Chapter 64

Wiiiiing-!

Dozens of contaminated lancers immediately launched an attack.

"Krrrk! Attack! They're outnumbered!"

"Do not let those who dare betray the Queen live!"

They were the first to be killed by Suho's hands. They underestimated Suho and let their guards down. However, things were now completely different.

[Shadow Lancer]

General Class

The Black Lancers were reborn as Shadow Lancers.

Five lancers who looked just like themselves, but with different colors, turned to Suho's side, so they couldn't be careless.

"Struggle as much as you like."

In the center of them, Suho's eyes shone intensely.

"I will make you betray your Queen soon."

[Krrrk!]

The black lancers who served their new king jumped forward, crossing two spears.

Wiiing- Slash!

At the end of the labyrinth, the army of Suho and the contaminated lancers clash.

Horrible shockwaves exploded in all directions at a tremendous sense of speed.

Horrible cries of similar voices echoed through the air.

The thorny walls caught in the aftermath repeatedly collapsed and built countless times.

New thorny vines continued to surround Suho's army.

When beings of similar powers collided, the scene was indescribably horrendous and devastating.

"Krrrk…!"

The lancers, who were born solely to attack, had no concept of defense in the first place.

They just had one spear, or rather, two spears, that pierced the enemies and slaughtered them.

A two-edged sword where if they were faster than their opponent, they'd win, but if they fell behind, they would lose their lives.

But…

Shadow lancers were different.

They evolved into extreme forms from only knowing how to attack to being able to defend as well.

To be more precise, they became immortal lancers that could be restored even if they were killed.

As long as Suho's mana backed them up.

Swoosh!

The hole punched through the lancers was filled with a black shadow, and their head that fell off came flying back and attached again.

As the battle continued, the contaminated lancers couldn't help but be astonished.

"W-What is this…!"

Contaminated wasps wandering over the Times Square field convey all the words and actions of the hunters entering the place to the lancers through close signals with each other.

Thanks to that, the lancers were able to grasp Suho's moves in advance.

No, they thought they figured him out.

He had quite a bit of skill in summoning somewhat unusual allies, but even so, he was a rookie who had only been awakened for less than a month.

They thought that if he would be thrown into an unexpected situation, his limitations would soon unfold due to lack of experience, and then he would just surrender.

They were so sure about that, but…

"Krrrk!"

All day, Suho has only been told that he is a newbie who has only been an awakener for less than a month.

Little they know, he had been through more actual battles than anyone else, so he knew very well how to use his skills most effectively.

His strategy was extremely simple.

'Take one first no matter what.'

The first five shadow lancers attacked the enemies at the same time.

Swoosh!

Since it was an attack at the expense of defense, Suho's lancers could not be safe.

But, what they got in return was great.

[You have killed a contaminated lancer.]

"Arise."

Swoosh!

[Shadow release succeeded.]

The sixth soldier was born and stood up in front of Suho.

"Six now."

The six shadow soldiers again attacked at once in search of a new prey.

"Krrrk…!"

[You have killed a contaminated lancer.]

[Shadow release succeeded.]

Another one.

"Seven."

Another one.

"Eight."

[You have killed a contaminated lancer.]

[Shadow release succeeded.]

[You have killed a contaminated lancer.]

[Shadow release succeeded.]

…

"Krrrk! S-Stop saying 'Arise'!"

Thud.

As they continued to increase one by one, the number of shadow lancers that Suho commanded before he knew it were…

"Fifteen."

"Krrrk?!"

The lancers looked around and were surprised.

Suddenly, the number of black lancers surrounding them became equal to their number.

The largest and most powerful knight who was leading the contaminated lancers glared at Suho and gritted his teeth.

"Krrrk! You are one who uses strange skills."

However, the meaning was slightly different from the first.

"How can you command bugs so easily? Could it be that you came for the relic, too?"

"Relic?"

"Krrrk! Shameless! How dare you make a fuss!"

"…?"

Suho was genuinely puzzled.

'A relic? What relic? Oh, don't tell me…'

At that moment, he suddenly remembered the name he had heard from Beru.

Queen of Insects, Monarch of Plagues, Querehsha.

"Are you talking about a relic of Querehsha?"

"Krrrk! If you even know her name, you must have come to know everything! Do you want to become a Queen Bee too!"

"No, why would I…"

It was just an accusation, but Suho felt a little unfair.

Also, a Queen?

Didn't he look like a male?

Anyway, it would have been nice to use the information he got for free.

"Where is the relic of Querehsha, be it the Queen or whatever? Does your queen has it?"

"Krrrk! Of course! How dare you question that?! Other than our Queen, who else would dare to inherit the legacy of Querehsha!"

[Oh, you must have been a loyal server.]

Beru giggled.

Like most insects, bees and ants have many similarities.

A society that centered around the queen.

Like the faithful workers who gathered food at the behest of the queen, even in face of death.

But to Beru, the existence of a queen had a slightly different meaning.

Although Beru was born from a queen ant, he was born as a king rather than a worker.

He was not one of the insignificant workers loyal to the queen, but a true king of ants who could stand tall above the queen.

Although now, he has been serving his great and noble King, Sung Jinwoo.

Beru was still clearly aware of the fact that he was the king of the ants.

The worker bees who are only loyal to the queen bee couldn't help but feel insignificant…

Or, was that so?

Beru had been floating in the air, watching and playing, even before the start of the battle.

However, none of the contaminated lancers dared to approach such a defenseless and weak presence.

The survival instinct unique to bugs made them feel like something sinister would happen if they accidentally touched Beru.

[Young Master.]

When Beru approached Suho, all the lancers suddenly trembled and stood stiff on the spot.

Beru had been stealing information from the wasps roaming around the area with his antennae.

[It seems that the hunters on the other side are in danger.]

The maximum number of soldiers Suho could extract is 20.

Half of them had been guarding the hunters from earlier.

However, since Suho extracted new soldiers on his side, the number of shadow mummies over there was decreasing one by one.

That wasn't the only problem.

Swoosh.

Suho had also noticed from a while ago.

A hazy green mist was coming out from the thorny vines that covered the complicated labyrinth.

Paralysis poison nested in those thorns.

The poison had fused with the blue mist that permeated the entire field and was spreading all over Times Square.

Sniff.

In the end, the green mist poisoned Suho's body as he breathed.

Ring!

A system message appeared in front of Suho.

[A harmful substance has been detected.]

[The detoxification begins with the effect of 'Blessing: Great Spellcaster Kandiaru's Protection'.]

[3, 2, 1… Antidote is complete.]

"The effect is good."

It was time to say a silent prayer of gratitude to the great spellcaster Kandiaru.

However, unlike himself, the poison mist would be very lethal to other hunters.

'I'll have to stop there for a bit before going to the Queen Bee.'

It was fortunate that gas masks were also being sold in the shop window.

It's not a great item, so the price was cheap.

For the gold, the corpses of the monsters there if sold would be enough.

"Krrrk?!"

The lancers were greatly taken aback by the sight of Suho still moving casually despite inhaling the poison mist.

"How did you…!"

They aimed their spears at Suho with confidence.

"What kind of relationship do you have with Quehresha, the Monarch of Plagues!"

'We don't know each other…'

So awkward.

Regardless of Suho's intentions, the misunderstanding gradually deepened.

People shouldn't be judged by their appearance, but in the first place, those people weren't intelligent looking either.

No, they weren't even humans.

Beru was clever enough to deliberately spurred on their misunderstanding.

[Kehehehe! So what if they are connected?! None of your deadly poison will work on Young Master anyway!]

"Y-Young Master?!"

"Did… Did you have another relic?!"

They thought that there might be other relics besides the one their Queen had.

How on earth did a mere human get hold of the Plague Monarch's relic?

But… the human in front of them was already showing something beyond imagination.

A newbie who has only been awakened for a month?

No way!

If that's true, they can't be so unilaterally beaten by a C-Class summoning hunter.

The answer was simple.

He had been hiding his identity and power from the start.

The lancers came to a conclusion and glared at Suho fiercely.

They began to gather all their strength in their whole body.

"Krrrk!"

"Now that it has become this way…"

"Even at the cost of our lives, we must…"

If a human got hold of another relic, he had to be killed somehow.

If they let him live, it will be a huge stumbling block to their queen who wants to become a monarch.

"You! Even the hunters who came with you!"

"Everybody will die!"

Wiiiing-!

The lancers were more focused than ever.

They risked their lives to attack Suho.

And…

Boom!

"…!"

The lancers' eyes widened.

Beyond the poison mist that was so terrible that they couldn't see…

The tips of their spears, to which they had put their lives on, were blocked by a solid barrier.

'What…!'

With unfinished thought in mind, the lancers lost consciousness.

* * *

Meanwhile, the hunters who came in with Suho were in danger.

"Cough, cough."

"My body is starting to feel…"

There was no way to escape the poison mist.

If they had known that poison mist existed there in the first place, they would have brought a gas mask.

Everything wasn't anticipated.

They were too careless about the situation where there were 3 B-Class hunters in a C-Class dungeon.

"Hold on! I already contacted the guild!"

Right then…

Baekho Guild's reinforcements arrived at Times Square Field.

"… Is it here?"

Baek Miho, who looked at the situation inside, frowned with a serious expression.