135. The Most Important Demonic Realm Tour Guide Karin
The monsters that Min-Cheol and Jong Ho easily dispatched were quite a different story on Earth.
Many Awakened had gathered here to fight against them.
There"s a saying that a disorganized bunch won"t accomplish anything, but this saying did not fit here.
The offensive capabilities of this group was more than enough.
Even if everyone casted only one skill, due to the sheer amount of Awakened gathered here, it was plenty enough.
It would be no exaggeration to say that if everyone threw an egg at the monster, it would be enough to take one down.
However, the issue here was their defensive capabilities.
The Awakened here did not have a way to defend against the monsters that attacked by blowing themselves up.
It would be okay if the Awakened here were able to take the monsters out before they detonate themselves, but there were too many monsters to take them out before they reached the Awakened.
Even if only a single one or two detonated, the destructive force was great.
No matter how much shields and buffs the tanks got, they would take a crippling blow unless they had enough stamina stats to back them up.
However, due to the surprise appearance of the self detonating monsters, the defensive line was taking heavy losses.
This was occurring while the two that left for demonic realm was battling against Berdan.
The monsters must have realized that this was their chance to charge through the Gate.
As if to tell just how many monsters were present in the demonic realm, the amount that poured out through the Gate was insane.
To think that this many monsters poured out like water in that short span of time.
Looking at this brutal scene, the commander Yoon Jong-sun"s expression hardened.
At this rate, too many of the tank cla.s.s Awakened would be sacrificed to hold the line.
On top of that, he had no idea just how many more monsters would pour out from the Gate.
The commander roared out his orders loudly enough to swallow the sounds of the chaotic battleground.
"We cannot take more casualties! All bruisers, take the tanks and retreat from the battlefield!"
"KUACK!"
"Yes! Yes, yes!"
"KUUK!"
Just by looking at the color of their skins, anyone could tell that the Awakened gathered here were from many different nationalities, levels, and specializations.
However, all of them understood the commander"s orders clearly and moved at once.
To them, a language barrier wasn"t that much of an issue.
Not only did they have a lingo of their own, but they were pretty much on the same page as what the commander was thinking.
"KUWUHEHCK!"
"KURURU."
With the retreat of the tanks, the encirclement around the Gate became further spread out.
It was obvious that it would be harder to defend against the Gate as the encirclement widened.
However, there wasn"t any other options.
This was the best decision to make in order to reduce casualties and to recover against a fight that could go on for long.
The commander let out another order.
"All magicians who have obtained Mana Shield, move forward with that spell up! We will be the ones to stop them in their tracks!"
"Understood."
"Other than the healers who are healing the injured tanks, everyone transfer your mana to the mages! And those magicians who cannot cast Mana Shield, focus on attack instead! Physical attacks do not work against them. This will be over soon! Focus and give it your all!"
The commander"s order was stained with urgency.
It revealed just how much he wanted to protect everyone"s lives and to win without any sacrifices.
As soon as he finished his command, he himself jumped into the fray.
However, the tank cla.s.s ranked Awakened from the a.s.sociation stood steadfast to prevent him from going forward.
"C…… Comander! You cannot do that. Commander……"
"Let me go! I am also an Awakened who came here to defend this place! I did not come here to stand by and watch from the rear!"
"We understand what you mean by that. However, if something happens to you, then we"d be……"
"All of you…. What……. What are you saying!"
The commander"s voice rang throughout the battlefield.
Between the white hairs of the commander, his red face with bulging veins showed.
His forehead and neck was strained to the point where veins were bulging out, and anyone could easily tell that the commander could not be stopped at this point.
He stared down those who would dare block his path.
"You"re saying that something would happen to me! Are you expecting our defeat!"
"That….. That"s not true, but….."
"How can you…… Ahem! Out of my way! If you continue to stand in my way, I will have you suffer the penalty of disobeying your superior!"
"Commander….."
It was then.
"Okay, okay. We all know that we can"t stop him at this point, right?"
"Sang-ho……"
"Let that old man go. And we will also jump into the fray. I know that they"re gathered here for the promise of skill books beyond ranking as a reward, but aren"t they still fighting and risking their lives? Whatever their motives might be, instead of hesitating until we perish….. Make sure to land at least one more hit before you die, okay?"
"Sang-ho… Thank you. However, you cannot die."
"Yes, yes. No need for thanks, old man. You know that I got married two months ago, right? I finally left the tiresome life of being single and got married. If I think about my wife, I want to run away right now…… I"m only going in because of my trust in you."
"……."
"The commander that has never been wrong once. I"m only going because I believe in you. It"s the same for those subordinates around you."
"Commander, let us go!"
"Let"s take them out before they gain further ground, commander!"
"So I plead once more. Let everyone here…. get back home safely. Please let them come back home in one piece. I implore you."
"Yes…… I understand. I promise! Even if I have to beg a G.o.d hundreds and thousands of times with my life, I will make sure that I keep my promise! I must….."
"Ha……. To think this old man is searching for a G.o.d. Guess you really have gotten old. Go! We go!"
"Yes! Follow the commander!"
"Yes!"
The battle between Min-Cheol and Berdan had ended, and he had finished wiping out the monsters near the Gate.
In that time, an hour had pa.s.sed, and a battle that the two who had left for the demonic realm could never imagine in their wildest dreams had occurred on Earth.
Many wounded lain on the battleground, and in the center stood a commander whose breathing was heavy.
He had given his all to the fight.
Just as he had used up all of his mana, the Gate had stopped trembling, and he had also expended enough stamina to the point where he could barely stand.
Many healers were casting healing spells on him, but perhaps due to the sudden release from tension, none of the healing were taking effect.
No, his body had recovered completely, but his mind must be exhausted.
"Ha…… Ha……."
"Old man, you okay?"
"Of course! Who do you think I am! Are you all expecting so little of me?"
"What….. You"re an old…..My boss that"s without equal. Your command, as expected, was the right call. It was perfect, old man."
"Hahahahaha! It"s hard to believe that those words came out of your mouth, Sang-ho."
"Just, yeah. Ha…… Think I"m gonna die."
"Rest for a bit. We don"t know when they"ll be back."
"You should lay down and rest too, old man."
"I"m fine. I won"t fall until they"re completely eradicated."
"You"re still in your prime. Your prime. All right! Everyone, focus on recovering your mana. Rest as you will until the Gate trembles once more!"
"Yes, commander!"
"Yes! Understood."
Sang-ho looked at the commander who stood his ground.
From behind, he looked dignified.
It was because after the initial sacrifices of the tank cla.s.s Awakened, he had fought to make sure that none would lose their lives in vain.
However, he could not rest for even a moment.
It was because of the guilt he felt for those that had lost their lives to his decision.
He could not show weakness before anyone, for he led as an example.
The Awakened who followed the commander into battle were in the same situation.
Sang-ho, who followed Yoon Jong-sun, as well as Hye-won and Geon were laying on the floor that was soaked with monster blood, using each other"s legs as a pillow.
Each thought about what they wanted to protect, and even with the battle temporarily stopped, none wore smiles on their faces.
It was the same for everyone gathered here.
No one knew when this lull would end.
Everyone had given their all, but there was a possibility that this was just round one.
Or this could have just been the wake caused from the formation of the Gate.
They could only guess that Min-Cheol and Jong Ho were near the Gate, defending it against the wave of monsters.
The one thing they could be sure of was that this lull had something to do with their well being.
If the monsters cease coming out, that meant that they were okay.
If that wasn"t the case….. then something horrible that they did not want to imagine had occurred.
"KUHUHUH!"
"A….. Already?"
"d.a.m.n it……."
"No. Do not worry and rest. As you can see, it"s nearly dead. It"s evidence that Min-Cheol and Jong Ho are holding them back."
"Just how many are there that these monsters can get through them……."
"Hm……"
"Karin, do you see this?"
"Keru? What is this?"
"It"s called a jewel."
"Kel. Jewel?"
"Yes."
"Is this an item found on Earth?"
"No, we got this from here."
"Keru? That can"t be. Only bloodstones drop in the demonic realm."
"Exactly. I"m not sure if this is a prank by a G.o.d, but it seems that when humans kill monsters, there is a very small chance for artifacts to drop."
"Keruu…….. Those G.o.ds are very stupid and cunning. I"d like to rip them to shreds……"
"What. You sound like you"ve seen them before."
"Don"t even talk about them. They"re very disgusting."
"Well, okay. Anyways, I need your help."
"Keru. What do you mean?"
"At this rate, the moment that the demon king finds us, the two of you as well as I will die, right?"
"T….. That"s right. If Min-Cheol and Jong Ho disappears….. I will die as well."
"That"s right. We"re on the same boat at this point. So what do you think we should do to stop that from happening?"
"We need to run away right now!"
"Wrong!"
"Keruu?"
"We need to…. Kill the demon king."
"Kelkec! Min-Cheol, are you serious?"
"Of course I am. That"s why I need you to help us."
"That"s impossible. You cannot kill the demon king. Did you not see his display of strength!"
"Didn"t you at first think that we could not face up against Berdan? But look at the result. There"s no rule saying that the demon king cannot die, right?"
"Keeh….. Okay. What do I need to do to help you?"
"We need items like these….. Artifacts, to be precise. Basically, we need to get to place with lots of monsters. It would be good if we could enter the Unknown Dungeon again, but you said that it wasn"t possible, right?"
"Yes. It"s impossible to return there."
"Okay. Then we"ll let that option go. It doesn"t matter if the monsters are strong or weak. We just need a location with a dense amount of monsters packed close to one another. The key is that they"re in a condensed group."
"Keruu… Okay….. A place with lots of monsters…… There is one! I know of a place."
"Good….. Let"s go!"
"Keru. Wait! What about steak? You said that we"ll be eating some…. Do not joke with me, human! Karin is being serious."
"Ha. That was quite threatening, you know? We"ll eat first, then go!"
"Kel!"
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