Chapter 51

Chapter 51

 

The curse was easily nullified by Curse Breaker.

That was because it could grant complete immunity up to Unknown Grade.

Of course, there was no way the Defense Unit members could have known that.

So every one of them was standing there with their mouths hanging open.

Soon, Lee Ha-kyung raised the Whisperer.

“All teams that were fighting the Night Stalkers, move to the Void Maulers.”

―Yes, we will move immediately!

Energy returned to the once-gloomy Defense Unit. 

It felt as if Lee Ha-kyung’s performance had opened a blocked vein.

On top of that, his orders had also struck exactly where they needed to.

After the Night Stalkers, the Void Maulers were the weakest entities.

Just like that, the Eastern Defense Unit was beginning to seize the advantage.

Lee Ha-kyung watched the situation from atop the Wall.

‘For now, we stopped the first wave.’

There had been dangerous moments, but the result was fairly decent.

Just holding them off without any significant damage was already something.

The battle came to an end when the last Blight Reaver fell.

Lee Ha-kyung continued giving orders.

“Collect the loot as quickly as possible, and clear the corpses first.”

―Is that all right?

“Yes. They will not come again for a while.”

Normally, in a Gate Break, Loot Collection was done at the very end.

After all, ownership was clear, since everyone knew who had killed what.

There was no need to be greedy.

Preparing for the next fight was the wiser choice.

However, Lee Ha-kyung ordered them to collect the loot first.

Because he knew there would be no additional attack.

He was seeing through the dense fog with the thermal imaging function.

At that moment, Seo Jun-hyuk approached and spoke in a worried voice.

“Will this be all right? If we get ambushed while collecting loot, things will become incredibly dangerous.”

“Yes, it does not matter. They won’t come for a while.”

“If you say so, Captain, then I can’t argue. Haha!”

“It will be better for later if we clear them away. The monsters could climb up the Field Boss’s corpse.”

“That thing certainly does look rather dangerous.”

Lee Ha-kyung and Seo Jun-hyuk looked at the Blight Reaver’s corpse.

It had become troublesome because, of all places, it had died leaning against the Wall.

The Eastern Defense Unit dismantled the boss monster’s corpse in an instant.

Of course, Lee Ha-kyung and Seo Jun-hyuk did not join in.

Because one was the Captain, and the other was a Healer.

It was not because they had some sort of privilege.

It was because they had to prepare for emergencies.

Around the time the Loot Collection was nearly finished.

As Lee Ha-kyung stood on a Protrusion of the Wall.

Someone suddenly approached him.

“Um......”

When Lee Ha-kyung glanced back, an unexpected group was standing there.

The Raiders’ guild members.

It was Park Jun-ho and his party.

Every one of them wore an awkward expression.

Lee Ha-kyung spoke as dryly as possible.

“What is it?”

One phrase without any emotion at all.

Perhaps that was why it seemed to stab even deeper into their lungs.

Park Jun-ho forced his mouth open.

His neck flushed bright red.

“Thank you for saving us.”

“I simply did what had to be done.”

“I-I see.”

When Park Jun-ho gave them a look, the Raiders’ guild members bowed their heads.

“Thank you for the grace of salvation, Captain!”

With a group of sturdy men doing that all at once.

It looked like a scene from some gangster film.

Lee Ha-kyung, who had been following that thought, shook his head.

‘No, is it a medieval fantasy film?’

Since all of them were wearing armor, knights suited them better than gangsters.

In any case, Lee Ha-kyung gave them a vague wave of his hand.

“That is enough. I did not do it just to receive thanks. I am satisfied that we stopped the first wave well.”

“We will cooperate properly from now on.”

“I would appreciate that.”

“However......”

Suddenly, Park Jun-ho trailed off.

It seemed to be something difficult to say, just like when he had first approached.

In truth, Lee Ha-kyung did not care what this man said.

So he merely shrugged lightly.

“Speak freely.”

“Within our guild, Lee Ha-kyung, you have been designated an enemy. On the grounds that you slandered the Master.”

“Huh! And?”

“I want to know exactly what happened.”

“What is known to the public is everything.”

“Actually, AI Raid Videos are not very reliable. They are made from stories told by people, so they contain exaggerations.”

“Except for a few people at the time, they were all Raiders.”

“None of them told us the details, you see.”

Apparently, everyone who had participated back then was keeping silent.

Well, they had no choice.

They had gotten scared and abandoned a teammate.

They had even lied and said the Dungeon Raid had ended normally.

They had brought in a professional Champion for a sharp confrontation and still lost.

They probably could not endure it unless they made Lee Ha-kyung into a bastard.

They needed someone to curse together so their own shame would be covered.

Of course, Lee Ha-kyung had no particular intention of explaining himself.

“I do not know what exactly you want to learn now, but think whatever you like. Even if I say something, would it be anything more than the opposing side’s account?”

“Ah......”

“It is about time for a new wave to arrive. Please return to your positions.”

“Yes, then. I wish you good fortune in battle.”

Park Jun-ho turned away with a complicated expression.

What if Lee Ha-kyung had explained the situation back then?

He would not have been agonizing so seriously.

But because Lee Ha-kyung kept his words to himself, it became more persuasive instead.

His attitude was the exact opposite of the Raiders Guild, who had been actively condemning him.

Lee Ha-kyung glanced at Park Jun-ho as he walked away.

‘I didn’t mean to, but I just planted a tremendous amount of distrust in him.’

Still, he did not particularly feel any guilt.

Was that not their own doing?

The conflict had begun with Choi Hyun-ki’s foolish judgment in the first place.

Then Seo Jun-hyuk, who had been standing at a distance, came back with a pleased expression.

“Keuh! As expected, you truly are incredible, Captain.”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“Everyone is making a fuss that you made those troublesome bandits submit. How in the world did you do it?”

It seemed to be because the Raiders’ guild members had come to greet him as a group.

From a distance, they must have looked like some conquering monarch and defeated soldiers.

Lee Ha-kyung glanced around.

Every Defense Unit member’s gaze was focused on him.

It seemed they had seen that scene just now while returning after finishing the Loot Collection.

Lee Ha-kyung shook his head from side to side.

“Another strange article is going to go up.”

“Strange? It’s incredible. From what I heard, you saved those people, did you not? Why on earth?”

“Isn’t separating public and private matters only natural?”

“No matter how much that may be the correct principle, it isn’t easy to do......”

It was not as if they were machines.

How could emotion be excluded from anything people did?

Even so, Lee Ha-kyung did not hate the Raiders’ guild members.

‘They weren’t even the people who were in the Layered Abyss, were they?’

Besides, what power would ordinary guild members have?

They had probably followed because their Master told them to.

As Lee Ha-kyung stood there with a calm face, Seo Jun-hyuk shrugged.

“You might end up with the nickname Buddha instead of Undying One.”

“Please spare me from something like that.”

RUMBLEEEEE!

While they were talking briefly.

The Gate Break entered a new phase.

The fog grew even thicker.

The reaction of the Abyss Energy changed intensely.

It felt as if something was going to happen at any moment.

Seo Jun-hyuk must have sensed that something was unusual as well.

His chattering mouth fell silent.

Soon, someone came running in a hurry and looked for Lee Ha-kyung.

“Captain! Captain, where are you?”

“I am here.”

“Hah! Hah! An order has come down from the Association.”

Electronic devices went dead within the area affected by Abyss Energy.

So they had no choice but to deliver it directly like this.

Lee Ha-kyung immediately tore off the seal.

Then he unfolded the contents.

“......Retreat? What is this supposed to mean?”

“Before I left for this place, the northern and southern Defense Units were withdrawing.”

“Surely they failed to stop even the first wave?”

“No. They killed three Field Bosses each, but the following offensive caused the Walls to collapse.”

Instead of having one fewer Field Boss than the Eastern Defense Unit.

It seemed their second wave had begun much faster.

In any case, this meant they had no choice but to withdraw as well.

Now attacks would also come from behind.

And their supplies were certain to be cut off, too.

Lee Ha-kyung nodded.

“Understood. We will retreat at once as well.”

“Then I will see you at the next rallying point.”

“Yes. Good work.”

The messenger left.

Lee Ha-kyung immediately spread word of the situation.

The Defense Unit members obediently followed the order.

Since the defensive line had already been broken.

They knew well that there was no meaning in holding out here.

The Eastern Defense Unit quickly emptied the Wall.

However, Lee Ha-kyung alone did not withdraw.

‘Something is....... strange.’

Lee Ha-kyung stood on the Protrusion atop the Wall.

He was seeing through the fog.

The Gate, which had turned pitch-black, constantly writhed.

Then yellow, mottled patterns began to appear on it.

THUD!

“Urgh!”

Lee Ha-kyung let out a small groan.

An immense pressure had pressed down on his entire body.

Soon, he realized it.

‘This isn’t a force that actually exists.’

Thick killing intent had taken physical form and struck Lee Ha-kyung directly.

The distance to the Gate was several kilometers.

Yet that violent will had been conveyed across that distance.

The thought occurred to him that this thing was absurd.

Lee Ha-kyung stared at the yellow stains that had formed on the Gate.

‘What in the world is that?’

It was not the manifestation of a will aimed precisely at him.

A massive thought was simply spreading outward.

And Lee Ha-kyung alone had sensed it.

[‘Soul Brand’ detects a strange presence]

[Abyss Core discovered] 

‘Core? What is that?’

He threw out the question, but there were no more system messages.

However, he could roughly infer it.

The Abyss Core glowing yellow.

Lee Ha-kyung realized it instinctively.

‘Is that the cause of the Gate Break?’

Was that not only common sense?

Korea was a nation that crushed dungeons the moment they appeared.

This land of the morning calm had mastered tactics and strategy.

And it was the home of the most persistent monsters on Earth.

Naturally, a Gate Break caused by an accumulation of dungeons could not happen.

In the end, Lee Ha-kyung could only arrive at one conclusion.

‘It must have been caused artificially.’

Then what should he do?

There was only one answer.

The Abyss Core.

Destroying that ominous yellow sphere.

Lee Ha-kyung moved.

When he descended below the Wall, the Whisperer suddenly rang.

―Captain, preparations are complete. Shall we retreat as we are?

“Yes. Move directly to the next rallying point.”

―However, Captain, where are you?

“I have something to do separately, so I will act independently.”

―Understood.

Perhaps because they had received the Association’s order.

The Defense Unit members did not suspect Lee Ha-kyung’s departure at all.

He stopped walking for a moment and sank into thought.

‘Should I withdraw, persuade the Association, and then come back?’

Right now, the Gate Break was actively in progress.

The inside was probably incredibly dangerous.

The standard approach would be to form an expedition with skilled Awakened.

But Lee Ha-kyung’s intuition.

Soul Brand was sending him a Signal.

If a long time passed like this, the Abyss Core would disappear.

Lee Ha-kyung made up his mind.

‘Let’s finish it before something bigger comes.’

He decided to become a special forces unit that pierced into the enemy’s heart.

But just as he was about to move again.

Someone abruptly called out to him.

“Captain, where are you going alone? Let me join you on this great expedition.”

When he looked back, unexpected figures were standing there.

One of them was Seo Jun-hyuk.

He could understand why that man had followed.

After all, Seo Jun-hyuk had admired Lee Ha-kyung for a long time.

But the man in his forties, who was hesitating.

Park Jun-ho was truly unexpected.

Lee Ha-kyung asked a question.

“Why did you come?”

“Let us call it atonement.”

“You didn’t come to stab me in the back?”

“......Pardon?”

“It was a joke. See? You should have managed your image better in everyday life.”

Park Jun-ho could not close his hanging mouth.

Then he muttered,

“Is it... that bad?”

Apparently, they were the only ones who did not know.

Thugs were shameless by nature.