“······?! Is that, Il-wol?!”
After finding a moment to catch her breath, Yeon-hee was startled by the signal from Il-wol and quickly scanned her surroundings.
‘It’s still faint. Has he just come back?’
She was anxious, not knowing where he had gone, but now her heavy heart felt relieved at last.
Three weeks of enduring much longer than all the times she had met Il-wol combined.
“Is it Il-wol?!”
“Il-wol? Has he finally arrived?”
“Not yet— but he seems like he’s coming soon.”
“Seriously, tell him to hurry up!!”
“Huh… just a little longer…”
The companions showed a reaction close to cheers at the appearance of Il-wol, who had disappeared for over three weeks.
If only Il-wol was around— if Il-wol had been with them—
Their gazes, which had thought that hundreds of times, began to spark with life.
* * *
About thirty minutes after Il-wol took down the three-headed ogre, ‘Cheonsudan,’ led by Cha Jin-hyuk, was blocking the hordes of orcs with two other top guilds in the same area.
They had positioned themselves at the foot of Hwaun Mountain, at an altitude of 727.7 meters.
It seemed like a choice to hold a favorable position, but in reality, they had been pushed back by the orc’s momentum.
What was surprising was that despite being pushed back that way, their numbers were actually increasing.
More people were joining the alliance of the three guilds than were dying off.
“Is it actually manageable? Am I misjudging…?”
At Cha Jin-hyuk’s question, ‘Teacher Cha’ nodded his head.
“Definitely, the weapons and armor made from Kadinite play a significant role. Ever since we changed equipment, we haven’t been losing ground.”
The weapons they had previously used had rusted from the orc’s blood and became unusable.
However, the crude gear made from Kadinite that they had prepared in advance was still doing its job well.
‘How did they know this? The rumor that someone in the association can see the future isn’t entirely false.’
Teacher Cha nodded, and Hwang Tae-wook agreed.
“If it weren’t for this, we would have been wiped out already.”
The basic enemies were orc high-rank warriors, and as time went on, stronger guys beyond the fighter-grade were appearing.
Of course, for the top-tier forces of Cheonsudan guild, these were no big deal, but that was meaningless when they exceeded tens of thousands.
“By the way, what are we going to do about that tentacle monster? I’ve got a rough idea after dealing with it a few times.”
“Hmm… The chimera doesn’t have any strategies or anything, either. As long as we manage the cooldown on restraints, it should be time to start counterattacking.”
The main members of Cheonsudan, including Hwang Tae-wook and Haseirin, already had experience taking down three chimeras.
The well-coordinated assaults of A-rank hunters were sufficient even to deal with S-rank monsters, so they were confident.
Moreover, there was also a high probability that the monster dropped the contaminated crystal item, making rewards plentiful.
“Phew… I’m getting tired. We need to settle this soon.”
“This has already turned into a long war.”
Of course, they hadn’t escaped unscathed during the three weeks.
Two out of Hwang Tae-wook’s five subordinates had been cut down by the ‘Improved Rough Tooth,’ which unexpectedly infiltrated the guild office two days before the orcs started pouring out of the gate, resulting in over 20% of ‘Cheonsudan’s overall power being lost.
Considering the power consumed over the three weeks, it was an alarming loss that made one shudder to think.
However, seeing that the number of orcs pouring out of the gate was visibly decreasing, they believed they had overcome the worst situation.
Looking back, it was ironically the early chaos caused by the chimera stirring up the region that had allowed them to prepare for combat.
It was proof that Dnarr’s plan wasn’t entirely perfect, but the hunters just thought they were lucky.
“Now then─ I’ll open the path.”
Cha Jin-hyuk moved toward the black mass of orcs rising from below the mountain.
The hunters watched him, curious if he was about to show another astonishing ability.
As he stretched his hand forward and lowered his index fingers,
Kuuuuuuuuuung────!!
As the ground sank, thousands of orcs collapsed in unison, bowing their heads.
Wow──
A spontaneous exclamation erupted from the hunters.
Having overcome the threat of death, Cha Jin-hyuk had rapidly grown and reached a state where his potential exploded, so a reaction like this was to be expected.
Gulp-
Someone swallowed dryly, sneaking a glance at Cha Jin-hyuk.
A genius beyond doubt.
Among a few hunters who were evaluated to have comparable potential to Lee Yeon-hee and Noh Ha-yoon, Cha Jin-hyuk was definitely on a different level.
His abilities had already risen to a stage where they inspired awe in those around him.
“Clear them all out!!”
At Teacher Cha’s shout, nearly three thousand hunters surged forward, drawing on their magic power to the fullest.
It was impossible to defeat all those orc forces.
Still, they thought it might be possible to carve a path while heading to the shelter.
But then.
Kugugugugugugug─────
“Huh?! What, what is that?!”
“Uhhh?!”
From the sky, over a hundred flaming meteors began to descend on the area where the orcs were gathered.
They fell so rapidly over such a wide area that the orcs were swallowed without having time to react.
Kwahwahwahwahwah─────!!
“Ugh!!”
The tremendous destructive power shook the ground.
It was nothing short of a disaster-level great magic.
“Meteor…?!”
“This energy… Could it be the master?!”
“Has the master arrived?!”
The hunters, who had been charging in with great momentum, suddenly stood frozen, staring blankly at the falling meteors melting or exploding the orcs.
Those orcs, once loathed, now felt like infinitely fragile beings.
“It’s… it’s a chance!! Everyone, charge in!!”
“Push them now!!”
The seasoned hunters didn’t take long to seize the opportunity.
Within moments, the hunter alliance succeeded in bursting through.
“Haha, I don’t know what it is, but it feels so refreshing!!”
Hwang Tae-wook broke into a rare, joyful laugh, and other hunters felt similarly.
Had a great sorcerer passed through this area?
Whatever it was, thousands of hunters, including Cheonsudan, began to slice through the cursed orcs with a sensation of exhilaration filling their chests.
* * *
‘Just as I suspected, the timing is perfect.’
I was just passing through on my way home, but I hadn’t expected to provide help in this way.
The subordinates looking up at me quickly immersed themselves in battle.
Cha Jin-hyuk, after a long time, was surely fighting well, along with Teacher Cha, Haseirin, Hwang Tae-wook, and others.
The ground turned scarlet.
It had been several minutes since I used the meteor, but the flames clinging to the dead orcs were still tormenting the living ones.
Thanks to the mana exceeding seven thousand and the increased intensity, the number of meteors summoned greatly increased.
‘With this level of destructive power and range… It was pure luck to snatch Meteor from Jo Gi-man…’
I was confident I could be of use when the main force of the orc army arrived.
‘But are these just the vanguard forces? Last time, they dropped the main force without this…’
Of course, that thought was fleeting, and I turned back to Yeon-hee.
However, I was stopped again by the presence of a red gate that emitted a dense aura of magic I had not seen at other gates.
‘What on earth is that with such intense energy?’
I had no clue what kind of beast might emerge from there. Could it be Orc Legion Commander Por?
Just then, a being emerged through the gate.
[Stealth]
An evil energy wrapped around its existence made me think of concealing my body first.
‘······ Is it an orc battle commander?’
This one was far below ‘Por,’ whom I had encountered in the hidden dungeon last time, but Por was a monster who could take the position of the Supreme Commander among orc commanders, so there was no need for comparison.
This guy seemed to possess battle power that was rightly suited for an orc battle commander. No, surely he would be a top-ranking monster among battle commanders.
‘He seems like a transcendent being who could reach the mid-tier… surpassing the First Escalon?’
It’s not easy to gauge a being that is stronger than me, but it seems likely.
The transcendent of reflux, Kang Yeon-su, Hyeon Il-hwan, Ma Gwang-jin, Yoo Min-jeong, and so on.
To think that he is stronger than the First Escalon, captured only with the cooperation of so many strong beings.
‘Unless it’s someone like Uncle Jung-gil, there’s no answer.’
I tried to maximize my stealth ability to create distance from him. I couldn’t afford to provoke him and waste time.
Slowly moving away from him, I felt that I was now far enough away to relax, but my nerves were still wholly focused on him.
The orcs, driven by a wave of excitement, began to gather together, responding to the calling of the battle commander.
As the orc battle commander raised one hand and roared, the air’s magic energy trembled significantly.
‘This is chilling. Just how many of these monsters are there… I know of at least twenty commanding orcs stronger than them…’
It was becoming clear why I had been giving away territory bit by bit to the orcs in my previous life.
In fact, the only reason I had managed to hold on in such an overwhelmed situation was because of Jo Gi-man.
Having done that, wouldn’t it make sense that people all over the world revered him and even created a religion around him?
My head was muddled, but I quickened my pace.
I didn’t know how many monsters of his level had appeared in our country, but if even a few of those showed up to lead the orcs, the hunters would face considerable difficulty.
Even so, Yeon-hee had been signaling for my safety for a while now, so I wasn’t overly anxious.
‘Huh?!’
While I was flying, I sensed two other massive auras.
‘It’s from the Ilseom Guild?’
One aura was definitely familiar to me.
Hyeon Il-hwan.
He was clashing with another being that had a strong energy.
‘······? What are those crazy people doing?’
However, Hyeon Il-hwan was not fighting an orc warrior or battle commander, but a human.
His uncle, to be precise.
‘In this situation, he’s having a life-or-death confrontation with Hyeon Joong-seop?’
Given the internal power structure of Ilseom, it was entirely something that could happen, but the timing was ridiculous. One of them must have taken the chance to stab the other in the back amid the chaos.
‘Sigh- Whatever. You fools can handle it on your own.’
I vaguely recalled hearing a similar tale from my past life.
No matter how much the great currents of the world change, do human relationships repeat themselves?
After bypassing them and moving on for dozens of minutes, just as I was almost reaching my home.
─────?!!
A bolt of lightning imbued with magical energy came soaring toward me from a distance.
Paziziziz!!
‘If I get hit by this, I could die—’
[Blink]
I barely evaded the completely unanticipated attack through spatial movement, and when I saw my attacker, I couldn’t help but be shocked.
‘W-What is that?’
A huge monster with nothing but bones that must have been at least 20 meters tall flapped its grand wings as it fired lightning-based magical blasts in all directions.
‘An Ancient Dragon…?!’
The familiar energy was certainly that of a summoned creature.
‘Did Yeon-hee accomplish something? Did she clear the giant clan quest? Has she already overcome that?’
That was my guess.
‘An Ancient Dragon… What in the world.’
Known to appear in the ultimate dungeon with a very low probability, the ultimate monster ‘Ancient Empire Skeleton Commander’
They sometimes emerge riding an Ancient Dragon, and the one I was currently looking at matched perfectly with the description of an Ancient Dragon.
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