Chapter 142: Geumwa Clan (9)
Chapter 142: Geumwa Clan (9)
"Wh-what? What is this!"
"Why won't my body move!"
The Demonic Humans, who had been lunging at Grace, were thrown into a panic when their bodies suddenly froze.
Being unable to even twitch a finger was a first for all of them. They were Awakeners of the Goryeo Clan with extensive combat experience, having fought monsters in dungeons for a long time, but they had never encountered anything like this.
They had never been the targets of a psychokinetic’s power before.
Kang Yujin used her psychokinesis to ensnare the Demonic Humans attacking from all sides. She had barely participated in the fighting back at the Geumwa Clan.
I have to handle this.
Even without further explanation, Kang Yujin knew these were formidable enemies the moment Grace identified them as Demonic Humans. She knew how strong Grace and Leysia were; the fact that they couldn't simply massacre these opponents meant that while these enemies might not be overwhelmingly powerful, they were certainly stronger than average Awakeners.
Thus, she immediately projected her psychokinesis in every direction to sense all the Demonic Humans in the vicinity. Even though the fog obscured her vision, sensing them through psychokinesis was no problem at all.
The Demonic Humans stood frozen like statues. Despite their bodies being perfectly fine, they felt a wave of helplessness and terror as they found themselves trapped in invisible molds tailored to their frames, unable to move so much as a finger.
With only their eyes able to roll in their sockets, they were utterly defenseless against any incoming attack.
Those closest to Grace, Leysia, and Han Shin were decapitated instantly, their heads thumping onto the ground.
In a way, those were the lucky ones.
"Aaaaaagh!!"
As Kang Yujin clenched her right fist, the limbs of the Awakeners further away were mangled as if caught in a hydraulic press.
Had it been ordinary psychokinesis, it would have consumed much more energy and been a struggle for her to crush bodies reinforced by dark mana. However, she was now a follower of Tiamat. Her psychokinesis was infused with Tiamat's divine power, which withered the dark mana within the Demonic Humans' bodies and stripped away their defenses.
"Wolyeong!"
"Ugh! Dammit!"
"My arm! Aaaargh!"
The agonizing screams of the Demonic Humans echoed from all directions. Kang Yujin could have easily burst their heads instantly, but she chose not to.
She had learned from Grace and Leysia that against rational enemies, maximizing and exploiting their fear could be incredibly useful. While Han Shin had been busy leveling up and training in Siberia, she had been receiving combat advice from the two women.
She knew she had to improve; her only experience was fighting monsters in dungeons, and she was now in a position where she had to face demons in earnest.
Though Grace and Leysia were laymen when it came to psychokinesis, they were veterans who had fought countless battles against the forces of the evil gods. Their advice on large-scale combat was invaluable.
Just like now.
Kang Yujin deliberately used her psychokinesis to crush their limbs as if wringing them out, purely for the sake of cruelty. As a result, a slurry of blood, flesh, and bone leaked onto the ground.
As the screams grew louder, the confidence the Demonic Humans had gained from their dark mana began to shrivel, replaced by a blooming sense of dread.
There were only four of them.
The Demonic Humans had known the group was strong after seeing them carve a path through the forest filled with Tree Evil Spirit Leshes, but they had been confident they could handle them by utilizing their superior numbers.
None of the Demonic Humans present had expected the situation to turn out like this.
Kang Yujin continued to maim and kill the Demonic Humans and Leshes indiscriminately with her psychokinesis. Fountains of blood erupted everywhere as the screams moved steadily toward the location of the barrier core.
*
Baek Yong-gi, the leader of the Goryeo Clan, realized these were no ordinary intruders as they continued to draw closer despite the subordinates he had sent.
Though he had fallen from grace, Baek Yong-gi still possessed the competitive spirit of a warrior and burned with the desire to charge out and fight them himself. His hand repeatedly gripped and released the hilt of his sword as he paced back and forth.
However, he couldn't.
Jacquin, having clearly seen Han Shin’s party using the power of the Benevolent Gods, was now fully convinced they were followers of that faction and intended to fight them with absolute thoroughness.
[The others don't matter. We only need to catch those four. Stop guarding the barrier core and everyone attack.]
Jacquin didn't bother leaving troops to guard the barrier; instead, he mobilized the majority of the Goryeo Clan to focus entirely on Han Shin’s group.
The party’s strength began to wane under the relentless assault of the Demonic Humans within the fog. As the enemies swarmed in even greater numbers, even Kang Yujin reached her limit in trying to kill them all with psychokinesis.
These Demonic Humans were stronger than the ones they had first encountered, requiring more psychokinetic force to bind and kill. It was becoming difficult to restrict and eliminate every single one of them.
Naturally, the number of enemies Han Shin, Grace, and Leysia had to face increased. Tiamat's divine power was being depleted, and the battle grew increasingly fierce.
Observing the surge in the number of Demonic Humans attacking them, Han Shin deduced a single fact.
The barrier core is unguarded.
Despite his vision being blocked by the dark magic fog, he estimated their numbers based on the many Goryeo Clan Awakeners they had already killed and the sudden increase in pressure.
Before attacking the Goryeo and Geumwa Clans today, he had heard an estimate of their numbers. He was told that about a thousand members were always stationed at the Goryeo Clan house.
"I'll destroy the core alone!" Han Shin shouted briefly before breaking formation and sprinting forward.
Han Shin’s body was already in the Juggernaut state, his dragon power drawn out and manifesting as a silver aura.
The Demonic Humans who tried to block his path as he charged behind his shield soon became headless corpses. Some had their heads spun around several times by the impact of his shield, while others had their necks and faces cleanly severed by his sword.
Seeing him charge solo toward the barrier core, the Demonic Humans realized his objective.
"Stop him!"
"He's alone! Stop him at all costs!"
The Demonic Humans screamed at each other, trying to halt his progress, but it was futile. Even when dark magic was cast or weapons and arrows were fired at him in his Juggernaut state, nothing could land a significant blow.
They had never expected that as soon as they concentrated all their forces on the group, one person would break away to destroy the barrier core.
The rank-and-file Awakeners of the Goryeo Clan—the Demonic Humans—tried to stop Han Shin on their own initiative, even without specific orders.
"Agh!"
"Cling to him!"
"Stop that bastard!"
The Demonic Humans did their best, but they couldn't stop him.
What's going on? Why is he still so full of energy?
One Awakener, now a dark mage, muttered inwardly in disbelief. Through his familiars, he knew the group had been fighting intensely as they advanced. Han Shin had been at the forefront, fighting the Demonic Humans fiercely, yet he still looked perfectly fine.
Awakeners generally didn't favor prolonged combat. No one expected someone to sprint toward the barrier core at such a pace after all that.
In a way, Han Shin had higher stamina than Kang Yujin, Grace, or Leysia, giving him an advantage in long-term battles. The recovery granted by the power of the dragon was a massive help.
The Demonic Humans tried everything to stop him. The problem was that because he was moving at a near-sprint, those trying to chase him from behind struggled even to keep up.
Cutting down only the minimum number of Demonic Humans necessary, Han Shin soon felt he was close to the barrier core.
It was a building shaped like a gymnasium—a large training facility for Awakeners. Han Shin was certain of it, guided by the intense feeling of revulsion and disgust emanating from the place.
As I thought, their numbers are thin.
The target building came into view, along with the number of Demonic Humans surrounding it. As he had suspected, the number of "players" guarding the barrier core—their base of operations—was extremely small.
The building's iron doors were tightly shut.
BOOM!
But the doors were shattered in a single blow. One door panel was slammed into the wall, hanging at an angle with a screeching metallic groan.
Han Shin immediately spotted a grotesque object made of meat.
That's the barrier core.
He had never seen one before and hadn't received a description, but he knew instinctively.
I have to destroy that.
Han Shin intended to destroy the core immediately, but he was blocked by a Demonic Human with an unnaturally developed physique—a massive brute over two meters tall who looked like an Orc Chieftain.