𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟕𝟒
“You came directly? You saved me the trouble of going.”
“Now, there’s not much time left!”
“Wouldn’t it be better to go inside the building for the song?”
The number of players who had finished preparing was considerable. At least more than 2,000. Considering the Demon Kings they had faced so far, it might be a small number, but he didn’t dislike the sight of them staying and fighting instead of running away.
As more time passed, the Demon King and dozens of low- and mid-ranking demons slowly appeared outside the village, gliding towards them. The only consolation was that there were no high-ranking demons? He thought the players could handle that level of demons.
[The attack of Agreenes, the Demon King, begins.]
‘Phew, I wish the Magic Bullet Bomber had a little more range.’
The Magic Bullet Bomber he had used the other day had a range of 50 meters. Now, it had been enhanced to +15, increasing its range by 200 meters, for a total of 250 meters. However, the Demon King’s song radius was about 300 meters.
In the end, there was no way to avoid the song’s radius.
‘Or if the phantoms had fought properly……’
For reference, if he used Phantom while holding the Magic Bullet Bomber, he could see the phantoms swinging the Magic Bullet Bomber like a blunt weapon. Perhaps his guess was that the phantoms couldn’t use the Magic Bullet Bomber because they didn’t have magic power.
Crack- Crack-
“……!?”
Suddenly, black tentacles rising from the ground interrupted his thoughts. He immediately looked around. He hadn’t noticed before because all the players had rushed in together, but now he could see that the tentacles could be summoned anywhere within the Demon King’s sight.
“What, what is this?! Why are tentacles popping out?!”
“What are you doing?! Hurry up and get rid of them!”
“Damn it!”
‘Tsk.’
He looked down at the tentacles sprouting from the rooftop. Then, he aimed the Magic Bullet Bomber at a spot where players were still running away, unable to eliminate the tentacles, and pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!-
A tremendous roar accompanied the blue bullets. He had already used it for two days, so he was familiar with the controls and his accuracy was reasonably high. Thanks to this, he could hit most of the bullets onto the wriggling tentacles.
[Hit Damage! 1,327.]
[Hit Damage……]
‘It’s over.’
After eliminating one tentacle in about 2-3 seconds, he looked around, but there didn’t seem to be any other dangerous spots. Anyway, he needed to attack the main body, not these tentacles……
Crack- Crack- Crack-
However, before everyone could eliminate the tentacles, dozens more sprouted up. The number was much higher than the first time, and the players, with annoyed expressions, attempted to attack them again.
“Crazy, why do these keep popping out?!”
Of course, not everyone was dealing with just the tentacles. Several hundred players were ignoring the tentacles sprouting within the village and running towards the Demon King. However, dozens of demons were already waiting around the Demon King, and if that many players gathered, he would definitely sing.
[Agreenes, the Demon King, uses the Song of Despair.]
As expected.
“Shit, it’s the song!”
“Heal!”
“Retreat!”
If they fought while using healing skills or potions, they could somehow inflict damage, but the losses would be significant. Besides, in this situation where they didn’t even know how much health the Demon King had, would they risk their lives just to inflict a little damage? He decided to create distance and escape the song’s range instead of attacking.
“Damn it, we’re retreating for now!”
“Get out of there quickly! I’m going to die!”
And as soon as the song ended after 3 minutes, he immediately ran towards the Demon King. Since the song had ended, he wouldn’t sing for a while, so he had to inflict as much damage as possible until then.
Thud-
‘At this distance……’
Although there was still some distance, he thought the Magic Bullet Bomber’s range would reach. He pulled the trigger, and blue bullets shot towards the Demon King.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!-
[Hit Damage! 227.]
[Hit Damage……]
“Huh?! What’s that weapon?!”
“It looks like a gun?”
“Crazy, it’s a balance-breaking weapon!”
A balance-breaking weapon……
It seemed the players were shouting something as they saw him showering bullets from the rooftop. He didn’t pay much attention, though. After all, no matter how good the Magic Bullet Bomber was, it couldn’t be used indefinitely.
[The Magic Bullet Bomber’s power unit has overheated.]
[It will be ready to restart in 10 seconds.]
‘Phew, it’s already over.’
He initially thought the Magic Bullet Bomber could be used continuously, but after 30 seconds of use, it became unusable for 10 seconds. In other words, he had to wait 10 seconds after firing 150 rounds. Except for that part, it was definitely a decent weapon.
“Hey, you! Where did you get that weapon?!”
“……?”
While waiting for the Magic Bullet Bomber’s cooldown, he unexpectedly heard someone asking about his weapon. Naturally, he turned his head and saw five players looking up at him with hopeful eyes.
‘……I’ve seen all sorts of strange people.’
They were more curious about the origin of the weapon than the current battle.
[The Magic Bullet Bomber is ready to restart.]
“Luxury Shop Box.”
Still, it wasn’t a question he couldn’t answer. After briefly revealing the origin of the Magic Bullet Bomber, he pulled the trigger again and attacked the Demon King. The players let out short exclamations and started chatting amongst themselves.
“Luxury Shop Box, you mean that 500 gold box?”
“Someone actually bought it.”
“How much is 500 gold in cash?”
“Ten million won?”
“Wow, I want a gun too.”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!-
‘It seems to be dealing decent damage.’
After firing all 150 rounds, the damage would be roughly over 30,000. Of course, if he used Jayer’s Guardian Shield and Thunder Strike, he could inflict over 100,000 damage in this time. However, if he recklessly approached, he would have to deal with the nearby demons first, making it difficult to act.
Unfortunately, it seemed safer to wait until the players dealt with the demons.
“Humans! Kill the humans!”
“The King has commanded! Attack them all!”
‘Hmm?’
Suddenly, for some reason, the demons who had been waiting quietly started running towards the players. Most of them seemed flustered when the grotesquely shaped demons charged at them all at once, but their number was only 100-200. Compared to the number of players, there was a difference of about 10 times, so he wasn’t particularly worried, but that was just a misconception.
Boom!- Kaboom!-
“Damn it! Crazy demon b*stards!”
“Their attack power is too strong!”
“They’re almost boss-level!”
“……”
He glanced and saw a player being knocked back by a demon’s punch. In other cases, perhaps they used their powers, as unusual explosions occurred, engulfing several players.
Just looking at that scene, it seemed like the demons had the advantage, but……
“Hey, you b*stards! If you can’t handle them, fall back!”
As expected, the difference in numbers couldn’t be ignored. Several players quickly eliminated the demons and shouted in annoyance. They weren’t unskilled enough to shout like that, as they were somehow managing to defeat the low-ranking demons and fighting almost evenly with the mid-ranking ones.
“Vital Point Stab!”
Well, honestly, the fact that they were fighting evenly with the mid-ranking demons already spoke volumes about their skills.
Thud-
“Khahaha! Human! I’ll kill you!”
At that moment, a mid-ranking demon climbed onto the rooftop and charged towards him. What was it thinking, attacking him? He aimed the recharged Magic Bullet Bomber at the charging mid-ranking demon and showered it with bullets.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!-
[Hit Damage! 286.]
[Hit Damage……]
“Ugh, Ugh!”
The mid-ranking demon, who had charged confidently with a laugh, couldn’t even get close due to the bullets. It was good in these situations. The problem was the moment the Magic Bullet Bomber’s attack ended after 30 seconds.
“You lowly human! You dare anger me!”
Wow, it’s not dead yet.
“Item Storage.”
The cooldown was 10 seconds, but there was no need to wait. He opened the Item Storage, stored the Magic Bullet Bomber, and instead grabbed the Roar of the Thunder Dragon and his shield. He then swung with all his might straight ahead.
Crackle!-
[Hit Damage! 4,656.]
The Roar of the Thunder Dragon struck its shoulder precisely. As he felt the impact through his hand, the mid-ranking demon stumbled momentarily. He didn’t miss the opportunity and decided to finish it as quickly as possible.
“Dynamics.”
Kaboom!-
[Skill Damage! 2,155.]
‘This is the end!’
The mid-ranking demon stopped moving after receiving damage exceeding 2,000. The result was obvious. After hitting the immobilized demon three times precisely, it immediately vanished.
[Combat Experience 110,000 acquired!]
[Ding!~ You have acquired the Mark of the Mid-ranking Demon.]
[You have acquired a total of 200 Contribution Points for defeating a Mid-ranking Demon.]
Of course, during the attack, the mid-ranking demon, whose Earth’s Dynamics effect had ended, tried to counterattack, but there was a significant difference in Agility from the start. Therefore, the mid-ranking demon died without even being able to attack properly. The time it took was less than 3 seconds.
‘Such a simple creature.’
After easily eliminating the attacking mid-ranking demon, he looked back at the battle unfolding below. The players were pushing back the demons with their superior numbers. However, the number of dead players was already significant.
Bang!- Kaboom!-
‘Looking at the situation, it seems like the village will fall.’
There were some players fighting the demons, but it wasn’t enough. He couldn’t see any players who could actually attack the Demon King.
“Phew, Item Storage.”
Anyway, he switched to the Magic Bullet Bomber from his inventory and decided to think for a moment.
Should he fight or run away?
Considering the skill level of the remaining players, there was no hope, so running away might be the better option.
[Agreenes, the Demon King, uses Black-Stained Storm of Destruction.]
‘Huh? A new pattern?’
It was a skill he hadn’t seen before. Curious, he focused on the Demon King, and soon a black whirlwind formed in front of the Demon King, growing larger and slowly approaching him.
Is that it?
The approaching whirlwind was growing, but its speed wasn’t fast. Most players could see it and dodge it easily. However, he felt strangely drawn to the whirlwind.
“Uwaaaaah!!”
And as if to prove his feeling wasn’t a misconception, he saw several players near the Demon King being sucked into the whirlwind. It seemed like a skill similar to the whirlpool Kraken had used. However, the difference was that the Demon King’s whirlwind was moving around, pulling in nearby players.
‘Then we can’t even approach him?’
Why did every skill feel so overpowered?
He could also see that the whirlwind’s damage was high, as the players caught in it briefly turned gray. Although structures like wooden houses didn’t move at all, making it seem less powerful, the reality was different.
“Get out of the whirlwind! It’s pulling us in!”
“What kind of skill is this?!”
Crack- Crack-
Players trying to escape the whirlwind and black tentacles rising from the ground. Just by sending the demons and summoning a whirlwind, the battlefield had turned into chaos. He could feel it directly.
‘As expected, running away is……’
Moreover, the whirlwind seemed to pull in anyone within a 50-meter radius. But 50 meters? Considering the size of the whirlwind, it felt like it was almost several hundred meters.
“Huh? What’s going on here? Why is it such a mess?”
Suddenly, several players emerged from the building with the Teleportation Device, looking around in confusion. Unfortunately, they had wasted 1 gold.
[Emperor Guild’s ‘Aizen’ has invited you to the guild chat.]
[Do you accept?]
Just as he was about to leave the village and run away, he unexpectedly received a message from Aizen. Judging that he could have a conversation and even fight while doing so, he casually accepted Aizen’s invitation.
━Rudin-nim. Are you still in the Karzen Kingdom?
“Well, yes.”
━The Yonggammusang Guild visited a little while ago. They said they had an appointment to meet with you. So I contacted you just in case.
“……”
Come to think of it, what did he tell Jeokseong before? To tell them he had returned to the Harpe Empire? He was surprised that they contacted him after several days, but the fact that they actually came to find him was even more surprising.
‘It seems like they really want that staff.’
Well, it was a Rare-grade weapon enhanced to +7, so it would be a lie to say it wasn’t valuable. Besides, if that guy had any conscience, he wouldn’t just ask for it. He would probably offer to trade it for another item.
‘What should I do?’
━What will you do?
“……Well, since they came all the way to the Harpe Empire, I should meet them.”
He had enhanced the Magic Bullet Bomber to +15 as a countermeasure against the Demon King, but it wasn’t enough. Especially after seeing that whirlwind, his thought became even firmer. He had no choice but to retreat and escape this place.
━Understood. I’ll be waiting in the reception room on the 2nd floor, so please come up.
“Okay.”
[Leaving the guild chat.]
As the guild chat ended, he sighed once again, looking at the players being swept away by the whirlwind, and used a Return Scroll. He thought that no matter what the remaining players did, this village was as good as fallen.
[Using Return Scroll.]
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