Chapter 205: Heroes are Born in Crisis (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 205: Heroes are Born in Crisis (3)
“Except for Hornet and Satomi, all of Black Unicorn will move as Supporters and Defenders. Kwon Ye-jin, Yoon A-young! Draw Recara’s attention!”
“Drone combat range exceeded. Except for Lee Ji-eun and Go Ha-ram, Endline will eliminate the other monsters. Situation Room, relay the monster coordinates to Endline.”
“Hornet, fall back! Mei, Chizuru, bring down that building. Acceleration for two minutes! Lee Yu-na, focus your buffs only on Black Unicorn. All of Tenshin, flank them! Faster!”
“Kwon Ye-jin, swap with Han So-ye and pull back for treatment. Anna, Yoshino, Erika, push deep inside. Haruka, watch the tail! Yoon A-young, set up an ice wall at the designated coordinates. Go Ha-ram, Matter Transformation!”
“Haruka, break off and help Endline clear the monsters. Jeong Sae-bom, join the fray. Mirei, prep your skill. Hornet, I told you not to go in too deep!”
Ah… my throat hurts…
But thanks to the shouting, Recara’s building-sized body slowly began to tilt.
“Uwaaaaaagh—!”
With a dull scream, Recara collapsed onto the ground.
I had guided its fall perfectly; it crashed into an empty area, sending a massive cloud of dust billowing in every direction.
“Lee Yu-na, Hornet, confirm the kill. Everyone else, don’t just stand there! Help Endline finish off the surrounding monsters. Ryu Ji-hye, relay the monster positions.”
“Understood.”
While we were fighting the boss, monsters from the surrounding area had swarmed in, but with three high-level parties gathered together, they melted through the creatures with ease.
Once the safe zone was secured, we gathered to regroup.
“Supplies arriving now.”
An unmanned vehicle driven by Woo Jae-hee sped toward us and screeched to a halt.
Clack—
“Whoa…”
As the side of the large trailer slid upward, revealing consumables and auxiliary equipment, Mei’s eyes widened in admiration.
I knew pushing the idea on Lee Ru-da was the right move.
No matter how strong an army is, they can’t exert even a quarter of their combat power without supplies.
Since villains don’t usually spawn in remote mountain valleys and we aren’t exactly fighting a conventional war against them, the clan hadn’t felt the need for supply trucks.
The concept was even more foreign because monsters were usually contained within dungeons using the Jewel of Life.
Lee Ru-da hadn’t initially understood why we should apply military logistics, but she agreed with my suggestion to prepare for contingencies.
Thanks to that, it was proving incredibly useful now.
“Next, we take down Pelligis. Re-equip yourselves. Pelligis has a dangerous, pointed tail, so switch to heavy gear that can block piercing attacks.”
As I spoke while climbing into the open trailer, Kwon Ye-jin and Anna ran over excitedly to grab their gear.
“Should I wear heavy gear too?”
“No, just take a few protective charms. With your mobility, you should be able to dodge everything.”
At the compliment, Hornet gave a small smirk and asked Kwon Ye-jin where the protective charms were.
Kid’s actually kind of cute.
As I loaded fresh magazines, I looked back at the others. The members of Endline and Tenshin were just staring blankly.
“I’m not charging you for this, so use whatever you need.”
“Ah… right…”
Jeong Sae-bom answered awkwardly and approached the trailer.
Her party began to move hesitantly, and Tenshin only approached after looking at Haruka, who gave them a nod.
What are they, cats? Why are they so wary?
As I wondered, Lee Yu-na smiled while gathering arrows next to me.
“They’re just surprised.”
“I guess the concept of field resupply is rare since they aren’t the military. But is it really that shocking?”
“No, it’s because you took down Recara so easily. It was all thanks to your command, Yeon-woo.”
“We have parties that have cleared B-5, B-7, and B-9 dungeons here. Taking down one Recara shouldn’t be that hard.”
“Yes, and that’s exactly what’s surprising them.”
Lee Yu-na chuckled as she strapped a small buckler designed to block piercing attacks to her wrist.
Yoon A-young and Satomi, who were listening nearby, nodded in agreement. Even Han So-ye, who made eye contact with me, gave an awkward smile before picking up her gear.
What is it? Am I the only one out of the loop again?
As I continued loading magazines with a disgruntled expression, Mei approached me with sparkling eyes.
“Hero Jeong Yeon-woo! How do you know us so well?”
“I requested data from the Association.”
“But that’s just… fragmentary information, isn’t it? Even if you knew the data, this is our first time meeting, yet you used our skills as if we’ve been working together for years… Yes, that’s what shocked me! Swapping heroes in and out according to the situation… I literally got goosebumps! How can you command over twenty people with such detail?! Do they give special training for that in Korea?!”
Mei, suddenly hyper-excited, started babbling away.
In my previous world, it was common to gather Awakened and operate them on a large scale.
Since we didn't have the Jewel of Life, if a dungeon was deemed impossible to clear from the inside, we would intentionally let it explode and then use a massive number of Awakened to jump the monsters that came out.
“And this, this! This is the ‘Jeong Yeon-woo Sniper Rifle,’ right?! How can I buy one? Poltsmith doesn’t sell them. Do I need to place a custom order? Are you using a sniper rifle this time? Oh, and that seamless buffing was amazing!”
“Mei.”
Seeing Mei completely lose herself in her rambling, Haruka called out in a calm voice.
“Let’s focus on regrouping first.”
“Oops, ah, sorry. I’ll get ready quickly.”
Mei apologized to me and then ran over to Haruka to grab her gear.
I watched the overbearingly bright girl with twintails for a moment, then shrugged and finished my own preparations.
“Supply vehicle returning to base.”
“Contact the Support Headquarters and have them restock the items on the list I just sent. We’ll need them when we hunt Helpard.”
“List confirmed. Understood.”
After finishing the comms with Ryu Ji-hye, we ran toward our second boss, Pelligis.
We cleared out monsters and rescued citizens along the way. When we arrived, we saw Pelligis, who looked remarkably like a demon.
“Hey, your relative is over there.”
You’re going to get smacked by Anna one of these days.
As Elisia teased her, Anna puffed out her cheeks and reached out to grab her, but Elisia, who had flown high into the sky, just cackled and continued to mock her.
“It feels good to breathe the outside air after so long… but these gnats are being quite annoying, aren’t they?”
Pelligis wrapped her slender arms around her own waist, flaunting her voluptuous figure.
“Oh? There’s a rather delicious-looking one here. He’d make a wonderful toy.”
…Me?
As Pelligis licked her lips while looking at me, every member of Black Unicorn began to radiate murderous intent, their expressions turning demonic.
I appreciate the fighting spirit, but could you guys relax your faces? You’re scaring me.
Yoon A-young was glaring as if she could kill with a look, and Lee Yu-na’s thin, smiling face was genuinely terrifying.
“Kurva…”
Anna, who had turned into a literal Chucky doll while growling, gritted her teeth as if she were about to pounce. Pelligis just laughed aloud.
“Ahahaha! Your faces are hilarious. It’ll be so much fun to toy with that cute little thing right in front of you.”
…I wouldn’t mind?
She wasn't originally like this, but it seems the game developers added some extra settings.
Looking at Pelligis’s seductive posture as she flaunted her curves and licked her lips, my cock started to stir.
“I’ll make you squeal like a little piggy.”
“Sorry, but I’ll have to pass. Different species and all.”
Wait, I turned her down. Why are you all looking at me like that?
I averted my gaze from Yoon A-young’s sharp, judging eyes.
Damn, what a waste.
Breasts the size of her head, black clothes clinging to her body like a swimsuit, deliciously thick thighs, a tail swaying provocatively, and those horns on her head that looked like perfect handles.
My dick was screaming at me not to fight, but how could I not with everyone watching?
Besides, no matter how pretty she looks, she’s a monster.
Ignoring my dejected member, I pulled out the shotgun I received from Mrs. Michelle. Pelligis laughed as if amused.
“Subjugating a rebellious man is also a pleasure.”
I’d like to enjoy that too.
Click—
“The plan is as discussed. Han So-ye, Hornet, Haruka—take her on.”
As I loaded the shotgun, Pelligis took to the sky with a lewd laugh.
“Go, Haruka! Thunderbolt!”
“……”
Ah, sorry. I won’t do anything weird.
Since this world didn't have Pocket Monsters, Haruka, unable to understand the reference, froze mid-dash and stared at me blankly.
“K-Knock her down.”
“Kamino Tetai!”
As Haruka shouted, the sky rumbled, and a bolt of lightning struck Pelligis directly as she was ascending.
“Ahahaha! That stings!”
But like a boss-class monster, she simply raised a hand to block the lightning and laughed.
“Does this sting too?”
Hornet, who had closed the distance using aerial maneuvers, smirked and fired compressed air directly into Pelligis’s eyes.
Pelligis, hit hard enough for her head to snap back, swung her hand, but Hornet had already retreated long ago.
“You damn insects…”
With blood streaming from both eyes, Pelligis glared with pure rage and raised her hand. Thousands of corpses burst through the ground.
Bang!
I pumped a lead slug into the head of a half-rotted corpse rising beneath my feet and shouted.
“Anna, Demonization! Only Anna and Go Ha-ram follow me; everyone else, deal with the corpses!”
Anna, who had transformed into a figure just as voluptuous as Pelligis, blew me a lewd kiss with a sultry smile.
Pelligis’s swaying tail split into dozens of strands, which began stabbing wildly at the ground.
With hundreds of tail-spikes raining down from the sky and slimy corpses to deal with, she was a quite troublesome opponent.
Leaving the heroes to fight in three-man cells as planned, we broke away.
Haruka and Hornet sniped from the air, while Han So-ye, who was nearly the strongest against humanoid targets, stuck close to deliver attacks.
Pelligis’s tails, which lacked significant mass, were neutralized by Han So-ye’s law-defying Deflection skill. When So-ye buried a fist into her abdomen, Pelligis grimaced and retreated.
Knowing that aerial combat was a disadvantage for heroes, Pelligis tried to target Han So-ye as she fell after throwing a punch, but Hornet appeared behind her.
“Forget something?”
Paaaaang—!
Hornet hated the name, but when she unleashed the technique Kwon Ye-jin dubbed "Air Blast"—exploding all her compressed air at once—Pelligis was sent hurtling back.
Haruka’s lightning struck the falling Pelligis, and Han So-ye, leaping off an outer wall, landed a clean straight punch to her jaw.
“Urgh! You pests!”
With her greatest advantage—aerial combat—nullified by Hornet and Haruka, and all her attacks neutralized by Han So-ye’s skills, Pelligis was being relentlessly pummeled.
Meanwhile, the other heroes dealt with the surging tide of corpses.
“You don’t need to clear them all! Kwon Ye-jin, lure them toward the 125-degree direction!”
“Got it, Master!!”
As Black Unicorn’s main Defender, Kwon Ye-jin actually overwhelmed the corpses, creating a current in the sea of undead.
Fwoosh—
As the sound of tearing air signaled Pelligis’s tail targeting me, the demonized Anna caught it with lightning-fast reflexes.
“Where do you think you’re aiming at our Yeon-yu-chan?”
“Hold it right there.”
I kicked away a lunging corpse with my heel and fired the shotgun.
White foam erupted from the bullet embedded in the corpse’s chest, quickly hardening and gluing the corpse to the tail.
As I repeated this several times, attaching more corpses, the tail squirmed and slipped out of Anna’s grasp.
“How dare you do such a thing to my beautiful body!!”
Furious, Pelligis began attacking us by swinging the corpses attached to her tail like a mace.
“Hornet, stick to Han So-ye.”
After telling her to protect Han So-ye, who couldn't handle the increased mass, I continued to attach corpses to the tails Anna snatched.
“You goddamn bastards!!”
She must have really loved her body, because Pelligis’s rage intensified every time I repeated the action.
Every time she shook her tail, the attached corpses shattered and fell from the sky, smashing everything around them.
“Yoon A-young, join us! Go Ha-ram, Matter Transformation!”
“On it!”
At my shout, Go Ha-ram used her skill on the clusters of corpses attached to the tails Anna held.
The flesh of the corpses—not being actual living organisms—transformed and turned into solid iron.
Though the duration wasn't long, her skill, which could change the elemental composition of matter, turned the corpses on the tails into massive lumps of iron.
In the meantime, Yoon A-young arrived, swapped places with Anna, tucked a tail under her arm, and slammed her hand onto the ground.
Craaaack!
Massive ice pillars rose, fusing with the iron-weighted corpses.
Pelligis tried to pull her tails back, but they were pinned down by the sheer mass.
“What are you doing to my body?!”
Dozens of tails rained down on us all at once.
“Did someone order a pizza?”
Hornet tipped her baseball cap slightly as she dropped Han So-ye off in front of us.
Sliiiiide—
It was almost eerie. Dozens of tails were deflected by Han So-ye’s hands with only the faintest sound, scattering in all directions.
While strong heroes like Kwon Ye-jin and Anna pulled on the defenseless tails, Lee Yu-na and I worked hard to attach more corpses, which Go Ha-ram then made heavy with Matter Transformation.
As Yoon A-young repeatedly neutralized the tails by encasing them in ice walls, Pelligis found herself bound by her own tails, unable to do anything.
“Get down here, bitch.”
Kwon Ye-jin gave a wicked smile and, along with Anna, pulled on the tails with all her might.
K-Boom—!
Pelligis was slammed into the ground by their combined strength, and the heroes swarmed around her.
“Kyaaaaaagh!”
Yep, that’s the one. Ganging up is the best tactic a hero can use.
Watching Pelligis get beaten like a stray dog, I nodded in approval.
Seeing the once-arrogant Pelligis getting her teeth kicked in and her wings crumpled by the heroes’ boots, I almost felt sorry for her.
But she’s a monster.
The ultimate enemy of humanity, who kills people and sometimes eats them for sport.
But guys, you look a bit too much like thugs. Maybe calm down? This is very un-hero-like.
Watching my team members joyfully deliver a merciless beatdown, I made a mental note to be careful myself.