The True Threat Emerges
The three raptors charging toward Mu-hyuk couldn't regain their senses amid the barrage of bone arrows raining down.
They desperately changed direction and lunged at the Armor Archers, but 29 Armor Knights were already blocking their path.
In the brief clash between the three raptors and the Armor Knights, Mu-hyuk finished off the dark-tainted black dragon alone.
And with it, one skull obtained.
Lucky break.
Mu-hyuk stowed the skull in his inventory while roughly gauging the beasts' strength.
In terms of level...
The original black dragon was level 137.
The dark-tainted version felt like early level 150. It had grown considerably stronger, but not to the point of being unbeatable. He judged that united players could handle it.
He glanced around.
As expected, the players were holding the line by combining forces against the monsters. There were quite a few deaths, but that was unavoidable.
Still, he couldn't just leave his own people exposed, so he assigned skeletons to protect Ye-rin and Kang Ji-yeon. Of course, the two were pulling their weight even under protection.
Ye-rin, the spirit enhancer, used squirrels to confuse monsters, whittling away at them bit by bit before unleashing magic at critical moments.
Kang Ji-yeon disrupted enemies with short-cast spells, threw up shields for allies in danger, and hammered monsters with powerful magic when she had breathing room.
The other players were doing the same.
Everyone was giving their all.
Time for me to move.
He first coated his blade with hallucination poison and kicked off the ground hard.
Wind Step
Ignoring the monsters the players were fighting, he pushed forward—straight into the swarm of raptors and black dragons surging from ahead.
Kieeeeeek!
Four raptors pounced from all sides.
Hup...!
Mu-hyuk slipped through a narrow gap, passing them by.
In that instant, his swinging sword carved shallow wounds into all four raptors.
The hallucination poison on the blade took effect, freezing their movements.
Raptor afflicted.
Black Dragon afflicted.
Black Dragon afflicted...
More raptors lunged. Black dragons too.
But Mu-hyuk dodged this way and that, nicking one after another. Messages popped up each time.
Raptor afflicted.
Raptor...
He slashed the chest of a raptor to his right.
Slash.
No message this time. The poison on the blade had run dry.
He retreated swiftly, pulled hallucination poison from his inventory, and coated the entire blade.
He plunged back into the monster swarm. Every beast in his wake succumbed to hallucinations, halting in place. This gave Squad 1 and Squad 10 some much-needed relief.
"We got this!"
"Let's clear 'em quick!"
They dispatched the emboldened monsters.
Then, they methodically targeted the still-hallucinating ones, one by one.
Players farther off saw this and used their own hallucination poison to freeze incoming monsters.
"One at a time, steady!"
Squad 2 and Squad 8 caught on too.
"Poison first!"
"Should've done this sooner."
"Whew, now let's finish 'em."
The tactic spread rapidly, reaching Squad 5 soon after. Before long, all players were using hallucination poison to whittle down the horde.
*
The broadcast viewers were glued to Mu-hyuk's performance.
Many viewers nodded to that possibility.
It was only natural.
Plenty were still fighting hard, and a few like Mu-hyuk shone brightly, but the monster waves showed no end.
Counterarguments flew too.
Neutrals held steady too.
Opinions clashed wildly.
The chat was more lively than usual, mixed with Ye-rin praise and BJ rankings chatter.
While the audience buzzed...
"Hah, huff...!"
The knight captain who had entered the dungeon burst out, dragging the survivors.
Duke Amur, waiting at the entrance, frowned and approached. They were back too soon, and the captain's face was grim.
"Report."
The captain knelt on one knee before Duke Amur and gave his account.
"We took minor losses midway—too many chimeras."
"Many?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
"Dozens visible at least."
"Dozens at least..."
Duke Amur tilted his head.
"They overwhelmed you?"
"Minor losses, but manageable. We retreated because of one sudden chimera."
"One?"
"Yes. It was... overwhelmingly powerful."
The captain shuddered.
As if he never wanted to recall it.
"Casualties spiked, so I pulled back."
"Good work. Rest up."
The goal was unmet.
Locate the black mage. Or flush him out.
Couldn't even pass the chimeras.
Priority now: brace for chimeras chasing to the entrance. He hurried back and issued amplified orders.
"Chimeras might burst out—prepare!"
"Yes!"
Knight formed a wide circle around the entrance. Soldiers gripped shields at the mouth.
Archers behind nocked arrows, tense for imminent battle.
But the mages right in front of Duke Amur still exuded casual ease.
Not bad, but mismatched to the black mage threat—the demon who once drenched the world in calamity.
"Hmm."
As Duke Amur opened his mouth to order pre-casts—
Kwaaaang!
The entrance exploded.
Kee, keekik!
A chimera thrust its head in, cackling eerily.
More blasts widened the gap around it.
Dozens more chimeras emerged.
Archers loosed.
Pang, paaaang!
Arrows thudded into chimera flesh, but unfazed, they charged.
Mages weren't ready for spells, so soldiers took the brunt.
As chimeras closed in, shields thrust forward in sync.
Kuwoong!
Soldiers skidded back from the impact.
It didn't end.
Kung, kuwoong!
Endless chimeras from the widened entrance shoved with brute force.
The soldier line buckled, sweeping back archers into the chimera wave.
"Kaaaaak!"
"S-save me!"
Archers' limbs tore free.
One lost an arm.
Another bisected.
"It hurts, it huuuurts!"
"P-please...!"
Brutal.
"Magic ready?!"
Duke Amur roared.
"Ready!"
"Fire!"
Finished casters unleashed.
Kwagwagwang!
Elite mages from kingdoms and empires—devastating power.
One flame-hit chimera thrashed aflame. Ice-bound one froze solid.
Lightning victim convulsed and fell.
"Advance!"
Knight encirclement surged before blast echoes faded.
The captain, having lost comrades inside, approached a frozen chimera with fierce eyes and slashed.
Ice shattered like glass. He shield-smashed a burning one, spreading flames.
Kee, keekeekik!
Pain? Destruction glee? Joy at death?
The chimera cackled madly and charged the captain.
"Haaap!"
One stroke decapitated it.
Roll.
The tumbling head grinned.
The captain stared briefly, then faced the next, shield out.
Kwaang!
Outmuscling it, he dropped shield and swung.
Slash.
An arm flew.
They dominated.
Other knights methodically felled theirs.
Victory seemed near.
Then—
Kwaaaang!
Entrance burst again. Battle halted. Suicidal chimeras dropped, trembling.
"Why...?"
Mystery solved instantly. A powerfully radiating chimera emerged from the breach.
The captain shouted on sight.
"Th-that one!"
The chimera that mercilessly crushed his squad.
It was that beast.