Steel-Eating Player - Chapter 112

Episode 112 [ Jeju Island, Phaethon Raid – 4 ]

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Lee Hyun-wook was walking through the red wind.

The ground he stepped on was seething, and the closer he got to the center, the more swampy his feet became. Additionally, the floor gradually formed a downward slope, and the terrain was melted away by the circular ‘flare shield’.

Qua—ah—ah—ah——

In that heat storm, he couldn’t even breathe. This was because everything in the area was burning and boiling, and all oxygen was burned up.

‘If it weren’t for the effect of Achilles’ armor set, I couldn’t have lasted a few seconds.’

Lee Hyun-wook moved forward as quickly as possible.

– Achilles’ armor set effect (2/4) remaining time: 18 seconds

I could only last like this for 18 seconds.

‘But even this is not invincible.’

Like the legend of the hero named Achilles, the effectiveness of this weapon also has a flaw. It was obvious, but Achilles’ tendon could not be protected.

Therefore, he focused all his efforts on the ‘Achilles tendon’, but even this had its limitations. The enormous heat was melting the steel painting.

‘We have to get to the center quickly!’

Soon, a slightly lighter red oscillating needle appeared in front.

‘There it is!’

Lee Hyun-wook threw his body there.

yes–

The harsh fever disappeared and a quiet land appeared.

This is the center of the Flare Shield… It was as peaceful as the eye of a typhoon.

There was still no oxygen, but I was still able to survive.

‘It’s over there.’

Phaethon, the flame giant, was crouching there, and heat could be seen gathering and condensing in his chest. This is the preparation process for the three-stage chloride storm.

It must have noticed Lee Hyun-wook’s intrusion, and it slowly opened its eyes.

“You look like you want to burn to death for daring to come in here….”

Even though I didn’t open my mouth, that voice entered my head.

This was a setting to exaggerate the divine presence.

At the same time, a pillar of fire came down from the ceiling—the flare shield.

But Lee Hyun-wook did not avoid it.

Qua—ah—ang——!

“Still invincible.”

– Achilles’ armor set effect (2/4) remaining time: 3 seconds

He fired the Mjolnir engraved on Lee Hyun-wook’s right arm towards the summoner.

Zeng— The guy’s head shook violently with a sound.

‘Okay, the guy’s defense has been greatly reduced now.’

The previous attack had already devastated them and caused good damage.

He summoned the shotgun ‘Black Rhino’ from the engraving on his left arm, then stepped forward aiming at Phaethon’s head and pulled the trigger one after another.

Kwa—ang——! Kwa—ang——!

It’s a series of shocks that even world boss monsters can’t withstand. With each blow, a piece of his skin falls off.

“How dare… how dare… how dare…”

Phaeton Lee Hyun-wook, who was repeating the same words as if he had made an error, did not stop and poured out all his cells, smashing every part of Phaeton’s head.

Kwa—ang——! Kwa—ang——!

Soon the rotation of the flare shield began to slow down…

Woah-ah-ah-ah…

Soon it dissipates like mere smoke and scatters here and there.

– [Chloride Storm: Stage 3] occurring in the area will be cancelled.

“…done.”

With this, at least we succeeded in ‘cancelling’ the skill.

At that very moment, someone flew through the dispersing flare shield.

“Yes, I was waiting!”

P—b———!

Han Tae-san flew in and landed a flying knee kick on Phaethon’s forehead. The skin that had been cracked by the Black Rhino shot cracks open.

“This time, I’ll really put an end to it—!”

Blue energy began to flow from both of Han Taesan’s hands.

“Sigh!”

When he thrust both fists at the same time, the two streams of energy intertwined and curved like a dragon, covering and crushing Phaethon’s whole body.

Kwa—ga—ga—ga——!

“Go go go go I dare you…”

Now the end of Phaeton had come, when he was starting to become very reticent.

“But, Mr. Taesan Han, be careful about what’s above your head.”

“…what? What is it again this time—!”

Han Taesan nervously asked back at Lee Hyun-wook’s words. Until now, every time Lee Hyun-wook spoke to me, something strange happened…

Fuuuuuu——!

It was the same this time too.

A whistling sound is heard from the sky far away and gets closer.

That was the great sword Mogley.

Blah blah blah!

The tip of Moglei’s sword plunges into the crack in Lee Hyun-wook’s forehead that Han Taesan split open, and magma pours down.

‘Shockwave—’

T-uh-uh——!

However, as it was a world boss monster, his entire head was not blown off, and magma flowed out from cracks all over his body as if congestion had burst.

“You bastard, you’re trying to suck up the last contribution again——!”

Not to be outdone, Han Tae-san started throwing punch after punch.

“I won’t lose this time!”

Bu—bur—bur—bur—bur——!

A punch like a machine gun baptizes Phaethon’s body into pieces like clay.

“dare….”

With those words, the flame giant Phaethon collapses like a sand castle.

In the end, when only the head was left, Han Tae-san threw a downward strike.

P—billion——!

– congratulations! The world boss monster ‘Phaeton the Flame Giant’ has been defeated!

* Rewards for the [Sudden Event] are ‘paid differentially’ depending on contribution.

“after…….”

Han Tae-san took a breath and looked at the system message that appeared before his eyes.

– congratulations! Lucky rewards are given. (2nd place)

“…….”

He gritted his teeth in silence.

This time, second place… I knew without asking who the first place was.

‘Lee Hyun-wook….’

This was actually a natural result.

Although the two inflicted similar damage to the boss monster, it was Lee Hyun-wook who completely wiped out the army of death on the runway in front of him.

Meanwhile, Hyunwook Lee checked the item he received as the first place reward.

Total 2

One was a red crystal and the other was a gold card.

– Obtained a fragment of the sun (legendary).

– Obtained the trait Bloom (Special).

‘Fragment of the sun… This is a legendary grade material.’

It is an item with similar properties to the [Salamander’s Orb] that I obtained in a bet with Shinjiro Kodo some time ago, so it was effective to make it out of an orb.

‘In this way, you can attach fire attribute skills to two items.’

I haven’t used [Salamander’s Orb] on Moglai yet… but since this is a legendary grade weapon, it made sense to use it on a legendary grade weapon.

‘Hmm, does this apply to Mjolnir?’

It already has electric properties, so can it contain the power of the sun?

Since it was an area that Hyunwook Lee was unfamiliar with, he felt like he should give it a try.

But this wasn’t the only reward.

The hidden quest reward I received because I had Helios’ blessing arrived with it, and it was also a legendary item.

– Obtained the Sun Chariot Core (Legendary).

‘With this, we can build another proper airship.’

While Lee Hyun-wook was so happy, Han Tae-san approached.

“Lee Hyun-wook, you bastard….”

“Thanks to Han Tae-san, everything went as planned. Thank you for your hard work.”

“…What? Don’t be ridiculous. Even if you weren’t there, I would have finished it alone.”

“Well, that may be true, but… it’s not like I didn’t exist.”

Yes, now it was a situation where it could not be claimed as still as before.

If there had been more time, Hantaesan would have withstood the storm of fire and captured Phaethon. However, other players would not have been able to endure it and would have been sacrificed… Lee Hyun-wook was definitely the playmaker in this strategy.

“Hey, this time I used a lot of strange tricks to create an advantageous situation for you, but next time… try to be fair and square.”

He couldn’t shake his pride and started making such childish excuses.

“Well, I’m not playing, I’m raiding.”

“What? This bastard is now—”

“…using everything that can be mobilized is a raid.”

“Who wants to teach whom now—ugh!”

He stopped talking and touched his forehead due to a sudden headache.

But that was then.

Wooooow——

Freedwen, which was floating in the sky, began to quickly lower its altitude, and at the same time, Yeo Sang-min’s voice came out from Lee Hyun-wook’s Mana Messenger.

– Chick— Master! There is news that Laputa is under attack!

‘Ha, as expected…’

He anticipated this situation and prepared for it.

‘Still, we have to go back as quickly as possible.’

They had planned and prepared their troops there, so no matter how much protection they had put in place, it was impossible for them to return home leisurely.

“Um… Han Taesan, can I ask you one favor?”

“What? That’s noise again. Now whenever you open your mouth, I get on my nerves, shit—”

“I know that Mr. Han Tae-san doesn’t like wasting time on closed training sessions like this. If you do me a favor, he will take you to Seoul quickly.”

Before going to attack Laputa’s trespassers, I planned to take the best weapon with me.

***

“…….”

In an underground parking lot, Gibaek Jun was leaning against the seat of his car with his eyes closed.

He squirmed as a line of blood sprouted on his temple.

“Fuck…”

He cursed softly and opened his eyes.

“So, it’s been 15 minutes since you entered Laputa and you haven’t heard from me?”

“…Yes, honestly, I think this should be considered a failure.”

The man in the front passenger seat said.

According to the original plan, the werewolf commandos should have infiltrated Laputa by now and entered Laputa through the two-way portal opened.

But now, let alone the two-way portal being opened, there was no contact.

“Um… Master, how can you just leave this land?”

“No, I’ve come this far, but where can I go with my bare hands?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“…From now on, we will use all means at our disposal to penetrate head-on.”

He said that and looked out the window.

A truck parked nearby was full of black orcs.

“Yes, I understand. Shall we mobilize the hostages we prepared in advance?”

“Yes, prepare for that too. If you have that, the situation will be advantageous.”

Soon the underground parking lot door opened and six trucks lined up.

***

After Seo Eun-ha ordered her soldiers to evacuate citizens and blockade the area, she stood under the vines and waited for werewolves to fall from the sky.

Ken——!

They were unconscious from the shock of the fall. Even so, since they were quite dangerous beings, she took the initiative and dealt with them one by one.

Sigh!

“Ha—this is the 14th…”

There were more than 40 werewolves that climbed up the vines.

This meant that the rest had finally arrived in Laputa.

“I think there’s someone up there too…”

Currently, no information has been released regarding Laputa. The only information was that the Steel Fleet launched there a few days ago.

‘I’m sure Lee Hyun-wook is involved this time too.’

Hyunwook Lee Now, it feels like I’m in a far different world… Ever since I got to know that man, every incident had his name in it.

-Chik—Platoon leader, a city bus is approaching.

“…city bus? Why does something like that come here?”

– There are civilians on board… Damn, they won’t listen to the order to stop!

Seo Eun-ha grabbed the shield that had been placed on the ground and went out to the road.

Woooooo——!

I saw a city bus approaching on the four-lane road in front.

“-stop!”

Despite warnings through loudspeakers several times, the speed did not slow down.

“Uh oh!”

Just before crashing into the steel barricade.

Kiiiiii——!

Only then did I brake suddenly, just in the nick of time.

“No what?”

Seo Eun-ha looked inside through binoculars.

‘…There are still citizens inside, right?’

Fear was evident on their faces.

‘Damn hostage.’

She had a hunch.

Soon after, six vehicles of unknown origin lined up behind her.

It was an inconsistent combination of sedan, SUV, and delivery truck.

But the beings that came down from there…

uh! “It’s Black Orc!”

There were a total of 21 black orcs and 14 players.

But humanity is standing side by side with monsters…

This scene was definitely something that would turn the world upside down.

even….

“Platoon leader, that man over there is Ki Baekjun, the representative of Taesan Guild.”

Seo Eun-ha’s eyebrows twitched at Sergeant Kang Ik-jun’s report.

“what?”

“It’s towards the second SUV over there.”

Ki Baekjun, wearing a white suit, was indeed standing there.

‘what? ‘Why is the Taesan guild there?’

The Taesan guild had been implicated in various corruptions for some time, but even so, the sight of them standing together with the Black Orcs was extremely shocking.

It was then.

“—Hey Ki Baekjun! “I knew you would be here!”

An unfamiliar voice rang from somewhere.

“When your car went into Gangwon-do, I thought you pulled a trick, man!”

Several figures emerge from the shadow of a building.

“So, hiding in a cave in shame isn’t something you can do, right?”

They were wearing black clothes and black masks.

“Rather than hiding like a rat, the proud head of the Taesan guild, wouldn’t it be better for you to just reveal that I am a traitorous terrorist like Black Orc and Brother Brother? Arrest me! You idiot… You were lost today.”

The man took off his black mask while spewing out all kinds of foul language.

‘That person is Oh Gyeong-pyo, the assistant master of the [Hyeonmu] Guild, right?’

He was the creative magician Oh Gyeong-pyo, ranked 14th in the Korean player rankings.

However, he was famous for having a bad relationship with AMT.

In other words, he was one of the people who was uncomfortable in many ways in this situation.

“…Mr. Oh Kyung-pyo? Why are you here?”

He approached Seo Eun-ha, held out something and whispered.

“I shouldn’t reveal something like this, but I am a black agent for the government.”

It was an AMT ID card and it listed the rank of lieutenant colonel.

“Uh… is this real?”

“Would you check that later and focus on that for now, Lieutenant Seo?”

“ah….”

Seo Eun-ha was confused as to how this situation was going.

At that time, Ki Baek Jun opened his mouth.

“Listen to everything carefully. I’m only warning you once.”

He raised his head, blood forming in his eyes.

I could see Laputa up there.

“Get out of my sight right now… or else…”

At that moment, a left tentacle-like thing sprouted from his shoulder—

Sigh!

It went through the window of a nearby city bus and then pierced the nape of a young man’s neck.

“hey! “You crazy bastard, what are you doing!”

“I just told you to get out of the way! “You bastards!”

Deep—!

While shouts were heard from both sides, another sacrifice was made.

Before I knew it, the two left windows of the city bus were turning red.

Because this was an unexpected and indiscriminate murder, we could not respond.

“Kyaaa——”

“Please save me!”

Then Seo Eun-ha and Oh Gyeong-pyo looked at each other with devastated expressions.

“…Whatever happens, you have to step back first.”

“Ha, I guess I should do this….”

The AMT soldiers had no choice but to hesitate and retreat.

Ki Baek-jun’s side began to approach slowly at that distance.

“And please, it would be best not to try something stupid like sniping. You wouldn’t be able to tell who was a citizen and a hostage on that bus, would you?”

There were about twenty people on the city bus. However, looking at what Ki Baek-jun just mentioned, it seemed like Ki Baek-jun’s subordinates were hidden inside.

Jerk— Jerk—

If things continued like this, I had no choice but to listen to their intentions.

“…Sergeant Kang, can you hear me?”

Seo Eun-ha whispered just enough for Kang Ik-jun, who was standing behind her, to hear.

“Yes, it’s right behind you.”

“Can you electrocute the citizens inside there enough so that they don’t die?”

At those words, Kang Ikjun let out a small sigh.

“…Are you going to make me take off my clothes and put me in irons?”

“I heard that Lee Hyun-wook did a good job when rescuing the Gugwang Group’s daughter?”

“Ha, is it that bastard again? Ha… I understand first. Let’s signal.”

He lowered the muzzle of the Barrett M82A1 he was holding to the floor.

Jerk—

Then he slowly placed his index finger on the trigger.

Jerk—

Then, when you take a step back—

“…now.”

At the signal, he pulled the trigger with the muzzle pointed toward the floor.

At that moment, a small magic circle formed above his head.

He was a sniper, but his original characteristic was that of a magician and a ‘magic bullet shooter.’

Ta—ang——!

The gunshot bullets were fired not from the muzzle but from the magic circle, and at the same time, Seo Eun-ha shot ‘Holy Light’ towards Ki Baek-jun’s face.

“Ugh!”

The hit guy frowned and the tentacles on his shoulders waved in the air.

Meanwhile, a 50-caliber bullet penetrated the front window of the bus, and the enchanted electric current magic was activated—blue electricity spread out in all directions.

Hold it——!

Seo Eun-ha kicked off the floor and went forward. He closed the distance with a speed that belied that he was wearing heavy full-plate armor, and leapt off the ground about a dozen meters away from the city bus.

bang-!

She smashed the front window of the city bus, rolled on the floor, and then picked herself up. She then quickly circled around and looked at the outfits of the electrocuted passengers. She picked out the one hiding her weapon.

‘found!’

A total of three people, Seo Eun-ha, struck them in the chin one by one, knocking them out.

It all happened in a split second.

And it was also the starting point of a full-scale battle.

“Damn it! Just hit it! Kill all those bastards and go up to Laputa!”

Soon the two sides clashed indiscriminately.

AMT snipers waiting everywhere took action.

Also, Black Orc assassins targeting them appeared.

“—The 1st Company is in defensive formation!”

bang! bang! pop! bang!

All kinds of magic glowed brightly on the main street in front of Seoul Station, blurring my vision. Inside, the metal collided and made a loud noise, and blood spurted out along with screams from time to time, staining the asphalt sticky.

“Kwaaaa—”

“Damn medic! Get your heels here… oops!”

And in such a melee, it was difficult to withstand the Black Orc elite troops.

The troops of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Port Horse Brigade began to be pushed back helplessly.

“Hey! Ki Baekjun, you fucking bastard! Come here!”

Meanwhile, Oh Gyeong-pyo pulled out his spear and rushed at Ki Baek-jun.

No matter how much our troops were pushed back, all we had to do was catch Ki Baek-jun.

“Hey! No matter how high your ranking is, you know it’s not good for me, right?”

Ki Baek-jun’s ranking was 10th, and Oh Gyeong-pyo’s ranking was 14th. If you look at it at face value, Ki Baek-jun seemed like a level above, but in a 1-on-1 match, Oh Gyeong-pyo with the ‘Warrior: Spear Specialization’ trait had an overwhelming advantage over Ki Baek-jun with the ‘Summoner’ trait.

But Ki Baekjun did not back down.

“Okay… come here. I gave it my all today.”

Ki Baek Jun muttered that and took out his dagger and cut his own wrist.

The blood scattered like that moved on its own and created a magic circle on the floor.

Tsutsutsutsu——

A huge mouth protruded from inside.

“……huh?”

Oh Gyeong-pyo had no choice but to stop at that strange sight.

Then its mouth opened wide and bit Ki Baekjun’s left arm.

Damn———!

“Kwaaaa——!”

– caution! The ‘Demon Summoning Ritual’ begins in the area.

“You bastard… you even touched the power of the devil?”

Ki Baekjun has the ‘Summoner’ trait and summons various creatures to fight.

However, there was one fact that was not known to the public… By making a contract with the devil, he obtained permission to use the ‘demon cage’, which was infested with magic beasts at the level of high-ranking boss monsters, and was able to summon the devil.

However, summoning a demonic beast required a great price.

For example, it meant offering a part of one’s body to the devil.

The blood pouring out from Ki Baekjun’s severed arm created a portal.

And a strange beast crawled out from within.

– caution! The demonic beast ‘Cerberus’ has appeared.

Cerberus, the three-headed giant beast and gatekeeper of hell…

Those six red eyes were directed towards Oh Gyeong-pyo.

“……huh?”

Oh Gyeong-pyo hesitated and retreated from the overwhelming majesty.

It revealed its blade-like teeth, revealing deep hostility, and the moment Oh Gyeong-pyo slowly adjusted his spear and held it – three snouts flew out.

Wow! Wow! Wow!

“Phew! What’s so fast—”

Oh Gyeong-pyo barely managed to avoid three teeth coming from three directions.

But he could not avoid his front foot flying from the side.

Sigh——!

After being hit properly, he flew about ten meters and landed in a truck.

“Pfft! This crazy bastard is summoning all sorts of things…”

Oh Gyeong-pyo had been looking forward to the moment of catching Ki Baek-jun and knew all the creatures he was dealing with, but he never expected such a magical beast.

Before I knew it, its teeth were right in front of me.

Wow! Wow! Wow!

‘This is too fast!’

P—b———!

This time he also dodged the three spouts, but was struck by his front paw.

He quickly rolled to the side and dodged the flying teeth again.

Kwasik!

The asphalt where he had just been lying was dented like a cake.

‘shit! I’m not going to deal with this alone! ‘I’m at least level 110!’

Above level 100, it was a high-level boss monster that was difficult to deal with alone, no matter how strong the player was. That’s what he felt like about this monster.

But that was then.

Gerberos, who was chasing Oh Gyeong-pyo, stopped and raised his whale with his two heads. Then he started barking fiercely as if he had found something.

Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!

The very next moment—

Kwa—ang——!

A bronze giant fell vertically and crushed Cerberus.

Then he started cutting off its neck with four chainsaws.

Quadddd——!

With a bang, the first head was cut off in an instant.

Gaegang—Kkegaeng—Kkegaeng—Kkegaeng—!

The remaining two heads howled sadly and ran away with their tails curled.

“I heard that in this country, leashes are required in public places. From now on, I think I only need two leashes, so please follow them even if it’s difficult!”

As someone said that, someone appeared on top of the bronze giant.

That was Park Jun-mo.

He was holding something heavy.

It was [Rain God’s Mace].

“—everyone! Don’t move!”

And he shot.

Pa—ja—ja—ja—ja——!

At first glance, bundles of blue electricity appear to have been fired indiscriminately—

However, Park Jun-mo’s eyes glowed blue and precision guidance began.