Steel-Eating Player - Chapter 37
37. Rain falling on the waves – 4
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“······Yes, I’m dead.”
Saying that, a man in a fedora came down from the tree.
“both?”
Carol, the leader of the five female butchers leaning against the tree across the street and smoking a cigarette, asked back.
But somehow it was unnatural. The hand holding the cigarette was not hers.
She had her arms crossed, and a third hand sprouted from behind her back, holding a cigarette.
“Yang Hee-ju at Gate 2 is not dead, but she seems to have lost her mind.”
The five Butchers were able to connect with each other and sense their presence.
But for some reason, the connection between the two was cut off simultaneously.
“······.”
It was completely incomprehensible to them.
“Didn’t you say that Sangun wasn’t here right now?”
“you’re right. This is a fact confirmed before infiltration.”
“Then… is that Seo Eun-ha?”
“For now, there is nothing else to speculate about, is there?”
There were only two players in the 1st Battalion who could compete with the five Butchers.
Aside from Seo Eun-ha, a B-grade paladin who is
the daughter of the leader of the Holy Knights, Kim Kang-seok, a B-grade druid called Sangun of Namsan
, there were no other names that were great enough to be wary of.
“It’s okay, after we finish here, we can save the lives of the children we captured.”
“yes. “They don’t seem to have noticed Gate 3 yet, so I don’t think the plan will go awry.”
They were halfway up Namsan Mountain, overlooking Namsan Tower.
There was one additional gate open.
Purple lights were flickering between the lush trees.
“Hmm, maybe the Master anticipated this and increased the number to three?”
“I felt like they just meant to completely annihilate them. “There are things to find…”
Originally, it was planned to induce the creation of two gates here.
However, their master Baekjun Ki suddenly added one more.
At that time, a deep voice rang out from somewhere.
“······Hey Carol! Can I install it here?”
About 20 meters away, in a valley, a large man was standing carrying something.
Carol nodded and the large man began to tear down a nearby tree with his bare hands.
Wow! Wow!
It looked as easy as pulling up weeds.
After leveling the terrain by hand, he lowered the huge green monument he was carrying.
And then he slammed it into the ground.
Fu-buck-!
OK······.
Gooooooo—
– Caution! A ‘Gathering Point of Evil’ has been declared in the area!
* The ability of the dark series rises. (50%)
* Recovery of undead attributes increases. (50%)
* The number of monsters coming out of the gate increases. (100%)
The man grinned and shook his hands.
“I installed it! “It’s going well!”
There are many different types of items in this game, and some have strange effects. Such things are of no use to ‘humanity’ at all, and require careful handling.
Of course, the results will vary depending on the purpose of use…
“Now the zombies will crawl out and catch and eat all the Seoulites, right?”
The purpose of its use here did not seem so good.
Gulp – Gulp –
before they knew it, the third gate that was open behind them responded. It was a spurt.
Soon, knights in heavy armor began to walk out one by one.
Thump- thump- thump- thump-
The weight that shakes the earth…
However, there was one strange thing.
There was nothing inside the armor.
Literally, only the ‘armor’ was alive and moving.
At first glance, it looked like an enchanted armor called ‘Living Armor’.
When a wizard casts ‘control magic’, it moves on its own and protects the house… that kind of thing.
However, this was ‘Haunted Armor’, an armor possessed by demons, a product of ‘death magic’.
It was a fairly high-ranking undead-type monster.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-
“That’s cool. “Even a B-rank paladin and a good-looking woman wouldn’t be able to handle those things.”
Carol said with a smile.
Undead ‘Haunted Armor’ troops wearing steel armor lined up on the mountainside, and hordes of zombies crawled out behind them.
“Oh, and Oh Gang-muk! “I have a job for you!”
“huh?”
The large man who had installed the tombstone raised his head.
“Could you please come down and get rid of the military command post?”
“Why me? “Didn’t you make the kids do that?”
Carol sighed and cupped her forehead.
“There’s nothing I can do because we both suddenly lost connection.”
“Ah, did you both search? Ha, you idiots are bothering me…”
It was a rather cheap remark, but when a large man who was 2 meters tall and weighed over 250 kg said that, it was very cruel.
“There’s nothing we can do about it. It’s come to this. So, shall we try making some of the Holy Knights?”
“No, I said to destroy the command center, not the paladin.”
“Ah Okay. “It means doing both the job and the job.”
“Don’t let down your guard. “It’s strange that both Heo Young-tae and Yang Hee-ju suffered.”
“Why are you like this, Carol? I do not know? “Am I like them?”
Yes, even among the same vampires, there was a difference in level.
If the two vampires Heo Young-tae and Yang Hee-joo who were killed earlier were ‘low-level’, this man, Oh Kang-mook, was ‘middle-level’.
Although it was only one level difference, there was a huge difference between them that required ‘blood sucking’ hundreds of people.
Oh Kang-mook has sucked blood from 301 people so far.
He thought he would increase that number a little today.
***
The moment the totem crashed down somewhere on Namsan Mountain, a red warning message appeared in front of the eyes of all nearby players.
– caution! A ‘Gathering Point of Evil’ has been declared in the area!
* The ability of the dark series rises. (50%)
* Recovery of undead attributes increases. (50%)
* The number of monsters coming out of the gate increases. (100%)
“This is…”
Everyone in the underground command and control room stared into the air and swallowed.
“It is a totem.”
“It is a totem.”
Lee Hyun-wook and Seo Eun-ha said at the same time.
A totem was an installation item that had a magical effect on the area.
The type of totem installed this time was well explained in the warning message.
Everyone put on a look of despair.
But Lee Hyun-wook was smiling inside.
‘If it’s a totem… it’s an item with the Devil’s Medal embedded in it.’
After absorbing the ‘Devil’s Medal (Inferno)’ obtained by killing a kobold warlock the other day, he was able to acquire tremendous skills such as ‘Fire Breath’ and ‘Body Furnace’.
This time, the opportunity to get it came.
He smacked his lips involuntarily.
What kind will it be this time… I thought it might have something to do with vitality or control.
Hyunwook Lee actually expected things to turn out like this to some extent.
Youngtae Heo It was because a guy who shouldn’t have been here in the first place appeared.
That meant there might be a few more unexpected threats.
For example, ‘the third gate’…
‘But are you going to put a totem on it? He brings you something to eat.’
In Lee Hyun-wook’s opinion, it could not be anything other than good news.
Lee Hyun-wook looked at Seo Eun-ha.
“Platoon leader, that guy from earlier is not alone.”
Seo Eun-ha nodded at Lee Hyeon-wook’s words.
It was a car she was also suspicious of.
“This is also like organized terrorism. yes?”
“Yes, I think you should look at it that way.”
“······But is it possible to use monsters?”
Seo Eun-ha could not understand. Terrorism using the system…
If this phenomenon were known, the world would be turned upside down.
But that wasn’t what mattered right now.
“Whatever it is, we have to remove that totem right away. Otherwise, you won’t be able to handle it.”
“you’re right. We need to set up a search party right away.”
If the totem functioned and its effect continued, a huge number of monsters would soon come out of the gate and gather near the ‘evil gathering point’.
That meant the birth of the ‘legion’.
“Commander on duty, I will go find the totem immediately.”
At Seo Eun-ha’s words, Major Moon Tae-ho, the duty commander, nodded.
“How many people do you think the operation will need?”
“First of all, we need me, Sgt.
News of Choi Young-jun’s return has already reached here.
“Oh, and it just so happens that several of the 1st Company members are armed with sacred weapons.”
This time, Lee Hyun-wook said.
The former members of the special attack platoon who prepared sacred weapons were raised in preparation for times like this.
“okay? “Sang Sang-gun, please contact Captain Kwak Yong-jun right now.”
“yes!”
Major Moon Tae-ho immediately contacted Captain Kwak Yong-jun at the guard post and recruited the relevant personnel.
“······done. “They say their kids will arrive within 5 minutes.”
A ‘Totem Search Team’ of 23 people was quickly organized.
“Then we will leave right away.”
“Hu… Lieutenant Seo must succeed. All of our lives were at stake.”
“Yes, of course. See you later.”
It was then.
thud-!
There was a vibration somewhere and the fluorescent lights flickered.
“······.”
The command and control room, which had been running frantically, stopped for an instant.
It seemed like something big had occurred just upstairs.
“What just happened?”
thud-! thud-! thud-!
Another impact sound – but this time it wasn’t overhead.
I turned to the wall of their eyes.
It rang from the basement on the same floor.
“······.”
Next moment…
Cheolpuk-
“······huh?”
The officer’s embarrassed voice was heard.
“Over there…”
In the hallway outside the iron gate, the lower body wearing combat boots was lying naked.
The problem was that there was literally only the ‘lower body’.
It seemed to be the corpse of a guard in the code room.
Lee Hyun-wook and Seo Eun-ha made eye contact.
Sereung –
Seo Eun-ha pulled out her sword, and the sword came out from behind Lee Hyun-wook’s back.
The two people ran out first.
“······.”
A large man was standing in the darkness at the end of the hallway.
It looked like he was wearing something like a raincoat over a black suit.
He was holding a flail, a chain iron weight the size of a human head.
But the length of that chain was… it was really, really long.
“······.”
The two did not bother to ask who the assailant was.
Of course Lee Hyun-wook knew that the man was the same vampire Heo Young-tae he had met before, and Seo Eun-ha also noticed.
“······Who is it?”
However, Moon Tae-ho, who followed, had no choice but to ask.
But there was no answer.
He was just giggling as if he was excited about something.
Seo Eun-ha pulled down her shield and moved forward. I was prepared because if the flail held by that monster flew at me, all three of us would be crushed at the same time.
“Platoon leader, this is a plan by those who want to waste time.”
Lee Hyun-wook whispered.
“And in this narrow hallway, no matter how much you are the platoon leader, it will be difficult to finish quickly.”
“······.”
No, actually, I didn’t want to finish it quickly.
It was suicidal to confront an opponent of such strength in a confined space.
“I think the platoon leader should go first.”
“······what?”
“Please leave it to me this time too.”
“but······.”
“If you discover the totem too late, you won’t be able to protect anything.”
Seo Eun-ha thought very briefly and then nodded.
This time, his words were close to the correct answer.
“I’ll finish it soon and join you.”
“・・・・・Don’t die.”
Seo Eun-ha looked back at Moon Tae-ho.
“Commander on duty, I will go look for the totem. Here… please.”
Taeho Moon was embarrassed, but nodded silently.
Seo Eun-ha looked at Lee Hyun-wook once more and ran up the stairs right next to her.
“······.”
When the shield disappeared, the two people stood face to face with a man carrying a mace with their bare bodies.
The stranger chuckled again and took a step closer, moving his legs as thick as an old tree.
Thump –
When a person walks, it is not ‘jump’ but ‘thud’….
“Get out of the way. there! If you come any closer, I will kill you!”
Taeho Moon said that and raised both hands.
Still, he was a C-grade, tier 1 wizard.
Although his position as a regional magic controller was not that good at anti-human magic, he still thought that he was the one who had to deal with that strange man at this moment.
Boom –
But the gunman didn’t care and took a second step.
Ung –
A magic circle began to be drawn in Moon Tae-ho’s hands.
At that very moment, the gunman’s iron weight flew in as if it had been snapped.
Huh!
“what-.”
Oops-billion!
Moon Tae-ho did not react.
In a split-second, Lee Hyun-wook exerted control over the metal at the end of the flail, and the iron weight bent very slightly, hitting Tae-ho Moon’s left shoulder instead of his head.
However, with just that, Moon Tae-ho’s body floated up and crashed into the wall behind him.
Thump-
······I felt like I had fainted.
‘The vampire brown bear Oh Gang-muk also has tremendous strength.’
Hyunwook Lee recognized him.
That iron weight was also made of metal, but it seemed difficult to control.
It wasn’t some magical effect that interfered with control, like the queen spider’s shell or the gnoll Old Alpha Male’s kukri. He literally destroyed Lee Hyun-wook’s control with tremendous force.
Even so, when I just exploded it with ‘crushing’, it seemed like the iron weight had been compressed as much as possible through magical engineering and had an enormous density. In other words, it had a very large mass and required considerable mana to ‘break’ it.
‘I can’t run out of mana just to explode that one.’
Lee Hyun-wook came up with another strategy.
“Please take care of the duty commander there.”
“ah? ah! yes!”
At Lee Hyun-wook’s words, a situation soldier rushed out and dragged the fainting Major Moon Tae-ho inside.
“…are you still going to fight me after seeing that just now?”
“······.”
“Are you really brave?”
Oh Kang-muk said that and approached.
“And you just touched the tip of my weapon? Right?”
It was clear that Lee Hyeon-wook had a unique sense of control that he could immediately sense the control he had over metal.
“You are quick-witted. Thanks for noticing.”
“Are you polite and very commendable? “I think I should give this guy some presents?”
Oh Kang-muk chuckled as he said that.
Speaking of gifts, why are all vampires so perverted?
With that in mind, Lee Hyun-wook pulled out the Cloud Sword and used the Water Fog skill.
Fu-u-u-u-u-
A large amount of steam came out from the tip of the sword.
The narrow hallway quickly turned hazy.
“Oh, you want to use a smoke screen?”
The last scene of him lifting the iron weight was completely obscured.
However, Lee Hyun-wook was able to know the location of the iron weight.
He sent out 13 iron balls and a pale note, and at the same time –
boom!
He kicked off the ground and ran forward.
Burr-burr-burr-burr-burr-
I heard the sound of something, perhaps iron balls, hitting each other in succession.
As I broke through the steam, I saw Oh Kang-mook raising his left hand to cover his head.
Both the iron ball and the pale note were blocked.
Immediately after, the iron weight of his right hand moved.
Huh-huh-
that heavy piece of iron was shot towards Lee Hyun-wook’s head.
Lee Hyun-wook laid back and slid across the wet floor.
In that way, he avoided the iron weight, slipped between Oh Gang-muk’s legs, and fired KG19.
Char-evil!
“K-Aak!”
Lee Hyun-wook passed by the guy’s crotch, got up, and ran in the opposite direction.
Then, using his metal control, he opened all four warehouse doors on both sides of the hallway at once.
Clap- Clap- Clap- Clap- Clap- Clap- At that very moment
the door opened into the hallway,
the guy threw a clap.
Kwa-gwa-gwang-!
Four door panels were crushed like cardboard.
Still, with a momentary wit, I was able to block the iron weight attack once.
“Uuuh… Stand right there! Are you running away?”
In the meantime, Lee Hyun-wook reached the end of the hallway.
That place…was a dead end road.
Oh Kang-mook tore off the dented warehouse door and stomped over.
Cheeeeee…
Smoke was rising from between his legs.
The guy let out a growl and took out a gourd.
As he drank it, black smoke rose from his mouth and the smoke between his crotches stopped.
Surprisingly, the wound caused by the holy weapon was recovered at once.
‘Death Potion······.’
It was a recovery potion made from human souls made with death magic.
Anyone could not drink it, and when ‘beast-type’ or ‘undead-type’ drank it, the recovery power rose dramatically. Even if it was a wound with divine power, it was to recover.
“Hehe… Kid, so it looks like there’s no way out now. Is this all?”
Oh Kang-mook’s face twisted in a stern way.
However, Lee Hyun-wook smiled.
Oh Kang-mook tilted his head at that expression that did not suit the situation at all.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I’m sorry, but you have to find a way out, not me.”
Lee Hyun-wook, who was saying that, was now standing with his back to a huge iron door.
It was a dark green iron door that was thicker than any other door in the battalion.
– 3rd Port Horse Brigade 1st Battalion Armory: Restricted access area
slammed –
The iron door began to open left and right on its own.
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-
A cold wind flowed from inside.
Unlike the natural wind, the smell of a warehouse full of musty energy…
“huh?”
The lights were off, but Oh Kang-mook’s eyes pierced through the darkness.
There was a very deep hole in the center of the armory.
It was a very large passage staircase leading down one floor.
It was then.
Gu-gu-gu-gu-gu-
A vibration began to sound from beneath my feet.
“what······.”
Oh Kang-mook felt ominous and stopped his steps.
At that moment, something was fired from inside the armory.
Whoosh –
that was a spear.
Oh Kang-mook easily dodged the attack by slightly pulling back his shoulder.
“What the fuck are you doing? It’s just a joke…”
He couldn’t finish talking.
Because I immediately felt something was wrong.
Soon-
sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-!
The sound of a harsh wind filled the hallway, and dozens of metal weapons of all kinds began pouring out from the darkness one floor below, like a pack of animals.
“Fuck! what!”
They naturally passed by Lee Hyun-wook and pointed their heads toward Oh Kang-muk.
Sigh! Sigh! Sigh! Sigh! Sigh! Sigh!
Sharp metal began to slam all over his body.
“Ugh! Ugh! shit!”
Oh Kang-muk covered his head and took a step back without any time to counterattack.
But I felt my body getting heavier and heavier.
It was not that he lost his strength, but that it was due to the weight of the metal weapon lodged all over his body.
Sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-!
“What is this- ugh!”
It was as if hundreds of people were shooting arrows and javelins all at once.
Or, I felt like I was being swept away by a huge current and I couldn’t control my body.
It took an instant for his body to change into that of a hedgehog.
Lee Hyeon-wook walked slowly toward that guy.
‘If I’m in front of the armory, my abilities can be at their best.’
The weight Lee Hyun-wook could control was clearly defined.
Accordingly, the number of weapons that can be moved at once was also limited.
But if you shoot it like this, and shoot it again, and shoot it again…
‘It may seem infinite.’
Once the metal accelerates, it flies and gets stuck on its own, even if you don’t ‘control’ it.
In other words, endless attacks are possible as long as mana allows and as long as there are enough weapons.
The reason they gained control of the armory was to use so many weapons.
But using the arsenal itself was on a different level.
‘A strategy that was possible because he came all the way here himself… I was lucky.’
Of course, even if you do this, Oh Kang-muk will not die.
“Uh-uh! Ugh-uh!”
The finish had to be built in a different way.
Lee Hyun-wook walked to Oh Kang-mook amidst the flow of metal weapons.
I extended my left hand towards him.
At that moment, a spear shot out from his wrist and shot in a straight line.
Puff-
“-Pfft!”
It hit Oh Kang-mook’s left chest.
Unlike when hit by another weapon, the large body shook for a moment.
The name of the spear was ‘Spear of Achilles.’ A
hero-grade spear with an irreversible effect pierced Oh Gang-muk’s chest and heart.
“······If you want to recover from that, try it.”