
Kang-seok mentally erased the group of players fighting the lion-headed monster in the distance. He focused solely on the Demonic Beast Oriax before him.
Oriax laughed heartily. It roughly readjusted its grip on the war hammer it had never let go of.
And then, Oriax changed its fighting style. It no longer ignored the attacks of the other players.
Kang-seok, as well as every other player around him, had thought that he was Oriax's target.
But that was nothing more than a misconception.
The moment its crimson wings unfolded, Kang-seok tensed his legs to evade, only to realize Oriax wasn't charging at him.
Instead of Kang-seok, the lion-headed demonic beast lunged at its flank, ambushing the mage-type players who had been chanting ranged attack spells from the rear.
It was an attack that exploited the fixed mindset formed during battle. As such, their preparations were clumsy, and before they could even deploy their magical barriers, Oriax’s war hammer swept through the players.
Lightning and flames erupted simultaneously. The players directly hit by the war hammer were literally crushed into bone and flesh, while those nearby were engulfed in lightning and flames. The damage was even greater because they were mage-type players with weak defenses. In a single blow, four players lost their lives, and two were severely injured.
The vivid blood spreading through the air delighted Oriax. But the sight of the players’ bodies disappearing into light confused it.
Who were these strong humans before it? Why did they vanish without leaving a corpse? And why had so many of them appeared before Raum’s tower as if they had been waiting?
They were interesting questions, but it put them aside for later. With another hearty full swing of its war hammer that created a wave of fire, Oriax beat its wings and kicked off the ground. It moved with a speed that belied its enormous size.
“Scatter!”
Someone shouted. The players who had been clustered for focused fire quickly dispersed, but that didn't guarantee everyone's safety. Instead of being greedy, Oriax systematically crushed each player it targeted.
*Boom! Boom!*
Two consecutive roars echoed, and two players specializing in ranged attacks lost their lives. Unless one was a dedicated tank or a warrior-class player, there was no way to block a single strike from Oriax.
This was dangerous.
The players felt it instinctively, and without any prior agreement, they naturally formed a new battle formation. The melee warrior-type players who had been holding back now charged forward to tie down Oriax.
Of course, there weren't many of them. Oriax’s hammer, which could obliterate a person in a single blow, was enough to evoke instinctual fear.
Those who could overcome that fear.
Those who could protect their allies.
Those who could be called true tanks!
Seong Yu-jin, Kim Kang-san, and Christian rushed Oriax from three directions. Besides them, an unknown warrior in heavy armor charged at Oriax from behind.
The Demonic Beast Oriax let out another booming laugh. The bold charge of the courageous humans pleased it.
“Listen! To my song!”
Go Min-gu’s roar drowned out Oriax’s psychic voice. He slammed his totem forcefully into the ground and sang with all his might. It was nothing short of a cacophony, but the effect was tremendous.
The warrior-type players who had stepped forward for melee combat felt their bodies grow lighter. Their fear of Oriax diminished, and new vitality coursed through them.
And that wasn't all. Among the surviving mages, some began casting a series of support spells.
Strength enhancement, agility enhancement, increased fire resistance, increased lightning resistance.
The tanks didn’t charge head-on into Oriax’s swinging hammer. Even a tank didn't need to honestly take every single one of the enemy’s attacks.
Seong Yu-jin moved swiftly, dodging the hammer while using her taunt to draw Oriax’s attention. Kim Kang-san and Christian sought to pin Oriax down with offense rather than defense, while the heavy-armored warrior who had approached from the rear annoyed Oriax by staying in its blind spot.
Oriax swung its war hammer violently. Once again, lightning exploded, and a wave of fire swept across the ground.
The four tanks focused all their attention on evading the direct impact of the war hammer. The lightning and wave of fire were fatal attacks for mage-type players, but not for tanks who had focused on defense.
Seong Yu-jin momentarily lowered her stance and raised her shield. Thanks to the Rune of Flame, the wave of fire was almost negligible, and the magic shield, part of her Magic Armor Arnach, effectively blocked the electric shock.
Kim Kang-san and the heavy-armored warrior in the rear dodged the lightning by increasing their distance, while Christian, like Seong Yu-jin, raised his cross-shaped shield to block the lightning and flames.
The four tanks’ movements to hold the rampaging Oriax in place were like a truly precarious acrobatic performance. But it couldn't last forever.
Having managed the backlash from using consecutive special moves, Kang-seok charged toward Oriax.
Players who recognized ‘Night of Knights,’ the signature skill of the Savior of Aachen—the Demonic Beast Slayer, Dark Destiny Lord—cast a series of support spells on him.
There was a limit to the number of support spells a single player could receive, and since many had overlapping effects, some were nullified, but the effects themselves were clear.
Kang-seok ran faster and more ferociously than usual. He reactivated Vivian's magic gauntlets, which converted the user's stamina and mental energy into lightning.
“Enchant!”
Lightning originating from Kang-seok’s right hand mingled with the jet-black flames.
Oriax saw Kang-seok. It spread its wings to leap away and shake off the tanks.
But the tanks, and the ranged attackers watching from a distance, would not stand by and watch.
Christian, who had been waiting for an opportunity, swung his war hammer and struck Oriax’s leg. Seong Yu-jin maintained a dangerously close distance to Oriax and activated her taunt, trying to steal its attention for even just 0.1 seconds.
Magic and projectiles rained down on Oriax’s head. With Oriax’s massive body, ordinary players only came up to its waist, so there was no fear of friendly fire.
As a price for looking away at Kang-seok for a moment, Oriax’s knee buckled once again. Swallowing a pained groan, Oriax roared.
Seong Yu-jin and Christian, who were right next to it, were thrown back as if struck by the sound itself, eventually landing on their rears.
But even in that moment, Kang-seok didn't stop. He sprinted, and as he ran, he recognized some welcome faces.
A small and sturdy dwarf warrior aimed for the same leg of Oriax that Christian had struck with his war hammer.
Immediately after landing the hit, he was sent tumbling across the ground by a wild swing of Oriax's left arm, but he was satisfied.
The dwarf warrior's gaze was not on Oriax, but on the demon-shaped player approaching above its head.
“Gravity Fall!”
Two horns pointing to the sky, reddish-black skin, and bat wings extending from his back.
The player, who could have been mistaken for a demon himself, shouted loudly and stretched out both arms, generating a powerful gravitational field.
It didn't just make Oriax’s knee buckle; it forced the beast to collapse entirely.
It was temporary. And so, the demon-shaped player mentally screamed his comrade’s name with all his might.
A blue-haired man ran alongside Kang-seok.
Kang-seok and the blue-haired man—Park Hyeong-sik of the Amaranth Guild—had the same thought. That was why the moment their eyes met, they assumed the same attack stance.
The target was Oriax’s abdomen, which had come into range as it collapsed!
Oriax roared, trying to shatter the gravitational field. John, the magic warrior maintaining the field, screamed from the shock of his spell being forcibly dispelled. The dwarf warrior, Daniel Kim, shouted.
“Let 'em have it!”
Right next to Oriax.
Just as Oriax finally tore apart the gravitational field and tried to stand, Kang-seok and Park Hyeong-sik’s attacks were already complete.
““Lightning Kick!””
Lightning exploded from the point of impact. The powerful push-kick sent Oriax’s massive body momentarily airborne.
Park Hyeong-sik, having delivered a stronger blow than Kang-seok, was unable to move due to the recovery time of Lightning Kick.
But Kang-seok was different. With the effect of the Black Flame Dragon, he not only reduced his recovery time but also activated a Super Cancel, forcibly cutting the skill short and kicking off the ground as if to chase Oriax.
Oriax and Kang-seok’s gazes collided in mid-air. Kang-seok swung Durandal.