Chapter 634: You’re not Kim Hyunsung’s Raid Group, Are You? (1)
I wasn’t just exaggerating.
I was certain. It was impossible to deal with Kim Hyunsung with their party. It was impossible unless they signed a contract with a high-ranking devil.
‘No. That can’t happen with just a contract.’
It was clear that it wouldn’t happen as long as the devil had taken over the continent. I wasn’t underestimating their party. That was just how strong Kim Hyunsung was.
A year ago, he split Donovan, one of the Four Heavenly Kings’ strongest members, in half. It was hard to imagine how strong he was right at that moment since he had been focusing on his training.
To be honest, I also hadn’t seen Kim Hyunsung recently be sincere. Everyone knew that Kim Hyunsung’s force couldn’t simply be evaluated with simple statistics.
He could be even stronger than I had told them, for all I knew.
If he prepared for a showdown with the strong-minded monsters of the outer gods, he could produce firepower that was at least close to the mythical level.
The problem was that most of the party members couldn’t even begin to follow Kim Hyunsung’s movements properly.
In the rear position, even shadows couldn’t be observed with ease.
In the case of Marien, a priest, there was a high possibility that she would die without knowing how she died. Wouldn’t it only be after her neck fell to the floor and found her body standing there that she would realize that she was dead?
The same was true of the archers and assassins.
The fight itself wasn’t decided, and the knight in charge of the party’s frontlines also had no agility and vision to protect the party members from Kim Hyunsung.
The only two that could keep up were Raphael and the hound. However, it didn’t mean that they could lead the fight because they could catch up with his movements and face his sword.
I wanted to encourage them that there was hope, and if they worked hard, they might’ve been able to do it someday. However, as of the moment, it was only right to deliver only the facts.
However, it must’ve been a big shock to them.
‘The atmosphere isn’t very good.’
As it was a time of high spirits, they must’ve felt discouraged when they faced reality.
‘But what can I do. That’s the truth…’
Since the atmosphere switched after the break, I was a little worried, but it was easy to proceed with the attack.
Rather, I was a little touched by the way he worked harder as if he was obsessed. It wasn’t common for me to be moved. It reminded me of Park Deokgu, who worked hard in the past.
‘Yeah, guys. You have to work hard. I raised you… So don’t lose your mind over this. It’s possible that you’ll become stronger. If you work really hard for about ten years, you might be able to do it. So cheer up.’
I could also say that it was an opportunity to take care of them in earnest.
Although it had already been calibrated once, I provided the kind of support that advised people to invest in efficient stats, advised them about their potential ability, or described items that they needed to supplement them. And although they remained in the dungeon, some replaced items after battles and some trained harder during breaks.
It was possible because the size of the dungeon was so large. The march was long, and the rest after the battle was frequent. They were even worried about having a food shortage.
However, as I entered the tomb’s most inner part, I began to feel more and more that the Boss Monster was near.
In fact, the archer, who was on the reconnaissance earlier, said that the end was just around the corner, and as a result, the atmosphere gradually escalated.
“Hyung.”
“Yes?”
“…”
“…”
“Nothing.”
Raphael kept talking and hesitating to see if there was anything I had to say, but he seemed to have grown one step further inside the dungeon.
As time went by, more and more people stayed up all night. They seemed to try to create a place for themselves, but they didn’t say anything decisive.
In the meantime, we encountered the Dungeon Boss. As I expected, it was a queen-type.
-How dare you invade my territory!
It was disgusting to see her threatening the expedition with her usual lines, but the people who had accumulated experience from the expedition showed quite a good performance without me having to order them.
Of course, I would shake my head if someone asked me if their performance was perfect, but at least it was the best they had shown so far.
It was well-matched and showed amazing growth. Therefore, wouldn’t it be the best result of the proposal?
BAAAAAAM!
“Please protect your backs. We need to protect the rear.”
“…”
“You don’t have to protect the rearguard, knight. Please stay near Marien.”
“…”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed just because you’re not in the frontlines. You just have to stick together as much as you can to prevent casualties. The wizard will always wait for your protection… As soon as you think you’re out of sight, chant the magic of protection, or you’ll lose.”
- You humans are not allowed here. You will be punished for disrupting my slumber.
When the queen with the giant sword moved quickly, the priest immediately released protective magic.
BOOOOOM!
There was a loud noise, but it wasn’t a big shock overall.
The hound Lee Ju-hyuk continued to follow the queen from beginning to end and kept her in check while the archer and the assassin helped the hound.
The knight never left the priest and the wizard, and Raphael coordinated the whole situation by becoming a bridge between those people. I briefly wondered if they were moving too slowly, but no one would disagree that they were currently in the best position.
Cho Hyejin was also surprised by their team play.
They looked like they’d figured out all the patterns. The party determined that that type of formation was the most appropriate.
While targeting and experiencing the dungeon, getting new items, and training, he decided that it was right for them. It was hard to say it was perfect. It was a little ambiguous to say because, in the end, it was Raphael’s decision.
Still, it certainly wasn’t a bad choice considering that it would develop further from there on out.
Raphael himself found the best place to fight.
I listed simple instructions because they seemed to have quite the ability to adapt swiftly. I could definitely see them getting more and more in shape.
‘This Coin is working! It’ll work no matter what!’
The first timeline’s heroes and warriors. It was a great pleasure to see them gradually settling down as a party.
One strange thing caught my eye at that time.
‘No way…’
The problem was that I could now see glimpses of Kim Hyunsung when the queen was using her sword.
‘No, you bastards?’
To be a little more precise, it was the party that resembled Kim Hyunsung. I didn’t know why, but it felt like they were preparing to face him.
It felt like they were simulating a battle with Kim Hyunsung while practicing against the sword-wielding queen.
I didn’t know if those pups had side effects from the useless talk we had a few days ago, but I could slowly picture them facing Kim Hyunsung in my head.
A knight that never left the priest’s side, a wizard who used offensive and protective magic, a hound that persisted in following and moving freely, the archer and assassin’s agility and arrows, and Raphael, who coordinated the party and somehow attacked at the same time.
‘You’re not going to… you’re not, are you? You’re not Kim Hyunsung’s Raid Group, are you?’
What I said was starting to bother me at that time.
Of course, they asked just for fun, but when I thought about it, my words probably had a lot of meaning for them.
‘No, sh*t, it can’t be. My precious children can’t be like that.’
The atmosphere of the party, which had been very subdued, was also being reexamined.
And the faces of the members, including Raphael, looked concerned.
‘My kids can’t do that.’
Doubts were already rising, but he was trying to control them. There was no clear circumstance and evidence.
‘That can’t be true. No way… our General Raphael…’
Sh*t, wasn’t that going to be ruined? Did I need to get rid of them all?
‘Why are you trying to get rid of the kids?’
That was a problem that made me dizzy.
That was because there was too much investment to let go of the Coin as it was.
‘Yeah, it hasn’t been decided yet. Well… I guess I overreacted. You’re not Kim Hyunsung’s raid party. I don’t think so. No way. No, it can’t be.’
“Our Raphael…’
The reason why I held onto the Holy Sword Coin to the end.
I promised to raise him properly, and my heart ached. I even gave him a high-priced private tutoring program.
The memories of when he begged Heera to tutor him personally passed by.
‘No.’
Raphael’s smile and tears had never been a lie. If I were going to antagonize their faction in the first place, I would’ve done so before since I had many opportunities to do that.
‘What’s wrong with Hyunsung? Why are they like this?’
Just in time, Raphael started hitting the Dungeon Boss.
The eyes of the filial son seemed to say that he’d grown to that extent, that he’d be my filial son from then on, that we’re done with my hard times.
The moment I saw his eyes, my head nodded. The useless misunderstanding was over at that point.
“Hyung!”
As I slowly walked out with a big smile to greet the person running in a good mood while calling me, but I immediately saw Raphael’s face biting his lips tightly.
“I’m…”
Even before he could finish his words, Park Li-ahn popped out of the dark and swung her twin swords, aiming for his neck.
“Sorry, Hyung.”
‘Don’t kill him. Sh*t.’
It was worthwhile to see her using her swords as if she would kill him right after she sensed something strange.
It seemed to show that Raphael had grown so much.
Park Li-ahn’s expression was stressed, while Raphael’s expression was relaxed.
His expression was calm even though his throat was about to be slit.
Raphael was thrown to the ground when he bumped into Park Li-ahn last time, but that time, Park Li-ahn was the one that was pinned against the floor.
BAAAAAM!
‘I told you not to use your weapons.’
He didn’t even respond to Cho Hyejin’s spear attack.
Just before the spear touched his neck, Cho Hyejin looked at me, and her movement stopped.
What she was actually looking at was Raphael, who was aiming the Holy Sword at my neck.
He had eight grey wings wide open.
He spoke to Cho Hyejin with a blank expression.
“I won’t kill you both.”
“You…”
“Call in Kim Hyunsung. Exactly a week later. Tell him if he doesn’t come here alone, I’ll kill him.’
“…”
“After a week, alone, he has to come here. Please tell him that clearly, Ms. Cho Hyejin.”
Heavy silence conquered the hall.
‘Why are you… Sh*t… you’re trying to get yourself killed, you punk…’
At that moment, the Holy Sword’s plummet was confirmed.