Chapter 61 : Chapter 61

Chapter 61: Party Player (2)

“This can't be...!”

The soldier standing in front of Jeina couldn't close his gaping mouth.

It was hard to believe what had just happened was real.

“Did she just fly?”

The soldier was one of the people who had seen Jeina from a relatively close distance.

‘What kind of skill is that?’

Whoosh!

“This is the price for ignoring me!”

Jeina was now leaping towards the second Hell Torrent Trooper. The creature, just like the last one, was aiming for another ally instead of her.

It might not seem strange at first glance, but the damage was beyond imagination.

Crack!

The power to tear through the Hell Torrent Trooper's wing in a single blow and send it plummeting.

A powerful red aura, formidable at a glance, was blooming all over her axe.

“Oh my? What's this?”

What was even more baffling was that the one who had dealt such a blow was staring at the falling Hell Torrent Trooper with surprised eyes.

In other words...

‘Did she just charge in without even knowing what she was going to do?’

The soldier broke out in a cold sweat.

But the person in question was excited, as if she had never been angry.

“This is totally awesome, isn't it? Hahaha! Bring it on!”

Jeina, who landed on the ground in a cool pose amidst a cloud of dust, raised her axe and shouted confidently.

Flash!

The Taunt skill, which provoked all enemies within a radius.

Of course, this was reality. There was no option that forced them to look at her like in a real game.

However, if they ignored Jeina, they would suffer fatal damage, so it was virtually the same as having a compelling force.

“Go on, try and pass me by again!”

At Jeina's shout, all the Hellmorphs that were charging forward flinched. Hadn't they just seen the Hell Torrent Trooper fall so miserably?

Seeing this, Jeina wore a triumphant smile and shouted to the soldiers behind her.

“I'll protect this spot, so hurry up and come!”

“Go... go there?”

“Yeah, don't worry! I won't let them lay a single finger on you!”

The soldiers, who had witnessed Jeina's divine might earlier, began to look at each other, gauging the situation.

“Can she really block all of them?”

“Huh?”

When one soldier pointed his finger, Jeina turned her head in that direction.

“Wh-what the?!”

At the tip of the soldier's finger, hundreds of Hellmorphs could be seen kicking up a massive cloud of dust, so large that the castle wall was obscured, as they charged towards just one person.

“Why are so many of them coming?!”

“You're the one who used the skill!”

That's right.

The radius of the Taunt skill was 20m around her.

The problem was that Hellmorphs were continuously pouring in through the opened waterway at the west wall, even now, at this very moment.

“If you use an area-of-effect skill at the entrance where they're coming in, of course you're going to catch all of them!”

“Uh, uhhh...?”

She unknowingly stepped back.

No matter how fearless she was, wouldn't hundreds of enemies charging only at her be overwhelming?

“Arcane Barrage.”

“Water Bolt! Ice Wall!”

Just then, familiar voices were heard from the rear of the battlefield.

Kwakwakwang!

Dozens of magic bullets and swirling orbs of water flew in.

And the finale was a solid wall made of ice.

In an instant, the wide entrance to the battlefield had turned into a narrow passage that only about ten people could pass through.

“Looks like you were up to something amazing while I was gone.”

“Leader!”

Gerard looked at the welcoming Jeina, let out a chuckle, and handed her a potion.

“How did you get here so fast?”

“I was assigned to the first support unit. I was lucky.”

“Can we really call it luck...?”

Collie gave an ambiguous smile that held various meanings.

“In reality, it's no different from Sir Gerard having orchestrated everything.”

“Well, I don't think we need to explain the process right now.”

Gerard stretched out his hand.

Instantly, five Magic Traps formed in front of him.

“The Trooper Type effect will disappear soon! Pour everything you have while it's still active!”

The wrists of the Magic Troopers who had just arrived from the central area still had shining Runes embedded in them.

Seeing the Runes rapidly losing their light, the Magic Troopers squeezed out every last bit of magic they had and unleashed it.

Kwakwakwakwang!

Flames erupted from one side, and a swirling storm swept through the path on the other.

But there was a limit.

“There are too many enemies!”

The size of the first reinforcement unit was only about ten people.

No matter how specialized they were in area-of-effect attacks, it was impossible to deal with all the monsters pouring in like a flood.

Soon after, when the Trooper Type effect also disappeared, the barrage of firepower that was barely being maintained began to be pushed back.

“What in the world is that?”

Gerard, looking around, stared at the parted river water with a puzzled expression.

“There's no point if we leave that alone. A frontal fight gives us no chance of winning.”

For a single human to hold off a Hellmorph on equal footing, the conditions of being behind a castle wall and having Trooper Type skills applied were necessary.

After all, comparing objective physical specs, humans were clearly inferior.

“But the range doesn't reach from here.”

“That's right. If we could attack downwards from the west gate, or approach the floodgate without being detected....”

“What are you talking about?”

I turned my head at the familiar voice.

Just then, Tersion and Artier were walking towards us from the central area.

“Finally, our unstoppable party leader has arrived.”

“Master!”

“Collie, are you okay?”

“Are you in any state to be asking me that?”

As Collie stared intently, Artier quietly avoided his gaze.

Even if one could overlook that the reason he fainted was because of Artier, it was a bit funny for a person limping on one leg to be asking someone perfectly fine about their condition.

“No, well....”

“That's enough. Please receive treatment first.”

A faint green light poured down on Artier repeatedly.

Only after receiving what seemed like a slightly excessive amount of light did Collie lower his staff.

“Now that everyone's gathered, let me say it again... That strange Hellmorph below the floodgate is opening the waterway. If we can't take it down, we have no chance of winning in the current situation.”

Gerard pointed at the pure white monster standing below the floodgate.

[Lv.12 Hell Repeller Trooper (Special)]

The creature had a bizarre appearance, with eight legs and only a torso, no head.

“Ah... so the Repeller Trooper has already appeared.”

Artier, after assessing the situation, spoke with a much more relaxed expression.

“Don't worry, Gerard.”

“What do you mean?”

“The way that creature opens the waterway is also a type of skill. It can't keep it open indefinitely.”

Hellmorphs, like humans, had resources like mana.

After using a skill for a certain period, a recharge time was needed.

“It will probably retreat on its own in a little while.”

“What if there are multiple Hellmorphs with that ability?”

“No, there's probably only one.”

“What?”

Artier nodded confidently.

‘Because only one Repeller Trooper appears in a single quest.’

I didn't know the reason, but two Repeller Troopers never appeared at the same time.

It was a story from the future, but even in quests that took place entirely in water, only one appeared.

‘Because if two Repeller Troopers use their skills at the same time in one area, they conflict with each other and are nullified.’

If we used the long time between it recharging its energy and opening the waterway again, it was enough time to set up barricades nearby and clean up the inside of the walls.

“If you're right, then while the waterway is closed, we quickly clean up the ones that came inside and....”

“If we close the floodgate after that, we'll have a chance of winning.”

It was then that Gerard and Collie also realized Artier's thinking and were nodding their heads.

Thump! Goooo!

Suddenly, the earth shook, and everyone there got goosebumps all over their bodies for no apparent reason.

“What was that just now?”

“What's happening?”

The primal fear was directed beyond the castle wall.

It was to the point that everyone could tell that something was over there.

“What in the world is that... Aaaah!”

Artier witnessed an Archer who had been shooting his bow from atop the castle wall freeze up like a stone.

The Archer, as if possessed, dropped his bow and muttered something, then suddenly foamed at the mouth and fell backward.

‘What in the world was that?’

It wasn't just that soldier.

The soldiers who were on the west wall were all thrown into chaos at once.

It was because their perfectly fine comrades were muttering as if they had lost their minds and then collapsing.

“Artier, what is this situation?”

“...I don't know either.”

On the surface, it seemed like a type of mental magic.

The problem was that even though such a wide-range magic was being used, no one was able to counter it.

Crack!

This time, a clear crack appeared on the castle wall where the floodgate was.

And through everyone's communication channel, something unimaginable was heard.

Th-this is the west wall! An unidentified monster is destroying the castle wall!

What do you mean!

It's slashing the castle wall with a huge scythe! At this rate...!

Crack!

The communication didn't last until the end.

A long diagonal line was drawn on the castle wall, and the wall collapsed right along that line.

“The castle wall!”

Beyond the crumbling debris, something huge entered.

The giant, appearing to be about 10m tall, was wearing a large, all-black hood and holding a gruesome scythe in its hand.

‘The Grim Reaper?’

Its appearance was truly befitting of being called the Grim Reaper.

Artier, who was looking into the hood, froze on the spot when a pair of eerie green glowing eyes stared intently at him.

[Lv.25 Hell Soul Collector (Large)]

“Artier.”

Gerard unfolded the Grimoire he had put away and said.

“That thing you said about not worrying, is it still valid?”

“....”

Artier remained silent.

‘Why did the Soul Collector appear now?’

I knew just by looking at its level. It was a whole 10 levels higher than me.

It wasn't supposed to appear at this point in time.

“This isn't such a good situation.”

Tersion shook her head.

“If we can't block this place, it'll be urban warfare. You know that, right?”

They had experienced urban warfare in Dorman.

Urban warfare, fought among buildings, was endlessly disadvantageous for humans who lacked agility and stealth.

“I know, Taskerben will know too.”

As soon as Artier finished speaking, a thousand soldiers were running up behind them.

“Defend the line at all costs!”

“We have to stop them from getting in!”

They raised their shields, created walls with Shield magic, and temporarily imbued their arrows and javelins with magic.

Those who didn't even have that much mana heated their weapons in nearby torches, burning with fighting spirit.

“The river is closed again. Not many can come in at once through the gap in the wall! So pull yourselves together! We can survive if we deal with the ones that got inside!”

Because the Collector was so large, even though it had destroyed a part of the wall, no additional Hellmorphs could get in.

“Attack!”

At someone's shout, everyone began to attack at once.

Javelins, arrows, and magic were scattered like rain in front of the charging Hellmorphs.

Up to this point, the aspect of the battle was similar to previous ones.

But they clearly showed why they were the Empire's soldiers.

“First row is the red mark, second row is the blue mark, third row is the white mark!”

As the one who appeared to be the commander waved his hand, marks that were only visible to the soldiers' eyes appeared.

Then, attacks poured down towards the places where the marks appeared with precise intervals as if they were measured.

“Oh, intense, huh?”

Tersion whistled and drew her bowstring.

Unlike the mercenaries who fired randomly and wasted their power, the Empire's soldiers were firing the necessary amount of firepower at precise angles to extract the maximum benefit.

“Let's join in too.”

“Understood.”

Gerard and Collie also launched their magic. And Jeina....

“Bring it on, you bastards!”

[Jeina uses a skill.]

Taunt (Lv.1): Inflicts a provoked state on enemies within a 20m radius, and guarantees a counterattack when an enemy attacks an ally.

Behind the backs of those dozens of soldiers, she was triumphantly using Taunt.

The Hellmorphs, who flinched and looked at Jeina, couldn't even think of attacking the soldiers in front of them and were being swept away.

“Is that... right?”

“That is the correct way to use that skill.”

‘What should I say... It's a bit awkward for Jeina to be doing something like that.’

Just as Artier and Collie were breaking out in a cold sweat.

I see the foolish ones who try to escape death.

The silently standing Soul Collector began to move for the first time.

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