Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: The Battle Royale
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“It seems there was a territorial dispute.”
“Were they attacked?”
“I believe so. It looks like they went to war with the Blood Wolves.”
Min Ha-na was familiar with Blood Wolves.
They were wolves the size of bears, monsters commonly found in Stage 4 areas. A regular one was B-rank, but their leader was classified as an A-rank boss monster.
They were also the monsters from which she and Wang-sik had acquired the most high-grade mana stones.
“The monsters are fierce, too.”
This was a natural environment, not a gate. Of course, there would be territorial disputes and changes in ownership.
“It seems we’ve tipped the balance in this area.”
“I did feel like they were more on edge than usual today.”
“We’ll have to change our strategy now. It looks like they’ll continue to be challenged without us having to do a thing.”
“Do you really think so?”
“As long as that thing is there, the other monsters won't give up. The Munks’ strength has been further weakened by the battle overnight.”
Wang-sik pointed to the flame they regarded as a sacred object.
Monsters react to mana.
The blue flame was a prize fit for the ruler of Stage 4, so the other monsters would not abandon their claim to it.
“There’s no reason for us to get swept up in the chaos. Let’s watch for a few days.”
“What if some other creature takes it in the meantime?”
“Then we’ll just have to hunt that one. The mana is too immense for anything to absorb it right away.”
Monsters could grow stronger by chewing on mana stones, but the blue flame contained far too much power to be swallowed.
“Let’s hunt in the Stage 3 area today. I don’t think we need to interfere here.”
For the first time in a while, they descended to the Stage 3 area.
As they entered the region primarily inhabited by B-rank monsters, Min Ha-na could clearly feel how much she had grown.
Attacking was one thing, but even evading the occasional monster that lunged at her wasn't particularly difficult. Her spellcasting speed had increased, and she could read the monsters’ reactions in an instant.
Seeing this, Wang-sik didn't protect her as completely as he usually did.
To these B-rank monsters, she was nothing short of a walking disaster.
* * *
The political landscape of the Stage 4 area was changing by the day.
Countless monsters flocked toward the blue flame, and fierce battles erupted every night. Not only had most of the pack-forming monsters gathered, but in the last few days, even boss-level monsters had started to appear.
“This is unfolding very differently from what I expected.”
For now, they had a common enemy in the Giant Munks, so they didn't attack each other, but it was clear that once the Giant Munks fell, the place would descend into pandemonium.
“It won’t be easy to even get close.”
Wang-sik had to admit it.
“So this is the result of us upsetting the balance.”
“What do we do now?”
It was a moment that called for caution.
“I think we’ll have to join the war.”
The Munk Elder considered the blue flame a sacred object and hadn’t absorbed it, but there was a good chance other boss-level monsters wouldn't think the same way. If one of them absorbed the blue flame and experienced a surge in power, all the work the two of them had put in would have been for nothing.
“Once it gains that power, it’ll attract more followers…”
That, too, was a worst-case scenario.
“If you want to give up, Ms. Min, I will also back down. There are plenty of other places to hunt.”
Logically, they should stop.
But Min Ha-na couldn't forget the aura of the blue flame. As she thought about it, she had a sudden realization.
“I’m no different from the monsters.”
She, too, had been fighting for the blue flame all this time. The words “let’s give up on the blue flame” wouldn't come out easily.
Wang-sik smiled and replied.
“In here, we’re no different from them. To them, we’re the monsters.”
She wanted to argue, but no rebuttal came to mind.
Here, every living thing was a monster. In fact, the number of monsters they had killed was likely among the highest in the entire Decartes Mountains.
“Hoo. So we have to fight, all tangled up with those things?”
Min Ha-na had no intention of backing down.
“It’s going to be a brutal battle royale.”
* * *
1:00 AM.
Unlike their usual routine, they passed through the gate late at night.
It was to scout what was happening after dark. Since the day-night cycle here was similar to Korea's, they predicted the fighting would be at its most intense right now.
“Be careful.”
Night was certainly different from day.
Not long after they left the research facility, a massive bird swooped down on them.
The great bird with talons like blades was a giant owl.
They had to face a Horror Owl, known to induce terror with a single gaze, a Ghost Lion with a transparent body, and even a Dark Swordling, an undead dwarf that swung a giant sword.
Fortunately, this was a Stage 3 area, so breaking through wasn't a major problem for them.
She had been worried as they entered the Stage 4 area, but it turned out to be surprisingly calm.
Aside from the occasional monster, it even felt deserted.
‘Was it always like this?’
They headed toward their original destination, the Munk settlement.
As they got closer, screams and roars began to fill the air.
The faint sounds that had echoed from afar grew louder with time, and by the time they stood at the edge of the forest, it felt like they had been dropped into the middle of a battlefield.
“Wow.”
Min Ha-na’s jaw dropped as she stared at the battle unfolding below the cliff.
At least fifteen hundred creatures were entangled in a fierce struggle.
A monster fighting atop a pile of corpses would lose its life and be covered by another, upon which a new fight would break out in a continuous cycle.
“The Munks are going to be wiped out.”
“Not yet.”
Wang-sik kept his eyes on the Munk Elder in front of the cave. He held a staff that looked like an uprooted giant tree but had not yet joined the battle himself.
Then, as one of his elite units began to crumble, he raised his staff high before slamming it into the ground.
*Vwoooom!*
A mystical light that illuminated the night climbed the settlement’s fence, creating a wall high enough to tower over the cliff.
*Kraaaaaa!*
The surviving Munks let out a roar, and their bodies began to grow. Already a race of giants, their now even larger forms shifted the tide of battle.
The Munk warriors, who had been pushed back, began to drive the invaders away.
“We need to hide.”
Wang-sik pulled Min Ha-na, who had been watching the battle, back with him. Shortly after, beings emanating powerful mana appeared on the cliff.
It was the leader of the Shadow Pumas.
Starting with the King Puma, even a Dark Giant, also known as an Undead Golem, appeared.
The black-skinned giant, its head poking above the dense trees, stared down at the scene below the cliff with eyes from which a black haze shimmered.
A twenty-meter snake that lured living creatures with ten vibrant colors, a Rainbow Anaconda, slithered right below Wang-sik and Min Ha-na, who were hidden in the trees.
‘What is this, a meeting of boss monsters?’
The boss monsters that hadn't joined the fight approached the wall created by the Munk Elder as if by prior arrangement.
And the Rainbow Anaconda wasn’t the last of them.
Iron Kilt, Blade Manticore, Devil Ent.
That was just what they had seen directly.
‘If you count the ones that are already dead…’
They also had to account for the boss monsters that had died attacking the Giant Munks.
‘The one who wins this is going to be a real monster.’
Given the nature of monsters, which grow stronger through mana stones, the last one standing might even evolve beyond Stage 5.
Wang-sik watched the battlefield in silence.
The battle continued until the morning sun rose, but most of the boss monsters simply watched before turning back.
The number of surviving Giant Munk tribesmen was a mere twenty-five.
‘Tomorrow will be the last day.’
The boss monsters knew this as well, which was why they had retreated.
“Should we attack now?”
As the monsters withdrew, Min Ha-na asked, looking at the now empty Munk settlement.
“The Elder is starting to become a monster.”
Where Wang-sik pointed, the Elder was absorbing the mana stones brought by his warriors. The aura of the man, chewing on the stones with furious eyes, was palpable even to Wang-sik from a distance.
“It’s more dangerous to go now. The other boss monsters probably retreated for the same reason.”
Wang-sik turned back, deciding to wait for tomorrow.
“Let’s get a full day’s rest. It looks like things will be decided tomorrow.”
The Munk settlement grew quiet, like the calm before a storm, and the day of peace passed quickly.
It was the hour when the moon hung highest in the sky.
Monsters swarmed around the Munk settlement, where the blue flame illuminated the night.
There were three boss monsters leading their packs.
More than ten boss monsters moved alone.
With undead, beasts, and even ghost monsters joining the fray, the number of gathered monsters reached two thousand.
Whether it was the pride of regional rulers or a territorial instinct, the Giant Munks did not leave their post.
However, today was different from yesterday.
*Fwoosh!*
As if enraged, the blue flame soared toward the sky.
The elongated flame brightly lit the surroundings before striking down like a lightning bolt in an instant, swallowing the Munk Elder.
It was a situation no one had expected.
But the Munk Elder did not resist.
*Kekeke!*
Even as his body burned, he let out a grim laugh that echoed through the area. The flame, having consumed the Elder, shook as if brushing itself off, scattering fragments in all directions.
*Vwoooong!*
The fragments didn't vanish but floated up, drawing a single magic circle.
As the magic circle was completed, the eyes of the Giant Munk warriors turned red, and they all began to roar in unison.
*Guooooooh!*
That was the beginning.
Provoked by the challenge that stirred their fighting spirit, the watching monsters all leaped down the cliff at once.
Two thousand monsters swarming from all sides.
The giant warriors blocking their path.
Their goal was the blue flame and the title of ruler of the fourth sector.
There was no reason here.
*Thwack!*
“What are you doing?”
Wang-sik grabbed the wrist of Min Ha-na, who was about to dash forward.
“Huh?”
“It’s true that we’re also monsters here, but we don’t need to act like them.”
Min Ha-na finally came to her senses.
“I’m sorry. Hearing that sound, all I could think about was getting my hands on it.”
“You fell for the provocation. Your mental fortitude is weaker than I thought.”
“You seem perfectly fine, Captain.”
“A tanker isn’t just physically tough.”
Min Ha-na calmed herself with a sigh and sat down next to Wang-sik. But her heart was still pounding.
“It’s not easy to resist. That thing keeps tempting me.”
Min Ha-na couldn't take her eyes off the flame. In fact, her desire for it was growing.
*Vwong!*
Wang-sik first enveloped their surroundings with a Holy Shield. As he did, Min Ha-na’s reason returned.
“S-sorry.”
“Just hold on a little longer. It’ll be our time to run wild soon enough.”
They moved to the cliff, now cleared of monsters, and watched the battle.
“Wow…”
Min Ha-na couldn't close her mouth.
The sight of two thousand monsters clashing in a tangled mass was truly a spectacle. Torn and severed limbs burst forth, spewing blood, while screams and shrieks mixed to create a hellish echo throughout the mountain.
“Huh?”
Min Ha-na, who had been staring blankly, flinched when a Dark Golem climbed onto the altar.
It was within arm’s reach.
At that moment, unique monster skills erupted from all directions.
Blade-like teeth and saliva pierced the golem’s body, and a giant club struck its waist. Boulders fell from above, and vines wrapped around its ankles, digging into the ground and pulling it down.
*Kukukung!*
The Dark Golem finally fell from the altar. Immediately, countless monsters swarmed its body.
A moment later, the Dark Golem’s body dissipated into smoke, leaving a mana stone in its place.
*Crunch!*
The King Puma, which swallowed it in one gulp, vanished into the shadows.
“We have to go in there?”
Watching the monsters’ desperate struggle, Min Ha-na swallowed nervously without realizing it.
This was a battlefield more brutal than any she had ever experienced.
It was a situation she didn't dare to enter.
“Do you know you’re smiling?”
At Wang-sik’s question, Min Ha-na replied, her eyes still fixed on the battlefield.
“Saying you’re scared in front of a roller coaster also means you think it’ll be fun.”
Her smile widened.
“This is exciting. I think it would be thrilling to jump in there.”
Wang-sik asked no more questions.
‘So this is what she’s into.’
Fortunately, Wang-sik was the type to respect others’ tastes.