Chapter 39

39. Rain Falling Over the Waves - 6

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Xia Enha, she was like a bolt of lightning.

Clad in a radiant glow, she shot forward like light and toppled five Haunted Armors in one go.

From the back view of such a Xia Enha, the search team members saw a fierce hope.

"Wow, that's the battle of Squad Leader Xia Enha that we've only heard about..."

For them, it was a scene they had never seen before, and they couldn't help but be amazed.

Of course, the assault squad officers who had fought alongside her had heard about it.

According to the words of the assault squad's sniper, Sergeant Jiang Yijun,

Squad Leader Xia Enha's combat style was closer to a 'Berserker' rather than a 'Paladin'...

"Really..."

Now, it seemed they could finally understand the meaning of those words.

An Minte stood there, staring blankly at the scene, then quickly regained his composure and raised his shield.

"Alright! We'll follow Squad Leader and provide covering fire!"

Maintaining a defensive position, he followed Xia Enha, advancing step by step.

Because the radiance emanating from her body pushed back the darkness, they could advance toward hell.

They moved forward in a tight formation, cutting down the zombies that swarmed from all sides.

"Coming from the right!"

"-Concentrated fire!"

In this way, over a hundred zombies were left behind, strewn like laundry.

'...It's working! It's working this time too!'

When they faced that hellish scene, he honestly thought there was no hope. But the moment the two most famous players of the 1st Battalion displayed their true strength, everything changed in an instant.

'Squad Leader Xia Enha is amazing, but Sergeant Choi Youngjun is no pushover either.'

On the right, between the trees, Choi Youngjun's battle was unfolding.

"-Click!"

The top hat vampire, who had bravely charged to avenge himself against Choi Youngjun, was now limping on one leg and retreating, while Choi Youngjun pursued him closely, swinging his saber.

Swish!

With an upward strike, the vampire's right shoulder was sliced off, leaving it flapping. The vampire had no choice but to leap back to escape. After just two exchanges, the vampire was already severely wounded.

'There's a clear difference in skill.'

Choi Youngjun's battles were something An Minte had seen many times, but because he always overwhelmed his enemies, it was hard to gauge his true strength. And the situation was no different now.

"Of course it's working!"

An Minte cheered involuntarily.

If they kept this up, everything would go smoothly.

'To survive in a hell like this, it's a miracle!'

The fact that these two strong players were in the same battalion was nothing short of a miracle.

But...

Boom!

A sudden explosion sounded from somewhere, and An Minte's thoughts came to a halt.

"Ugh!"

The search team members instinctively lowered their stances.

Flames were rising from the darkness ahead.

Something flew toward the search team members.

Thud-

"Huh?"

...It was Xia Enha.

Bright red blood trickled down her forehead.

An Minte's mouth slowly dropped open.

"S-Squad Leader?"

"Fall back, f-fall back..."

For some reason, the radiance around her body had disappeared.

"Of course, you wouldn't be famous for nothing, would you?"

A woman's voice echoed from the darkness.

"Did you think I wouldn't know about your great skills? That's why I came prepared like this..."

Behind the woman, four arms sprouted.

And one of them was gripping something that emitted a dark light.

"...I even brought the second gift, properly prepared."

Whirr-

It was a necklace.

The necklace emitted a strange sound, pushing back the radiance Xia Enha was emitting.

- Warning! The curse of 'Gregory Azazel' is spreading! The holy power in the area is being suppressed!

"Ugh! H-How could it be... the fallen angel's treasure..."

In Judaism, the 'Grigori' were a group of fallen angels, and 'Azazel' was their leader. They were originally beings who used holy power but betrayed that power and turned to the forces of darkness. The 'fallen angel's treasure' was an anti-holy power item based on this concept.

In simple terms, it was an item that was like an Achilles' heel for players who used holy skills.

A dark red stain was spreading over the white characters floating above Xia Enha's armor, shield, and greatsword. As a result, the white light dimmed, and Xia Enha's power decreased.

Xia Enha stood up again, staggering forward.

"Ugh..."

But with her holy power limited, it was impossible for her to fully exert her strength.

Thud- Thud-

Three Haunted Armors strode toward her, unsteady.

This time, they seemed even larger somehow.

As if they were about to crush Xia Enha to death...

Even Choi Youngjun's situation was not going well.

He had just successfully severed all the limbs of the top hat vampire.

But from the severed parts, black smoke began to flow, replacing the body.

"...What, smoke?"

In a smoke form, Choi Youngjun's sword wouldn't be able to cut it.

And in the next moment, the smoke enveloped the entire body of the top hat vampire...

Roar-

"Hey! Sergeant Choi Youngjun! Be careful-"

A single gust of wind enveloped Choi Youngjun.

His body was lifted into the air.

Choi Youngjun was thus enveloped by the black smoke and disappeared into the forest far away.

"..."

The situation that followed was unknown to them.

Two hopes had been extinguished simultaneously.

"Ah, what's happening all of a sudden..."

"Now, what, what do we do?"

The search team members felt their hearts sink, as if they were falling.

"We're all dead."

"We need to run... now..."

Panic soon set in.

"Hey! Get a hold of yourself and raise your weapons!"

"Ah..."

"We need to keep fighting! At 11 o'clock, the zombies are coming again!"

They raised their weapons reflexively and faced the enemies in front of them.

That was all they could do.

But everyone knew that if those two couldn't do it, there was no hope.

"Ah! H-How could this be coming this way!"

Thud- Thud- Thud- Thud-

While Xia Enha was struggling with three Haunted Armors, two more were approaching them.

"Fire! Fire!"

Arrows imbued with holy power were fired at them in unison.

Ting- Ting-

But they only left scratches on the massive armor.

"Aaaaah!"

"No! Run!"

Thud- Thud-

The shadow of the approaching creature loomed over the heads of the tanks.

An Minte looked up at it and raised his shield.

"It's over."

This was really it.

It was the second time he had this feeling today.

Back then, Sergeant Choi Youngjun had appeared like a miracle.

But now, he was gone, far away.

To hope for such a miracle twice was, frankly...

Boom!

"Uh?"

At the sound of the explosion, An Minte lowered his shield slightly.

Clang-

The empty armor began to emit a clear sound, as if it had turned into a giant bronze bell.

The reason was that a silver rod was embedded in the chest of the armor, vibrating.

Scream- The evil spirit inside the Haunted Armor wailed.

It was holy power. The mysterious rod contained holy power.

The creature tried to drop its weapon and pull out the rod, but...

Boom- Boom- Boom-

Three more shots flew in and embedded themselves in various parts of the armor.

More holy power stimulated the inside of the armor.

Unable to bear it any longer, black smoke burst out from various parts, and the armor knelt.

Boom-

The evil spirit had escaped from the Living Armor on its own.

"That... Is that a stake?"

Some of the search team members recognized it.

At that moment, lights began to turn on one by one in the dark forest behind them.

Flashlights attached to weapons,

A large number of AMT soldiers stood in the darkness.

"Reinforcements!"

And the man leading them was, as expected, Lee Hyunwook.

"Ah! Sergeant Lee Hyunwook!"

An Minte called out involuntarily.

His voice was tinged with tears.

Right, he had momentarily forgotten.

In fact, the man who was supposed to be active in this hell more than anyone else,

Lee Hyunwook, had not yet appeared...

He approached and placed his hand on An Minte's shoulder.

"An Minte, get a hold of yourself, it's not over yet."

"Ah! That's right!"

An Minte felt his morale rise as he raised his shield.

"What are you all doing? Get ready to fight again!"

At his shout, the search team members who had been retreating came forward again.

And the reinforcements that came with Lee Hyunwook began to line up on both sides.

They were female soldiers from the 2nd Company, mostly mage players.

"Alright! Get a hold of yourselves and prepare the Link spell!"

A short female sergeant shouted, leading them.

Kim Sehee, the most famous soldier in the 2nd Company.

Meanwhile, Lee Hyunwook slowly surveyed the battlefield while reading the system message that appeared before him.

- You can obtain the 'Master Authority' of this Living Armor.

* Due to your low 'Control Power,' it may not function properly!

This message appeared the moment he brought down the Haunted Armor.

Living Armor was a magical combat weapon, a kind of automatic hunting item.

Usually, mages would use 'Control Magic' to obtain the 'Master Authority' and use it.

'But the easier way is to use Control Power.'

Control Power was a very rare and powerful ability among player skills.

Inferno, who controlled fire,

Park Junmo, who controlled electricity,

Necromancer, who controlled death,

and Lee Hyunwook, who controlled metal. In the system, Lee Hyunwook's 'Metal Control Power' was the universal key to obtaining the 'Master Authority' of Living Armor.

'Control it.'

Then, on the surface of the fallen Living Armor, various magic runes engraved in relief began to glow. They lit up one by one, like a machine starting up, and soon the blue eyes lit up.

Thud-

It stood up and stood tall in front of Lee Hyunwook.

- You have obtained the 'Master Authority' of the Living Armor.

"Indeed, you've brought quite a few good things."

Lee Hyunwook suppressed a smile.

"Lee Hyunwook?"

It was Xia Enha's voice. She was already in a terrible state.

"This time, I was a bit late, but I made it in time."

"You! Is now the time for jokes? Ugh..."

As she swayed, about to fall, Lee Hyunwook approached and supported her.

At that moment, his eyes met those of a woman standing in the darkness far away.

"Ah, so the other one who killed Oh Gwangmok has finally shown up?"

Lee Hyunwook recognized the woman.

'Carol Choi, the leader of the Five Butchers.'

The second child of Blood Lord, one of the subordinates of Gi Baekjun.

A vampire who could also control the magic of death, allowing her to control the undead.

Of course, she couldn't compare to the Death Legion Commander, the Necromancer, but...

Squish...

Behind her, in the wide valley, green eyes gathered.

"Quite a crowd."

Lee Hyunwook walked forward, facing them.

"It seems you were planning a grand party, but I'm afraid I'll have to intrude."

"Hmm, I guess you know you'll be on the menu of this party, right?"

Carol flicked her cigarette to the ground and extinguished it with her foot.

But Lee Hyunwook didn't even glance at her.

His attitude suggested that she was not even worth his attention.

He just walked forward, looking up at the sky.

"By the way, it looks like it's going to rain. Do you have an umbrella?"

Carol tilted her head at the somewhat random comment.

"What are you talking about?"

"If not, I'm afraid... I'll have to end this party now."

Lee Hyunwook raised his hand as he spoke.

Then, as if waiting for this moment, the 2nd Company mages all raised their wands and staves.

Kim Sehee's voice echoed.

"Now! Link!"

Link, a spell that summoned a spell cast from elsewhere.

Fifteen mages drew magic circles simultaneously, and fifteen beams of light shot up into the sky.

Zzzz- The light beams converged at a single point.

Everyone looked at that spot.

Rumble-

A circular ripple appeared in the middle of the black sky.

Then, as if the sky's lid had opened,

a faint light began to seep out from there.

"A portal."

A portal, a dimensional tunnel, a door connected to another 'somewhere.'

"Rain... is coming?"

Carol's eyebrows twitched. She finally sensed the danger.

At that moment, a voice came from Lee Hyunwook's shoulder radio.

- Click- Battalion armory, large-scale magic deployment complete!

It was Captain Moon Tae-ho, the wide-area magic controller.

"Understood."

- Click- But remember! The maintenance time for the wide-area portal is only 3 minutes!

"Understood. And that should be enough..."

Lee Hyunwook slowly raised his left hand.

The target was the 'wide-area portal' opened in the sky.

He grasped it,

no,

he grasped the things beyond it, transcending space.

"A deluge will cleanse the filth."

With those words, his hand fell, and

hundreds of lightning bolts began to pour down from the portal.

- Click- Deployment complete. Good luck.

That day, rain made of steel fell on Seoul.