Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Finding a Clue for Counterattack in the Underground Cavern
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“Whoa, these bastards aren’t messing around. Interference already.”
For some reason, using his telekinesis drained several times more mental power than usual.
Rumble rumble! Crunch crunch! Splinter!
Slash! Thud! Rustle rustle!
“Watch out! It’s an attack like the vine spirits!”
On top of that, as Geon-woo’s group tunneled underground, writhing tree roots burst from the floor, walls, and ceiling to assault them.
A demon was using plant-manipulating abilities to hinder them.
“It’s not about catching us—it’s about delaying us. And look at that! They’re making a tunnel.”
While the armed jiangshi busily hacked away at the roots, Paeng pointed behind them and yelled.
Geon-woo was collapsing the tunnel he’d dug to advance.
But the demons were using the tree roots to create a sturdy tunnel of their own.
“They’re coming.”
Geon-woo’s expression hardened as he eyed the encroaching root-lined tunnel.
He could sense demons racing along it from not far off.
“Ah, this is really bad.”
Paeng muttered in a deflated voice as the situation worsened.
He seemed to feel there was little hope of escaping the crisis.
“Paeng, you could probably save your own skin, right?”
Geon-woo asked him.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Paeng shot back in a chilling tone.
“I’m saying don’t die a dog’s death with us—get out while you can. What else?”
“You want me to abandon my comrades?”
Paeng’s voice dripped with disbelief, as if to say don’t spout nonsense.
“It’s just a contract, not comrades. If you want, I’ll void it right here. Go while you can.”
“Whoa, what do you take me for? I’m Paeng! Paeng!”
His tone brimmed with indignation at being seen as someone so disloyal.
Paeng’s voice even carried a hint of resentment.
“Yeah. Paeng, who’s survived by carving through every bloody path so far. That’s why I’m telling you to survive this one too.”
But this was Geon-woo’s own way of showing consideration.
And Paeng could guess as much.
“Don’t make me laugh! I’m just an avatar. Even if I die here, I’ll only lose some fused souls.”
Paeng bellowed at Geon-woo instead.
It wasn’t a real death—just an avatar’s.
“Right. Well said. It’s only an avatar dying. So there’s no reason for you to die here with me.”
“T-That’s...”
“Plus, you’ve fused over 20,000 souls, but I’ve only got 5,000.”
Geon-woo spoke calmly, persuasively, to the bristling Paeng, whose momentum softened.
But at the mention of 5,000 souls, Paeng snapped his head up again.
“What? 5,000 souls? That make any sense? How can 5,000 souls be this strong? You wouldn’t even lose easily against me, right?”
“Sounds like you’re saying you’d win.”
“Of course. You just haven’t seen my real strength yet...”
“Shut up and go! Get out of here!”
Rumble rumble rumble!
Geon-woo cut off Paeng’s rambling and opened an angled passage leading to the surface.
“Keeping this open will make it hard for me to move properly. So go. We’ll meet up in Veloca when I log back in.”
“Hey! This isn’t right!”
Paeng yelled, glancing between the passage and Geon-woo.
“The faster you go, the less burden on me. The demons are after me, so you’ll be fine. And it’s not just you—I want you to take our team members too.”
By entrusting the jiangshi to Paeng, Geon-woo gave him a reason to escape.
“Argh!”
Paeng scratched his head over his hood, yelling as if he had no choice.
“I can die, but our team can’t—they won’t come back if they do! So please.”
“This is insane. Damn it! Fine! I’m going!”
Unable to refute Geon-woo’s ironclad reasoning, Paeng finally shouted and bolted for the exit.
‘Illyeong! You go too! Take the jiangshi to Lord Kolon’s territory and wait.’
= My lord! How could a subordinate abandon their lord?
‘No time for that nonsense. Go!’
= Understood, my lord.
Illyeong had no choice but to obey Geon-woo’s sharp command.
Linked through their spirit bond, Illyeong received Geon-woo’s thoughts in real time.
He knew any extra chatter would only burden his lord.
Illyeong immediately led all the jiangshi and followed Paeng.
“Ha, now then. Time for hide-and-seek? Come catch me if you can.”
After sending off Illyeong, Geon-woo let out a slight sigh, then promptly collapsed the tunnel he’d made for Paeng and Illyeong.
Gathering telekinesis at his feet, he began sinking rapidly.
“Chase me if you dare. Now it’ll be hard to predict where I’m going, so you’ll need several times the effort to interfere with my telekinesis.”
If he could use telekinesis without interference, escaping wouldn’t be hard.
From here on, it was a battle of who tired first.
“With a big group, you need a wide path to break through. But alone, I can save that much mental power. And move faster.”
Geon-woo had his own plan after sending off Paeng and Illyeong.
Surrounded by enemies who could track his position, his odds of escape weren’t high, but he couldn’t give up.
A mercenary never gives up until the very end, no matter the desperation.
‘Only dead mercenaries give up. Living ones haven’t yet.’
Muttering to himself, Geon-woo accelerated his descent underground.
Above him, the auras of numerous demons converged.
“Come on! You bastards.”
The more they focused on him, the safer Paeng and Illyeong would be.
* * *
“Ha, how far do I have to run?”
Deep underground.
Geon-woo had lost track of how far down he’d gone.
But the deeper he went, the harder it became to use telekinesis.
This had nothing to do with demon interference.
It felt like the underground depth imposed restrictions on telekinesis—or more precisely, the Omniroad system.
Pressing on in that state, he arrived at a massive cavern.
Now, Geon-woo was playing a deadly game of tag with fifty demons there.
The funny part was that the demons faced ability restrictions too, once they’d descended this deep.
‘That’s why there’s hope. If they can’t use their abilities properly, I have the advantage.’
Darting around the vast cavern to shake off the demons.
Geon-woo felt his telekinesis weakening over time, but separately noted that his jiangshi physique’s abilities remained undiminished.
As long as the jiangshi physique held strong, there was hope.
‘If the demons are subject to the Omniroad system like players, their abilities weaken here too, leaving only their innate powers.’
Demons with only their base strength versus Geon-woo retaining his jiangshi physique.
If the demons’ fundamentals weren’t overwhelming, he could sweep all fifty.
The jiangshi physique packed that much power.
Slash!
“Chaa!”
Clang! Kang!
As Geon-woo sprinted, sensing something off, he pivoted sharply. A demon leaped from empty air, swinging its sword.
It had hidden in the shadows of dark rocks for an ambush.
But its strike was blocked by Geon-woo’s sword, followed by an exchange of blows.
Slash! Zing! Clang! Clatter!
As their blades clashed in a test of strength, the demon bellowed nonstop.
Geon-woo didn’t know the words, but the murderous intent was clear.
“Don’t make me laugh! You mangy bug bastard!”
But Geon-woo didn’t find the demon’s attacks burdensome.
Clearly, just as his player abilities were restricted, so were the demon’s.
Zerada! Salkera!
Pachira! Pachitara!
While Geon-woo tangled with it, voices echoed from all sides—other demons.
In an instant, Geon-woo realized he was fully surrounded.
He’d fallen into a trap.
‘They used the obvious ones to lure me here? While the stealthy ones waited for me to spring the trap?’
It was a vast cavern, but still finite space—inevitable eventually.
Geon-woo didn’t panic at being encircled.
“You bastards! Let’s thin your numbers before you all gather. Come on! Get over here!”
Assessing the situation, Geon-woo switched to aggressive offense.
Reducing their count before they multiplied was the obvious play.
Clang clang! Clang! Thud! Slash!
Kiriirik! Kaak!
But as he fully engaged the demons, Geon-woo sensed something odd.
Their physical prowess wasn’t as strong as expected.
“What?”
After swiftly decapitating one, Geon-woo paused, wiping his blade.
The demon he’d just beheaded was only on par with the second-phase shed creatures he’d fought on the surface.
His own player powers had nearly vanished too.
All he had left was the jiangshi physique from Eonga Gangsigong.
But even so, against second-phase shed types?
“This might not be a death sentence after all.”
He could handle them easily enough.
Geon-woo grinned wide and charged the swarming demons.
“Let’s see you kill me, bastards!”
* * *
Slash! Clang! Stab! Slash!
“Huff! Huff! Let’s take a break, you bastards!”
Geon-woo panted, shoving back a demon facing him sword-to-sword.
“You’re all so damn tenacious. How are you not dying?!”
He’d slashed and stabbed dozens of times already.
Yet he’d only finished off about a dozen properly.
Around forty remained.
Plus, some had hung back, not joining the fray yet.
That was why Geon-woo couldn’t go all-out.
He needed to conserve strength for those lurkers.
Tukara! Zzirijja!
Fwoosh!
Salke!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
“Won’t work, bastards!”
Geon-woo pulled back slightly, and demon ability attacks flew in.
Blue poison mist sprayed, compressed air arrows shot forth.
But such assaults barely tickled him.
In this cavern, where abilities were greatly weakened, his armor was meaningless, but the jiangshi physique offered comparable durability.
Even full-strength poison wouldn’t faze the jiangshi physique.
“Still. Thanks. Gave me a breather. Round two!”
Geon-woo maintained the Eonga Gangsigong breathing unbroken.
Its inner power effects were negligible, but it let him absorb energy from corpses to recover stamina.
Whish! Clang! Clang clang! Thud! Thunk!
The clash of weapons and flesh resumed.
Right after, the three demons who’d been spectating joined the fray.