Chapter 98: Verification of Doom (4)
Sa-hyeok recalled his Thunderbolt Needles and drew out the Mubuchamdo, letting it float.
From now on, other Hunters would be joining the fight.
The Thunderbolt Needles could accidentally electrocute other Hunters in the chaotic battle.
That’s why he had taken out the Mubuchamdo, which allowed for more precise attacks.
Swish!
Thud!
Slash!!
Sa-hyeok’s Mubuchamdo targeted the joints of the Decapitated Demons, neutralizing their arms and legs.
Another Hunter’s axe mercilessly split the upper bodies of the neutralized demons, while another’s iron club pounded them into the ground.
The Decapitated Demons were being unilaterally slaughtered.
It couldn’t be helped.
Their only strategy was to disrupt the enemy formation with their fire-breathing heads and then launch a surprise attack, but that strategy had been completely nullified by Sa-hyeok.
Even if you have a powerful weapon, if it’s the only weapon you have, you become incomparably weak when it’s gone.
That was the situation the Decapitated Demons were facing now.
Of course, this was a 3-star dungeon, and there were still quite a few resets left.
Therefore, the Decapitated Demon bodies themselves weren’t weak at all.
It was just the Decapitated Demons’ misfortune that the Hunters, especially Sa-hyeok, were too strong.
“Are they all dead?”
“Let’s double-check. Last time, a Decapitated Demon pretended to be dead and a scavenger got seriously injured.”
Sa-hyeok and the other Hunters checked the Decapitated Demons scattered on the floor once more.
This was to find any who might be feigning death or were simply unconscious.
Of course, most of the Decapitated Demons were in such a disastrous state that it would be strange if they were still alive.
However, mistakes always happen during chaotic battles.
“Kyahaaaak!”
A Decapitated Demon, who had been poorly hit by an iron club and knocked unconscious, got up and attacked.
At that moment, a chant came from the rear.
“Pierce and burn, Fire Spear.”
Whoosh!
Fwoosh!
The Flame Spear launched by the Raid Leader pierced through the Decapitated Demon’s torso.
Flames erupted the moment it hit.
The Decapitated Demon, which had made its last stand, died with a hole in its chest.
And so, the first room was cleared.
Sa-hyeok turned his head, looked at the Raid Leader, and asked,
“I knew you were a mage…… but are you a Flame Sorcerer?”
“Yes? Ah, yes.”
Come to think of it, the Raid Leader had only said he was a mage, not a Flame Sorcerer.
Sa-hyeok thought,
‘A Flame Sorcerer…… Why would they send a Flame Sorcerer to a place like this?’
The reason Sa-hyeok had this question was simple.
This dungeon was filled with flames.
This was a dungeon where flames erupted everywhere.
In a place like this, the power of a Flame Sorcerer would also increase, but the fire resistance of the monsters would increase even more.
Therefore, Flame Sorcerers rarely came to dungeons like this.
This was because, fundamentally, their flame attribute damage was mitigated.
Of course, it was possible to just burst them down with damage, like he had just done, but it wasn’t very efficient.
‘Well, I guess they must have been short on manpower.’
Sa-hyeok decided to let it go for now.
Well, honestly, it wouldn’t be easy for an ordinary agricultural community, not even a guild, to have mages of every attribute.
“Alright, then let’s take a short break and reorganize before moving on to the next room.”
There was a brief period for personal reorganization following the Raid Leader’s instructions.
“Have some potion, Sa-hyeok-ssi.”
“Ah, yes.”
Sa-hyeok opened his hip sack and took out a Mandrake’s Bile, swallowing a mouthful.
He had gotten used to it, but it still tasted like maggots.
The problem was that while getting used to this, he had become unable to be satisfied with ordinary stimulants and had become someone who had to drink only this.
These days, the Hunter Mart that Sa-hyeok frequented even set aside a separate supply of Mandrake’s Bile just for him.
Because he was the only one who bought it.
Seeing Sa-hyeok drinking the Bile, the raid members asked in slightly bewildered voices,
“Um…… Will that be enough for a stimulant? You should also have some Healing Potion for health recovery.”
“It’s alright. I’m confident in my stamina.”
It couldn’t be helped. During his time in the Special Forces, he had been ranked first in the unit for stamina measurements for two consecutive years, and after joining Kwonmu-mun, he was training his mage’s body with stamina training meant for martial artists.
It would be more difficult for him to have poor stamina.
And……
“……If I drink a Healing Potion, the stimulant effects will also be healed and disappear.”
This was actually the biggest reason he didn’t drink Healing Potions.
The Raid Leader said,
“Well, if that’s the reason…… Alright, then let’s move on to the next room!”
The path to the next room was a downward staircase.
Heat was rising from the far end of the stairs.
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Wheeeeng-
Outside the dungeon.
Bang-ul-i was riding a drone, taking a look around the village.
At first, he was actually a little nervous.
Worried about being seen by people.
But that worry disappeared after just a minute of flying.
Because there were a considerable number of drones flying through the skies of this village besides Bang-ul-i.
Since drones were so frequently seen, none of the people in Seongan Madang found Bang-ul-i strange.
However, Bang-ul-i felt something was off.
[Why are there so many drones flying around in a rural village like this?]
There were a suspiciously large number of drones.
They said they were used for spraying pesticides, but the drones were too small for that.
Besides, there wasn’t a single drone actually spraying pesticides.
[Are they really for surveillance?]
Bang-ul-i approached one of the drones.
And he tried to access the drone’s internal circuitry.
[……Oh.]
There were three auxiliary devices attached to the drone.
A camera, a sound collection device (listening device), and a transmission device.
This drone was transmitting the video it filmed and recorded from the sky somewhere.
[It really was for surveillance?!]
Bang-ul-i backtracked the location where the drone was transmitting the video.
And he found the place where the video transmitted by the drone was being collected.
A guard post located in a corner of the village.
All the CCTV footage and drone surveillance footage of the village was being gathered there.
Every move of the residents of
This wasn’t for security purposes.
No, in the first place, there was no reason for this closed-off rural community to have this level of security equipment installed.
[……This village is crazy.]
Only then did Bang-ul-i understand why Jang-hoon had called In-su a ‘cult leader’.
A closed-off community.
Excessive surveillance of its members.
Unconditional favor towards the leader.
An outwardly spiritual and peaceful atmosphere.
It overlapped with many aspects of the many cult communities that had been reported so far.
But it was still just a suspicion.
To make an accurate judgment, he needed solid evidence.
[……Let’s gather data first.]
Bang-ul-i started to fly towards the guard post.
The place where all the surveillance data of the village was being collected.
……He was planning to clean it out first.
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Back to the dungeon.
The raid party continued to advance, killing the Decapitated Demons in their path.
Sa-hyeok destroyed all the flying heads, and then they annihilated the remaining demons with a combined attack.
The deeper they went, the number of Decapitated Demons gradually increased, but this strategy remained effective.
Because the skill level of the raid members was also gradually increasing.
However, the moment when this momentum would be broken was approaching.
“What’s that?”
A Decapitated Demon five times larger than the usual ones appeared.
And it had four arms.
The Raid Leader, looking at the demon, said,
“This is the mid-boss I mentioned during the briefing, the Large Decapitated Demon.”
It was holding its own head in one hand, and clubs in the remaining hands.
The eyes of the raid members were all focused on the head the demon was holding.
Because it used its head differently from the other Decapitated Demons.
Slide-
It didn’t throw its head.
It just held its head forward.
The head the demon was holding opened its mouth wide.
“Incoming!”
Fwooosh!!
The head the demon was holding spewed fire like a flamethrower.
The moment the huge flames rushed towards the raid members.
“Block it, Flame Wall.”
Fwoosh!
A wall of fire was erected in front of the raid members.
The approaching flames were blocked by the wall of fire and could not advance any further.
A bizarre scene of blocking flames with flames.
As a result of enduring it like that……
Fizzle-
Finally, the demon’s head stopped spewing fire.
Now was the time.
The Raid Leader shouted,
“Attack!”
The Raid Leader removed the wall of fire.
Dash!
As soon as the order was given, two martial artists and Sa-hyeok dashed out simultaneously.
The cooldown time for the demon’s flamethrower skill was about 15 seconds.
During those 15 seconds, the demon’s flame skill was sealed.
During that time, the only attack it could use was swinging its clubs.
It was threatening, but it was nothing compared to the wide-range flame attack.
And so the 15-second cooldown time arrived.
They had to inflict as much damage as possible on the demon during this time.
Tatatat!
The axe on the left, the iron club on the right, and Sa-hyeok in the center.
They closed in on the demon from three directions.
And the demon raised the three clubs it held in its three hands high.
Remaining cooldown time, 13 seconds.
Whoosh!
Kwagwagwa!!
The demon wildly pounded the ground with the stone clubs it held in its hands.
The axe and iron club, with nimble movements, avoided the pounding and approached the demon.
Perhaps because they had both cleared this dungeon three times before, they skillfully dodged the club swings and closed in.
Slash!
Thwack!
The axe and iron club instantly inflicted damage.
And Sa-hyeok……
Step.
At a very ordinary walking pace, he walked towards the demon.
He didn’t make any evasive movements or take a defensive stance.
He just walked forward, step by step.
Slow things usually don’t stand out.
However, it’s a different story if there are others running around wildly in all directions.
In that case, the slow one becomes more noticeable.
Soon, the Large Decapitated Demon’s attention was focused on Sa-hyeok.
It swung its club down towards this slow-moving prey.
Crack!
Bang!
Kwagwagwa!!
More than ten strikes aimed solely at Sa-hyeok landed.
From afar, it looked as if Sa-hyeok had been turned into mincemeat.
The other Hunters’ eyes widened.
But it was too early to be surprised.
“Am I hurt?”
Sa-hyeok was standing there, perfectly fine.
The area around where he was standing had been devastated by the club strikes.
All those ten-plus strikes had completely missed Sa-hyeok.
Whoosh!
The demon swung its club down once more, aiming for the top of Sa-hyeok’s head.
Miss-
Bang!!
But this attack also missed Sa-hyeok and struck the ground.
Right before the attack reached Sa-hyeok, the trajectory of the club had been momentarily deflected.
The raid members couldn’t even properly grasp what had happened.
“What?”
“All the attacks are missing……?”
The reason was simple.
He had slightly pushed away the incoming clubs with his telekinesis.
Parrying, the technique of neutralizing the opponent’s attack by deflecting it instead of blocking or dodging it.
Sa-hyeok had parried all those ten-plus strikes with his telekinesis.
He couldn’t directly project his telekinesis onto living beings, but the weapon held by that living being was a different story.
Remaining cooldown time, 4 seconds.
The distance between the demon and Sa-hyeok was only 1 meter.
Sa-hyeok said,
“My turn.”
Crack!
Sa-hyeok’s right fist struck the demon’s knee.
He didn’t use any special techniques.
It was just a lightly thrown basic punch.
With that one blow, the demon’s kneecap turned to dust, and its leg bent backward and broke.
Since one of the legs supporting its massive body was shattered, it was natural for it to fall over.
Rumble-
The demon’s large body fell towards Sa-hyeok.
If he didn’t dodge and stayed still, he would be crushed under its body.
But Sa-hyeok didn’t dodge, instead, he performed a palm technique.
Kwonmu Palm Technique 3rd Form, Ripple (波紋).
Sa-hyeok’s palm strike landed on the falling Decapitated Demon’s body.
Thud!!!
Ripples spread like waves over the demon’s hard body.
If a punch was like a sharp spear piercing through an object, a palm strike was like an earthquake that shook and shattered it.
The ripples of the palm strike, which erupted from the center of the body, soon spread to the extremities……
Whoosh!
……and sent everything the demon was holding flying in all directions.
The clubs, and even the head it was holding.
They all tumbled to the ground.
“Destroy the head.”
The raid members, who had been engrossed in watching Sa-hyeok’s fight, suddenly came to their senses at those words.
The demon’s head, rolling on the ground.
Crack!
Soon, the axe and iron club smashed the head.
Now, all that remained was the demon’s body.
Sa-hyeok looked down at the Large Decapitated Demon, which was collapsing and struggling.
He knew.
He knew that these monster beasts were beings stored, or rather, trapped, within the stele by someone.
He also knew that this was a reason to feel sympathy.
Yes, he only knew.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
The Mubuchamdo and Thunderbolt Needles began to mercilessly shred the demon’s body.
