Chapter 173
Chapter 173. Assault (7)
“Pumpkin?”
“What a ridiculous joke…”
The members of IUPC laughed at Park Jae-kyung, who wore a pumpkin that looked like it belonged to Halloween.
Surrounded by numerous humans and monsters, with overwhelming numbers on their side, they could only feel confident.
However, the price for that laughter was steep.
Whoosh!
As Park Jae-kyung swung her sword sideways, a thin, thread-like aura spread out in front of her.
“Uh?”
“…?”
People felt a prickly sensation and clutched their necks.
Soon, the heads of 11 IUPC members, who had taken the same stance, slid off like they were on a slope and fell to the ground.
Adding to that, 15 monsters, including rhinos, split in half and died in front of Park Jae-kyung.
At the sight that no one could believe, everyone froze with their mouths agape.
A man’s scream shattered the silence.
“Whoaah!!”
“What the hell is that!”
“No, don’t tell me…!”
Finally, someone’s face turned pale as they recognized the true nature of the pumpkin.
The decisive reason why a woman named Park Jae-kyung could rise to the position of the second-in-command of the Dice.
She could display abilities that exceeded her limits for a certain period when using her unique ability.
The level of power was something that Yoon Do-ha, her superior, had once testified was comparable to his own.
“Trick or Treat?”
The orange glow from inside Park Jae-kyung’s pumpkin flared brightly.
Fizzt!
The thin lines appearing on the bodies of the IUPC members were signals just before death.
Before they even recognized they had been cut, they were unaware of their own mortal wound.
The moment they felt the pain, their consciousness drifted off to a place of no return.
“Aaaah!”
“Run away!”
Stricken with fear by the insurmountable strength, people fled into the corners.
Bottles of alcohol shattered on a flimsy desk, and the air filled with a strong alcoholic scent.
Park Jae-kyung, unfazed by the chaos around her, chased after the enemies before her.
‘This is incredible.’
Just three minutes after the pumpkin appeared, a bloodstorm erupted.
In terms of numbers, over 100 IUPC members and 200 monsters hiding underground had perished.
Being right behind the scene, Yoo Ji-han felt a bit overwhelmed.
“Don’t panic! I said don’t panic!”
“We have the advantage! Just press forward!”
Some members of IUPC began to devise a counterattack.
Even if the gap in strength was clear, the opponent’s numbers dwindled to just about ten.
Although the unique skill was incredibly powerful, it was undeniable that it had a time limit.
Thinking they might have a chance if they charged in with all their might was their only strategy.
‘They’re coming.’
Various monsters that obeyed human commands, from all directions—ground, walls, sky, ceiling—charged at Park Jae-kyung.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
With hardly any movement, Park Jae-kyung swung her sword in the direction of the incoming foes.
Dead monsters fell as if heavy rain had suddenly started pouring.
Yet the monsters that still lived used the corpses of their fallen comrades as shields and slowly closed the distance to her.
[Blessing of the World Tree]
At that moment, Yoo Ji-han stepped in.
Except for Park Jae-kyung using her unique ability and Yoo Ji-han claiming to be a supporter, the other members were securing an escape route.
With his thoughts focused on fully supporting Jae-kyung during the remaining time of [Jack o’ Lantern], the Sylph emitted a bright light from its round body.
“Whooo!”
As a massive owl, Mowl, swooped in from behind, Yoo Ji-han cut it down in a single blow.
He reached out toward the mountain of corpses stacked in front of Park Jae-kyung.
[Wind Bomb]
Whoosh!
The winds gathered at one point were unleashed, sending the dead monsters flying to the opposite side.
With a spell that had become his main skill, he accurately placed a blast at a specific location, clearing away the monster corpses that had been strewn around like laundry.
‘I’ll take that route.’
Not only does it secure visibility around them, but it also prevents the monsters from using their kind’s corpses as shields, all while preplanning Park Jae-kyung’s movement direction.
Whoosh!
Whenever the way seemed slightly blocked, Yoo Ji-han stepped in to clear the corpses.
Naturally, Park Jae-kyung moved in the direction he guided.
“Trick or Treat?”
Strangely enough, Park Jae-kyung felt that the battle had become much easier.
It was such a significant change that it felt too real to just be an illusion.
“I can’t believe it…”
“Truly remarkable.”
The members of Yoon Do-ha’s party, seeing Park Jae-kyung use [Jack o’ Lantern] in a long time, were astonished, but they couldn’t help but be equally impressed by Yoo Ji-han supporting her.
“That’s Rank 3?”
“Who would believe that?”
Even though Yoo Ji-han was within the range of Park Jae-kyung’s attacks, none of his actions hindered her even the slightest.
Instead, he merely made things easier for her.
As if he was born solely to do just that.
Yoo Ji-han understood Park Jae-kyung’s movements and took care of her.
Witnessing this, the healer of Yoon Do-ha’s party couldn’t help but think.
‘Elegant.’
It felt like watching a well-choreographed musical.
Such truly elegant supporting.
‘So, that’s the exiled hero?’
Kim Si-hu, the guild master who personally recruited Yoo Ji-han, could only feel gratitude toward Keroes, who had always let such talent go to waste.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Min Yu-ri, waiting near the entrance, unleashed arrows at the enemies.
Nocking an arrow, pulling the string back, and releasing.
After repeating that process, she felt as if her bow and body had become one.
——Yu-ri, please take care of those on the ceiling and the flying monsters.
Following Yoo Ji-han’s orders, she dealt with monsters that warriors found difficult to handle.
During this process, the skill usage count of the artifacts made by Nam Ho-yeol quickly ran out.
Yet she continued to fire arrows, to the point where her calloused fingers ached.
‘By the way, where’s Ho-yeol?’
Min Yu-ri turned her head searching for Nam Ho-yeol.
Even though they were enemies, she worried about how he would feel witnessing so many living beings die.
“Wow…!”
However, contrary to her concerns, Nam Ho-yeol stood wide-eyed next to Chilla, watching Park Jae-kyung and Yoo Ji-han in awe.
He had been entranced by their high-level combat.
‘Only ten minutes in.’
Ten minutes after using [Jack o’ Lantern].
The pumpkin on Park Jae-kyung’s head turned a reddish hue, as if it were heated.
With only 10 minutes left now.
They had to somehow finish this battle and get away within that time.
Once the duration of Park Jae-kyung’s [Jack o’ Lantern] ended, she wouldn’t be able to move for an hour and would have all her physical abilities halved for the next seven days.
While incredibly powerful, it was a unique skill that was dangerous enough to be hard to use alone.
“Trick or Treat?”
Moreover, while using her unique ability, she couldn’t express herself verbally.
Park Jae-kyung was not even aware of how much time was left for her.
That’s why she needed someone to lead her.
Just like now.
Thud!
Yoo Ji-han smacked Park Jae-kyung’s shoulder hard to alert her about her remaining time.
Understanding his intent, Park Jae-kyung increased her attack speed.
“Gaaah!”
“S-Somebody save me!”
“Monster! That thing’s a monster!”
Monsters and IUPC members fell one after another, powerless against her.
The area covered by the corpses of fallen monsters and IUPC members was nearing the total ground area.
It was truly a scene of massacre!
Yet, Yoo Ji-han looked at Park Jae-kyung with a worried expression.
‘Jae-kyung’s movements are slowing down.’
The once agile movements of Park Jae-kyung, which he could barely keep up with, were starting to become noticeably slower.
Now, Yoo Ji-han could easily catch up without much strain.
Of course, it was still sufficient to take down the monsters in front of them, but the limits were gradually approaching.
Thud—!
Thus, as Park Jae-kyung slowed down, Yoo Ji-han increased his speed.
He didn’t hesitate to invade the role of a dealer, stepping beyond that of merely a supporter.
An action that would have been bold to attempt within Kim Hyun-tae’s party.
But now, no one complained about it.
“Jae-kyung!”
“Trick… or Treat?”
“The moment that pumpkin cracks, we’ll leave this place.”
Yoo Ji-han kept a close watch on the pumpkin, which had begun to show cracks.
Her aura was steadily becoming unstable.
The end of her unique ability was nearing.
Whoosh!
Whooom—!
Park Jae-kyung swung her sword more dramatically, making sure she could be seen from afar.
It was a feigned action to mask the fact that she was losing strength.
And to instill feelings of fear within the enemies before her to deter them from even thinking of retaliation.
“We’re going to die! We’re all going to die!!”
“Ugh…!”
Her intentions were taking effect.
The unrest among the IUPC members spread like ripples on a calm surface.
Eventually, they responded by using the controlled monsters as shields to block Park Jae-kyung’s approach.
Fizzt!
Thin lines were drawn across the monsters’ bodies.
It took less than ten seconds for living beings to turn into wriggling heaps of flesh.
As Yoo Ji-han dealt with the torrential flow of blood and corpses pouring out like seawater, he noticed Park Jae-kyung’s arms trembling.
Her shoulders creaked and her skin turned red all over.
It signaled that her limits had been reached.
Snap!
Finally, when twenty minutes had passed,
A large crack spread across the whole pumpkin on Park Jae-kyung’s head, shattering it completely.
At the sudden change, the IUPC members jerked, on guard against her.
Thud!
Yoo Ji-han quickly lifted Park Jae-kyung, whose body slumped sideways.
With all her strength drained, Park Jae-kyung looked up at Yoo Ji-han with half-closed eyes and said,
“…I’m sorry.”
“I’ll move now.”
Yoo Ji-han dashed toward the escape route secured by their teammates.
After a brief moment of confusion, the IUPC members shouted as they realized they were running away.
“Catch them! We have to catch them!”
“We can’t let them get away!”
The controlled monsters surged toward Yoo Ji-han, who was carrying Park Jae-kyung.
But with the interference from their teammates securing the escape route, the monsters couldn’t approach easily.
Some succeeded in getting past the interference, but—
Whoosh!
[Laura of Breeze]
The Sylph hovering nearby used magic to bind their feet.
Yoo Ji-han was momentarily startled as he glanced at the halted monsters.
‘They’re doing even better than I am?’
It was surprising that the contracted spirit was using the magic it had learned directly.
But the visible effects of the magic were also remarkable.
——Transfer the magic process entirely to the Sylph.
It was exactly what had been mentioned during his magic training with Kim Si-hu.
Realizing this, Yoo Ji-han said to the Sylph,
“From now on, you cast magic instead of me!”
Thud thud thud!
Understanding, the trembling Sylph followed Yoo Ji-han as they made their escape.
“Detonating now!”
Kaboomb—!
In the end, he concluded by collapsing the entrance to prevent the enemies from following.
Yoo Ji-han glanced back at the crumbled ground and smiled.
‘That should give them a taste of their own medicine.’
The forces of Yeosu, which had been decimated by just 20 minutes of assault, now had a much less imposing presence.
He wondered what expressions would cross the faces of those dreaming of invading Seoul.
