Relentless Skeleton Ambushes
Suddenly, countless monsters appeared.
"Hm? Monsters out of nowhere?"
"Did they respawn?"
"They look a bit off, though..."
There were over fifty of them, but the Paradox Guild members didn't panic. They knew the level of monsters that spawned around here all too well.
"Let's just take care of these nuisances and move on."
"Got it!"
Right after the ranged users like mages and archers unleashed their skills to wipe them out.
Whoosh!
A large group of skeletons materialized in a semicircle, blocking their path. The Paradox Guild members were momentarily startled, but they quickly realized who was behind it and smirked.
"Heh, skeletons again this time?"
"Then those monsters just now were from Revive."
"Yeah, looks like it."
But before they could fully assume a defensive formation, dozens of skeletons—including Armor Mages and Armor Archers—unleashed a barrage of attacks.
Boom! Crash-crash-boom!
Several users dropped dead in an instant. And those few happened to be Gangster Necromancers. The skeleton warhorses they had been riding vanished along with them.
"Fuck! Get your heads in the game! The warhorses are gone! Protect the Gangster Necro users at all costs, you idiots!"
"Y-yeah, got it!"
The atmosphere shifted in a heartbeat.
"Of all people...!"
Everyone dropped their playful attitudes. They formed groups of ten, and three shield-bearing tanks stepped forward to block the incoming attacks.
"That bastard's here right now, right?"
"Yeah."
"Why'd he show up?"
"Who knows. Trying to buy time, maybe?"
"Buy time...?"
"Nah, I think he's just a crazy fucker who wants to fight."
"Doesn't seem like it."
"Hey, who cares? Just kill him."
"True. But where the hell is he?"
"Hiding somewhere, probably."
At that moment, the leader at the front raised his hand.
"One from each group—fan out and find him! The Gangster Necromancers are mid-level guildmates who can barely summon ten warhorses, so pull back to minimize casualties! No summoning skeletons if it might block our path! Tanks, focus on protecting them! That's the order!"
The moment the command spread, one member from each group broke off and scattered in all directions. Mu-hyuk watched their movements and widened the distance. He had vision-securing skills and a solid range anyway—no need to stick around here. Meanwhile, the battle between his summons and the Paradox Guild erupted.
"Rest of you, prepare to attack!"
"Ranged first!"
"Can't—the cooldowns aren't up from using them on those monsters!"
"You fucking...!"
Thanks to the barrage on the Revived monsters, the skeletons had taken minimal damage and could now deal maximum output.
But as time passed and skill cooldowns reset, the tide turned.
Users' spells and ranged skills streaked toward the skeletons.
An Armor Knight stepped forward, aligning itself and raising its shield, but this was an assault from over five hundred people. It wasn't tough enough to block the relentless skills.
Armor Knight 7 has been unsummoned.
Armor Knight 12 has been unsummoned.
Armor Knight 5...
One by one, they began to vanish.
At that moment, the Giant Cyclops stepped forward.
Crash-crash-boom!
It didn't stop even as attacks hammered it.
"What the—crazy!"
"Kill it!"
The ranged attacks halted in that instant.
"Why'd you stop?!"
"Fuck, do their skills have no cooldown?!"
"Shut up! Melee classes, forward!"
"Forward!"
The advancing Giant Cyclops picked up speed, and the Armor Cavalry waiting behind kicked off the ground hard.
The users directly in front raised their shields to meet them, but they couldn't fully block the charging force of the Armor Cavalry.
"What kind of power...!"
The users were pushed back, scraping the ground, and those behind rushed to reinforce.
Even then, it wasn't enough—dozens more had to join just to hold the line.
But it didn't end there. The Giant Cyclops joined in, shoving them back again.
"Fuuuuck!"
And then the Armor Knights piled on.
In a flash, it turned into total chaos.
"Everyone not fighting, spread out!"
"Surround them wide!"
The Paradox Guild members in the rear fanned left and right. Bone arrows rained down, delaying their encirclement.
"Argh, seriously!"
"Ignore it—form the encirclement first!"
Outnumbered, the encirclement eventually formed. With nearly five hundred Paradox Guild members here, it was too much for the skeletons to handle.
But the Giant Cyclops's rampage took out a few more Gangster Necromancer users.
"Damn it!"
They'd killed over fifty Paradox Guild members despite being outnumbered. At least ten were Gangster Necromancers. Their warhorses vanished too. The trip to Column Village would take much longer now.
*
Opinions were split two ways.
"Should we send some ahead at least...?"
"Even then, it'd take forty minutes. If Mu-hyuk catches them, they could get wiped."
"Wiped?"
"Just now, five hundred of us lost fifty, dumbass. Let's be realistic."
The strike leader, listening to the guild members, made the call.
"Splitting up will just increase casualties. We move together."
"Yes, sir!"
They marched on for thirty minutes.
Kiririk!
Revived monsters and skeletons blocked the path again.
They didn't panic this time.
They swiftly formed up and engaged the monsters and skeletons. The front-line monsters melted away in seconds, and the charging Armor Cavalry were unsummoned through the gaps.
More Armor Cavalry burst through the dust, but a skill barrage struck them down, unsummoning them once more.
They pressed on relentlessly, but the Paradox Guild's numbers were overwhelming. Who knew how many had been unsummoned.
"What the hell! No ranged attacks?!"
"Skills are on cooldown!"
"At least shoot arrows!"
In the brief lull as heavy skills reset, a Burtan leaped out from behind the Armor Cavalry.
-----------!
Its ki wave slammed down.
"Urk...!"
As most frontline users staggered, the Giant Cyclops dropped from above. It stomped the ground with one foot and unleashed a roar.
The Burtan's ki wave spread in a forward semicircle, but the Giant Cyclops's roar blasted outward in all directions.
Most nearby users took heavy damage and reeled. Magic and arrows from incoming Mages and Archers exploited the opening.
"Th-there...!"
"Shields!"
Those hit by the roar couldn't raise their shields.
Exposed, the low-HP ones died on the spot.
Then the Armor Knights charged in.
Chaos erupted again, and Paradox Guild members started dropping one by one.
"Encircle them again!"
"Overwhelm with numbers!"
"Stay calm and respond!"
Only after inflicting serious casualties did the skeletons get wiped out.
*
Daepotan, the strike leader who had brought five hundred Paradox Guild members.
"This is driving me insane."
His chest tightened even as he walked.
"So, how many are left?"
The deputy strike leader answered.
"First battle: 53 dead. Just now: 69 dead. Current count: 378."
"122 dead? To just summons?"
"Yes..."
"Ha, unbelievable."
"But..."
"What now?!"
"At this pace, it'll take over an hour to reach Column Village."
"So?"
"They might show up again..."
Daepotan scowled at the report.
"What about the guys we sent to find that bastard?"
"No sign of him anywhere we looked..."
"Then expand the search radius."
"We don't have enough people for that..."
"Send fifty for scouting next time those bonehead fucks show up. Prep the scout team now, got it?"
"Yes."
"Fifty people. You're the deputy, aren't you? Lead properly, asshole. Miss him again, and you're out of the guild. Understand?"
It was a low, anger-laced growl.
"Y-yes, sir!"
"Fuck. No more breaks. Pick up the pace!"
"Yes, speed up!"
"Speeding up!"
Their fears became reality soon enough.
Monsters and skeletons appeared once more.
"Move as ordered!"
"Yes!"
Fifty scattered for scouting while the rest engaged the skeletons. After a fierce battle, Daepotan checked numbers.
"Line up straight!"
"Yes!"
254 survivors. Including the fifty scouts, 304 total.
"I'm losing my mind. 74 dead?"
The scouts returned just then.
"The bastard?"
"No sign."
"You fuckers messing with me?!"
"N-next time for sure..."
"Shut up. You, step forward."
The deputy took a step.
"You're out of the guild. Got it?"
"B-but..."
"Scram. I'll handle it with the higher-ups."
"L-leader! Give me one chance!"
"I said scram!"
Daepotan swung his fist.
Boom!
A cannon-like explosion erupted, and the deputy dropped dead in one hit.
"You there."
"Y-yes!"
"You're deputy now."
"G-got it!"
"Miss Mu-hyuk next time, you're out too. Clear?"
"Yes...!"
"Enough rest. Move out."
They pressed on.
Exactly thirty minutes later, another skeleton ambush claimed 85 lives.
219 left. Over half gone to summons alone.
"You stupid fuckers...!"
As rage boiled up his throat.
"Strike leader! Found him!"
"What? Where?!"
"He's fighting over there!"
"Everyone, forward! You, lead the way!"
"Yes!"
"What? What is it?"
"They found Mu-hyuk, that fucker!"
"Found him! Mu-hyuk!"
"Fuck yeah, finally. That bastard's dead!"
"Hurry up, everyone!"
The Paradox Guild members, seething with bloodlust, charged at full speed toward Mu-hyuk.