Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: 19530305 (4)
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The protective barrier that had blocked sword auras, magic, and even rocket warheads let the Corpse Explosion spell pass right through.
"No, how—"
The moment confusion flooded Chicken Head's eyes, the Horse Head corpse at his feet exploded.
!!!
Once, and Chicken Head's lower body was swept away by the blast.
Twice, and the air inside the barrier screamed.
Thrice, and cracks spiderwebbed across the barrier following the spray of blood.
Just as Yeomyeong prepared to detonate the final Horse Head corpse at dawn's edge.
A resolute will settled in Chicken Head's eyes. He turned his head and glared straight at Yeomyeong beyond the barrier.
The Shepherd's red pupils overlapped with Yeomyeong's golden ones.
In a fleeting moment less than a second, the two monsters exchanged an emotion more potent than hundreds of words.
Loathing.
"Excellency will punish you all."
With those final words, Chicken Head severed his own neck.
Suicide? No, it wasn't.
The next instant, his headless body grabbed the severed head and hurled it toward the teleportation portal.
Watching the head fly toward the portal, Yeomyeong gritted his teeth. He recalled the monster's words about extracting information from a dead man's brain.
He couldn't let it pass through that portal.
His judgment was swift, his action swifter.
Yeomyeong squeezed out his mana and cast his final spell at Chicken Head.
'Corpse Explosion.'
Just as the severed head was about to be sucked into the portal, the spell seeped into it.
Success. The head, ensnared by the Corpse Explosion spell, vanished through the portal.
Soon after, the portal itself rippled and disappeared from the air. And Yeomyeong, who had fired off spells in rapid succession...
—Urk.
He dropped to his knees and vomited blood. The backflow of mana had wounded his internals.
It was only natural. Corpse Explosion was a spell fueled by twisted mana, wasn't it?
Using pure mana like Yeomyeong's for such a spell was like running a car engine on oil residue instead of gasoline.
And he'd used it not once, but four times in a row, so it was fortunate it ended at this.
"...Yeomyeong?! What's wrong all of a sudden? Are you okay!?"
The moment she saw him kneel, Seti threw her hammer aside and rushed to him.
Yeomyeong swallowed the blood-mixed saliva, wiped the blood from his lips, and waved off the frightened girl.
"I'm fine. It's nothing."
"You're really okay, right? No, don't get up. Lie down for a bit."
"I'm really fine..."
Yeomyeong, about to stand, couldn't speak as Seti pressed firmly on his shoulder. He gave a wry smile and lay back down.
Right after, Seti checked his body, ready to share her mana if needed.
Yeomyeong's condition was better than expected. His blood vessels and organs were damaged, but he could feel the wounds healing in real time.
A regeneration ability that was monstrous no matter how many times he saw it.
Seti let out a sigh of relief and removed her hand from his chest.
"See? I told you I'm fine."
As Yeomyeong teased playfully, Seti smiled and wiped the blood from his cheek.
Naturally, their faces drew close, their eyes locking.
"...Mind giving us some space?"
Neti, who had been gathering her weapons, spoke up.
Whether Seti sighed deeply or not, Neti wiggled Uragan's Hilt with telekinesis and added,
"I'm all for getting a niece or nephew, but it seems the unicorn inside this stick feels differently. It's telling me to run fast. What should I do?"
"...."
"Oh, pure maiden! Flee! My master is no different from a greedy beast..."
The moment Neti mimicked the unicorn's tone, Yeomyeong snatched Uragan's Hilt with telekinesis.
[Master! This is unfair! I never said anything like that to that maiden—]
The unicorn protested desperately, but Yeomyeong shook his head and stuffed Uragan's Hilt into his bosom.
Neti giggled at the sight, and Seti laughed as she stood. She strode to her sister and flicked her forehead hard.
"Ow! Brother-in-law! Sis is trying to kill me!"
Neti fled, Seti chased.
Yeomyeong silently watched the sisters bicker. Until his body fully recovered.
By the time his wounds had all regenerated and a large lump swelled on Neti's forehead.
Seti approached Yeomyeong and extended her hand.
"What now? Head back? Or..."
She looked at Yeomyeong and behind him as she asked. Yeomyeong, taking her hand and standing, gazed at the same spot.
There stood a massive iron door the Shepherds hadn't opened.
The door was enormous enough for tanks to pass through, and at its center was engraved the Soviet symbol of sickle and hammer.
Blatant enough that anyone would think of the Soviet Union.
Yeomyeong raised the golden seal and said,
"We've come this far. Let's see inside. And..."
"And?"
"...There's something to check."
Something to check. Seti didn't ask what.
She only guessed it related to whatever Yeomyeong had seen in the secret relic, the Key of Blood Tears.
She had no idea what that information was, or why he wouldn't tell even her, but Seti didn't mind.
Whatever it was, she would help Yeomyeong.
While Seti thought that, Yeomyeong used the golden seal on the iron door.
Moments later, a massive golden magic circle enveloped the door, emitting light. The familiar magic of the golden seal.
Kigigik—the sound of old machinery grinding as the iron door began to open.
***
Beyond the thick iron door, an unfamiliar mana swept over the group.
A trap? No, not a trap. It felt more like entering some massive magic circle—far simpler.
Had a security magic circle activated to block unauthorized intruders, like on the stairs?
As Yeomyeong's hand drifted to his sword hilt, Neti scanned around and said,
"...This is a preservation spell."
"Preservation spell?"
"Prevents rust on iron, keeps gunpowder from getting damp... Bluntly put, it's like a preservative magic."
"...."
"If the mana is this thick you can feel it on your skin... It must cover the entire armory?"
As she said, the armory inside was pristine, like new.
The round corridor, reminiscent of a subway, showed no concrete stains or rust typical of age.
"This spell isn't a problem, right?"
When Yeomyeong asked, Neti shrugged.
"Yeah, if anything, we'll weaken the magic circle. It only affects objects. Well, unless we blow up the circle itself."
Nodding at the explanation, Yeomyeong infused mana into the golden seal. He used its light as a lantern and stepped deeper into the armory.
The corridor stretched straight without branches or side paths, soon blocked by another iron door.
Using the golden seal again opened it, and Neti asked upon seeing,
"What the heck is that magic tool?"
"A magic tool that unlocks all seals and locks."
Yeomyeong answered without stopping.
"Oh... It's like the legendary symbol of the Dwarf Royal Family?"
"Yeah, that's the one."
"...Pardon?"
While Neti looked flustered, he reached the door and flung the unlocked one open.
The first sight beyond was a vast space filled on both sides with tanks.
Each tank looked brand new, likely shipped straight from the factory.
Of course, to Yeomyeong and Seti, who couldn't drive them, they were irrelevant, but Neti, who crossed the door late, reacted differently.
"Huh? It's a Dangpal!"
"...Dangpal?"
"Official name's T-82. Dangpal's the nickname among gun nuts. The main battle tank the Soviets were mass-producing right before collapse... Wow, how many are there?"
"...."
Whether Neti muttered, entranced by the tanks, Yeomyeong headed to the next room.
Neti yelled to at least let her try one, but Seti's forehead flick silenced her.
Anyway.
The next room the group reached was what one might expect from an armory.
A room stacked to the ceiling with weapon crates and ammo boxes.
"Wow!"
Neti fussed again, saying this was a Soviet weapons museum and such weapons were impossible to find even on the black market, but she shut up when Seti raised her hammer.
Of course, he couldn't stop her from pocketing a few weapons.
As Neti giggled over the new weapons for a bit.
The next room was utterly different from all before.
Glass tubes lining the stark white walls, cooling devices, and neatly arranged mysterious potions inside.
Less an armory, more a biological lab, and this time Seti guessed its purpose.
"This... Looks like an alchemy room?"
Alchemy? Before Yeomyeong could tilt his head, Seti stepped forward, opened a cooling unit, and pulled out potions.
Green, red, purple... The iridescent potions reeked of thick mana, each reminiscent of an Awakening Potion.
Players had chugged these like water.
As Yeomyeong watched Seti sort the potions, thinking that, Neti pouted and grumbled.
"...You didn't wait when I was looking at weapons."
Yeomyeong crossed his arms and replied,
"That's different from this."
"Oh, right? I'm the little sister-in-law, and sis is the proper wife? I didn't realize and dared..."
As Seti raised her fist, Neti clammed up.
Moments later, Seti began selecting certain potions from those laid out.
The ones she picked were mostly glowing green, with exceptionally pure mana emanating from them.
Watching briefly, Yeomyeong asked,
"What potions are you picking now?"
"Refined elixirs and non-poisons."
"...Elixirs?"
"Probably meant for distribution to superhuman soldiers. Even selling on the market, each would fetch billions."
As if to prove it, Seti uncapped one and handed it to Yeomyeong.
The aroma rising from it was familiar—mint, like toothpaste.
"Drink."
"...Here?"
"Refined potion, it'll absorb right away. Scared it's spoiled? Want me to try first?"
Yeomyeong chuckled and downed it. Unfamiliar mana flowed down his throat and absorbed into his body—a curious sensation, not quite like eating a crystal but close.
Is this why other superhumans obsessed over elixirs?
After draining the bottle and setting it down, Neti, watching, shot her hand up.
"Sis! Me too, me too! I wanna drink!"
Seti eyed her sister sourly, then sighed and handed one over as Neti clung to Yeomyeong.
Neti gleefully uncapped her elixir. Whether the toothpaste taste suited her, she chugged it one-shot.
"Ahh, way better than the farm stuff."
"Neti, please... Have some dignity."
"Nah, this is how you drink 'em. Right, brother-in-law?"
Yeomyeong gave a wry smile instead of answering. Neti giggled briefly, then scurried to Seti to help pack the elixirs.
"Mint-flavored top-grade elixirs, 15. Regen potions, 12. Miscellaneous unknowns, 22..."
"...Selling these could buy a building in New York."
As Neti sparkled, calculating prices, Seti quietly looked at her bag.
She pondered briefly, then pulled out all the toothpaste-taste elixirs and offered them to Yeomyeong.
"Yeomyeong, you should take these."
"...All of them?"
"Selling them isn't as good as you getting stronger. Drink them as you digest. More mana is always better."
Yeomyeong stared at the bottles without replying, then suddenly split them in half.
As Seti's fine brows curved gently, he offered her half and said,
"Two for the other sisters, one for the Saintess, one for Ironmiri, and... the rest for you."
"...Me? I'm fine."
"I'm not."
His voice was firm. Seti pouted briefly, then smiled wryly as Yeomyeong uncapped one and held it out.
"...Thanks."
"What between us."
As Seti drank the elixir, and Neti grimaced like goosebumps rose.
Thud—thud—
Footsteps echoed from deep beyond the alchemy lab.
Had someone entered the open armory entrance?
No, the footsteps came from the exact opposite direction of where Yeomyeong and the group had entered.
Seti mid-sip, Yeomyeong, and Neti's faces hardened as a voice, clearer than the footsteps, rang out.
—West Palace Lord, that damn fool is trouble to the end. When the hell is he coming!
An unfamiliar old man's voice.
Hearing it, Seti and Neti grabbed weapons in unison and pressed against the door, waiting for the voice to approach.
As Yeomyeong drew his sword to greet the guest.
[If it's a guest, he's already here.]
Another voice filled the corridor beyond the door.
A repulsive, heavy voice like flames roaring from the pit of hell.
It was all too familiar—the skeleton dragon's voice.
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