Chapter 168: Hunan Province (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 168: Hunan Province (5)
After leaving the base camp at the mountain lodge, we split into the six promised teams and headed toward our respective target locations.
– Unit 1, comms are crystal clear. Any problems on your end?
Unit 1 was Cheon Yeo-wool and Yoon Chae-ha.
– Unit 2, no issues with comms.
Kang A-rin’s cold voice came through.
I immediately operated my own communicator to respond.
“Unit 3, no issues here either.”
Reports on communication status came in one by one from the other Phantom teams.
“Okay. Let’s continue the search.”
With Yu Hana, I started walking toward the eastern mountain range.
We had agreed to enter through our designated routes.
The fog was growing much thicker than before.
The moisture-laden air clung to my skin, and the cries of nameless beasts in the distance made this great forest of stone all the more bizarre.
“It’s quiet,” Yu Hana, standing beside me, said softly.
“It is.”
But that was no reason to feel relieved.
It was obvious that something belonging to the Mines was here.
The tension came from not knowing what that something might be.
I readjusted my grip on the bandaged Catastrophe and advanced cautiously, one step at a time, into the fog.
Beside me, Yu Hana matched my pace perfectly, her hand on the hilt of her Dongbaek Sword.
“Not here either…”
I tapped on an unassuming rock wall.
We still had a way to go to our target point, but since things could be hidden along the way, I had to check every single fissure.
– This is Unit 2. Any problems?
This time, it was Yu Serin’s voice instead of Kang A-rin’s.
It was a routine radio call. The teams took turns checking in every five minutes.
That meant our team, Unit 3, was next.
– Unit 1, no problems.
That was Yoon Chae-ha’s voice.
“Unit 3, no problems. Has any team found anything of note?” I asked.
– Kssshk… kssshhhk…
Just then, as another team was about to report, a short, sharp burst of static crackled through the comms.
– Ah, nothing unusual so far.
A report from another Phantom team followed.
I frowned. It seemed the fog enveloping this place was no ordinary fog.
It was all faintly imbued with mana. As a result, our mana-based communicators seemed to be slightly affected.
The second routine check-in also ended without any major issues.
There was intermittent static from a few teams, but it wasn't severe enough to hinder the mission.
I checked the map displayed on my watch.
The next check-in was our turn, Unit 3.
In another five minutes, we would likely arrive at the clearing in the middle of our sector.
Together, Yu Hana and I ventured deeper into the fog.
And at last, we arrived before a vast, open space.
It was a desolate clearing, empty except for a house-sized boulder in the center.
We scanned our surroundings, but all we could see were dense trees shrouded in fog.
And then.
– Ssshh.
From somewhere, I heard a faint sound, like shifting sand.
“Hana.”
“Yeah.”
“Prepare for battle.”
As I declared combat, I ripped the bandages off Catastrophe with a single motion.
At that moment.
– Grrrrr…
From behind the trees that surrounded us, submerged in darkness, dozens, no, hundreds of red eyes lit up in unison.
A pack of Gnolls, beastmen with the heads of hyenas, had already surrounded us completely.
So, this isn't the place.
No monster could approach a Fragment due to its aura.
The Fragment at Baekdusan had been an anomaly; this one was dormant.
These creatures were merely the masters of this forest.
I took out my communicator.
“This is Unit 3. We’ve engaged the enemy. A pack of Gnolls.”
– Copy that. Be careful.
Kang A-rin’s brief reply came back.
I put the communicator away and looked at Yu Hana, who stood before me.
She had also drawn her Dongbaek Sword, her eyes gleaming.
– Grrr… grrrrowl…
The dozens, hundreds of red eyes around us were multiplying.
The greedy howls of hyenas echoed from all directions.
We were completely surrounded.
What do you do in a situation like this?
It’s the most basic of questions. And the answer is always the same.
Simple.
I aimed the tip of Catastrophe at the thinnest part of the enemy line.
“Straight through!”
Break through at one point.
– Fwish!
The moment I shouted, a storm of crimson Sword Force erupted from the tip of Yu Hana’s blade.
Her Sword Force first took the form of red camellia petals, then a giant blossom, and finally, a floral wind that pierced through everything as it surged toward the Gnolls.
Supreme Chaos Blossoms.
I added my own power to the path she forged.
– Shwaaaa!
A jade-green Spear Aura shot from the tip of my spear, advancing with her Sword Force like a great shield, protecting her on all sides.
Crimson and jade.
They began to breathe life into the desolate clearing.
“Kieeeeeeek!!”
It was the first time we had launched a combined attack in such perfect sync.
And yet, it didn't feel like the first time at all.
Where our attack struck, the Gnolls were torn apart by the energy and vaporized without so much as a scream.
A path opened in their encirclement.
I broke through that path and took a position at the edge of the clearing.
Almost simultaneously, Yu Hana stood behind me. We were back-to-back.
– Grrrrrrr…
Even with a path open, the creatures didn't flee.
Yu Hana spoke in a low voice.
“Let’s end this quickly.”
That was all I needed to hear.
I readjusted my grip on Catastrophe and swung the spear in a powerful diagonal arc.
In an instant, the jade-green Spear Aura drew a semicircle, tearing through space.
The Gnolls were ripped apart, their upper and lower bodies separating.
Behind me, Yu Hana was also swinging her sword.
But her style was the polar opposite of my destructive display.
What she performed was not slaughter, but an artistic sword dance.
Crimson petals precisely sliced through necks and hearts.
Jade and crimson.
Destruction and art.
We protected each other’s backs perfectly, steadily widening our circle.
Finally.
“Kieek…”
The last Gnoll fell.
“Hah…”
I drove Catastrophe into the ground and took a ragged breath.
At our feet lay the corpses of hundreds of Gnolls.
The metallic stench of blood mixed with the fog, stinging my nostrils.
– Flick!
Hana swung her sword once through the air.
The bloodstains on her Dongbaek Sword vanished in an instant.
Watching her, I let out a small laugh and raised my palm.
She understood my intent, smiled brightly, and walked over.
– Smack!
Our palms met with a crisp sound.
It was a clean victory.
The mission seemed to be going smoothly.
*
– This is Unit 3. We’ve engaged the enemy. A pack of Gnolls.
– Copy that. Be careful.
“Unit 6, confirmed.”
Casper, a member of Phantom, felt that this entire mission was incredibly tiresome.
Why in the world was a precious force like Phantom, the Maengju Guild’s elite special unit, stuck playing hide-and-seek in some foggy forest?
He turned off his communicator and started grumbling to his partner, Raven, who stood as still as a rock beside him.
“Raven. What do you think? Seriously… why are valuable assets like us even here? You know we’ve been running in circles for weeks, right? If it weren’t for Team Leader Serin, I would’ve already flipped…”
“Then leave.”
“Hey, come on, don’t be like that.”
Raven dismissed his complaints with a single phrase.
In truth, Casper was just venting, so he tried to laugh it off.
Before long, they too had reached the intermediate target point marked on their map: a large clearing.
A desolate space, empty except for a house-sized tree in the center.
There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary.
Raven placed a hand on the ground to begin his detection.
Casper started to walk slowly around the perimeter.
But then.
“A pleasure to meet you.”
From beyond the trees and deep within the fog, an incredibly soft and gentle voice drifted out.
As the fog parted, a man came into view.
He wore pure white priest’s robes. But they were stained with strange, black patterns that seemed to seep into the fabric.
Wait, is he even a priest?
He was smiling. A bright, benevolent smile.
But his eyes were not.
Just by meeting his gaze, Casper was seized by a powerful urge to gouge out his own eyes.
Every cell in his body was screaming, rejecting the being before him.
“Ra… Ra…ven…”
He barely managed to choke out the words, his voice strangled, as he looked to his partner.
But.
“Gak… ghk…”
Right where Raven had been kneeling to search the ground, the earth beneath his feet had turned into something like a black swamp.
And from that swamp, dozens of black hands shot out, grabbing Raven’s entire body and squeezing his neck.
“Raven!!”
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
And then.
– Snap.
Two massive hands twisted Raven’s neck in opposite directions, as if wringing a wet towel.
The last light faded from Raven’s eyes.
And as he watched the horrific sight, the corners of the priest’s mouth curled into a grotesque smile.
“Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!”
Casper lost his mind, screaming desperately as he fumbled for his communicator.
At the same time, a single shadow shot out from Raven’s corpse, coiling around Casper’s neck like a snake.
“Ghk!”
“Apostle, Third Seat, Belial.”
– Snap.
His voice never reached anyone.
“Allow me to introduce myself properly.”
The one who will plunge a knife into the Queen's heart.
The Bishop had descended.