Chapter 124
Chapter 124
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Undead Fortress Assault
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Han Sang-ah and I, just the two of us, were pulling off quite a feat.
The undead weakened by the light pouring from the crown gripped in my hand were frozen solid by the ring on my finger.
The corpses debilitated by the crown's light couldn't resist the ring's rapid freeze.
Then Han Sang-ah swung her sword, shattering the frozen corpses.
"Aren't you supposed to wear the crown on your head?"
"Embarrassing."
Wearing a crown around modern Earth? It'd make me look like an idiot. Holding it in my hand worked just fine anyway...
I smashed the head of a frozen corpse with the crown while lunging forward in the same motion.
"This thing's pretty sturdy."
"You're not supposed to use a crown like that."
"What's the difference? It's still going on my head either way."
Whether I wore the crown on my own head or used it to smash frozen corpse heads—it was the same in the end.
"You're doing great."
Han Sang-ah was zipping through the air, slightly hovering, tearing apart the frozen undead.
A flash of light would burst the instant she brushed past them, separating their bones and flesh.
It was like watching a cook slicing up frozen pork belly.
"And there's another thing that's exceeding expectations."
I could kind of see why I'd tossed this crown aside instead of using it. It was perfectly specialized for wrecking undead.
I'd guessed its effect would be impressive, but I hadn't imagined this level of efficiency. Without the crown's power, things would've been a lot tougher.
"At this rate, we might actually sweep the entire fortress."
At that moment, the scattered corpse chunks rolling on the ground trembled, tangled together, and were reborn as new entities.
Of course, they froze solid soon after, only to be sliced apart by my spear or Han Sang-ah's blade.
"It's not just enhancement—it's reconstruction too."
I glanced at the obelisk standing in the center of the fortress.
That was the root of it all. It was strengthening the undead and piecing together shattered corpse fragments into new undead.
It had to be dealt with first. I froze every lunging corpse solid without exception and slowly made my way toward the obelisk.
A moss-colored figure flickering in and out of visibility blocked my path. What the hell was that? Some kind of ghost knight?
"Hey, little ghost Casper. Do we know each other or something?"
Something familiar radiated from it. It just stared at me silently in response.
It seemed to know me too. But I had no memory of fighting this thing. After a moment's thought, I let out an "Ah."
"Valea, right? The power I'm sensing feels a lot like his."
There had been a dead hunter who'd picked a fight with me before. His name was So Hwi, I think. Anyway, it resembled Valea, who had possessed that guy's body and gone berserk.
The cute little ghost knight gripped a massive two-handed sword and charged at me. True to its ghostly nature, it was nimble and silent.
"Sorry, but you're no match."
I caught the swung greatsword with my bare hand, then slammed down with the crown radiating white light. A sharp crack rang out as the blade shattered.
It dissolved into thick green mist and retreated, extending its hand to the side. A new greatsword materialized in its grasp.
"I know a hunter who's way better at that than you. Lee Se-eun. She's leagues stronger."
She wields greatswords on a level you couldn't even dream of.
The other undead froze the moment they tried approaching me, only for Han Sang-ah to neatly slice them apart. So I could ignore all these wriggling maggots around us.
"Hey, let's play."
The one I needed to focus on was this ghost—weakened by the crown's influence yet still resisting the ring's freeze.
He'd been possessing that half-baked body of So Hwi's.
I smirked at that. It brought back memories. I'd nearly died fighting that guy.
But things were very different now.
"What if I fought him again right now? I could crush him without letting him breathe."
And you're no exception.
Its body scattered into mist. Then, ten ghosts burst from the green fog.
Not illusions—self-replication. Ten identical ghost knights with the exact same specs emerged from the mist, all aiming their greatswords at me in unison.
Simply put, one becoming ten while retaining full power might seem like a tenfold boost... but in war, one soldier ten times stronger is worlds apart from ten soldiers.
Because organization becomes possible.
And these didn't even need to act as one—they already were.
Still, nothing changed.
"This ghost's lost it. Talking like a grad student evaluating their professor."
There were limits to bluffing. The ten ghost knights, hazy in form, moved silently and swiftly, gradually encircling me.
At the same time, their auras intertwined and amplified, slowly pressing down on me.
A classic formation array. I had no intention of letting it complete. Before they fully positioned themselves, I started moving too.
I anticipated where they aimed to move, where they wanted to position, and stepped to disrupt it. Their formation would never complete.
If you couldn't read their intent, you'd be at their mercy. But I knew exactly what their movements were aiming for.
"I've got experience to spare."
To complete a formation against me, you'd need at least a hundred of you punks.
In the end, they abandoned perfecting the array and charged all ten sword-wielding ghosts at once. They figured they'd halt my movement with attacks and finish the formation in the meantime.
Corruption clung to their swinging greatswords.
"No idea what you think you can accomplish with this."
Dozens of swings in an instant traced blue trails in the air. I didn't even need to block personally—some of the floating blue trajectories intercepted all ten attacks.
Mid-trace, my spear suddenly extended, targeting one ghost knight. It barely raised its greatsword in time, but the blade shattered under the impact, sending it flying far away.
"...'
Where it's moving next, what it's targeting. Where the next attack will come from, what this one aims for.
I picked them apart one by one. No need to panic over increased numbers.
I had a body that could follow my desired movements. And the skill to control it.
I dodged what needed dodging, blocked what needed blocking. Slowly, steadily. Like an iron wall, I pushed them back.
Reducing their options, expanding mine. Amid the fierce exchanges, the ghost knight flailed desperately to seize the advantage.
"You're neither calm, nor seasoned, nor precise."
But those very movements created openings. Every desperate choice to overcome the situation only pushed it closer to the abyss of defeat.
It wouldn't take long to settle this. No reason to drag it out. I hadn't even used Paradox Flame yet.
My spear inflicted fatal wounds on the ten ghosts one by one.
"Too bad poison doesn't work."
Poison had no effect on ghosts. Obviously. I spun my spear and eyed the foe.
"Anyway, nice meeting you. Got me thinking about a few things. See ya, Casper."
It wasn't a long fight. Took about five minutes to subdue it. My snaking spear tip punched cute little holes through each of the ten ghosts' chests.
"Well, after fighting that long with no results, you'd naturally try a new strategy."
I watched the dispersing ghosts, then turned my gaze back to the obelisk.
Among the monsters we faced, some possessed intelligence.
Korea, unlike other regions, had held out for quite a while. It was crumbling slowly, but it still had plenty of fight left.
In other words, their Erosion Cores and Erosion Zones had reached their limits.
"Contracts, huh. Bastards like these always think alike, pulling the same tricks everywhere."
The one I'd just fought confirmed it. It was Valea's minion, spawned from an Erosion Core.
Which meant... the incidents with Kim Ji-hyun, So Hwi, and the foreign enclave were tied to Erosion Cores and Erosion Zones.
The monsters were devising alternatives to this grinding war of attrition. At least some of the Erosion Zone monsters had found a workaround.
Pretend to grant wishes via contracts, then hijack the contractor's body later.
Like maintaining the front lines while dropping paratroopers behind enemy lines to sow chaos.
The problem was the Korean government believing they could exploit this. Otherwise, that foreign enclave incident never happens.
"I get where their heads are at, but..."
Crack. I smashed frozen undead while letting out a small sigh. It was an extension of the project by Dangun's Heirs.
They wanted to dominate Erosion Cores. Control the ones threatening Earth and wield hegemony with them.
The government's foreign enclave experiment was likely on the same line.
"They're overestimating their capabilities."
I might have to clash head-on with the Korean government soon. Han Sang-ah and I pulverized undead together until we finally reached the problematic obelisk and toppled it.
"They say muttering to yourself is a sign of mental illness. Want some counseling?"
Han Sang-ah, standing beside me, spoke up. Turning a sane guy crazy.
"Shouldn't you get the psych eval? I'm just thinking a lot."
"Mine came back normal."
Did the doctor take a bribe?
"Anyway, what're you thinking about?"
I told her what was on my mind.
"If they pull off control, it'd be a huge win."
"Know why people fall for scams?"
Because they don't know better. Or more simply...
"It's not making deals with devils. There are guys who think they're smart enough to squeeze what they want from a devil via contract and bail before getting screwed."
Then they strut around until they end up burning in hellfire.
"Let's wrap this up."
We'd successfully obliterated the obelisk. No more reinforcements for the fortress undead now.
The corpses, who'd been rampaging their best, wilted like frostbitten orchids. Dealing with them was easy.