Chapter 29

29. Cheongdam-dong, Red Gate – 2

========================

The reason why ‘Red Gate’ in Cheongdam-dong became a ‘Murder Gate’ was simple.

‘The danger of battles with intelligent and social monsters increases with each encounter.’

This was because they ‘learn’ over time.

Thus, they began to employ a wider and more complex range of ‘unpredictable patterns.’

In other words, after the first attempt failed, they should have thought more deeply before trying the second strategy.

The goblins inside the gate would also have become more cunning with each round.

‘Especially some boss monsters act much more intelligently.’

Just as a human group's performance varies greatly depending on who the leader is, a group led by ‘Old Alpha Mail’ was quite dangerous.

It could observe and think.

It would have watched humans enter through the ‘gate’ that they had to pass and realized that this wouldn’t be a one-time event.

‘And it would think. The most effective method of slaughter...’

What it came up with was to unleash a ‘concentrated attack’ immediately after passing through the gate.

It might have been a simple idea, but it was very effective.

By maximizing their overwhelming numbers and the fact that there was almost no place for players to hide after passing through the gate in this vast wasteland, this method worked until the fifth attempt.

However, history changed.

It had to.

No matter how cunning they were...

‘In one go, a sudden attack.’

Paa-ba-ba-ba-ba-

The hundreds of arrows, bolts, and iron maces they launched stopped in mid-air, split, and then rained down on their heads like hail.

They could never, ever have imagined this.

“Wow... What is that...”

With someone’s exclamation, a steel storm followed the movement of Lee Hyun-wook’s fingertips.

Paa-ba-ba-ba-ba-

When the storm fell on the hill, a cloud of sand and dust rose.

The goblin forces were swept away in an instant, and dozens of them fell.

But that was just the beginning.

After falling vertically, they rose again and this time shot horizontally.

Like a ‘locust swarm,’ they flew in a group, scraping everything in their path.

And...

‘...rotating.’

A black whirlwind began to crush the hill.

The storm of metal fragments and sand mixed, creating a loud noise.

Shii-shii-shii-shii-shii-

Although they were small, the metal fragments stuck to their fur, rotating and eventually causing wounds on their skin. If they grazed the eyes or the nape of the neck, it could be quite fatal.

Kee! Kae-kaeng! Kee! Kee!

The howls of the goblin pack echoed across the wilderness.

“Huh? They’re running away!”

Unable to respond at all, the goblins began to flee in panic.

‘But the damage doesn’t end here. They will continue to weaken.’

This was because the tips of the metal fragments and goblin arrows were coated with ‘poison.’

In other words, if they were injured by the metal fragment storm, they would have been poisoned.

“How do we... pursue...?”

Although he knew it was a ridiculous question, Ahn Min-tae asked it.

Moving around the dungeon recklessly was suicidal.

‘Perhaps half of their forces are here, and the other half are waiting in the rear.’

There would be many more forces and traps waiting for them.

“...What was that just now? Did you do that?”

Park Gi-taek, the leader of the Blue Flower Guild’s assault team, asked.

All members of the Blue Flower Guild had wide, surprised eyes.

Moreover, Park Gi-taek had arrows embedded in his left shoulder and thigh, and the wound areas were turning blue. It was indeed due to the ‘poison’ on the arrow tips.

‘Poison... not strong, but it gradually drains health and mana, like the blood of a desert mana frog.’

Old Alpha Mail seemed to have realized that the most terrifying weapon humans wielded was ‘skills,’ and thus was raising a large number of frogs that contained mana-draining poison.

“That... I heard you can control metal, but to this extent...”

Park Gi-taek couldn’t hide his surprise.

The Blue Flower Guild had heard information about the AMT special assault squad and knew that they had performed well in the Seoul Station Unlucky Event.

But honestly, they were secretly, or openly, ignoring them.

The Unlucky Event at level 15 or below would be inferior to this Red Gate dungeon, and even if the AMT soldiers were the best, they were still at the bottom.

But it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Lee Hyun-wook extended his hand to Park Gi-taek, the leader of the Blue Flower team.

Thinking he was trying to help him up, Park Gi-taek reached out, but Lee Hyun-wook shook his head.

“No, can I borrow your shield?”

A shield...

Embarrassed, Park Gi-taek let go and made a sour face.

“Huh? Why would you need my shield?”

“Hmm... If you don’t want to leave here, I’ll bury you with your shield someday.”

“...”

Park Gi-taek couldn’t respond.

Although they had a healer, 11 out of 14 members had been hit by arrows, including the healer.

Two were in critical condition and needed focused care.

In other words, the Blue Flower assault team was in a situation where they could no longer perform effectively.

‘Although we suffered damage, taking time to recover is also a method.’

As a team leader, Park Gi-taek continuously sought solutions.

But...

When night falls, what kind of attack will those vicious goblin packs launch, and how will we respond with these injured forces... it’s already a daunting prospect.

‘We must do something before night falls.’

If they were to spend the night in this wasteland, they would experience an even deeper hell.

Then, there was only one way,

To trust the AMT special assault squad...

‘Damn, even if we survive, we won’t come out looking good...’

They had already caused significant embarrassment to the guild.

But survival was the priority right now.

“...Here, take it.”

Lee Hyun-wook took the bronze circular shield that Park Gi-taek offered.

“Is it made of mithril alloy? It’s quite light.”

“...”

Indeed, the Blue Flower Guild seemed to have spent a lot of money.

“Some goblins might attack from here, but I can handle it.”

“...Of course.”

“Then, we’ll have to try to clear this dungeon on our own. From start to finish, we have to do it without help, so don’t complain or give false testimony after we’re done.”

“...Yes.”

Park Gi-taek nodded bitterly.

The distribution of rewards from the dungeon is decided by mutual agreement, and this agreement is made during the strategy meeting between the leaders of both sides just before entering the gate.

Thus, the Blue Flower Guild, which was evaluated as having superior forces, was contracted to receive 70% of the rewards and had the first pick of items, known as the ‘seed right.’

‘But if this happens, we might only get 20%, or even 10%...’

However, that was just a pre-agreement.

It could change depending on the situation during the assault.

Even if they managed to clear the dungeon, it would be practically a solo effort by the AMT.

In other words, the pre-agreement would have to be overturned.

‘In practice, the AMT will take everything...’

Lee Hyun-wook’s voice drove the point home.

“Listen well, the Blue Flower Guild assault team is effectively out. We’ll proceed on our own.”

Effectively out...

It was true.

From the very beginning...

But the atmosphere on the AMT side wasn’t good either.

“Hmm... What do we do now?”

“Can we clear this dungeon with just us?”

No matter how great Lee Hyun-wook was, half of their allies were now incapacitated.

And the goblins, being cunning, wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice.

“Hey, Sergeant Lee, look over there!”

Sure enough, a few goblins appeared on the sand dune, holding large ‘wooden shields.’

They used the shields to protect themselves and dragged their fallen comrades down the hill.

“With those, won’t Sergeant Lee’s attacks be less effective?”

If they appeared with so many shields, the metal fragment attack would be much less efficient.

Metal fragments cause damage by storming in and scraping the skin repeatedly.

But if they hit something, their speed would decrease, and their destructive power would drop significantly.

Then...

A-uuu!

A howling sound came from somewhere.

“Damn, what is this...”

This was how the goblins communicated over long distances.

In other words, they were moving systematically to capture the intruders who had entered their territory.

Only then did they realize...

They were standing in the territory of these beasts...

Everyone looked at Lee Hyun-wook with worried eyes.

“Honestly, we are at a significant disadvantage.”

“...”

“But we can turn it around. Remember the boss monster at Seoul Station, the Queen Spider?”

Everyone nodded.

The Queen Spider, with its overwhelming presence, seemed impossible to defeat...

Although Han Tae-san appeared and turned it into mush, before that, they had used a water-metal-electricity-ice combo to knock it out, bind it, and strip its skin.

If they had a little more time, they could have defeated it without Han Tae-san.

“A raid requires using everything you have, and everything around you, including the terrain.”

“Terrain, you mean?”

“Yes, this time we need to use the terrain.”

But they didn’t understand what he meant.

“Terrain... what do you mean by that?”

Park Jun-mo asked.

“Park Jun-mo, what do you see right now?”

“Uh...”

Park Jun-mo looked around.

This place was a desolate wasteland, and from the sand dune onwards, it was a desert.

“It’s just sand and dead trees...”

Lee Hyun-wook nodded.

“Yes, we’ll use that.”

...Use the sand?

Until then, no one understood what Lee Hyun-wook meant.

***

Lee Hyun-wook favored weapons in the form of ‘spheres.’

‘The center of gravity is perfect, making control easy.’

Long weapons like spears can move in a wide variety of ways depending on where the metal control is applied.

But controlling spheres was very clear.

Just focus the power on the ‘center.’

‘Moreover, there’s no risk of getting stuck.’

If he had to control hundreds or thousands of weapons simultaneously, it would be difficult to perform delicate movements.

Like a