Chapter 156
Chapter 156. Rescue (2)
The body of the Invisible Bird that had faced death slumped down.
At the same time, it seemed as if the creature had used a skill, turning transparent.
This was a phenomenon that occurred when the Invisible Bird died.
“That material was really expensive, you know.”
“Ho-yeol will love this.”
The tiger leaves its skin upon death, and the Invisible Bird leaves behind its feathers.
The feathers of the Invisible Bird boasted a considerable price as high-quality materials.
If successful in crafting an artifact with these, it was possible to obtain equipment with the invisibility skill.
Yoo Ji-han put the valuable corpse into Chilla’s bundle, then looked at the hole in the ground.
‘It looks quite deep.’
An entrance that opens or closes depending on the injection of a certain amount of magical power.
The Invisible Bird had sent its magic into the ground through its beak.
“Let’s go in.”
“Chirp!”
Yoo Ji-han took the lead and entered the tunnel.
Unlike the Goemi Cave he had entered before, this tunnel widened as they went deeper inside.
It was likely designed to create an environment where a bird could fly around.
[Light]
Whoosh!
Kim Si-hu threw a glowing orb deep into the ground.
After a moment, creatures reacted to it.
They were large Goemi monsters.
Swish!
Yoo Ji-han decapitated the Goemi before it even realized he was there.
The dead Goemi had dirt clinging to its jaw and hands.
It seemed this tunnel had been dug by Goemi.
“That’s strange.”
“What is?”
“It seems the Goemi and the birds use this place together.”
Winged monsters typically perceive Goemi as prey.
Though the Goemi might taste awful to humans, they were excellent food for birds.
Yet, recalling the Invisible Bird’s natural behavior as it attempted to enter this tunnel,
Yoo Ji-han concluded that the Goemi and birds had cooperated.
‘Creatures that are divided into predators and prey are coexisting?’
Ridiculous things were happening right before his eyes, just like what he had experienced before.
Ordinary monsters could never possess such intelligence.
Surely, the drugs used by the IUPC had affected the intelligence of the animals that had been forcibly turned into monsters.
“Chirp! Chirp!”
“I think I’ve found something!”
Chilla dashed ahead, having sensed something.
The group followed Chilla closely.
And after a moment.
“Whoa.”
“This is insane…!”
They discovered a large chamber filled with five nests.
Each nest was significantly larger than those found in the aquarium.
“Peep! Peep!”
“Peep! Peep! Peep!”
“Peep! Peep! Peep!”
The baby birds, just hatched from their shells, cried out loudly.
Their gaze, more than ten of them, was focused in one direction.
It was an area where humans were collapsed.
Judging by the clothing and bones scattered on the ground, it seemed several humans had already been eaten.
[Stone Wall]
Boom!
A stone wall created by Kim Si-hu rose between the baby birds and the humans, blocking their approach.
It wasn’t his main magic, but sufficient to hold off the half-grown baby birds.
“Chirp?”
“Caw!!”
“Quack quack!”
Only then did the adult birds, realizing the uninvited guests, glare menacingly at them.
Even those comfortably perched in the nests took defensive stances.
“Illuminate the entire area!”
“Yes!”
In response to Yoo Ji-han’s request, Kim Si-hu swiftly brightened the dark space.
Glowing orbs spread out from different locations without overlapping with each other.
He successfully handled both [Stone Wall] and more than ten [Lights] at the same time, without even breaking a sweat.
“Chilla! Guard!”
“Chirp!”
Receiving the short command, Chilla stepped forward with a sturdy shield in front of Kim Si-hu and Min Yu-ri.
The single main dealer was protected by the tanker as well as the ranged dealers.
It was the attack formation they had practiced and used the most recently.
Having given the basic commands, Yoo Ji-han charged forward.
‘Looks like they’re really mad.’
The flying birds glared at Yoo Ji-han as if they wanted to kill him.
But Yoo Ji-han’s target was not the adults but the baby birds.
A goose, realizing his intent too late, tried to block him, but
That action was meaningless to Yoo Ji-han, who had already entered the nest.
Slash!
Two baby birds, frozen in surprise, fell to his sword.
Their necks cleanly severed, leaving no need to check their vital signs one by one.
“Chirp! Chirp—!”
“Chirp, chirp!”
Carrying out a preemptive attack, the adult monsters howled loudly.
Among them, the mother birds that had lost their chicks charged at Yoo Ji-han without hesitation.
However, it was a futile act.
[Stone Wall]
Bam!
A goose that had dashed straight at Yoo Ji-han collided and got stuck in the stone wall Kim Si-hu had summoned.
Due to the force of the impact, it immediately lost consciousness.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The continuous charges of the birds were also blocked by the stone walls rising everywhere.
As the fainted birds lay there, Min Yu-ri’s arrows pierced them one by one.
It was a lethal attack aiming for headshots.
“Chirp…!”
“Quack!”
Seeing several of their companions die seemed to teach them.
The number of birds rushing blindly at Yoo Ji-han significantly reduced.
Instead, they approached Chilla.
“Chirp chirp!”
Chilla rapidly deflected the claws and beaks of the swiftly approaching birds with its shield.
After blocking one or two attacks, it dealt with the advancing birds with help from Min Yu-ri and Kim Si-hu, leaving it with nothing to fear.
Even if multiple birds charged at once,
Yoo Ji-han, who was joyfully smashing eggs, quickly covered for them.
Swish! Swish!
Crack!
In the momentary confusion, the eggs scattered everywhere, including the baby birds, continued to crack open.
Trying to attack Yoo Ji-han only resulted in spells and arrows flying from behind.
Conversely, if they intended to attack the back-line dealers, baby birds were getting killed.
Allowing Yoo Ji-han to approach from the start had been an essential mistake.
Yet just then.
“Fwyoooh—!”
Suddenly, a huge bird appeared, emitting a magnificent voice.
Bang!
As Yoo Ji-han swung his sword at it, he frowned.
The blade rebounded without piercing its feathers.
The feathers boasted a toughness unlike those of the other birds.
When the bird extended its claws to scratch at his face, Yoo Ji-han responded with magic.
[Lure of Breeze]
The only binding skill Yoo Ji-han could use.
‘It’s fast!’
However, the creature quickly escaped the range of his magic.
Even with Min Yu-ri’s supporting fire coming from behind, it dodged them all.
Whoosh!
With his expression slightly tightening, an aura enveloped Yoo Ji-han’s sword.
Feeling threatened, the brown bird soared high into the sky.
Hastily returning to Chilla’s side, Yoo Ji-han was asked by Kim Si-hu.
“What is that?”
“Probably… a dung beetle. Judging by its defense, it seems like a mutation.”
As a new enemy emerged, a standoff ensued for a moment.
The flapping dung beetle suddenly dove down towards a spot where a man was lying collapsed.
“Ji-han!”
“That bastard!”
[Wind Bomb]
Yoo Ji-han quickly launched himself toward the landing spot of the dung beetle.
The creature, having altered its course mid-air, targeted others instead.
[Wind Bomb]
[Wind Bomb]
[Wind Bomb]
Yoo Ji-han repeatedly used the movement skill until his whole body trembled.
It was to catch up to the dung beetle that kept changing its target.
“Fwyoooh!!”
Frustrated at having its actions disrupted, the dung beetle let out a loud roar.
Yoo Ji-han remained vigilant for any IUPC members nearby.
Such a unique creature wouldn’t have been let off the hook by the group.
“……!”
But soon, he noticed blood-stained white hair on one side of the ground.
It was unmistakably the hair of their group.
‘Serves them right.’
It seemed they had failed to control the dung beetle after all.
Understanding why it was such a temperamental creature was easy.
“We don’t have time, let’s finish this quickly.”
“Fwyoooh!”
Whether it was mutual understanding or not, Yoo Ji-han and the dung beetle charged at each other.
And just before the two beings collided,
The dung beetle’s claws elongated as it slightly lifted into the air.
It was a skill it had been hiding until the end.
“Farewell.”
Yoo Ji-han swung his sword from below upwards.
Green aura severed the formidable claws one by one yet kept advancing.
The dung beetle, sensing the threat, instinctively recoiled.
Slash!
The blade sliced through the dung beetle’s body.
It wasn’t a minor wound, but it also wasn’t enough to cause immediate death.
However….
Szzzzz—!
The sword, infused with the heating skill made by Nam Ho-yeol, seared the flesh around the wound, emitting smoke.
Perhaps due to the aura being heated as well, smoke billowed from the wound.
“Fwyooohhh…”
Unbelievable pain overwhelmed the dung beetle, making its eyes roll back.
Unable to withstand the pain, it eventually lost its mind, falling to the ground.
Yoo Ji-han shook his still warm sword as if to brush it off and spoke to the motionless birds.
“Next!”
“……!”
“……!”
The birds, terrified of the death of their strongest ally, tried to escape the tunnel.
But Chilla and the dealers were blocking their way.
“Chirp, chirp chirp!”
Chilla exuded strong confidence as if inviting them to come.
*
All battles concluded roughly 15 minutes later.
Yoo Ji-han, who had been skillfully dashing between the nests, licked his lips looking at the broken eggs.
He was so absorbed in the fight that some fertilized eggs had accidentally mixed in, and he had shattered them all.
But what was past was past.
Having called the people outside, he tended to the most important survivors first.
“It’s going to hurt a bit.”
“Ughhh….!”
The man had lost his left arm and screamed while receiving the healer’s treatment.
The other injured were waiting for their turn to be healed.
“Sis!”
“You’re alive!”
The safely reunited sisters embraced each other.
Seeing this, Min Yu-ri smiled bittersweetly, feeling truly relieved.
She was reminded of her sister lying in the hospital.
“So is this guy the culprit?”
Tap!
Park Jae-kyung nudged a corpse with her toe that hadn’t even had time to close its eyes.
It was an IUPC member presumed to have been killed while trying to control the dung beetle.
“Wow… this guy’s feathers are really tough.”
“Can’t be easily damaged by ordinary attacks, huh?”
Some heroes were examining the dung beetle’s corpse.
Even Rank 2 heroes found the specs of that bird remarkable.
Park Jae-kyung, who had meticulously examined the dead dung beetle, stood up and addressed Yoo Ji-han.
“Ji-han, you almost got seriously hurt.”
“I’m fine.”
“That was really dangerous.”
“But we caught it.”
“No…!”
His shameless reply made Park Jae-kyung press her fingers to her temples after hearing the rough outline of the situation.
She had heard that he was learning under Yoon Do-ha, and it seemed like his personality was slightly mirroring that of his teacher.
But she didn’t feel too bad about it.
She merely showed slight disappointment and regret.
“Why not inform me beforehand?”
“If I had been late in entering, even more people would have died. Especially that guy over there who lost his arm would have definitely died.”
“Please be aware that you’re still Rank 3.”
“I never expected such a creature to appear here.”
“……But you did well.”
Yoo Ji-han nodded slightly at the words acknowledging him.
He then spoke to Park Jae-kyung.
“So now we’re going down again, right?”
“Yes. Since we can’t delay any longer here, I’ll leave some people for scouting and depart.”
“Understood.”
“Sigh… I hope there are no troubles in other regions.”
“I wish for the same, but…”
Yoo Ji-han felt the same way about not wanting any more chaos.
Yet for some reason, he had a hunch that accidents would continue to happen.
*
“Do-ha. Do-ha.”
“……”
“Do-ha. Do-ha. Do-ha.”
“……”
On a night darkened as if all the world’s light had vanished,
Unfamiliar insect sounds plagued his ears.
Yoon Do-ha was leaning against a huge tree.
“Do-ha. Do-ha. Do-ha. Do-ha.”
“Mumu, can you please be quiet for a bit.”
After soothing the spirit, Mumu, who had been urging him from the side,
He sealed his mouth and fell deep into thought again.
About three minutes passed like that.
He turned to Mumu and said,
“You see that, right?”
“I see. Three of them.”
“Tsk…”
Yoon Do-ha couldn’t hide his bewilderment as he gazed up at the sky.
And it wasn’t surprising,
For there were three moons in the night sky, each differing in color and shape.
