Chapter 141: Geumwa Clan (8)
Chapter 141: Geumwa Clan (8)
The barrier created through dark magic was called Dark Haze.
Jacquin had put the massive pile of monster corpses to efficient use in a short amount of time. Even after generously using them to empower the Awakeners of the Goryeo Clan, there was plenty left over. He intended to create a more favorable battlefield by deploying Dark Haze here.
Overall, everything was unfolding exactly as Jacquin had planned.
It was highly advantageous for the Goryeo Clan that the majority of the Awakener Association’s forces were unable to make any significant progress, forced instead into a defensive posture.
“The bastards are struggling.”
“Hehe… We’ll let them dangle for a bit, then crush them.”
Baek Yong-gi and the rest of the Goryeo Clan members stood gathered before a grotesque object made of fused lumps of meat, their combat preparations complete.
A normal person would have found the sight revolting and bizarre, but the members of the Goryeo Clan didn't feel that way at all, as they had already fallen to the status of the demon’s pawns.
The core of the barrier, constructed from monster corpses, was located inside the Goryeo Clan’s large training hall. It stood five meters tall and had been hidden here because the building made it easy to conceal and defend.
Naturally, the Goryeo Clan’s Awakeners were clustered around it. A strike force stood ready to launch an attack at any moment, while a separate security detail was stationed to guard the core with ironclad vigilance.
“We strike once they push in a little further.”
Baek Yong-gi was known to the public as ignorant and hot-tempered. Furthermore, he was currently tainted by the Demonic Nature infused by Jacquin, giving him a ferocious disposition. However, as the leader of a large clan who had been active since the early days, his seasoned intuition remained sharp.
When it came to combat, he instinctively knew the right timing to strike. If they attacked the Association’s Awakeners now, the enemy might simply retreat, so now was not the time.
However, he soon realized he didn't have the luxury of waiting.
“Someone is heading our way!”
The Goryeo Clan’s mages had learned how to employ familiars to monitor the woods. They discovered that Han Shin’s party was breaking through, slaughtering the Tree Evil Spirit Leshes as they came.
“How many of them?”
“There are four.”
“What? Only four? Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m certain!”
Baek Yong-gi found it hard to believe. Even with their superior numbers and tight formation, the Association’s Awakeners were struggling to advance through the fog and the Leshes. To hear that a mere four people were breaking through was incredible. He questioned the report, and his subordinate confirmed it once more.
[We only need to eliminate those ones.]
Jacquin had concluded that the Benevolent God forces were responsible for the rapid collapse of the Geumwa Clan, where he believed his kin had been. Even before arriving on Earth, he had seen logs suggesting Laysia had fought here, leading him to expect a few members of the Benevolent God’s faction.
Therefore, it was reasonable to assume that those currently bypassing the barrier with ease were from the Benevolent God’s side.
He didn't know how they knew, but they were heading straight for the barrier’s core. Jacquin actually thought this was for the best. He had used monster corpses to massively enhance the physical capabilities of the Goryeo Clan’s Awakeners, so he was confident even if the four intruders possessed significant power.
Moreover, they would surely be exhausted from fighting their way through a forest teeming with Leshes to get here.
As Jacquin suspected, Han Shin’s party was advancing much more smoothly than the Association’s Awakeners, but they were indeed consuming energy. Although Grace, Han Shin, and Laysia had recovered some of their former strength by leveling up and becoming capable of channeling more of Tiamat’s divine power, there was still a limit to how long they could sustain a battle.
Laysia, in particular, had fought consecutive battles at the Geumwa Clan alongside Han Shin, consuming a fair amount of her holy power in the process.
Since Han Shin, Grace, and Kang Yujin were all aware of this, the others took the lead to fight more aggressively.
In a way, this was Kang Yujin’s first real battle since becoming a follower of Tiamat through Han Shin. Her psychokinesis was now imbued with Tiamat’s divine power, making it lethal to beings possessing dark mana.
At first, Kang Yujin had used her power inefficiently while killing the Leshes. Relying on her old combat instincts, she had exerted more force than necessary, but mid-battle, she realized her psychokinesis was far more effective against the Leshes than before.
As Kang Yujin moved forward, tearing the Leshes apart and snapping them with her psychokinesis, Han Shin’s party approached the barrier’s core without hesitation.
As they drew closer to the core, they finally encountered the Awakeners of the Goryeo Clan.
The Goryeo Awakeners swung their weapons through the thick fog. The eyes of the warriors, whose muscles had become unnaturally thick with bulging veins, were filled with a dark light.
“Die!!”
The moment Grace and Laysia saw them, they knew these humans had completely surrendered to the demons and become Demonic Humans.
“They have turned into Demonic Humans. We must kill them!”
“Right!”
At the Geumwa Clan, they had intentionally only incapacitated the enemies to gather testimony, as they hadn't fully turned yet. However, the Goryeo Clan’s Awakeners were already fully transformed. There was no reason to take them alive, so Grace immediately informed Han Shin.
A human who has become a Demonic Human is essentially a demon, and some even surpass demons in their ferocity and cruelty. For this reason, Grace and Laysia had always killed every Demonic Human they encountered while defending their respective worlds.
Clang!
Slash!
Han Shin parried a massive sword swing and immediately cut the Goryeo Awakener’s throat.
He had killed some Geumwa Clan members while breaking through the Ivory Tower, but back then, most had died from falling debris after he shattered the fourth floor or from friendly fire during the chaotic melee.
This was the first time Han Shin had killed someone by aiming with lethal intent and slitting their throat, and it felt different.
Even if it was unavoidable because they had become Demonic Humans, Han Shin had been an ordinary person who couldn't even move properly just three months ago. Though he had steeled himself before the battle, he couldn't help the bitter feeling that washed over him.
‘Don’t hesitate. Don’t feel guilty.’
Han Shin repeated the words to himself internally.
‘There’s no need for mercy toward an enemy in battle.’
It was a lesson Grace and Laysia had drummed into him during his training. He recalled it once more.
‘If I hesitate, Noona, Grace, and Laysia could get hurt or die.’
By forcing himself to imagine the worst-case scenario, Han Shin pushed himself forward. His slightly trembling heart soon steadied, and he swung his sword to deal with the Goryeo warriors lunging at him from all sides.
Since Dark Haze was a fog made of dark magic, it blocked the vision of enemies but did not hinder those who possessed dark mana. The Goryeo Awakeners could see Han Shin’s party clearly, which was why they were able to maintain their formation in the thick fog, surrounding them and attacking from every direction.
Grace blocked a descending axe with her shield.
Clang!
A heavy metallic ring echoed, and Grace felt a weighty pressure against her left arm.
‘They’ve overloaded their dark mana.’
From her time defending Nippur, she knew the average strength of those who betrayed humanity and became Demonic Humans. While there were exceptionally strong individuals among them, they were generally only slightly stronger than normal Awakeners.
Usually, they were about one rank higher, but she could feel that these men were more than two ranks stronger than typical Demonic Humans.
Grace looked at the bloated muscles and faces of the corrupted Goryeo members and deduced that the dark mana in their bodies had been overloaded to make them temporarily powerful.
She realized this would not be an easy fight.
It was no simple task to fend off and counterattack enemies who were physically enhanced while her own vision was obscured by the fog.
Clang! Clang! Shing! Clang!
Under such a coordinated assault, it was difficult to find an opening to counter. Grace realized she couldn't handle this through simple combat alone.
Drawing out the divine power of Tiamat from within her body, Grace unleashed a silver sword energy. She decided it was better to use more power for decisive strikes to thin out the enemy ranks rather than dragging the fight out.
Thuck! Squelch!!
“Aaaargh!!”
With her sword radiating energy, Grace pierced the chest of the warrior directly in front of her, then swung horizontally to the right, releasing the energy.
Her sword energy forcibly tore through the Demonic Human’s body, which was as tough as steel and packed with dense muscle. The sharp silver energy left deep gashes in the bodies of the Goryeo Awakeners standing nearby.
However, they weren't cleanly severed as other monsters had been when Grace used her sword energy. Some survived despite their deep wounds.
“Guh… I’ll kill you! You bitch!”
“I’ll tear off your limbs and play with you before I let you die!”
Grace watched the Demonic Humans rushing at her with calm eyes, preparing to meet their charge.