Chapter 37

37. Rain Falling Over the Waves - 4

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"......Yes, they're dead."

The man in the bowler hat said this as he climbed down from the tree.

"Both of them?"

Carol, the leader of the Five Butchers, who was leaning against a tree on the opposite side and smoking a cigarette, asked.

But something was unnatural. The hand holding the cigarette wasn't hers.

She had her arms crossed, and a third hand, sprouting from her back, was holding the cigarette.

"Yang Hee-ju at Gate 2 didn't die, but she seems to have lost consciousness."

The Five Butchers were connected and could sense each other's presence.

For some reason, their connection was severed simultaneously.

"......"

It was something they couldn't understand at all.

"......Didn't you say that Sanjun isn't here?"

"That's correct. It was confirmed before the infiltration."

"Then...... Seo Eun-ha, that woman?"

"At this point, there's no one else to suspect, is there?"

Among the players in the 1st Battalion who could stand up to the Five Butchers, there were only two.

Kim Gang-seok, a B-rank Druid known as Sanjun of Namsan,

Seo Eun-ha, a B-rank Paladin, the daughter of the Holy Knight Regiment Commander,

There were no other names worth worrying about.

"Whatever, we can just save a few lives after we finish here."

"Yes. It seems the plan won't be disrupted since they haven't noticed Gate 3 yet."

They were on the mid-slope of Namsan, where the Namsan Tower was visible.

There, an additional gate had opened.

A purple light was flickering between the dense trees.

"Hmm, did Master expect this and increase it to three?"

"To me, it seemed like he just wanted to ensure complete annihilation. We also have something to find......"

Originally, it was planned to create two gates here.

But their master, Ki Baek-joon, suddenly added one more.

Then, a deep voice echoed from somewhere.

"......Hey, Carol! Is it okay to install it here?"

About 20 meters away, in a ravine, a large man stood with something slung over his shoulder.

When Carol nodded, the large man began to break nearby trees with his bare hands.

Crack! Crack!

It was as easy as pulling up weeds.

He flattened the terrain by hand and then pulled out a large green tombstone he was carrying.

He slammed it into the ground.

Thud!

Then......

Roar—

- Attention! A 'Gathering of Evil' has been declared in this area!

* Dark attribute stats increase (50%)

* Undead recovery rate increases (50%)

* Number of monsters emerging from the gate increases (100%)

The man chuckled and shook his hands.

"It's installed! It works great!"

In this game, there were various types of items, some with bizarre effects. These were not only useless to 'humans' but also required careful handling.

Of course, the results varied depending on the purpose of use......

"Now, zombies will crawl out and eat all the Seoul bastards, right?"

The purpose here seemed less than favorable.

Gulp— Gulp—

The third gate, which had been open behind them, reacted. It was an eruption.

Soon, heavily armored knights began to walk out one by one.

Thud— Thud— Thud— Thud—

The weight that shook the ground......

But there was one strange point.

There was nothing inside those armors.

Literally, only the 'armor' was moving on its own.

At first glance, it looked like enchanted armor, 'Living Armor,' which moves on its own and guards the house when a spell is cast by a wizard.

However, this was 'Haunted Armor,' a ghost-possessed armor, a product of 'Death Magic.'

It was a high-level monster in the Undead category.

Thud— Thud— Thud— Thud—

"Awesome. Even that B-rank Paladin, that arrogant woman, won't be able to handle these."

Carol said with a smirk.

A squad of undead 'Haunted Armor' in steel armor lined up on the mountain slope, and behind them, a horde of zombies began to crawl out.

"By the way, Oh Kang-mok! There's something you need to do!"

"Huh?"

The large man who installed the tombstone raised his head.

"Can you go down and eliminate the military command?"

"Why me? Didn't you tell the kids to do it?"

Carol sighed deeply and held her forehead.

"Their connection was suddenly severed, so there's no choice."

"Oh, they're both dead? Damn, those useless brats, they're a pain......"

His words were somewhat crude, but coming from a giant over 2 meters tall and weighing over 250 kg, it was quite intimidating.

"There's no choice. Since it's come to this, how about creating some paladin subordinates?"

"No, I said to destroy the command, not create paladins."

"Oh, I see. I'll do both."

"Don't be complacent. It's strange that both Hyeong Tae and Yang Hee-ju were taken down."

"Carol, why are you like this? Don't you know me? Am I the same as them?"

Yes, even among vampires, there were differences in level.

If the two vampires, Hyeong Tae and Yang Hee-ju, were 'low-level,' then this man, Oh Kang-mok, was 'mid-level.'

One level difference, but there was a huge gap, requiring the 'suction' of hundreds of people.

Oh Kang-mok had sucked 301 people so far.

He thought he would increase that number a bit today.

***

The moment the totem was planted somewhere on Namsan, a red warning message appeared in front of all nearby players.

- Attention! A 'Gathering of Evil' has been declared in this area!

* Dark attribute stats increase (50%)

* Undead recovery rate increases (50%)

* Number of monsters emerging from the gate increases (100%)

"......This is......"

Everyone in the underground command and control room looked up and swallowed hard.

"......It's a totem."

"......It's a totem."

Lee Hyun-wook and Seo Eun-ha said simultaneously.

A totem was an installation item that cast a magical effect over an area.

The warning message clearly described the type of totem installed this time.

Everyone wore a look of despair.

But Lee Hyun-wook was smiling inwardly.

'If it's a totem...... it contains a Demon Medal.'

Previously, after defeating a Kobold Black Mage, he obtained a 'Demon Medal (Inferno)' and absorbed it, gaining the powerful skills 'Fire Breath' and 'Internal Furnace.'

This time, he had another chance to obtain one.

He couldn't help but lick his lips.

What kind of type would it be this time......? It seemed likely to be related to vitality or control.

Lee Hyun-wook had somewhat anticipated this situation.

Hyeong Tae, who shouldn't have been here, appeared.

This meant there could be other unexpected threats.

For example, a 'third gate'......

'But to plant a totem as well? They're bringing me food on a platter.'

To Lee Hyun-wook, this was a fortuitous turn of events.

He looked at Seo Eun-ha.

"Captain, that guy isn't alone."

Seo Eun-ha nodded at Lee Hyun-wook's words.

She was also suspicious.

"This is clearly an organized terror attack, right?"

"Yes, it seems so."

"......But, using monsters, is that even possible?"

Seo Eun-ha couldn't understand. A terror attack using the system......

If this became known, the world would be turned upside down.

But what was important right now was not that.

"Whatever it is, we need to remove that totem immediately. Otherwise, we won't be able to handle it."

"Right. We need to form a search team right away."

If the totem's effects persisted, a massive number of monsters would emerge from the gate and gather near the 'Gathering of Evil.'

This would mean the birth of a 'horde.'

"I'll go find the totem immediately, sir."

Seo Eun-ha's words made Lieutenant Moon Tae-ho nod.

"How many people do you think you'll need for this operation?"

"First, me, Corporal Lee Hyun-wook, and...... Corporal Choi Young-joon is also needed."

The news of Choi Young-joon's return had already reached here.

"Oh, and by the way, a few members of the 1st Company are currently equipped with holy weapons."

This time, Lee Hyun-wook spoke.

The former special tactics squad members, who had prepared holy weapons for such occasions.

"Got it. Situation soldier, connect me to Captain Kwak Yong-joon right away."

"Yes, sir!"

Lieutenant Moon Tae-ho immediately contacted Captain Kwak Yong-joon at the guard post and assigned the relevant personnel.

"......Alright. They'll be here in 5 minutes."

Thus, a total of 23 members of the 'Totem Search Team' were quickly organized.

"Then, we'll depart immediately."

"Hmm...... Captain Seo, you must succeed. Our lives depend on it."

"Yes, of course. I'll see you later."

At that moment,

Thud!

A vibration echoed, and the fluorescent lights flickered.

"......"

The command and control room, which had been bustling, suddenly came to a halt.

It seemed something had caused a major impact on the floor above.

"What was that just now?"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The impact sound came again, but this time it wasn't from above.

Their gazes turned to the wall.

On the same floor, from below.

"......"

The next moment......

Clang-

"......Huh?"

A bewildered voice from the situation soldier.

"Th-There......"

Outside the steel door, in the corridor, a pair of legs in combat boots lay sprawled.

The problem was...... only the 'lower half' was there.

It seemed to be the body of a guard from the cipher room.

Lee Hyun-wook and Seo Eun-ha exchanged glances.

Swish-

Seo Eun-ha drew her sword, and a sword automatically emerged from behind Lee Hyun-wook.

The two rushed forward.

"......"

At the end of the corridor, in the darkness, a giant stood.

He was wearing a black suit with something like a raincoat over it.

He held a flail, a metal ball on a chain, as large as a human head.

But the length of the chain...... was incredibly long.

"......"

The two didn't need to ask who he was.

Lee Hyun-wook naturally knew this man was the same kind of vampire as Hyeong Tae, whom they had previously encountered, and Seo Eun-ha also realized it.

"......W-Who are you?"

But Lieutenant Moon Tae-ho, who followed behind, had to ask.

There was no response.

The man just chuckled maniacally.

Seo Eun-ha moved to the front, lowering her shield. If that flail flew once, the three of them would be crushed simultaneously, so she was prepared.

"Captain, this is part of their plan to stall us."

Lee Hyun-wook whispered.

"And in this narrow corridor, even you...... it will be difficult to finish quickly."

"......"

Actually, it wasn't about finishing quickly or not.

Facing such a powerful opponent in a confined space was suicidal.

"Captain, you should go first."

"......What?"

"Please leave this to me this time."

"But......"

"If we find the totem too late, we won't be able to protect anything."

Seo Eun-ha thought for a moment and then nodded.

His words were close to the truth this time.

"I'll finish quickly and join you."

"......Don't die."

Seo Eun-ha turned to Lieutenant Moon Tae-ho.

"Lieutenant, I'm going to find the totem. Please...... take care of things here."

Moon Tae-ho was taken aback but nodded silently.

Seo Eun-ha glanced at Lee Hyun-wook once more and then ran up the stairs next to her.

"......"

With the shield gone, the two were now face-to-face with the giant wielding the flail.

The giant chuckled again and took a step forward with his thick, tree-like legs.

Thud-

Walking with a 'thud' rather than a 'step'......

"Damn, get back. If you come any closer, I'll shoot!"

Moon Tae-ho raised his hands as he spoke.

He was a C-rank Tier 1 Mage, after all.

As a Wide Area Magic Controller, he wasn't particularly skilled in direct combat magic, but he thought he should face this giant.

Thud-

But the giant took another step without hesitation.

Rumble-

A magic circle began to form in Moon Tae-ho's hands.

At that moment, the flail flew at him like a shot.

Whoosh!

"Wha-."

Bam!

Moon Tae-ho couldn't react.

In an instant, Lee Hyun-wook exerted his metal control over the tip of the flail, causing it to slightly veer and hit Moon Tae-ho's left shoulder instead of his head.

But even that impact sent Moon Tae-ho flying and crashing into the wall behind him.

Thud-

......He seemed to have fainted.

'Vampire Bear Oh Kang-mok, indeed, he's incredibly strong.'

Lee Hyun-wook recognized the man.

The flail was also made of metal, but controlling it seemed difficult.

It wasn't because of some magical effect like the Queen Spider's shell or the Noldor Old Alpha Mail's kukri, which interfered with control. It was simply because of the immense strength that overpowered Lee Hyun-wook's control.

Even if he tried to 'shatter' it, the flail seemed to be compressed to an extremely high density using magic engineering, making it very heavy and requiring a significant amount of mana to shatter.

'I can't drain my mana just to destroy this thing.'

Lee Hyun-wook thought of a different strategy.

"Someone, take care of Lieutenant Moon."

"Huh? Ah! Yes, sir!"

At Lee Hyun-wook's words, a situation soldier rushed over and carried the unconscious Lieutenant Moon Tae-ho inside.

"......Hey, you saw that and still think you can fight me?"

"......"

"You're really brave, aren't you?"

Oh Kang-mok approached, chuckling.

"And you just touched the tip of my weapon, right? That's right, isn't it?"

Lee Hyun-wook's metal control was immediately noticed, showing his exceptional senses.

"You're quick. I appreciate your recognition."

"You're polite and very commendable. I think I should give you a gift, little boy."

Oh Kang-mok chuckled again.

Gifts? Why are all vampires so perverse......

Lee Hyun-wook thought as he drew the Cloud Sword and used the Mist Skill.

Whoosh—

A large amount of steam spewed from the tip of the sword.

The narrow corridor quickly turned hazy.

"Ah, you're going to use a smoke screen?"

The last thing he saw was the giant lifting his flail.

But Lee Hyun-wook knew the position of the flail.

He shot 13 metal balls and a Falnote, and at the same time—

Thud!

He pushed off the ground and rushed forward.

Clang—Clang—Clang—Clang—

Something—probably the metal balls—hit in quick succession.

When the steam cleared, Oh Kang-mok had raised his left hand to protect his head.

He had blocked all the metal balls and the Falnote.

Immediately after, the giant's right hand—holding the flail—moved.

Whoosh—

The heavy metal ball flew towards Lee Hyun-wook's head.

Lee Hyun-wook fell back and slid on the wet floor to dodge the flail.

He slipped between Oh Kang-mok's legs and used the KG19.

Swoosh!

"Ugh!"

Lee Hyun-wook slashed the giant's groin and then got up and ran in the opposite direction.

He then used his metal control to open four storage room doors on both sides of the corridor.

Clank—Clank—Clank—Clank—

The doors, which opened into the corridor,

At that moment, the giant threw his flail.

Crash—Crash—Crash—Crash—

The four doors shattered like cardboard.

But he managed to neutralize the flail attack with a quick move.

"Ugh...... Stop! Are you running away?"

Lee Hyun-wook reached the end of the corridor.

It was...... a dead end.

Oh Kang-mok tore through the warped storage room doors and approached with heavy steps.

Sizzle—

Smoke was rising from between