Chapter 60 : Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Party Player (1)

The west wall was in utter chaos.

“H-hey, why isn't my skill working?”

“Aack! My spear! Why isn't it coming back!”

The light from the runes written on the soldiers' hands had died down.

With the mana circuit cut off, the effects they had been receiving had disappeared.

Thwack!

“Kaaak!”

“Get a grip!”

When the enhancement magic, which had increased their stats by as little as 10% and as much as 30%, disappeared all at once, the effect was quickly visible to the naked eye.

With the front line pushed back, the Hellmorphs, who couldn't even approach the wall before, began to climb the wall and attack the archers and magic troopers.

“Push them back!”

Those who had been spearmen tried to drive them away with the weapons they were holding.

However, the creatures pushed their way up, even while being hit by attacks.

It seemed they had no intention of sparing their lives in the first place.

“Hey, what's that?”

In the midst of it all, an archer who had been diligently shooting arrows looked behind him at another soldier's words.

And he froze on the spot.

“What is that?!”

The Yukra River, which had always flowed with clear water, was parting to the left and right.

Hellmorphs were slowly walking onto the riverbed.

The sight of the water parting before them was truly reminiscent of a miracle.

The only problem was that it was a miracle from the enemy's point of view.

“Attack them!”

From the watchtower installed behind the wall, near the riverbank, various attacks poured out, but their numbers were too few.

In the first place, even if the Hellmorphs were to enter the river, they had expected them to swim and enter slowly; who would have thought they would come running in so brazenly?

“Th-they're coming up!”

By the time five monsters had fallen, countless monsters were already at the base of the watchtower, their claws raised, smashing the watchtower.

“Aaargh!”

Kwajijik!

In the end, the watchtower tilted and then collapsed.

All the soldiers who had been on top of it became food for the monsters without exception.

“Damn it!”

By the time Jeina arrived, everything was already too late.

“You damn monster bastards!”

[Jeina uses a skill.]

Wild Roar (Lv.1): Shouts to slow down nearby enemies and empowers the caster.

However, she let out a roar and began to rampage around.

Every time her axe was swung, blood spurted from the torsos of the Hellmorphs.

“They're pushing their way in!”

But a huge hole had already been practically punched through the wall.

In the time it took to deal with one, two were entering the castle.

The assault troopers, who had initially been pushing them back with great momentum, soon began to be pushed back.

“Kaaak!”

“No!”

As a white monster bit into the neck of a soldier in front of her, Jeina reflexively swung her axe and knocked the monster away.

However, the soldier, who had been attacked in a vital spot, made a gurgling sound, staggered, and then finally stopped breathing.

“Is there no support?!”

The number of soldiers was a problem, but the problem was with the support trooper types.

The soldiers around her were all assault troopers.

Of course, being assault troopers with Sprinter, they were the first to arrive, but as soon as they arrived, the effects of their trooper type disappeared, and the assault troopers, who had entered a disadvantageous fight, were having a hell of a time.

Sizzle!

“Aack! It's hot!”

Ant-like creatures shot acid from their rears, and the creatures behind them chanted an unknown spell, covering the air in a thick fog and obscuring their vision.

Over there, they had archers and magic troopers, but here, there were none.

A battle that did not consider the composition was causing tremendous damage.

“This is so annoying!”

After striking a Hellmorph that was approaching, Jeina caught her ragged breath and looked around.

Where is everyone?

Unfortunately, at this time, Artier and Tersion were inside the well.

I'm sorry. Just hold on a little longer. I'll be there soon.

Only Gerard answered, but he too was not in a position to move right away.

In the end, only Jeina was left.

She was the only one who could be active on this battlefield.

‘Deiker, Dina. What should I do?’

Jeina looked around, recalling the companions she had sent away.

She was an intermediate-grade mercenary.

Although she was overshadowed by the fact that the rest of her party were all high-grade mercenaries and one was even a supreme-grade mercenary, the title of intermediate-grade mercenary was not something that could be obtained easily.

Only those who survived the first quest, where most rookies died, and then achieved meritorious deeds in numerous subsequent quests could obtain the title of intermediate.

“Heup!”

Clang!

She immediately retrieved the axe she was about to swing and deflected an incoming pincer.

Immediately after, she kicked off, and a pool of acid fell where she had been standing.

Everything happened in less than five seconds, and it was being repeated endlessly.

‘They keep dying.’

It was an amazing skill, but her expression was stern.

Even if she held her ground, the sides were breaking.

If she ran to block the side, allies who had been hit by acid from behind were melting away.

“Just hit one place, you bad bastards!”

It was an absurd shout, but her stress had reached its peak.

Her class was a barbarian warrior.

A tanker who protected her allies.

Kaang!

From that point on, her axe no longer cut down Hellmorphs. Instead, she ran around and intervened in front of assault troopers who were in danger.

“Eek!”

It was a reckless act. The blocking action of a two-handed axe was meant to be used to block area-of-effect attacks.

It was not suitable for protecting a single target in this way.

Kaang!

But she was succeeding.

‘I can do it too!’

She had been sticking with a high-level party for so long.

The saying that you learn by watching is not for nothing. And if the level of the person you are watching is incredibly high, that is even more so.

‘Was it twisted like this?’

She twisted the axe blade slightly, just as Artier had done.

Then the blade that had been flying towards her neck grazed the top of her head by a hair's breadth.

As Jeina raised her axe with all her might and struck, the Hellmorph's body staggered and retreated.

“It worked!”

It was the first parry she had succeeded in.

Jeina immediately rotated her axe vigorously and split the Hellmorph's jaw in two.

“Th-thank you!”

The saved soldier spoke, but Jeina couldn't hear him.

She was already running towards another place.

‘I can do it. I have to!’

The battlefield was no longer visible before her eyes.

Numerous past events were passing by as if in a flashback.

The memory of being unable to block the assassin's attack and being thrown against the wall.

The memory of being unable to use her strength due to internal injuries.

And later, even in Gigas Hall, the memory of struggling with just one monster without any particular achievement.

She always smiled like an idiot, but she was also human.

She wasn't so stupid that she couldn't distinguish right from wrong.

‘If I can't even do this, the reason for me to be in the party is…….’

Thwack!

“Gone!”

Another Hellmorph fell.

This was already the twentieth one. At this point, the surrounding soldiers also began to notice Jeina.

“Who is that person?”

“Amazing……. She's practically flying around.”

Even the acid couldn't spread behind her as long as she was holding her axe.

When the acid splattered on her skin, a sizzling sound and a terrible smell filled the air, but she didn't care at all.

[Battle Healing is in effect.]

The melting skin regained its original elasticity.

Shaking the acid off her axe, Jeina caught her breath and looked straight ahead.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Someone approached her.

Seeing the medicinal herbs, bandages, and potions in his arms, he seemed to be a medic.

“Don't come!”

It was something to be tearfully grateful for, but upon spotting the medic, she screamed in horror.

Kwajik!

“Ah?”

As his vision suddenly spun, the medic wore a puzzled expression.

Until his vision hit the ground, he did not realize why he had died.

[Lv.16 Hell Torrent Trooper]

A grotesque creature with wings made of finger bones flapped its wings, and sharp, blade-like bone spines rained down.

The moment one was grazed by a bone spine, those wearing light leather armor had that part of their body torn off.

“Aack!”

“Mommy……!”

“Help me!”

Jeina gripped her axe so tightly that her hands went numb.

“Everyone, gather behind me!”

With those words, she rushed forward and raised her axe.

Kagagak!

In an instant, dozens of spines began to embed themselves in her axe.

Even as an enormous pressure enveloped her, she did not back down.

“Bring it on, you sons of bitches!”

As her bold shout was heard, hope began to flicker in the soldiers' eyes. She had become a sturdy wall that blocked the attacks.

“……”

But a moment later, the torrent trooper stopped shooting spines at her.

“Keoheok!”

“What?”

Instead, the torrent trooper ignored her and began to shoot spines towards the rear.

Jeina hurriedly headed that way, but the spine barrage dodged her as if to mock her.

“Kaaak!”

“Where are you going! Look at me!”

The soldiers who had left her area were continuously falling.

No matter where she looked, there was no place that wasn't red.

“D-does this make any sense? Are you kidding me!”

She felt wronged. Wasn't it a matter of course for a monster to attack the one in the front? That was the natural order of things, and the most basic tactic when dealing with monsters.

But when this natural law was broken, she became utterly powerless. She had no means to attack the torrent trooper floating in the air, nor could she draw their attention.

The only thing she could do was be a meat shield.

No, looking at the corpses scattered around, she couldn't even do that properly.

“Damn it……!”

“Hey, let's retreat for now.”

One of the soldiers grabbed her shoulder.

Jeina's stamina was not infinite either. The soldier could also see that her limbs were trembling slightly.

“There's nothing we can do here.”

If she fell, all the remaining soldiers would also die.

It was a rational judgment and a correct thought.

Jeina knew that well too.

“Daaamn it!”

She gathered all the breath in her lungs and screamed at the top of her lungs.

It was frustrating and powerless.

If it were Artier or the others, would they have been so utterly powerless like this?

‘Everyone does more than their given role, why can't I even do my given role properly?’

The reason for the formation of an inferiority complex is really nothing special.

It's enough for the surrounding environment and experience to be superior to one's own.

Therefore, an inferiority complex itself cannot be seen as bad. What one does with it is what's important.

In Jeina's case, she was the type to burn up.

“Are these damn bastards ignoring me?!”

The rising inferiority complex became the fuel that burned her anger.

She took a deep breath with all her might.

And she awakened the hidden talent sleeping within her.

“Uwaaaaaa!”

Kwaaaaaa!

“W-what?”

The soldier unknowingly stepped back.

An unknown red aura was crazily pouring out from her entire body.

[Jeina's level has risen to 10.]

[Jeina has learned the exclusive skill ‘Taunt’.]

[Taunt (Lv.1): Inflicts taunt on all enemies within a 20m radius. If a taunted enemy attacks an ally other than oneself, it will definitely land a powerful attack proportional to its maximum health.]

Thump! Thump!

The torrent trooper, unable to check Jeina's condition, fired its spines once more.

The targets were the archers and magic troopers who were now joining.

As the magic troopers were startled and deployed their shields, a dull sound echoed repeatedly from the protective barrier.

“You're dead.”

And then, the torrent trooper witnessed an unbelievable reality.

Jeina was flying towards it, axe in hand, at an altitude of about 30m.

“Just die!”

Kwajik!

As her axe was swung roughly, the torrent trooper's wings were split in half, and its finger bones scattered in all directions.

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