NOVEL NEXT Chapter 187
Chapter 187: The Undead Legion
“Huff, huff… Hurry up!”
Dong-il shouted, panting heavily.
In front of him was an overwhelming number of Undead approaching.
There were so many that they completely blocked the road, stretching endlessly into the distance.
It was truly an Undead army.
Even after tirelessly taking down countless Undead that crossed paths with the guild members, it seemed never-ending.
The Undead kept flooding in like they were spawning from somewhere.
“No more! It’s impossible! Impossible!”
Dong-il shook his head in distress.
He appeared quite exhausted.
Being one of the stronger members of the guild and having a knack for defense, he had always taken the frontline to block enemies.
“Phew… Just a bit more, let’s hold on.”
Mujik, standing beside Dong-il, glanced back and spoke.
There were still residents unaccounted for.
They were huddled close to Si-hyun’s house, cornered by the Undead.
Guild Leader Cheol-hyung had determined it was impossible to save any more people.
So, while Dong-il, Mujik, Cheol-hyung, and some guild members held back the Undead, the rest were hastily evacuating through the Teleportation Magic Circle.
The guild members prioritized getting the residents out first.
Even when their own lives were on the line, they focused on saving the townsfolk.
That was certainly not something just anyone could do.
The name Yangji Guild would be etched deeply in the memories of the residents they saved.
“Come this way.”
Euna guided the last person by the hand toward the magic circle.
She looked terribly pale, clearly exhausted.
She had been constantly healing the injured residents and guild members, completely draining her magic power.
“Go.”
As To-ya, who was already on the magic circle, shouted the activation command, the last rescued resident vanished into the safe zone.
Seeing that, Euna wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, letting out a sigh of relief.
Then she opened her mouth again.
“Everyone, hurry and move over there.”
“What about you, Hunter-nim?”
The other guild members looked at Euna.
“I’ll watch the situation a bit longer. We might have injured individuals.”
“But….”
“Go! If you dawdle, the remaining people will be in trouble.”
There was a limit to how many could move through the magic circle at once.
So it was essential to leave quickly to avoid crowding.
The other guild members understood the urgency and hesitated briefly before starting to move to the magic circle.
After confirming that, Euna stepped outside.
Though utterly drained of magic, she could still heal a couple more times.
The guild members holding the last line of defense against the Undead faced a perilous situation.
There was no guarantee that no serious injuries would occur.
Thus, Euna made up her mind to prepare just in case.
“Ugh, at this rate, we’re really going to get overwhelmed! If that happens, it’s over…”
Dong-il’s panicked voice echoed.
As he said, the situation seemed dire.
In front of them, Skeleton Warriors relentlessly charged, shaking the barricade.
And from behind, Skeleton Archers and Mages harassed the guild members with ranged attacks.
Even the strongest Hunters of the guild struggled against the seemingly endless waves of foes.
Having already expended much energy from the previous fights, their stamina was running low.
Euna bit her lip.
Watching the situation unfold, it seemed injuries would be imminent.
She needed to rush in without hesitation and heal quickly.
“Euna Hunter-nim! What’s happening in the back?”
Taking a moment to glance backward, Cheol-hyung saw Euna and asked.
“All the residents have evacuated. The guild members are just now getting out.”
“Then we must hold out longer.”
“Yes, just a bit more.”
Euna deliberately chose the word “just a bit more.”
It was her way of encouraging everyone to muster a little more strength.
“Hah… What’s that?!”
At that moment, a guild member shouted in shock, having spotted something ahead.
Everyone’s attention turned in unison.
“W-What the hell…!”
“G-Ghealler, Death Knight?”
The guild members scowled, cursing as they recognized the entity approaching.
The Death Knight was a high-ranking Undead, far above Skeletons or Ghouls in power.
Previously, when they faced a single Death Knight, A-rank hunters Cheol-hyung and Mujik had barely managed to defeat it together.
It was that strong.
But this time, it wasn’t just one.
There were three of them, all riding skeletal horses, charging towards them.
The faces of the guild members showed true terror.
Euna’s expression froze in place.
“Guild Leader, what should we do?”
“Um… what now, Guild Leader?”
The guild members urged Cheol-hyung for a decision as the urgency escalated.
Cheol-hyung’s face grew serious as he deliberated rapidly.
With their current strength, they couldn’t possibly confront them.
However, fleeing outright wouldn’t mean they’d escape unscathed.
It was a dead end.
Then suddenly—
“What are you boiling, old bones?! Why are there so many of them?”
A young woman’s voice resonated as she appeared like a ghost in the air.
Euna’s eyes widened.
“Looks like I made it just in time.”
Beside her was a familiar face.
Si-hyun murmured with a look of relief.
The expressions of the guild members shifted dramatically upon seeing them.
“Sister-in-law?!”
“It’s sister-in-law! She’s here! She’s alive!”
“Sister-in-law, hooray!”
“Sister-in-law, let’s gooooo!”
The guild members cheered ecstatically as if they had just won their independence from dictatorship.
“….”
Completely bewildered, Euna could only blink in confusion.
“Wait, everyone… I’m here too…”
Si-hyun scratched his head with a look of disbelief.
Regardless of that, the guild members continued to cheer for Hyris, ignoring Si-hyun.
Hyris smiled with amusement, seemingly enjoying their enthusiasm.
Then she leaped into the midst of the Undead legion with a flourish.
“W-Wait…?!”
Euna gasped in horror at the reckless act.
That was tantamount to suicide.
It looked like she’d be slaughtered by the numerous Undead surrounding her at any second.
But—
The guild members were only relaxed in their reactions.
Instead, they watched with anticipation.
It was when Euna’s eyes widened in surprise at their response.
Boom!
An explosion erupted from the spot where she landed, unlike anything they had ever seen before.
And—
The many Undead were swept away, shattered into pieces, flying in all directions.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Phew…”
Deputy Director Seo sighed deeply.
His gaze was fixed upon the throngs of Undead swarming Ganghwa Bridge.
Despite priding himself on considerable experience, he had never seen or even imagined such an enormous number of Undead.
It was simply staggering.
Reports came in that equivalent, massive numbers of Undead were also inside Ganghwa Island.
They were facing a crisis of the worst kind.
Though they had mobilized all available helicopters to transport Hunters to Ganghwa Island, it was still not enough.
With such overwhelming numbers of Undead, relying solely on transported Hunters was inadequate.
They absolutely had to break through Ganghwa Bridge to secure a passage for a large number of Hunters.
That’s why Hunters were locked in fierce battles against the Undead on the bridge.
However, the situation was far from favorable.
The enemy’s resistance was fierce and, moreover, extremely powerful.
Deputy Director Seo sighed heavily once more.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Damn it, what a mess this is.”
Mangjong lamented with a displeased expression.
Sang-ki was dead.
Cheonbyeon and Baek-wol were dead too.
Yet the objectives remained unaccomplished. No, they actually had to eliminate their targets due to betrayal.
They gained nothing, only suffered losses. It was understandably infuriating.
“…I misjudged the enemy’s strength.”
Seomjeon muttered bitterly.
He was already aware that the Sword Master was at the Special Detention Center.
But that was all he knew.
He had never dreamed that the Silent Great Sorceress and Sinchang would be involved.
It was an unexpected turn of events.
There had been no information regarding such powerful Awakened beings in Korea.
So the Sword Master must have acted on his own.
However—
The Silent Great Sorceress was completely at odds with the Sword Master.
Sinchang had no connection to him either.
It was beyond unexpected.
“We must bring back the Infinite Necromancer, at the very least.”
Mangjong declared.
The Infinite Necromancer Kilmer was an indispensable force for the Emperor’s faction.
Few could command such an enormous army.
“By the way, the Leader has already left.”
Seomjeon replied.
“Oh, I see.”
It appeared the vanished Leader had headed towards Kilmer.
“Then there’s no need for worry. Tch, then I’ll head out first.”
With a click of his tongue, Mangjong vanished using the Teleportation Magic Circle.
◈ ◈ ◈
Kilmer, sitting like a corpse in the darkness, slowly opened his eyes. Soon after, someone appeared in the air.
It was the Leader.
“…What happened?”
Kilmer asked in a gloomy tone.
“Failed.”
The Leader answered succinctly.
“I see.”
“Let’s go.”
“…It’s a pity. I wanted to cause a little more havoc…”
“There will be better opportunities next time.”
“…”
“We have no time. Plus, Sinchang is here.”
At the mere mention of Sinchang, Kilmer, who had been sluggish, suddenly perked up.
“Sinchang… is here…?”
“Yes. So let’s move quickly.”
“Hmm…”
Finally, Kilmer stood up.
Sinchang was the only entity that instilled fear in him within the Church of Illyria.
It was solely because of her that he had fled to the marshes in the southern outskirts.
She was the reason his Undead army had been utterly obliterated.
A being that was practically the embodiment of divine power regarded Undead as mere prey.
That was why he had barely escaped to the marshes to save his life.
“…Let’s hurry…”
Kilmer’s voice trembled slightly as he spoke.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Deputy Director!”
A staff member rushed to Deputy Director Seo in a panic.
“I’m aware.”
Deputy Director Seo replied.
The Undead were being pushed back against the Hunters.
Suddenly, the Undead’s movements had noticeably slowed down.
Thanks to that, the Hunters had gained momentum and began to take down the Undead.
However, this was suspiciously convenient.
Deputy Director Seo scrutinized the situation with narrowed eyes.
Was this a trap, perhaps?
But this was due to Kilmer’s teleportation to Russia.
No matter how powerful a Necromancer was, it was impossible to empower summoned Undead over such distances.
Thus, the current Undead were akin to a rabble.
“If this continues, we should be able to secure Ganghwa Bridge soon!”
The staff member, seemingly re-energized, spoke cheerfully.
Deputy Director Seo narrowed his eyes again, checking for any possible traps, but he found no signs of one.
“…Once we breach Ganghwa, prioritize evacuating nearby residents first.”
He eventually issued the next command.
◈ ◈ ◈
“No need to stick around.”
Hyris said, observing the collapsing Undead army at the hands of the Hunters.
“Thank goodness.”
Si-hyun replied.
While there were still Undead scattered around Ganghwa Island, with that number of Hunters entering, they should be able to handle the situation without issues.
“Congratulations.”
Hyris smiled playfully.
Si-hyun took her hand.
“Thank you.”
If she hadn’t come to help, a terrible outcome could have transpired.
And the Fruit of the World Tree she had given him—if it hadn’t been for that, he surely would have died of poisoning on the spot.
“Oh my, is this happening here?”
Hyris teased, playfully unbuttoning one of her blouse buttons.
Si-hyun chuckled at her antics, letting go of her hand.
“It’s been a long day.”
He said, sincerely.