Chapter 122 : Defensive Stronghold
Chapter 122: Defensive Stronghold
Scavengers. Or Cleaners.
There were various names used to refer to these creatures, but they all had one thing in common: they were best avoided whenever possible.
Kagagak! Gagagak!
To compare them to something from modern times, they were like army ants.
They moved in enormous numbers, devouring everything in their path.
“We’ll have to leave the rest of our conversation for another time.”
Go Yongjin immediately looked toward the direction the sound was coming from.
“Aren’t you coming with us?”
“We’re pulling out. Sorry to say this, but we calculated that it wouldn’t matter even if we abandoned Purgatory.”
That meant they had found another way to establish ties with the Hestia Empire.
Yohan was curious what that method was, but his side had already invested far too much into this Raid.
“Then I guess this is where we part ways. The information you gave me was a big help.”
“If you’re grateful, don’t die. Make sure you survive.”
“Well. I’ll try.”
He left out the part about having a drink together if they met again.
He preferred to avoid raising death flags whenever possible.
Tat!
Yohan immediately launched himself forward.
By the time he returned to the stronghold, the other Hunters had already noticed the abnormality.
Kukukukuku!
The earth trembled.
Everything in the surrounding area shook.
The white cloud that had been visible far in the distance had already approached to within roughly 2km.
Fast.
Damn fast.
It went without saying, but that wasn’t an ordinary cloud.
It was a legion composed of countless monsters.
Each was barely 5cm in size.
Their entire bodies were pure white. They had neither eyes nor noses.
All they possessed was a mouth filled entirely with razor-sharp teeth.
No living creature remained in the wake of the white storm.
That was because these creatures never wasted so much as a single scrap of flesh.
And.
Boom!
Humanoid monsters measuring 5m tall could be seen among the white clouds.
All the flesh and blood gathered by the Scavengers was for them.
‘Devourers’.
They possessed the [Wide-Area Detection] Trait, and their innate specs were absurdly overpowered as well.
‘Tsk.’
Normally, these were creatures one almost never encountered before Episode (10). His luck was seriously fucking awful.
He had been feeling it more and more lately, but this Run seemed particularly determined to screw him over.
“Trying to stop them here… would be impossible, right?”
Yuki looked at the house the Spirit Beasts had built.
Why was she asking something so obvious?
This was only a temporary stronghold built to deal with moderately dangerous enemies. Against disaster-class creatures like those, it wouldn’t last even five minutes.
“When the Status Window first appeared. It mentioned a place called a Defensive Stronghold.”
‘Defensive Stronghold’.
A benefit provided by the system due to the overwhelmingly unfavorable circumstances.
In practice, it was the only place where they could avoid the disaster with the greatest degree of safety.
The problem was….
‘There’s a limit on how many people can enter.’
The twenty people here could easily fit.
Even the smallest Defensive Strongholds usually accommodated fifty people.
But what if they weren’t the only ones there?
Then they might have to make a rather difficult decision.
“Do you know where it is?”
Lee Siwoo asked with a glimmer of hope.
“While everyone was asleep, I had my summons narrow down its approximate location. We don’t have time, so we’ll have to go to the nearest one.”
Its capacity was exactly fifty people.
“You even prepared for an unforeseen situation like this. We’re truly fortunate to have you.”
The conversation ended there.
Everyone ran with all their might to escape the rapidly approaching white cloud.
“How far away are they?”
“1.5km!”
The distance had already shrunk by 500m.
The difference in their raw speed was simply too great.
In other words, once they were caught, there would be absolutely no escaping them.
Fortunately, the Defensive Stronghold itself wasn’t very far away.
“We’re almost there!”
Yohan shouted while pointing ahead.
At this rate, they would just barely make it.
Just as he thought that.
Tadadada!
Not far away, another group of people burst through the forest.
“Uaaaaah!”
“Faster. Damn it, we have to go faster!”
Apparently, they were also aiming for the Defensive Stronghold, as they ran solely in one direction.
There had always been a good chance of something like this happening.
More importantly, their numbers.
The most important question was exactly how many of them there were.
“Twenty-six… seven.”
Yuki quickly began counting the people on the other side.
If the number exceeded fifty, the Defensive Stronghold wouldn’t activate.
If that happened, everyone would die.
“Twenty-nine.”
The number continued to rise.
There were still more people at the back who hadn’t been counted.
“Thirty…one.”
Damn it.
They were over by one.
＊＊＊
For the majority to survive, the sacrifice of a minority was unavoidable.
This was already a cruel reality they had experienced painfully at the Temple.
[The Defensive Stronghold cannot be activated because the number of people exceeds 50.]
“Huff. Huff….”
“Only…50 people?”
Everyone caught their breath as they stared at the Status Window that appeared before them.
They had to reduce their number by one.
More precisely.
They had to kill one person.
Because throwing someone outside was no different from telling them to die.
Their gazes turned cold.
Hearts pounded, and fine hairs stood on end.
They could each tell their long, complicated stories. Or they could assess everyone’s specs and distinguish those who would be useful from those who wouldn’t.
Holding a vote was another option.
However, this time, they didn’t even have the time to go through that process.
Dudududu!
“Kieeeeee!”
“Keeee!”
They were right on top of them now.
Judging by the remaining distance, they had a minute at most.
Shing.
Lee Siwoo silently drew his sword.
“I bear no ill will, but we can’t all die. If no one volunteers, we’ll have no choice but to force someone out.”
“You bastard…”
“You’re a Hunter from Korea, aren’t you? You think you’ll get away with this?”
“Everyone, calm down! There has to be another way!”
Voices overlapped.
Just then.
“There’s no need to fight. I’ll go out.”
Yohan stepped forward.
“Are you serious? But, if you go out now….”
Yuki trailed off worriedly.
“It’s nothing as grand as some noble spirit of sacrifice. I have a way to survive too, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
There was another reason he had chosen this place besides the fact that it was the closest.
‘One-Person Prayer Room’.
It was directly attached to the Defensive Stronghold, and worshipping there had the special effect of increasing the stronghold’s capacity.
‘It can only be used once, so I wanted to save it for as long as possible….’
But using it now wasn’t a bad idea either.
It would be troublesome if too many people were watching when he obtained the Opportunity hidden inside.
And while he was at it, scoring some points with Lee Siwoo and Yuki would make them even easier to make use of in the future.
Once he made his decision, there was no time to delay.
The Prayer Room was cleverly hidden among the trees right beside the stronghold.
Bang!
The moment he opened the door, he rushed inside.
At the same time.
[The Defensive Stronghold is activating!]
Wooooong!
A white barrier soared high into the sky from the ground.
Kwakakakwang!
Kwakwang!
“Keeeeeee!”
“Kieeeeee!”
The Scavengers pounded madly against the barrier.
They gnawed at it with their teeth, rampaging in an attempt to devour the people inside by any means possible.
But they couldn’t leave so much as a scratch on the barrier.
The Scavengers continued gnawing at the wall for several more minutes before eventually turning elsewhere.
Bwoooong!
They were setting out in search of other prey.
But just then.
Boom!
A gigantic monster approached.
It likewise had pure-white skin, with neither eyes nor a nose.
It was a ‘Devourer’.
“Kiiiiii….”
Perhaps it had already received plenty of flesh and blood from the Scavengers, because the area around its mouth was completely covered in blood.
And yet, as though it were still hungry, it stared at the Hunters inside the barrier.
A long tongue protruded from between its gaping jaws.
Sluuurp!
Then it licked the barrier with its sticky tongue.
As though marking its prey.
It was extremely ominous, but regardless, even that creature could do nothing before the barrier.
Boom! Boom!
A short while later, it followed the Scavengers and disappeared into the darkness.
“Phew.”
“Huff. Kuh….”
Only then did everyone release the breaths they had been holding.
[Remaining Time: 4H : 58M : 15S]
With this, their safety was guaranteed for at least five hours.
But it was too early to relax.
Yohan rose from his seat and brushed the dust off his body.
‘If Lee Saerom’s information is correct, I’ll have to keep an eye on the Mafia side too.’
He had already thoroughly examined the original members, so there was no issue with them, but the newly joined people had yet to be fully vetted.
For now, he would keep a close eye on them from this point onward.
What mattered now was how productively he could use the five hours they had been given.
The first thing he did was consume the Inner Core Go Yongjin had given him.
[Magic permanently increases by +2!]
[You have acquired the Intermediate Skill ‘Natural Poison Imbuement’!]
The random ability he obtained was an Intermediate Skill. ‘Natural Poison Imbuement’.
As expected of an Inner Core nurtured by an Imoogi, he had gotten something quite good.
It could utilize the poison of creatures classified as part of nature. Or even the poison of certain Intermediate Monsters.
Next….
Yohan examined the interior of the Prayer Room.
Just like the ‘Torch of Radiance’, there were hidden items here.
The elaborate ornament at the center immediately caught his eye.
An arrow embedded with eleven gleaming stones.
Among them….
The ‘Red Stone’, symbolizing worship.
The ‘Yellow Stone’, symbolizing mercy.
And finally, the ‘White Stone’, symbolizing hope.
He lowered these three arrows to an exact angle of 90 degrees.
It reflected the doctrine of ‘bowing down to gather grain from the barren land’.
Then.
Click!
A bottle filled with sloshing liquid emerged from between the ornaments.
[You have acquired ‘Holy Oil of the Dark Land 500ml’!]
It was a support-type item that doubled the duration of the ‘Torch of Radiance’.
It also had some effect when applied directly to the body.
‘This is probably as far as the information known by veterans goes.’
But a true old-timer was never satisfied and always explored one step further.
Yohan raised the arrow embedded with the ‘Indigo Stone’, which symbolized resistance, by 15 degrees.
It signified, ‘Those who have gathered the grain and completed their preparations now raise their heads and resist to drive away the darkness.’
Crack!
The ornament split completely in half, and a white stone fell out.
[‘Qualification of Perseverance’]
Acquisition Difficulty: A
Description: The darker and more difficult the given trial, the higher the grade of the reward will rise, up to the maximum. (However, this item’s effect is limited to 30 hours.)
Good.
With that, he had collected every Opportunity.
Next was the worship.
There wasn’t much to it.
He only had to light the candle using the [Sacred Flame]. Then recite something about the Dawn of the East and something-or-other of the West, and it was done.
“Ahem!”
Of course, since he had to maintain an air of reverence, he made himself look as convincing as possible on the outside.
[The Defensive Stronghold’s capacity increases by 1.]
Clean.
＊＊＊
After collecting the Opportunity and returning to the stronghold, Yohan found the group in the middle of a heated argument.
What happened?
Yohan quickened his pace slightly.
Then the reason everyone was so furious soon became clear.
Crack. Clatter!
Pure-white fragments fell to the ground, broken apart.
Someone had damaged the barrier from the inside.
It hadn’t completely shattered yet, but within a few minutes, the cracks would gradually widen until a hole formed.
“Everyone on our side has known each other for a long time. But. Your side is a jumbled mess of Imperials, mercenaries, and shady bastards. Don’t you have anything to say?”
“What did you say? How dare you question a Knight’s honor?”
“Honor, my ass. I saw what you bastards did in England with my own two eyes.”
Haa. His luck really was fucking awful.
This confirmed it.
There was an enemy among them.
“Mr. Yohan. You’re safe. I’m really… glad.”
Yuki welcomed him with a somewhat exhausted smile.
“Things here don’t look particularly fortunate.”
They growled at each other, consumed by suspicion.
Even if they combined their strength, things wouldn’t be easy, yet the worst possible situation was unfolding.
Of course, whoever had pulled this stunt had probably been aiming for exactly that.
“What are we going to do now?”
A Mage belonging to the Arcane Guild asked the raid leaders.
What else could they do?
Someone had sabotaged the place this blatantly, so obviously they had to abandon it and move.
From this point onward, it would truly become hell.
There wasn’t a single Defensive Stronghold left between here and the second rendezvous point.
A short while later, the fifty survivors hurriedly replenished their water and food.
That was because they had to run at full speed for at least 15km.
They had to avoid the Scavengers’ route, forcing them to take a long detour.
However, less than five minutes after leaving the Defensive Stronghold, the monsters began their assault.
“Graaaaaah!”
“Fresh prey! Blood and flesh. Just one bite. Juuust one bite. Hehehe!”
The damn One-Bite Bugs existed even in Purgatory.
Kwakakakakaka!
Yohan used ‘Black Gale’ and swept away the charging monsters.
After driving back the rest with ‘Black Devourer’ and ‘Curtain of Fire’, they finally gained a moment to catch their breath.
‘We’re moving way too slowly.’
The raiding party’s teamwork was poor.
Of course it was.
There was someone among these fifty people with ulterior motives, so how could anyone safely entrust their back to someone else?
He even thought it might be better to split the group up again….
Boom! Boom! Boom!
But the sheer number of monsters made it impossible to give up the advantage of numbers.
“Graaaah! Hold them back!”
“Damn it. Endure!”
The shield-bearing melee warriors activated various Skills as they forced open a path.
The Archers fired their bows, while the Magic-types began casting.
Papapapapow!
The fire and lightning spells with the greatest destructive power exploded directly in the middle of the densely packed monsters.
Smoke surged violently upward.
And then.
“I’ll finish them off so they can’t revive!”
A brown-haired woman attempted to use Holy Magic.
“Wait…!”
Yohan urgently shouted.
If Divine Power was added to the stench produced by the burning monsters… it would create the Scavengers’ favorite smell.
But he was one step too late.
[Cordelia activates the Skill ‘Purification of Light’!]
Sizzle!
Divine Power completely burned away the writhing monsters.
And with that as the signal.
Kukukukukuku!
The white torrent changed direction once again.
This time, there was no Defensive Stronghold to protect them.
[‘Qualification of Perseverance’ shines.]
The item that maximized rewards emitted a dazzling light.
Tsk.
Should he be happy about this or sad?
This must be exactly what it felt like to be happy and still want to curse at the same time.