779

 [Chapter 199]

[Misjudgment(3)]

Although communication was currently impossible due to the thick mana in the air.

The recapture team camping at the Uijeongbu Arts Center was in an almost festive mood.

This was because the players had somehow scored big.

"─I'm telling you, when we killed the monsters, artifacts came out of them! Today was a total jackpot."

"I guess the things that disappeared during the 1st Recapture War were inside the monsters' bellies. Is that why players have been subjugating monsters all day today?"

"Yes, that's right! Rather than searching buildings, killing monsters yields more profit."

"When monsters die, they leave mana stones, so it's at least not a loss, right?"

The players were telling tales of their exploits from that day.

The 2nd Supply Platoon had even released some alcohol to appease the players.

The atmosphere couldn't help but be good.

Meanwhile, Eun-ha left that night, taking some clan members with him.

"Where are you going at this late hour?"

"Farming."

"In the middle of the night?"

As they plunged into the darkness.

The clan members expressed their doubts.

When Choi Eun-hyuk voiced the question as a representative, Eun-ha answered briefly.

"Um... Eun-ha, can't I just rest at the base like Cheon-seo?"

"No, you can't. It's dark outside, so at least one guardian should come along. Or should I just take the kids below?"

"...No. I'll just suffer through it."

Farming was work too.

There were instances of being attacked by hidden monsters in the process of clearing collapsed debris.

Kang Si-hyeong sighed, looking visibly tired.

He didn't want to suffer any more, but he disliked even more the idea of subordinates suffering in his place.

Kang Si-hyeong had no choice but to be dragged along by Eun-ha.

"Tch, Cheon-seo is quick-witted at times like this. Feigning illness at the right moment. Cheon-seo is life's winner."

"Well, I think he's just reaping what he sowed. Si-hyeong, you're the lucky one."

Recently, among the Pandora Clan members, there was a trend of envying Lee Cheon-seo.

Like a cockroach, he would somehow sense when Eun-ha was about to create work and disappear.

There were many cases like today where he made excuses to avoid it.

Yu Do-jun jokingly said that he had achieved max level in evasion rate.

Unfortunately, Lee Cheon-seo's evasion ability didn't manifest in battle.

"But honey, do we really have to go farming in the middle of the night? Can't we farm after it gets light?"

"We could, but when it's daytime, there are more eyes watching. We're already attracting attention because of what we gained today, aren't we?"

"I guess so..."

Meanwhile, Bong Gu-rae asked while gathering his device.

They could go farming tomorrow.

But pursuers would follow.

In that case, it was better to move and farm like this in the dead of night.

So Eun-ha took his clan members and headed towards Bogwangsa, located quite far to the west of the Arts Center.

"─What a gloomy place."

Uijeongbu Bogwangsa.

Bogwangsa, shrouded in the thick night air, was exuding a considerably eerie aura.

The clan members couldn't help but agree with Kaede's words.

"Isn't it usually in places like this that unexpected treasures are hidden?"

"So did you see with that something important is hidden here?"

"Since our noona saw it, I don't know what she saw. We'll find out when we get there."

""""Sigh....""""

At Eun-ha's words, spoken with a chuckle.

Mok Min-ho sneered.

Eun-ha shrugged his shoulders.

Then he mentioned the name of Eun-ah, who wasn't present.

The clan members now passed it off as nothing unusual.

Since people now know that noona's gift is ... They'd say such things whenever Pandora Clan does anything.

They probably won't believe it though.

A lot had happened in the past two years.

The clan members had to unite to protect Ha Baek-ryeon, who had awakened , and to protect Roh Eun-ah, who had come into the spotlight for having the gift of .

As a result, the relationship between Eun-ha and the clan members had grown even closer.

Now there were even clan members like Mok Min-ho who would openly speak like that.

Eun-ha was grateful for their consideration, and thanks to them, he could even playfully lie about seeing the future with .

He had mellowed a lot.

"So what do we do now? Search thoroughly?"

"Players probably searched here today too. Don't look in obvious places, focus on searching places that wouldn't catch people's eye."

Meanwhile, Bae Su-bin asked.

The clan members were waiting for Eun-ha's instructions.

As Eun-ha's instructions fell, the clan members left one by one.

In contrast, Eun-ha stood in place.

It should be somewhere around here.

In the previous life.

On Tae-yang's party had found an artifact here at Bogwangsa that later made them who they were.

Among them, what can be particularly described is─.

"─According to what I heard... It was inside the mouth of these things."

"Papa?"

The National Salvation Holy Sword and the gift .

Along with those, something that could be said to symbolize On Tae-yang.

Eun-ha shifted his gaze to the dilapidated and collapsing stone statues.

The expressions of the stone statues were varied.

At a glance, there was no aura felt from the stone statues.

But surely one of those stone statues must be hiding it.

Sonic Wave

Eun-ha waved his hand in the air.

Ripples spread out.

The ripples analyzed the structure of the stone statues.

Soon he was able to find a stone statue that, unlike the others, was holding something inside.

Eun-ha focused his gaze on that statue.

Very faintly, the inside of the statue's mouth seemed to sparkle.

"How did On Tae-yang think to put his hand in that mouth? He really has unbelievable luck."

"Pipi?"

It was still amazing to think about even now.

Why did On Tae-yang have such luck?

But unfortunately, in this life, all of On Tae-yang's fortuitous encounters were going to Eun-ha.

It would be the same this time too.

Eun-ha put his hand inside the stone statue and grasped what he felt inside.

"...Yes, this is it."

"Pipi!! Papa!!"

What he pulled out from inside the statue's mouth.

A sphere containing a shimmering light.

The sphere looked like a crystal ball, or from another perspective, like an egg.

No, it was an egg.

Even without Eun-ha saying anything, Buldak recognized it.

"Papa!! Pipi!!"

"Yes, that's right. It's a phantasmal beast's egg. I wanted the washing machine, but I wanted this just as much."

Smaller than Buldak's egg.

The egg, made of a transparent material, was full of light inside.

So the outer shell appeared pure white like a normal egg.

──!!

Eun-ha infused mana into the egg.

Then the light trapped inside the egg showed movement.

The pure white light received Eun-ha's mana and changed to a blue light.

The blue light and pure white light mixed.

Soon when Eun-ha withdrew his mana, the light returned to its original color.

I'm looking forward to it.

The phantasmal beast that will hatch from this egg.

I am your master.

Eun-ha spoke to the yet unborn phantasmal beast while infusing mana into the egg.

He was very much looking forward to it.

Surely the phantasmal beast that will be born from this egg─.

─It's probably based on the 3rd rank Tempest Dragon that bestows wind attributes to magic.

On Tae-yang had called that phantasmal beast 'Flying Dragon'.

☆

Meanwhile, on that day when communication was not possible throughout Uijeongbu all day.

The 3rd Attack Platoon attempted to subjugate the 3rd rank monster Crimson Knight.

The attack platoon commanded by Zenith Clan first annihilated the nearby monsters according to the plan.

...

Unlike yesterday, today they boldly entered the area within Crimson Knight's line of sight.

Yet it still silently guarded its place with its sword thrust into the ground.

Thanks to this, the 3rd Attack Platoon was able to greatly reduce the size of the monster army without being checked by it.

"─All troops, we will now begin the subjugation of Crimson Knight!!"

As the size of the monster army was reduced.

Twelve Seats Ji Yong-hyeon finally ordered the attack on Crimson Knight.

The morale of the players was at its peak.

It was understandable since the corps commander had been standing like a wooden statue just watching the situation without moving.

Moreover─.

"─Is that really a corps commander? It's not counterattacking at all?"

"What kind of monster is this? Apart from its quite high defense, it's nothing special..."

Even after their attack began.

Crimson Knight was still guarding its place.

At this, people approached closer to the monster to make achievements, launching even bolder attacks.

It looked down at them approaching as if looking at ants.

"...This doesn't feel right."

The situation was clearly flowing in favor of the 3rd Attack Platoon.

But Ji Yong-hyeon couldn't shake off his uneasiness.

On the other hand, its armor was solid.

Even though 10 minutes had passed since the battle began, they hadn't been able to inflict any significant damage on it.

Its armor is tougher than I thought.

Is that why it's not moving?

Does it think its armor will never break no matter how much we attack, so it's just standing still?

Ji Yong-hyeon clicked his tongue.

It was even wearing a visor covering its face.

It was defending all its vital points.

Ji Yong-hyeon, who had landed on the ground, circled around it trying to find a weakness in its armor.

At that moment, he sensed it.

─It's watching me.

Beyond the dark visor.

Its gaze was fixed on him.

It was a sensation that made the nape of his neck tremble involuntarily, too strong to be just his imagination.

Has it identified that I'm the commander?

If his judgment was correct.

If it were to take an offensive stance, it would try to kill him first.

At this, Ji Yong-hyeon pondered.

They knew nothing about it.

In such a situation, was it okay for him, the commander, to keep fighting at the front?

But the deliberation didn't last long.

He was one of the Twelve Seats.

He was a Fairy's Sword.

He was the .

He must not retreat.

The morale of the platoon depended on him.

Right at that moment─.

─Boom boom boom boom!!

"We did it! We finally made it stagger!"

"Pour in more mana! No matter how high its defense is, it can't help but be pushed back when attacked!"

"Wrap ropes around its legs! Let's knock it to the ground and attack!"

Instead of Ji Yong-hyeon who had taken the lead.

The sub-lords of Zenith Clan sought ways to attack it.

It was effective.

The magic created by the combined efforts of the casters pushed it back.

"─One, two!!"

""""One, two!!""""

At the same time, hunters and rangers grabbed its ankles with ropes.

And people pulled on the ropes, trying to make it lose balance and fall to the ground.

It was truly a desperate struggle of dwarves trying to bring down a giant.

Their strategy seemed successful at first glance.

─Shing

""""...."""

However, they soon realized that it was just a momentary dream.

The corps commander drew its sword.

───!!!!

As the sword was drawn from its scabbard.

The atmosphere reversed.

As if the air had become heavy.

The players' breath caught in their throats.

They were overwhelmed by the aura Crimson Knight was emitting.

I am the guardian of this land.

The red eyes flashed behind the visor, conveying an incomprehensible thought.

At the same time, a massive ripple spread out centered on it.

"W-what is this..."

The spreading ripple stopped.

The ground where the ripple had passed turned red.

The players who suddenly found themselves standing on bright red ground were bewildered.

It wasn't that a dungeon had been created.

This was something else.

Then what was that something?

They soon realized.

"The attacks, none of them are working..."

"W-what is this! Why aren't our swords affecting the monsters!?"

Nullification of physical attacks.

Magic activated through devices and general physical attacks weren't working at all.

A player who swung his sword at a charging monster was shocked to see the sword pass right through the monster.

And then he was devoured.

I am the guardian of this land.

I punish those who invade this land.

That was the beginning.

The knight in red armor swung its sword, attacking the people nearby.

Mana Strike

Blood Breaker

The dealers who had been at the forefront of attacking it earlier reflexively aimed their swords.

The guardians also expanded the size of their shields to try to block the attack.

""""...!!""""

But just like with the monsters.

Its sword passed through all attacks, blowing away the vanguard in an instant.

The faces of the players blown into the sky by the giant sword were filled with shock.

But they perished without even being able to make a sound.

"Clan Lord!! We must retreat immediately! The enemy's ability is too powerful! We need to get out of the circle quickly, regroup our forces and find a way to attack!"

"All troops, retreat!!"

Zenith Clan's sub-lord Kim Cheol-sik.

He broke free from the corps commander's spell and shouted at the top of his lungs.

Ji Yong-hyeon agreed.

He ordered the platoon members.

The players began to retreat.

Thump thump thump

However, the corps commander wasn't about to let them go.

It chased after the players who had turned their backs, making the ground shake.

And it wasn't just the corps commander.

As soon as the tide turned, monsters began to pounce on the players.

"Arghhhh! Cough... You bastard...!"

"Casters and supporters, cover with protection magic! It's tough, but you're the only ones who can block!"

In a situation where physical attacks weren't working.

The players fell into panic.

Moreover, the red circle was moving along with the corps commander.

No matter how fast the players ran, they realized they couldn't escape the red circle as long as the corps commander was chasing them.

Then they had to run even faster to escape its domain.

"Damn it!!!"

"Help me! I need time to cast magic... Kyaaa!!"

Many casualties occurred.

The supporters and casters were suddenly playing the roles of dealers, guardians, and hunters.

But there was no way they could handle the monsters chasing right behind them, not being specialized for close combat.

Dealers and guardians tried to run to the rear to help them, but they could only act as meat shields at best.

──!!

Another one.

A player's head flew off.