Chapter 292: Black Goats (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 292: Black Goats (2)
Something of an indistinguishable shape burst out from beyond the gate.
A massive black branch.
Countless mouths and teeth bristled along it.
And.
From the liquid dripping from those teeth, goats measuring dozens of meters in height—bearing the form of black goats—began to manifest.
They were the thoughtform soldiers of 'Shub-Niggurath'.
Though there were only five of them, the sheer magnitude of the magical power radiating from each one was beyond measure.
"Aaargh!"
"Aaaah!"
Just facing them felt like it would drive one mad.
The threads of reason snapped, and their cells screamed.
"Ugh..."
The magic-class players barely managed to hold on, but any will to fight had long since vanished.
"W-what kind of monster is that...?"
"There's no way... we can stop them."
Buy time until stronger rankers arrived?
They realized with bitter clarity just how arrogant that thought had been.
No, even if rankers did arrive, would they even be able to scratch a single hair on those things?
They couldn't picture it at all.
Right then.
With a heavy slosh, the river began to turn black.
An unidentified liquid spread along the ripples.
Their bodies instinctively screamed a warning.
That thing is dangerous.
"Run...!"
The players, raising their shields to the maximum, screamed at the citizens behind them.
Rumble, crash!
A black wave instantly swept over the riverbank where the players stood.
Shields shattered like glass, and the tanks in the rear coughed up blood, unable to withstand the impact.
"Aaargh!"
"Kyaaaah!"
Screams echoed from all directions.
Their comrades were dying helplessly.
Neither shields nor barriers meant anything.
It was hell.
They were standing right in the middle of hell.
They knew they had to run immediately, but their frozen limbs refused to move.
If even they were like this... how much worse must it be for ordinary people?
It was truly overwhelming terror.
But then.
The wave hit something and bounced back.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
A group of people appeared in front of the players.
It was Cheon Min-su, the star damage dealer of the Balhae Guild, along with their main raid team.
"It's Balhae! It's Cheon Min-su of the Balhae Guild!"
"They have a relic! It's the 'Great Wall of a Thousand Li', the anti-army defense relic!"
"A-are we going to live?"
Cheon Min-su was one of the top A-rank players.
And the players who accompanied him were a raid team entirely composed of veterans who had cleared high-grade ruins.
To think they had even brought a 'Green' grade relic specialized in base defense.
[The special effect of the Great Wall of a Thousand Li, 'Wonders of Mountains and Rivers', has been activated!]
[Base defense increases by 500%!]
[Morale increases by +30!]
[All individual stats increase by +3!]
[(Absolute Judgment Effect): The aggro of all enemies is focused on the wall!]
The relic, which looked like a heavily scaled-down version of the Great Wall of a Thousand Li, began to glow.
A golden mist rose, and a long, towering wall manifested along the Gapcheon.
At the same time.
"Groooaaar..."
The black goats that had detached from the branch began to move.
Thud!
A heavy impact shook the riverbed.
Because of their massive size, small tidal waves began to roll toward the riverbank.
"P-Player Cheon Min-su. Those things..."
"Don't worry too much. According to the analysis team, that branch with the countless teeth is the enemy's main body. However, it has already failed to emerge from the gate several times."
"Are you saying the main body won't be able to cross over?"
"At least for now."
Cheon Min-su nodded.
The magic beasts in the river were likely just its minions.
They could easily buy enough time until Korea's major guilds and reinforcements from Japan arrived.
"Everyone, get ready. While they're slamming into the wall, we'll launch a surprise attack from behind in one fell swoop."
Cheon Min-su issued orders to his comrades.
"Five of them, huh..."
"Three of us per goat should do it, right?"
"They're strong, but as long as the main body doesn't move, this is doable. Since they're goats walking on two legs, we just need to sever their brainstems."
Shring!
Clank!
Various weapons were drawn.
Since the targets were so massive, there would be plenty of areas to strike once they closed the distance.
Right then, the goats reached the Great Wall of a Thousand Li.
Boom!
As their hands slammed into the barrier, a deafening roar echoed across the entire city.
However, just as the Great Wall had defended borders in the past, it withstood this strike as well.
...Now.
"On three."
Cheon Min-su lowered his center of gravity.
Weight-reduction magic and movement speed buffs were stacked to allow them to fight on the water.
"One."
Mana began to pool in his legs.
"Two."
Tap!
Sizzle...
Smoke rose from the ground.
"Three."
They vanished.
Their target was the rear of the black goats.
It was a surprise attack that precisely exploited a blind spot.
But then.
"Huh...?"
Even though they had penetrated from a blind spot, a chilling shiver ran down Cheon Min-su's spine.
This feeling, this sensation...
There was no mistake.
[The aggro effect has failed to apply to the target.]
The special effect of the Great Wall of a Thousand Li... the Absolute Judgment effect of a Green-grade relic...
Was not working.
Furthermore, it was only after getting right in front of them that Cheon Min-su finally realized.
What they had measured was merely the mana on the surface of the black goats.
Deep within them, ominous, sticky thoughts flowed like a muddy torrent, incomparable to what was on the outside.
"N-no!"
He screamed in desperation, but it was already too late.
Sensing the players, dozens of black lines erupted from the black goat's body.
Sizzle!
The black lines swept through Cheon Min-su and the other players.
The acrid smell of burning flesh stung his nose.
And an even more metallic taste of blood welled up from deep within his throat.
"Cough..."
Cheon Min-su stared in disbelief at his missing lower half.
And that.
Was the last thing he ever saw.
"Groooaaar!"
Mana condensed on the horn of one of the black goats.
Not a line, but a sphere.
The mass of condensed thoughts radiated a blinding brilliance.
Rumble, crash!
The sphere blasted straight through the Great Wall of a Thousand Li, vaporizing the players standing behind it.
[The Great Wall of a Thousand Li has been breached.]
Roads and buildings collapsed.
With just their casual movements, the very terrain and structures were reshaped.
And so.
The most horrific nightmare began.
* * *
The headquarters of the Korean Awakeners Association.
The room was currently enveloped in a silence so heavy that even the sound of breathing could be heard.
Tremble!
Han Sang-jin shivered slightly.
To think the relic they had trusted so much would be shattered so effortlessly.
The five magic beasts that had appeared at the Gapcheon far exceeded their expectations.
"President. We just received word from the US. The Washington area is half-destroyed. Estimated casualties are already in the thousands..."
"It's the same in France... near the Palace of Versailles. The three raid teams sent by the Olympus Guild and minor guilds have been wiped out, and a division-level military force has also vanished."
"A gate just opened in Guangzhou, China as well, and they've practically abandoned city defense..."
Disastrous news poured in from all over.
Only thirty minutes.
This had all unfolded in a mere thirty minutes.
"..."
They had climbed the tower too smoothly until now.
Although there had been several major outbreaks worldwide, including the Lich in Europe, those had nothing to do with Korea anyway.
That was why they had felt safe.
They believed Korea alone would be secure.
That even if something happened, someone would step up and resolve it.
Did our complacency... and arrogance lead to this?
Perhaps they were paying the price now.
As a punishment for falling into complacency and forgetting that humanity could actually face extinction.
"P-President."
"I know."
Han Sang-jin nodded.
Now was not the time for self-reproach or despair.
It was time to struggle with everything they had.
"We are upgrading the threat level to Code Red. I will contact the Blue House myself."
Code Red.
It had never been declared before, but it was a unique authority granted to the President of the Awakeners Association.
In the event of an outbreak deemed impossible to handle with Korea's available players, it was a protocol to abandon the region and reconstruct a defensive line in the rear.
"Have the remaining players, military, and police in Daejeon prioritize evacuating the citizens. We will designate Gyeryong, Sejong, and Okcheon as the secondary assembly points."
Once they confirmed which of the three locations the black goats were heading toward, they planned to concentrate all their firepower there using long-range teleportation magic.
"Where are the rankers currently located?"
"About twenty minutes away."
Dangun and Ssaulabi had already recalled all their rankers from the tower.
Soon, the Samurai Guild from Japan would also arrive in Korea.
"If they all gather... will we be able to stop them?"
One of the staff members in charge of communications spoke up cautiously.
Their voice trembled slightly, as if desperately searching for a shred of hope.
However.
Han Sang-jin did not indulge in selling false hope.
"It will be impossible."
The strength of the black goats shown in the footage was unlike any magic beast they had seen before.
It wasn't just a matter of being strong or weak; they exuded a profound sense of wrongness that humans could not dare to oppose.
If that branch with teeth—which appeared to be the main body—were to emerge as well, humanity would face total extinction.
"Then, are you saying we have to pour everything into an operation destined to fail? Helplessly... knowing we're all going to die...?"
"No, that's not what I mean."
It wasn't over yet.
While he believed Dangun and Ssaulabi would not be enough...
There was still one person.
A single ember that could be called hope remained.
"It may be painful and difficult to just watch, but we must wait. Because that person... will never give up."
Han Sang-jin smiled faintly for the first time.
"So, let us not give up either. If even we collapse, we won't have the face to look at those risking their lives out there."
* * *
Whoosh!
A whirlwind swept through the ruins.
A downpour of white flashes shattered the insects' heads and pierced through their bodies.
"To play the role of an entire main raid team by himself... My god..."
"The speed at which he generates mana bullets inside his body... 'fast' doesn't even begin to describe it. I've never seen anything like that."
"His mana control is insane, and his combat sense is unreal. He's a literal monster. At this rate, we might seriously have to consider using firearms ourselves."
"Don't delude yourself. It's only possible because it's him. Anyone else wouldn't stand a chance."
The rankers of the Titan Guild following behind muttered in dazes.
Jinhyuk's attitude had done a complete 180 right after his status window appeared.
Already, over hundreds of carcasses formed a mountain.
"Player Kang Jinhyuk has already killed everything and headed down. At this rate, we'll easily clear the 16th floor."
"This is no time to celebrate. It means we have so little time left that even someone of his caliber has to go all out."
Aidan frowned.
Even if others couldn't see it, Aidan could.
The traces left on the insect carcasses.
Instead of calmly regulating his mana, there was a palpable obsession to sever their breath as quickly as possible.
* * *
And while the Titan Guild lagged behind.
Jinhyuk, who had taken the lead alone, arrived at the location of the named monster.
Tap.
His feet, which had been sprinting like the wind, finally came to a halt.
"...They're still swarming."
Jinhyuk clicked his tongue.
Carnivorous plants, flying insects, and even medium-sized beetles.
A colony of even more diverse species than the bugs he had killed so far was waiting here.
"I won't say it twice. Get out of the way."
Jinhyuk aimed the muzzle of his gun forward.
"Kieee..."
"Khek, khek."
Instead of an answer, the various insects bared their fangs.
As expected, talking was useless.
He had no choice but to wipe them all out and move on.
[The unique ability 'Domain of Wind' has been activated!]
Just as his body was about to accelerate to go on another rampage.
"Fufu. To come all this way alone. You're quite impressive for a human. Are you the one harming our Queen's children?"
A monster in the shape of a giant butterfly revealed itself.
To be precise, it had a female body with massive butterfly wings attached.
The named monster, 'Murcielago'.
She was the one responsible for granting intelligence to the bugs and commanding them.
"I am the hand of the great Queen. Murciel—"
Bang!
The muzzle spat fire.
The mana bullet, flying in a straight line, struck the butterfly's skull dead-on.
"Ugh..."
A drop of blood trickled down Murcielago's forehead.
"You bastard, how cowardly to shoot while I'm speak—"
Bang! Bang! Bang!