Chapter 115
Chapter 115. Bullfrog Monster (4)
The bullfrogs covered about half of the blue sky over the ecological park.
There were so many that it felt as if the water level of the reservoir had slightly dropped.
Beneath the shade created by these creatures, Min Yu-ri gritted her teeth.
“Croak!”
“Croak, croak!”
“Croak!”
The Bullfrog Monsters that had descended from the sky surrounded the nearby heroes.
Yoo Ji-han’s party was no exception.
The party members, backs against each other, glared at the croaking frogs surrounding them.
“Ugh, they’re all bullfrogs!”
Kim Si-hu, with goosebumps on his arms, raised his wand as if he was about to cast a spell at any moment.
Yoo Ji-han calmly counted the number of creatures.
‘There are about 20 of them just in this area.’
Around 20 Bullfrog Monsters were currently surrounding Yoo Ji-han’s party.
If you counted those that had fallen from the sky targeting other parties, there would be even more.
This was in stark contrast to the situation where they had been catching one or two at a time while fishing.
‘Did all of these creatures hide under the reservoir?’
This was the first time Yoo Ji-han had encountered so many bullfrogs at once.
To have this many monsters appear simultaneously at a reservoir that wasn’t even connected to a vast sea was virtually impossible unless someone had intended it.
“Ji-han!”
“Hyung! What should we do?”
“……”
Yoo Ji-han fell into thought while also remaining vigilant of his surroundings.
When encountering monsters that surpassed their party’s rank in such large numbers, it would generally be wise to flee.
Waiting near the barrier until higher-ranked parties arrived to relay the news would be the most conventional course of action.
“I’m going to take them all out.”
However, Yoo Ji-han chose the option to confront them head-on.
He felt it was worth fighting.
‘It’s different from that time.’
He recalled the day he had escaped from the Giant Dandelion Monster at the golf course.
Though not long ago, compared to that time, they had replaced their equipment and undergone significant changes.
“Defensive formation! Chilla and I will protect!”
“Got it!”
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
From all directions, multiple red tongues flew straight at them.
The attacks felt like biological missiles.
They had to worry about being struck by the thick tongues before even being captured.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Chilla blocked the incoming tongues with his shield.
Every time the tongue hit the shield, the shock pushed his body back slightly, but Chilla dug his feet into the ground and held firm.
“Croak!”
“Croak!”
The sticky tongues clung to the surface of the shield like octopus suckers.
The Bullfrog Monsters yanked their tongues fiercely as if trying to catch their prey.
“Zzip! Zzap!”
Chilla, gripping the handle of the shield with both hands, leaned his body back entirely.
Despite five tongues pulling at the shield, he showed no signs of being easily pushed back.
[Wind Cutter]
At that moment, protected by Chilla, Kim Si-hu attacked the tongues stuck to the shield with magic.
Countless bio-lines appeared on the Bullfrog Monster’s tongue due to the relentless blades of wind.
Unable to endure the pain, the bullfrogs eventually started to release the shield one by one.
“Yuri! Get behind me.”
“Okay!”
Right behind Chilla was Yoo Ji-han, who was launching an offense.
He swiftly swatted away the tongues aimed at him with almost blinding speed.
‘Sylph!’
When the blade of his sword connected with the tongue, a green aura enveloped it with the help of the Sylph.
As soon as the sword escaped from the thick tongue, he dissipated the aura.
Keeping the duration of the aura as short as possible to maximize efficiency.
Swish!
The sword with the aura sliced through the thick tongue of the Bullfrog Monster like cutting soft tofu.
It was as if he was demonstrating the saying “the best defense is a good offense.”
He continued his swift movements without pause.
“Gahhh!”
From somewhere in the vicinity, he heard the scream of another person.
Heroes were being dragged away, unable to evade the Bullfrog Monster’s tongue.
Yoo Ji-han grimaced as he watched a woman get her head completely devoured.
Even a moment’s distraction could lead to being in the same situation as them.
“Croak! Croak!”
The tongue launched towards Yoo Ji-han in an ambush!
Swooosh—!
He held his aura-coated sword vertically and split the tongue in half.
With a spray of bright crimson blood, the severed tongue split like a snake’s, gushing blood that drenched his body.
And soon, a cloud of magic arrows formed in the sky, thanks to Min Yu-ri.
[Arrow Rain]
Dripdripdrip—
From the completed cloud, a rain of arrows descended solely targeting the Bullfrog Monsters.
Min Yu-ri continued to shoot her magic arrows into the sky, supplementing the falling arrows.
Focused solely on using her skill, she was in a situation where she could easily allow an attack if not careful.
It was a choice only possible if she completely trusted her party members.
“Protect me!”
“Leave it to me!”
Yoo Ji-han thoroughly safeguarded her as she was solely focused on the attack.
He was repaying the trust she had shown.
“Croak! Croak!”
“Croak—!!”
The bullfrogs, under the rain of arrows, emitted frantic croaks of anger.
They tried to attack Min Yu-ri, who was the biggest threat in the battle, launching their tongues.
But as long as Yoo Ji-han stood in front of her, they wouldn’t be able to approach her at all.
*
As Yoo Ji-han’s party fought against the swarm of Bullfrog Monsters emerging from the reservoir.
A duo in masks observed them from a short distance away.
“Hey, hey. Can you see that?”
“I see it.”
Equipped with binoculars, they were positioned on a large tree, cloaked in blankets with leaf patterns to hide their presence.
They had finished setting up safeguards against being detected.
“Is that really a Rank 4 Party?”
“Definitely. A party that just recently became Rank 4.”
“And yet they’re performing so well…”
The man trailing off shifted the binoculars to another direction.
He could see parties either running away from the bullfrogs or being attacked.
As expected, other parties within the same Monster Area were struggling.
In contrast, Yoo Ji-han’s party was defeating the Bullfrog Monsters with ease despite being outnumbered.
The scene made it hard to believe that they were from the same rank.
“Considering their abilities, it seems they were indeed the ones who disrupted us.”
“That’s probably why we were called in.”
“Tch!”
The two engaged in conversation were all members of the Poison Butterfly organization.
Not long ago, they had received a report that the hero Yoo Ji-han, who had interfered with their interspecies trading, had been located.
Under orders from above, the two had completed a brief investigation on Yoo Ji-han and had come to take care of him in the same Monster Area today.
“I thought it would be easy since we came through the Monster Area…”
There was no better place than a Monster Area to kill a hero.
They could simply label the death as a monster attack.
“That might not be enough.”
“It seems so.”
Their plan to use chemical substances to strongly stimulate the bullfrogs and submerge Yoo Ji-han’s party in them seemed to have failed.
Despite having released the eggs of the Bullfrog Monster at the park as bait, it was insufficient to deal with them.
They had to admit they had underestimated their opponents significantly.
“I guess we’ll have to step in directly.”
“Make it quick. I have plans for dinner tonight.”
Clink!
The man pulled out a large crossbow that had been hidden beneath the blanket.
It was a weapon equipped with a miniature magic compressor that could not only improve accuracy and power but also compress massive amounts of mana into a single shot.
Though a bit crude, it was, without a doubt, an artifact, not something ordinary citizens could possess.
“Get ready for a headshot. Just watch.”
The man set the crossbow on the thick branch and aimed ahead.
Voooom—
Blue mana gathered within the compressor.
The swirling mana in the compressor quickly began to glow faintly blue.
“Ready to fire.”
Aiming the scope attached to the crossbow, the man tracked Yoo Ji-han’s face.
Yet, because he was constantly moving to combat the bullfrogs, targeting him was not easy.
‘Just stop for a moment.’
The man held his breath and focused on aiming.
The moment he stopped moving would be his day of judgment…
About three minutes passed as he waited.
“Here he comes.”
As the surrounding bullfrogs were dealt with, Yoo Ji-han finally stood still.
He was exchanging a few words with his party members.
“Adios.”
The man pulled the trigger while aiming for Yoo Ji-han’s head with the crossbow.
*
All the bullfrogs surrounding Yoo Ji-han’s party fell to the ground.
As Yoo Ji-han brushed the blood off his sword, he turned around and spoke.
“Don’t let your guard down yet. Who knows when they might pop up again?”
“Yeah.”
“How’s Chilla?”
“He’s fine. He held up better than I expected.”
“Got it!”
Chilla raised his right fist to his chest, suggesting to trust him.
The party members who found him cute couldn’t help but smile.
“Since we still have some energy left…”
Just as Yoo Ji-han was about to continue speaking.
Boom—!
The Sylph that had been in his arms suddenly shot upwards rapidly.
It refused to stay in his arms and escaped.
Yoo Ji-han’s eyes widened as he hurriedly followed the Sylph’s movement.
‘……?!’
Then he saw a blue glowing dot that had approached quite closely.
But Yoo Ji-han had no time to think about what it might be.
He had spotted it, but it was too late to react.
Whoosh!
At that moment, the Sylph released a blinding light, hitting Yoo Ji-han directly with a powerful gust of wind.
Whoooosh——!
The water of the reservoir surged in the opposite direction, and the grass on the ground bent low as if bowing.
In that brief moment, Yoo Ji-han was overwhelmed by a shock so strong he could barely maintain his stance.
“Cough!”
Yoo Ji-han’s body was blown back powerfully.
And the blue light brushed past his cheek.
“Ji-han!”
“Hyung!”
“Don’t come! Hide for now!”
Yoo Ji-han showed his palm to his approaching party members, commanding them to hide behind a tree.
A sharp pain shot through his right cheek.
The skin that touched the unknown light was cleanly torn apart.
‘That was dangerous.’
Blood trickled down from his torn cheek.
A force strong enough to crush not just soft human flesh but bone as well.
Even with a hero’s body, if he couldn’t evade it, he would have sustained serious injuries.
“Sylph!”
The Sylph, who had unleashed a violent gust, was on the verge of exhaustion.
It seemed it had released all its stored energy at once.
It was risking itself to save its contractor.
‘An intruder?’
Yoo Ji-han calmly considered the source of the earlier attack.
Could it be that an intruder had appeared in this Monster Area?
<— Probability of Intruder Appearance in this Ecological Park Today>
<2% or lower>
However, the probability confirmed through sampling was far too low.
It was nearly as slim that the attack had been from a monster as well.
They could hit the 2% chance, but…
<— Probability that the Earlier Attack was Human-Made>
<98%>
At least it didn’t seem like it was today.
With a stern expression, Yoo Ji-han brushed his fingertip over the wound on his cheek.
He recalled the exact position he had been in the moment he was attacked.
‘Over there.’
That alone was enough to determine the trajectory of the attack.
He fiercely glared in the direction from which the blue glowing object had come.
