Chapter 198
Chapter 198
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: Toward the Holy Mountain, Nowon-gu Breakthrough Operation (9)
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20.
Nowon-gu train breakthrough operation.
This operation had been pretty vague from the start... but it ended up yielding incredible results.
The train might've even made it all the way to Surak Mountain.
Sword God, Choi Sin-yul.
If that matchless hunter hadn't blocked the entrance to the Holy Mountain.
21.
"People said you were a total psycho, so I was dying to see what you looked like."
Jeong Ha-kyeong said.
"Guess I'll never know now, you bitch."
The Four Great Priests.
She ran into Executioner Im Ga-hee on the rooftop of some modern hospital.
Perfect timing.
Looks like this bitch had chased after the train.
"But aren't you even prettier now?"
The woman called Im Ga-hee no longer had a human face.
It stretched out long and thin.
Just a disgusting, wriggling snail head.
"Urgh... urgh-oo-wee-wing...? S... sa... yaa-sa-sa-yaa-meeeong...?"
Compared to the other monsters, she was better off, at least. Her body still retained its human shape from back then.
"Awee-wee-ai-ee-aang?"
"Fuck, what kind of greeting is that."
Probably so she could use that bizarre gun.
?
It resembled a Buddhist wheel of reincarnation motif.
But it also gave off the vibe of a ship's rudder. Anyone could tell it was no ordinary weapon.
- Be careful, sis.
A chill pierced through her entire body.
- She was sharp before... but now that her divine weapon's gone berserk, it's several times deadlier.
It wasn't the monster.
It was the killing intent radiating from the weapon itself.
"Cold enough to freeze my balls off. Let's wrap this up quick."
In that instant.
Im Ga-hee's signature weapon.
[Frost Cannon: Tollynal] split into eight barrels in a flash of light.
Jeong Ha-kyeong kicked off the rooftop hard.
The seething humanity inside her accelerated her internal time, giving her mind some breathing room.
Signature skill, 《Super Acceleration》.
The world in her vision.
Unraveled like spreading watercolor, losing its color powerlessly.
Just one step.
The barrels of <Tollynal> spat flashes one after another.
Methodical, thorough, swift.
She analyzed their targets, then recalculated her path.
The moment that was done.
She shifted into the path of death.
Piiiiing────!
Dodged the first freezing shot.
The second freezing shot was canceled mid-air by a blood bullet.
Twice, thrice, four times.
Kicking off the ground repeatedly, dodging, spraying blood to intercept, closing the lethal distance.
The sacrifice of her humanity.
As it drained away, so did her memories.
「My mom and dad smiling brightly with flowers at my police academy graduation.」
It was like.
They were forcibly ripped from her mind.
Afterward, the memory grew hazy—what had it even been?—and eventually, she'd forget it completely.
But she didn't care.
No time to care.
Puhwaaaaaak────!
The fifth shot came flying.
She slashed her arm with her dagger, swung it to spray blood and block.
「Mom nagging about when I'd get married.」
「Hong Byeong-gyu and Cha Seung-hyeon giggling because it was an 'American joke.'」
Three shots left.
The other five barrels were just gathering light. Probably reloading.
"Haaaaaaa────!"
But what about this?
No need to block or dodge anymore.
"──Aaaaaaaaaah!"
She focused her humanity into her legs.
Jammed the short sword deep into her own side. She gritted her teeth against the mind-blurring agony.
「Kim Gye-sang smiling, asking if it was a gift from Baek-jun.」
「Yoon Geon-woo stuttering that he wanted fried chicken.」
「Kim Baek-jun saying, 'When will we all get together like this again?'」
The next instant after kicking off.
Jeong Ha-kyeong was right in front of Im Ga-hee.
"……………!"
The snail spawn kicked off toward the other side of the roof to gain distance, but it was too late.
She seized its neck.
At the same time, the sixth barrel fired a freezing shot.
In that split second.
She ducked her head to dodge.
Drove the blood-soaked tip of her short sword into its heart.
The snail head lunged forward like it was about to bite.
"KYHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKK!"
A shredding scream erupted.
Its gut, pierced by the blade, rotted black in an instant... then the decay spread over its whole body.
The two plummeted off the rooftop.
Im Ga-hee kept screaming.
[Tollynal: Tollynal] lost control, wildly firing reloaded freezing shots everywhere.
But its aim was total garbage.
The shots just slammed into random spots around the city streets—no hits on Jeong Ha-kyeong.
Kwaaaaaaaaang────!
Im Ga-hee crashed straight down into the ground. That snapped her spine and head, apparently.
The rotting body twitched a few times, then went still.
<Tollynal>'s eight barrels twitched for a moment.
………Keeeek-kig-kig………
It wailed madly while scattering into white snowflakes.
"Fucking bitch... so goddamn gross."
Jeong Ha-kyeong hauled her staggering body upright.
Wasn't that high... but the impact still hurt like hell.
And... aaaah....
Her heart burned hot and cold, like it was tearing apart. Clutching it, she gasped for breath and started shouting.
"Kim Baek-jun, Cha Seung-hyeon, Yoon Geon-woo, Kim Gye-sang, Hong Byeong-gyu."
Again, again, again.
This is right, isn't it? Isn't it?
"Kim Baek-jun, Cha Seung-hyeon, Yoon Geon-woo, Kim Gye-sang, Hong Byeong-gyu."
"Kim Baek-jun, Cha Seung-hyeon, Yoon Geon-woo, Kim Gye-sang, Hong Byeong-gyu."
"Kim Baek-jun, Cha Seung-hyeon, Yoon Geon-woo, Kim Gye-sang, Hong Byeong-gyu."
Only after repeating it four times... did Jeong Ha-kyeong throw her head back and sob silently.
"Good... I still remember them all perfectly...."
Of course, she had no time to relax.
Far off, over the cityscape.
A monster horde Gong Min-young called a legion was shaking the earth as it marched.
22.
"Alright. See you on the other side."
Even after Jeong Ha-kyeong and Gong Min-young's sacrifices, the train ride was hellish.
"Wing-wee-ee-ai-ing...?"
"T-tea, Hwang-nyim-gyo? Yo-pa, yo-a-pa, neu-a-oo-a-eo-mu, a-ooo-aa, a-wee-wing-ee-aing...?"
Endless waves of snail monsters.
Shockingly, they even melted the tracks ahead.
"But tricks like that are useless in front of Seo Hwa-yun here!"
Thanks to Seo Hwa-yun's 《Form Memory》, the train never stopped once and kept barreling forward.
Pwooooooo──────
Faster.
Just a bit faster.
But her mind raced toward despair.
"O... oppa...! It's... it's gonna explode again!"
At Surak Mountain's peak.
Pure white radiance exploded once more.
Then invisible icy fingers raked viciously across all of Paradise.
"Kuh... kughhh...!"
Shin Tae-yeop raised both arms to shield himself from the shockwave.
Damn... hurts, it hurts.
Do Ye-jin... you're safe, right? You are safe right now, right?
Faster.
Please, just a little faster.
Nowon-gu's snowy landscape was shifting—looked like they were nearing the Holy Mountain.
Still faster.
On both sides of the train.
The city had given way to snow-covered forests.
"For some reason... it's scary...."
Ryu Hyeon-ji murmured, staring at the woods. Black licked the snow off her head.
"Look, that's the edge of Surak Mountain!"
Heo Cheon-gyeom shouted in a voice thick with fear.
It was.
The Holy Mountain loomed larger ahead. Park Ji-won said.
"Is... Do Ye-jin still alive up there...?"
"She is. Don't doubt it!"
Shin Tae-yeop yelled.
But every time he saw that alien pillar of light flickering at the peak... despair crashed over him.
Was it that light?
His breathing grew ragged on its own.
His whole body started tingling out of nowhere.
No... not that.
I've been seeing that light for a while.
What the hell?
A shiver ran down his spine.
An overwhelming pressure like his body would shatter.
This killing intent... I'd felt it before.
Not in this world.
But in that distant otherworld.
Jeong-cheol. Richard Hu. Paul Reed.
Every time he'd faced those elite players who'd transcended humanity to godhood.
Thud.
No way.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
This can't be....
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
The moment his heart started pounding wildly.
"Everyone, get down!"
Shin Tae-yeop shouted urgently.
Kwarrarararar─────!
Just as he deployed the 6-star spell 《Flame Lord Holy Veil》 in front of the train.
───Chachachachachachaching!
A clear metallic ring like cracking ice echoed... and suddenly the world flipped.
The train.
Lurched into the air, then slammed back down, spinning his vision wildly.
Kiiiiiiiiiiik────
The cars skidded across the icy road, tumbling... bits of steel and copper flying everywhere.
───Thud, kwang, kwang, kwaang!
The train spun for a while before slamming to a stop in the middle of a snowfield.
Then deathly silence fell.
Shit....
This is insane....
Am I dead? How am I seeing this so clearly?
Shin Tae-yeop was flying through the air.
He looked up, wondering what... and saw a hatchling dragon.
Gripping the back of his neck.
A frost dragonet flapping its wings with effort.
"Skesari?"
In that instant.
Why did memories from that otherworld flash before his eyes? Shyrak barked like it was complaining.
"Shi!"
"Shyrak?"
"SHishi!"
"The others?"
"Shishishishi!"
Over there...?
He whipped his head that way, then let out a relieved sigh.
"Black & White?"
Were the two wolves fused?
A massive black-and-white divine beast. The entire First Hunter Squad was riding its back.
「Yeah yeah we're───」
He probably would've died then.
────Whiiiiiish────
A crystal sword piercing his heart in one moment.
"──────《Frost Lotus Guard》!"
But Shin Tae-yeop didn't die.
Thanks to the whirlwind of lotuses that enveloped him in floral scent.
A suffocating heavy impact.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
It reduced 99% of the damage... and it still hit this hard?
"When did you get here?"
That voice rang out in the silence... cold and merciless.
No way.
Amid his pounding heartbeat... Shin Tae-yeop beheld the elite knight.
"What trick did you pull."
Hair whiter than snow, long and flowing.
Armor fused with priestly robes, pure white battle gear.
And.
An silver eyepatch over a flawlessly sculpted, handsome face.
"That's... Choi Sin-yul? The Sword God?"
An overwhelming presence rivaling—no, surpassing—Richard Hu.
His senses.
His battle instincts.
Screamed desperately. Danger. Run.
Pippipipipipipipip───!
That's when it happened.
Something burst from the train's cab.
It was... serrated discs.
Over a dozen spinning sawblades swarmed Choi Sin-yul... detonating in a massive blast.
"───Curious?"
Right then.
The crumpled cab door blasted open with a bang.
Some armored figure stepped out.
A steel-clad brute... every step clanging, shaking the ground.
"If you're curious, try seducing me."
"……?"
"I said seduce me."
This voice... Seo Hwa-yun?
Shin Tae-yeop blinked, then doubted his eyes.
No way.
Power armor...?
But this was worlds apart from pilot gear—armed to the teeth, armored insanely.
"You'll know how looooong I prepped for a date with you just by looking at this, right?"
Weapons plastered all over her body.
From sawblade launchers to mystery heavy guns... what the hell was all that?
"You'll see what I mean."