Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: The Next Target
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BOOM!
A red mist erupted from the basilisk’s body.
It was reacting to the impact of the flame spear.
Letting out a displeased shriek, the creature’s mist engulfed the surroundings like a storm.
“Hah!”
The Awakeners gasped in shock as the red mist surged toward them.
“Everyone, get a grip!”
The moment Min Ha-na’s voice cut through the air.
A transparent film formed around the bodies of all the Awakeners gathered there.
“Huh?”
It wasn’t just a protective barrier; they felt their bodies become incredibly light, their muscles tightening with power.
“Who cast a buff like this…?”
The red mist swept past them as they were bolstered by the wide-ranging buff.
They had braced for death, but no one fell.
“All units, prepare for battle.”
A quiet yet powerful voice echoed in everyone's minds.
A voice that seemed to pierce their very souls.
Only then did they notice the small, pretty girl standing in their midst.
Gong Yeong-ji, the White Angel of Mad Castle.
Though each person recalled different words to describe her, the subject was the same.
Before they could even marvel at the incredible buff, a sharp voice pierced their ears.
“You bastards! Snap out of it! Want me to roast you crispy and feed you to that lizard?”
That single remark jolted the men to their senses, and Min Ha-na stepped before them.
Standing tall, she faced the basilisk head-on and created dozens of fireballs around her.
Morris, too, was no longer standing idle.
“Switch to an encirclement formation!”
He had already identified the participating guilds and immediately assigned them positions.
Meanwhile, Min Ha-na bought time by relentlessly firing magic from the front, right at the basilisk.
Her attacks were so powerful that the basilisk couldn't spare any attention elsewhere, allowing the encirclement to be completed safely.
“Alright, shall we get serious now?”
Min Ha-na once again formed a flame spear in the sky.
The basilisk, refusing to tolerate it any longer, charged toward her.
In that instant, magic poured in from all directions, and every possible means of binding its feet was employed.
They knew it too.
—Only Min Ha-na can take it down.
Their goal was to let Min Ha-na focus on her attacks as much as possible.
‘They’re well-trained, at least.’
Fortunately, they were experienced fighters and understood their roles well.
However, their strategy was not without risks.
Its advance blocked, the basilisk swung its tail in irritation.
As its tail, whipping up a gale-force wind, swept across the ground, the tankers at the forefront of the formation gritted their teeth and raised their shields.
CRASH!
The tankers were sent tumbling, but healers from behind supported them, allowing them to barely hold on.
But with half of them already down, they had no way to block the subsequent attacks.
It was then.
FWOOSH!
A powerful explosion erupted from the basilisk’s head.
“You should be looking over here.”
Min Ha-na began to focus her attacks on the basilisk's head. As the impacts accumulated, the basilisk could no longer bear it and launched its massive body into the air.
‘What the hell is that?’
Having never imagined such a colossal body could leap so high, Min Ha-na hastily rolled backward.
CRASH!
The area was reduced to ruins as a circular cloud of poison swept through the surroundings.
Fortunately, Gong Yeong-ji’s buff was still active, so they were unaffected by the poison, but the debris carried by the shockwave was devastatingly powerful.
“Ugh!”
Even Min Ha-na was struck in the right shoulder by a broken piece of pavement.
“Just one minute, sis.”
Gong Yeong-ji moved to Min Ha-na’s back and began casting a heal.
With the heal added to her existing buffs, the pain subsided in an instant, and Min Ha-na launched a counterattack.
Fire Storm.
A storm of flames enveloped the creature's entire body.
In response, the basilisk tried to push it back with its poison mist.
‘Let’s do this.’
A power struggle between Min Ha-na and the basilisk began. Seizing the opportunity, the other Awakeners poured all their strength into the fight.
They recognized this was their chance.
As even the latecomers joined in, the balance of power, which had been slowly tipping, began to even out.
“Hold on for just ten seconds!”
As Min Ha-na withdrew her Fire Storm, the balance of power shifted toward the basilisk.
CRASH!
A condensed shockwave slammed into the surroundings, pushing the encirclement back ten meters, leaving only Min Ha-na and Gong Yeong-ji isolated and exposed.
The basilisk didn't miss the chance and charged, but Min Ha-na stood her ground.
‘Damn lizard.’
Min Ha-na glared at the approaching basilisk and gritted her teeth.
“Die!”
FWOOSH!
A massive flame spear cut through the air, descending vertically.
THWACK!
The basilisk’s hide was torn apart.
The flame spear was lodged halfway into the basilisk’s back.
The basilisk's charge halted, but Min Ha-na was now right in front of it.
The surrounding Awakeners focused their firepower, but the basilisk seized the opportunity and opened its mouth.
As a red energy gathered and a breath attack was unleashed, everyone foresaw Min Ha-na’s end. But the breath was deflected by a transparent barrier, scattering in all directions.
Gong Yeong-ji’s Great Shield.
“It’s over.”
CRASH!
The half-embedded flame spear exploded. Flesh and hide flew from the basilisk’s back as it sprayed blood everywhere.
“You’re one tough bastard.”
Even so, the basilisk did not fall.
Eventually, another flame spear struck, and as the Awakeners unleashed an all-out assault, the basilisk’s movements slowed.
Even as it slowly closed its eyes, Min Ha-na didn't let her guard down, setting off several more explosions inside the basilisk with Fire Bombs.
“This is the last one.”
CRASH!
A concentrated flame explosion completely blew the basilisk’s body apart. Only after its torn hide scattered and the poison mist began to dissipate did she stop casting her magic.
“Hoo.”
“Sis, let’s get you treated first.”
Having been so close to the basilisk, Min Ha-na was suffering from severe poisoning.
The moment victory was certain, Gong Yeong-ji had Min Ha-na lie down and began treatment.
Meanwhile, the American Awakeners stood guard around Min Ha-na as if by silent agreement.
No one spoke a word, simply waiting for Gong Yeong-ji to finish.
About ten minutes later, Gong Yeong-ji sighed and stepped back.
“All done.”
“Good work, mascot.”
As Min Ha-na took Gong Yeong-ji’s hand and sat up, the surrounding Awakeners erupted in applause.
It was applause filled with gratitude and respect.
Min Ha-na looked around and spoke.
“Where’d that bastard Decan go? This is America, isn’t it?”
No one could answer her question.
They were simply overcome with shame.
“This country’s really gone to hell. Go search for survivors.”
As Min Ha-na started to move, someone muttered to themselves.
“They’re all dead already…”
Before he could finish, Min Ha-na snapped.
“Did you check for yourself?”
“What?”
Min Ha-na walked up to a blond man in his early thirties. He was the one who had been muttering.
“To think I risked my life to save a bastard like this.”
The man’s face turned red.
“If I search and find even one survivor, you’ll die by my hand. Got it?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, then get moving! This isn’t some other country, it’s yours!”
Only then did the Awakeners, their faces flushed, begin to search the ruined area. And later that day, the news reported on survivors who had miraculously been found.
They were people who had evacuated to a private bunker three floors underground.
The news of their survival brought another wave of shame to the American Awakeners.
After finishing her mission in the United States, Min Ha-na immediately headed to Southeast Asia to provide support.
Hearing this, Wang-sik let out a deep sigh without realizing it.
—What? Were you worried about me?
“Of course I was.”
—Should I be offended? Or touched?
“Both. I’m sorry for doubting you, and thankful you’re safe.”
—Ah, damn it. Don’t say things like that. It makes my heart flutter.
“Let’s stick to loyalty, not love.”
—I am being loyal!
“I’m hanging up. The next operation is about to start.”
Mad Castle split into two teams and continued their subjugation operations.
Ironically, during this time, news outlets in developed countries reported that the crisis was over.
—The subjugation of monsters that appeared across the globe is nearing its end. The Hunter Management Bureau is currently assessing the scale of the damage, with over 30,000 fatalities estimated in New York alone.
—The disaster in China has been resolved by E Suo-lin and Wang Jin-chun. Thanks to their efforts, the death toll is reported to be the lowest in the world.
—The two monster outbreaks in Japan resulted in 7,000 deaths. The 120 hunters who sacrificed themselves on the front lines are credited with preventing a much larger catastrophe.
Each country broadcasted news intended to calm its citizens.
While this was unavoidable, it was a harsh reality for some.
The nations that still hadn't dealt with the monsters.
Mad Castle willingly took on the task of cleaning up the last of them.
It took three days to eliminate all the monsters.
Of course, not many news outlets covered this. At best, it was mentioned in online articles, but the people who had been saved deeply etched the name of Mad Castle into their hearts.
On the other hand, the resentment toward the Royal Club, which had promised to protect them at all costs but never showed up, remained like a scar.
“It looks like the death toll from this incident exceeds three million people.”
The damage to smaller nations was immense.
South Korea managed to keep its losses to around 2,000, but that was by no means a small number.
“Hoo, twelve Perfect Gems came out of this.”
Life Stones, completed by being filled to the brim with crystals.
These were called Perfect Gems.
Oh Min-jae had watched them being completed in real time.
It had been so agonizing that he couldn't remember how many times he had thrown up after returning home.
“Azelan must be in a festive mood.”
Everyone from Mad Castle, including Han Young-im, was gathered in the meeting room, but only a deep silence flowed between them.
The one to break this silence was Wang-sik.
“When’s the next one?”
“They need time to gather more monsters. It depends on their plan, but now that they have the know-how, three months should be enough to prepare an invasion like this one. If the results are good, they’ll get more funding and manpower.”
Successful ventures tend to grow quickly.
“It was an unprecedented event even in Azelan. They’re saying that more Life Stones were produced this time than in the last five years combined.”
“And they’ll make something else with those Life Stones, right?”
“That's what worries me. That mage, Lilia, didn't look fully satisfied even at the end. And she mentioned there would be an even bigger event.”
“Crazy bastards.”
Min Ha-na, who had been listening quietly, offered her opinion.
“Shouldn't we deal with those monster containment facilities first?”
“It would be useless. There isn’t just one of them. With the success of this venture, they’re already discussing additional construction. One of them is even being built inside the Magic Tower.”
“So we can’t just destroy it.”
“Right. We’d just end up exposing our identities for nothing.”
It was a frustrating situation all around.
Just as another silence was about to descend, Wang-sik spoke.
“We have to kill the mage named Lilia.”
Whenever a crisis arose, Wang-sik solved it with an attack. This time was no different.
“The technology has probably already been shared within the Magic Tower, though.”
“We still have to kill her. To stop any further research. The fact that she made this means she can make other things. The most dangerous ones aren't the monsters; they're the mages.”
Everyone agreed with him.
“And killing Lilia will buy us a lot of time.”
Oh Min-jae nodded at that.
“If we succeed, the entire Magic Tower will be out for revenge.”
If a 9th-circle mage were killed by another’s hand, the Magic Tower would not stand idly by.
“As long as our identities aren’t revealed, we’ll have bought ourselves a very long time.”
The Magic Tower would exhaust every possible means before giving up.
They might never give up at all.
“You know how dangerous that is, right?”
“There’s no other way. Lilia must be eliminated.”
It was a way to stop the immediate disaster and eliminate future threats.
Once the decision was made, a man who had been listening quietly spoke up.
“I’ll do it.”
It was Sa Seon-gi.
“Can you do it?”
At Wang-sik's question, Sa Seon-gi nodded. He was so calm that it made the mission feel incredibly easy.