Episode 50. [Pivot point in hell – 2]
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Ku—Palace—!
As the building shook with a roar, moans mixed with anxiety flowed from everywhere.
“Oh mom… I’m scared…”
A child of about seven or eight years old cried and fell into his mother’s arms.
“The teacher said that bad monsters cannot enter the school…”
This is an elementary school near Oksu Station, and in case of emergency, the entire building becomes a shelter.
As there were many apartments nearby, they were currently accommodating a huge number of refugees, and
in particular, more than a thousand people were gathered in the main auditorium on the second floor alone.
“Mom… are we all going to die?”
“no, that’s fine. “The players will protect us.”
The mother hugged the child and pressed it against the wall.
And prayed.
That was the only thing a civilian without any power could do…
boom—! thud-!
A series of loud noises rang out, gradually getting closer.
It meant that the battle taking place outside was going in a bad direction.
“But Mom, the players….”
“Yes, it means the players are working hard to scold the monster.”
“That’s not it… I think the players are scared.”
“huh?”
The mother turned her head at the child’s words.
I happened to see a hallway beyond the open door for a moment.
I could see armed players coming and going busily – the shelter guards.
Their faces were crumpled and filled with embarrassment.
That was ‘frustration’ by another name.
The reason is….
“…the magic shield in the right hallway has been breached!”
“what?”
Because I was faced with the worst possible situation:
“Damn it! Let’s move there first! “The wall must never collapse!”
The shelter security commander led 10 security guards and ran toward the right hallway.
All windows in the hallway were blocked with ‘iron shutters.’
However, since the magic shield was broken, such physical blockade alone had its limits.
Koo-uh-!
This time a much louder roar shook the entire building.
The impact was not on the magic shield, but on the building itself.
“I’m going crazy! If this happens, the wall will collapse…”
Kwa—ang—!
The words became a mutter.
One side of the hallway in front collapsed, and rebar and concrete poured into the hallway.
And then… the shadow of something huge standing outside the wall. It loomed inside the building.
“Damn it…”
The guard hesitated and stepped back.
“Ugh—! “What kind of smell is this!”
An indescribable stench poured into the hallway.
The smell of rotting corpses—and it was extremely unpleasant, as if hundreds of bodies were rotting at the same time…
While everyone was panicking at the stench, a huge hand came into the hole.
“omg!”
It was a hand as thick as a pillar whose bones were exposed because it was half-rotten.
It grabbed the wall and pulled it, and it was torn apart so easily, like a Styrofoam box.
Quad-dud…
“Oh my god…”
The hole in the wall was so big that you could see the sky. As a result, the monster’s face was finally revealed, and
it was a zombie troll to
the three -story height — that was
a zombie troll.
“
…Shoot this first!”
The guard captain said so and shot an arrow out the window.
Afterwards, the entire guard poured out all kinds of magic. They
all hit—but the guy didn’t even flinch.
The wound on his face healed in an instant, as if he was rewinding a video. I threw it away.
The guy seemed angry and swung his fist at the exterior wall of the building.
Whoops!
Fragments of the building flew out like a shotgun and swept away a classroom.
“That guy is something we can’t do with our weapons. Seems to!”
One of the guards almost cried out.
It was true. A monster that keeps recovering no matter how many times you attack it…
The Shelter Guard did not have any weapons or skills that could kill something like that.
In other words, once the magic shield has been torn down, there is no way to prevent their infiltration.
‘It’s over…’
The guard captain lowered the bow he had raised, feeling an indescribable feeling of helplessness.
It was then.
– Chic— … If there are any survivors, please respond.
A small voice rang out from somewhere.
“—Huh? Captain! A voice comes from the mana messenger!”
The guard captain hurriedly lifted the Mana Messenger on his waist.
“Woah, this is the A Elementary School shelter! Is anyone there?”
For the next few seconds, there was only static and no response.
It was a short time, but to them it felt like a few minutes.
– Chick— Is this the point where you are currently being attacked by ‘zombie trolls’?
“Yes! That’s right! It’s us!”
In a moment filled with despair, did a ray of hope appear?
The guard captain began to beg to a voice he did not know who it was.
“I don’t know who it is, but please, please! Please lure this monster away! Over 3,000 civilians are currently sheltering in this shelter! If this continues, we will all die!”
-Chik—don’t stand near the wall, step back.
“yes?”
– We will eliminate the zombie troll. Please step back to avoid harm.
At those words, the guards looked at each other.
To eliminate such a monster as a zombie troll…
In their minds, it was an impossible scene.
But a really strong player would be able to do it. If possible,
they retreated without saying a word.
“Captain, look over there!”
One of the guards pointed out the window.
Someone was walking into the school’s wide playground.
There was only one man wearing a black combat uniform.
“…It’s AMT, right?”
However, the only weapons he had seemed to be the two swords behind his back.
However, the only thing that was unusual was that both palms were raised towards the sky –
“If you are a warrior, no matter how high your level is, it will be difficult to catch a zombie troll…”
The man was approaching confidently, but I couldn’t help but be worried.
The first to greet the man were a group of ‘inhabitants of hell.’ Those guys who were pounding
on
the exterior wall of the building poured into the playground as if they were attracted by aggro.
The number was about thirty,
making it difficult for an average player to deal with them alone.
But then something strange started to happen.
“uh?”
The zombies fell down one by one before they even got close to the man.
Blood poured from their heads.
“What… what did you die from?”
In fact, the man did not take any offensive stance.
He was just slowly walking towards the zombie troll.
“…Ah! It’s an arrow!”
“what?”
“excuse me! If you look closely, the arrow is floating in the air and moving on its own!”
The captain of the guard also found it.
Sigh!
An arrow was flying freely and pierced right through the zombie’s head.
“Is it using telekinesis? It looks so strong!”
The arrow did not move with any kind of momentum. It
moved in an irregular orbit like a living creature, intercepting zombies one by one, and in just 30 seconds, dozens of zombie corpses were scattered over the movement. “But that arrow
. That level of destructive power alone won’t be enough to deal with the zombie troll…”
That scene was quite amazing, but it wouldn’t work against the zombie troll, so it
seemed like it would need firepower powerful enough to blow away that solid giant with a single blow.
The guard captain was wondering if he could do anything . I raised the Mana Messenger with a thought.
“—Ahh! Most attacks don’t work on zombie trolls, and they recover quickly from wounds!”
– Chik – I know. Don’t worry, step back. A lot of blood may splatter.
With those words, the man’s palm, which was facing the sky, slowly turned over.
At that moment, something fell from the sky.
‘…A black pillar. ?’
For a split-second, the guard commander felt that way.
A black pillar-like object fell as if it had grazed the troll and hit the ground.
The moment an earth-shattering sound rang out,
the
zombie troll’s huge head fell with a loud thud. I went out.
“Huh?”
The headless body slowly tilted to the right, with blood pouring out in all directions.
Koo-uh-!
dead. And that too with just one blow….
“Beheading the car——!”
Yes, the giant who seemed like he would never die was beheaded in one blow.
The guard captain opened his mouth wide and looked at the man walking towards him.
His palm, which had been facing the floor, flipped once again and pointed towards the sky again. Following the hand gesture, an object that I thought was a black pillar rose into the air.
Ugh.
That was a 2m 10cm long sword.
“…….”
Everyone stared blankly at that amazing scene.
That great sword, no, it was a huge sword. He glided while lying horizontally, cutting down all the remaining zombies, and stood tall in the air behind the man’s back.
His lofty figure looked like a giant cross.
Immediately after that, military trucks began pouring into the playground.
There were 13 in total . .
– Chick— Rest assured now that you are safe.
***
“…Are you of the Steel Company by any chance?”
When the AMT troops entered the school, a person called the shelter security commander asked that question.
Lee Hyun-wook tilted his head.
“Yes, that’s right. “But how did you know?”
“Well, haven’t you figured it out yet? The government is informing you through Mana Messenger.”
Perhaps because Lee Hyun-wook did not want to be interfered with and asked Kim Kang-seok to block external contact as much as possible, no significant communication came through Lee Hyun-wook’s Mana Messenger. At that time, the guards standing behind the guard captain approached with their mouths wide open. ”
Wow
! Was it really the Steel Company?”
“So is it true that you have eliminated the erosion factor?”
The reaction was as if I had met a celebrity.
“Haha… Yes, that’s right.”
“Wow—how on earth…”
“They were real heroes! thank you!”
“please! Please save Seoul!”
Lee Hyun-wook smiled sheepishly, but sighed inwardly.
‘Kang Seo-yoon is bothering me…’
Lee Hyun-wook had an intuition that she was conveying the activities of the Steel Company in all directions.
It seemed like they were planning to unite the players in the wave zone based on that good news.
Of course, the intention was good, but it was also true that it was bound to be annoying in many ways.
“Then since when has this place been under attack?”
Lee Hyun-wook asked as he looked around the elementary school building.
There wasn’t a single place that was healthy enough to think it would be useful to hold on. It
was clear to see how much that 5-meter-tall monster had been pounding on him.
“We were attacked for about 3 hours. Yes, that much. ”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“haha… But he killed that guy with just one hit and saved us.”
The captain of the guard shook his head as he gazed into the air as if recalling the scene.
‘Yes, from my perspective, it was a terrifying blow.’
Lee Hyeon-wook also admired the strength he felt after a long time.
I sent a zombie troll with a single shot, which until yesterday had to be fired with hundreds of weapons.
Mowglei was truly…needless to say, he was the best.
“…Soldier man!”
At that time, a child’s voice was heard from inside the main auditorium where the refugees were gathered.
He was holding on to the trouser legs of the Steel Company members who were standing at the entrance to the main auditorium.
“……Please help me!”
Everyone’s eyes turned to the boy at the sudden shout,
“What’s going on, kid?”
Park Jun-mo bent his knees and was at eye level with the kid.
“Ugh… please, please… save my friends.”
Park Jun-mo stroked the kid’s head with a puzzled expression as he cried and cried.
“Huh? Friends? Where are your friends?”
At that time, a woman who appeared to be the child’s mother followed and grabbed the child’s arm.
“Ah! Sorry you’re busy! “Hope, you shouldn’t bother the soldiers!”
“Haha—it’s okay. What happened to Hope’s friends?”
In response to Park Jun-mo’s question, Hope’s mother made a perplexed expression.
“Oh, that…”
The guard captain explained on her behalf.
“One of the refugee caravans coming here was attacked by monsters on the way. We were waiting with the door open, but tsk—almost a hundred people ended up not getting in.”
“Ah, Hope’s friends were then…”
Park Jun-mo’s expression darkened.
“yes that’s right.”
“…The sacrifice must have been great.”
But the guard captain shook his head.
“But this is a bit strange. Yes something was different.”
“yes?”
“It appeared to be an intelligent monster… but it kidnapped over a hundred people without killing a single one. “I think there might be some other purpose.”
Hearing those words, a piece of information popped into Lee Hyun-wook’s mind.
‘The Multi-Race Warlock Society is also around here.’
The Black Magic Society was a monster organization that strengthened black magic by offering humans as sacrifices to evil spirits.
And if Lee Hyun-wook remembers, they were also the ones who were protecting the erosion factor.
In other words, it meant that I had come to the right place.
“Hmm, but how did you capture more than a hundred people so easily? They must have resisted. Were there that many monsters?”
“Well… there were a lot of them, but they sprayed something that looked like strange black smoke and everyone fell to the ground. Even the players. That’s why I was dragged away without any resistance.”
Then Park Jun-mo looked at Lee Hyun-wook.
“Isn’t this… that’s it?”
Lee Hyun-wook nodded.
It was a phenomenon that the Steel Company also experienced on the way here.
At the point where they had to slow down, the manhole cover opened and black smoke billowed out of nowhere.
‘It was a trap. If you step on it and pass out, they will come and collect it later. ‘That’s it.’
Of course, Lee Hyun-wook immediately ordered them to wear gas masks.
However, those who could not react before they could, ended up inhaling the black smoke…
Fortunately or strangely, they were completely fine.
‘That was thanks to [Divine Protection]. ‘
It has been proven that most curses can be ignored as long as one wears it.
“Hmm… there is a high possibility that those people are alive.”
The guard captain nodded at Lee Hyun-wook’s words.
“Believing that we would still be alive, we asked some players to rescue us. They had left a few hours ago… but unfortunately, that was when the zombie trolls attacked.”
“Can they contact me now?”
“When we were attacked, we sent a rescue signal, but there was no response…”
If you don’t have the skills to respond to dark magic, you will just be captured and sacrificed.
“We will go.”
“yes?”
“We will rescue the captured people.”
To be honest, he was probably secretly hoping for it, but the guard commander looked impressed.
“ah! Can you really?”
“It’s our duty.”
“Ha… thank you so much!”
When Lee Hyun-wook decided on a rescue mission, Park Jun-mo said while stroking the kid’s head.
“Hope, we’ll get your friends, so don’t worry, okay?”
“…yes!”
The guy looked at Lee Hyun-wook and Park Jun-mo in turn with bright eyes and nodded loudly.
“You guys are heroes!”
Although it wasn’t a success yet, the guy’s expression brightened.
Park Jun-mo’s nose became sore for some reason.
I was once again deeply moved by the fact that I could readily help a weak person in need.
Hyunwook Lee pressed the walkie-talkie and radioed the entire company.
“There is a gate that is presumed to be accompanied by an erosion factor nearby. Prepare for a search.”
In this way, Lee Hyun-wook’s real purpose was the second erosion factor that would be there.
“But since they are great people, they will take care of it, but as I said before, you have to be careful. It’s a strange spell performed by those demons. The people who went ahead can’t be contacted either…”
The guard captain said worriedly, but Lee Hyun-wook shook his head with a smile.
“Oh, that’s okay. “It won’t work for us.”
They planned to immediately destroy those who were embarrassed because their weapons did not work.
But then…
– Chick— Ah, can you hear me?
A voice came from the guard’s mana messenger.
He raised the Mana Messenger with a surprised expression.
“…Are you from the Taesan guild? “Are you okay?”
– Chick— Yes, that’s right!
Taesan Guild…
The moment Lee Hyun-wook heard that part, he had no choice but to revise his plan.
Although not everyone in the Taesan guild was a villain,
there was a high possibility that they were at least limbs who followed orders from Ki Baekjun.
Especially if they are members of the Taesan guild located in Seoul, which is not their area of activity…
‘And they said that as soon as the Taesan guild members left here, zombie trolls attacked them.’
Of course, it could have been a coincidence.
‘But if we got a call back like this as soon as we arrived…’
This part smelled a bit bad.
‘Perhaps the erosion factor was waiting for us with an information network spread around the shelter.’
Since we killed all five butchers and even destroyed the erosion factor, Baekjun Ki must be gnashing his teeth…
– Chik- We were in the middle of a battle, so Chik- couldn’t reply to the message you gave us earlier. did something happen? is that okay?
“There was a problem… but it was resolved well. Ah! The Steel Company is here!”
– Chic— Steel Company? You mean the AMT unit that destroyed the erosion agent?
“Yes!”
– Chick— Great! We’re in a bit of a pickle and need some help!
At those words, the guard captain looked at Lee Hyun-wook.
He asked me to answer directly.
‘This…is a trap.’
Several requirements and Lee Hyun-wook’s intuition were screaming so.
Lee Hyun-wook received the Mana Messenger from the guard captain.
And answered.
“…Yes, we will provide support.”
But if you knew it was a trap, it would no longer
be a trap, and quite the opposite.
