Chapter 168. Hidden Peace (3)
“Steel! The steel moves!”
“What the hell is that!”
“Is it a new weapon? Or an artifact?”
The faces of the challengers witnessing this unknown civilization were wrinkled with confusion and shock. Indeed, this was something that Yoon-seok, a native of Earth, didn’t even understand, so it was natural to react like that. However, some people were surprised by something completely different.
“Pygmy Clan?”
“I heard all of them disappeared during the Hundred Years War.”
Those who confirmed the being inside the cockpit spoke aloud one by one. Most of them were from Seheranbad.
‘Pygmy Clan?’
Belatedly, Yoon-seok also remembered what he heard. There was such a race in Seheranbad, but they all perished in a war long ago. Even though he visited during the missions roughly 500 years ago, they only appeared in history books, so Yoon-seok never actually met one.
“It doesn’t seem like a challenge since no message comes up…”
Perhaps this Pygmy Clan was a being of another dimension that could be encountered when the dimensional distortion accelerated. Yoon-seok squinted.
Well, it was fine anyway. Only one thing remains important right now. That Pygmy Clan was the enemy of the expedition.
—Die, you bastards!
The 6m high armored personnel carrier swung its hatchet. Yoon-seok sped forward as if shot and blocked it with his sword. But he realized right away this guy was a formidable opponent, considering that he jumped out like a mob.
‘Is he a Ranker?’
At least in force alone, he was on par with himself. He tried to push it away, not stop it, but it didn’t work out at all. No, he was being pushed back inch by inch. Looking at this, maybe the opponent was a Ranker…
Yoon-seok wasn’t sure yet. His information was lacking.
[Due to the Lady’s Commandment, the radius of registration in the list of the domain-specific skill {Death God} is reduced to 5m.]
A nerf, not a buff. Yoon-seok reduced the original 500m radius to 5m to avoid getting the Expedition team involved.
[Dracar Nyensson]
Additional information appeared under the name on the list. Yoon-seok continued the power struggle as he skimmed through the text, but he suddenly stiffened. The Pigmy’s nickname was Nyensson, and their affiliated dimension was Fedomia. There was nothing special about it so far, but there was one unbelievable item.
‘Duel on the 25th floor?’
A challenger from the 25th floor appeared on the 21st floor. His mind went blank for a moment, but Yoon-seok quickly realized one more thing. This dwarf guy was a challenger, but he was the same as the former Expedition Leader. In other words, he was a character from the past reconstructed by the Tower.
‘…Wait’
He was on the 21st floor, and he would have to fight four more duels to get himself up to the 25th floor. And now the number of Rankers was about 5,000. Assuming that the one-on-one method didn’t change, and he had four more duels here…
‘2,500, 1,250, 625, 312… that’s crazy.’
About 300 people remained on the 25th floor if his assumption was right. However, that wasn’t what he should be considering now.
—Khahahaha! I was expecting bland beer, but here’s a guy who is good enough.
Dracar looked like he was having fun. Steam spewed out of the nozzle next to the cockpit, and the blade of the light ax began to rotate.
Whooosh! Clank! Clank!
He was pushed back as sparks kicked up from their blades, but Yoon-seok couldn’t hide his excitement. There were scratches on the Judgment Sword, which had the indestructible attribute.
‘Let’s step back for now.’
This wasn’t an enemy that could be slain with a single blow like their previous enemies. He needed to deal with him step by step, like in a duel. No, given that he was four floors higher, he had to be much more careful.
Whooosh!
Yoon-seok left his spot with the ability to move through space. The ax cut through the air, creating a wind pressure strong enough to tear flesh. The Expedition members stepped out of range while Yoon-seok blocked the ax again.
‘Should I call Lynn?’
The space battleship suddenly came to his mind, but he stopped. He entrusted Lynn with defending the Earth, and it would be difficult to use the battleship properly in this situation with his allies nearby. What’s more, wasn’t there an ally stronger than Lynn next to him already?
“It is steel that carries and moves people in it… this is quite fun.”
Cheon-ma, watching from the side, entered the battle with bright eyes. Explosive, demonic energy bloomed from the tip of her sword, causing Dracar’s eyes to widen. Even if he was a duel challenger from the 25th floor, Cheon-ma wasn’t an opponent he could ignore.
—Moorim?
But that wasn’t his only surprise.
—Why are there Moorim people inside the Gate? Aren’t they supposed to be invaders?
He was confused at Cheon-ma’s presence.
“Let’s have fun!”
She didn’t wait for him to figure it out, however. Her long black sword jabbed, and his double-edged ax swung to block.
Clash!
They clashed at a speed that ordinary people couldn’t even follow with their eyes, but Yoon-seok’s eyes lit up as he watched.
‘Did she get pushed back?’
One exchange to gauge each other’s power. Of course, this alone wouldn’t be able to determine anything. But the moment the sword and the ax collided, Cheon-ma was the one being pushed, even only slightly, away.
“Oh my.”
—Aren’t all the Rankers of Moorim dead? But you are walking around the Gate like this. Who are you?!
“Well. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if you have any questions, why don’t you find out yourself!”
Cheon-ma provoked him. Yoon-seok noticed that she said that just because she wanted to fight more aggressively, but…
—You must be plotting something. You losers.
Dracar, not knowing her personality, felt it suspicious.
—I don’t know what you’re planning, but I’ll make you regret it!
“Try it if you can!”
—Absolute system.
“Supreme Demonic Double-Edged Sword River.”
They recited their commands in unison. From the armor on which Dracar was mounted, strange green mana began to flow out, and from Cheon-ma’s body, more and more dense black demonic energy ebbed out. The rest of the Expedition, sensing there was no place to join, fell far away from the two.
Meanwhile, Yoon-seok stood there, lost in thought.
‘Was he called to this side?’
At first, he thought he was just an enemy who appeared on this mission. But maybe that wasn’t the case. Come to think of it, didn’t he call them invaders when he saw this place? If all of this happened because of a misunderstanding, it might be resolved by talking things out.
For example, by revealing that they were an expedition team, not invaders, and ask for his help.
‘Well, it’s too late to turn back now…’
Yoon-seok decided not to waste his mental energy any longer on useless thoughts. What if he was an enemy, and what if he was a person who could have helped them? It was enough to finish everything and move forward.
* * *
“I will help.”
When Yoon-seok joined in, Cheon-ma made a strange expression, but he responded one step faster than she could utter a refusal.
“It’s not a duel. It’s a mission.”
Cheonma glanced at the rest of the crew, watching or cheering from afar. She shook her head.
“…Well, this isn’t bad either. Anyway, be careful. That armored guy might not seem like a big deal, but he’s pretty picky.”
—Do you think one more person will make a difference?
The ax was swung down, and Yoon-seok and Cheon-ma fell away in either direction. Dracar’s attacks differed from the Space Captain’s fighting style. That armor was indeed awesome, but the pilot’s close combat abilities were much higher. And, instead of firing missiles or light cannons, it utilized all sorts of magical technology. This was explained when he said this:
—This is Fedomia’s Magic Engineering! You losers!
That was the reason why Cheon-ma couldn’t easily gain the upper hand. Various magics kept popping out at exquisite timing. Unaccustomed to magic, Cheon-ma had to suffer through this over and over again. That’s why…
“I will take care of this.”
Yoon-seok was also largely unfamiliar with magic. After all, he rarely encountered wizards in the duels. It didn’t matter if he didn’t know, though. Whatever it was, it was enough to cut it down with the Judgment Sword with the ability to ignore all magic below its wielder’s mana level.
Slash-!
The net of *** the suit’s elbow was cut down by Yoon-seok’s sword and scattered like dust. There was no magic that Yoon-seok, who surpassed even the system’s limits with his Transcendence ability, could not cut with this sword. However…
—Yeah, that’s useless!
After Yoon-seok joined and took charge of the magic attacks, they began to gain the upper hand, but the battle dragged on. It wasn’t because Cheon-ma and Yoon-seok weren’t good at working together, however. When one person hit, one person parried. Although they had no experience fighting together, Cheon-ma and Yoon-seok’s movements flowed naturally.
Nevertheless, there was a reason for the close battle.
—Overcome performance. Maximize output. Infinity Magic.
This was a duel challenger on the 25th floor from 500 years ago. His AP alone would have four additional floors padding it out, and the difference would be even greater if he traveled around on missions or explored during that time. Of course, it wasn’t all about points, but the fact that he survived to the 25th floor was evidence of his skill.
Whoosh-!
Fire and ice erupted out. They didn’t know what kind of skill he used, but the Judgment Sword could no longer cleave through his spells.
‘Since he only used it now, it must be a skill with a big downside.’
This would be the last move, then. Therefore, now was the time. Yoon-seok exchanged a glance with Cheon-ma and used {Demonify}. She also brandished her hidden skill.
Crack-crack.
The space shattered, and Cheon-ma’s sword passed smoothly through the gaps. For the first time, she scored a valid hit.
Slash-!
Cheon-ma’s sword, radiating demonic energy, cut through the fuselage of the robot. Yoon-seok expressed the power of spatial domination to the extreme, distorting the space around the cockpit.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Cracks ran through the tempered glass. Yoon-seok grinned. It cracked further, and at some point, the roaring laughter went away, and a look of embarrassment spread across the pilot’s face.
‘At this rate, I don’t need to use Light of End, right?’
That was Yoon-seok’s secret weapon. However, since it had a month’s cooldown time, he wouldn’t use it if he had any other way. Yoon-seok decided to finish the fight quickly, so he didn’t need to bring out his other skills.
Crack-!
Yoon-seok squeezed his left arm into the cracked cockpit. Then he grabbed the dwarf by the back of his neck and pulled him out. Several wires connected to his arms and body were yanked off, and a musty-smelling liquid poured out.
“Let me go, let me go!”
Dracar struggled with his thick arms and legs. Cheon-ma chuckled.
“Looking at him like that, he looks like a baby. If you rip off the shell, he is nothing.”
When Yoon-seok smiled, Cheon-ma asked:
“You aren’t thinking of killing him, are you?”
“No.”
Yoon-seok had a few questions to ask before he killed this guy. There were things he wanted to do if he could as well.
‘How much time is left for {Predation}’s cooldown?’
Yoon-seok’s eyes deepened, becoming a wolf’s before an injured deer.
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