Episode 51 [Pivotal Point of Hell – 3]
———————==
Lee Hyun-wook communicated mana with Kim Kang-seok in the vehicle while on his way to contact the Taesan Guild.
“…Then, battalion commander, please ask.”
It was an urgent request to the battalion for a few things for the next battle.
– Okay, I’ll prepare it as soon as possible, and when you contact me, it will fly over, so don’t worry.
“thank you.”
-And… please be careful. As you know, all waves so far have a pattern of growing exponentially stronger as time passes, so today, unlike yesterday, will be much stronger. “Yes, I understand.
”
That was true.
There were countless reasons why the wave was called the worst disaster, but
the biggest reason was that the ‘raid difficulty’ increased as time passed.
To put it simply, monsters that appear during a wave gradually ‘evolve’ into a form that is difficult to deal with.
For example, in the case of ‘Hell Let’, which we faced yesterday, the ‘number’ increases exponentially.
One hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, hundreds of thousands, and eventually a million…
And when the number exceeds a certain number, they ‘evolve’ and a kind of passive skill is created, a
‘special option’ that releases ‘gas’ from the body and creates ‘poison fog’. ‘ is added.
‘The swarm of Hellettes that appeared with the green mist and gnawed everything was really the worst.’
Yesterday, Hellet was swallowed up by the Steel Company, but by this afternoon, the number would have grown to an unmanageable number—that’s why Lee Hyun-wook targeted that place first.
Otherwise, more than half of the shelters in the wave zone would have been destroyed by the Helet swarm.
‘The next most dangerous thing is, of course, the multi-racial black magic society.’
While the Helet swarm swept across Seoul, causing the greatest number of civilian casualties, the
Multi-Race Black Magic Society caused the highest number of player casualties.
Just like now, they kidnap humans and offer them as wealth to evil spirits.
As a result, you gradually acquire powerful black magic spells, and
on the 4th day of the wave, you create a black magic creature called ‘Chimera’.
‘…It was a top-level monster equivalent to a dragon hatchling.’
Numerous players mobilized to eliminate it, but failed every time.
Ultimately, the number of player casualties mobilized in the operation reached 1,855.
‘Today we destroy it before it grows.’
Then the car stopped.
“We’ve arrived. It’s about 500 meters from the meeting place.”
At the words of the driver, Lee Hyun-wook looked out the window.
It was an apartment complex in Apgujeong-dong.
“Okay. From now on, we will move on foot.”
At his order, 15 troops from a transport truck got off the vehicle.
The rest were waiting at the O Elementary School shelter.
“We are cautious of the surrounding area and move slowly.”
The Taesan guild might have dug a trap, so it was forbidden to be vigilant.
“…there! Steel Company, right?”
As I got near the tangent area, I heard someone’s voice.
“It’s up there! Come inside!”
A man at a window on the third floor of a commercial building was waving his hand:
“We will divide into three teams and go up at a distance.”
Lee Hyun-wook was on guard until the end, but fortunately nothing happened.
About twenty players were gathered in a health club on the third floor of a large shopping mall.
They were resting, exhausted, as if they had just finished a battle.
Among them was a person wearing glasses . A man approached Lee Hyun-wook.
“Ah! “You’re here!”
Who is it? Hyunwook Lee scanned his face. If it was a villain, there was a high possibility that it would be a familiar face.
However, seeing as it didn’t immediately come to mind, he wasn’t a very important person…
“Hello, my name is Minseong Choi of the Taesan Guild.”
The moment I heard that name, it came to mind:
‘Choi Min-seong… Then there is that person, Chu Kyo-yong.’
Choi Min-seong itself was not a very important name.
‘Chu Kyo-yong is important.’
Monster Tamer Choo Kyo-yong was the leader of the strategy team that Choi Min-seong belonged to, and
was a player with an unusual ability to control monsters.
Lee Hyun-wook held Choi Min-seong’s hand and looked around once again.
‘The number that can be seen right now is a total of 24, which is much more than expected. many.’
If they all came at you… honestly, it would have been difficult to deal with them.
If you were a well-trained elite player, it would be on a completely different level from dealing with monsters…
“Are all the people here… members of the Taesan guild?” ”
Ah. That’s not it. The players gathered there at the elementary school shelter and joined forces to save the citizens. “The affiliations are all different, including the Cheonghwa Guild and the Goryeo Guild.”
“…okay.”
“Well, we are the main team, but there are only six of us.”
There were 6 people… Lee Hyun-wook didn’t take that literally.
There must have been someone hidden in the shelter to confirm the arrival of the Steel Company, and
there could also have been someone inside hiding their identity and pretending to be a third party.
But there was one strange thing.
‘Choi Min-seong is there, but team leader Chu Kyo-yong is not there.’
I wondered if it was hiding somewhere, but there was no reason to do so.
‘…Okay, we split into teams.’
There were a total of three ‘player cards’ prepared by Baekjun Ki for the 4th wave.
Five Butchers / Apostate Gong Hyun-jun / Chu Kyo-yong Strategy Team
‘But I’ve already burned two cards.’
Moreover, as one erosion factor was eliminated, the situation must have become more urgent, and
the last remaining card, ‘Chu Kyo-yong Strategy Team’, had no choice but to split up and move.
The leader, Chu Kyo-yong, was probably on the other side of the erosion factor.
‘It’s a good thing because it means the power is divided.’
Lee Hyun-wook looked at Choi Min-seong, hiding his true feelings.
“Have you by any chance figured out where the people are being held?”
“Yes, I can see it from here too. “It’s right there.”
Minseong Choi walked up to the window and pointed somewhere.
There was a department store between numerous apartment complexes.
But… its appearance was very strange.
“The ‘erosion’ has already progressed considerably.”
“Yes, it’s like the devil’s castle…”
The huge department store building was covered with what looked like the roots of trees that were hundreds of years old. There
were even huge trees that looked like baobab trees growing in the rooftop garden, and there was
a black sky above them. Birds were flying around, but at least they weren’t crows.
Yes, it had changed like the devil’s castle in the legend, and it was still changing.
By this afternoon, the entire area would have been covered with a scene like that.
“…Attack to rescue civilians. “I heard you tried, but you failed?”
Choi Min-seong showed a bitter expression at that question.
“That’s right. We attempted to attack once… ha, those bastards… as we approached, they started killing civilians by throwing them off the rooftop. Like we know what we want.”
As he held Choi Min-seong’s words, Lee Hyun-wook felt a wave of nausea wash over him.
That expression, that line, it was all acting full of pretense.
He’s pretending to be sad when he’s the one inducing civilians to kill…
“In the end, I had no choice but to turn around without success in order to prevent those meaningless sacrifices. And there was a ‘barrier’ placed around the entire department store, so sniping from the rooftop of the apartment building was also an option. “It’s impossible.”
It’s a barrier… When I looked at it again, it was covered in purple shimmer.
It was a device that could block magic coming from outside.
“Well, I have one way.”
Choi Min-seong’s eyebrows twitched at Lee Hyun-wook’s words.
“…How?”
“Yes, I will explain, so please gather the people.”
Soon, Choi Min-seong called the players together.
“Now! The commander of the Steel Company says there is a plan! Let’s listen.”
Lee Hyun-wook looked around at the players and opened his mouth.
“There is one pattern they have shown so far. They use unidentified black smoke to stun people and then kidnap them to their home base instead of killing them. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a civilian player or not.”
The players nodded.
“Then the easiest way to get in is to be kidnapped.”
Almost all faces crumpled at the mention of kidnapping.
“…Yes?”
“What does that mean that you would intentionally inhale the smoke and be kidnapped right now?”
“you’re right.”
“Hey, would you like to take a look at them first?”
Someone snorted and pointed somewhere.
There were two men lying there.
“They both inhaled that black smoke. See, it’s not just about passing out, all skills are ‘deactivated’ for a whopping 8 hours. In other words, they are no different from ordinary people.”
In other words, if you are kidnapped, your combat power becomes 0.
“Yes, I know. But we are okay. We are resistant.”
Everyone looked puzzled at those words.
Resistance wasn’t something that could be created that easily.
Lee Hyun-wook explained further,
“Luckily, I received the [event buff], so the entire force has a curse immunity buff. In other words, “We will pretend to faint and go in there with our abilities preserved.”
At those words, exclamations erupted from all over.
“Oh—is there such a thing?”
“After all, we didn’t destroy the erosion factor for no reason…”
But then Choi Min-seong raised his hand.
“Hmm… Actually, me and these three friends also have ‘curse resistance’.”
…What is happening all of a sudden?
I wondered what Lee Hyun-wook’s intention was.
“Oh……”
“Wow, Taesando is also worthy of its name.”
“Well, it’s no big deal. “It has been accumulating for a while while attacking undead-related gates.”
Choi Min-seong nodded his head with a serious expression as his arms cheered.
“Anyway, that’s why we also thought about such an operation. But that alone…is suicidal. “Yes, the moment you are kidnapped, all your weapons will be taken away and your hands and feet will be restrained.”
Lee Hyun-wook immediately objected.
“I can do that by using my abilities.”
Choi Min-seong tilted his head.
Meanwhile, an unknown color appeared in his eyes.
“…Can you tell me what that ability is?”
Lee Chae’s identity was a dirty intention to find out Lee Hyun-wook’s abilities.
Lee Hyun-wook took out an iron ball and launched it into the air.
“—Here’s the thing.”
“Oh, is it telekinetic magic?’’
“No, it’s a control type.”
As it was such a rare ability, it was impossible to guess the ability
just by looking at one scene. And its scarcity was one of the important weapons of the ‘growth beyond level’ characteristic.
Analysis was difficult due to lack of information, so a way to deal with it was prepared. For that reason
, he was extremely reluctant to reveal his detailed ability to ‘grow beyond level’.
But…
“Well, can you tell me in more detail? “If they follow their plan, I think we’ll have to go in together, but shouldn’t we get to know each other well before that?”
Despite the confident request for information, Lee Hyun-wook willingly nodded his head as to what was going on.
“I control metal. And it can change its shape to some extent.”
“Then even if your weapons are taken away, there will be many things you can use as weapons.”
“Yes, that’s right. And…”
Lee Hyun-wook used ‘metal transformation’ on the iron ball and pressed it flat.
“If you hide these little pieces of metal in your mouth and change their shape, you could use them as keys or knives. In other words, it can open restraints or locked doors. “It will be very useful internally.”
“Well… it’s risky, but it certainly seems like the method with the highest chance of success.”
“Yes, as you know, the Control branch is particularly weak, so if you protect me as the top priority, this operation will succeed.”
Choi Min-seong smiled at Lee Hyun-wook’s words and stood up.
“Okay! Then let’s do this. We will infiltrate with the Steel Company and rescue the citizens, and then we will send a signal by shooting magic out the window. Then, if you start an all-out attack and draw attention, we will move again and create that barrier. “It destroys objects.”
“Oh….”
“If the barrier disappears, we will be able to snipe from the rooftops of nearby apartments looking down on the department store, and it will be an advantageous battle for us.”
The majority nodded,
“So what do you think? Do you all agree?”
Everyone agreed. It could not have been the most reasonable strategy in this situation.
Choi Min-seong looked at Lee Hyun-wook and smiled.
Something was hidden in that smile.
And Lee Hyun-wook also had the same smile.
***
Choi Min-seong After telling him to take a moment to prepare, he called his subordinates together and said,
“The steel company commander seems to be a very intelligent person. If you’re thinking of sneaking in based on your resistance, it seems like that strange ability has a lot of use, but…” ”
…You got the wrong bite!”
A woman giggled and exclaimed,
“That’s right. “Isn’t it refreshing to give up the back of your neck without knowing that we are trying to kill you?”
Infiltration using voluntary kidnapping was honestly ingenious. However, in this situation where the villain was targeting the Steel Company, they thought that it was no different from being trapped in a trap.
“Wow, I can’t stop being a villain because of this taste!”
The woman stamped her feet excitedly.
Her eyes were wide open.
“Phew! What a fun way to play around with a secret that others wouldn’t even know about—!”
“Park Ji-hyun is not successful yet. “Don’t be fussy and don’t be so irritable.”
“Ah yes yes… kkeuk…”
Choi Min-seong scolded, but Park Ji-hyun still couldn’t hide her excitement.
“Was she weak again? Ha… Anyway, I’ll keep everything that could be a weapon out of the prison, but just in case, if he gets a weapon, think about a way to make it so he can’t wield it. As I said myself, it is a control type, so if there is no object to control, it is nothing.”
At that, a bald man in a leather jacket raised his hand.
“Yes, I think that’s just my skill. In case of emergency, I can create a ‘ring’ and trap it.”
“Oh… it’s just right? “I rarely use this skill, but now I have a chance to use it.”
“Hahaha— that’s right.”
At that time, Minseong Choi raised his index finger as if he remembered something.
“…Oh, and there’s something to keep in mind: You shouldn’t kill them right away.”
“We should catch them and torture them to find out how they destroyed the erosion, right?”
“That’s right, so don’t rush forward and wait for my instructions.”
The villains stood up and Choi Min-seong said his last words.
“The Steel Company outside seems to be talking about some kind of hope, but that hope is dashed here.”
***
An hour later, the so-called ‘voluntary kidnapping operation’ began.
There were a total of six people: Lee Hyun-wook, Park Jun-mo, Choi Min-seong, and his subordinates.
They entered an alley and at that very moment—
Pusheeee——!
Suddenly, the manhole cover opened and black smoke gushed out.
“—Oof!”
They inhaled the fumes and collapsed.
No, I pretended to fall down.
About 10 minutes later, a group of monsters appeared at the entrance of the alley.
Ugh——
They were strangely clad in black robes, so I couldn’t recognize them.
However, when I heard their voices, it was a mixed group of people including orcs, goblins, and kobolds.
They turned over the fallen bodies of the group, took away all their weapons, and tied their arms with rope.
And a monster that appeared to be an orc was lifted one by one on both shoulders.
‘It’s terrible…’
The stench emanating from their bodies was so disgusting that it wasn’t easy to pretend to faint.
Fortunately, I arrived at the department store in less than 5 minutes.
I couldn’t see it in detail, but it was changing into a strange shape due to erosion.
They were taken to the dark space of the parking lot on the third basement floor.
‘When did they even prepare these bars?’
This was a dungeon. There were even bars on one side, like a real prison.
In many ways, it was puzzling as to
whether something like this was created during erosion or if monsters created it by hand, but there was no way to confirm.
They were thrown into one of those prisons.
Puck—
“Ugh…”
Park Jun-mo groaned as he was thrown to the floor.
I didn’t expect it to be thrown like an object.
When I came to my senses and looked around, I saw about a dozen civilians trapped in a fairly large space.
“…Are you okay?”
A kid squatting right next to Park Jun-mo asked that.
“Oh yeah, it’s okay.”
“…But it won’t get better now.”
The guy was covered in tears.
“……Huh?”
“Let’s catch them one by one… Those monsters…”
“Ah…”
“Now, let’s catch them. Will.”
Park Jun-mo placed his hand on the kid’s head.
“No, it’ll be okay.”
“…….”
He had an expression of disbelief.
“Haha—what’s your name?”
“Oh, I’m Shin Ji-ho.”
“really? and! How do we meet just like this? “Hope is your friend, right?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
Shin Ji-ho looked surprised.
Park Jun-mo had asked the kid named Hope for the names of his friends.
“That’s why Hope asked me to save Ji-ho, so I came here to rescue him.”
“uh? You came… to save me? “You weren’t captured?”
Ugh—
two orc guards were loitering outside, and
Park Jun-mo whispered very softly.
“Yes, I really came to save you. Don’t worry.”
But then…
“Phew—!”
A laugh burst out from somewhere.
It was Park Ji-hyun, a woman from the Taesan guild.
She was crouching on the floor and shaking her body.
It seemed like she was suppressing her laughter for some reason…
“Puhahaha—! I’m sorry, assistant team leader! I’m so sorry!” “Because it’s funny!”
In the end, I burst out laughing.
“Hey! Phew! What did you come to save, you idiot? You’ve been caught! Puhahaha—!”
Seeing that, Minseong Choi sighed and stood up.
“Ha… you really…”
But strangely enough, the rope that bound their arms had already been taken off.
“No, it’s so funny to pretend to be cool and tell a kid that you came to save him! Ah—I’m crying!”
As Choi Min-seong gestured, two of his subordinates approached Lee Hyun-wook, forced his mouth open, and took out a piece of metal for escape hidden under the floor behind him. Then he put it in some kind of leather bag or something.
“Now there will be no steel left to control.”
It was only then that Park Jun-mo realized that the situation was going too strangely.
“What, what, what… Sergeant Lee Hyeon-wook, this is…”
Two Orc guards even opened the iron bars and came inside, and they appeared as if they were part of the same gang. It stood tall behind my back.
‘…He’s a terrorist!’
I got it right.
Park Jun-mo thought so.
But he was not easily discouraged.
‘No, you shouldn’t give up yet.’
He looked at Lee Hyun-wook out of the corner of his eye and prepared to counterattack.
With his arms tied, it was difficult to aim properly, but he was able to use his abilities.
Fajiji——
The moment an electric current flows from his grasp tied behind his back—
“Stay still, Park Jun-mo—”
Lee Hyun-wook stopped him.
“Yes, you are smart as expected. Please stay still and let us have a deeper conversation.”
Two men kneeled down, Hyun-wook Lee and Jun-mo Park, and Min-seong Choi came in front of them.
“Mr. Lee Hyun-wook, I have a lot of questions. First of all, the erosion factor… How did you remove it?”
Lee Hyun-wook had no answer.
“After looking into it, I heard he wasn’t a Guardian… Hmm, is it just a coincidence?”
“…….”
“Brit—you’re not very smart if you exercise your right to remain silent here.”
“But…”
“Ah yes, have you finally decided to open your mouth?”
Lee Hyun-wook raised his head and looked up at Choi Min-seong.
“Choi Min-seong, I also want to ask you a few things.”
“…yes?”
“That’s why we set up this place like this.”
Choi Min-seong tilted his head at those strange words.
“Arrangement… Yes? “Who?”
But at that moment, Lee Hyun-wook smiled.
“Isn’t it a good place to have a private conversation?”
“…….”
“Wait, soon all the monsters that will interfere will disappear.”
“…What the fuck are you saying?”
“Because a spectacle is going to rain down from the sky, so everyone is going to go there…”
Choi Min-seong frowned at the incomprehensible words.
But at that moment…
Kwa—ang——!
Heavy drinking . The building began to shake.
“……What is it?”
“Deputy leader, what does this look like?”
Qua—ang——!
Exploding again. Yes, something powerful was definitely exploding above my head.
Qua—ang——!
Lee Hyun-wook nodded.
“It’s a bombing. It won’t break through the barrier, but it will cause quite a commotion and divert all the monsters’ attention elsewhere.” “…
What?”
“…To put it simply, it means that we can only talk among ourselves here underground.”
What Lee Hyun-wook had previously requested from Kim Kang-seok
was an aerial bombing.
“…What are you?”
The composure disappeared from Choi Min-seong’s face.
“Choi Min-seong, you know the location of the ‘barrier creation object’, right? I need to explain where it is.”
Blah blah blah——
A strange sound was coming from somewhere. It was behind Lee Hyun-wook.
“…Then I’ll show you how I eliminated the erosion factor—!”
Wow!
At that moment, the ropes binding Lee Hyun-wook’s arms were torn
, and Lee Hyun-wook’s left hand was aimed at Choi Min-seong.
A spear popped out from his wrist.
“—Huh!”
At that moment, Choi Min-seong’s body disappeared in the air and reappeared in the corner of the prison.
Achilles’ spear seemed to cut through the air and pass by, but then turned and
pierced the two orc guards running towards Lee Hyun-wook at the same time.
Meanwhile, Lee Hyun-wook . stood tall on his two feet,
and strange sounds began to emanate from his whole body again.
Blah blah blah——
“Huh?”
At that time, Park Jun-mo saw
black crystals sprouting all over the skin of Lee Hyun-wook’s body, and
at the same time, a bluish aura began to surround his body…
“Park Jun-mo—”
Park Jun-mo looked up at Lee Hyun-wook.
“…I’m here to rescue you, so tell me to get ready to go home.”
Sharp claws like those of a leopard sprouted from his fingers.
