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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒𝟓: 𝐍𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫
“Stephan. Can you hear me? Stephan. Respond.”
Layla’s face darkened as the other party did not respond despite repeated radio calls.
It was impossible to tell how many had died in this battle.
It was a pitch-black night, and the enemy was ghouls that fed on that darkness.
The hunters who had been fighting them were also exhausted, their movements sluggish.
“Damn it. . . If we count the raids, it’s almost three times.”
“Three times? I think it’s five times.”
“Damn it, when is the sun going to rise? We’re going to lose at this rate.”
Ghouls were beings that disintegrated in sunlight.
If they could hold out for a few hours, all the ghouls would disappear.
However. . . .
“Ugh! Sa, save meㅡ!”
“Eeeek!! Get off me!! Aaagh!”
“P-Please. . . my, my wife. . . .”
There didn’t seem to be many hunters who could survive that time.
[𝐁𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐬]
The ritual formula etched on Martinez’s palm flashed and formed a magic circle.
Soon, a shadow transformed into a giant wolf’s head and swallowed the earth in one gulp.
Kwagwang!
Dozens of ghouls gathered there disappeared without a trace.
“Tonight is too much, too long, too shitty. I miss my hometown, I do. Is your body evaporating? Oh, no more departures.”
Marco handed a bottle of water to Martinez, who was panting.
There were also potions to distribute, but they could not be easily consumed unless it was an emergency.
“f*ck!! The 9 o’clock side is broken through!! Block it!!”
At that moment, ghouls poured in from the west, centered around the mansion.
“Those bastardsㅡ are they intelligent?!”
“That’s nonsense. . . .”
“Why are they flocking to the mansion if not!”
They seemed to be listening to orders, biting the trees around Layla’s mansion and trying to dig into it.
“Guild Leader!! The, the mansion!”
“I know.”
Layla glared and slammed both palms on the ground.
[𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭 : 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧]
The ritual formula carved on the ground formed a wide magic circle, illuminating the darkness in all directions.
Shhhㅡㅡ
Green particles like fireflies circled around the mansion and soon seeped into the trees formed by [𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭 : 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧].
━Krrrrrrr!
━Kyaaaaaaaa!
Before the ghouls could react,
Gugugugugugugugug!!
Hundreds of roots sprang up, wrapping around the ghouls indiscriminately.
“Die all.”
Thick, tendon-like roots squeezed the ghouls’ bodies, crushing them with all their might.
Just as an anaconda crushes its prey whole, the ghouls wrapped in the roots burst open, spewing thick blood.
Perkeuk!
Perkeukgeuk!
━Gueeeeeeck!
━Keeeeeee. . . .
“Amazing, Guild Leader! A-Are you okay?”
“Huk. . . huk. . . I’m okay. . . .”
Even a single use of such a large-scale skill would send one’s mana plummeting.
It was only natural to be exhausted after using such a wide-area skill not once, but twice in a row.
Layla was able to endure this much because she was able to manage her magical power in detail.
‘𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙙𝙤?’
She had lost contact with Stephan, the detection-type hunter.
Evidence that the enemy was more perceptive and powerful than expected.
If more manpower was deployed to the mansion in this situation, the battle against the ghouls would be seriously disadvantaged.
Whether it was exploration or defense, it was a situation that could deteriorate rapidly if one side was favored.
‘𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙎𝙞𝙬𝙤𝙤 𝙜𝙤? 𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙩. . . . 𝙉𝙤, 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩. 𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙬.’
The role of guarding the HSIU branch managers.
Layla gritted her teeth, reminding herself of her mission once more.
“Guild Leader! We are overwhelming the 2 o’clock direction!”
“I understand, I’ll keep that in mind.”
I hope we can push forward little by little like this.
Fortunately, the destructive power of an individual ghoul was not great.
‘𝙄𝙛 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮, 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙮. . . . 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙝 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙧.’
Layla took out an emergency potion and drank it.
The aura of mana filling her dantian spread coolly throughout her body.
If the hunters could continue this offensive, even though it was difficult. . . couldn’t they win?
‘𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨.’
Layla prayed involuntarily with an earnest heart.
However, contrary to her wishes, a new wave surged through the battlefield.
━Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!
A spine-chilling howl.
Goosebumps rose all over her body, and her fingertips trembled.
“What is that sound. . . .”
“Hey! There’s a new monㅡ!”
Someone’s exclamation fell to the floor.
As the faint moonlight illuminated the hill, a piece of darkness out of touch with reality appeared.
A headless death knight.
“Dullahan.”
Someone who recognized the being spoke up.
“That’s f*cking, it only comes out of an A-Rank gate. . . .”
As soon as the words were finished, five Dullahans charged in their respective directions.
“Whoa! Ghouls or Dullahans!!”
A hunter who exclaimed enthusiastically poured magic power into his sword and charged at one of the Dullahans.
Zzeeeeeeeeeng!!
“Keuㅡㅡ!”
The hunter’s body was easily cut in half, along with the sound of his sword exploding.
“S-Stop it!!!”
Layla instinctively ran towards the Dullahan that exuded the strongest aura.
She killed the ghouls that got in her way with her fists.
It was a resistance to fear.
Layla’s intuition was screaming.
Run away.
She would die if she didn’t run away.
That was.
A monster.