Chapter 244
Chapter 244
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 244
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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Clank… Clank…
The ground shook every time the giant soldier charged forward.
Kiiiiii-!
A fairly large ghost appeared.
Its size wasn’t much smaller than the giant soldier’s.
“No… this can’t….”
“What’s the problem?”
“This isn’t a military-purpose giant soldier. It won’t go down easily, but at this rate….”
Seolhong turned to Chiwoo as he spoke.
“We’ll run out of fuel and oxygen before we reach the surface.”
Seeing Seolhong’s tense face, Chiwoo let out a sigh.
“Leave that to me.”
“Chiwoo?”
“If I let you die, that guy might not even fight me.”
Hiss-!
Chiwoo leaped to the surface in his hazmat suit.
Kiiiiii-!
As Chiwoo’s small frame, looking far weaker than the giant soldier, was exposed, ghosts emerged from all directions.
They were the ones who had been cowering in the giant soldier’s shadow.
“You bastards… looking down on me!”
[Chiwoo uses Mount Tai’s Fury.]
[For a certain duration, all attacks strongly push hit enemies. Pushed enemies that collide with other enemies deal double damage to both. This effect stacks.]
Chiwoo lightly propelled his body into the air.
Boom-!
His foot cleanly kicked a ghost of moderate size.
Screeech…
Splat-!
A larger ghost smashed into the flying ghost and was sent tumbling backward.
Kaboom-!
Finally, it crashed into the massive ghost blocking the giant soldier’s path.
A huge hole was punched through the ghost’s chest.
“My god….”
Seolhong knew Chiwoo was strong, but he hadn’t realized he was hiding this level of power.
Or more precisely, Chiwoo might not have had the chance to show it before.
“Come on, you pathetic spirits! I’ll send you all to the afterlife!”
Chiwoo’s fangs protruded sharply.
Whenever he unleashed his feral power like this, his wolf traits became prominent.
Boom-!
Booom-!
Swish-!
Chiwoo was like a lone wolf thrown into a flock of sheep.
Crunch-!
Craunch!
[Chiwoo uses Whirlwind Fist.]
[Creates a gale from movement.]
Whirrr-!
Bang-!
A faint wind formed with every movement.
Whooosh…
Whoooosh…
Seolhong, trained in martial arts, could tell.
He recognized the level of skill Chiwoo was displaying.
‘He’s spinning.’
At a glance, his movements seemed overly exaggerated, but upon closer inspection, they were generating wind.
Whoooosh-!
The whirlwind gradually grew, eventually forming a vortex the size of the giant soldier.
Roooar-!
Screeech-!
The ghosts were swept into the whirlwind and slammed against the walls. They ended up a mangled mess, like pounded rice cakes.
“Seolhong! Where are you!?”
The problem was that Chiwoo, lost in battle, had lost track of Seolhong’s giant soldier.
“Over here, Chiwoo.”
“You were definitely behind me—why are you appearing in front now?”
“Space is continuously warping. Connect to the Earth King’s steel cable.”
Flash-!
A steel cable used for towing shot out from the Earth King’s left shoulder.
Whip… Whip…
Chiwoo tied the cable to his hazmat suit.
“This way, I won’t lose my way.”
“We need to hurry. If we delay….”
“Got it. Run! From now on, just charge through anything in the way! I’ll handle it.”
Thud…
Thud thud thud thud-!
The space kept warping.
A full day passed, and they still hadn’t escaped.
“Huff… huff… Seolhong, how much oxygen and fuel left?”
“…….”
“Seolhong?”
The giant soldier stopped moving for a moment.
“Seolhong!”
“Ah, it’s… still okay.”
Chiwoo shouted.
“You idiot! How low did you set the purification level!?”
He realized Seolhong had lowered the cockpit’s purification to conserve oxygen.
He must have passed out briefly from the aftermath.
“Seventy percent.”
“You moron… You didn’t even run your hazmat suit properly, did you?”
“I-it’s fine. We’re almost there.”
“Yeah, the ghosts don’t seem to appear this far from Eoduksini. Now….”
Clank…
Clank…
The giant soldier approached the cliff.
“We did it, Chiwoo.”
“We’re there?”
“Look, there’s the elevator.”
“Kehehe… When Kang Seol finds out we succeeded, his face will be priceless. Right? If it weren’t for the great Chiwoo here….”
Clank…
The Earth King boarded the elevator.
“Then, I’ll head up.”
“Got it. As for me, once I get back in….”
Rattle rattle rattle-!
The elevator ascended.
It wasn’t particularly fast.
Carrying a massive hunk of metal like a giant soldier at full speed would be a bizarre sight in itself.
“Chiwoo.”
“Yeah?”
“Sorry for the harsh words earlier.”
“Nah, I don’t care about that stuff. Anyway, you okay?”
“…….”
“Kang Seol, he’s probably….”
“…Enough.”
Chiwoo asked another question.
There wasn’t much else to do while on the elevator anyway.
“Hey, so what’s in it for you?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“You guys are sacrificing for people you met just a few days ago.”
“…….”
“Why be so reckless?”
“The faith of the imperial citizens is our foundation. They live with a vague belief, always working for the empire.”
“Faith? Belief in what?”
“That the empire will surely step in to help with things they can’t handle themselves.”
“…….”
“Betray that faith, and the vessel fills with water. The Khan’s history is long, so the vessel is probably full.”
“You think saving the miners empties water from that vessel?”
“At least it won’t fill more.”
“Don’t make me laugh. For just a few….”
“Chiwoo.”
Seolhong looked down at Chiwoo from the giant soldier’s cockpit. His proud gaze held many things.
“A full vessel overflows with just one drop.”
Chiwoo shuddered for some reason.
“You… you….”
Grrrrrind…
A sudden noise from midway up the cliff.
It came from the elevator’s steel cable.
Thud…
“W-what! Almost fell….”
“Chiwoo! Hold on tight! Don’t fall!”
“…What?”
Kabooooom-!
Boom!
Boom……
Chiwoo’s heart nearly stopped.
The elevator tilted and plummeted into the abyss below.
Fortunately, the giant soldier and Chiwoo were unharmed.
The giant soldier clung to the cliff with both arms.
“…Hey, Seolhong?”
“There was a problem with the elevator cable. Probably the ghosts….”
“…What now?”
“No other way. We climb the cliff like this.”
“…….”
“Hold on tight.”
Thud…
Thuuuud…
The Earth King alternated between left and right arms, moving upward.
“…….”
“…….”
The Earth King’s movements felt sluggish somehow.
After a few more moves, it suddenly vibrated.
Pssshhh…
Clang……
Kabooooom-!
The Earth King’s lower mechanisms detached.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Just lightening the load.”
“…Why?”
Discarding perfectly good legs just to reduce weight. Something was off.
“You lied to me, didn’t you?”
“Listen, Chiwoo.”
“…….”
“We get one chance. Fuel doesn’t matter, but if oxygen depletes even once, the ghostly energy invades the giant soldier’s interior. If that happens….”
“The miners die….”
“No coming back down and up again. Falling means death. Only one path.”
Chiwoo met Seolhong’s eyes in the cockpit.
“We have to climb by any means before time runs out.”
Clank…
Clank…
Perhaps because the heavy legs were gone entirely, the Earth King moved much more smoothly now.
The cliff’s edge came into view.
“We’re almost there, Seolhong!”
“…….”
“…Seolhong?”
Seolhong in the cockpit had lied to Chiwoo one more time.
- Current purification level: 50%. Physical abnormalities may occur.
“Haa… haa….”
Ghostly energy seeped into the cockpit through cracks.
This immense ghostly energy stemmed not from ghost bullets, but from Eoduksini itself.
Even here, far from Eoduksini, the energy should have been minor compared to the core, yet ridiculously potent.
No, perhaps Seolhong simply couldn’t withstand even this.
‘It hurts….’
His vision blurred white.
If this much ghostly energy caused such agony, how immense was the power Kang Seol endured holding Eoduksini?
‘I want to give up… Kang Seol… I want to give up.’
Seolhong checked the remaining oxygen and manipulated the giant soldier again.
Beep-
- Current purification level: 40%. Physical abnormalities may occur.
“Cough… cough… Lower it more!”
- Current purification level: 30%. Physical abnormalities may occur.
Beeeeeeep…
Ringing in his ears, vision fading.
Raising purification would expose the miners to ghostly energy due to oxygen shortage—no choice.
Clank…
Crackle…
The cliff the giant soldier gripped suddenly crumbled.
‘…Huh?’
Krrrrumble-!
In the slip, immense load shifted to the opposite arm, the left.
Squeal!
The light on the left arm went out.
A malfunction.
No legs, and now the left arm damaged—impossible to climb with one arm.
‘This is it….’
They’d fall like this.
His hazy mind made it seem okay.
Unbearable pain makes humans think of surrender. It’d be so much easier.
Grrrind…
Grriiind…
But why… wasn’t it falling?
…hong!
…Seolhong!
Why was the giant soldier still clinging to the cliff?
The reason gnawed at him before death.
Seolhong, eyes bloodshot from ghostly invasion, looked at the left arm.
“Urghhh… Seolhong!”
Chiwoo was wrapped around the ejected steel cable from the left shoulder, desperately clinging to the cliff.
“Chi…woo?”
“Snap out of it! You planning to die in a place like this!?”
“Why… why….”
“From now on, I’m your left arm! Nothing’s changed… I’ll make it work! So… let’s climb.”
“Chiwoo….”
“Please… I can do it!”
Seolhong’s mind cleared.
“That’s insane. No human can bear the giant soldier’s weight!”
“I’m not human! I’m a monster with wolf blood! So I can do it!”
“…You’ll die, and it’s on you.”
“If I die, remember this, you heartless bastard!”
Crackle…
A golden, majestic aura spread from Chiwoo’s body.
Wolf ears perked up, eyes far from human.
“Move!”
Whoooosh-!
Kaboom-!
The giant soldier embedded its right fingers into the cliff.
“Ughhh….”
“Chiwoo.”
“Almost puked my guts out. Haha… Next!”
Creak…
Creeeak…
Chiwoo climbed upward, unfazed by the giant soldier’s weight.
“Next.”
Kabooooom-!
“Grrrrr….”
Creeeak…
“Next….”
“Chiwoo.”
“Next!”
Kaboom-!
“Haa… haa… So, why are we doing this again? I must be dumb; I forgot.”
Chiwoo asked, bleeding.
Bit by bit, the giant soldier ascended.
“Getting the hang of it! A few bones broke, but it’s okay… no, it’s not.”
Creeeak…
Kabooooom-!
“Seolhong, you crying?”
“Sniff… hic….”
“Tell me, what I asked earlier.”
“Not now….”
“No.”
Creeeak…
Whirrr…
“We’re at the top.”