Chapter 48: The Forest That Doesn’t Fall After One Strike
It wasn’t there (4)
At the front line, a hero lost consciousness and collapsed.
Was it due to a mistake in the tanking rotation?
Or did fatigue accumulate and they crumbled in an instant?
Either way, a hero was about to be crushed by the giant creature’s pincers.
This attack was blocked, but one hero was lying on the barrier, unconscious.
With their arm twisted in a strange direction and eyes rolled back, they knelt down.
The pincers swooped down over the hero’s head.
“Poyo!”
The surrounding heroes, unsure of what kind of technique the hero had from just the name, reached out.
Some took a diving stance, as if to rescue them before the pincers fell, but it was already too late.
“Scaffold!”
Pushing away those heroes, I moved towards the descending pincers.
Bang!
In a panic, my hammer swung haphazardly, but thankfully it seemed to hit right.
The pincers clashed with my hammer, bouncing up high, while the heroes unleashed their attacks against the disoriented giant creature.
“Next rotation’s attendant, step up! Hurry!”
With the unconscious hero slung over my shoulders, I shouted loudly.
“Yes! It’s me!”
A knight, wielding a sword and shield, rushed forward.
Even with a comrade fallen, there was no sign of fear in his eyes.
“Can you hold on?”
I prefer not to deal with the same place twice.
“Count on me!”
The knight in white armor assumed a peculiar stance, holding sword and shield in both hands.
He seemed to want to imitate a knight, but it wasn’t clear what he was trying to convey with that action.
Assuming it was an act of gratitude, I moved toward the gathering heroes.
A sound of the pincers crashing down echoed behind me. Turning back with worry, I saw the knight taking a steady stance as he blocked the pincers with his shield.
No need to panic.
“You’re alive, right?”
“You’re alive, aren’t you?”
Looking at the concerned expressions of the heroes gathering around me regarding the large hero slung over my back.
Are they friends gathering? Or bonds formed on the battlefield?
“As long as you’re not dead, call for the medic or transport team, or request additional heroes.”
I pushed the injured hero into a corner to prevent further harm and continued speaking to them.
“Just keep attacking. Are you planning to turn that knight into this?”
The young heroes, who were not attacking and were anxiously tapping their feet looking at the injured hero, seemed to realize something as they slowly turned their heads.
Towards the white knight who was continuously blocking the pincers with his shield.
Perhaps encouraged by that sight.
One of them communicated the situation via radio, while the others stuck to the barrier and unleashed attacks at the crustacean.
No need to worry here.
“Thank you but—”
The woman with the radio bowed her head, but without acknowledging my thanks, she moved her legs toward the next target. There are places I need to protect that are even more important than this one.
“The pace of collapse is slower than expected.”
“Isn’t it thanks to Cheonha Ilgyeom?”
“I can’t deny that.”
So it seems a foolish choice ended up being a significant one after all.
Thanks to that guy cutting off the limbs, the overall advance slowed down.
Personally, I would have preferred it if he had torn through the first wave completely, but given the established frontlines, it appears Cheonha Ilgyeom’s choice was the right one.
The giant creature, with its legs cut off, crawled towards the barrier, and although it managed to reach it, it could no longer launch effective attacks due to the height difference and became a solid target. The other creatures, which were unharmed, seemingly showed no interest in trampling their allies and instead moved to other locations to wield their pincers.
As a result, the fatigue levels of the heroes taking on the tanking roles decreased, and more comfortably positioned forces were deployed than better danking rotations discussed in the strategy meeting.
Although many heroes fell into despair with the appearance of the giant creatures projecting an oppressive aura, the situation was actually settling down more stably than the single-line defense attacked by smaller creatures.
Most of the smaller creatures had been swept away by nuclear attacks, leading to the disappearance of the protective shields that shifted damage, rendering them nothing more than dummies with monotonous attacks.
All they could do was charge and drop pincers.
Though those pincers were strong, if dedicated tankers were present, they could withstand it. All that was left for them was those strangely sturdy shells.
Since lower-ranked heroes could easily deal with any enemies as long as there were those continuously filling the tanker role, upper-ranked heroes like me roamed the front lines, entering unexpected situations like just earlier or firmly finishing off the dying giant creatures.
“It’s like a game.”
“A game?”
The tankers block the weak boss while the damage dealers attack the enemies with massive health. If that’s not a game, then what is it?
Is it that healers who provide healing from afar are rare?
There’s no special pattern emerging, just a doltish boss repeating normal attacks over and over again… what a trash game.
“Like the one where you were cooped up at home cursing out computer games?”
What can I do about having nothing to do? You could say I had nothing to keep me busy now that Linshua has disappeared.
Shaking off my past that flared up for a moment, I sprinted towards the barrier, taking in the numerous battles unfolding on the battlefield.
Misha was hooking a driver onto a giant crustacean. Oxymoron was cutting enemies with a saw. Prohibition was furiously beating the crustaceans with a mini-gun, testing their durability.
Many heroes were ending the lives of the crustaceans, stabilizing the frontline.
If it could just flow like this…
The boss creature had yet to reveal itself, and the numbers of giant creatures were gradually decreasing.
If it continues like this and we take out all the giant creatures, I could plunge my S-rank technique into the boss…
The sound of a foghorn.
“Yeah. Stories always go like this.”
‘If it just keeps flowing like this.’
‘Did we take care of them?’
‘Will no more enemies come out now?’
I can’t know how stories are structured, but they seem to love clichés to an obnoxious degree. It’s obvious if the frontline stabilizes even a little, a variable will occur.
The boss’s appearance.
Through the gray skies, the mist dissipated, revealing the boss creature.
Thud. Thud.
The giant creature was already large, but this boss had a body several times larger.
While fighting in the sea I couldn’t notice it, but now it was a ridiculous size.
“When fighting Donghun’s boss, the Colossus, there was this super giant robot on our side too. What on earth is that?”
…Looks quite a lot like that.
Can I launch a direct attack now?
I asked Unho to connect to headquarters. Naturally, instead of Commander Macbeth, the Librarian was connected, and I opened my mouth.
“Will attacking now end it?”
– It’s still lacking. The number of giant creatures is higher than expected, therefore reducing them is necessary.
“How many?”
– At least 200. If we account for variables, then 300.
So that means we have to hold against that thing until then.
“Can we block it if it reaches the barrier?”
– No.
That was to be expected. If that huge thing swings, it’ll wipe out both the barrier and the heroes without distinction.
“I’ll hold it off.”
– I’ll try to reduce their numbers as quickly as possible.
“Once we reach the specified number, signal immediately.”
Disconnecting the call, I moved my legs.
Over the giant creatures, towards the distant boss creature swaying.
I dashed through the mud, releasing my limiter.
Each step I took carved a massive crater into the earth, and the friction of the air became a shockwave, destroying everything around me.
The giant creatures blocking my path crumbled under the shockwave as I sped up further.
As the boss creature emitted low sounds, countless gazes were directed toward me.
It seemed the monster recognized me, with numerous eyes placed all over its body looking right back at me.
“Right. We should play only between the bosses.”
This is my story, against the opposing narrative of the year.
So…
“Let’s settle this, you damn gray lizard.”
In an instant, my hammer grew in size.
Charging at the barrier while accumulating speed and mana.
I planted my right foot down. With all my power, I slammed my left foot into the ground.
The shock of my foot sinking into the ground sent mud flying into the air.
The earth collapsed, producing a gigantic crater.
Normally, I would need to control my power to prevent such things from happening.
But I didn’t care.
“Platform fixed!”
Thanks to the magic devised by Unho, my left leg became a sturdy axis, not sinking into the crater I made.
“This is different from the sea.
Because magical girls have mascots, they become a complete whole.
Not just the S-rank technique, but in all circumstances.
In an unshaken stance, the hammer swung.
Up until the last moment of the collision, the hammer continued to grow in size.
Kuwuhhh.
The horns on the monster’s head clashed with my hammer.
This is my first defensive action.
No matter how much I attacked, the boss dismissed it, transferring damage to the heroes, and now was the first to block my attack.
Does it mean it can’t simply take hits due to the reduced numbers? If so, it means our actions were not incorrect.
Thus, twisting my body, I poured all my strength into the hammer.
Neither the boss nor I intended to retreat, and even though the force of our clashing weapons began to cancel each other out, we continued to inject power into the conflict.
When one side’s strength increased, the opposite side poured in even more power, and the temporarily separated weapons would collide again.
A strike where the representatives of both sides poured all their strength into it.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
The shockwave from the collision of the two weapons spread outward without stopping.
My hammer absorbed mana, growing even larger.
The boss’s horns turned red as molten tentacles clung to them.
As both sides exerted all their strength, the first clash unfolded.
“If this continues, the platform will break! Poyo!”
“Do you think I’ll back down for that?”
At this point, this attack had transformed into a contest of pride.
Regardless of the outcome, there was a determination to win the first clash.
As if to demonstrate that, the monster also continued to channel power into its horns, refusing to move its body.
Pachak. Pachak.
The gigantic hammer, the enemy’s horns, my platform.
All showed signs of cracking.
However, I found myself pouring in even more strength.
Clang.
Uuuuuuuuuugh.
The platform shattered, and my body fell beneath the crater.
Simultaneously, I realized the outcome of the first clash.
“So you can’t defeat me with pure strength.”
In my falling view, I saw the enemy’s horns break.
The red, heated horns shattered into pieces, merging with the gray world, and where the horns had been, molten tentacles sprouted forth.
The hornless monster, in pain, lifted its head to the sky, continuing its low sounds.
As I steadied my posture in mid-air, a platform formed beneath my feet.
Wherever my foot landed, new platforms appeared, and I quickly dashed through the air, swinging for a second attack against the monster.
Thud.
Although my stance had not been properly formed, and not much strength was contained in the hammer, it crushed the molten tentacles and connected with the enemy’s body.
Crack.
I felt the crunch of the enemy’s shell through my hand.
The gray shell shattered into pieces, just like the horns, merging with the world.
I caught sight of an opening in the shell.
Expectedly, there was supposed to be skin underneath, but when I checked for damage, it turned out—
From the hole, a stream of pus or gray blood poured out, alongside numerous molten tentacles that lunged at me.
Is the inside filled with molten tentacles?
I dodged through the air, trying to evade the tentacles.
Though I was slightly singed due to the numerous tentacles enveloping me, it wasn’t severe.
Correcting my disrupted posture, I looked up to the monster.
Damaged horns, a tiny hole in its shell. Clear evidence of damage.
“That means you can get injured, huh?”
I had anticipated it when defending against the initial attack, but it seemed the monster had decided not to redirect its attacks toward other entities.
Is it because it can’t afford to lose more giant creatures? Or is there another reason?
Either way, the fact that thing can be injured changed everything.
One of the reasons I had lost before was that the monster ignored all my attacks and kept on attacking.
And another reason…
“Unho. Can you hold on?”
“I’m jumping into the fray at that speed again. Can you hold?”
“I’ll try my best.”
The sea wasn’t a reliable platform for me, and now I had a solid base I could rely on.
I could feel Unho gripping my hair tightly, and at the same time, I leaped into the boss creature.
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