Cartibes' Apostles Invade
Cartibes' five apostles had invaded.
A massive crisis was beginning to engulf Seoul and even the provinces. At that moment,
Rank 4 = [Dokgakchon] Hae-dong
faced the greatest crisis of his life.
Hae-dong, unleashing the goblin's innate sensory energy to its maximum, had finally detected it in this very instant.
It.
To make matters worse, Hae-dong was being challenged by his goblin underlings.
Because of the pathetic sight he'd shown to Unregistered, these bastards were picking fights via wrestling.
"King of the Ring!!! Let's settle the hierarchy fair and square on the sand pit!!!"
- Kuwoong.
He knocked down the challenging goblins one by one, defending his King of the Ring title.
"......This is bullshit. So unfair."
'You damn goblins. You subscriber pricks...! You have no idea how insane that guy is!'
What should he do?
How could he salvage his image?
Then, a message popped up.
"......"
"......................"
1. Humanity's crisis.
2. Hae-dong's entrance.
3. A hunter's duty.
4. Subscriber recovery.
PERFECT.
"Aaah! Subscribers, hello everyone!"
Hae-dong was on the move.
At that time, in Gwangju.
- Kururung...
The bone golem exploded, and everyone on the battlefield saw it.
They had all been tense from the overwhelming size and pressure long before.
But it exploded immediately upon appearance. So sturdy that it completely devastated the surroundings before vanishing.
A detection/assassin hunter who had infiltrated the undead side to scout the battlefield quickly passed near the golem, checking its energy.
'......Pure physical power!'
No enchantments or attributes—just a single strike of pure physical force had shattered the bone golem like this.
'Is this real? Is this even possible?'
He couldn't sense it in detail since he was moving fast, but still.
Unbelievable power. And that power was on our side right now.
The detection hunter immediately reported the internal undead situation to the command A-rank hunter.
"...R-right, right now!"
The command A-rank hunter, upon receiving the report, shouted via amplification magic to the certified hunters and private guild members.
Creper's forces were in chaos like Asura's field. This was the chance.
"Advance!!!"
- Woooaaah!
The melee hunters, who had been focused on reorganizing their lines, charged all at once.
This was the opportunity to breach the fortress. Pushing hard here could stop the fortress proliferation.
'And Unregistered hunter.'
I don't know where or how, but I'll believe they're helping us.
If Unregistered helps, they could be the key force to completely reverse the battle before the high-rankers arrive.
- Chaeng!
- Kang!
Sword and spear hunters clashed head-on with the undead forces.
Even in their weakened state, the monsters' individual combat power was formidable, escalating into a fierce tug-of-war.
- Shwaaaak!
In the meantime, assassin hunters and mobile hunters swiftly moved, picking off undead.
However—
- Krurruk...
"Damn it!"
Ghouls still popped out one by one, charging at those hunters.
The assassin hunters, who needed to stir up maximum chaos inside, started getting tied down one by one.
'Reaching the fortress is gonna be tough.'
Even if they reached the front, there was still the problem.
How to breach that massive outer wall.
'Can we do it...?'
Then,
"!!!"
The unbelievable happened.
- Kwaaaaang!
The outer wall of Creper's fortress, which seemed impenetrable,
was massively destroyed, like a child kicking over a small sandcastle.
'......Unregistered's second attack.'
Not content with smashing the bone golem, now a huge hit on the outer wall itself.
'How is this level of destructive power even possible?'
The shockwave made even the undead lose balance. The ground shook violently, causing some hunters' ears to bleed.
- Kugugugugu...
The half-destroyed bone fragments collapsed onto the battlefield, pouring down on the endless undead troops from the fortress.
At this rate, the tide could truly turn, making the fortress assault possible.
"......Hoo!"
The command A-rank hunter, momentarily dazed, quickly reorganized the lines.
"Unregistered hunter has heavily damaged the outer wall!!!"
- Jingeuk-!
The hunters, emboldened, swept the battlefield.
However—
- Crack. Crunch. Crack.
The outer wall was regenerating at rapid speed toward its original form.
Self-recovery combined with reclaiming and recycling bones from corpses and skeleton/undead troops on the field.
A fortress reconstruction so horrifying.
It would take time since the damage was massive, though.
Then,
- Kwaaaaang!
"\"\"!!!\"\""
Once more.
Another impact on the recovering outer wall.
'He's joined in earnest. We win! We can win!'
The outer wall now less than 10% by formation standards.
The bastard's bones kept regenerating tirelessly, but this was a morale-boosting event for us,
'Unregistered nearly breached the outer wall. No more relying—we'll show we can do it ourselves!'
Command-Type
Vanguard's Roar
"Advance!!!"
The command A-rank hunter's skill, boosting all stats of the allied side, echoed at that moment.
"Woooaaahhh!"
Allies surged forward in a massive wave, morale sky-high.
The pouring monsters fell one by one under the momentum.
But the command A-rank hunter fixed his gaze on one spot with a still-complicated expression amid the chaos.
"......"
Beyond the outer wall lay an inner castle.
It looked ordinary, but an unsettling mana emanated from it.
Bad enough that it might require someone like Yoon So-i.
'But she's occupied right now...'
Could they breach this fortress?
He wasn't confident.
- Shuuuuk,
Back to the shelter.
I'd solidly destroyed the fortress wall. But it had recovery, so no room for complacency. Also,
"Agh! Something's wrong, Captain! I think I need to use magic again!!!"
For some reason, Jenny's spatial distortion was impossible within a considerable radius of the 'Creper Fortress.' That's why it was tough from the start.
In the end, the only spot satisfying distortion range + safe angle and position was a ridgeline for frontal attacks.
I finished the first sniping by taking out a big mob (bone orc) and smashing the fortress wall.
'Hoo. Next, punch through to the center.'
I took Jenny to the operations room.
"Jenny, we gotta go one more time."
"Y-yes!!! Captain!!!"
She jumped up and down cheering me on.
Her complexion was definitely bad. Fatigue must have built up.
Jenny needs a break... Review the situation in the operations room until stealth cooldown's up.
'Looks like Creper's main body is hiding in the center...'
Next sniping, breach it. To the end.
《Seoul》
《World Tower》
- Shuuuuwook...
- Shuuuuwook...
Two more apostles returned.
Apostle of Shadows, Apostle of Flesh.
One taken down by Kim Chi-gon x Unregistered. The other by Hongmaehwa's Seol.
The Apostle of Shadows was a statue where two became one body; the big one was down to half, the small one headless.
The Apostle of Flesh was unrecognizable. Seol had utterly butchered it.
Yoon So-i, who knew Seol best, guessed it wasn't to maximize statue state damage, but personal amusement via torture.
But it helped in the end.
Then,
- Guruk. Guruk. Guruk. Guruk.
Like the Apostle of Blood, once the two returned, eerie, unpleasant sounds began.
Holy
Spirit Orb
Yoon So-i recast her detection application skill, observing the Cartibes egg's changes more intently than ever.
'Damn. Looks like both had some success.'
Her brow furrowed deeply as she closed her eyes, probing the egg's interior with holy power like an ultrasound.
Flesh lumps started sticking all over inside the egg. Opening her eyes, shadows appeared on the egg.
It was originally a shadowless otherworldly object...
'It's starting to manifest in reality.'
But there was hope. The egg's state was clearly unstable.
The hatching inside was forming a body, but in a grotesque, unrecognizable shape.
The egg's shadow also failed to take form, like heat haze.
The barrier around the egg now...
"Team leader, it's visibly weakening even to the naked eye. Of course, until fully broken, it's hard to damage the egg."
- So gathering all apostles is key.
"Yes. And importantly,"
From now on, prevent the remaining two from achieving their goals as much as possible.
Her holy power warned her.
'Dangerous. At this rate, it might hatch without issue.'
Cartibes differed from typical dragons. Couldn't ignore undead racial traits.
Originally meant to be dead. Undead basics: corpses walking.
The interior was incomplete by life's standards. But from undead view, was it?
"Can't do it. I'll go help with Creper."
- No.
"?"
- 'Eteron' appeared. You have to handle this.
"Haaa."
The Apostle of Souls 'Eteron' finally appeared now.
Best if they came one by one, but no such luck.
"Heading out."
Yoon So-i, leaving 70% of her holy power as sanctuary on the Cartibes altar, departed World Tower with 30% reserves.
"......"
Heading out, worries about 'Creper' lingered.
Seemed like an apostle all-in on sustain and defense.
What if it gathered more bones?
Also, by her judgment, while not as strong as the egg's barrier, Creper's fortress 'inner castle' had a tricky barrier.
Fighting without barrier dispel or even enchants—could they manage?
'If the bone one completes its mission, the barrier might never break.'
A sense of crisis that one apostle might succeed.
Thus, Yoon So-i headed to slay the Apostle of Souls, feeling cornered.
Stealth cooldown almost up.
'Heading in soon.'
Punch through to the center.
One regret: the outer wall recovered pretty fast.
My stealth and distortion durations limited shots, so no more focus on outer wall.
Hunters were doing well, but to concentrate, I needed more support on-site.
Just as it got tricky,
"90K YouTuber Dokgakchon King of the Ring Hae-dong arrives!!!"
- Kwaaaaang!
"?"
The goblin, whose subs dropped, joined the outer wall fight.
"This enemy's real tough, right? Hard bones growing wild—watch me smash 'em!!! Like, comment, sub, notice!!!"
- Bwoooong.
"Please!!!"
- Kwaaaaang!
'Goblin!'
As Hae-dong clashed directly, the fortress outer wall started crumbling again with terrifying force.
"Cheon Seung-hyuk's coming soon too? You know he's Rank 1? Collab time!!!"
Good. No outer wall worries. Cheon Seung-hyuk was the top powerhouse I knew. Though I heard he hated broadcast exposure.
Anyway, with them, not just halting expansion—could fully demolish the outer wall.
Stealth cooldown right on time.
"Jenny, need to open once more. You okay?"
"I'm fine! Totally okay!"
...Gotta make her rest fully. Feed her good stuff too.
But no choice now.
Sensing few sniping chances even for Jenny's sake,
"Jenny. Form the distortion point again."
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
- Woooong...
Distortion point reformed.
Also used stealth, now 10s longer from level-up.
- Shuk,
Inside, Hae-dong rampaged on the outer wall, blocking recovery.
Thanks to that, I could immediately target the fortress interior.
Focusing the scope,
'What.'
Another inner wall deep inside. Precisely, the inner castle.
Another massive bone lump, but different feel.
Purple-tinged opaque foreignness?
'Barrier?'
Didn't matter. Just smash it.
Even if not precise, commit to sniping the inner castle.
'Firing.'
Focused harder than usual, minimizing body tremor.
Piercing Active...
Penetrate any layers with piercing too.
- Pushut...
Fired.
However—
- Duwooooong......
"?!"
Just a futile thud.
First time. Sniping failed. Even with piercing.
At my bullet's impact, thick purple pixel-like stuff bloomed, then vanished from sight.
'Barrier?'
Or shelter-like shield?
But with no other features, my attack power was unmatched. Not a shield.
Problem.
"No way to pierce the barrier?"
Time left.
Must achieve solid destruction this chance.
But no ideas coming.
Then,
'Try this? New skill. Special ammo or whatever.'
White Bullet Active...
Didn't know what it'd be. Worth one shot.
The 'Random Ammo' name that briefly appeared in view was,
- 'Need Dispel. Can you activate the holy sword?'
Tough.
Cheon Seung-hyuk, nearing Creper Fortress with a frown gripping the holy sword, pondered briefly.
'Might need it for Cartibes, so save holy sword activation.'
One activation, 24 hours to next.
'Really use it here?'
Arrived at fortress.
- Kwaaaang!
Using 'Lion's Verdict' to paralyze nearby undead, Cheon Seung-hyuk gazed at the fortress.
'Inner castle has a barrier alright. For high-level enchants beyond holy sword...'
While pondering,
"!!!"
Unbelievable scene unfolded.
- Jijijijik...
The purple barrier around the inner castle revealed itself,
- Jijijijik...
- Thud. Kuung...
With a space-tearing roar, it all collapsed.
'Barrier broken.'
Without Yoon So-i.