Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Charge, Crush, and Destroy (2)
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Screams echoed throughout the building.
The surprise attack using the Ebony Cockroaches had been a resounding success. The outlaws, completely oblivious to the cockroaches' existence, were buried alive under the swarming insects and died without a chance to fight back.
Even as the Ebony Cockroaches crawled into the building, slaughtering fresh humans and laying eggs in their guts, their numbers showed no sign of thinning.
As expected, an early-game swarm rush is always effective. Before the enemies could get a read on us or catch on, we'd struck first and infiltrated their base with bugs. There was no way we could lose, or so I thought.
'Summoning the Ebony Cockroaches... was the best choice I ever made.'
My affection for the Ebony Cockroaches—which I considered the most versatile summon in my arsenal right now, ugly appearance aside—skyrocketed even higher.
When I'd first pulled them, I'd wondered what earthly use wheel-shaped cockroaches could possibly have. But up to this point, they'd never once let me down.
'And they're smart, for bugs...'
Kyseria was brutally powerful, but summoning her was a hassle. The Ebony Cockroaches, on the other hand, were utterly loyal, obeyed my every command without question, and feared nothing—not even death. The perfect summons.
"Time to head in."
With the cockroaches' assault a success, it was our turn to mop up the survivors.
To avoid detection by the Beast Tamer's summons, we'd slunk through the sewers alongside the cockroaches to reach this point.
The short stint in the sewer had been disgusting and utterly repulsive, the foul stench so overpowering it nearly numbed our noses. Still, it beat getting spotted, so we'd all gritted our teeth and endured.
'Gotta get out of this shithole fast...'
I'd outlined the basic plan to the girls before we entered.
It wasn't much of a plan, really. While the Ebony Cockroaches threw the interior into chaos, we'd slip in and swiftly eliminate the standout targets—the ones we suspected held hidden classes.
I'd emphasized not to force any prolonged fights. This time, we'd split up and operate solo. Better to kill or let them flee than risk getting pinned down.
"Alright, one last check before we go in. A-ram, your weapon's too big, so guard the entrance and take down or subdue any runners. Hee-sun Noona, stick by A-ram and back her up—she might berserk while you're casting nearby."
I was terrified that swinging her massive hammer inside the sports center might bring the whole building down. That's why I'd assigned her to hold the entrance. In case any escapees circled back later, make sure none slipped away.
"Got it! Leave it to me, Joon-ah."
"I don't berserk as much anymore..."
I ruffled Hee-sun Noona's hair as she cutely pumped her fist. Better to leave her outside with A-ram than drag her into the building.
Her primary attack skill—summoning tree roots—was far more effective with her feet planted on solid ground. The deeper into the building and higher we climbed, the worse off we'd be. Plus, botching a root summon inside could collapse the structure.
"Next, Hwa-young and Ye-won-i, hunt down the summoner and pin him."
After getting close to the sports center, Ye-won-i had sniped two of the Beast Tamer's summons in seconds flat, making our job much easier.
She could even backtrack the magic residue clinging to the summons. Something about her black wolf sniffing it out—how a noseless creature managed that, I had no clue, but I'd told her to handle it.
I'd sent Hwa-young along anyway, just to be safe.
"Merhere, you're on the Possession Warrior on the second floor. Eun-ji, grab the hooded Rogue. A-reum, kill the Blade Master—he's the one with the curved sword at his waist. Clear?"
"Clear."
"Yes! Oppa!"
"Got it. I know this is the third time you're saying it."
The second floor had a gym where the Possession Warrior was holed up, according to intel from the outlaw we'd nabbed yesterday. His stats were supposedly jacked up, so Merhere drew that duty.
The Rogue wore a hood everywhere, and the Blade Master sported a sashimi knife at his belt—easy to ID. I'd assigned Eun-ji and A-reum respectively, with orders to bail if things got dicey.
"Finally, Dullahan—you leap straight to the rooftop and deal with the Sharpshooter. Can't catch him? Just kill him."
The rooftop sniper should be manageable for Dullahan even tanking hits—its armor was way tougher than I'd expected.
"Wh-what about me?"
"You stick with me. We're going after Lee Chan-seong."
"Y-yes!"
Son Ha-eun could wield necromancy, so she'd come along to track him down.
And so, we stormed the sports center, picking off the screaming outlaws one by one.
Then we scattered. The place was already a madhouse of tangled outlaws and bugs—sticking together would've looked suspicious.
'Stay sharp...'
I could only pray we'd all regroup safely.
Thanks to the Ebony Cockroaches, we'd already won half the battle. But that was no excuse for complacency. Like I'd drilled into my head a thousand times, the careless always died first.
On the way up to the top floor hunting Lee Chan-seong, I sacrificed every outlaw I encountered—no time to enslave them.
I spammed Abyssal Maw to chew through the ones roaming the halls, then dropped them with Corrupted Breath, the skill I'd gained hitting level 14.
Corrupted Breath spewed green spores from my mouth, poisoning everyone but me.
I hadn't used it much up to now. Unfortunately, I couldn't control the spores after exhaling, so my girls nearby could've gotten hit.
But now it was just me and undead Son Ha-eun, who didn't breathe anyway. No risk to allies—only the outlaws.
Unleashed without restraint, Corrupted Breath proved devastating. The panicking goons inhaled the spores, hacked up bloody coughs, and crumpled.
"Whoa..."
Son Ha-eun gawked as I cleared them in seconds, nodding in awe. She'd been gazing up at me like some hero the whole way here. No eyeballs made it hard to tell where she was looking, though.
'Son Ha-eun... she's rotting even more than yesterday.'
The clinging flesh was sloughing off, leaving her a full skeleton. She'd leveled up en route, gaining capacity for more corpses. She was well on her way to true Lich status.
"Rise..."
I raised five freshly killed outlaws as zombies. She could only control basic ones for now, but more meat shields were always welcome. Someday she might handle specials or named ones. Once she could command evolved zombies, she might single-handedly guard the mart.
"Order them to find Lee Chan-seong."
"Uh... hold on..."
At my command, she shut her eyes, muttered, and suddenly shouted that she'd found him.
BANG!!
A gunshot rang out the instant she spoke.
One of her zombies staggered out from the room at the far end of the fifth floor, head blown open, and collapsed in the hallway.
"Hiding there, huh... fucker."
I immediately deployed Warped Scales and advanced.
This would block three bullets—and reflect them right back.
"Wasting ammo on zombies first, eh?"
"Yeah. Gimme a sec."
Ha-eun's zombies let out eerie wails as they crawled into the room where Lee Chan-seong lurked.
BANG! BANG! BANG! CLANG!!
Gunfire erupted the moment they entered, shredding the zombies.
"Fuck..."
A man's curse echoed from inside, followed by the click of reloading.
We kicked open the half-ajar door and charged in. The room was pitch black—only his silhouette was vaguely visible. I switched to my altered vision and locked onto him in the dark.
He was panting hard, slamming bullets into his pistol. He brushed off bugs clinging to him and stomped them flat. Already chewed up bad by the insects.
"Haa... you damn bastards..."
Spotting us mid-reload, he grumbled in utter annoyance.
No time for chit-chat. I exhaled Corrupted Breath straight at him, then locked eyes with Lee Chan-seong—staring right at me—and activated Trance Eye, the skill I'd unlocked at level 13.
Trance Eye hazed the mind of any human who met my gaze. The one I'd debated grabbing early in the apocalypse. I'd known about it forever but only acquired it at 13.
Hadn't used it much since—too busy insta-killing or capturing.
But this guy had a gun. Time to minimize variables.
"Uh... uh..."
He quickly lost himself to my sparkling purple irises, mouth agape, drool dripping.
That did it. He inhaled the room-filling green spores, hacked violently, and dropped.
"Ha... easy."
"No way—your skills are straight-up busted, every one of them."
Son Ha-eun gaped as I dropped him effortlessly.
I'd braced for a brutal fight, but thankfully he was just a gun-toting moron. Low Will stat meant no resistance to Trance Eye.
"Eh, no big deal..."
I started to brush it off smugly to Ha-eun—
—when it hit me. I'd let my guard down hard.
And the instant I realized it, my senses screamed a presence. I ducked and rolled forward.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT!!!
CRASH!!
Bullets poured through the window the second I dodged.
"Hahaha! You dodged that!?"
A gas-masked man swung in on a rope from the rooftop, shattering the glass.
He chucked his spent gun aside and drew a revolver from his belt.
"You guys the intruders? Haha, you made one hell of a mess."
This was the real Lee Chan-seong. He leveled the pistol at me.
"Don't move, intruder. Twitch and I'll blow your brains out."
I froze at his threat. Rash skill use might trigger a spray—shatter my Warped Scales, kill me, ricochet kill him too.
Plus, Son Ha-eun was rattling behind me, groaning in pain—hit by his shots? If I dodged, she might die. Couldn't lose our mart guardian here.
So I stood stock-still. He laughed and asked,
"Oh, right—mind giving me your name? Wanna add you to my collection."
No intention of telling this creep jack shit. I ignored him.
His laughing face went blank, emotionless. He thumbed back the revolver's hammer.
Gas mask meant he'd prepped for spores, but not my Warped Scales. Trance Eye was on cooldown.
'That volley didn't crack the scales—dodged clean. Three blocks left... as long as he doesn't brainlessly spray. But can a revolver even spray like that?'
Remembered some old geezer online mag-dumping a revolver like mad. Awakened too—might have a skill. No suicide pact.
Wished he'd fire once, eat the ricochet.
"Hey... I asked your name."
He demanded it again amid the tension. Obsessed with the name thing.
'What’s he gonna do with it? Skill-related? Something needing the target's name? No way I'm spilling.'
I ignored him again. He scowled, shot at my feet. Psycho wouldn't kill quick.
Convinced his gun gave him the edge. Reveling in the dominance.
But patience snapped. He squeezed the trigger at me.
The bullet slammed into the barrier—and ricocheted right back.
SPLURT!!!
"GYAAAAAAAA!!!"
Hole punched through his shoulder. He shrieked, staggering. Go time.
"Pluto."
Abyssal Maw at his gun arm the moment he faltered.
Like the Daiso killer—disarm the deadliest threat first.
CRUNCH!
"GYAAA!!!"
He barely dodged a full amputation, but his gun hand was half-smashed. Pistol shattered.
The psycho killer was half-crippled now.
"Wh-what the—!!! GAAAAA!!!"
I drew my yangji-infused sword and stabbed his other arm as he flailed on the floor.
"GYAAAAA!! You fucker!! I'll kill you!! Kill you!!!"
What a crybaby. I'd actually feared scum like this.
Guys who'd ruled the sports center, kidnapped, tortured, cannibalized—still just pathetic humans.
Couldn't cope with surprises, babbled till death. Frogs in a well, fat and smug.
"Haa..."
I stamped the seal on his forehead as he wailed.
'Blood stench is killing my nose. How many did this bastard butcher?'
Only now could I survey the room properly.
Mangled human corpses everywhere. Most guts spilled from sliced bellies. His hobbies were obvious.
'From chained ones to limbs bound to concrete pillars in death. Displaying people like art. Psycho.'
Torture tools and bloody blades strewn about—he'd toyed with humans here.
Pulling grotesque movie-villain stunts and calling it 'art.'
As I tsked at the horror,
[Offer him to me.]
Indicron's voice rang in my head.
I scooped up a mace from the floor.
Time to wreck Lee Chan-seong.
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