NOVEL NEXT Chapter 45
Chapter 45
“Guuhhh… P-please save me!! Help!!”
Jin-soo screamed with a tear-streaked, distorted face. His left arm had been gruesomely ripped off, and blood poured from his torn right hand. If I didn’t use Heal quickly to stop the bleeding, he would soon lose his life from excessive blood loss.
“Ugh.”
Hyung-cheol rushed in first, desperate to charge at the Giant Monkey and save Jin-soo.
But he bit down on his lip so hard it bled, forcing himself to hold back. In such situations, one needed to stay calm. This was not an enemy one could handle alone.
If the strongest member remaining in the party was taken out as quickly as Jin-soo, it would mean total annihilation for the group. Even if everyone rushed in, the odds didn’t look good.
But surrendering to despair was not an option. Even in what seemed like a hopeless situation, they needed to find some way to take down the enemy.
“Surround it!”
Tae-seong arrived a step late and shouted orders. Setting up a solid formation in front would only be swept away in an instant by such a monster. It was better to encircle it and wait for a chance to strike from behind.
The Hunters cautiously surrounded the Giant Monkey from a safe distance, as it exuded an overwhelming aura that warned them to stay back.
The Giant Monkey didn’t seem to react, watching the humans with its large eyes as they formed a perimeter. It might be contemplating what these insignificant humans were trying to do. Its expression showed no signs of feeling threatened by the mere eleven humans surrounding it with weapons.
“Ku-kakakaka!”
Suddenly, the monkey burst into laughter as if it found the situation amusing. It then reached out its enormous hand to grab Jin-soo’s thigh, intending to pull him apart.
“Ugh… P-please stop. Just stop!!”
Jin-soo screamed, pleading desperately.
“NO!”
Hyung-cheol finally sprang into action. It had become too dangerous. If he wasn’t a Hunter, Jin-soo would have died multiple times over from his serious injuries already.
“Fireball!”
“Ice Arrow!”
Eun-hye and the black tiger guild’s wizard gritted their teeth and unleashed their magic. The Fireball and Ice Arrow flew toward the Giant Monkey, but it didn’t bat an eye.
Boom!
Bam!
The Fireball exploded with a loud bang, only singeing a few hairs. The Ice Arrow didn’t even penetrate its skin; it shattered upon impact.
“What kind of resistance…”
The previous attacks had barely scratched the surface; it seemed to have immense fire and magic resistance.
“Blessing! Invocation!”
Hyung-cheol cast Blessing and Invocation on himself. Blessing enhanced his overall vitality, while Invocation increased the power of his attacks. He then pulled out scrolls and started tearing them apart one after another.
Strength, Haste, Stone Skin.
These scrolls increased his strength, agility, and physical resistance. Finally, he chugged a potion that would slightly boost both strength and agility.
“Ku-kaka!”
Regardless of what Hyung-cheol did, the Giant Monkey was still unconcerned and tried to rip off Jin-soo’s remaining leg.
“Stop!”
Hyung-cheol swung his warhammer with all his might at the back of the Giant Monkey’s head. With all the buffs applied and potions consumed, his attack was extraordinarily powerful. Moreover, he used the Divine Judgment skill, one of the few attack skills available to priests, increasing his attack power under divine blessing.
However…
The Giant Monkey ignored the attack and tore away Jin-soo’s leg…
“GUAAAAH!!”
Jin-soo rolled his eyes and let out a terrible scream. His head then hung limply, unable to move. The unbearable pain humans couldn’t withstand, combined with the shock from massive blood loss, made his heart stop.
“You crazy bastard!!”
In a fit of raging anger, Hyung-cheol shouted as he swung his warhammer at the Giant Monkey’s head.
Boom!
“Ku-kaka?”
This attack had an effect. Stunned by the impact, the Giant Monkey clutched its head and staggered. As a result, Jin-soo finally fell to the ground.
“Save him!”
Tae-seong cried out.
He still didn’t realize that Jin-soo was completely dead. Lee Si-hyun, who was closest, quickly grabbed Jin-soo’s body and pulled back. In that brief moment, Si-hyun was splattered with Jin-soo’s blood.
“Healer!”
Si-hyun desperately called for the healer. The healer was already rushing over upon witnessing the scene. Soon, the healer arrived and checked for a pulse, placing a hand on Jin-soo’s chest.
With a grim expression, the healer shook their head.
“…He’s dead.”
Boom!
Crash!
Crash!
Meanwhile, Hyung-cheol was furiously pounding the Giant Monkey’s body with his warhammer. He had to keep pressing the attack while the shock from the earlier blow was still fresh.
The C-rank dealer, Tae-seong, and C-rank tanker, Eun-ho, had already approached the Giant Monkey as well and attacked its legs with their strongest skills. They had already used their buff scrolls.
Fortunately, their attacks were somewhat effective. The Giant Monkey’s skin began to slice open, and blood dripped out.
“…”
Si-hyun wore a troubled expression, contemplating whether to join the fray. It seemed that his attacks would have little effect, unable to penetrate the thick hide.
Then suddenly, a thought struck him.
A phrase from Po-ahim’s quest.
[The terrible Guard’s mighty shout holds another value in hunting or combat. Po-ahim had once stunned the ferocious Giant Monkey with just his shout, presenting it to the Emperor. Po-ahim wishes to see you use your shout to stun a living being.]
The line stating that a shout had knocked out the ferocious Giant Monkey stuck in his mind. He had a strong hunch that this Giant Monkey was the very same one!
In that case, his shout might have an effect. That thought persisted in his mind.
However, right now, he didn’t want to hinder his teammates. There was no opportunity to cover his ears during such a fierce battle. If he hesitated to shout, it could cost him his life.
Getting closer was also a problem. An even B-rank Hunter would be caught and torn to pieces in the blink of an eye.
Si-hyun decided to wait for an opening.
“Ku-kaka!”
The Giant Monkey, having been struck by Hyung-cheol and the C-rank Hunters, grimaced at their attacks and swatted at them like they were flies. Such a simple motion alone posed an incredibly threatening attack.
Hyung-cheol and the C-rank Hunters flinched at the whooshing sound as the massive hands swooped by, feeling a chilling threat to their lives.
Then, it used its feet to attack the Hunters as well.
Bang!
Eun-ho couldn’t dodge the swift movement and was kicked in the abdomen, flying back while spitting blood. He seemed to be in shock, unable to rise for a while.
Tae-seong was also in a precarious position. He could barely defend himself, let alone consider attacking.
‘At this rate, we can’t take it down.’
Hyung-cheol’s face stiffened. He had applied all sorts of buffs and used skills, so there was no doubt they inflicted some damage on the enemy.
Yet, the Giant Monkey simply felt pain. There were still no decisive wounds inflicted upon it. Moreover, it was beginning to recover from the initial shock it sustained from the blow to the back of its head.
…Then.
There was no choice but to use it. The top-class rescue scroll he had purchased for an outrageous price, the 7-class lightning magic, Giga Lightning.
“We can’t take it down like this!”
Hyung-cheol shouted while continuing to swing his warhammer. If he stopped, he would be immediately attacked and face doom.
“What do you plan on doing then?”
“I’m going to use Giga Lightning. Count to ten in your minds and then step back.”
“Understood.”
Tae-seong replied.
“Giga Lightning?”
Si-hyun raised an eyebrow, having overheard their conversation. Eun-hye beside him added.
“That’s a 7-class lightning spell, an incredibly strong magic. Only an A-Class wizard can cast it.”
“I see… So that means…”
“We could take it down. No, it will definitely happen.”
With earnest eyes, Eun-hye looked at Hyung-cheol.
“One.”
Tae-seong called out as he swiftly leaped back.
Whoosh!
Hyung-cheol tore apart the scroll with a determined face.
Rippp!
A bolt of lightning many times thicker than a standard lightning bolt formed in the air and struck down with the speed of lighting toward the Giant Monkey.
Crackle!
“Ku-kakaAAAAAA!”
For the first time, the Giant Monkey shrieked loudly. Parts of its body caught fire as smoke billowed up.
It knelt, breathing heavily as if it had received a great shock.
“We have to finish it now!”
Knowing full well this was their first and last opportunity, Hyung-cheol aimed his warhammer at the Giant Monkey’s eyes and swung it down. This was the only unprotected spot on its thick hide. It felt like he could hit it.
In that moment, the Giant Monkey suddenly lunged at Hyung-cheol, attempting to ram its body into him.
Boom!
“Ugh!”
It felt like he had collided with an immense mountain. His heavy armor crumpled, and he was sent flying as blood gushed from his mouth.
“What the…!”
Tae-seong clicked his tongue in dismay. Surely he endured the full force of Giga Lightning.
And yet… it still had that much strength remaining.
A wave of despair washed over them all.
Death.
That thought, which they had desperately tried to forget, lodged itself deep in their minds. Everyone looked dazed, all except for one.
“…Si-Si-hyun oppa?”
Si-hyun slowly approached the Giant Monkey.