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Chapter 42: Main Quest (2)
Kevrian began moving again.
The 2,000 hunters arrived on the battlefield with a determination to fight to the death.
Yet, the enemy hadn’t appeared, even after five days.
The city gate had been restored with the help of the Earth Spirit, but it wasn’t as strong as before.
If the enemy had attacked now, we would’ve been in serious trouble.
Forty-nine hunters, who found the battlefield unbearable, chose to take their own lives and withdraw.
However, the rest gradually started to forget the shock of death.
“Enemy incoming!”
Just when it seemed the main quest would pass peacefully, the enemy army began advancing again.
But their appearance was different from when they used dragon breath in the last battle.
Ogres charged mindlessly, their eyes glazed, driven forward by the rhythm of drums played by their army's band.
The composition of their forces was similar to what we had faced on the first day of the expedition.
“If it’s just ogres, they’ll be easy to handle.”
The castle’s spirit power, nearly depleted during the last battle, had replenished to about 80% after five days of rest, even though it wasn’t fully recovered due to repairing the walls.
With the spirit’s support, the defense battle commenced, and the mindless charge of the ogres posed little threat to the fortress.
The hunters, who had been nervous after hearing stories of the last day’s battle, soon began to relax when they found it far easier than expected.
“This experience gain is amazing.”
“I should’ve joined earlier.”
“It’s so much easier to deal with without the wyvern unit.”
“My level finally broke past the cursed 40.”
Thanks to the sturdy fortress and the spirits, the ranged jobs firing arrows and casting magic from a safe distance were thriving.
The melee classes, while not as fortunate, weren’t left out either.
They gained experience by neutralizing the ogres’ crude siege attempts, including catapults launching Uruk statues.
Everyone was happy.
“Jiho, I’m so glad I followed you. Ha! I leveled up again.”
Jinseong, riding his white spirit horse he insisted on calling Red Hare, galloped along the wall, enjoying his newfound popularity among the hunters.
“I think I’ll hit level 40 soon! I might not be as fast as you, Jiho, but at this growth rate, I might be one of the fastest in the world.”
Kang Shia beamed at me, flashing a victory sign with her fingers.
“Thanks to you, Mr. Jiho, I might end up as the highest-level public servant in our government. Reporting my level 44 will probably increase my pension. Much appreciated.”
Even Agent Smith, oozing the aura of a special agent, offered his thanks, mixing it with practical thoughts about his retirement fund.
The other members of the expedition were equally thrilled.
Those not yet in the Apostle Commander’s unit were desperate to join it.
“At this rate, we’ll successfully defend the fortress. It’s all thanks to you, Apostle. How can we ever repay this debt?”
“Hmm. Don’t worry about it. Oh, by the way, do you happen to have more leaves from the World Tree?”
“What? You’re still gaining potential from those leaves? My sins must be heavy indeed… I’ll ask around.”
Diana left with a serious expression.
I didn’t mention the "333 Club."
It was too depressing.
Anyway, I had no reason to consume the First Fruit of the World Tree among the rewards from the four gods—it was utterly useless.
I’d settle for eating more leaves.
Sigh.
The mood in the fortress was at its peak.
For everyone but me.
“Hmm…”
Was this the so-called Gaze of Chaos?
I felt off.
I kept sensing a strange gaze on me, and after sunset, chills ran down my spine.
At times, I was tempted to drastically raise my stats, but the guardian gods always stopped me.
[Aurelia warns that investing more SP will intensify the focus of Chaos.]
[Pollux advises patience, saying only a few days remain.]
Their concentrated care kept me from allocating stats, but the unsettling feeling lingered daily.
Maybe it was because I’d heard about being observed?
But this discomfort was too persistent for that.
During battles, I ended up shooting arrows half-heartedly.
I avoided summoning my Flame Chariot unless necessary and dealt with ogres mainly using my bow.
Although I’d begun learning some 4th-circle spells, I rarely used them.
“Ogres are charging the eastern wall!”
I stepped in only during sudden surges, using the Dwarf-repaired sword and my bow.
There wasn’t much risk, as plenty of idle awakened warriors quickly mobilized wherever enemy forces concentrated.
“Feel the power of my Green Dragon Crescent Blade! Azure Dragon Breaker Slash!”
“Geez, what the hell is wrong with that guy? Azure Dragon Breaker Slash? Doesn’t he feel embarrassed?”
Jinseong, riding his horse, swung his mana-imbued Green Dragon Crescent Blade, shouting his “skill” name.
It was just a mana blade slash.
“Truly the reincarnation of Guan Yu.”
“Can’t let him have all the glory. Excalibur!”
“Conqueror’s Heaven-Cleaving Blade!”
A few dozen other warriors joined him, shouting different attack names while riding horses.
Their antics in the midst of a battlefield were so cringeworthy I wanted to cover my ears and gouge out my eyes.
They yelled so earnestly that I even asked the gods if those skills existed.
[Aurelia responds with a cynical “Of course not.”]
[Pollux defends them, saying men use such romantic notions to endure the battlefield, and not to be too harsh on them.]
Ugh, fine.
It’s better for them to cheer themselves up like this than to collapse from PTSD and flee the battlefield.
But watching them made my eyes hurt.
“Azure Dragon Breaker Slash? Excalibur? What are those?”
“It’s a battle cry used in the Heavenly Nation. A shout to subdue enemies.”
Diana tilted her head, puzzled after hearing their “skill” names.
Luckily, they yelled in Korean or English, sparing me some embarrassment.
But when they shouted, “Azure Dragon, shatter the heavens!” while slashing with the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, they looked insane.
At this rate, they’d start shouting in the local language for everyone to hear.
When I asked Jinseong to tone it down, he just wagged his finger.
“Youngster, you don’t understand a man’s romance. Just wait until I hit C-rank; then you’ll see the true Azure Dragon Breaker Slash.”
“Argh, stop talking about that stupid Azure Dragon Breaker Slash.”
"Hey. Everyone started buying spirit horses because they admired me, and now we have this cavalry. Shouldn't we be encouraging it? Those guys aren’t attacking as aggressively these days, so we should pursue them, right?"
"Pursue them?"
"Yeah. The cavalry should go after them and wipe them out. You should either buy a horse or ride that flame tank and sweep them away in style. It’s about inspiring manly ambition! That way, all the warriors will want to follow this trend and spend their own money to become cavalry."
I didn’t need to pay attention to the nonsense about “style,” but having cavalry sounded like a good idea.
After all, they say the most fun comes from chasing down fleeing enemies.
When I asked Kang Shia how many of the 2,000 people here could summon horses, her answer surprised me: around 220.
"That many?"
"There are plenty of hunters who’ve made a lot of money. But I didn’t expect so much investment in these supposedly useless spirit horses."
"But there aren’t many people actually fighting on horseback."
"Because this is a siege. Horses aren’t really necessary. And also…"
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She trailed off, glancing at Jinseong swinging his crescent-moon halberd enthusiastically.
Ah, is it because they don’t want to be lumped in with those guys?
Makes sense.
"It might be better to organize a cavalry unit just in case."
"Are you considering counterattacks already?"
"My main quest is to defend this castle for 100 days, and I think we’re almost there. Something’s bound to change after that."
"Main quest? You have something like that? You really are different from other hunters."
Kang Shia spoke with curiosity.
"Don’t other hunters have quests?"
"No. I’ve never heard of anyone getting quests in the Broken World… Maybe it’s only for the first person who arrives. How fascinating."
Really?
That’s interesting.
With that, we formed the cavalry.
Many of the mages and archers had only bought horses for transportation, so the actual combat cavalry was about 150 strong.
After organizing them to a decent degree, we returned to the siege.
Four days passed, and we were now just a day away from being able to return to Earth.
"When we go back, should we encourage more spirit horse purchases?"
"That sounds like a good idea. It’d be great if we could get them from this castle, but since that’s not an option, we’ll have to stock up on Earth. Oh, how about making horses a requirement for the expedition team? Most people could handle that."
"Eighty billion won, though… Is that feasible?"
"Sure. It’s not much. Everyone’s at least a D-rank hunter."
Eighty billion isn’t much?
Talking to Kang Shia always messes with my sense of money.
Even Jinseong borrowed heavily to live.
Kang Shia argued that if you’re at least D-rank, it’s fine, and insisted we require them.
Her logic was that each country would provide financial support for their expedition teams.
Following her advice, we decided to include spirit horses for the next expedition.
If we bought them tomorrow, would I be leading a 2,000-strong cavalry unit?
Well, not everyone outside the command structure would need to buy them.
That would leave us with at least a thousand cavalry.
"It doesn’t feel right to force people outside the command structure to buy them. Let’s leave it up to their choice."
"They’ll all buy them anyway."
Kang Shia smiled mischievously.
Wait, since when was 80 billion a trivial amount?
After reaching C-rank, I thought I had let go of money concerns, but conversations like this bring my old sense of value roaring back.
It’ll take more time to adjust.
As we were heading to the Awakener’s dormitory in the castle, a sudden chill ran down my spine.
"Shia, hold on."
I froze in place, drawing my sword.
Pushing her behind me, I focused on the direction ahead.
The darkness warped, and suddenly a sword emerged.
A massive blade seemingly carved from bone.
Its handle, adorned with a skull, was grasped by a bony hand, spreading darkness in all directions.
The moonlight was completely obscured, leaving only the holy light emanating from my sword.
From the shadows emerged a giant skeletal knight, walking forward slowly.
Clad in black armor, his presence sent chills down my spine.
He’s strong.
My newfound confidence from reaching C-rank faltered.
[Pol… lux…]
[Au…]
The system message was garbled and fragmented.
Blocking system messages?
I’ve never seen this before.
I can’t handle this alone.
"Shia, bring Diana. I don’t think I can take this guy alone."
"A-Alright!"
Kang Shia hesitated momentarily before turning and running.
She had raised her bow as if to help, but decided that calling for reinforcements was the better choice.
The skeletal knight simply watched her leave, making no attempt to stop her.
When she was completely out of sight, the knight clattered his bones and opened his mouth.
"You are Kim Jiho?"
"That’s me. And you are?"
"Death Knight King Ampellion."
Ampellion?
One of the Four Knights of Destruction under the Lord of Death?
He’s supposed to be the final boss of D-rank battlefields.
Why is he here?
But for someone hyped up as a big deal on Earth, he doesn’t look that strong.
Sure, one-on-one would be tough for me, but this is our stronghold.
Once reinforcements arrive, he’ll be wiped out.
Even Diana alone could probably take him.
What’s his plan?
He glanced around briefly before slowly pointing his sword at me.
"Now… kill me, Kim Jiho."
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