656
[Chapter 170]
[Falling Wings (6)]
Northern Gangbuk, near Suyu Station in Gangbuk-gu.
<First Sword> Ji Yong-hyun, who had been dispatched after receiving a report, looked up at the sky.
"It's quite high up... At this distance, it would be difficult to attack."
Gu Yeon-su, who arrived late, said.
He tried to gauge the height where the creature was with his narrowed eyes.
The two were looking for an opportunity to attack like that.
Not long after─
─Boom!!
A thunderous sound rang out.
Yu Su-jin, who had taken position somewhere, fired a bullet.
A silver pillar that soared from the ground struck the creature directly.
No, it was about to strike directly.
The creature activated jamming.
Whiiiiiieeeeeooooooo
The force of the silver pillar diminished.
The silver pillar that couldn't reach the creature disappeared without inflicting any damage on Ye-gyeong.
Then Ji Yong-hyun and Gu Yeon-su's faces darkened.
"It seems it won't fall for the same trick." "If even Su-jin's attack doesn't work, how are we supposed to attack that thing so high up?"
"I'll try to bring it down first. From the looks of it, it seems to have noticed we're here, but we have to try."
Ji Yong-hyun assessed the situation.
Monsters that had been quiet for a while since the previous attack started rampaging angrily.
Moreover, high-rank monsters were predicting the attack direction and swarming towards Yu Su-jin.
It seemed Ye-gyeong's army was trying to kill Yu Su-jin at this opportunity.
"Regulus Clan Lord, please go with the others to save Su-jin. I'll handle things here for now."
"...Alright. As soon as we save Su-jin, I'll look for another place to snipe it and let you know by telepathy."
"Yes, please do."
Gu Yeon-su left.
Ji Yong-hyun stepped on the wall of the tallest building among those nearby.
He who climbed to the building's rooftop in a few steps unleashed the magic stored in his sword.
Imperial Sword 10th Style...
Whiiiieeeeeeaaaaaooooooo!!
Swords revealing their forms from higher than Ye-gyeong.
Just as the magic to stab the creature with huge swords and finally bring it down to the ground was about to be completed.
The creature saw the swords appearing above its head and activated jamming.
Ji Yong-hyun's magic was nullified.
Not only that.
Did it spread jamming throughout the entire area?
People can't fight like this.
Ji Yong-hyun understood the situation and gritted his teeth.
He who suppressed his reversing mana circuits saw Players attacking monsters fall victim to the jamming magic.
Ji Yong-hyun who immediately jumped down from the building rescued Players surrounded by monsters in a state unable to activate magic.
Just as he tried to counter it when the jamming effect disappeared─
"─..."
"Ye-gyeong is... retreating."
The creature suddenly changed direction.
After bombarding the entire area once, it was leaving Gangbuk-gu as if it had no more business.
People blankly watched the suddenly retreating army.
"What on earth is its intention?"
The creature disappeared beyond the night sky.
Ji Yong-hyun muttered while watching the creatures retreat to a distance he could no longer chase.
They're not creatures that would retreat like this.
Why are they retreating?
Somehow it didn't feel good.
It was like a tactic to buy time to bring them down.
Ji Yong-hyun stood for a long time in the place where the monsters had disappeared.
☆
Central Gangbuk, near Euljiro in Jung-gu.
Eun-ha, who put Ariel down nearby, clicked his tongue seeing the army filling the sky over the city center.
"Ugh... This is no joke."
Eun-ha let out a short groan.
It was beyond expectations.
He was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers that blocked the night sky from view.
These creatures flying around quickly must be why people can't respond properly.
Eun-ha ignited flames.
But the flames he raised only burned a few creatures at most.
The creatures quickly avoided the flames, or often moved away when they saw signs of him activating magic.
I could probably reduce their numbers quite a bit using Violent Venom... Damn, they might spread poison throughout the region while moving around in that state...
Violent Venom won't work.
Only flame magic will do after all.
But the creatures were flying in groups, repeatedly dispersing and gathering.
To be effective with flame magic, he needed to concentrate them before burning, but the creatures quickly scattered when they saw signs of that.
In the end, since there's no way to gather them, I have no choice but to take down the army commander.
After raising flames for a while.
Eun-ha decided to take down the army commander to disintegrate the army.
"Pandora Clan Lord! How cowardly, no, how can you abandon us and go! Did you take down the army commander!?"
"You came at a good time. I was just about to go meet you."
By then, Blaze Clan's Eight Jades and Players arrived.
To this, Eun-ha decided to search for the army commander with them who came running out of breath.
[Pandora Clan telepathist Ariel! According to Hanseong Clan's information, it seems the army commander is in the direction of Toegye-ro 5-ga intersection!]
Ariel's telepathy arrived.
Lim Chae-sung seemed to have received the telepathy too.
The two who met eyes nodded.
"─It's over there." "The grasshoppers are flying around noisily, but that guy is standing majestically as expected of an army commander?"
Toegye-ro 5-ga intersection.
It was standing at the intersection of Toegye-ro and Doho-ro.
The humanoid army commander.
The creature wearing insect armor and standing on two thin legs on the asphalt road looked at them.
At that moment─
""""──!!""""
Monsters flying around it all flew at them at once.
It crossed its arms sharpened like blades in an X and rushed in.
For an instant, its form disappeared.
No, it moved its wings.
"Pandora Clan Lord!" "...Kuk...!"
When the creature's presence suddenly vanished after being hidden by the swarm of grasshoppers.
The Players reacted belatedly.
Eun-ha almost instinctively gripped his sword and struck to the side.
It was there.
It's so fast...!
Not only is it fast.
Despite its small build with narrow shoulders, its strength was monstrous.
If he faced it without manifesting mana, he would have been pushed back.
Eun-ha immediately tried to attack it with Winter Blooming Coldly.
Swish!
Then, it swung one arm.
A blade that flashed a blue edge for an instant.
Eun-ha doubted his eyes.
This cutting power is ridiculous.
How can a building be cut like that with one sword strike?
While Eun-ha held the creature, Players approaching from behind.
Not only were they cut in two by the sword strike Caesar Hopper unleashed, but a building collapsed with a crash.
Right Step
This time it tried to unleash a sword strike towards Eun-ha.
Eun-ha quickly moved positions.
Meanwhile, the sword strike Caesar Hopper unleashed tore through where he had been standing.
"In case anyone says it's not Level 3, it has power that can't be underestimated. Guys! Defend properly!"
"Oh!"
Hwang Seok-ha was dumbfounded.
He stuck out his tongue seeing a monster slice through a building like cutting tofu.
Blaze Clan members whose comrades died from its attack burned with fighting spirit and rushed at it from all directions.
Bububububu
At that moment, it moved its wings.
Shockwaves spread in all directions.
Eun-ha opened his eyes wide.
Kuk...!! How did that crazy squid take down something like this?
It doesn't discriminate direction.
The strike that cut through a building just before rose from all directions.
They were too easily sliced the moment they touched the shockwaves the creature emitted.
Eun-ha grabbed a nearby Player.
He who suddenly made the Player duck to avoid getting his head cut off blocked the sword strike with his sword.
Winter Blooming Coldly
It seemed he could only reduce the impact by wrapping mana around his sword.
Eun-ha gritted his teeth and tightly gripped Winter Blooming Coldly being pushed back by the sword strike.
It was monstrous strength.
Nevertheless, Eun-ha absorbed the creature's power and counterattacked.
Kuoooo!!
A dragon that appeared from the blackened blade.
The huge dragon thrashed about in all directions.
The dragon made of magic blocked the sword strikes with its body, and ultimately charged at the creature.
Swish!!
By then the creature stopped flapping its wings too.
It opened its maw and retreated seeing the approaching dragon.
Swoosh
Suddenly retreating like that.
Caesar Hopper that hid its form among the swarm of grasshoppers that had somehow surrounded Eun-ha and the Players in a circle.
Its presence disappeared.
It didn't disappear, but there were so many monsters forming the encirclement that they couldn't detect its presence.
"This... We're trapped? These guys used their heads? At this rate we have to just take their attacks."
"If you have time to say that, hurry up and burn those things."
I let my guard down because it was an open space.
I didn't expect them to form an encirclement and trap us.
But Eun-ha didn't get impatient and snapped his fingers.
Whoosh!
Flames arose.
The fire that couldn't exert its effect properly just before because the creatures scattered quickly spread to those that narrowed the distance to surround them.
The grasshoppers' encirclement now became a vortex of flames.
Eventually the creatures that couldn't overcome the fire fell to the ground with thuds.
Whoosh!!
Flames rose again.
Lim Chae-sung and the Eight Jades and Blaze Clan Players all raised flames at once.
...Come out.
You still won't come out?
Eun-ha gripped his sword.
No matter how strong the army commander was, it couldn't withstand this much fire.
In a situation where monsters were just wandering around and falling with thuds.
It couldn't just stay still.
Eun-ha waited for that moment.
The moment it would come out of the flame vortex and attack him.
And not long after─
─Swish!
It was when the flame vortex was losing power and disappearing.
Finally it came out.
The creature whose whole body was engulfed in flames suddenly attacked a nearby Player and swung its sword at Eun-ha.
Blaze Crasher
A blade containing flames.
It swung down its arm.
It let out a fierce cry as if writhing in pain from the flames.
Nevertheless it tried to push through and─
"─Keep blocking like that!"
<Destroyer > Lim Chae-sung.
And <Red Iron> Hwang Seok-ha.
The two Eight Jades rushed at Caesar Hopper wielding weapons.
─Swish!!
Thud.
Lim Chae-sung stabbed his greatsword into the ground.
"Damn, why is its armor so thick?"
It narrowly avoided the attack and was hit by Hwang Seok-ha's fists in succession.
The creature that retreated like that had trembling legs.
It staggered as if the impact of taking several blows to the abdomen hadn't faded.
Eun-ha didn't wait for that moment and immediately swung his sword.
Bububububu
Then creatures that flew through the pillar of fire.
They protected the army commander they followed with an attitude of self-sacrifice.
And─
"─Kuhek...!"
"Hwang Seok-ha!!"
The creature that was running to the right suddenly trembled its wings and unbelievably changed direction to the left.
Thud.
As if in revenge, it pierced Hwang Seok-ha's stomach.
Then it disappeared into the flames.
Again monsters that broke through the flames pounced on them.
"Damn it! Hwang Seok-ha! Get a hold of yourself!!" "Uh... Did you catch it? If you caught that bastard for this hole in my stomach... that would be..."
"We haven't caught it yet so get a hold of yourself!" "Damn it... Then there's no meaning... Did that bastard put a hole in my stomach?"
"Drink a potion first. Hurry and treat the wound too."
The monsters' condition is decent.
It meant they weren't creatures that were in the vortex but flew in from outside.
Eun-ha faced the rushing creatures while spreading a detection net.
...I can't use the detection net. The energies are so mixed I can't distinguish them.
Eun-ha clicked his tongue inwardly.
But he guessed Caesar Hopper would be outside the vortex.
Even that creature wouldn't want to stay in the fire for long.
"The flames will go out soon, so everyone be prepared."
Surely it must be waiting.
It will reorganize the army outside the vortex and launch another all-out attack.
Eun-ha drank a potion to increase his internal mana recovery rate.
Mana started filling up little by little.
Eventually the height of the vortex gradually lowered.
Right then─
[─Noh Eun-ha be careful!]
An unexpected telepathy.
Eun-ha was puzzled hearing Ariel's voice ringing in his head.
As the vortex gradually lowered─
[─This is information that just came in from the Mana Management Organization!]
It was a tone tinged with urgency.
Eun-ha listened to her voice while manifesting his internal mana.
[─Just before, Ye-gyeong that was fighting in Seongbuk-gu and Gangbuk-gu suddenly disappeared into the sky!]
"...What?"
He wondered what she was suddenly talking about.
Eun-ha unknowingly asked back.
Somehow he had a bad feeling.
Sure enough─
[─As a result of tracking Ye-gyeong's army, it's estimated that Ye-gyeong is not retreating but moving somewhere!]
""""...."""
[The estimated location of Ye-gyeong and its army is currently presumed to be Jung-gu! To this, Players at the scene should hold out somehow until reinforcements arrive! Noh Eun-ha! They say Ye-gyeong went there!! Be careful!]
Eun-ha watched the sky.
The vortex had cleared.
Embers scattered.
The night sky filled with swarms of grasshoppers.
Suddenly a hole opened in the sky, and it poked out its head.
Whiiiieeaaaaaooooooo
Bububububu
Swish
A sound like blowing a horn.
A sound that shook the entire area rang out.
"No, why..."
Eun-ha couldn't finish his words.
It was the same for others.
They could only be overwhelmed.
Whhhhhiiiiieeeaaaaaooo
Toegye-ro 5-ga intersection.
Monsters were pouring in from all directions and advancing towards them.
And─
─Boom boom boom boom!!
Ye-gyeong bombarded whether monsters disappeared or not.
The world flashed.