Chapter 123
Chapter 123
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Piercing the Bastion's Barrier
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jung O-hoon was concentrating intently. Even as the helicopter rocked back and forth, his deeply focused eyes remained perfectly calm.
I'd been watching him for a moment when I smacked the back of his head.
"What the hell? Why'd you hit me?!"
In response to Jung O-hoon's outburst, I jerked my chin toward the faint protective barrier of the bastion visible in the distance.
"Focus on that. No stray thoughts."
"I am focusing."
I shot back at him.
"Your whole life up to now. All the hardships and efforts you've poured in. The goals you want to achieve someday. Memories of failure, and the iron will to nail it this time."
Jung O-hoon fell silent at my words.
"That's all stray thoughts."
Thoughts like that won't help you land the bayonet on that barrier.
They'll only get in the way. If you want to pass an exam, don't waste time sticking 'I can do it!' notes on your desk—use that time to study.
"If you're keeping anything in your head, make it just 'I can do this.' And how exactly you're going to pull it off. Nothing else matters."
Instead of replying, Jung O-hoon took slow, deep breaths.
"Think only about what helps you succeed. The trajectory it needs to take. How to react if they try to intercept the bayonet. Nothing about being the strongest or how your efforts won't betray you."
The mana flowing into the bayonet began to stabilize bit by bit.
"This should be... good enough."
I nodded at Jung O-hoon's words and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Keep going. Push to the end. Not until you think you can't—not until your body truly gives out."
This was perfect training. The pressure of no room for failure, forcing total focus and cycling through countless hypotheses and predictions.
Sweat beaded on Jung O-hoon's forehead. It soaked his brows and trickled down his cheeks.
"Hoo... hoo..."
His hands trembled on the rifle. The bayonet at its tip vibrated lowly, brimming with mana.
"More. It's not stable yet."
Jung O-hoon gripped the rifle tighter at my urging.
"Feels like... nothing exists in this world but me, this gun in my hands, and the target."
"Yeah, that's just a feeling. Cut the crap. You can see everything with your own eyes."
Nothing like that was true. Whatever bubble Jung O-hoon was in right now, the world was full of everything else. And none of it mattered anyway.
I quietly monitored his condition for a moment before speaking up.
"Good work. Fire it."
The bayonet shot out. With a faint whoosh, it unleashed a monstrous tailwind storm as it hurtled toward the bastion's barrier.
Paradox Flame blazed along its path, trailing like a comet's tail.
Violet light beams from the shaped fortress built within the bastion gleamed menacingly, intercepting the bayonet racing across the sky.
"..."
Jung O-hoon said nothing, just stared down the barrier. The fortress unleashed volleys of purple beams.
"Tch."
His bayonet zigzagged wildly, shifting trajectories multiple times mid-flight to close in on the barrier.
It left a tracer-like black streak, zigzagging and spiraling through the sky in a dazzling display of maneuvers.
Flashy, but not a single motion wasted. Every time the bayonet twisted, the fortress's interceptors sliced through empty air.
The distance wasn't that far. At 3.8 km/s, a straight shot would've taken just 2-3 seconds.
But that wasn't an option. It had to dodge hundreds of interceptors.
"They're coming in hot."
To weave through that barrage, the bayonet even had to backtrack at times, halting its charge.
"This... damn... arm!"
Jung O-hoon ground his teeth, temples bulging with veins—whether from rage or focus, I couldn't tell—as he glared at the bastion.
500 meters.
The gap between the barrier and the bayonet had narrowed to that. Just a bit further.
"Ah."
No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than one of the fortress's interceptors slammed into the bayonet with a flash.
The fortress's defenses had outmatched Jung O-hoon's control, it seemed.
His expression hardened as the bayonet shattered.
"It's fine, kid. Let's head back."
Failure happened. No choice. Keeping the chopper up any longer invited counterfire.
"It's not over yet."
As I opened my mouth to say more, Jung O-hoon shuddered and did... something.
"You mad bastard. Damn, my boy's got guts."
I started to curse, then switched to praise. The shattered bayonet fragments still pulsed with mana, still wreathed in my Paradox Flame.
And those fragments surged forward again, weaving complex curves and straights through the air toward the barrier.
"Ha... shit... we did it."
Two of them made contact.
Black flames spread across the massive barrier like a match dropped on dry tinder. Though small at first, they rapidly devoured it, burning a huge hole.
"Good job. Now it's me and Han Sang-ah's turn. You head back and rest."
He'd originally been set to join us for a three-man push, but he was tapped out.
"Don't cut my share just 'cause I'm out. Got it?"
"Wouldn't dream of it, punk."
Even now, haggling over pay. No idea why he needed cash so bad, but the guy's persistent. With that, I leaped from the chopper.
"See ya."
"Yeah. Let's move."
I landed with a heavy thud. Han Sang-ah stood ready, sword drawn. Without a word, we charged the bastion.
"That black flame."
"I'll keep it burning till we take the bastion."
Han Sang-ah nodded at my words.
"Guess we can't use it in our attacks, then."
"Not necessarily."
The Paradox Flame clung to the barrier, steadily eroding its durability. I couldn't burn multiple concepts at once, but sustaining one...
I ignited Paradox Flame along my spear blade. This would work fine.
"Good to hear."
Han Sang-ah gave a curt reply, eyeing the flame coiling around the blade.
"Worry about yourself. You went through hell at Cheorwon—if you don't cut loose here, I'll tan your hide when we get back."
A pile of corpses lunged at us mid-sprint. I pulled out my crown with my left hand and channeled mana into it.
The crown glowed white, and the undead shrieked.
A flash—and heads tumbled. Lightning arced along the sword's swing, charring the headless bodies.
"Not bad. Could handle thousands like this, easy."
Han Sang-ah's assessment after her strike.
"Told you I'm good to go."
She gave a small nod.
A massive meatball of crudely stitched corpses rolled toward us. The bodies comprising it screamed as they crumbled and burst on impact.
"What the hell is this?"
I reached out, caught the meatball, and hurled it away. It bowled over a swarm of charging undead in the distance.
Spear and sword cleaved rotten flesh and shattered discolored bones. Flames and lightning swept away the shambling corpses.
Slash, burn, stab, electrocute. We pressed forward relentlessly.
"Boss is holed up that way."
But we didn't let instinct take over. Analyze surroundings. Assess threats. Predict moves—what would I do? What dangers here?
"Incoming. Watch out."
From the distant fortress, green fireballs reeking of sulfur and house-sized arrows flew at us. Instead of answering Han Sang-ah, I swung my spear and batted an arrow aside.
It halted dead in the air, then rocketed away with a boom.
"At this rate, the three of us might actually take the bastion."
Han Sang-ah shook rotting fluids from her blade as she spoke.
"Maybe. Or maybe not."
Situations changed. If momentum held, we'd steamroll. If not, pull back.
Han Sang-ah leaped skyward, crashing into a horde and slamming her sword into the ground. Lightning rampaged, wiping them out.
"Don't waste mana. You can clear 'em without going that hard."
Quit showboating. She dialed back the overkill.
"There it is. They've prepped quite the welcome."
The gates were shut tight. Hundreds of catapults and ballistae aimed our way. Giant arrows and boulders wreathed in green flame rained down.
"Hoo."
With a deep breath, the arrows tangled midair. Trajectories warped; they thudded harmlessly to the ground. Han Sang-ah's doing. Ballista tips were metal, after all.
Magnetism wasn't tough for her now.
"Looks sturdy. Breaking that gate..."
Before Han Sang-ah finished, I unleashed a flurry of spear strikes at the gates. They crumpled with groans, then toppled back with a creak.
"The gates? Pfft."
"Nothing."
We stepped through the wreckage.
"Hey, friends. Guests have arrived."
The fortress corpses shuddered, their grotesque forms shifting. Tattered flesh knitted together; broken bones realigned.
Dangling eyeballs slotted back into sockets.
Still hideous, but...
The guards were getting buffs from those things. Didn't matter.
"Oh, right. Brought a courtesy gift."
My left-hand crown flared brighter—I'd pumped in more mana.
A massive corpse in armor, wielding a flail, grunted at me.
"What're you staring at, you pig?"
It roared and swung. The spiked ball whistled toward me.
Thud—the ground cratered under my feet. The ball that'd struck my skull thunked to the floor.
"Ow, that hurt."
No wound. My head wasn't fragile enough to crack from that anymore. I grabbed the fallen ball and yanked—the giant corpse flew toward me.
"Your turn, punk."
I smashed the ball into its skull. Sadly, its head wasn't as tough as mine.
It burst like a watermelon under a pickaxe.