Chapter 29: Quest (2)
Monsters were flocking in from all directions and surrounded us.
The monsters weren’t so strong individually, but they were so large in numbers that I kept thinking we had unknowingly landed ourselves in a fatal situation. Now I understood why Kim Hyunsung had felt that the number of people to enter this place was insufficient before Jinho came along.
No matter how strong Kim Hyunsung and Park Deokgu were, they had not reached a level where just the two of them could fight off these many monsters. The expression on each member of Jung Jinho’s party had also gotten uglier after witnessing this.
It seemed to me that they were also thinking about whether they could survive this ordeal today. Only Jung Jinho didn’t seem that affected by the current situation.
‘I can survive this.’
If we could survive this, then it was enough. It would also be smarter to conserve my magic power to use later.
While constantly preparing spells with my mouth, I held my spear firmly with both hands.
“Deokgu.”
“I know.”
Park Deokgu, Kim Hyunsung, and Jung Jinho were going to be the first line of defense.
Park Deokgu was supposed to properly block the center of their front and protect the defensive formation as much as he could. The two groups that had different ideas, in the beginning, began to unite for the sake of their survival.
I was worried about being stabbed in the back by them right now, but Jinho’s guys were not stupid enough to attack us in this situation.
The same could be said for Kim Hyunsung.
At this moment, the only thing going through everyone’s minds was to survive the incoming onslaught. We all grabbed our weapons and prepared to ram the monsters that were running straight at us.
Bang!
“Kie-e-e-e-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee”
“These bastards!”
It was completely normal for two or three of them to come up at once. Park Deokgu was holding up his shield and was trying as best as he could to maintain his position and stop them.
We didn’t have to worry about aiming our attacks, because the targets were coming in from every direction. I could feel the fleshy texture from my spear, even though I didn’t want to. I hoped that Park Deokgu and Kim Hyunsung would not get tired from the repetitive attacks.
“Stay as close as possible! Gather up!”
“Brothers and sisters, stay strong! I don’t know what will happen if we fail.”
“Alright then, keep fighting!.”
“Kie-e-e-e-ee!”
It was hard to withstand the constant flow of monsters. It felt like we were going to get pushed against the iron gate.
Park Deokgu swung his shield with that huge body of his to create a space where we could move and take a breath. Kim Hyunsung and Jung Jinho were also slowly stabbing and pushing back the monsters that rushed to them with their weapons.
‘They’re strong.’
They were very strong.
Jung Jinho, who was blocking with the small shield and stabbing with his sword, was concerned about Jung Hayan and I, and was constantly looking back at us. Kim Hyunsung did the same.
They were worried about whether we would get hurt by the monsters.
‘There is nothing to worry about, kids.’
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!”
“Ahhhhhh!”
Jung Jinho’s lackeys were also attacking desperately. However, there was no room to aim properly from this distance.
We bit our lips tightly and tried our best to stop the monsters that were trying to aim for our throats. The blood of the monsters continued to splatter on our faces and our weapons. Body organs, such as intestines, fell to the floor and became slippery.
I would have frowned at this disgusting scene, but I could not spare the attention for that at the moment.
“Kie-e-e-e-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee!”
The annoying sounds of the monsters and the screams that erupted from fear merged into each other.
“Hey!”
Bang!
Whenever Deokgu swung his shield, the spectacular scene of a monster falling could be seen.
‘This pig is actually very good!’
His potential wasn’t that high, but Park Deokgu was really tough. It was a slightly different kind of strength from Kim Hyunsung and Jung Jinho, but the endurance ability that was in line of the 30s was so great that words could not describe it.
Some types of attacks that were thrown at him were simply absorbed by his body.
‘I underestimated him.’
I had judged him only by his talent up until now and ended up underestimating him.
Actually, it was Park Deokgu who appeared to be more threatening than even Jung Jinho and Kim Hyunsung. An overwhelming presence emanated from his huge body.
Although he did not have magical powers, his strength was truly remarkable. This shield soldier standing before me was not just a meaty shield.
He knew when to advance and attack, and when to retreat.
There was no sign of discomfort in his face, even though his body had endured countless attacks.
‘Is he even human?’
I thought about it without even knowing.
Of course, it was not that Park Deokgu was unafraid. He was scared, same as the first time he had gone hunting together with me.
Nevertheless, he did not run away. He did not hide behind me as he had in our first encounter with the monsters outside. He was not worried about attacking ahead or breaking formation. That way of thinking didn’t suit that muscle-filled brain of his.
It was just my guess, but it seemed that Park Deokgu didn’t want me or Jung Hayan to get hurt or die.
“Don’t fall, Hyung-nim! Don’t fall okay!”
“I’m still behind you, pig. Concentrate.”
“You have to survive, okay!”
“Alright!”
I could feel his concern just by seeing how he kept asking me about my health constantly.
‘Baby pig…’
What had me a little worried was that the monsters’ attacks were too concentrated towards Park Deokgu.
It didn’t look like he had any major wounds yet, but there were some big and small cuts.
This didn’t look very good when I thought about what was supposed to happen afterwards, other than the fight here.
It was exactly then that Hayan cast a spell.
“Wind bomb.”
Bang!
It popped out loud, accompanied with a deafening sound.
Some monsters were smashed into the ground and others on the ceiling due to the fierce wind, but it wasn’t that effective.
‘We have to save our strength…’
I had decided that Hayan and I should conserve our magical powers as much as possible. Of course, Hayan had more magical powers than me, but still, it was not possible to use magic indefinitely.
We couldn’t lose our strength before Jung Jinho’s group did. We had to minimize the consumption of our power while defending ourselves.
While I was thinking for a moment about what to say, a smile formed on my lips when I saw the battlefield.
‘Puh hah.’
Perhaps this was intended.
The good thing was that the place where Hayan’s magic fell, was where the monsters that Park Deokgu and Kim Hyunsung were blocking were located.
In other words, the left side blocked by Jung Jinho’s group did not receive the help of her magic. It looked like the burden was increasing on Jung Jinho’s party and others who were becoming the targets of the monsters.
I felt pity upon seeing these guys who were using all their power while blocking the monsters.
Compared to that, we had some breathing space for ourselves.
Thanks to Hayan’s magic, the number of monsters attacking us had greatly reduced, and even though it was a brief gap, it allowed us to take a short break.
‘Nice work, Hayan.’
Sometimes I felt like I wasn’t good enough, and that Hayan was way smarter than I thought.
Park Deokgu and Kim Hyunsung, who had become more relaxed, of course, had no intention of going to the left.
“We have to stay in line!”
It appeared that staying in line was not possible. As another horde of monsters started attacking from the left side.
“Let’s help them, Deokgu-ssi.”
“No, I don’t think we can. I am only alive because of you, Hayan-ssi.”
At this point, it was Jung Jinho who was the busiest. Jung Jinho could also use magic, but he wasn’t using it in front of his men as he wanted to hide the fact that he was a Battlemage.
Eventually, people from his party began screaming.
“Please help!”
“Help us, please!”
“Please, just use the same magic!”
They were hoping for Hayan to use her magic spell again.
Hayan was staring at me, but I shook my head quietly.
If Jung Jinho wanted, he could still protect all of them. They may get bitten on their arms or get other minor injuries, but that was manageable.
Yoo Seokwoo also screamed at Hayan.
“Hayan-ssi!”
“Alright, wait a second. Eh, I’m filling up my magic power…”
“Damn… Ahhhhhhhhh!”
In the meantime, a monster appeared out of nowhere and bit his arm.
Nevertheless, they did not stop fighting.
Why? Because they knew that they would die if they stopped. It was regrettable that I couldn’t laugh out loud, because things were going on so perfectly.
“I can’t hold on!”
The left lineup began to accumulate wounds one by one.
‘This is happening exactly how I wanted it to be.’
Jung Jinho was also beginning to sustain some injuries. No matter how strong he thought he was, this was a place that even Kim Hyunsung was reluctant to enter alone.
So, it was impossible for Jung Jinho to take care of everything on his own with these stats.
I shouted loudly.
“You can endure this! I know you can! Everyone!”
“Is it Kiyoung?”
“Just a little bit more…”
“Quickly help us!”
“You can hold on. You can definitely stop them! Please wait a little longer.”
I screamed as I swung my spear urgently at them, who were under too much pressure. The situation over there had already made it difficult for them to turn their heads and even reply to me.
“Ahhhhhh! Damn!”
Another guy’s leg was bitten. Thus, he was left with no choice but to fight the rest of the battle with a limp.
“Cast it! Quickly! We need magic!”
“It’s almost done!”
In fact, I thought about the magic that had already been cast a while ago, and how I could use such a spell only once, so I was still a little reluctant to help them.
The maximum number of magic spells I could cast was two. Three times was the limit at which I exhausted all my mana.
I had to help, but at the same time, I also had to put some burden on them. Whenever five humans gathered, there was at least one trash among them.
Perhaps I was going to be perceived as today’s trash.
“Fireball!”
Kwakwang!
“Kie-e-e-e-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee”
A huge fireball fell before the formation on the left.
There was a huge bang, leaving the left party stunned for a while.
Not only did it turn the monsters into flaming balls in an instant, but those who were hit by the fragments of the spell were also affected.
The power of the flame-based spell really was great.
As I had used up a lot of magical power, it would have been a little disappointing if it didn’t have that effect.
Jung Jinho’s group, who clearly saw the magic annihilate the monsters instantly, felt that they were fortunate. They had found some time to rest too.
However, the aftermath of the spell did not end there.
“Kie-e-e-e-ee!”
We all relaxed a bit.
Everything was perfect. The magic had finally given all of them some room to rest for a while.
Only
However, there was one problem: the fire was spreading to the rest of the crowded monsters. Monsters, burning in fire, entangled with each other, creating spectacular fireworks. They became maddened and kept rushing to the direction they were going in before, but with a little more madness this time.
“Kie-e-e-e-ee-ee-e-ee-ee!”
It was truly spectacular to see the group of monsters rushing to the group of Jung Jinho as balls of fire. I didn’t know for sure whether they were screaming with pain or roaring with joy.
‘Burn! You monsters!’
“Damn it!”
“I am so sorry! About what happened…” I had created monsters of a new kind. They had to deal with these new burning monsters now.
“Sorry again.”