Capítulo 366: 780
[Chapter 199]
[Misjudgment(4)]
The death of a player who had fought believing in their device was utterly futile.
The device they had trusted to protect their life had betrayed their expectations and allowed the enemy's attack.
"Mo Ra-yul, you bitchhhhh─!!"
Dankun Clan Lord Jang Bong-jeon.
He cursed Mo Ra-yul who had put them in this situation.
If <Big Data> Mo Ra-yul had gathered more detailed information about it.
People wouldn't have died so futilely, unable to properly use their swords even once.
Of course, Jang Bong-jeon rationally knew this wasn't Mo Ra-yul's fault.
But he had to blame someone.
Otherwise, there was no way to release the devastation he felt in this situation.
Right at that moment─.
─I am the guardian of this land.
I exterminate vermin.
Hearing the thought echoing in his mind.
Jang Bong-jeon turned around.
The corps commander was right behind him.
He thought he hadn't heard any screams, it seemed the people behind had already fallen to it.
Somehow, Jang Bong-jeon and Dankun Clan had ended up at the very rear.
"Aaaaarghhhhhh!!!"
Words wouldn't come out.
Only frustration burst forth.
The veins on his neck bulged, and his face turned bright red.
At that moment, the corps commander swung its sword down.
Jang Bong-jeon activated a protection spell.
The magic shattered all too easily.
Jang Bong-jeon reflexively raised his sword to block the monster's attack.
But just like the players who had been running at the very back earlier.
Jang Bong-jeon's sword couldn't block the corps commander's sword at all.
The corps commander's sword passed through his sword, and the giant blade fell before his eyes─.
─Crunch!
For the end of a swordsman.
It was too dishonorable a death.
The knight in red armor had simply swung down a club as if slaughtering a pig.
In the process, Jang Bong-jeon and the Dankun Clan players were crushed to death.
...The damage is severe. At this rate, the platoon will be completely annihilated.
The Dankun Clan Lord had died.
Ji Yong-hyeon, who heard this from the telepathist, was gloomy.
Dankun Clan had fallen apart with the disappearance of its commanders.
Ji Yong-hyeon told the telepathist running beside him that he would temporarily inherit Dankun Clan's command authority.
The confusion could barely be contained.
But the disaster approaching from behind was still targeting them.
Ji Yong-hyeon's command had only delayed the collapse of the 3rd Attack Platoon.
I must stop it.
The battle formation had completely crumbled.
As long as attacks weren't working and they were being chased by monsters like this.
The formation was now meaningless.
Ji Yong-hyeon had to admit it now.
The attack had failed.
Then he had to at least preserve as much of their forces as possible.
He had to save as many people as possible for the next attack.
And the only person who could take responsibility for that was himself.
"Kim Cheol-sik."
"Yes, Clan Lord."
"From now on, the command..."
At this, Ji Yong-hyeon was about to entrust all command authority to his long-time comrade, Sub-lord Kim Cheol-sik.
And he intended to face Crimson Knight himself.
But before he could give the order, even faster─.
─Tap
Two clan members who were running ahead suddenly turned around.
"You guys...!!"
"─If the Clan Lord blocks that thing, who will defeat it?"
"You said you'd protect the fairy. But is it okay to die here?"
Zenith Clan's Five Swords.
<Resonance Sword> and <Flower Moon Sword> passed by Ji Yong-hyeon.
Before Ji Yong-hyeon could say anything, they leapt at the monsters.
"Please go ahead, Clan Lord. We'll hold these guys off."
"Among the Five Swords, we're the only ones who can fight these guys. So don't blame yourself."
Swords were meaningless against them.
The two boldly discarded their swords.
After all, their weapons were not swords, but sound and flowers.
"We need to return with as much of our forces intact as possible. This attack ultimately ended in failure, but we can't let the next attack fail too."
"Go, don't look back. We won't die meaninglessly like the others. As people who wield swords, we'll live like that until the end."
"...I'm counting on you."
They don't promise to meet again.
They all knew.
Ji Yong-hyeon expressed deep gratitude for the two's sacrifice.
☆
At that time, the Cobalt Knight attack led by the 4th Attack Platoon was also flowing differently from the plan.
─I am the guardian of this land.
I punish those who invade this land.
The knight in blue armor.
It, which had remained motionless despite being hit by magic attacks several times, drew its sword.
At that moment, a blue ripple spread widely centered on it.
The area where the ripple spread turned blue─.
"─Magic, doesn't work..."
The magic of the people standing on the blue-changed ground was all nullified.
No, it wasn't that it was nullified.
It did activate.
But it had no effect.
It only had an effect when magic was deployed through devices.
Or when physical attacks were made without using magic.
─Grrrr!!
The situation was serious.
The vanguard players who had been fighting while receiving buffs from the middle and rear were directly hit.
Because protection magic had no effect at all, players who had been fighting while relying on protection magic died futilely.
Moreover─.
"─Clan Lord. I understand how you feel, but we need to retreat quickly."
"Ugh..."
<Beast Tamer> Hwang San-gun.
Hwang San-gun, who could fight like a dealer in close combat while being a caster, had to feel a heartbreaking sense of loss.
His phantasmal beast had died futilely to the monster's sword.
Along with the pain of the pass being cut off.
The sight of the phantasmal beast he had spent time with since childhood being sliced like meat was shocking.
It was so bad that even Koo Hye-min, KK Clan's navigator, urged him while he was in shock.
"─All troops, retreat."
In the end, Hwang San-gun uttered words that would surely become a sore point in his career.
In his heart, he wanted to fight the monster until not a single person was left, without retreating.
But he was the commander.
He couldn't let his emotions drive the platoon members into the abyss of death.
Nevertheless, there was one unbreakable resolve in his heart.
"Navigator Koo Hye-min."
"Yes, Clan Lord."
"Lead all the Seven Great Tigers and escape from here. I'll select players specialized in physical attacks and hold it off."
"Clan Lord, what are you saying...!!"
"Running away from it isn't everything. I saw earlier that the blue circle was moving along with it. That means we can't escape the blue circle by just running away blindly. So someone needs to hold it back."
"Then I'll stay behind. With me and the Seven Great Tigers who are skilled in physical attacks, we should be able to hold back the corps commander."
"No, that won't do."
When Roh Eun-ha was an academy student.
He recalled what he had said to him before.
Didn't he tell him not to live arrogantly?
But thinking about it now─.
─Perhaps I was the arrogant one.
Hwang San-gun smiled bitterly.
He had wanted to achieve merit.
He thought he had the power to achieve merit.
So he had shown a careless attitude while attacking Cobalt Knight.
When it didn't move even after being attacked, he ended up letting players approach within its domain.
As a result, when it drew its sword, they were swept away in a single moment.
And that wasn't all.
As a result of his own arrogance, he had approached too close to it.
And his phantasmal beast had sacrificed itself to save him.
"─This is the commander's responsibility. Also, even if we can't use magic, we can't just send dealers and guardians. Some casters and supporters need to stay behind to assist them."
Watching his phantasmal beast die.
Hwang San-gun realized how deeply he had fallen into arrogance.
Now he could realize how blinded he had been by the desire for merit.
I was too hasty.
I became impatient seeing the Pandora Clan Lord's continuous success.
Thinking about it now.
I wonder if the reason Roh Eun-ha was so arrogant was because he had that much power.
In contrast, he had been arrogant but didn't have that much power.
The result of that had come back as the deaths of his platoon members.
Hwang San-gun took a deep breath.
Grr
A phantasmal beast approached.
His phantasmal beast wagged its tail.
Hwang San-gun smiled bitterly and patted the phantasmal beast's head.
"It seems I don't have the qualities to lead others after all. Even at the end, I'm staying behind because of my emotions."
He was worried about KK Clan's future.
But more than that, what weighed on his mind was his anger towards the corps commander who had killed his phantasmal beast.
Hwang San-gun, who had sent KK Clan and the 4th Attack Platoon away, glared at it.
"Even if I die, I will definitely kill you."
As the KK Clan Lord.
No, as one of the Twelve Seats.
No, as the <Beast Tamer>.
Hwang San-gun entered the battle.
☆
Two years ago, Eun-ha, who had subdued <Dark King> Sindorim, gained many realizations.
Among them, the biggest realization was that he still had room to grow.
At that time, for a very brief moment, I had reached a level several steps higher than now.
It's probably impossible to reach that level again, but depending on how I do it, I might be able to get close to that level.
The level that people's will led me to.
He instinctively knew that level was eating away at him, but he was fascinated by the world that level had shown.
So for two years, he sought his growth through various methods.
Pandora Clan's ritual magic was also born in that process.
Still not enough.
I can get closer, I can reach it.
Icarus approached the sun and fell to the ground when the wings made by human hands melted.
Moths would jump into the fire, inviting their own death.
Eun-ha's actions were no different from those in a way.
Nevertheless, he had to become stronger.
No─.
─More, more, more, I want to become stronger.
Not to protect someone.
He wanted to become stronger for himself.
He wanted to break his own limits again and soar.
The word 'lord' stimulated the desire hidden in his consciousness.
Emotions of regret, possessiveness, and happiness fueled his longing.
The reason Eun-ha sought to obtain On Tae-yang's phantasmal beast in the 2nd Uijeongbu Recapture War was not unrelated.
With this phantasmal beast, I can become even stronger.
The Flying Dragon that was On Tae-yang's phantasmal beast before the regression.
The power to bestow wind attributes to magic had very good synergy with flames.
With the Flying Dragon's wind, it would be easy to inflate power from a small spark.
It could elevate Pandora Clan's ritual magic, Sacred Fire, to a higher dimension.
I already have Buldak, so...
So at first, I thought it wouldn't be bad to give it to Min-ho or Eun-hyuk, or maybe the stupid hyung....
Sorry to the three of them, but Eun-ha couldn't overcome his desire.
So even though he already had Buldak, he decided to contract with another phantasmal beast.
"Pipi! Papa! Pupu!"
"Yes, I know. I'll make you a sibling. So don't whine and wait."
At this, Buldak greatly welcomed it.
Eun-ha chuckled seeing Buldak rejoicing at getting a sibling.
"Eun-ha Eun-ha! Look at this! I accidentally broke a wooden fish and guess what, there was a bell inside!? I really hit the jackpot... Huh? What's that?"
"This? A phantasmal beast's egg."
"...Another one? Who are you giving that to? Maybe to me? Really? For real?"
"Why would I give this to you. Of course the finder is the keeper."
"Wow.... You already have Buldak! Give it to Ariel who doesn't have a phantasmal beast!"
""""Wow....""""
Meanwhile, Kaede, Ariel, Kang Si-hyeong, and others had found artifacts hidden in Gwaneum Temple.
The wooden seated Buddha statue that became the material for making the bow that was the symbol of <Divine Archer> before the regression.
The bell that served as <Mermaid>'s microphone and trident.
The law book that creates a sphere that separates world lines centered on the caster, which could be called the symbol of <Guardian Star>, and so on.
Eun-ha was satisfied with the farming his clan members had done.
Of course, the clan members were more interested in the egg Eun-ha had farmed than the artifacts they had farmed.
─Anyway, I hope it hatches soon.
That day, even as he fell asleep, Eun-ha didn't forget to infuse mana into the phantasmal beast's egg.
☆
On that day when communication equipment didn't work.
The recapture team's communication could only be done by relaying through telepathists multiple times.
As a result, it took considerable time for communications to arrive.
[The 3rd Attack Platoon reports. At the current time of 6:23 PM....]
[The 4th Attack Platoon reports. At the current time of 6:25 PM....]
Moreover, on that day, monsters happened to be rampaging noisily.
As a result, telepathists in charge of relaying were frequently attacked.
In the end, it took about 3 hours for the information sent from the 3rd and 4th Attack Platoons to be delivered to the 5th Communication Platoon.
""""...."""
And the information sent 3 hours ago implied the following to them:
One, the 3rd and 4th Attack Platoons failed to subjugate the corps commanders.
One, each platoon intends to retreat to the Arts Center to avoid the corps commanders.
One, two of Zenith Clan's Five Swords have died.
One, the Dankun Clan Lord has died and is currently under Zenith Clan's command.
One, Twelve Seats <Beast Tamer> and KK Clan Lord Hwang San-gun has died.
[─The 4th Attack Platoon broadcasts. Please, please respond from the 5th Communication Platoon as soon as you receive this telepathy. The 4th Attack Platoon's forces have rapidly decreased to 60%. This platoon has judged that we can no longer avoid Cobalt Knight's pursuit. We request support from the 2nd Attack Platoon, 2nd Supply Platoon, and 5th Communication Platoon stationed at Uijeongbu Arts Center. At the current time of 1:23 AM, this platoon plans to head towards the Arts Center. We apologize to the recapture team members, but our platoon members' fatigue has now reached its limit.]
[The 3rd Attack Platoon reports to the 5th Communication Platoon. This platoon has judged that we cannot shake off Crimson Knight's pursuit with our current forces. We also judged that if the night deepens further, the threat from monsters will intensify. Therefore, this platoon plans to stop avoiding Crimson Knight's pursuit at the current time of 1:27 AM. After that, we apologize but this
[After that, we apologize but this platoon will head towards the Arts Center and request support from other units. The 3rd Attack Platoon's current location is....]
Two telepathic messages arriving almost simultaneously, unexpectedly.
Crimson Knight.
And Cobalt Knight.
At the news that two 3rd rank corps commanders were heading towards Uijeongbu Arts Center.
The players at the Arts Center were thrown into chaos.
☆
And at that time.
Northern Gyeonggi Province, Yangju area.
The players who had subjugated the 3rd rank monster Ishimi were intoxicated with the sense of victory.
The 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Attack Platoons scattered throughout northern Gyeonggi Province had achieved victory that day as well.
The players went to sleep, celebrating that they would achieve another victory report tomorrow.
Right at that moment─.
─Bububububbbbbbbbb
As if to shatter the atmosphere that seemed like it would never change.
A spatial distortion containing enormous energy was created in the Yangju area.
The monster born from the spatial distortion was so huge it seemed like it would block out the night sky.
The thing reminiscent of a manta ray swung its tail and passed through the air.
─Divine Punishment
<Thunder God> Lee Do-jin.
He, who had woken up sensing the enormous energy, immediately launched lightning at it.
With a thunderous roar, light flashed.
The lightning struck the monster.
Bubuuubbbbbbbbb
The lightning clearly affected it.
But the damage wasn't great.
If Ishimi had high defense.
This monster seemed to have resistance to lightning.
And it didn't stop there─.
─Craaaack!!
It struck back with the lightning.
Though not comparable to the <Thunder God>.
Several streaks of lightning fell from the sky above the base.
Screams rang out from all over.
Lee Do-jin had to hurriedly block the lightning and then engage in battle with the monsters that swarmed in afterward.
───!!!
At that moment, it caused a ripple.
Immediately after, the surrounding area transformed.
"This is...."
Silla Clan Lord Kim Yu-jin.
She, who was commanding the 6th Attack Platoon, could realize what had happened.
"...A monster that creates dungeons?"
A ripple spread centered on it.
The area within the ripple turned bright red.
And the monsters within the area suddenly became stronger as if they had received power.
Of course, the world lines had been separated too.
It had created a red dungeon centered on itself.
"A monster that creates a mobile dungeon, did such a thing exist?"
A monster whose identity was unknown.
But seeing its ability, she realized that this monster was at least equivalent to a 3rd rank.
While the individual itself didn't seem particularly strong, the ability to create dungeons was extremely threatening to humanity.
If this thing appeared over Seoul and transformed Seoul into a red dungeon, it could easily pass for a 2nd rank.
Where did such a thing appear from?
Things were going so well....
Kim Yu-jin bit her lip.
As if to claim a fitting price for the victories the recapture team had achieved so far.
That monster was creating powerful monsters while even causing spatial distortions.
And then it passed by the base as if they weren't even worth noticing.
""""...."""
The red dungeon is moving.
They couldn't be at ease.
It was heading towards Uijeongbu.
Kim Yu-jin immediately shouted.
"Lee Do-jin!"
"Yes, Clan Lord!"
"The 6th Attack Platoon will head south, leaving minimal forces at the base! We can't let that thing rampage freely in Uijeongbu! Also, have the telepathists quickly contact the Arts Center and report its appearance!"
"The distance is too far, telepathy probably won't reach! We'll have to inform them through a communication platoon we can reach while heading south!"
"The mana conditions are too poor! It's difficult to send telepathy even to the 9th Communication Platoon which is closest, so we'll have to directly dispatch telepathists to that platoon!"
"Then do that! Now let's hurry and go subjugate that thing!"
She had a bad feeling.
She couldn't shake off the feeling that something had happened in Uijeongbu too.
With that, the 6th Attack Platoon players hurriedly began chasing after it.
☆
Someone's mana awakens it.
Extremely thick and dense mana.
The being sleeping inside the egg soon becomes interested in the owner of the mana.
Who are you?
The egg asks.
There is no answer heard.
Who are you?
Still, the egg keeps asking.
It asks the one outside the shell.
There is still no answer heard.
Instead, the egg listened to the heart.
Thump thump thump
It hears a heartbeat.
The egg listens to the heartbeat and begins to picture its master.
It reads the master's memories and emotions by reading the mana floating around it.
Yes, you are my master.
Finally, the egg comes to know about its master.
The being that only wishes to be born also hears another voice.
"Pipi pipi papa papa pupu pupu!!"
You'll see for yourself what kind of person our master is.
What you see from inside the egg and outside the egg will be very different.
A kind voice.
The egg responds.
It harbors vague expectations for the person said to be its master.
Meanwhile, it asks over and over again.
─What kind of person do you want to become?
Again, there is no answer heard.
But that's okay.
The egg tried to somehow read the master's heart to find the answer.
─What kind of person do you want to become?
What do you need?
I'll be born as you wish.
The egg continuously reads the master's heart and shapes itself into the desired form.
Status de energia semanal
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