Chapter 88

#088

“Ha...”

The sigh was short.

Ian, who had thrown the torch he was holding to the ground, tightened the loosened straps of his chest armor.

Swoosh—

The Sword of Judgment was drawn, reflecting the dimming light of the torch.

“Ian. Why did you suddenly draw your sword?”

Tessia, who had been watching from the other side of the door, could no longer hold back and whispered. Ian answered without lowering his voice.

“There’s a sealed giant. It’s waking up.”

“What...?”

Tessia’s eyes widened.

Ian added,

“You should fall back. It doesn’t seem like a foe you can face with your exhausted and injured bodies.”

“O-Okay. If that’s what you think—”

“You’re just as exhausted and injured, Ian.”

Charlotte stepped out from behind the door.

Her amber eyes flashed in the dim darkness.

“I’m going to fight with you.”

It wasn’t surprising.

While Ian shrugged as if to say she could do as she pleased, Tessia frowned and looked at her.

“Ian is fine, Miaou... I’m incredibly hungry right now. If I use more power here, I might lose my mind.”

“Then you should back off, cat.”

“How can I back off when you’re fighting? You crazy beast...”

Tessia, muttering in resignation, also stepped out.

Ian, looking into the darkness beyond, sighed when he confirmed the faint blue glow spreading there.

“Is it... frozen?”

“Yes. That ice seems to be a seal.”

Crack, as if to prove Ian’s words, the sound of cracks spreading was heard.

In that short moment, Ian, who had already cast Wind Blade and a swirling barrier, turned to Charlotte with his ashen eyes.

“I know your style, but this guy is not ordinary. Think that one wrong hit could be fatal.”

Charlotte, adjusting her equipment, nodded.

“Understood.”

“You should tell that to yourself, Ian. Once she starts fighting, she forgets everything.”

“Then you should be careful too.”

Answering indifferently, Ian began to prepare a spell.

Sizzle, sizzle—

Blue sparks began to spread along the Sword of Judgment.

Beyond, the figure of the giant warlord was faintly revealed.

A body larger by a head than other giants. The ice covering the giant, several centimeters thick, was spreading with spider-web-like cracks.

Beyond that, a faint blue glow flickered.

‘Just like the game, damn it...’

Past memories involuntarily surfaced. When he first entered this underground ruin, he was about halfway through the northern story.

After solving various quests in Traverga and earning the trust of one of the northern commanders, Lucas.

He learned from him that there was an entrance to an unknown ruin deep in the mountains, which had not been explored due to a lack of manpower and other reasons.

He explored the place, which, of course, was Ian Hope, the game character at that time.

And he not only explored but also returned with the achievement of killing the elite monsters roaming the mountains and the warlord sleeping in the underground ruin.

However, even then, and afterward, he had never heard of a secret passage hidden in the underground ruin.

‘It’s not that far from the underground palace, but... still, to have such a passage under the mountains.’

The quest ‘Frozen Abyss’ leading to the underground palace was clearly a conditional quest.

But it seems there was a hidden way to enter the underground palace even without meeting the conditions.

A shortcut, a direct path to the boss room.

Since he had come to the warlord’s room, starting from here would have led directly to the queen’s audience chamber.

Of course, there must have been a malicious intent to make players who didn’t know this fact fail at least once.

‘Since the queen wasn’t sealed by the devil, it must have been even harder than when I fought.’

The royal guards, supported by the queen, were certainly a very tough opponent. Perhaps he would have had to fight the queen herself.

That would be beyond malicious, almost evil. But such elements were not uncommon in this game.

Of course, Ian had a smoother battle.

But this situation was not pleasant. Especially since this wasn’t a game, and there was no chance to retry after a game over.

‘At least, it’s fortunate that this is a boss fight I’ve experienced before...’

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

The lightning condensed on the sword blade was now dazzlingly flickering.

Charlotte had finished her battle preparations, and Tessia was in a low stance, ready to pounce at any moment.

Ian raised his arm slightly to stop them from moving.

The seal hadn’t fully broken yet.

That ice, though it looked ordinary, had an absolute defense that nullified all external attacks.

At least, that’s how it was in the game.

It was unknown if it would be the same now.

‘There’s no need to experiment by casting a spell.’

Moreover, even if the seal broke, the warlord wouldn’t immediately go berserk. Due to the side effects of being sealed for a long time, in the game, the warlord moved very slowly for a while.

Ian learned through two deaths that he needed to deal as much damage as possible while the warlord was in a rigid state to deplete its health.

‘This time, I’d like to kill it outright if possible.’

Thinking sincerely, Ian took a stance, ready to leap at any moment.

The warlord, despite having a simple pattern, was strong enough to be a formidable opponent.

Even a slight lapse in attention could result in death, not just for him but for anyone.

Moreover, the party was exhausted, and beyond the closed gate, hundreds of giant troops were sleeping.

Of course, most of them were truly dead, and only a few dozen had been revived.

Still, there was a possibility that they would wake up and join the battle.

Therefore, if possible, the warlord needed to be dealt with as quickly as possible.

‘Before he even has a chance to pick up his battle hammer.’

Crack— rumble—

With a sharp sound like a crack, the ice surrounding the warlord completely shattered and collapsed.

At the same time, a quest window appeared before his eyes.

Warlord of the Fallen Nation.

Beyond the quest window, the half-opened blue eyes were fully revealed.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Ian dashed forward almost simultaneously.

The wind blade, amplified with chaos energy, assisted his heavy footsteps.

The lightning-filled Sword of Judgment carved a white line in the air and extended forward.

Rumble—

The warlord, slowly rising, finally became clearly visible.

A massive body. A thick, faded full-body plate armor. Two thick swords at his waist. The handle of a battle hammer on his back protruded over one shoulder.

His head, without a helmet, looked like a giant skull with a thin layer of ashen clay spread over it, and roughly attached beard, a terrifying sight.

The half-opened eye sockets, with a faint blue glow, proved that he had been asleep for a long time.

And that head was the warlord’s weak point.

‘I wish he would die with one hit.’

Thinking again, Ian lunged forward, aiming his sword at the warlord’s head.

Crack!—

A thick bolt of lightning spewed from the sword blade, which looked like a sword of light. The lightning, which instantly cut through the darkness, pierced the warlord’s head. The blue glow flickered for a moment.

Crackle!—

Thousands of lightning threads, like a swarm of snakes, burst from the warlord’s head and spread across his body.

Amplified chain lightning, heavily charged with chaos energy.

A power that would have been impossible without sufficient chaos energy.

“Grrr... Ooooh—!”

A roar, mixed with pain and confusion, burst from the warlord’s frozen lips.

Ian, preparing the next spell immediately, kicked off the ground and leaped.

Like other giants, the warlord had high resistance. Red and brown attacks were halved, and blue attacks were immune. The only low resistance was to gray.

However, the number of gray lightning spells Ian had learned for attack was not large.

Attack gray spells had a long casting time, making them difficult to use in intense battles.

‘I have to do my best with the resources I have.’

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

As the chain lightning swept across the warlord’s body, the lightning storm was completed.

A whirlwind, filled with blue lightning, rushed toward the warlord, who had not even managed to stand up properly.

Swoosh— sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

Another dazzling flash.

Ian, who had been struck by the lightning, rushed toward the warlord’s head.

Ian raised the Sword of Judgment above his head and struck it down with all his might.

Crack!—

The sword blade, which had pierced the warlord’s left forehead, cut through the eye and cheekbone and fell.

Even with the added wind blade, it felt like cutting through rock. Just as he could no longer withstand the resistance, Ian cast the next spell, a gray spell with a relatively short casting time, Vacuum Explosion.

Boom!—

The warlord’s massive head was pushed back by the无形的爆炸. Blood fragments splattered from his face where the sword had struck and exploded.

From beneath, the blue glow in the eye sockets flared up.

“Uu— Ooooh—!”

The warlord’s roar seemed closer to bewilderment than anger.

It wasn’t surprising. Sensing the presence of an intruder and waking up from the seal, he had been hit by a fierce attack one-sidedly.

It was enough to cause instinctive bewilderment.

However, that did not mean a loss of fighting spirit.

Whoosh!—

A wave of magical energy burst from the warlord’s body.

The remaining lightning threads were instantly scattered, and Ian, who had been pushed back by the vacuum explosion, frowned.

‘He’s already using this...?’

While thinking, he was casting Frost Shield.

Of course, the ice shield did not completely block the wave before it swept over him.

Crack—

Ian, encased in the ice shield, fell from the shoulder.

The sound of ice breaking came from his body.

Thanks to his high resistance, his body did not freeze, but frost formed on his armor and equipment.

The ground, swept by the wave, was covered in white ice.

A cold wave, or rather, a magical explosion like a cold wave.

‘As expected, it won’t be done in one hit.’

Ian, clicking his tongue, moved his limbs to break the frost on the surface. He needed to quickly recover from the abnormal status and prepare for the next attack.

Thud, thud, thud—

At that moment, a dark figure rapidly approached from behind him.

Whoosh!—

Charlotte, who had leaped over Ian’s head as he was getting up and kicked the edge of the Frost Shield, soared with a massive battle axe in both hands.

Realizing that Ian’s relentless attack had ended and that the warlord had started to counterattack, she finally began her charge.

“Kya— Ooooh—!”

She roared and charged at the warlord, who was much larger than herself, without a moment’s hesitation.

The warlord’s eye sockets, which were rising, turned toward Charlotte, who was charging at him.

Swoosh!—

The axe scattered the sound of breaking air as it flew. The warlord raised his arm to block it.

Crack!—

The thick arm guard was dented in the middle. The warlord’s body was pushed back, and he staggered, colliding with the giant stone throne he had been sitting on.

Charlotte, hanging onto the warlord’s arm as it tilted backward, raised her axe again.

Crack!— Crack!—

She roared and struck the axe down. Even though it was her first time using it, her movements were as familiar as a barbarian warrior who had wielded an axe all her life.

The muscles in her hand, gripping the axe handle, and her arm, covered in black fur, bulged as if they would burst.

Crack!— Crack!—

The thick armor covering the warlord’s arm was not just dented but torn apart by the continuous axe strikes.

Beneath, ashen skin was revealed.

Crack!—

Finally, the axe fell on top of it.

The warlord did not bleed.

The mark of the axe striking the skin remained, and beneath it, the black, stony flesh and muscles were exposed.

However, it seemed he could still feel pain.

“Grrr— Ooooh—!”

The warlord, still leaning on the throne, roared and swung his other arm.

His ashen, steel-hard hand struck Charlotte, sending her flying like a cannonball.

Charlotte, smashing a pillar diagonally with her body, flew beyond it.

Boom!—

Before she hit the wall, she caught a silver mass.

Her silver hair, unable to disperse the impact instantly, bounced and spun in the air before landing vertically next to the pillar.

Tessia, who had launched herself from the pillar, shouted.

“You crazy beast! Get out of the way before you get hit!”

She was hugging Charlotte, who was larger than herself, from behind.

It looked as if a silver eagle had caught Charlotte.

Charlotte, hanging without resistance, spat out the blood in her mouth.

A few broken teeth scattered in the blood. A wound on one side of her face, which had healed, reopened, staining one side of her face red.

“This time, I didn’t expect it.”

“Don’t you remember what Ian said? He said one wrong hit could be fatal. And if you die, I die too.”

“I know. And just now, I was buying time.”

“Time?”

“Yes. For Ian to launch his next attack—”

Rumble—

Charlotte’s words were cut off as the air rumbled.

Tessia twisted her body in mid-air to look at the warlord.

The Sword of Judgment, wrapped in dazzling lightning.

Ian, holding the hilt in reverse, was charging at the warlord’s face.

The warlord, who had been trying to shake off Charlotte and draw the swords at his waist, glared at the light sword rapidly approaching.

Crack!—

The Sword of Judgment pierced deep into the eye socket, where the bone was clearly visible.

The opposite eye socket flickered for a moment.

Rumble.

The warlord’s head was pushed back by the blue lightning that burst from inside his body.

A blue light flashed from all the openings in his head.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

The chain lightning began to spread from inside the warlord’s head.

The warlord’s massive body trembled as if in convulsions.

Looking down at the fading blue glow, Ian narrowed his eyes.

‘Did I finish him...?’